Research firm finds good fit on Broad Street

The 5,700-square-foot office is designed to have a casual atmosphere for market research participants. (Mike Platania)

The 5,700-square-foot office is designed to have a casual atmosphere for market research participants. (Mike Platania)

With tire swings, candy dispensers and a beer tap, a local consumer research firm’s new office doesn’t fit the mold of most business consulting spaces.

Good Run Research & Recreation unveiled its new home base, called The Rec Room, with an open house Tuesday.

Located at 4116 W. Broad St., the 5,700-square-foot facility is the 7-year-old company’s first office, as its staff previously worked remotely from various locations. The company had been based out of a home in Glen Allen.

Good Run conducts consumer research – both qualitative and quantitative – for local clients like The Martin Agency and The Mom Complex, as well as national brands like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Whole Foods.

President Stacy Elsbury said The Rec Room primarily will be used for qualitative research methods like focus groups and individual interviews. Research focuses on purchasing trends and other consumer behaviors, as well as reactions to advertising for clients like The Martin Agency, Elsbury said.

“We’re the liaison between brands and their consumers,” Elsbury said. “It’s our job to understand why people do what they do.”

Good Run President Stacy Elsbury outside The Rec Room, Good Run's first official office space. (Mike Platania)

Good Run President Stacy Elsbury outside The Rec Room, Good Run’s first official office space. (Mike Platania)

The research room is designed to emulate a casual environment for its participants. Complete with dark rooms behind one-way mirrors, video cameras and meeting rooms, The Rec Room is outfitted for Good Run to research in a relaxed setting.

“We feel most comfortable in bars and living rooms, so that’s what we went for here,” Elsbury said.

The space was designed by Richmond architecture firm Visible Proof and built by Henrico-based RGI General Contractors. Elsbury said commercial real estate firm 7 Hills Advisors helped find the building.

Good Run spent $1.3 million on purchasing and renovating the building, on a stretch of Broad Street between Scott’s Addition and Willow Lawn.

“It’s an up-and-coming, underdog, scrappy neighborhood, and that totally fits our culture,” Elsbury said.

After years of operating remotely, Elsbury said the company has been busy since opening The Rec Room at the start of the year.

Elsbury says Good Run plans to double its headcount from 10 to 20 full-time employees by the end of the year. The privately owned company is certified through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

The Rec Room is the latest sign of investment along that stretch of West Broad. A few blocks away, European grocery chain Lidl plans to build a 36,000-square-foot store on the site of a former horse-betting parlor.

goodrun3

The 5,700-square-foot office is designed to have a casual atmosphere for market research participants. (Mike Platania)

The 5,700-square-foot office is designed to have a casual atmosphere for market research participants. (Mike Platania)

With tire swings, candy dispensers and a beer tap, a local consumer research firm’s new office doesn’t fit the mold of most business consulting spaces.

Good Run Research & Recreation unveiled its new home base, called The Rec Room, with an open house Tuesday.

Located at 4116 W. Broad St., the 5,700-square-foot facility is the 7-year-old company’s first office, as its staff previously worked remotely from various locations. The company had been based out of a home in Glen Allen.

Good Run conducts consumer research – both qualitative and quantitative – for local clients like The Martin Agency and The Mom Complex, as well as national brands like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Whole Foods.

President Stacy Elsbury said The Rec Room primarily will be used for qualitative research methods like focus groups and individual interviews. Research focuses on purchasing trends and other consumer behaviors, as well as reactions to advertising for clients like The Martin Agency, Elsbury said.

“We’re the liaison between brands and their consumers,” Elsbury said. “It’s our job to understand why people do what they do.”

Good Run President Stacy Elsbury outside The Rec Room, Good Run's first official office space. (Mike Platania)

Good Run President Stacy Elsbury outside The Rec Room, Good Run’s first official office space. (Mike Platania)

The research room is designed to emulate a casual environment for its participants. Complete with dark rooms behind one-way mirrors, video cameras and meeting rooms, The Rec Room is outfitted for Good Run to research in a relaxed setting.

“We feel most comfortable in bars and living rooms, so that’s what we went for here,” Elsbury said.

The space was designed by Richmond architecture firm Visible Proof and built by Henrico-based RGI General Contractors. Elsbury said commercial real estate firm 7 Hills Advisors helped find the building.

Good Run spent $1.3 million on purchasing and renovating the building, on a stretch of Broad Street between Scott’s Addition and Willow Lawn.

“It’s an up-and-coming, underdog, scrappy neighborhood, and that totally fits our culture,” Elsbury said.

After years of operating remotely, Elsbury said the company has been busy since opening The Rec Room at the start of the year.

Elsbury says Good Run plans to double its headcount from 10 to 20 full-time employees by the end of the year. The privately owned company is certified through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

The Rec Room is the latest sign of investment along that stretch of West Broad. A few blocks away, European grocery chain Lidl plans to build a 36,000-square-foot store on the site of a former horse-betting parlor.

goodrun3

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