Richmond Eats opened last year near the intersection of West Broad Street and Arthur Ashe Boulevard. (Mike Platania photo)
After a years-long absence, Bonchon is back in the city.
The Korean fried chicken restaurant chain has signed on to operate at Richmond Eats, a ghost kitchen at 2812 W. Broad St. in Scott’s Addition.
It marks a return of the brand to Richmond city limits, after its spot on Laurel Street near VCU closed around 2018.
At the helm of the new take-out- and delivery-only ghost kitchen iteration is mother-daughter duo Cheryl Hewlett and Nettie Brant, who own the Bonchon franchise on Midlothian Turnpike near Chesterfield Towne Center.
Nettie Brant
Brant got her start at the Midlothian Bonchon in 2020 as a bartender, and a year later she heard the franchisee was looking to sell or close the restaurant.
“I loved coming to work every day, the food, the atmosphere. I just thought that we shouldn’t let it close. So I talked to my mom about it,” Brant said.
Hewlett said she was willing to make the leap with her daughter.
“I didn’t know Bonchon but I believed in her, and she was very convinced,” Hewlett said of Brant. “We only had about a week to make a decision on whether we were going to buy it or not. We were able to gather the funds and make it happen.”
Bonchon has hundreds of locations globally and this year began expanding into the ghost kitchen industry with nearly 40 locations. Hewlett said when Bonchon came to her and her daughter with the ghost kitchen concept, they quickly signed on.
“Our sales in Midlothian are 70 to 75 percent takeout and delivery. I knew that’s where the money was,” Hewlett said. “It was really easy to see that this ghost kitchen concept is kind of where things are trending.”
The ghost Bonchon will have slightly different offerings from their full restaurant but will include its most popular dish: fried chicken wings. Brant and Hewlett said additions to the menu will include combo meals, bowls and chicken sandwiches, while some of Bonchon’s entrees like sliders, tacos and katsu won’t be available.
Brant and Hewlett said they’re planning for it to operate with a staff of around seven, and that they’re looking to open in December.
Once open, the duo said they’re keen to continue trying to help expand Bonchon’s local footprint.
“I don’t even care where it’s at – if they come to us with another ghost kitchen concept, we’re going to jump on it,” Hewlett said.
Brant and Hewlett do not own the Bonchon franchise in Mechanicsville, nor were they involved in the former Laurel Street location or one that closed on West Broad Street in Henrico.
At Richmond Eats, which is owned by Los Angeles-based startup Cloud Kitchens, Bonchon is joining other tenants like Maya’s Latin Kitchen and Uncle Jim’s Dress Blue BBQ.
Another new arrival at Richmond Eats is Tanko Zzaam, a spin-off of the one-time Korean barbecue chain Zzaam, which was founded by Sweet Frog founder Derek Cha in 2014 with a spot in Carytown.
Zzaam eventually grew to six locations throughout the region, but those gradually closed throughout the late 2010s.
Meanwhile, next door to Richmond Eats is The Hofheimer building, where new restaurant and cocktail bar Harry’s at Hofheimer is set to open this week.
Richmond Eats opened last year near the intersection of West Broad Street and Arthur Ashe Boulevard. (Mike Platania photo)
After a years-long absence, Bonchon is back in the city.
The Korean fried chicken restaurant chain has signed on to operate at Richmond Eats, a ghost kitchen at 2812 W. Broad St. in Scott’s Addition.
It marks a return of the brand to Richmond city limits, after its spot on Laurel Street near VCU closed around 2018.
At the helm of the new take-out- and delivery-only ghost kitchen iteration is mother-daughter duo Cheryl Hewlett and Nettie Brant, who own the Bonchon franchise on Midlothian Turnpike near Chesterfield Towne Center.
Nettie Brant
Brant got her start at the Midlothian Bonchon in 2020 as a bartender, and a year later she heard the franchisee was looking to sell or close the restaurant.
“I loved coming to work every day, the food, the atmosphere. I just thought that we shouldn’t let it close. So I talked to my mom about it,” Brant said.
Hewlett said she was willing to make the leap with her daughter.
“I didn’t know Bonchon but I believed in her, and she was very convinced,” Hewlett said of Brant. “We only had about a week to make a decision on whether we were going to buy it or not. We were able to gather the funds and make it happen.”
Bonchon has hundreds of locations globally and this year began expanding into the ghost kitchen industry with nearly 40 locations. Hewlett said when Bonchon came to her and her daughter with the ghost kitchen concept, they quickly signed on.
“Our sales in Midlothian are 70 to 75 percent takeout and delivery. I knew that’s where the money was,” Hewlett said. “It was really easy to see that this ghost kitchen concept is kind of where things are trending.”
The ghost Bonchon will have slightly different offerings from their full restaurant but will include its most popular dish: fried chicken wings. Brant and Hewlett said additions to the menu will include combo meals, bowls and chicken sandwiches, while some of Bonchon’s entrees like sliders, tacos and katsu won’t be available.
Brant and Hewlett said they’re planning for it to operate with a staff of around seven, and that they’re looking to open in December.
Once open, the duo said they’re keen to continue trying to help expand Bonchon’s local footprint.
“I don’t even care where it’s at – if they come to us with another ghost kitchen concept, we’re going to jump on it,” Hewlett said.
Brant and Hewlett do not own the Bonchon franchise in Mechanicsville, nor were they involved in the former Laurel Street location or one that closed on West Broad Street in Henrico.
At Richmond Eats, which is owned by Los Angeles-based startup Cloud Kitchens, Bonchon is joining other tenants like Maya’s Latin Kitchen and Uncle Jim’s Dress Blue BBQ.
Another new arrival at Richmond Eats is Tanko Zzaam, a spin-off of the one-time Korean barbecue chain Zzaam, which was founded by Sweet Frog founder Derek Cha in 2014 with a spot in Carytown.
Zzaam eventually grew to six locations throughout the region, but those gradually closed throughout the late 2010s.
Meanwhile, next door to Richmond Eats is The Hofheimer building, where new restaurant and cocktail bar Harry’s at Hofheimer is set to open this week.
Its a strange location for a ghost kitchen to me, I mean why does it need to have frontage on West broad? Its not like anyone but delivery drivers needs to find it, and it doesn’t seem to have enough parking for a horde of drivers?