Walkabout Outfitters is moving into the former Pirouzan space. (Photos by Michael Thompson)
Two Lexington-based retailers are expanding into Carytown.
Kirk and Tina Miller this month signed a 10-year lease for the 4,444 square feet at 3015 W. Cary St. This summer, they plan to open a Walkabout Outfitters. The Millers also expect to sign a lease for the 2,000 square feet at 3016 W. Cary St. by the end of January. They plan to open a Ladles and Linens Kitchen Shoppe there in April.
The former home to Pirouzan Oriental Rugs at 3015 W. Cary St. was purchased in December for $795,000. Raffi Bandazian, president and principle broker for Bandazian & Holden, represented the seller, and Austin Joy of Spotts & Carneal represented the buyer.
Tina and Kirk Miller
West Coast Kix owner Ben Margolis said he plans to close his shop at 3016 W. Cary St. by the end of March. Margolis, who in August 2010 launched the footwear, apparel and accessories boutique, is moving to Los Angeles.
Walkabout Outfitters sells outdoor clothing and equipment. Its brands include Patagonia and the North Face. The price of a jacket can range from $100 to $250.
Kirk Miller, a former engineer, got fully introduced to the world of tarpaulin and trail mix when he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1999.
“That kind of got me in the realm of the outdoor sports world,” Kirk Miller said of his Appalachian trek.
The Millers launched Walkabout in April 2005 with a location in Lexington. Two Roanoke locations followed in 2007 and 2010. The husband-and-wife team opened the fourth Walkabout in downtown Harrisonburg in April 2013. Kirk Miller, 50, said Walkabout probably did about $2.5 million in sales in 2013.
Moving to Richmond has been a goal for the Millers for a while.
“The area had not been available for many years because of Blue Ridge [Mountain Sports],” Kirk Miller said. “Once it closed, it caught our interest.”
The Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in 2012 closed its spot on West Broad Street.
Kirk Miller estimated that construction for the latest Walkabout location would cost about $180,000, which the landlord is helping to finance. Getting inventory and fixtures for the Carytown location will cost about $150,000. Renovation plans include taking out a mezzanine and making the space all one level.
West Coast Kix is closing in March, and Ladles and Linens expects to take its place.
Walkabout has 35 employees spread across its stores and plans to hire about five for the Carytown location. The Millers plan to finance the launch of their businesses with an SBA-backed loan for small businesses from Cornerstone Bank.
Ladles and Linens sells high-end kitchenware, including table linens, electrically powered cooking tools and pottery.
Tina Miller launched Ladles and Linens in Lexington in 1997, when she was 23.
“I always wanted to own my own business,” Tina Miller said. “When I was younger, I did farmers markets. I was like, ‘this town [Lexington] could use a cooking shop.”
She and Kirk Miller married in 2004 and in 2006 opened a Ladles and Linens in downtown Roanoke.
Miller said Ladles and Linens did about $750,000 in sales in 2013. The company has 11 employees and will hire about five to help with the store in Carytown.
Tina Miller, 40, said she wanted to open a third Ladles and Linens in 2013 but put that plan on hold after she had cancer diagnosed. While she and her husband were in Carytown in September, she learned that Compleat Gourmet had closed, leaving room in the market for a cooking store. With most of her treatment done, Tina Miller said the time is right for another store.
“It actually works out well to have two of the stores there,” Tina Miller said.
Walkabout Outfitters is moving into the former Pirouzan space. (Photos by Michael Thompson)
Two Lexington-based retailers are expanding into Carytown.
Kirk and Tina Miller this month signed a 10-year lease for the 4,444 square feet at 3015 W. Cary St. This summer, they plan to open a Walkabout Outfitters. The Millers also expect to sign a lease for the 2,000 square feet at 3016 W. Cary St. by the end of January. They plan to open a Ladles and Linens Kitchen Shoppe there in April.
The former home to Pirouzan Oriental Rugs at 3015 W. Cary St. was purchased in December for $795,000. Raffi Bandazian, president and principle broker for Bandazian & Holden, represented the seller, and Austin Joy of Spotts & Carneal represented the buyer.
Tina and Kirk Miller
West Coast Kix owner Ben Margolis said he plans to close his shop at 3016 W. Cary St. by the end of March. Margolis, who in August 2010 launched the footwear, apparel and accessories boutique, is moving to Los Angeles.
Walkabout Outfitters sells outdoor clothing and equipment. Its brands include Patagonia and the North Face. The price of a jacket can range from $100 to $250.
Kirk Miller, a former engineer, got fully introduced to the world of tarpaulin and trail mix when he hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1999.
“That kind of got me in the realm of the outdoor sports world,” Kirk Miller said of his Appalachian trek.
The Millers launched Walkabout in April 2005 with a location in Lexington. Two Roanoke locations followed in 2007 and 2010. The husband-and-wife team opened the fourth Walkabout in downtown Harrisonburg in April 2013. Kirk Miller, 50, said Walkabout probably did about $2.5 million in sales in 2013.
Moving to Richmond has been a goal for the Millers for a while.
“The area had not been available for many years because of Blue Ridge [Mountain Sports],” Kirk Miller said. “Once it closed, it caught our interest.”
The Charlottesville-based Blue Ridge Mountain Sports in 2012 closed its spot on West Broad Street.
Kirk Miller estimated that construction for the latest Walkabout location would cost about $180,000, which the landlord is helping to finance. Getting inventory and fixtures for the Carytown location will cost about $150,000. Renovation plans include taking out a mezzanine and making the space all one level.
West Coast Kix is closing in March, and Ladles and Linens expects to take its place.
Walkabout has 35 employees spread across its stores and plans to hire about five for the Carytown location. The Millers plan to finance the launch of their businesses with an SBA-backed loan for small businesses from Cornerstone Bank.
Ladles and Linens sells high-end kitchenware, including table linens, electrically powered cooking tools and pottery.
Tina Miller launched Ladles and Linens in Lexington in 1997, when she was 23.
“I always wanted to own my own business,” Tina Miller said. “When I was younger, I did farmers markets. I was like, ‘this town [Lexington] could use a cooking shop.”
She and Kirk Miller married in 2004 and in 2006 opened a Ladles and Linens in downtown Roanoke.
Miller said Ladles and Linens did about $750,000 in sales in 2013. The company has 11 employees and will hire about five to help with the store in Carytown.
Tina Miller, 40, said she wanted to open a third Ladles and Linens in 2013 but put that plan on hold after she had cancer diagnosed. While she and her husband were in Carytown in September, she learned that Compleat Gourmet had closed, leaving room in the market for a cooking store. With most of her treatment done, Tina Miller said the time is right for another store.
“It actually works out well to have two of the stores there,” Tina Miller said.
This is awesome news. Both of these stores will help those of us who live in the city avoid having to travel to the suburbs to shop for clothing. And ladles.
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Welcome additions, both. But I thought the stereotypical obtuse thinking that outfitters stores are for men and kitchen stores are for women died with the dinosaur.
Sounds great! I never understood why Blue Ridge Mountain Sports didn’t make an appearance in the city. They chased their dream further and further into the suburbs and now they are gone. We were on the cover of Outside Magazine for best river city and they were 10 miles away. I think you would do fine even if they were still here, although I like the idea of an outdoor store at Stratford Hills better.