The new cafe and ice cream parlor is opening in a former art gallery space in Midlothian. (Mike Platania photo)
A new cafe concept is in the works on the Chesterfield-Powhatan line with a seasoned team from the local food and beverage scene at the helm.
Corner Rock Cafe, a coffee shop and ice cream parlor, is preparing to open in the Winterfield Place shopping center at at 3734 Winterfield Road.
Behind the venture are Chris Staples and Bob Graham, who co-own Toast New American Gastropub and Sidecar Cocktail Lounge, which are also in Winterfield Place, and Black Hand Coffee Co. owner Clay Gilbert.
Staples has a long history with Winterfield Place. He helped open Wild Ginger in the shopping center in 2009 when he was with EAT Restaurant Partners, before operating Toast and Sidecar there. Over the years, Staples said he saw a gap in the market in that part of Midlothian.
“I always thought it was a shame that nobody had put in a little coffee and ice cream shop there, with Salisbury, Rosemont, Independence and all those really nice neighborhoods,” Staples said of the nearby subdivisions. “It was just a shame. But there were no open spots (in the shopping center).”
Bob Graham and Chris Staples.
A space came available earlier this year when Bella Arte Gallery ended its 15-plus year run. Staples and Graham pursued the storefront, and hit up Gilbert, who’s owned Black Hand in the Museum District since 2012.
“(Clay) was a natural person to call because I don’t know diddly squat about the coffee business. I know a lot about restaurants and I know my way around a nice cappuccino and espresso machine, but nothing about the mechanics of running a coffee business,” Staples said.
Corner Rock Cafe will serve Black Hand coffee and a food menu including breakfast sandwiches, paninis and grilled cheeses. Its ice cream will come from Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, a distributor out of the Midwest. Staples said the team is seeking an ABC license to serve coffees with alcohol, such as espresso martinis and boozy milkshakes.
“I’m going to have an espresso martini menu with like five or six types of espresso martinis,” he said.
Corner Rock Cafe should be ready to open in the coming weeks, Staples said. After that, he’ll turn his attention to the new Toast location that’s rising in the city at the Scott’s Walk development across from The Diamond. The restaurant will be in a new-construction building next to Starbucks, Chipotle and Raising Cane’s.
Staples said that building is nearing completion and the hope is to open around Labor Day.
“I’m very proud of it. I think being the only full-service, privately owned choice in the new Scott’s Walk development will really set us apart,” he said.
The new cafe and ice cream parlor is opening in a former art gallery space in Midlothian. (Mike Platania photo)
A new cafe concept is in the works on the Chesterfield-Powhatan line with a seasoned team from the local food and beverage scene at the helm.
Corner Rock Cafe, a coffee shop and ice cream parlor, is preparing to open in the Winterfield Place shopping center at at 3734 Winterfield Road.
Behind the venture are Chris Staples and Bob Graham, who co-own Toast New American Gastropub and Sidecar Cocktail Lounge, which are also in Winterfield Place, and Black Hand Coffee Co. owner Clay Gilbert.
Staples has a long history with Winterfield Place. He helped open Wild Ginger in the shopping center in 2009 when he was with EAT Restaurant Partners, before operating Toast and Sidecar there. Over the years, Staples said he saw a gap in the market in that part of Midlothian.
“I always thought it was a shame that nobody had put in a little coffee and ice cream shop there, with Salisbury, Rosemont, Independence and all those really nice neighborhoods,” Staples said of the nearby subdivisions. “It was just a shame. But there were no open spots (in the shopping center).”
Bob Graham and Chris Staples.
A space came available earlier this year when Bella Arte Gallery ended its 15-plus year run. Staples and Graham pursued the storefront, and hit up Gilbert, who’s owned Black Hand in the Museum District since 2012.
“(Clay) was a natural person to call because I don’t know diddly squat about the coffee business. I know a lot about restaurants and I know my way around a nice cappuccino and espresso machine, but nothing about the mechanics of running a coffee business,” Staples said.
Corner Rock Cafe will serve Black Hand coffee and a food menu including breakfast sandwiches, paninis and grilled cheeses. Its ice cream will come from Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, a distributor out of the Midwest. Staples said the team is seeking an ABC license to serve coffees with alcohol, such as espresso martinis and boozy milkshakes.
“I’m going to have an espresso martini menu with like five or six types of espresso martinis,” he said.
Corner Rock Cafe should be ready to open in the coming weeks, Staples said. After that, he’ll turn his attention to the new Toast location that’s rising in the city at the Scott’s Walk development across from The Diamond. The restaurant will be in a new-construction building next to Starbucks, Chipotle and Raising Cane’s.
Staples said that building is nearing completion and the hope is to open around Labor Day.
“I’m very proud of it. I think being the only full-service, privately owned choice in the new Scott’s Walk development will really set us apart,” he said.
I had missed that Bella Arte had closed, and I’m sorry to hear that news. However–thrilled to hear that this is joining us on the Robious corridor, especially as a former Museum District dweller. Our family can’t wait to check it out.
Pretty cool addition. I do wonder why the shop isn’t going to serve a local ice cream vendor’s ice cream but perhaps it’s a quantity issue.