Sprezza moving out of Shockoe and into the Fan
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203 N. Lombardy St., Photo: Karri Peifer/Axios
After an eight-month run in Shockoe Slip, Sprezza — the Southern Italian pop-up turned brick-and-mortar — has closed up shop and looks to be moving into the former Balliceaux space in the Fan.
What's happening: Sprezza's owner recently filed an ABC application and certificate of occupancy for 203 N. Lombardy St., BizSense reports.
- It's the latest update since the restaurant announced last week on Instagram that it was closing its Shockoe location immediately in favor of a TBD Fan spot.
Why it matters: Sprezza was extremely popular as a pop-up but failed to gain traction in its off-the-beaten-path Shockoe spot, in the former Morton's.
- Meanwhile, four restaurants have churned through the Lombardy space since Balliceaux closed in 2017 (Brun, Poor Boys, Flora event space and Flora).
The stringent parking restrictions around the restaurant have been an issue for some of the previous restaurant operators.
- On every street in the immediate blocks around the restaurant, parking is limited to one hour from 7am-9pm, Monday-Thursday, and until 6pm on Fridays without a Fan District parking permit.
- Most other parts of town with parking restrictions are for two hours since the average full-service meal for two takes around 90 minutes.
Yes, but: There are only around four restaurants within the limited parking zones, and some have made it work, including Kuba Kuba, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year.
- "It definitely hurts and affects business, but I guess we're used to it now," Manny Mendez, Kuba co-owner, tells Axios.