Virginia Beach Stores, Retail, and Restaurants

[scm]

So, what do you know about Trader Joe's coming to Hilltop near Guadalajara's? This is some third party information from a "reliable source" that I'm trying to fish out.

Absolutely dead on, MM -- you get the gold star for being over a month in advance of any sort of announcement.

Couldn't be happier -- TJ's on one corner, Fresh Market on the other!

[metalman]

Thanks!

I don't contribute much to this board, but every now and then I'm able to share a nugget of wisdom.

[vdogg]

Thanks!

I don't contribute much to this board, but every now and then I'm able to share a nugget of wisdom.

[metalman]

Nice!

[Weaver24]

Abercrombie and Finch closed its store in Lynnhaven Mall. That suprised me alot but they opened a Hollister earlier this year. The A&F in MacArthur Center is still open. Body Central also will be closing and have a store closing sale and their location in Chesapeake Square will remain open. I hear that Lynnhaven plans to open alot of new stores this year with Buckle and Sephora already announced.

[adctvmonkey]

Yes, Coach and Forever 21 are among the new stores coming to Lynnhaven. Quite odd that A&F is closing at Lynnhaven - I expected them to do better at the Beach than in Norfolk. Maybe the police confiscating the 'racy' images had something to do with it?

Edited May 29, 2008 by adctvmonkey

[Weaver24]

Yes, Coach and Forever 21 are among the new stores coming to Lynnhaven. Quite odd that A&F is closing at Lynnhaven - I expected them to do better at the Beach than in Norfolk. Maybe the police confiscating the 'racy' images had something to do with it?

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

Yes, Coach and Forever 21 are among the new stores coming to Lynnhaven. Quite odd that A&F is closing at Lynnhaven - I expected them to do better at the Beach than in Norfolk. Maybe the police confiscating the 'racy' images had something to do with it?

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

Yes, Coach and Forever 21 are among the new stores coming to Lynnhaven. Quite odd that A&F is closing at Lynnhaven - I expected them to do better at the Beach than in Norfolk. Maybe the police confiscating the 'racy' images had something to do with it?

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

[Weaver24]

Yes, Coach and Forever 21 are among the new stores coming to Lynnhaven. Quite odd that A&F is closing at Lynnhaven - I expected them to do better at the Beach than in Norfolk. Maybe the police confiscating the 'racy' images had something to do with it?

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

[urbanfan]

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

Yeah I agree about A&F but Norfolk does have a few colleges and A&F target their merchandise to college students and college aged individuals. I guess the company figured Hollister would work more for Lynnhaven since there alot of teenagers who go to Lynnhaven...but alot of teens are prevalent at every mall around here. I heard from an A&F employee that A&F closed at Lynnhaven due to Lynnhaven raising rent and that location not making enough to stay open but the Hollister was doing well. It could also have something to do with the racy photos. Im suprised that Coach would open another retail location in Hampton Roads and if they did...I could see them fitting in alot more at Va Beach Town Center with Brooks Brothers, Cache and the rest than at Lynnhaven. I also heard Lynnhaven will be getting an ALDO shoes store. It seems like Lynnhaven and MacArthur are battling and have or will have alot of the same stores.

?

[urbanvb]

Per the Beacon pullout in the Va Pilot, Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe is opening their first and flagship store in TC within weeks. Looks like a first for the east coast as well.

Edited May 29, 2008 by urbanvb

[RJWGMU]

Per the Beacon pullout in the Va Pilot, Melt Gelato & Crepe Cafe is opening their first and flagship store in TC within weeks. Looks like a first for the east coast as well.

I went to an all crepe place when I was in Canada in Quebec. It was REALLY good!

Where will this be opening?

[urbanvb]

It only specifies Town Center so I am thinking maybe near Royal Chocolate but only an assumption.

[metalman]

It's going on the Banks St. side of Studio 56, next to Mc and Schmick's.

[RJWGMU]

It's going on the Banks St. side of Studio 56, next to Mc and Schmick's.

I guess any location in TC should be good but man that seems like a bad location... I figured they would have wanted to be in the bottom of the Cosmo or Westin, but I guess 56 is residential as well... But the other two are where most of the people will be...

[scm]

Out of state restaurant chain expanding to Hilltop

My son told me about the following job listing on Craigslist:

BURTONS GRILL @ Hilltop. A well established, full service, upscale casual, restaurant is coming to Virginia Beach and looking for Assistant GM candidates.

[RJWGMU]

Out of state restaurant chain expanding to Hilltop

My son told me about the following job listing on Craigslist:

If that is true, then it is a large jump from where they are now...

http://www.burtonsgrill.com/locations.html

[scm]

It's going on the Banks St. side of Studio 56, next to Mc and Schmick's.

It is in the NE corner of the 56 building, with frontage on both sides. "Coming Soon" sign is visible from VB Blvd.

Also visible is the signage on the new Chipotle, right next to Panera across from B&N. Can't wait for that. Been waiting a long time. Their behavior is to spread quickly once they enter a market, so stand by for more.

[metalman]

It is in the NE corner of the 56 building, with frontage on both sides. "Coming Soon" sign is visible from VB Blvd.

Also visible is the signage on the new Chipotle, right next to Panera across from B&N. Can't wait for that. Been waiting a long time. Their behavior is to spread quickly once they enter a market, so stand by for more.

If were going for specificity here, it actually says "Melting Soon".

[adctvmonkey]

Are the Panera and soon-to-come Chipotle new stand-alone buildings beside the Ruby Tuesday and Michael's, or a part of another building?

[urbanvb]

Panera and Chipotle are in the same strip center just behind Rubys.

[scm]

If that is true, then it is a large jump from where they are now...

http://www.burtonsgrill.com/locations.html

I went back and looked at the Portfolio Weekly announcement about the Zinc closing, and I thought I had remembered reading this:

...Burtons Grill, a New England-based, upscale-casual chain known for steaks and seafood, was eyeing the Zinc site.

The web site and the menu remind of one of my NoVa favorites -- Artie's in Fairfax. If it is that good, we are in for a treat.

[RJWGMU]

why do none of the restaurants in that specific location seem to last?

[scm]

why do none of the restaurants in that specific location seem to last?

You could ask the same question about the end space (actually, both end spaces!) in the building across the street -- the one with Fresh Market and SteinMart -- drove by there this weekend and there is yet another restaurant going in the last space across the parking lot from Kitchen Barn.

Burton's will be interesing -- I wonder how the Great Neck crowd will react to something new. They continue to patronize a rather mediocre Coastal Grill for years. Burton's does something not terribly adventurous, but with what (from as much as you can pull off a web site) appears to be very high standards of American classic high end food. Again, if they just duplicate Artie's in Fairfax (also part of a corporate ownership group), I think they will do fine. But then I had high hopes for Zinc Brassierie -- which wasn't a brassierie for long......

(I wonder how much about myself I revealed with using those landmarks, versus, say Mai Zhen or Blue Ridge Mountain Sports?)

Edited June 4, 2008 by scm

[RJWGMU]

I think Zinc closed because it was expensive for relatively little food, something most people aren't willing to pay for in the area. People are still getting used to monster portions at higher end prices at the nicer restaurants in Pembroke, so a place like Zinc might have done well just a few years down the road...

[scm]

I think Zinc closed because it was expensive for relatively little food, something most people aren't willing to pay for in the area.

Then I guess a Golden Corral should do just fine there, huh?

Zinc failed for two reasons (and I ate there enough to know). It wasn't too expensive -- price point was right where most of the upper end Beach (and I am NOT including TC in there). It was actually below Zoe's, Terrapin, or Salacia, with the same sized servings. Those three do just fine.

The first reason it failed is that it never really was what it was advertised to be. It was called "Zinc Brassierie" -- with a zinc bar from France, installed to great fanfare all pointing to the authenticity. Menu never matched, and the only guy committed to great food (Todd Jurich) split within three months. The menu never featured, daily, the brassierie standards -- choucroute, salade lyonaisse, steak frites, moules frites -- etc. Maybe a Tuesday special, but never every day.

After Todd's departure, the menu strayed off to being indistinguishable from every other high end restaurant in HR. CanCan Brassieire in Richmond shows that concept can work in Virginia -- the question is, and the second reason for the failure, is: Can it work in VB? That is open for debate.

Maybe I told this story before -- if so, indulge the old guy -- I know a guy who worked at Aldo's for years, was one of the owners of Blue Hippo, just sold a restaurant in N. Suffolk. So he knows the mid to high end market here well, and especially the VB market. His feeling is that VB, and the Great Neck crowd in particular, is populated with folks who mainly made their money in businesses that don't require much creativity. There aren't the ad agencies, architecture firms, , etc., that you find in Richmond, for example. Or all of those, plus software companies that you find in Austin. So as a consequence, our restaurant scene, even at the high end, is pretty pedestrian. The industries here don't reward creativity, they award methodology. So, people with money don't spend money on creativity in dining -- and there just isn't demand for a French brassierie. Or a true Northern Italian, or.......

I read it some time ago, not long after I arrived - this is a hamburger town. Didn't want to believe it at the time, but sadly there is way too much truth in there. Don't tell me it is better than it used to be -- I remember when Monroe Duncan's "Suddenly Last Summer" was the rage of OV -- noticable for its uniqueness. Certainly there are more than there used to be -- it is just that the rest of the country has moved so far on and HR just hasn't stayed up. The "creativity gap" argument is as rational an approach as I have heard. Isn't complementary, but it may just be correct.

Edited June 2, 2008 by scm