Mike Platania

1 week ago | richmondbizsense.com | Mike Platania

The French Quarter building, more commonly known as the longtime home of English pub Penny Lane is under new local ownership. Local investor and former Haley Automotive Group president Doug Pridgen bought the 3-story mixed-use property at 421 E. Franklin St. last month for $3.1 million. Penny Lane, which has been downtown and owned by the O’Neill family since the late 1970s, will continue operating as usual on the ground floor of the structure, which dates to 1927.

2 weeks ago | richmondbizsense.com | Mike Platania

After a year sitting idle, a local farm brewery is coming out of hibernation. Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery in Goochland County is preparing to reopen around May 15. Owner Lisa Reynolds Brotherton shuttered the brewery at 4100 Knolls Point Drive early last year as she was battling health issues from an immunological deficiency. The plan all along, she said, was to eventually reopen the brewery, something she’s currently working on.

2 weeks ago | richmondbizsense.com | Mike Platania

This week’s online auction of longtime Varina swimming hole Hadad’s Lake ended yesterday without any bidders, and the property is now being marketed for sale once again. The Hadad family, who had operated the water park and entertainment venue at 7900 Osborne Turnpike for over 60 years, has been looking to sell the property in recent years. In 2023 they listed the 6.5-acre park, along with an adjacent 30-acre wooded parcel, for sale with an asking price of nearly $1 million.

2 weeks ago | richmondbizsense.com | Mike Platania

The legal fallout from the fire that last year burned down Lakeside Burgers & Fries has drawn to a close. Jordan and Shelby Castaneda, the siblings who faced felony arson charges related to the blaze, have each been sentenced in Henrico County Circuit Court in recent weeks. On Tuesday, Shelby went before Judge Randall G. Johnson Jr. and was sentenced to 10 years probation for her involvement in the fire.

2 weeks ago | richmondbizsense.com | Mike Platania

A restaurant space at one of the Near West End’s busier intersections has a new user lined up. Jessica Wilson is preparing to open Grace at 6919 Patterson Ave., the standalone building that was most recently home to Odyssey Fish and Billy Pie prior to that. A Vermont native, Wilson’s been a chef for over 30 years. She said she’s helped open and run the kitchens of nearly a dozen restaurants in New York City, and that she’s also cooked professionally on yachts, trains and at Alaskan heli-ski lodges.