Ellwood Thompson’s in Carytown. (BizSense file photos)
Families and founders behind decades-old stores that sell groceries, clothing and other goods opted to take their leave in 2023, and sold off their businesses to new operators to carry on some of Richmond’s biggest names in retail.
And just as local retailers grew their operations with additional locations or moved into new spaces, the year also saw some out-of-town small businesses pick the Richmond area for a relocation or new outpost.
Longtime owners say goodbye
For several owners of long-running Richmond retail brands, 2023 was the year to cash out. Ready for retirement, these business owners found like-minded firms, employees and others to lead their companies into the future.
Gary Weiner and his family sold Saxon Shoes in November to Comfort One Shoes, another family-owned shoe store based in Manassas. The sale marked the end of the Weiner family’s 70-year ownership of the Saxon brand, which Gary’s parents, Jack and Gloria, founded with a downtown Richmond store in 1953.
Ellwood Thompson’s also changed hands this year when Rick Hood sold the Carytown grocery store to Healthier Choices Management Corp., a Florida-based company that owns grocery stores under several different brands in Florida, New York and New Jersey. The store was first opened more than 30 years ago by Rick Hood and Eric Walters. Hood had been the sole owner since 2005 until he sold it.
Donnie Caffery sold Good Foods Grocery in South Richmond to local nonprofit Commonwealth Autism in the summer. Caffery founded the store in 1985.
Menswear store Peter-Blair at 5800 Grove Ave.
In January, Peter-Blair founder Dick Fowlkes sold his 30-year-old menswear store in the Libbie-Grove area to employees-turned-owners Elizabeth Creasey and Rick Witty.
New locations and expansions
A handful of local retailers made moves to expand their businesses with new locations in 2023, or decided to pull the trigger on a relocation of their stores.
Book People relocated this year to a spot in the Gleneagles Shopping Center next to Glory Days Grill after nearly four decades at the corner of Granite and Patterson Avenues. It wasn’t the only local bookstore to find a new home in 2023. Virginia Book Co. moved next door to a new location on Shafer Street in Richmond earlier this year.
The Shops at 5807, an indoor market near the intersection of Libbie and Patterson avenues, expanded south of the James River with the opening of The Shops at 5807 South.
Neighborhood market chain Stella’s Grocery opened a new location in the River Road Shopping Center II, adding to existing stores in Scott’s Addition, downtown Richmond, Manchester and other parts of town. Interior design firm Flourish Spaces opened in the same center after relocating from a downtown Richmond space.
Scott’s Addition-based DawnStar Video Games and Arcade relocated to a larger space in the same neighborhood.
Andrew Griimoiire (left) and Dakotah Coates, co-owners of DawnStar Video Games and Arcade.
Out-of-town players make their entrance
While expansions into the Richmond area by out-of-town retailers isn’t out of the ordinary, one noticeable trend in 2023 was the handful of small retail brands that decided to bet on Richmond for their next move.
Charlottesville-based women’s jean shop Jean Theory this year opened its second location in a space near the corner of Libbie and Patterson. Ice cream shop chain Kline’s Dairy Bar, with locations in the Shenandoah Valley and Lynchburg, bought a property in Chesterfield to serve as the site of its first outpost in the Richmond region.
Laura Harrell and her husband, Stephen. Harrell will be the general manager of the upcoming Kline’s Dairy Bar location in Chesterfield.
Custom suit company Andre’ Julius opened a downtown Richmond showroom in November, adding to the company’s shop in the Williamsburg area.
A few companies also packed up and left their hometowns to reopen locally.
From Mukwonago, Wisconsin, Big Bear Coin & Collectible relocated its operations to a space in Stony Point Fashion Park in June. The South Richmond mall attracted another out-of-town company called Travian Vann, a dress shop that relocated from Hampton in the spring.
House plant store Shades of Moss, which originated in Charlotte, North Carolina, relocated to a space in Richmond this year. In the spring, flower shop Field Floral Design opened in downtown Richmond as a brick-and-mortar concept for the first time after being founded in New Orleans.
Ellwood Thompson’s in Carytown. (BizSense file photos)
Families and founders behind decades-old stores that sell groceries, clothing and other goods opted to take their leave in 2023, and sold off their businesses to new operators to carry on some of Richmond’s biggest names in retail.
And just as local retailers grew their operations with additional locations or moved into new spaces, the year also saw some out-of-town small businesses pick the Richmond area for a relocation or new outpost.
Longtime owners say goodbye
For several owners of long-running Richmond retail brands, 2023 was the year to cash out. Ready for retirement, these business owners found like-minded firms, employees and others to lead their companies into the future.
Gary Weiner and his family sold Saxon Shoes in November to Comfort One Shoes, another family-owned shoe store based in Manassas. The sale marked the end of the Weiner family’s 70-year ownership of the Saxon brand, which Gary’s parents, Jack and Gloria, founded with a downtown Richmond store in 1953.
Ellwood Thompson’s also changed hands this year when Rick Hood sold the Carytown grocery store to Healthier Choices Management Corp., a Florida-based company that owns grocery stores under several different brands in Florida, New York and New Jersey. The store was first opened more than 30 years ago by Rick Hood and Eric Walters. Hood had been the sole owner since 2005 until he sold it.
Donnie Caffery sold Good Foods Grocery in South Richmond to local nonprofit Commonwealth Autism in the summer. Caffery founded the store in 1985.
Menswear store Peter-Blair at 5800 Grove Ave.
In January, Peter-Blair founder Dick Fowlkes sold his 30-year-old menswear store in the Libbie-Grove area to employees-turned-owners Elizabeth Creasey and Rick Witty.
New locations and expansions
A handful of local retailers made moves to expand their businesses with new locations in 2023, or decided to pull the trigger on a relocation of their stores.
Book People relocated this year to a spot in the Gleneagles Shopping Center next to Glory Days Grill after nearly four decades at the corner of Granite and Patterson Avenues. It wasn’t the only local bookstore to find a new home in 2023. Virginia Book Co. moved next door to a new location on Shafer Street in Richmond earlier this year.
The Shops at 5807, an indoor market near the intersection of Libbie and Patterson avenues, expanded south of the James River with the opening of The Shops at 5807 South.
Neighborhood market chain Stella’s Grocery opened a new location in the River Road Shopping Center II, adding to existing stores in Scott’s Addition, downtown Richmond, Manchester and other parts of town. Interior design firm Flourish Spaces opened in the same center after relocating from a downtown Richmond space.
Scott’s Addition-based DawnStar Video Games and Arcade relocated to a larger space in the same neighborhood.
Andrew Griimoiire (left) and Dakotah Coates, co-owners of DawnStar Video Games and Arcade.
Out-of-town players make their entrance
While expansions into the Richmond area by out-of-town retailers isn’t out of the ordinary, one noticeable trend in 2023 was the handful of small retail brands that decided to bet on Richmond for their next move.
Charlottesville-based women’s jean shop Jean Theory this year opened its second location in a space near the corner of Libbie and Patterson. Ice cream shop chain Kline’s Dairy Bar, with locations in the Shenandoah Valley and Lynchburg, bought a property in Chesterfield to serve as the site of its first outpost in the Richmond region.
Laura Harrell and her husband, Stephen. Harrell will be the general manager of the upcoming Kline’s Dairy Bar location in Chesterfield.
Custom suit company Andre’ Julius opened a downtown Richmond showroom in November, adding to the company’s shop in the Williamsburg area.
A few companies also packed up and left their hometowns to reopen locally.
From Mukwonago, Wisconsin, Big Bear Coin & Collectible relocated its operations to a space in Stony Point Fashion Park in June. The South Richmond mall attracted another out-of-town company called Travian Vann, a dress shop that relocated from Hampton in the spring.
House plant store Shades of Moss, which originated in Charlotte, North Carolina, relocated to a space in Richmond this year. In the spring, flower shop Field Floral Design opened in downtown Richmond as a brick-and-mortar concept for the first time after being founded in New Orleans.