Outback Steakhouse has decided to exit the yet-to-be-constructed Courthouse Landing development, where the chain had planned to open a restaurant. (BizSense file)
A restaurant previously announced as a tenant at Courthouse Landing has reversed course, while additional eateries appear to have signed on at the massive mixed-use development in Chesterfield.
Outback Steakhouse recently confirmed it no longer plans to open a location at the 124-acre project that’s in its early stages at the intersection of Courthouse and Iron Bridge roads.
“We do not have any restaurants planned for this area,” Outback spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly said in an email.
The steakhouse chain had planned a 5,000-square-foot location that would have fronted the Iron Bridge Road side of the project, according to a site plan filed with the county earlier this year.
Outback was among a handful of companies named as future tenants at Courthouse Landing at a groundbreaking ceremony last October. Sheetz, Panera Bread, Panda Express, Virginia Credit Union, Touchstone Bank and car wash chain ModWash were the other tenants advertised at the time.
Outback declined to comment further as to why it backed out of the project. The company has four locations in the Richmond area, its website shows.
Outback’s departure comes as other previously unannounced restaurants appear to have come aboard at Courthouse Landing. The news also comes weeks after VCU Health, which was tapped to anchor the development with an outpatient medical facility and offices, requested state regulatory approval to relocate the unbuilt surgical facility elsewhere in the county.
A recently updated LoopNet listing for the project shows Five Guys and Starbucks locations on the tenant list. Those two restaurants would share a building along Courthouse Road, according to a map in the listing.
As for the other previously announced tenants, representatives of three of those companies – Sheetz, Virginia Credit Union and ModWash – recently told BizSense they intend to open at Courthouse Landing, which is still in the early stages of its construction nearly a year after the groundbreaking.
Sheetz and Virginia Credit Union anticipate they will open their Courthouse Landing outposts next spring, according to company spokesmen.
Panda Express, Panera and Touchstone Bank didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Another departure from the project appears to be Chick-fil-A. The fast-food chain, which wasn’t among the companies announced as coming to Courthouse Landing at last year’s groundbreaking, filed a site plan in late 2021 for a restaurant at the development. The plans were later withdrawn. A Chick-fil-A spokesman declined to comment for this article.
VCU Health, meanwhile, wants to build a facility at a location just up the road from Courthouse Landing. In a June filing to the state health department, VCU Health cited delays in the construction of Courthouse Landing as a reason to pull out of the project, among other challenges.
VCU Health had not received a decision from the state on its request as of Thursday, a health system spokeswoman said.
Courthouse Landing was initially steered by Dunphy Properties and Shuler Properties, which got the project successfully rezoned in mid-2020. It’s envisioned to have at least 250,000 square feet of commercial space, hundreds of residences and a hotel.
A Florida-based group of developers including Edward Schmidt, Robert Eckstein and Josh Rodstein later took over the project from Dunphy and Shuler and in early 2023 acquired the project site for $7 million from the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority and a private owner.
It was unclear where Courthouse Landing is in its construction timeline. Jeff Doxey of NAI Dominion, which is also part of the development team, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Site work is underway at the property, and crews were working there Thursday morning. Construction had yet to go vertical in areas of the development visible from the road.
Outback Steakhouse has decided to exit the yet-to-be-constructed Courthouse Landing development, where the chain had planned to open a restaurant. (BizSense file)
A restaurant previously announced as a tenant at Courthouse Landing has reversed course, while additional eateries appear to have signed on at the massive mixed-use development in Chesterfield.
Outback Steakhouse recently confirmed it no longer plans to open a location at the 124-acre project that’s in its early stages at the intersection of Courthouse and Iron Bridge roads.
“We do not have any restaurants planned for this area,” Outback spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly said in an email.
The steakhouse chain had planned a 5,000-square-foot location that would have fronted the Iron Bridge Road side of the project, according to a site plan filed with the county earlier this year.
Outback was among a handful of companies named as future tenants at Courthouse Landing at a groundbreaking ceremony last October. Sheetz, Panera Bread, Panda Express, Virginia Credit Union, Touchstone Bank and car wash chain ModWash were the other tenants advertised at the time.
Outback declined to comment further as to why it backed out of the project. The company has four locations in the Richmond area, its website shows.
Outback’s departure comes as other previously unannounced restaurants appear to have come aboard at Courthouse Landing. The news also comes weeks after VCU Health, which was tapped to anchor the development with an outpatient medical facility and offices, requested state regulatory approval to relocate the unbuilt surgical facility elsewhere in the county.
A recently updated LoopNet listing for the project shows Five Guys and Starbucks locations on the tenant list. Those two restaurants would share a building along Courthouse Road, according to a map in the listing.
As for the other previously announced tenants, representatives of three of those companies – Sheetz, Virginia Credit Union and ModWash – recently told BizSense they intend to open at Courthouse Landing, which is still in the early stages of its construction nearly a year after the groundbreaking.
Sheetz and Virginia Credit Union anticipate they will open their Courthouse Landing outposts next spring, according to company spokesmen.
Panda Express, Panera and Touchstone Bank didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Another departure from the project appears to be Chick-fil-A. The fast-food chain, which wasn’t among the companies announced as coming to Courthouse Landing at last year’s groundbreaking, filed a site plan in late 2021 for a restaurant at the development. The plans were later withdrawn. A Chick-fil-A spokesman declined to comment for this article.
VCU Health, meanwhile, wants to build a facility at a location just up the road from Courthouse Landing. In a June filing to the state health department, VCU Health cited delays in the construction of Courthouse Landing as a reason to pull out of the project, among other challenges.
VCU Health had not received a decision from the state on its request as of Thursday, a health system spokeswoman said.
Courthouse Landing was initially steered by Dunphy Properties and Shuler Properties, which got the project successfully rezoned in mid-2020. It’s envisioned to have at least 250,000 square feet of commercial space, hundreds of residences and a hotel.
A Florida-based group of developers including Edward Schmidt, Robert Eckstein and Josh Rodstein later took over the project from Dunphy and Shuler and in early 2023 acquired the project site for $7 million from the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority and a private owner.
It was unclear where Courthouse Landing is in its construction timeline. Jeff Doxey of NAI Dominion, which is also part of the development team, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment. Site work is underway at the property, and crews were working there Thursday morning. Construction had yet to go vertical in areas of the development visible from the road.
As Chesterfield Citizens United (CCU) said when this ill-conceived EDA project was originally proposed, this County-owned land across from the Courthouse should have been used for County and Schools offices. Instead, the County will be renting thousands of SF of office space from Timmons at “Springline 60” (another EDA project). Timmons gets MANY EDA engineering contracts. We get Sheetz, Modwash, Panda Express, & Panera at the “Gateway to Chesterfield” – what in the world???
We need some good restaurants out in Chesterfield area not these McDonald’s and Wendy’s and junk like that. We need something good P.F. Chang’s, Olive Garden, or Texas roadhouse sick of eating at these other holes.