Business
Bon Secours seeks to rezone Westhampton School property for redevelopment, community comments on proposed uses
The organization has been directed by the city to preserve the circa-1917 school if financially feasible, as Councilman Addison releases survey results revealing the way the community would like to see the site used.
We reported back in January that Bon Secours is moving forward with plans to redevelop the Westhampton School property at Patterson and Libbie Avenues in the Near West End. Now, First District Richmond City Councilman Andreas Addison is shedding more light on what might be done with the site after sharing results of a survey that asked residents what they would support or not support on the property.
The health system has applied to rezone the property in the Near West End, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. There’s no guarantee the historic structures will remain intact, but the organization’s agreement with the city requires them to attempt to preserve them unless it’s deemed too costly or otherwise burdensome to do so.
The oldest portion of the school dates to 1917; the second to 1935. The former was the site of Daisy Jane Cooper’s act of breaking the segregation barrier of Richmond Public Schools, a building that Councilman Addison calls “a pillar of the community, our resilience, and unity.”
The hospital system originally intended to demolish both after coming to the conclusion that rehabilitation of the aging structures would cost more than new construction. Neighbors and City Councilman Andreas Addison spoke in opposition to those plans, citing the school’s historic nature and architecture.
As for now, a free-standing medical office building will be built on the site, but more than 700 neighbors, business owners, and other stakeholders completed a survey exploring the possible uses of the site’s proposed B-7 zoning designation. The full survey results can be seen here (PDF).
Bon Secours introduced the aforementioned B-7 rezoning application to City Council on Tuesday, May 29th. It will go before the Planning District Commission June 25th. More renderings and a plan of development are expected after that time.
A chief concern for nearby residents is increased traffic from the development, and Councilman Addison has pledged to have a traffic study completed to mitigate concerns.
We’ll continue to follow this story as it unfolds.
Business
New full-service commercial kitchen, fast casual food hall opens Wednesday
The new facility consists of 16 kitchen suites, each operating unique dining concepts. For the initial launch, ChefSuite has announced three restaurant concepts available for pick-up or delivery through their website, order.chefsuite.com, or through DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub, and other delivery apps.
ChefSuite, a full-service commercial cooking facility and fast-casual food hall, will open its flagship location in midtown at 4711 W. Broad Street this Wednesday. The brainchild of co-founders Jay Modi and Jarnail Tucker, and Chairman Andrew Kadish, ChefSuite provides ghost kitchens for both new restaurateurs and seasoned chefs, allowing them to open or expand their restaurant business at a fraction of the cost of a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant.
“ChefSuite’s mission is to provide a seamless experience for restaurateurs to focus on their dream,” Kadish said in a news release. “ChefSuite features a fool-proof system that supports our chef tenants with every opportunity to succeed.”
The new facility consists of 16 kitchen suites, each operating unique dining concepts. For the initial launch, ChefSuite has announced three restaurant concepts available for pick-up or delivery through their website, order.chefsuite.com, or through DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub, and other delivery apps.
Restaurants at launch include On A Roll Italian Subs; Latin Quarter Kitchen, specializing in smashed plantain sandwiches; and A Pinch of Sugar, offering comfort food. Additional restaurant concepts will be added to ChefSuite’s offerings in the coming months, owners say.
For chef tenants, each suite is equipped with a CaptiveAire exhaust hood, commercial use sinks, gas/fire safety systems, grease traps, hot/cold water lines, industrial water heater, shelving, tablet, and order printer. ChefSuite also provides cold storage, a cooking oil removal system, third party app onboarding, consulting services, financial reporting, and substantial vendor discounts. ChefSuite offers tenants flexible lease terms with options to include cooking equipment.
Business
Richmond Flying Squirrels hosting series of job fairs ahead of 2023 season
Positions are available in food & beverage, ticketing and operations for the team’s home games from April through September.
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are looking to hire part-time, game-day positions for the upcoming baseball season. The team has three upcoming job fairs for interested candidates to fill out applications and find out information about available positions.
Positions are available in food & beverage, ticketing and operations for the team’s home games from April through September. Information on the Flying Squirrels’ upcoming job fairs can be found here. The 2023 game schedule can be found here.
The job fairs will take place at The Diamond (3001 N Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23230) on the following dates:
- Wednesday, March 8, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, March 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Thursday, March 30, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Available positions include:
FOOD & BEVERAGE
TICKETING
OPERATIONS
Questions regarding game-day positions with the Flying Squirrels can be directed to [email protected].
The Flying Squirrels open the 2023 on Friday, April 7 against the Reading Fightin Phils. Individual-game tickets, including tickets for Opening Night, are available now online at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets, by phone at 804-359-FUNN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.
Business
Feed More relocating food bank and other operations to new $40 million facility north of city
The local nonprofit confirmed to BizSense that it’s behind Project Nourish, the development plan recently filed with Henrico County for a wooded site at 8020 Villa Park Drive.
From Richmond BizSense:
A code-named industrial project in the works near St. Joseph’s Villa has turned out to be the planned new home for regional food bank Feed More, setting the stage for a move that would free up some prime real estate near Richmond’s Diamond District.
The local nonprofit confirmed to BizSense that it’s behind Project Nourish, the development plan recently filed with Henrico County for a wooded site at 8020 Villa Park Drive.
The project name is a reference to Feed More’s slogan of “nourishing communities and empowering lives.”
University of Richmond announces new provost
Henrico HS principal honored with REB Leadership Award; Colonial Trail ES principal is runner-up
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Gardeners Wanted to Help in Forest Hill Park
Husband-and-wife duo bringing new restaurant concept to former Mill on MacArthur space
New full-service commercial kitchen, fast casual food hall opens Wednesday
Richmond Falcon Cam is Back
