Danasia Pascal is opening Brandery Richmond this summer. (Photos courtesy Danasia Pascal)
Richmonders will soon be able to grab their coffee and do their coworking all in one space in Brookland Park.
The 6,200-square-foot former bank building at 2930 North Ave. is set to house both a new location for neighborhood coffee shop the Smoky Mug and a coworking space called Brandery Richmond. The two businesses are both slated to open their doors this summer.
Though in the same building, Brandery Richmond will be located at 2828 North Ave. on the building’s second floor, while the Smoky Mug will be at 2930 on the first level. Each business will have their entire respective floor to themselves.
Brandery Richmond’s 3,000 square feet will give it room for a reception area, conference room, five private offices and an open-air workspace.
Brandery will also have a studio for podcasts, branding sessions, photography and other social media work. The room will have different backdrops and furniture for guests to be able to stage, as well as camera equipment.
Brandery is owned by Danasia Pascal, a Richmond native who spent her early career at NBC12, first as a news content specialist and then as a lifestyle content producer, working on video and social media content for the TV station.
In 2019, after being laid off from the station, Pascal founded Get Social RVA, offering social media planning, analytics, management, strategy and content creation to customers to mid- and large-sized companies.
While getting Get Social off the ground, Pascal worked as an employee at Gather’s Short Pump location for around a year. It was there that she dreamed up creating a coworking space that could also double as a place to create social media content.
Though she toyed with the idea for a while, it wasn’t until Pascal met local developer Cory Weiner last September that she decided to go all in on the idea.
The building at 2930 North Ave. (Courtesy CW Performance Group)
Weiner has been investing in Brookland Park for years. He’s behind the renovation of 2916 North Ave., now home to local nonprofit Rag & Bones, and was also behind a pair of of two-story, mixed-use buildings that added a dozen apartments and around 7,000 square feet of commercial space at 310 and 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd., now occupied by ice cream shop Ruby Scoops and arts and crafts nonprofit SCRAP RVA.
Weiner bought the former bank building on North Avenue in 2022 for $650,000. Pascal is leasing the space from Weiner.
Pascal said that as Weiner was already planning on putting a coworking space in that location, she felt the two were a good fit.
“I shared my business plan and projections with him, and essentially it’s been full steam ahead since then. We signed the lease and he’s been doing all of the buildout, and we’re doing all of the finishes,” she said.
Brandery is working with local architecture firm Fultz & Singh on the space, as well as with Think804 on the coworking space’s branding, name and logo.
Pascal said she and her partner have invested around $50,000 into the business thus far. The total project is slated to cost around $100,000, she said.
The building’s interior buildout is underway. (Courtesy CW Performance Group)
Brandery Richmond will have a series of pricing models. Customers can rent the content studio for $75 per hour and the conference room for $50 per hour. Private offices range from $750 to $1,200 per month based on office size. The largest office space can fit three desks.
Memberships to the coworking space are $250 per month for the base membership and $500 per month for the “premier” membership. A base membership gives customers things like a discount on content studio rental and two hours of conference room booking per month, while a “premier” membership offers studio rental credits and four hours of conference room booking per month.
A “flex” membership that would allow access to the coworking space six days per month will also be available for $100 per month, Pascal said. With that membership, she aims to target people who work from home who might only want to pop into Brandery one or two days per week.
Pascal is also looking at a package that would include a base membership and a private desk for $350 per month.
Pascal said she currently plans to cap the space at around 50 members. The space will have around 30 seats in the coworking space. Members will have 24/7 access to the space via key card, but normal operating hours will be daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
With both a coworking space and a content studio, Pascal said she hopes the combo can help Brandery Richmond stand out from similar local venues.
“We aren’t just coworking, we’re coworking and something else,” she said. “The sheer fact that we’re offering this content studio and a place for creative entrepreneurs…I think it’s really important. People who are just starting out or maybe have a photography business, it’s really empowering them to have a space to come work and create.”
Brandery Richmond is set to open its doors this August. Pascal is currently the sole employee , and will run the coworking space alongside her work at Get Social RVA.
The Smoky Mug, which is currently at 15 E. Brookland Park Blvd., is planning to relocate into the North Avenue space later this year.
Danasia Pascal is opening Brandery Richmond this summer. (Photos courtesy Danasia Pascal)
Richmonders will soon be able to grab their coffee and do their coworking all in one space in Brookland Park.
The 6,200-square-foot former bank building at 2930 North Ave. is set to house both a new location for neighborhood coffee shop the Smoky Mug and a coworking space called Brandery Richmond. The two businesses are both slated to open their doors this summer.
Though in the same building, Brandery Richmond will be located at 2828 North Ave. on the building’s second floor, while the Smoky Mug will be at 2930 on the first level. Each business will have their entire respective floor to themselves.
Brandery Richmond’s 3,000 square feet will give it room for a reception area, conference room, five private offices and an open-air workspace.
Brandery will also have a studio for podcasts, branding sessions, photography and other social media work. The room will have different backdrops and furniture for guests to be able to stage, as well as camera equipment.
Brandery is owned by Danasia Pascal, a Richmond native who spent her early career at NBC12, first as a news content specialist and then as a lifestyle content producer, working on video and social media content for the TV station.
In 2019, after being laid off from the station, Pascal founded Get Social RVA, offering social media planning, analytics, management, strategy and content creation to customers to mid- and large-sized companies.
While getting Get Social off the ground, Pascal worked as an employee at Gather’s Short Pump location for around a year. It was there that she dreamed up creating a coworking space that could also double as a place to create social media content.
Though she toyed with the idea for a while, it wasn’t until Pascal met local developer Cory Weiner last September that she decided to go all in on the idea.
The building at 2930 North Ave. (Courtesy CW Performance Group)
Weiner has been investing in Brookland Park for years. He’s behind the renovation of 2916 North Ave., now home to local nonprofit Rag & Bones, and was also behind a pair of of two-story, mixed-use buildings that added a dozen apartments and around 7,000 square feet of commercial space at 310 and 322 W. Brookland Park Blvd., now occupied by ice cream shop Ruby Scoops and arts and crafts nonprofit SCRAP RVA.
Weiner bought the former bank building on North Avenue in 2022 for $650,000. Pascal is leasing the space from Weiner.
Pascal said that as Weiner was already planning on putting a coworking space in that location, she felt the two were a good fit.
“I shared my business plan and projections with him, and essentially it’s been full steam ahead since then. We signed the lease and he’s been doing all of the buildout, and we’re doing all of the finishes,” she said.
Brandery is working with local architecture firm Fultz & Singh on the space, as well as with Think804 on the coworking space’s branding, name and logo.
Pascal said she and her partner have invested around $50,000 into the business thus far. The total project is slated to cost around $100,000, she said.
The building’s interior buildout is underway. (Courtesy CW Performance Group)
Brandery Richmond will have a series of pricing models. Customers can rent the content studio for $75 per hour and the conference room for $50 per hour. Private offices range from $750 to $1,200 per month based on office size. The largest office space can fit three desks.
Memberships to the coworking space are $250 per month for the base membership and $500 per month for the “premier” membership. A base membership gives customers things like a discount on content studio rental and two hours of conference room booking per month, while a “premier” membership offers studio rental credits and four hours of conference room booking per month.
A “flex” membership that would allow access to the coworking space six days per month will also be available for $100 per month, Pascal said. With that membership, she aims to target people who work from home who might only want to pop into Brandery one or two days per week.
Pascal is also looking at a package that would include a base membership and a private desk for $350 per month.
Pascal said she currently plans to cap the space at around 50 members. The space will have around 30 seats in the coworking space. Members will have 24/7 access to the space via key card, but normal operating hours will be daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
With both a coworking space and a content studio, Pascal said she hopes the combo can help Brandery Richmond stand out from similar local venues.
“We aren’t just coworking, we’re coworking and something else,” she said. “The sheer fact that we’re offering this content studio and a place for creative entrepreneurs…I think it’s really important. People who are just starting out or maybe have a photography business, it’s really empowering them to have a space to come work and create.”
Brandery Richmond is set to open its doors this August. Pascal is currently the sole employee , and will run the coworking space alongside her work at Get Social RVA.
The Smoky Mug, which is currently at 15 E. Brookland Park Blvd., is planning to relocate into the North Avenue space later this year.
What a grand old building!How much would it cost to build that building today,a billion?
Probably only 5% more to get something close but people want to squeeze every penny versus something that will stand the test of time.
Amazing concept with the media space and co-working space. This will do well with all the creatives in Brookland Park now. Side note: Notice in the ortho photo all the nice maintained and many very, very new looking roofs all around and the to the right of the image you can see Chandler Middle/Community High’s roof…I wonder if it is leaking yet!