A Richmond entrepreneur plans to open an upscale cafe in a West End shopping center. Rendering courtesy of Deborah Moody.
A local salon owner plans to open a French- and Japanese-inspired cafe in the West End.
Deborah Moody expects to open Karam Paris Caffe at 8906 W. Broad St. in the Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower in May or June. Moody said she has a five-year lease for the 1,300-square-foot space, formerly home to a Quiznos.
Karam Paris Caffe will serve bread, pastries, sandwiches and coffee influenced by French culture. Moody said she wants it to be the kind of place where people can spend hours in a low-key, contemporary setting.
“It’s basically a very upscale coffee shop,” she said.
Moody said it’s going to cost about $220,000 to open the cafe. She said she is getting help from a silent partner and BB&T. Louisa-based contractor Mark Fortune is doing the build-out, and Floyd Kenyatta is designing the space.
The Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower has about 8,000 vacant square feet remaining, according to the Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer listing.
Moody also owns Karam Man, a 3-year-old salon at Regency Square Mall, but she plans to leave the recently sold mall for a new location.
She said a friend named Yanil Karam, who lives in Paris, came up with Karam Paris Caffe’s menu. In addition to her Richmond salon, Moody said she also works in Hong Kong designing furniture. She travels to Tokyo and is using her visits to Japanese cafes that cater to French travelers as inspiration for her new Richmond venture.
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” Moody said. “The reason we chose the Gold’s Gym shopping center is gelato.”
Gelati Celesti has done business at Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower for more than 30 years. Moody said she liked the idea of opening near an established operator like that drives foot traffic to the area. Karam Paris Caffe will also join the recently opened Country Style Donuts in the shopping center.
Moody said she would eventually like to have five Karam Paris Caffe locations open in the Richmond area, with West Broad Village being the likely spot for the next location.
“We can never have enough restaurants here,” she said.
A Richmond entrepreneur plans to open an upscale cafe in a West End shopping center. Rendering courtesy of Deborah Moody.
A local salon owner plans to open a French- and Japanese-inspired cafe in the West End.
Deborah Moody expects to open Karam Paris Caffe at 8906 W. Broad St. in the Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower in May or June. Moody said she has a five-year lease for the 1,300-square-foot space, formerly home to a Quiznos.
Karam Paris Caffe will serve bread, pastries, sandwiches and coffee influenced by French culture. Moody said she wants it to be the kind of place where people can spend hours in a low-key, contemporary setting.
“It’s basically a very upscale coffee shop,” she said.
Moody said it’s going to cost about $220,000 to open the cafe. She said she is getting help from a silent partner and BB&T. Louisa-based contractor Mark Fortune is doing the build-out, and Floyd Kenyatta is designing the space.
The Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower has about 8,000 vacant square feet remaining, according to the Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer listing.
Moody also owns Karam Man, a 3-year-old salon at Regency Square Mall, but she plans to leave the recently sold mall for a new location.
She said a friend named Yanil Karam, who lives in Paris, came up with Karam Paris Caffe’s menu. In addition to her Richmond salon, Moody said she also works in Hong Kong designing furniture. She travels to Tokyo and is using her visits to Japanese cafes that cater to French travelers as inspiration for her new Richmond venture.
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” Moody said. “The reason we chose the Gold’s Gym shopping center is gelato.”
Gelati Celesti has done business at Gold’s Gym Plaza at West Tower for more than 30 years. Moody said she liked the idea of opening near an established operator like that drives foot traffic to the area. Karam Paris Caffe will also join the recently opened Country Style Donuts in the shopping center.
Moody said she would eventually like to have five Karam Paris Caffe locations open in the Richmond area, with West Broad Village being the likely spot for the next location.
“We can never have enough restaurants here,” she said.