Southbound restaurant closing due to rent hikes after 10-year run
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Southbound will closed on Nov. 16. Image: Courtesy of Southbound
Southbound restaurant will close at the end of service on November 16 after 10 years in business.
Why it matters: It was one of the city's most exciting new restaurants when it opened in 2014 — for Richmonders and for visitors, according to Bon Appétit mag, which named it one of the best new restaurants in the nation.
- Now, the owners are calling it quits rather than pay a 60% rent increase, they tell Axios.
The big picture: Award-winning chefs and restaurant owners, Alewife's Lee Gregory and Heritage's Joe Sparatta, teamed up a decade ago to bring upscale city dining to a sleepy strip mall in the Bon Air suburbs. It was a hit.
- But that was then.
- Today, the shopping center is fully leased with a slate of big-deal tenants that started moving in during the pandemic, including Trader Joe's, a boutique pet store, a fitness studio, plus a coming-soon freestanding Sephora and an upscale American restaurant from the Tazza owners.
Zoom in: The chef-owners spent months trying to come up with lease terms that made sense, but ultimately couldn't, making the closure especially bittersweet, Gregory tells Axios.
- On the one hand, the restaurant was a success for 10 years, "which is an eternity in the restaurant industry, where it's like dog years," he says.
- And the chefs did what they set out to do: prove a higher-end family-friendly restaurant could thrive in the suburbs.
- On the other, they're leaving a dining hole in the community where they both live with their wives and kids, plus many longtime staffers without jobs.
What they're saying: "This isn't just a Southbound problem, this is a Richmond problem. Stuff is too expensive. People want to charge NoVa prices," Gregory said, adding that Richmond has neither the population nor the income to support those prices.
The other side: James Ashby IV with Cushman & Wakefield — Thalhimer, which manages the center for an out-of-state owner, confirmed that rents are up across town, especially in grocery-store-anchored shopping centers.
- The city's overall retail vacancy rate is 3%, which is incredibly low, he said, and that makes Richmond a landlord's market.
- "They did well there for many years and I personally wish them the best," he added.
What's next: Southbound will be open through Nov. 16 and the owners' other restaurants, Heritage in The Fan and Alewife in Church Hill, will continue on as normal.
- Ashby said he's already talking with several national and regional brands about taking over the space.