Editor’s Note: This list is a running tally of restaurant and store openings beginning in March 2018. Openings or closings announced or reported before March may not be included.
December 2018
OPENING (June or July 2019): Chesapeake – The city’s second brewery will be opening sometime in the summer in the Greenbrier area. Owner Ulyana Gomez will open The Garage brewery with a construction theme in the former Tricare Prime Clinic space at 1011 Eden Way North, not far from Greenbrier Mall.
OPENING (spring 2019): Portsmouth – The region’s first medical cannabis dispensary will open a facility in Portsmouth sometime in the spring. New York-based Columbia Care has not announced specifically where the facility will be located in the city, but city officials said it would move into and renovate an existing 65,000-square-foot facility in an industrial area off Greenwood Drive. The facility will cultivate, process and dispense CBD and THC-A oil, capsules and creams to state-registered patients.
OPENING (April): Virginia Beach – Taiwanese Bubble tea chain Gong Cha is opening a location at 2029 South Lynnhaven Pkwy. in April. The chain sells items such as green tea yogurt, chai tea latte and milk coffee.
OPENING (March): Virginia Beach – The Pink-Dinghy, a cocktail-happy Latin American spot with rotisserie chicken and empanadas, will open in a pink house at 6091/2 19th Ave. in the ViBe Creative District. The spot will open under the creative minds behind Doughminion Donuts and the Bottlecraft beer bar.
OPENING (by February): Hampton – Fuller’s Raw Bar, a restaurant named after the closed Fuller’s Restaurant, will open at 38 W. Mellon St. by February. The southern-inflected oyster bar will keep five or six oyster varietals on hand at any given time. Scallops, clams, mussels, crabcakes, and shrimp rolls will also be served.
OPENING (by early 2019): Virginia Beach – The German-style Bier Garden in Portsmouth is extending its reach. The popular beer bar and schnitzel house will open a new location at 2272 W. Great Neck Road. The owners say it will be similar to the original Bier Garden, but the space will be more open and airy.
OPENING (?): Norfolk – A Virginia ABC store is readying a move into the former Smoothie King location in downtown Norfolk. The 143 Granby Street storefront has had a letter attached stating that “Virginia ABC is considering establishing a retail store at this location.” A Virginia ABC spokesperson confirmed the state is in the leasing process but there’s no tentative opening date yet.
OPENING (?): Norfolk – Aldi is eyeing a move into Norfolk’s Ghent area. The grocery chain submitted a conditional-use permit application to the city’s planning commission for use of a former Farm Fresh space at 730 W. 21st St. – a space that Harris Teeter had held until recently. It’s unclear when the grocery store would open.
OPENING (?): Virginia Beach – A Taco Bell restaurant is under construction at the corner of 29th Street and Pacific Avenue. The property was previously home to the 17-room Balboa Hotel that was demolished in 2011.
CLOSING (by end of January): Norfolk – Say goodbye to Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma. The two stores will be leaving the MacArthur Center in January. San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma did not directly say why the stores were going to be closed. Williams-Sonoma is closing on Jan. 27 and Pottery Barn’s lease expires at the end of the month. Shoppers can get 20 percent discounts store wide at Williams-Sonoma and 30 percent off at Pottery Barn at the MacArthur stores.
LAUNCHING (in January): Chesapeake – Ever wanted to have your own yoga subscription box? Chesapeake resident Valeria Williamson plans to launch the subscription service Do a Shot of Yoga in January and deliver a box full of secret yoga-themed items to subscribers.
OPENED (Dec. 28): Chesapeake – Wigo Food officially opened Dec. 28 in a former Farm Fresh location that closed two years ago. Jacob Choe, an international grocery vet on the import/export side wanted to open his own internationally focused stores starting with the location at 211 Providence Rd. in Chesapeake. He has plans for a second location in Maryland. The grocery features a variety of produce, a large seafood department that allows customers to request their cuts and Asian, Hispanic and Turkish specialty items as well as American staples.
OPEN (Dec. 20): Virginia Beach – A new taqueria called Las Tapatias A Todo Taco opeend at 5033 Virginia Beach Blvd.
OPEN (Dec. 10): Virginia Beach – One of the largest wineries in the country opened a restaurant and tasting room at 733 Lynnhaven Mall on Dec. 10. Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants, which has more than 30 tasting rooms in nine states, doesn’t grow its own grapes. It buys grapes from vineyards all over the world to create their blends of wine.
OPEN (Dec. 8): Virginia Beach – Union Alehouse, “an eclectic and unique spin on classic American fare with a subtle ‘union’ of flavors from other cuisines,” was opened by partners Bryan Connolly and Kevin Dugan in the former Tubby’s Tavern space at 2224 Virginia Beach Blvd.
OPEN (Dec. 4): Williamsburg – Michelin-starred chef Michael Maksimowicz opened a taco and oyster bar at 722 Merrimac Trail. Casa Pearl sells menu items such as chimichurri-marinated grilled fish tacos, Peruvian ceviches and crudos with Asian citrus called yuzu.
CLOSED/OPENING: Norfolk – It’s a NEON district location that has been many things in just three years (it was the Parlor on Granby, then the Granby Social Club, then Island Canteen). Now, it looks like it might become a French bakery. Based on the Downtown Norfolk Council’s NEON district newsletters, 765 Granby St. is expected to re-open as La Brioche sometime this year.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Bro’s Fish Tacos, known for its food truck, opened a brick-and-mortar location at 277 N. Lynnhaven Road in November. The fast-casual taco bar serves West-Mexican-style tacos, beer-battered fries and nachos among its menu offerings.
OPEN:
November 2018
OPENING (April 28): Virginia Beach – Wegmans has set a date. The grocery chain will open its first Hampton Roads store at the corner of Independence and Virginia Beach boulevards near Town Center. It will be 113,000 square feet and is expected to include a burger bar.
BACK ON SHELVES (March 25): Hampton Roads – Blue Bell Ice Cream should be back on store shelves in the region beginning on March 25 next year. Construction of a 14,000-square-foot distribution facility in the Northgate Commerce Park in Suffolk began earlier this year. No announcements have been made yet for which store locations will carry the ice cream.
OPENING (Feb. 14): Norfolk – The tucked-away Norfolk pagoda at the point of Freemason Harbor is getting a new tenant. Kisha Frazier, owner of Hummingbird Macarons on Botetourt Street in Norfolk, will open her Oriental Garden teahouse at 265 W. Tazewell St. on Valentine’s Day of 2019. The pagoda will become the business’s teahouse and retail space. It will serve desserts, sandwiches, pasta salad, to-go salads and other light fare.
OPENING (before end of 2018): Virginia Beach – A midsized music hall is expected to open at one of the highest natural elevation points in the city — an explanation for the venue’s name, Elevation 27. The 600-capacity music venue will open under former NorVa head Bill Reid in the former Eagle’s Nest on 600 Nevan Road in the Hilltop area. Breakfast and Reuben spot The Jewish Mother will reopen at the venue after it closed four years ago. Some of the food items making a return are its fresh-cut meats, scratch-made egg and chicken salads, and matzo ball soup.
CLOSING (Dec. 22): Chesapeake – A classic diner is closing its doors after 25 years. The Grill at Great Bridge will no longer be serving its Philly-style cheesesteaks, scrapple and eggs, or pecan pie and cheesecake. Owners Gary and Ann Pyles are off to retirement. The restaurant opened in July 1993.
CLOSING (mid-December): Norfolk – Kroger is closing its only Norfolk store in mid-December and won’t be opening a new store at the former Farm Fresh space it bought right across the road. The Wards Corner store on Little Creek Road will be closed because of declining sales and profitability.
REOPENING (mid-December): Virginia Beach – Chick-fil-A is still working on its restaurant at Salem Crossing. The restaurant was temporarily closed in July and the building was demolished to make way for a larger building. It was the first free-standing Chick-fil-A in Virginia Beach. It’s anticipated to be re-open in mid-December.
OPEN: Norfolk – Off the Hook Seafood, a popular seafood eatery in Chesapeake, opened its second location at 2000 Colley Ave. in Ghent.
OPEN: Newport News – Mr. Boil is open in Newport News at 704 Mariners Row Suite 108, with a somewhat novel combination: Cajun-style crawfish boil and a build-your-own poke bar.
OPEN: Chesapeake – Kroger opened a store at 1464 Mt. Pleasant Rd. on Nov. 28. The Chesapeake store is the sixth to open of the Kroger Mid-Atlantic stores acquired from Farm Fresh in the region.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Prosperity Kitchen and Pantry, the new bakery from Commune owner Kevin Jamison and baker Ishiah White, opened November 18 at 532 Virginia Beach Blvd. in the Vibe District, serving a world of bread and Roman-style pizza slices.
OPEN: Hampton – A new taphouse, Pour Girls, has opened in the former location of the Hampton Taphouse.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – The wait is over. Famous Uncle Al’s Tap House started serving its beef dogs and chili cheese fries on Nov. 20 on Mediterranean Avenue. Owners Marc and Crystal Ford also operate two Scotty Quixx locations in Virginia Beach.
OPEN: Chesapeake – Build-your-own pizza restaurant Your Pie opened a location in Towne Place at Greenbrier at 733 Eden Way N. on Nov. 16.
MOVED: Virginia Beach – Women’s clothing and accessories shop Trish Boutique has a new home. The shop moved from its Pacific Avenue location to the Hilltop North Shopping Center. Home accessories will be added to the shop’s inventory thanks to the larger space. It opened the shop doors on Nov. 16.
CLOSED: Chesapeake – It’s still a mystery. Cahoon Plantation Golf Course abruptly shut down on Nov. 5, leaving residents next to the course wondering why it closed. The future of the course is uncertain and residents are anxious to hear what will happen to the property.
OPENING (to be determined): Virginia Beach – Doughnuts are taking over a bank. Dunkin’ Donuts, which is rebranding itself as Dunkin’, will renovate a former Wells Fargo bank at 5284 Providence Rd. in Fairfield Shopping Center.
OPEN: Norfolk – Haga Guitars, which sells handcrafted acoustic and electric guitars, opened on Colley Avenue in Ghent in September. It takes around 200 hours for the shop’s luthier to complete a single acoustic guitar that costs between $2,500 to $5,000. Electric guitars and basses cost between $1,500 and $4,000.
OPEN: Norfolk – New restaurant Cagney’s Chicken & Seafood opened at 2804 Colley Ave. after extensive renovation and remodeling in late September. Fried chicken and fish, barbecued baked chicken, and livers and gizzards are only a few items on the menu.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – You may be confused by a new restaurant’s sign outside its doors. Sole Food Kitchen started serving wings, fried fish and hush puppies at 2720 N. Mall Dr. No, its name isn’t spelled wrong. The restaurant is a partnership with the buy-sell-trade consignment store Sole Food Kicks right next door. It opened around mid-September.
October 2018
OPENING (February or March 2019): Virginia Beach — Men’s clothing boutique Commonwealth for the Greater Good will open a second Beach location in Town Center. The store at 4528 Main Street sells men’s fashion and sportswear brands. It is expected to open in February or March.
OPENING (by end of year): Virginia Beach – Michael Michele Nail Spa will open by at the end of the year at 180 Central Park Ave. in Town Center. The spa offers pedicures, manicures and other services.
OPENING: Chesapeake – Poketastic, a new build-your-own poke restaurant with a broad mix of fish and protein options, will be open in early November at 1200 N. Battlefield Blvd.
CLOSED/RETOOLING: The Hampton Taphouse, a 14-year-beer institution on the peninsula, has been sold and is currently closed. The new owners, so far, have not revealed their plans.
OPEN: Norfolk – Chesapeake Japanese restaurant Osaka Ramen and Sushi has opened a second location in Norfolk, near Old Dominion University at 4300 Monarch Way.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – More hand-pulled noodles are being stretched in Virginia Beach. Twisted Cafe is making Chinese-style lamian beef noodle soup (called ramen on the menu) 315 N Great Neck Rd Ste 308 in Virginia Beach, alongside a small selection of dumplings, curries and rice dishes.
OPEN: Portsmouth – Chef Skip 757, a fast-casual seafood spot in Virginia Beach, opened a second location in Portsmouth at 4210 Portsmouth Blvd.
OPEN: Virginia Beach and Chesapeake – Two new fast-casual Greek spots opened in Hampton Roads in October. Mario “The Pitch” Lemonis’ franchise The Simple Greek is open in Chesapeake’s Crossways Shopping Center at 600 Crossways Blvd. Gyro and falafal spot It’s all Greek to Me is open at 750 Independence Blvd. in Virginia Beach.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – A police-themed brewery called Thin Brew Line Brewing Company will open in early 2019 at 1635 Oceana Boulevard, with a police veteran as brewer and two brothers as owners – one of whom a Virginia Beach police officer, the other an actor and stand-up comedian with credits on HBO and in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon” movie.
EXPANDING: Chartreuse Bistro on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk is busy expanding into the space of the former shoe store next door. Co-owner Karine Varga says he new space should be open by early November, and that the plan is to “spread everything out a bit, add seating for wine & cocktail enjoyment.” The new space ill have a view of the inside of the Monticello Arcade, she adds.
OPEN: Norfolk – Slide Thru #FAM, a hip-hop themed Filipino slider spot, is now slinging in downtown Norfolk’s Selden arcade, with “super lumpia,” pancit, chicken adobo mini-sandwiches and banh mi sliders made with pork dinuguan.
RE-OPENING: Kroger will re-open the former Farm Fresh it bought earlier this year at 309 S. Battlefield Blvd. in Chesapeake on Oct. 31. The company said 50 of the 108 full-time and part-time workers were hired from Farm Fresh. The new store will eventually feature Kroger’s “Scan, Bag, Go” technology where customers can scan their groceries on their own without having to get in line to pay.
REOPEN: Norfolk – 219 Bistro on Granby Street reopened on Nov. 12 after undergoing renovations.
STILL OPEN: The larger Farm Fresh chain may be no more, but a few independent buyers have kept several grocery stores alive (along with the fried chicken).
OPEN: Chesapeake – The Works Kitchen, a new restaurant concept inside Chesapeake eSports and gaming spot GameWorks, is now serving over-the-top, Fieri-style burgers and boozy shakes – including a towering $21 double-patty burger stack with grilled cheese inside it.
OPENING: MS International will be debuting a granite countertop and tile showroom in early 2019. The Southern California company gained granite fame when it supplied the black stone needed for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
OPENED: Williamsburg – Your Florida friends should finally stop talking about how great Publix is and how much they miss it now that the grocer has opened its first official Hampton Roads location in Williamsburg. Until now, the grocer’s closest locations (as its made its northwest crawl) were in Kill Devil Hills and Richmond.
CLOSED: Norfolk – Well, that didn’t take long. An Applebee’s that opened in downtown Norfolk with a design that was a bit different from its stand-alone suburban roots has closed about 10 months after it debuted. The restaurant had leased 5,100 square-foot space at the foot of the Wells Fargo Center at 440 Monticello Ave. below apartments and next door to a Buffalo Wild Wings. As of early October, the region still had about 10 locations of the fast-casual chain.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses opened its second Virginia Beach location on Oct. 12. The store at 545 Hilltop Plaza sells eyeglass frames, contact lenses and eyeglass accessories.
OPEN: Grammy’s Karaoke Bar, an East-Asian-style karaoke bar with private, rentable karaoke rooms, opened in August at 904 S Lynnhaven Rd. in Virginia Beach.
September 2018
CLOSED: Suffolk – Barbecue spot That Good BBQ in downtown Suffolk closed, after the owners moved to Oklahoma and were unable to pass the business onto their son, as had been previously announced.
OPEN: Mea Culpa Cafe, from the people behind liege pop-up Waffletina, opened very quietly at 2410 Colonial Ave. on September 30. For now, there are no plans for more Waffletina pop-ups.
OPENING (Late September): Virginia Beach – Farmhouse Brewing Co. opened its 8-acre craft beer and cider oasis in Kempsville Sept. 29. It’s an expansion of Back Bay Brewing with locally made and sourced brews at a 1912 farmhouse on the old Wood family farm, with tasting rooms, food trucks, a farmers market and gardens growing figs, blueberries, hops and other beer ingredients.
TEMPORARILY CLOSED: Norfolk – 219 Bistro has been closed for renovations as of Sept. 26. Owners Rz Restaurant Group promise a complete makeover.
OPENING (2019): Norfolk – A massive new food hall called Granby Station is planned for downtown Norfolk next year, with a bar and 13 food vendors selling food ranging from Indian street fare to modern Filipino desserts.
CLOSED: Virginia Beach – Tubby’s Corner Market on Shore Drive closed quietly in early September after only two months in business.
OPENING: Keeping the juices flowing, Town Center Cold Pressed is opening a third location, this one inside the former Bite space at the Wells Fargo building in downtown Norfolk at 440 Monticello Ave. The juice, coffee and healthy bowls purveyor will host its grand opening Oct. 6. It has two other locations, its original kiosk inside a coffee shop at Town Center in Virginia Beach and a restaurant on Colley Avenue in Norfolk. Bite owner Matt Mancoll confirmed he sold his restaurant and is focusing on his catering division from a location in Virginia Beach, still under the Bite name.
CLOSED: Norfolk – On Sept. 17, local focused eatery FMC Garden Cafe closed its doors after three years, announcing its closure on Facebook. Cehf Brandon Morrison wrote he would continue his Full Metal Chef catering business, and would attempt to re-open the restaurant in the future.
CLOSED: Another food court stall has left MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk. Mercato, a pizza eatery, closed on Sept. 17. The restaurant took the place of Sbarro, an original tenant, in 2014. A mall spokeswoman declined to say whether Mercato’s departure was unexpected. Tapioca Go, a tenant slated to fill the Brewster’s Chicken vacancy, now expects to open in October.
OPENING: Conn’s HomePlus is moving its furniture and appliances into Hampton Roads. The retailer that offers in-store credit and payment-plans has moved into the former hhgregg space at 3421 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Virginia Beach. Conn’s is also opening locations at 2550 Airline Blvd. in Portsmouth on Sept. 8 and in Hampton on Nov. 9. The company has described its core customers as “credit-constrained consumers.” Without any promotions, a $2,000 credit purchase in its Virginia stores, for example, could ultimately cost a customer making 36 minimum monthly payments of $87.62 at an estimated APR of 32.5 percent a total of $3,154.32.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – The quesadilla burgers at 808 Lynnhaven Pkwy in Virginia Beach have been swapped for orange chicken. Panda Express has moved into the space formerly occupied by Applebee’s (of quesadilla burger notoriety).
REOPENING: Virginia Beach – Headwear retailer Lids opened its redesigned store with a new look in Lynnhaven Mall. A reopening event was held on Sept. 29. The store offers custom embroidery on products.
CANCELED: Portsmouth – The Greyhound music venue planned for downtown Portsmouth next year, was recommended against by Portsmouth’s planning department, after concerns about crowds, parking, and negative externalities. These concerns were also raised by real estate developer Daniel Aston. Greyhound’s partners withdrew their application before the planning commission.
OPENING (Spring 2019): Norfolk – Owners of cultishly popular Richmond brewery the Veil have confirmed they’ll open a Norfolk brewpub the former Chop House building at 2314 Colonial Ave. Ian Hock of Codex will make the food menu.
August 2018
OPEN: Norfolk – Turo-turo Filipino restaurant Mixers Bar and Grill opened Aug. 9 at 4136 Granby St.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – On Aug. 20, a new location of “daytime cafe” and pancake house First Watch opened at 2850 Virginia Beach Blvd in Virginia Beach.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – On Aug. 15, Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodle spot Noodle Man opened in Virginia Beach’s Haygood Center at 1047 Independence Blvd., with the namesake noodles alongside dumplings, mapo tofu and spicy beef appetizers.
CLOSING: Oceanview patio dive Greenie’s, sold in May to the city of Norfolk, will have its last day Sept. 5. If you’re hoping to become the proud owner of the bar’s Budweiser frogs, we apologize: They’ve already been sold as a gift, to a tearfully grateful recipient.
OPEN: On Aug. 25, Smoothie Stop Cafe celebrated its grand opening at 2836 Virginia Beach Boulevard in Virginia Beach. Co-owner Chris Taylor says they will sell all-natural smoothies: just the fruit, no sugar.
CLOSED AND OPENING (in September): Virginia Beach – Virginia Beach mainstay Stoley’s served its last burger slider August 26, after 14 years in business at 1408 N. Great Neck Road. The restaurant sold to former insurance exec Neil Waranch, who plans to open a Tex-Mex cantina called Cowboy Neil’s.
OPENING (in September): Norfolk – Courtney White, a Suffolk native with experience at FIG in Charleston and Michelin-starred restaurant Rebelle in New York, hopes to open French-influenced wine bistro Blanca as soon as September in the former Barking Dog space at 4117 Granby St., in the Riverview neighborhood.
OPENING (in October): Virginia Beach – Kevin Jamison’s Commune will open a pizzeria and bakery across from at 532 Virginia Beach Blvd., across the street from Commune’s original ViBe Creative District location. The restaurant will serve Roman-style pizza in the evening and operate as a retail bakery during the day serving “endless bread.”
OPENING (Mid-September): Norfolk – MacArthur Center has a plan to fill the large hole left by Brewster’s Chicken this spring. Tapioca Go, a cafe known for its bubble tea, will take over the 2,300-square-foot empty food court space this fall. And, for the first time, the vendor will sell food. Hawaiian-style poke bowls are on the menu.
OPENING (by Labor Day): Norfolk – An indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course is opening at Norfolk Premium Outlets. The business, Glowgolf, has filled a store near Oshkosh B’gosh.
CLOSED: Virginia Beach – The Jimmy Buffett-themed Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant in Virginia Beach closed without warning or fanfare Aug. 24, alongside locations in Indiana and Florida. Paradise can now be found only in two places: Omaha, Nebraska, and Secaucus, New Jersey.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Aldi lovers, rejoice. The popular grocery store opened its fifth Virginia Beach store on Thalia Road on Aug. 23. The company also rolled out a product expansion with new products that make up 20 percent of each store’s merchandise. Fresh Food products increased by 30 percent.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Hampton Roads didn’t have to wait long for beer to flow again at the former Green Flash brewery off General Booth Boulevard; Atlanta-based New Realm, from former Stone brewer Mitch Steele, opened August 21.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – There’s a “daytime” restaurant in town. First Watch The Daytime Cafe opened a location at 2850 Virginia Beach Blvd. on Aug. 20. The chain restaurant, which also has a Hampton location, serves made-to-order breakfast, brunch and lunch and is open 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day. More locations are planned for Virginia Beach and Norfolk and a Williamsburg location will open before the end of the year.
OPEN: Norfolk – An ambitious, Virginia-obsessed restaurant called Four Eleven York opened Aug. 15 at the site of the former Freemason Inn, from the people behind nationally renowned Norfolk beer bar the Birch.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – The asado drought is over. Jorgio’s Argentinian grill has finally re-opened in a new Virginia Beach location at 3157 Virginia Beach Blvd., Suite 105, in the Lynnhaven neighborhood. The opening date has been much delayed, first announced for late May and then mid-June.
CLOSED AND CLOSING (next year): Norfolk and Portsmouth – Two of the last old-school soul-food Chinese yock restaurants in Norfolk, Far East and Sun Wah, are closed – on July 14 and May 25, respectively. Another, 53-year-old Sing Wong in Portsmouth, will close next year.
OPEN: Chesapeake – Looking for a pet hotel that will offer Fido a suite with TVs, pools and blueberry facials? PetSuites opened a location on Taylor Road that offers all of the above and more for its 14,000-square-foot boarding and daycare facility. Cats and dogs are welcome but other pets won’t get to take advantage of the amenities. It opened Aug. 11.
OPENING (September): Norfolk – The massive hulk of a former Chuck E. Cheese’s will soon become an Indian grocery store, banquet hall and restaurant. Swagath Groceries will be at 920 North Military Highway, in a 14,000-square-foot structure currently under renovation.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Did you know Columbus, Ohio, has its own style of pizza? You’ll be able to try it now that 55-year-old, family-owned pizza franchiser Donatos Pizza has opened its Virginia Beach shop at 1833 Republic Road in the Hilltop area.
ON OFFER (inside Harris Teeter): Norfolk – When the Farm Fresh in Ghent closed a couple months ago, it left a gaping hole in the Jewish community’s ability to get kosher food nearby. Harris Teeter stepped in after a local letter-writing campaign, and now sells kosher cheeses, deli meat, frozen bread and rolls, and other items.
OPENING (sometime): Virginia Beach – Shake Shack is coming. The beloved New York-based burger chain doesn’t know when they’ll open, but they do know where: The burger shop signed a lease the southeast corner of Constitution Drive and Virginia Beach Boulevard, at 296 Constitution Drive.
July 2018
OPENING (by the end of the year): Virginia Beach – Taiwanese restaurant Cheers Cut will open a location between Relax the Feet and Endless Nails in Fairfield Shopping Center. The spot will be the chain’s first in Virginia. The signature dish? Crispy fried chicken.
CLOSING (by late September): Chesapeake and Virginia Beach – Sears will close its two stores at Greenbrier and Pembroke malls. The Greenbrier store’s auto center will close by late August. Liquidation sales are expected to begin as early as July 13. The stores are the last of the company’s mall locations in South Hampton Roads.
OPENING (September): Virginia Beach – Get a blowout like Miranda Lambert or Kacey Musgraves at the second location of a Nashville salon that caters to country music stars. The Dry House will provide blowout and braiding services and free champagne and wine. The date for its September grand opening is forthcoming.
OPENING (August): Chesapeake – American-style tapas spot Kapers plans to open on South Battlefield Road this August
OPENING (August): Chesapeake – Big Ugly Brewing Co. found a new home. The new 6,000-square-foot brewery and taproom left its location at the strip mall and moved to its new spot at 845 S. Battlefield Blvd. The new location is triple the size of its former location and will double brewing capacity. It will open its doors on Aug. 4.
CLOSED: Norfolk – Oceanview pizzeria Mona Lisa’s closed July 26 after 15 years, when lease negotiations broke down with their landlord.
OPEN: Norfolk – Looking for a cheaper way to wear high-end shoes? Sole Food Kicks sells both new and consignment shoes, clothing and accessories with a buy-sell-trade model. It opened its second location on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk on July 28.
CLOSED: Virginia Beach – After 45 years of weddings, parties and plates of baklava, Hilltop favorite the Virginian Steakhouse closed its doors July 24 as owners George Christodoulias and Gus Kalivas decided to retire. Sister restaurant George and Gus’s Spaghetti and Steakhouse will remain open, run by Christodoulias’ son.
TEMPORARILY CLOSED: Virginia Beach – Dockside Pungo favorite Blue Pete’s has been shut down for flooding as of July 23. Owners hope to re-open in August with a party.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Need to blow off some steam? Try the new ax-throwing range. Tribal Axe will teach you throw to safely throw hatchets at targets. But you have to be at least 12 years old to participate. It opened on Central Drive near Lynnhaven Mall on July 18.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – After months of renovations, burger and taco spot Tubby’s Corner Market opened at 2272 W. Great Neck Road on Shore Drive on July 16, with a wood-patterned American flag dominating the bar space.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Time to get cooking. Cookware retailer Williams Sonoma opened a location on Central Park Avenue in Town Center on July 13.
OPEN: Norfolk – Former Chops chef Eric Nelson opened much-anticipated cocktail, fresh pasta and raw seafood house Crudo Nudo on July 12 at 727 W. 21st St. in Ghent.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Upscale bubbles and oyster bar the Atlantic on Pacific, helmed by Eurasia chef David Brue, opened July 4 on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront.
CLOSED/OPENING (autumn): Norfolk – AJ Gator’s closed at 435 Monticello Avenue without warning on April 22, but the space will be home this year to a culinary incubator called Percolator that will rent kitchen time to budding entrepreneurs. Air plant store Hinterland Trading will also take root.
OPEN: Norfolk – In the first week of July, homestyle breakfast and lunch diner 757Crave opened a downtown Norfolk location at the corner of York and Brambleton, serving world-beating waffles and lumpia, along with “Fili-Philly” steak sandwiches.
CLOSED: (all locations) – It was the end of an era. Toys R Us closed all of its remaining stores across the nation on June 29 – about 70 years after it was founded. All the Babies R Us stores were closed as well. The store on Military Highway in Norfolk was the last location to close in Hampton Roads.
RE-OPENED: Virginia Beach – Croaker’s on Shore Drive has re-opened as of June 18 with a full remodel: aqua blue-washed wooden floors, wooden ceilings, bright white walls, exposed ductwork, creatively tiled bathrooms and a colorful fish-scale accent wall.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Oceanfront shuffleboard bar Beachside Social opened June 25 with six full-size deck shuffleboard courts and a bocce court.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Guangdong Taste Cantonese restaurant opened in June serving Cantonese favorites like siu mei roasted pork and duck BBQ, wonton noodle soup and congee.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – At Tunisian restaurant Carthage Mediterranean, which opened in April at 2935 Virginia Beach Blvd. in Virginia Beach’s Lynnhaven neighborhood, you can eat earthy seafood spaghetti, shawarma-stuffed pizza pockets, a spicy take on a French crepe, tomato-rich lamb curries and a flatbread egg-and-veggie sandwich, called a keftaji, that may be the world’s most delicious take on a McMuffin.
OPEN: Portsmouth – At the end of June, soul food spot District opened up at 448 Green Street in Olde Towne – in the former location of Caribbean spot Juice – serving yams, wings, liver and onions, shrimp and crab cakes.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – It’s miniature golf with a twist. Play in an enchanted world filled with vibrant, glow-in-the-dark gnomes, volcanoes and beaches. Partee’s Blacklight 3-D Golf opened an indoor course at the intersection of General Booth Boulevard and Dam Neck Road on June 9.
June 2018
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Huge local-focused 5,500-square-foot bar and restaurant Old Beach Tavern opened in Virginia Beach June 22 at 3020 Virginia Beach Blvd., with crabs from Hampton, oysters from the James River, scallops brought in fresh from the Eastern Shore, and burgers and steaks made with humane-slaughtered beef from Virginia farms.
OPEN: Norfolk –Tiny new Nepali spot Chulo, which opened in May at 5900 Virginia Beach Blvd., is a swirl of pungent spice and warm comforts: glorious momo dumplings filled with brothy spiced chicken, fiery pork choela mixing Indian and Szechuan spice, and a daal lentil dish so rich and buttery Julia Child might bathe in it.
OPENING (August 2018): Virginia Beach – Beer could be flowing out of the taps again at the former Green Flash facility off General Booth Boulevard as soon as August 1, the owners of New Realm Brewing Company said. First, they are working to get the 50-barrel brewhouse up to par. Then they’ll focus on their restaurant.
OPENING (by August 2018): Virginia Beach – Fans of the beer-battered flounder and habanero-drenched grilled shrimp tacos at Bro’s Fish Tacos will soon be able to enjoy them with a beer any day of the week. By the end of the summer, Bro’s will open a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Virginia Beach at 277 N. Lynnhaven Road, Suite 11, just south of Virginia Beach Boulevard.
OPENING (by July 2018): Virginia Beach — Studio I Do Bridals, the bridal department of All the Rage, will open in suite 138 of Hilltop East Shopping Center in July. The space was previously occupied by Shore Gallery & Design.
CLOSING: Norfolk – Rockport, a men’s and women’s shoe store known for comfortable footwear with a dressier look, is going out of business at MacArthur Center. The retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is shutting all of its North American locations. Operations are winding down at the store, with it closing no later than July 31.
OPENING: Norfolk – Latitude Climbing and Fitness will open a climbing gym that’s focused on bouldering. It’s not about how high and fast you can climb. The challenge comes with 18-foot walls that are more horizontal and no ropes or harnesses are used. The facility has a training area, juice bar, yoga studio and fitness area. It will open at 9 a.m. on Lindsay Avenue in Norfolk’s Ghent on June 30.
OPENING: Virginia Beach — Retailer Floor & Decor opens its first 90,000-square-foot Hampton Roads location at 312 Constitution Ave. on June 28. The retailer offers free design services and carries over 1 million square feet of flooring.
OPENING: Newport News — A Piggly Wiggly grocery store on Jefferson Avenue at Brooks Crossing will have a grand opening on June 27 at 8:30 a.m. The Keene, New Hampshire-based company has more than 530 stores in 17 states.
OPENING: Williamsburg — Organic grocer Earth Fare will have a grand opening for its new location at 208 Monticello Ave. in Midtown Row on June 27.
OPEN: Norfolk – After a long build-out and permitting process, French-Filipino spot Nouvelle opened June 12 in a much bigger space at 4110 Colley Ave., in the original location of the Dirty Buffalo wing spot. Chef Rina Estero has instated a new Sunday Filipino brunch at the new location.
OPEN: Virginia Beach – After the closure of Agave Bar and Taqueria, Chicho’s is at 2957 Shore Drive, tucked into the back of a small shopping center. Chicho’s began serving up pies at the Oceanfront in 1968, and this new location brings the total to five – three in Virginia Beach and two in Chesapeake.
OPENING LATE: Norfolk – As of June 22, LeGrand Kitchen chef Stephen Marsh’s Jewish-inspired deli Hoyt’s Luncheonette has expanded its hours to include weekday evenings till 7 p.m. and weekends till 10 p.m – including a late-night menu of roasted chicken, ribeye, small plates and a boozy mix of cocktails that fans might miss from the time when Marsh’s Shiptown seafood restaurant held court at the location.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – For those with a crafty side, JOANN will open a store at 551 Hilltop Plaza in Virginia Beach on June 22. The popular fabric and craft retail chain also sells finished home goods, food crafting and seasonal merchandise. The first 100 people through the door at opening will receive gift cards.
OPENING: Chesapeake – A Club Pilates studio is opening on Hanbury Road at the Hanbury Village Shopping Center in Great Bridge on June 21 and will be the franchise’s only studio within 60 miles. A grand opening event will be on July 19.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – La Bella Italia restaurant, at 2133 Upton Drive, was closed May 2 by a fire, but has re-opened after six weeks.
OPENING (eventually): Virginia Beach – Minnesota-based Caribou Coffee announced it will open its first outlet in Hampton Roads at Virginia Beach’s Town Center.Caribou will open a 2,000 square-foot location with Einstein Bros. Bagels, under the somewhat on-the-nose name Coffee and Bagels. No opening date has yet been announced.
OPENING: Hampton – A one-of-a-kind Dunkin’ Donuts landed in Hampton on June 12. The location is the first of the company’s new concept for adapting to mobile ordering by offering only drive-thru and walk-up service. A separate drive-thru lane is provided for customers who order through Dunkin’s mobile app.
OPENING (new location): Virginia Beach — Dan Ryan’s for Men changed its name to Dan Ryan’s Fine Clothiers and moved its location from the Hilltop Shopping Center to a spot within The Bishopsgate, a department store on Virginia Beach Boulevard.
May 2018
OPEN: Virginia Beach – Surfside restaurant opened at 5600 Virginia Beach Boulevard, serving cocktails, burgers and a menu of familiar seafood classics from crab cakes to all-you-can-eat crab legs.
OPENING: Norfolk – Kate Spade New York, known as a luxury brand for handbags and accessories, will open a store at Norfolk Premium Outlets in June. While they may not take top billing, Seafood King, a food court stall, and Plaza Azteca, a restaurant, also are opening soon. The shopping center, at Interstate 64 and Northampton Boulevard, is celebrating its first anniversary at the end of this month.
OPENING (eventually): Hampton Roads – Jamba Juice, a longstanding smoothie choice on the west coast, opened its first and only Hampton Roads franchise location last year at the Norfolk Premium Outlets. Now it says it wants to open up to 15 more locations in the region in the next five years. The company hadn’t sold any new franchises in the past two years but is now in expansion mode and eyeing Virginia, Washington DC, North Carolina and Florida. Loren Bontrager, director of franchise business development, said the company analyzed the corridor from Richmond to Virginia Beach and discovered it had a lot in common with the demographics it likes in California and Phoenix including population density, workers consolidated around city centers, median income and residents keen on healthy lifestyles. Plus, it’s a coastal, warm region. “We need to be there,” he said. “We’ve got these great pockets.” The company is looking for franchisees for the stores. The cost? The franchise fee is $35,000, and the initial investment ranges between $236,100 and $501,800, according to the company.
CLOSED: Virginia Beach – Bevello, the women’s clothing store which moved to its second location in Town Center at One Columbus Center #108 when Hinterland Trading moved into its old space, closed up as of 7 p.m. on May 23. An assistant store manager reached by phone said the Kitty Hawk-based retailer had decided to close all three Virginia locations (the others are in Charlottesville and Fairfax). Bevello had at least 29 locations at one point in nine states spanning the southeast. The manager said the lease at Town Center had another four years on it. A message left with Bevello was not immediately returned. Michael Divaris, president of leasing company Divaris Real Estate, said they should have an announcement in a couple weeks regarding a new tenant for the space. He said Bevello’s closure was the “product of a bigger picture” and that the retailer was doing pretty well in its Virginia Beach space.
CLOSED: Norfolk – Exception(ale), a growler-filling station in Ghent, announced it would close, likely in the next two weeks after selling off most of its inventory. The owner, Greg Hartman, alluded to friction in the craft beer industry contributing to his decision to shut the business but wouldn’t elaborate on the details.
OPENING: Norfolk – The owners of two of Norfolk’s best-loved restaurants are teaming up on an ice cream and sandwich shop. Revenge Creamery, located in Norfolk’s historic Selden Arcade at 208 Main St., will be the product of chef Kevin Ordonez of pan-Asian ramen spot Alkaline, and Dylan Wakefield of butcher-shop sandwich hall Pendulum Fine Meats.
CLOSED: Norfolk – Brewster’s Chicken closed Sunday at MacArthur Center, leaving a large hole in the mall food court. The restaurant was the first for the fast-food chain in the region and only operated for two years.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – Fans of homegrown, locally-managed pizza joints will have another Chicho’s to patronize. The pizza chain says it’s opening its fifth location on 2957 Shore Dr. in Virginia Beach later this month. That puts the pizza place in three locations in Virginia Beach and two in Chesapeake, and close behind Y-Not as far as locations (it has seven).
OPEN: Chesapeake and Norfolk – On May 3, healthy fast-casual franchise Muscle Maker Grill opened the first of a projected string of locations across the seven cities in Chesapeake’s Crossways Center at 1412 Greenbrier Pkwy. A Granby Street location in downtown Norfolk will follow in August.
OPENING: Norfolk – A new nightspot will arrive in Norfolk’s NEON district as soon as this summer. A group of partners with their feet in the nightclub and event promotion industry plans to open an art-focused lounge called Culture in a long-vacant space at 814 Granby St., most recently home to a vape shop.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – In the Haygood Shopping Center at 1021 Independence Blvd., incoming healthy fast-casual spot Clean Eatz is designed to be a healthy alternative with low-sodium, low-fat meals and plenty of specialized diet options.
April 2018
OPENING: Virginia Beach – Furniture row in the beachside city will get a bit bigger when Rooms-To-Go moves in sometime next year. The city just approved a zoning application for the retailer to bring its first location to the region. The Pilot reports that it will be built off Virginia Beach Blvd., west of Town Center and next to the Guitar Center.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – A taste of Napa Valley is coming to the Lynnhaven Mall. Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurants is opening a restaurant this year. The Pilot’s resident foodie Matthew Korfhage describes the small chain that dots the east coast as “clubby, upscale-casual wine restaurants.“
CLOSED: Virginia Beach – That’s it for Braise, a popular restaurant from chef Bobby Huber before his death in September 2014. The owners tell The Pilot the closing isn’t for lack of business or higher rent, rather the chance to focus on other things after a long time spent in the restaurant business.
March 2018
CLOSING: Norfolk – Bye bye, Greenies. The dive bar by the bay in Ocean View and the neighboring Ocean View Diner are slated for demolition once the city buys them and bulldozes them to make room for more beach, at least in the short-term. In a news-packed State of the City speech, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander also announced that the downtown Greyhound station would now house Tidewater Community College classes and the operator of the MacArthur Mall would add a hotel, restaurants and homes next door.
OPENING: Virginia Beach – The Ruby Tuesday that closed in August 2016 is becoming a Park Lane Tavern, described by its new owners who operate two others as a “high-energy European tavern.” The restaurant is set to open in April at 1250 Fordham Dr. UPDATE: It hadn’t opened as of mid-May 2018.
OPENING: Suffolk & Norfolk – Fans of sandwich chain Which Wich can now visit a new location in Suffolk at 1011 University Blvd. “which” opened Feb. 26. Downtown Norfolk residents and workers will get one eventually, too. The franchise owner is opening a shop at the corner of City Hall Avenue and Granby Street where a (Famous) Uncle Al’s (Hot Dogs) was before it moved next door.
CLOSING: Norfolk – Your chances of snagging a vintage-style plastic blow-mold holiday decoration or artificial tree at General Foam Plastics‘ annual holiday sale are not looking good. The company that had struggled to compete with overseas competitors has put its Norfolk factory up for sale for $6.4 million.
Briana Adhikusuma, 757-222-5349, b.adhikusuma@pilotonline.com
