Retail

The new store’s name, Dog House Cat, is inspired by the “Jeopardy!” before-and-after category, owner Ashley Smiley said.

After acquiring the home of a pottery studio that operated for decades in Forest Hill, Joanna Gragnani has put her own spin on the storefront.

“I definitely feel like it’s a mix of mad scientist meets the creative genius that Doug was,” said Chloe Kottwitz, who recently took over ownership of the neon sign shop from longtime owner Doug Solyan.

John Foley has opened Recharged, which focuses on the sale of used electric vehicles, next door to the former original location of CarLotz.

The company, which leases storefronts and then carves out within them multiple small rentable art studios, opened last month at the South Richmond mall.

“I think we lost some of the hospitality that sets us apart from a drive-thru. There’s a necessity to bring people inside,” owner Beth Orcutt said of the expansion into the former Bits + Pixels space.

The Richmond-area turf war between convenience store giants Sheetz, Wawa and Royal Farms continues, this time with one of them making a move south of the James River. Sheetz last week filed plans with Chesterfield County for a new location at 14301 Midlothian Turnpike, across the street from the Aldi-anchored Winterfield Crossing shopping center. A… Read more »

The sweets shop’s location looks to be part of The Lake, a massive mixed-use development in the works in Chesterfield.

With the new space comes a pivot away from textbook sales for the nearly 40-year-old business and greater emphasis on VCU apparel, university merchandise and school supplies as it searches for better margins.