Nutty Buttery, an ice cream parlor, café and neighborhood store will open at 701 W. Clay St. in October. (Kieran McQuilkin)
Things are about to get sweeter in the Carver neighborhood.
After years of planning, and few setbacks, Charleen Baylor is preparing to open the Nutty Buttery, an ice cream parlor, café and neighborhood store at 701 W. Clay St. in October.
The name for Baylor’s first business is a play on words: Nutty, a visual of old-fashioned nut-filled candy and goods that Baylor plans to sell in her store; and Buttery – the medieval era term for great storage room.
“I feel like it’s catchy and memorable,” Baylor said of the name. “I’m going to offer all kinds of goods at the store, so incorporating the buttery term into the name made sense.”
With 1,500 square feet of space, Baylor wants Nutty Buttery to serve as Carver neighborhood’s epicenter of entertainment. She plans to dish out ice cream and gelato, potentially from locally based Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream or Roanoke-based Homestead Creamery, along with a variety of pantry items such as homemade soaps and goodies.
Baylor plans to fit 50 seats and a small stage into the 1,500-square-foot space. (Kieran McQuilkin)
“I’m still looking to talk with Bev’s,” Baylor said. “I’m looking to bring Homestead to the shop through my distributor Sysco.”
Baylor also plans to sell beer and wine at the store, pending an ABC license approval, and is looking to craft a small café menu for dine-in and take out.
“There will be 50 seats that include both inside and outside dining,” she said. “I’m also looking to install a small stage for book clubs, poetry readings and jazz entertainment…there are a number of churches in Carver, so I want to be able to open Nutty Buttery on Sundays for line gospel and other gospel music.”
Baylor plans to pump about $47,000 of her own money into the shop, with Richmond-based E. Pendleton Construction serving as the general contractor for the project.
With the help of her attorney, Mark Fleckenstein of Richmond-based Fleckenstein & Associates, Baylor was able to settle on a five-year lease for the property with building owner Vashon Bowers for an undisclosed amount.
“One day I hope to buy the building,” Baylor said. “But we’ll see.”
Nutty Buttery would be the second frozen sweets shop to open in the vicinity this year. Earlier this summer, Stoplight Gelato Café opened in Jackson Ward at 405 Brook Road.
“We’re on the edge of Jackson Ward and VCU,” Baylor said. “There are a lot of students and vehicles that pass through this neighborhood, and that’s going to be good for business.”
Opening Nutty Buttery charts a new career path for Baylor.
An Ashland native, Baylor spent more than 30 years in the medical industry, first as a respiratory therapist for a number of hospitals across Virginia and Maryland.
Spotlight Gelato Cafe, located nearby at 405 Brook Road, opened July 17. (J. Elias O’Neil)
She ended up in Richmond about 20 years ago, serving as director of respiratory care for Bon Secours’ Richmond Community Hospital in Church Hill and Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville.
She moved to Carver in the early 2000s and serves as vice president of the Carver Neighborhood Community Association.
“I love Richmond,” Baylor said. “We’ve got some work to do, but I just love all the different neighborhoods and what they offer the city. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful place.”
While maintaining her position with Bon Secours, Baylor honed her business plan for Nutty Buttery, drawing inspiration from her family’s rich business legacy in Ashland.
“My grandfather, the late Newton Lightfoot, owned Lightfoot Bakery back in Ashland,” Baylor said. “That was a big deal then because at the time not many blacks owned their own businesses in that area.”
Her great aunt, Alice Louise Trottier, also owned and operated Al’s Beauty School and Salon in Ashland, which quickly turned into a hub for the community.
“If you learn anything about anyone, or someone, it was going to be at the barbershop or beauty salon,” she recalled. “That’s the way it was then and to an extent that’s the way it is now.”
But then a life-threatening condition brought much of Baylor’s immediate plans to open Nutty Butter to a halt: cancer.
“I had to leave Bon Secours, and I had to really get my life back on track,” she said. “I wasn’t about to let cancer slow me down or stop me….This had always been a dream of mine and I was going to see it through.”
After three years of securing the location, getting approval for a special use permit from the city and battling cancer into remission, Baylor is now ready to launch her business and new career.
“I’ve been through a lot and things are coming full circle again,” Baylor said. “It has really been a process, but I think we’re getting there, and I’m really excited to be finally taking this next step.”
Nutty Buttery, an ice cream parlor, café and neighborhood store will open at 701 W. Clay St. in October. (Kieran McQuilkin)
Things are about to get sweeter in the Carver neighborhood.
After years of planning, and few setbacks, Charleen Baylor is preparing to open the Nutty Buttery, an ice cream parlor, café and neighborhood store at 701 W. Clay St. in October.
The name for Baylor’s first business is a play on words: Nutty, a visual of old-fashioned nut-filled candy and goods that Baylor plans to sell in her store; and Buttery – the medieval era term for great storage room.
“I feel like it’s catchy and memorable,” Baylor said of the name. “I’m going to offer all kinds of goods at the store, so incorporating the buttery term into the name made sense.”
With 1,500 square feet of space, Baylor wants Nutty Buttery to serve as Carver neighborhood’s epicenter of entertainment. She plans to dish out ice cream and gelato, potentially from locally based Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream or Roanoke-based Homestead Creamery, along with a variety of pantry items such as homemade soaps and goodies.
Baylor plans to fit 50 seats and a small stage into the 1,500-square-foot space. (Kieran McQuilkin)
“I’m still looking to talk with Bev’s,” Baylor said. “I’m looking to bring Homestead to the shop through my distributor Sysco.”
Baylor also plans to sell beer and wine at the store, pending an ABC license approval, and is looking to craft a small café menu for dine-in and take out.
“There will be 50 seats that include both inside and outside dining,” she said. “I’m also looking to install a small stage for book clubs, poetry readings and jazz entertainment…there are a number of churches in Carver, so I want to be able to open Nutty Buttery on Sundays for line gospel and other gospel music.”
Baylor plans to pump about $47,000 of her own money into the shop, with Richmond-based E. Pendleton Construction serving as the general contractor for the project.
With the help of her attorney, Mark Fleckenstein of Richmond-based Fleckenstein & Associates, Baylor was able to settle on a five-year lease for the property with building owner Vashon Bowers for an undisclosed amount.
“One day I hope to buy the building,” Baylor said. “But we’ll see.”
Nutty Buttery would be the second frozen sweets shop to open in the vicinity this year. Earlier this summer, Stoplight Gelato Café opened in Jackson Ward at 405 Brook Road.
“We’re on the edge of Jackson Ward and VCU,” Baylor said. “There are a lot of students and vehicles that pass through this neighborhood, and that’s going to be good for business.”
Opening Nutty Buttery charts a new career path for Baylor.
An Ashland native, Baylor spent more than 30 years in the medical industry, first as a respiratory therapist for a number of hospitals across Virginia and Maryland.
Spotlight Gelato Cafe, located nearby at 405 Brook Road, opened July 17. (J. Elias O’Neil)
She ended up in Richmond about 20 years ago, serving as director of respiratory care for Bon Secours’ Richmond Community Hospital in Church Hill and Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville.
She moved to Carver in the early 2000s and serves as vice president of the Carver Neighborhood Community Association.
“I love Richmond,” Baylor said. “We’ve got some work to do, but I just love all the different neighborhoods and what they offer the city. It’s just a wonderful, wonderful place.”
While maintaining her position with Bon Secours, Baylor honed her business plan for Nutty Buttery, drawing inspiration from her family’s rich business legacy in Ashland.
“My grandfather, the late Newton Lightfoot, owned Lightfoot Bakery back in Ashland,” Baylor said. “That was a big deal then because at the time not many blacks owned their own businesses in that area.”
Her great aunt, Alice Louise Trottier, also owned and operated Al’s Beauty School and Salon in Ashland, which quickly turned into a hub for the community.
“If you learn anything about anyone, or someone, it was going to be at the barbershop or beauty salon,” she recalled. “That’s the way it was then and to an extent that’s the way it is now.”
But then a life-threatening condition brought much of Baylor’s immediate plans to open Nutty Butter to a halt: cancer.
“I had to leave Bon Secours, and I had to really get my life back on track,” she said. “I wasn’t about to let cancer slow me down or stop me….This had always been a dream of mine and I was going to see it through.”
After three years of securing the location, getting approval for a special use permit from the city and battling cancer into remission, Baylor is now ready to launch her business and new career.
“I’ve been through a lot and things are coming full circle again,” Baylor said. “It has really been a process, but I think we’re getting there, and I’m really excited to be finally taking this next step.”
This makes me happy! My family was looking for an ice cream spot downtown just yesterday, after leaving the LEGO event at the Convention Center. Looking forward to the opening!
Margaret- Check out Stoplight Gelato in Jackson Ward (one neighborhood over from Carver). It’s fantastic and they make it all in house!