Max & Erma’s waiting for John Rolfe Pkwy

Yesterday BizSense reported the Max & Erma’s restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Downtown Short Pump, a BizSense news partner, reported today that the Short Pump franchise in the John Rolfe Commons shopping center is closed.

A sign on the door reads that the location will reopen once John Rolfe Parkway is cut through. The delayed road project has hurt businesses in the shopping center, many of whom came in with the understanding that the major thoroughfare would be completed soon thereafter.

One local business, Cavanna Pasta, was profiled last year in Richmond BizSense. At the time, owner Jonny Cavanna said the store would have to close by year’s end. Cavanna is still hanging on, partly due to a boost in sales from their bi-weekly booth at the nearby West End Farmers Market at Gayton and Ridgefield.

The first portion of John Rolfe Parkway, from Gayton Road to Ridgefield Parkway, where the shopping center is located, has been open to traffic for several years. The connection from Ridgefield to West Broad Street is yet to be completed, with the very last segment to be constructed right in front of Max & Erma’s.

Both Richmond locations of the restaurant chain are franchises and not company-owned.