The space at the corner of Shafer and West Broad has sat vacant for over five years. (Mike Platania photo)
After sitting idle for nearly six years, the former Extreme Pizza storefront near VCU has been snapped up.
Wingstop, a chain of chicken wing restaurants, is planning to open a location at 941 W. Broad St., according to planning documents recently filed with the city.
The space has been vacant since Extreme Pizza closed in early 2019 after at 14-year run.
Several building permits were filed in recent weeks to finish out the space for Wingstop. The listed architect on the permits is Wilkus Architects, a Minnesota-based firm that’s designed hundreds of Wingstops around the country.
It’d be Wingstop’s first location in the city limits. (Courtesy Wingstop)
Wingstop spokespeople did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment.
It’d be the sixth Wingstop location in the Richmond area and its first in the city. All of the Texas-based chain’s existing local locations are in Chesterfield or Henrico.
The Broad Street space is located on the ground floor of the Ramz Apartments building. Other commercial tenants there include Five Guys, Qdoda and Cold Stone Creamery. The mixed-use building is owned by American Campus Communities, a major developer of student housing based in Austin. American Campus Communities also did not respond to requests for comment.
Another long-vacant spot a block down was snapped up last year when new taqueria El Taco Guapo opened in the former Asado space at 727 W. Broad St. That space had been vacant since the pandemic hit in 2020.