“New” development north of Broad on Staples Mill
Posted: December 19, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Commercial Leasing, Henrico County, Multi-family Housing, New Development, Office Buildings, Redevelopment, Residential, Retail | Tags: commercial real estate, Henrico County, real estate development, Redevelopment, Richmond, Virginia | Leave a comment »About once a month I get a question about the large, vacant property that borders Staples Mill Road that is just north of West Broad Street, right over the Henrico Count line. My answer is always that it was an old, rundown neighborhood that was purchased and cleared with the intention of rebuilding, and that the developer is the same group that is doing the project at Monument Avenue and Willow Lawn Drive – Gumenick Properties. As to why it hasn’t been started, well just look around at new building all around the country. The developer was obviously waiting until the economy turns around.
But, I always have to give that answer with the caveat that the last official word I had heard about it was a few years ago. I couldn’t even be sure that the same plans were in place. Thankfully I can point to this article on Richmond.com that gives us the lowdown on the current situation — which is pretty much as described as above. It sounds as though things are just on hold, but the same big plans are still on the books. In fact, this project is expected to take 10 years even once they finally get underway.
You need to go read the article to see all of the reported details, but I thought I would share a couple of details of the plans here:
What: Staples Mill Centre, proposed to include 1,096 apartments, 571 condominiums, 391 townhouses, 32 single-family homes, 60,000 square feet of offices, and 100,000 square feet of stores.
Where: About 80 acres between Staples Mill Road, Libbie Avenue and Bethlehem Road, near Interstate 64.
Starting a business in Richmond? You don’t want to miss this!
Posted: September 26, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: City of Richmond, Government Institutions | Tags: Bandazian & Holden, business environment, business owners, downtown Richmond, government, Richmond, Virginia | Leave a comment »Being involved in helping start-ups in Richmond, we often get invitations to attend sessions put on by the Economic Development departments of the local governments. When we get them, I’ll make sure to post them here for your reference. The ones I’ve attended in the past have been extremely helpful and great brush ups on the resources that the localities provide for small business.
Here is the email from the City of Richmond that we received regarding the upcoming event:
As part of our ongoing efforts to provide you with valuable information & resources, the City of Richmond Department of Economic and Community Development-Business First Richmond Program is pleased to announce another in our series of free educational seminars.
The City of Richmond Department of Economic & Community Development and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will host the first in a two part series on establishing and growing your business. Part I in the series the” Entrepreneur Express Seminar” will address the basic concerns of establishing a business in Richmond. The seminar will be held Wednesday, October 12, 2011 from 8:30 am to noon at the Police Training Academy, 1202 W. Graham Road, Richmond, Virginia 23220. (See Entrepreneur Express Seminar Flyer for details) Please share this information with your clients and colleagues.
To sign up (free!), you can either register online by clicking here, or call 804-371-0058.
Oh, and make sure to let me know if you’re going to be there! Leave a comment here or at least be sure to come up and say hello when you see me there.
Virginia ABC laws changing soon
Posted: September 26, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Government Institutions, Legal, Restaurants | Tags: ABC law, Bandazian & Holden, business environment, government, legal, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia | 1 Comment »
*image courtesy of Alan Turkus (http://www.flickr.com/people/aturkus/)
A common complaint in the restaurant industry here in Richmond is about how outdated and difficult (and sometimes just plain nonsensical) the ABC regulations are, especially for start-ups. Well it might finally be time for that to change:
…the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board is for the first time in 20 years reviewing and updating all of its regulations in an effort to rewrite or eliminate any antiquated and burdensome restrictions. And they’ve asked the state’s merchants to help, giving them until Oct. 17 to propose changes.
You heard them, folks. If you have an ABC license, then they want to hear from you! Be a part of the updates in the ABC laws. If you’ve seen what can be done better, now is your chance to speak up.
Where to speak up? I’m not exactly sure. I checked the Virginia ABC website and didn’t see anything specific about the initiative, but calling them directly would be a good place to start. If you do know the reporting process, please leave a comment with the information.
(Thank you to Richmond BizSense for pointing out this article in their morning email. If you’re not receiving it already, then you might want to rectify that.)
It’s true, RVA, Mint is coming to the Fan!
Posted: September 25, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: B&H News, Buying a Business, City of Richmond, Restaurants | Tags: Bandazian & Holden, business owners, commercial real estate, downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia | 1 Comment »There was a rumor floating around for the past few weeks that Amy Cabaniss, the owner of Julep’s in Shockoe Bottom, was purchasing the building where Davis & Main operated a long-standing restaurant for decades. There was good reason for the rumor, because it was true!
Amy closed on the deal to purchase the real estate and the equipment at 2501 West Main Street this past Friday afternoon. Richard Holden, Principal Broker at Bandazian & Holden, represented Amy in the purchase.
It has been on the market for some time. Fan of the Fan reported back in June that the restaurant had closed, and I know that it had been for sale for some time before that. We are proud that Bandazian & Holden was part of making this sale happen, and even more proud that such a fine restaurateur will be the one taking over.
The new restaurant will be Mint New Casual Cuisine. From all of the great ideas that I’ve heard from Amy and from the reactions I’ve heard so far from the neighbors, the Fan District will be very happy to have her there!
Congratulations on the purchase, Amy! I can’t wait to try out the new place!
What to do if your landlord doesn’t respond to repair requests?
Posted: September 23, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Legal, Multi-family Housing, Residential, Tenants' Rights | Tags: Bandazian & Holden, legal, property management, tenants rights | Leave a comment »So you’ve had a roof leak for a while, making the drywall from the ceiling cave in..and who knows, maybe there is mold in there?! You called the landlord or property manager about the problem when you first noticed it, which was 2 months ago, and maybe they sounded like they were going to take care of it (and maybe they didn’t) — but you haven’t heard from them since. What do you do?
This is important. Do not stop paying rent. There is no advantage to be gained legally by withholding rent, even if the place becomes untenable. The courts do not look kindly on a tenant taking that kind of decision into their own hands.
Instead, listen to the advice given in this recent article by Richmond.com, “Don’t Let The Walls (Or Ceiling) Cave In On You“:
- Be current in your rent
- Give your landlord written notice of the problem
- Wait a reasonable amount of time
After a reasonable amount of time has passes, take a copy of the written notice, along with the next months rent, down to the John Marshall general district court at 400 N. Ninth Street. A clerk will help you file a legal assertion.
…
There is a small filing fee of $56 to file assertion. We’ve even tracked down the onlinie form, DC-429, available through Virginia courts here.
If you stop paying rent, you may still be liable for late fees and other repercussions for being late (i.e., bad marks on your credit or even eviction). You are not alone or powerless against a landlord, but you have to play by the rules that have been set up to protect everyone involved.
Have you been through this process with the courts? I would be grateful if you share your experience below in the comments, so that everyone can learn from it!
Look good by selling your business (even for $1)
Posted: July 31, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Selling a Business | Tags: Bandazian & Holden, business brokering, business owners, selling a business | Leave a comment »I see far too many businesses close rather than accept a price lower than the owner believes it is worth (more than ZERO is way too many).
Pride is usually the culprit in these situations. Often the argument is, “we put $x into the build-out and equipment and we need to make that back”. On the surface this sounds like it makes sense, but those are sunk costs — in other words, money that was spent in the past. That works great as a psychological barrier to selling, but it is healthier to keep the costs in mind without getting too hung up on those numbers. There are many reasons why the dollar amount you put into the operation of the business would carry less value (or no value at all, or even a negative value) to a prospective buyer — wear and tear, style, operational differences, etc.
Sometimes a little perspective is needed, and there is a recent post from Penelope Trunk that provides an argument that I hadn’t thought of before — being able to say you sold your business is a great resume builder! She goes even further to say that it doesn’t really matter how much you received as a price for the business because the terms of a transaction are expected to be confidential, or at least that it is not considered strange to not disclose the terms of the sale.
This quote from her post says it best:
To be honest, you still look pretty good, compared to the rest of the world, if you say you started a company and it failed. Because the gumption and intelligence to start a company is flattering to anyone.
But you will look really good if you say you sold the company. Even if you get someone you know to buy it for a very small amount of money.
Of course it is better to sell for more, for a lot of reasons. But there is a point where you are ready to get out of your business. Maybe you’ve gotten what you consider to be a “low ball” offer (someone giving an offer much lower than they think you will accept, just on the off chance that you will go for it). Well, maybe it’s time to consider that offer more seriously. What’s more important — “winning” the negotiation OR getting out of the business without having to say that you shut it down?
All I ask is that you consider this advice when you’re making that fateful decision whether to shut the doors or to take that offer that you feel insulted all of your hard work.
Richmond restaurant pioneer dies at age 85
Posted: June 27, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Restaurants | Tags: business owners, downtown Richmond, Restaurants, Richmond, Virginia | Leave a comment »While we have many talented restaurateurs and chefs in Richmond, but only a handful can claim such a long-lasting impression on Richmond’s restaurant landscape as Stavros “Steve” Dikos can.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a wonderful article that commemorates his restaurant legacy. Read it — you will recognize the restaurant names! Dikos was the father of Katrina Dikos Giavos, whose husband Johnny Giavos is mentioned so much in the local restaurant scene because of their string of highly successful restaurant ventures (3 Monkeys, Kitchen 64, Sidewalk Cafe, etc).
Mr. Dikos passed away over the weekend of heart problems at the age of 85. My thoughts go to his family, and all of the people whose lives he touched, as they work through this loss.
7 key items to keep your corporation or LLC legitimate
Posted: June 12, 2011 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Government Institutions, Legal, Selling a Business | Tags: business brokering, business environment, business owners, government, legal, selling a business | Leave a comment »No one likes to do paperwork. (well, almost no one — if you find that rare individual, hire them and keep them!)
In order to keep your corporation or LLC compliant, there are things that must be done consistently. These requirements are not onerous, but they are easy to overlook in the hustle of your day-to-day business.
I have seen a number of closing on business deals that are delayed because the corporate books weren’t kept up, or the annual fees weren’t paid and the corporation has to be re-instated. Be sure to set an appointment in your calendar once every 6 months to review all of these items and be sure that there is nothing that you need to catch up on.
Small Business Trends has a great post from this past week about this exact thing (here), so I won’t rehash it all over again. Here are the key points they make:
1. File your initial/annual reports (also known as a “Statement of Information”)
2. Keep up to date with your corporate minutes and resolutions
3. Record any changes for your corporation/LLC by Filing “Articles of Amendment”
4. Make sure you’re legal when conducting business out of state
5. Don’t commingle your personal and business finances
6. File DBAs for any name variations
7. Don’t forget to close an inactive business by dissolving your corporation/LLC
Read the full post for the details behind each of these pointers and consult with your accountant or your attorney, or whoever helps you with your corporate records.
If you are thinking of selling your business, this review should be on your checklist to take care of at the beginning of the selling process.
Take the little bit of time now to stay in compliance and avoid any red tape nightmares later when you find out that you didn’t!