Appetite for growth: Short Pump bake shop, downtown event space on menu for Lindsey Food Group

The confectioner has operated in Short Pump since 2008. (Mike Platania photos)

Restaurateur couple Mike Lindsey and Kim Love-Lindsey are continuing to grow their portfolio with a pair of deals in Short Pump and downtown. 

Their Lindsey Food Group is preparing to purchase Frostings Bake Shop in Short Pump for an undisclosed amount.

Founded by Matt Fraker, Frostings has operated at 11331 W. Broad St., in the Trader Joe’s-anchored Short Pump Station shopping center, since 2008. 

Not included in the deal is a lease on Frostings’ current space, as the bake shop’s lease is expiring. Mike Lindsey said they’re working to secure a new lease for Frostings elsewhere in Short Pump. 

Lindsey Food Group also recently signed a lease to open event space Red Bird Social on the ground floor of the Hotel John Marshall downtown. The 5,400-square-foot space had once been home to Greenleaf’s Pool Room and was most recently an event space used by nearby mini-golf venue Hotel Greene. 

Kimberly Love-Lindsey and Mike Lindsey (BizSense file)

The two new spots will give Lindsey Food Group nine locations since its founding in 2020. Its other restaurants include Lillie Pearl, Jubilee and Rams House Bar + Kitchen, the last of which opened in recent weeks. 

Lindsey said Frostings will keep its name and usual offerings in its new location. He said they’re planning to add seating and increase the shop’s public-facing side. 

“We want to make it more like a dessert bar where we’re offering cookies, slice cakes, coffee, things like that,” Lindsey said.

“It’ll be a place to come and grab dessert after dinner, kind of like Shyndigz where you go just to enjoy desserts and have a good time. But we’ll still do everything that Frostings (currently) does.”

Fraker said he’d been mulling over whether he wanted to renew Frostings’ lease for another five years when he found out Lindsey was interested in the business. Having a prospective buyer helped him make the decision to part ways with the business he’s run with his husband, Jason Ferrell, for nearly 15 years. 

Matt Fraker (LinkedIn)

“It just sort of felt like the timing was right for us,” Fraker said. “I feel very fortunate that the brand that we’ve built and the reputation that we’ve created over the years have allowed us to be in that position to go out on (our own terms). We’re super grateful for that.”

Head baker Cheyenne Johnson is set to stay on at the new Frostings and be a stakeholder in the business, Fraker and Lindsey said.

The deal, which is being brokered by Sperity Real Estate Ventures’ Nathan Hughes, is scheduled to close next week.  

Lindsey said there’ll be a slight lapse in Frostings’ service after the Short Pump Station location closes and until they complete the move to the to-be-determined new spot. 

Meanwhile, downtown, Lindsey is preparing to begin converting the space at 100 N. Sixth St. into Red Bird Social. He said they decided to pursue opening a standalone event space due to rising demand for private events at their downtown restaurants. 

“We have a lot of people that want to do parties or rent out the restaurants, and we do all those at Lillie Pearl and Buttermilk and Honey on Grace Street, so we’d close them down that night. But what’s happening now is the restaurants are getting very busy,” Lindsey said.

The former Greenleaf’s is located a few blocks from the food group’s other downtown restaurants, further enticing Lindsey to lease the space. He said they’re planning to host everything from wedding receptions to chef dinner series at the new spot. 

Red Bird Social, plans for which were first reported by Richmond Magazine, is looking to open in September. 

Once home to Greenleaf’s and the Crown Room, the ground-floor space in the Hotel John Marshall will soon house event space Red Bird Social.

Lindsey Food Group also has plans to further expand into the counties with Farm + Oak, a restaurant concept whose menu Lindsey said will be nearly identical to Lillie Pearl’s. He said they’re currently working on leases for Farm + Oak in the West End and Chesterfield. 

The group has been taking on all these restaurants and projects without any investors or loans, Lindsey said. Being in deal-making mode has been a change of pace for Lindsey, whose background is as a chef, but he said they’ve hired additional managers and directors of operations to help keep the company running. 

Lindsey said opening so many restaurants in such a short period of time has allowed them to retain much of their staff by always having opportunities for promotions in both the front- and back-of-house positions.

“At every step when somebody shines and they do a good job, we’re able to get them to the next level. That’s why it’s easy for us to keep people, because they know the opportunities can come in,” Lindsey said.

For Fraker, who once also owned Fan sandwich shop Olio, selling Frostings will mark the beginning of some time away from the food industry. 

“In the immediate future there’ll be a week with family at the beach when the dust settles with (the Frostings) deal,” Fraker said. “That’s the plan right now and we’ll see what comes after that. But for right now, it’ll be about being with my daughters and being dad.”