A Capitol Waffle Shop will open in the Shops at the Arboretum at 9101 Midlothian Turnpike. (Courtesy of Capitol Waffle Shop)
While his irons are heating up in Norfolk, a Richmond waffle shop owner is making a move to expand locally — this time into Midlothian.
Brad Barzoloski
Brad Barzoloski, owner of Capitol Waffle Shop in the city, is preparing to open a new waffle joint in the Shops at the Arboretum at 9101 Midlothian Turnpike. It will be his fourth waffle shop.
Barzoloski opened Capitol Waffle downtown in 2017, then doubled his local footprint with another shop near VCU in 2019.
This month, Barzoloski opened his first shop outside of the Richmond region with Granby Waffle Shop in downtown Norfolk. His brother Brian and James Colston are his business partners in the Norfolk venture.
With both sweet and savory waffle options on its menu, all priced between about $9 and $11, Barzoloski said Capitol Waffle did pretty well last year during the pandemic — particularly after it made some adjustments.
“We had to switch up our waffle batter to make it a little more dense for takeout,” he said.
“People were like, ‘Oh my waffle’s good but it came out a little soggy.’ We had to do everything from changing our to-go containers to something that wouldn’t sweat as much, to how long we cooked it for.”
The shop offers variations on chicken and waffles dishes, as well as catering options. (Courtesy of Capitol Waffle Shop/Facebook)
It was during the early days of the pandemic that Barzoloski began planning the Norfolk location. He said there are some similarities between that location and his Capitol Waffle location on East Main Street downtown.
“One thing we’re fond of (about the Main Street location) is you can walk to the Capitol, the river and there are plenty of hotels and businesses nearby,” Barzoloski said.
“(In Norfolk) we’re about a block away from the Norfolk City Hall and we’re attached to a Hilton Hotel. We’re also right by Waterside where they hold big events. You can get your waffle on and you’ve got no problem walking it off. It’s a good little spot and has a lot of things to do.”
The owner of Capitol Waffle Shop is taking over North End Juice Co.’s Midlothian space. (Mike Platania photo)
Once the Norfolk deal was in place, Barzoloski shifted his focus to the Richmond suburbs and recently signed a lease for a 1,300-square-foot space at the Shops at the Arboretum where North End Juice Co. operated before closing last year.
Barzoloski said it’s too soon to estimate when the Midlothian shop will open.
Prior to launching the waffle shops, Barzoloski owned the Luncheonette. It had locations in Shockoe Bottom and Northside. Both Luncheonettes closed in 2018, but he’s kept an interest in possibly bringing the concept back. However, the combination of the pandemic and the success of the waffle shops has put a Luncheonette revival on the backburner.
“COVID kind of changed a little bit of the model, so right now I think the focus is on the waffle shop brand,” Barzoloski said. “It’s just that. I’m still working on other ideas, I just want to be careful with expansion.”
A Capitol Waffle Shop will open in the Shops at the Arboretum at 9101 Midlothian Turnpike. (Courtesy of Capitol Waffle Shop)
While his irons are heating up in Norfolk, a Richmond waffle shop owner is making a move to expand locally — this time into Midlothian.
Brad Barzoloski
Brad Barzoloski, owner of Capitol Waffle Shop in the city, is preparing to open a new waffle joint in the Shops at the Arboretum at 9101 Midlothian Turnpike. It will be his fourth waffle shop.
Barzoloski opened Capitol Waffle downtown in 2017, then doubled his local footprint with another shop near VCU in 2019.
This month, Barzoloski opened his first shop outside of the Richmond region with Granby Waffle Shop in downtown Norfolk. His brother Brian and James Colston are his business partners in the Norfolk venture.
With both sweet and savory waffle options on its menu, all priced between about $9 and $11, Barzoloski said Capitol Waffle did pretty well last year during the pandemic — particularly after it made some adjustments.
“We had to switch up our waffle batter to make it a little more dense for takeout,” he said.
“People were like, ‘Oh my waffle’s good but it came out a little soggy.’ We had to do everything from changing our to-go containers to something that wouldn’t sweat as much, to how long we cooked it for.”
The shop offers variations on chicken and waffles dishes, as well as catering options. (Courtesy of Capitol Waffle Shop/Facebook)
It was during the early days of the pandemic that Barzoloski began planning the Norfolk location. He said there are some similarities between that location and his Capitol Waffle location on East Main Street downtown.
“One thing we’re fond of (about the Main Street location) is you can walk to the Capitol, the river and there are plenty of hotels and businesses nearby,” Barzoloski said.
“(In Norfolk) we’re about a block away from the Norfolk City Hall and we’re attached to a Hilton Hotel. We’re also right by Waterside where they hold big events. You can get your waffle on and you’ve got no problem walking it off. It’s a good little spot and has a lot of things to do.”
The owner of Capitol Waffle Shop is taking over North End Juice Co.’s Midlothian space. (Mike Platania photo)
Once the Norfolk deal was in place, Barzoloski shifted his focus to the Richmond suburbs and recently signed a lease for a 1,300-square-foot space at the Shops at the Arboretum where North End Juice Co. operated before closing last year.
Barzoloski said it’s too soon to estimate when the Midlothian shop will open.
Prior to launching the waffle shops, Barzoloski owned the Luncheonette. It had locations in Shockoe Bottom and Northside. Both Luncheonettes closed in 2018, but he’s kept an interest in possibly bringing the concept back. However, the combination of the pandemic and the success of the waffle shops has put a Luncheonette revival on the backburner.
“COVID kind of changed a little bit of the model, so right now I think the focus is on the waffle shop brand,” Barzoloski said. “It’s just that. I’m still working on other ideas, I just want to be careful with expansion.”
Congratulations Brad (and Happy Birthday!). Glad to hear about the new location, cant wait to try out the fare. Best wishes for continued success!
This is cool. (But while this location is *on* Midlothian Turnpike, it is not near Midlothian.)
Denis, what else would you call it? it’s much closer than businesses along Hull Street west of Courthouse. They have “Midlothian” addresses.
It would be called “on Midlothian Turnpike, near the Powhite Parkway interchange,” or “on Midlothian Turnpike, south of Bon Air.” “In Midlothian” denotes the village of Midlothian, which is an actual place, far from this site, with a long history.
So “In Midlothian” is the same to “In the Village of Midlothian” to you?
Like Chester, the “village of…” indicates a specific area as opposed to a general vicinity. Similarly, “In Richmond’ and “In the City of Richmond”.
And yes, this is much ad about nothing. I’m still trying to figure out all the Hull Street addresses having Midlothian mailing addresses. But your OP did make me think! Cheers to you, sir!
Yes, I would say that to be “in Midlothian” it would need to be within a reasonable proximity to the village of Midlothian — not necessarily in the village proper, but not 5
miles away, as this is, and not far closer to other recognized areas. The same would be true for Chester.
I do not know about Hull Street mailing addresses, but that seems a silly classification and would need to be taken up with the USPS.