Retail

Chris and Kaitlyn Fitzner are aiming to have their Sijang brand’s Garlic Chili Crunch product in 50 stores by the end of 2024.

“I have a saying. If it’s not turning, it’s not earning. I think out of my 200 machines, I don’t think I have a single out-of-order machine,” said Neighborhood Laundromat owner Al Bingenheimer.

The big-box chain of sporting goods stores appears to have its eye on a new outpost in the region after entering the market in Short Pump in 2022.

“It’s a lot of time and a lot of money but it’ll be worth it,” said dealer principal Mark Cooke. “I think we’ve outgrown our current space and you either play the game or get out of the game.”

Owner Sharon Kirsner said she’s making the move to have room for new features, including an eight-foot-long refrigerated chocolate case and wall-mounted Jelly Belly and M&M dispensers. 

Formerly known as Chop Suey Books, Shelf Life appears to be the first Richmond-area bookstore to unionize.

Abi’s Books & Brews will have seating for 42, a figure that it’s owner said is a nod to the answer given as the meaning of life in the sci-fi novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

“It would take a lot for a competitor to come into the Richmond market and gain any market share from us,” said CEO Jamie Nester. “It would be really hard for somebody to catch up to us.”

The layoffs follow a reduction in the company’s Plow & Hearth brick-and-mortar store count, which once stood at 26 but has been trimmed to three.

Booth Hardy, one of the shop’s first employees, is now the sole owner after purchasing the ownership stakes of its three co-founders.