Chris Tavenner plans to open a butcher shop in Midlothian. Photos by Michael Thompson.
For his career change into the private sector, former state employee Chris Tavenner is looking to carve out a slice of the area’s growing specialty grocery market.
Tavenner plans to open The Boneyard Butcher & Seafood Shop at 12406 Southshore Pointe Drive in Midlothian in December.
From its 2,400-square-foot shop, The Boneyard will sell high-end cuts of beef, pork and lamb. On the seafood side it will sell tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, salmon, shrimp, scallops, crab and live lobsters.
Tavenner hopes to set himself apart with a concept that is reminiscent of an era before shoppers bought all their groceries at supermarkets.
“We’re going to open as the old-style butcher shop,” Tavenner said. “We’re going to be the old, ‘yes sir, no sir’ Ukrop’s type of feel.”
The Boneyard will have plenty of competition from larger grocery stores at all ends of the price spectrum. More high-end grocery stores are on the way to an already crowded market. Wegmans locations are in the works near Chesterfield Towne Center and Short Pump Town Center. A second area Whole Foods is planned for West Broad Street near VCU and Southern Season opened this year near Willow Lawn. That’s in addition to the independent neighborhood markets that have been cropping up in Church Hill, Jackson Ward and the Fan.
The Boneyard is set to open before the end of the year. The space is between a dog groomer and an insurance firm in a strip off Hull Street Road.
In choosing Midlothian, Tavenner said he saw an opening on a stretch where the nearest competition is a Walmart on Hancock Village Drive and a Food Lion off Hull Street Road.
“Opening our first store, we wanted to find a niche,” Tavenner said. “We looked at Midlothian Turnpike and the West, but those places already had specialty stores.”
Tavenner, 46, used to work in small grocery store in Colonial Heights, where he went to high school. For the past eight years, he’s been working for the state helping small companies navigate the process of starting business with Virginia.
Tavenner said he got the idea for The Boneyard from his friend Troy Harris, who owns Tri-City Surf N Turf in Colonial Heights. He said he also took some cues from Yellow Umbrella Provisions on Patterson Avenue.
The shop will get its meat from Performance Food Group and its seafood from Hampton-based Sam Rust Seafood. It will also sell some prepared foods and steam items to order.
Tavenner said startup costs for The Boneyard should be around $200,000. He’s using his own money and a line of credit from Farm Credit.
Tavenner said he already has plans to expand the brand across the region.
“We have a five-year growth plan,” he said. “We can see five stores being built in the Richmond area in the next 10 years.”
Chris Tavenner plans to open a butcher shop in Midlothian. Photos by Michael Thompson.
For his career change into the private sector, former state employee Chris Tavenner is looking to carve out a slice of the area’s growing specialty grocery market.
Tavenner plans to open The Boneyard Butcher & Seafood Shop at 12406 Southshore Pointe Drive in Midlothian in December.
From its 2,400-square-foot shop, The Boneyard will sell high-end cuts of beef, pork and lamb. On the seafood side it will sell tuna, mahimahi, wahoo, salmon, shrimp, scallops, crab and live lobsters.
Tavenner hopes to set himself apart with a concept that is reminiscent of an era before shoppers bought all their groceries at supermarkets.
“We’re going to open as the old-style butcher shop,” Tavenner said. “We’re going to be the old, ‘yes sir, no sir’ Ukrop’s type of feel.”
The Boneyard will have plenty of competition from larger grocery stores at all ends of the price spectrum. More high-end grocery stores are on the way to an already crowded market. Wegmans locations are in the works near Chesterfield Towne Center and Short Pump Town Center. A second area Whole Foods is planned for West Broad Street near VCU and Southern Season opened this year near Willow Lawn. That’s in addition to the independent neighborhood markets that have been cropping up in Church Hill, Jackson Ward and the Fan.
The Boneyard is set to open before the end of the year. The space is between a dog groomer and an insurance firm in a strip off Hull Street Road.
In choosing Midlothian, Tavenner said he saw an opening on a stretch where the nearest competition is a Walmart on Hancock Village Drive and a Food Lion off Hull Street Road.
“Opening our first store, we wanted to find a niche,” Tavenner said. “We looked at Midlothian Turnpike and the West, but those places already had specialty stores.”
Tavenner, 46, used to work in small grocery store in Colonial Heights, where he went to high school. For the past eight years, he’s been working for the state helping small companies navigate the process of starting business with Virginia.
Tavenner said he got the idea for The Boneyard from his friend Troy Harris, who owns Tri-City Surf N Turf in Colonial Heights. He said he also took some cues from Yellow Umbrella Provisions on Patterson Avenue.
The shop will get its meat from Performance Food Group and its seafood from Hampton-based Sam Rust Seafood. It will also sell some prepared foods and steam items to order.
Tavenner said startup costs for The Boneyard should be around $200,000. He’s using his own money and a line of credit from Farm Credit.
Tavenner said he already has plans to expand the brand across the region.
“We have a five-year growth plan,” he said. “We can see five stores being built in the Richmond area in the next 10 years.”
All can say to Chris is: ” Beware of Wegmans.”
It would be cool if he decided to set himself apart by sourcing meat locally instead of PFG. We want local, grass fed, free range meat….
I totally agree with Amy. A local butcher shop with local, organic, grass fed beef would be awesome. Don’t see much advantage to this business if they are just selling meat you can get elsewhere. What’s the point of making another trip if the meat isn’t any different?
^^ you guys are aware of Belmont Butchery? Nuff said.
So long as he doesn’t charge $20 per pound for dried beef like another local butchery which has been mentioned here. (I may just have to make another trip to PA!)