The building was once a warehouse for electrical supplier Hutcheson & Co. (BizSense file photo)
For the second time in recent years, an effort to bring a food hall concept to Scott’s Addition has fallen through.
EAT Restaurant Partners is no longer planning to open a food hall at 3017 W. Leigh St., company president Chris Tsui confirmed.
EAT, whose portfolio counts about a dozen restaurants in the region including Fat Dragon and Pizza & Beer of Richmond, bought the warehouse at the corner of Summit Avenue and Leigh Street for $3 million in 2022 and announced plans to convert it into a food hall with six stalls, many of which would be home to new concepts from EAT.
After renovations began, EAT’s plans hit a snag last year with a legal dispute with its contractor. The company then attempted to move forward with the project, but Tsui said this week it ultimately pulled the plug, though he did not elaborate as to why the decision was made.
Chris Tsui
Tsui said the company now is mulling its options for the 17,000-square-foot building, which sits on a 0.6-acre parcel.
The change of plans also complicates the future of one of EAT’s earlier restaurants.
EAT had operated ramen restaurant Foo Dog in the Fan from 2014 to 2022 before selling its equipment to another operator, who then opened Main Street Dragon, a restaurant similar to Foo Dog, in its space on West Main Street.
EAT held onto the Foo Dog brand and recipes with plans to bring the concept back at the food hall.
However Tsui said the food hall getting scrapped doesn’t mean the end for Foo Dog.
“Foo Dog’s still near and dear to our hearts,” Tsui said. “I bet it’ll come back somewhere. When and where? I don’t know.”
Though Scott’s Addition has been able to land plenty of new restaurants during its recent boom, a food hall has proved elusive for the sought-after neighborhood.
In 2019, Washington, D.C.-based Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced plans for a 25,000-square-foot food hall at 1509 Belleville St., but punted on the project during the pandemic.
That building wound up being split between food-and-beverage and office uses with The Veil Brewing Co. opening a new taproom and investment advisory firm Richmond Capital Management relocating its office there from Midlothian.
The building was once a warehouse for electrical supplier Hutcheson & Co. (BizSense file photo)
For the second time in recent years, an effort to bring a food hall concept to Scott’s Addition has fallen through.
EAT Restaurant Partners is no longer planning to open a food hall at 3017 W. Leigh St., company president Chris Tsui confirmed.
EAT, whose portfolio counts about a dozen restaurants in the region including Fat Dragon and Pizza & Beer of Richmond, bought the warehouse at the corner of Summit Avenue and Leigh Street for $3 million in 2022 and announced plans to convert it into a food hall with six stalls, many of which would be home to new concepts from EAT.
After renovations began, EAT’s plans hit a snag last year with a legal dispute with its contractor. The company then attempted to move forward with the project, but Tsui said this week it ultimately pulled the plug, though he did not elaborate as to why the decision was made.
Chris Tsui
Tsui said the company now is mulling its options for the 17,000-square-foot building, which sits on a 0.6-acre parcel.
The change of plans also complicates the future of one of EAT’s earlier restaurants.
EAT had operated ramen restaurant Foo Dog in the Fan from 2014 to 2022 before selling its equipment to another operator, who then opened Main Street Dragon, a restaurant similar to Foo Dog, in its space on West Main Street.
EAT held onto the Foo Dog brand and recipes with plans to bring the concept back at the food hall.
However Tsui said the food hall getting scrapped doesn’t mean the end for Foo Dog.
“Foo Dog’s still near and dear to our hearts,” Tsui said. “I bet it’ll come back somewhere. When and where? I don’t know.”
Though Scott’s Addition has been able to land plenty of new restaurants during its recent boom, a food hall has proved elusive for the sought-after neighborhood.
In 2019, Washington, D.C.-based Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced plans for a 25,000-square-foot food hall at 1509 Belleville St., but punted on the project during the pandemic.
That building wound up being split between food-and-beverage and office uses with The Veil Brewing Co. opening a new taproom and investment advisory firm Richmond Capital Management relocating its office there from Midlothian.
Does this affect any other restaurants?
Hot Chick closed to be a part of this project. It had the best gluten-free fried chicken I’ve ever tasted. Are there any plans to re open them elsewhere now that this food hall scheme has fallen through?