Carytown Burgers’ location in Carytown.
Carytown Burgers & Fries, a mainstay in the Richmond restaurant scene since 1999, is up for grabs.
Founder and owner Mike Barber recently put the business with its two locations at 3449 W. Cary St. and 5404 Lakeside Ave. up for sale. He’s also listed the real estate for the Carytown spot.
Barber said he’s giving up the reins to focus on his health. He hopes to find a buyer who will keep the business running mostly as-is for Richmond residents and visitors.
“I really want to keep it Carytown Burgers & Fries,” Barber said, “because of how long it’s been in Richmond and how many people … love our product and our scene and all that stuff.”
Mike Barber
Barber also said he wants to take care of his employees, who he said he’s spoken to and received support from in his decision. While maintaining his 45 current employees isn’t a condition of the sale, he hopes to keep their jobs secure in the process.
The listing for the businesses went active last week. The Carytown location is listed at $145,000, separate from the Lakeside location, which is bundled with the food truck and catering business for an asking price of $90,000. Nathan Hughes with Sperity Real Estate Ventures is brokering the sale of the business and said interested buyers should call to discuss a price.
Hughes is working in tandem with Tony Rolando at Pollard & Bagby, who’s handling the sale of the restaurant’s building in Carytown. That property is listed at $675,000. Barber, through an LLC, paid $665,000 for the 1,900-square-foot building in 2018. The property was most recently assessed by the city at $527,000.
The restaurant leases its Lakeside spot, which opened in 2015. The restaurant also had a Short Pump location that ran from 2015 until the early days of the pandemic.
The restaurant’s Lakeside location.
Barber, 54, said he dreamed of owning a restaurant from the age of 7, collecting menus from every restaurant he visited. He’d ask the waiter to recommend the best things on the menu – it was usually three or four items – then he’d circle them.
When he opened Carytown Burgers & Fries 24 years ago, Barber intended to fill the menu with only the best.
“Anything on the menu is the best in town,” he said. “If somebody asked me what the best thing on the menu is, I want to circle the whole menu.”
While earning a business degree at the University of Colorado and later attending the Hotel and Restaurant School at Sierra Nevada College, Barber saved up to open his own restaurant.
Now in its 25th year, Barber is looking for someone to take over while he tends to his health. He’s dealing with COPD, a pulmonary disease, he said, and has had multiple cancer surgeries in recent months.
“With being sick, I’m not able to function the way I want to as an owner,” Barber said.
Looking back on the past quarter of a century, Barber said he’s amazed that the restaurant has made it through the pandemic and other struggles. Carytown Burgers & Fries makes over $1 million in annual revenue across its two locations, catering business and food truck, Barber said.
“It’s a great opportunity for somebody to come in and take over an amazing brand and be very successful with it,” he said.
As he fields offers, Barber said he hopes a local buyer will take interest.
“Hopefully, somebody from Richmond or the surrounding areas is able to come in and keep it Carytown Burgers & Fries and continue the legacy that we’ve created,” he said.
Carytown Burgers’ location in Carytown.
Carytown Burgers & Fries, a mainstay in the Richmond restaurant scene since 1999, is up for grabs.
Founder and owner Mike Barber recently put the business with its two locations at 3449 W. Cary St. and 5404 Lakeside Ave. up for sale. He’s also listed the real estate for the Carytown spot.
Barber said he’s giving up the reins to focus on his health. He hopes to find a buyer who will keep the business running mostly as-is for Richmond residents and visitors.
“I really want to keep it Carytown Burgers & Fries,” Barber said, “because of how long it’s been in Richmond and how many people … love our product and our scene and all that stuff.”
Mike Barber
Barber also said he wants to take care of his employees, who he said he’s spoken to and received support from in his decision. While maintaining his 45 current employees isn’t a condition of the sale, he hopes to keep their jobs secure in the process.
The listing for the businesses went active last week. The Carytown location is listed at $145,000, separate from the Lakeside location, which is bundled with the food truck and catering business for an asking price of $90,000. Nathan Hughes with Sperity Real Estate Ventures is brokering the sale of the business and said interested buyers should call to discuss a price.
Hughes is working in tandem with Tony Rolando at Pollard & Bagby, who’s handling the sale of the restaurant’s building in Carytown. That property is listed at $675,000. Barber, through an LLC, paid $665,000 for the 1,900-square-foot building in 2018. The property was most recently assessed by the city at $527,000.
The restaurant leases its Lakeside spot, which opened in 2015. The restaurant also had a Short Pump location that ran from 2015 until the early days of the pandemic.
The restaurant’s Lakeside location.
Barber, 54, said he dreamed of owning a restaurant from the age of 7, collecting menus from every restaurant he visited. He’d ask the waiter to recommend the best things on the menu – it was usually three or four items – then he’d circle them.
When he opened Carytown Burgers & Fries 24 years ago, Barber intended to fill the menu with only the best.
“Anything on the menu is the best in town,” he said. “If somebody asked me what the best thing on the menu is, I want to circle the whole menu.”
While earning a business degree at the University of Colorado and later attending the Hotel and Restaurant School at Sierra Nevada College, Barber saved up to open his own restaurant.
Now in its 25th year, Barber is looking for someone to take over while he tends to his health. He’s dealing with COPD, a pulmonary disease, he said, and has had multiple cancer surgeries in recent months.
“With being sick, I’m not able to function the way I want to as an owner,” Barber said.
Looking back on the past quarter of a century, Barber said he’s amazed that the restaurant has made it through the pandemic and other struggles. Carytown Burgers & Fries makes over $1 million in annual revenue across its two locations, catering business and food truck, Barber said.
“It’s a great opportunity for somebody to come in and take over an amazing brand and be very successful with it,” he said.
As he fields offers, Barber said he hopes a local buyer will take interest.
“Hopefully, somebody from Richmond or the surrounding areas is able to come in and keep it Carytown Burgers & Fries and continue the legacy that we’ve created,” he said.
“Drugs are bad, m’kay?” -Mr. Mackey
Good luck and health to the owner. It has been my sons’ favorite burger spot for 10+ years.