This article has been updated since it first appeared in print.
Years ago, when Dustin Richardson and his co-workers at Bamboo Cafe were killing time, they’d play a game about Carytown.
“The idea was that you could get anything in Carytown except for cars and guns,” Richardson says. “So, you’d list three items and then the other person would have to say where in Carytown you could get those items.”
Richardson, who’s lived in and around Carytown for 30 years and now works for a state agency, says there were so many retail offerings — everything from hardware stores to bakeries — that it was tough to stump someone. “One time I played the game, and I said, ‘Let’s see, darts for a dartboard, a pork pie hat and a king cake,’” Richardson says. “Beck and Little was the name of the place that sold sporting goods. Ignatius Hats sold the hats, and then, of course, Jean-Jacques [Bakery] would have a king cake.”
Just as easily, one could tweak the game to name businesses that have come and gone along the 10-block stretch; Carytown encompasses West Cary Street and the surrounding blocks from North Thompson Street to North Arthur Ashe Boulevard. It currently boasts 226 businesses, from Agee’s Bicycles to Zorch Pizza — although by press time, one or more new businesses may have opened.
Change is a constant in Carytown, along with complaints about parking, grumbling about chain stores and talk of closing Cary Street to cars. While some see turnover among the strip’s retail and restaurant businesses as problematic, others say the area has rebounded from a spate of recent closures and is planning for the future with a new proposal to create a business district. Last year, the retail corridor literally hung up a welcome sign, so we went to ask merchants and residents about the current vibe in Carytown.
Thea Brown owns World of Mirth, a Carytown staple since 1999. (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Status Update
On one of those surprisingly warm days in mid-March, Cary Street was bustling. At The Byrd Theatre, Benjamin C. Cronly, executive director of The Byrd Theatre Foundation, confirms that shoppers and diners have returned to Carytown after the COVID-19 pandemic lull. However, he gives the area’s new stores mixed reviews. “I’ve seen a lot of new mom-and-pop shops and a lot of new cultural and local stores,” Cronly says. “But also, you see the big chains coming in … [and] a lot more tobacco companies. … It’s not the Carytown feel and vibe, if you will.”
At the nearby New York Deli, owner Demetrios Tsiptsis sounds more optimistic. “I think, from what I’ve seen, [Carytown] definitely has improved,” he says. New York Deli first opened in 1929 and has moved once since then — across the street. Tsiptsis bought the restaurant in 2004 and owns the building. “[Carytown is] quirky. It’s unique. It’s got nightlife. It’s got small shops,” he says.
A few doors down at World of Mirth, owner Thea Brown says, “I actually think Carytown is busier than it’s ever been.” The toy store has been in the same location since 1999, and Brown has worked there since 2004. “I remember the days where we were just waiting for somebody to come in the door,” she adds.
Jim Bland, the owner of Plan 9 Music, has been in Carytown since 1981; his shop is now in its fifth location in the neighborhood. “I’ve seen a lot of changes, of people coming and going, either retiring and getting out of the business or moving on elsewhere that seemed to suit them,” he says. Bland mentions Rostov’s coffee shop, which moved to Main Street in pursuit of more affordable rent; Ellman’s Dance Boutique, which relocated to Patterson Avenue for customer convenience and parking; and Guitar Works, which cited cost when it closed in 2018 after 40 years in Carytown.
“It’s good to watch how Carytown has evolved just in the 15 years that I’ve been here,” is how local resident Heather Garrett Flores puts it as she steps out of Minglewood Bake Shop, the vegan bakery that took over the Guitar Works space in 2021. The bakery is one of Garrett Flores’ favorite new spots on Cary Street.
Garrett Flores says today’s Carytown is very livable and walkable. “I take my bags, I walk to the grocery store, I walk to markets,” she says. “I go to the salons here and meet friends for coffees, for lunch, for happy hours in the neighborhood. … I have a 4-year-old who loves Carytown, loves walking in Carytown. Even as a little toddler, when we would be turning off to go home, he would reach his arms out to be like, ‘Stay walking.’”
Seen here in 1947, Cary Court was the genesis of Carytown as a retail area. (Photo courtesy The Valentine)
‘A Premier Location’
While many merchants and residents are enthusiastic about Carytown, they also voice concerns about issues such as rent, parking and the mix of businesses in the retail area.
“There are multiple empty spaces right now,” Cronly says of the blocks near The Byrd. “I think part of that is rent being high and [it] being a premier location. Some new startups just can’t afford it.”
For Cody Jones, owner of Toy Lair, affordability wasn’t an issue when he opened in 2021. “The rent was totally doable,” he says. However, after three years in Carytown, Jones recently moved to Broad Street. “One reason why I didn’t re-sign the lease is because they were going to jack [my rent] up by about $1,000.”
Jones’ experience isn’t unique.
Brown says of World of Mirth, “When I came in during the early 2000s, [rent] was in the $3K range. Now we are over $6K. We have a 3% rise every year, which, if it’s a good year, is not a problem.” However, the small but steady increase was an issue during the pandemic, she says. “At that time, I didn’t have a landlord that was willing to work with us. We definitely got hit pretty hard.”
The toy store’s reputation as a neighborhood staple has helped it weather a number of downturns — and landlords — over the years, Brown says. “We’re kind of an anchor store here,” she explains. “I just think people understand that we’re a long-term tenant and part of the culture of Carytown.”
Bev’s Homemade Ice Cream & Cafe, a Carytown mainstay since 1998, has a similar precarious stability. Co-owner Erin Bottcher, who took over the shop when its founder, Beverly Mazursky, retired in 2021 (Mazursky died in mid-June), says, “I think for where we are in Carytown, we have a decent deal. … Would we like it to be lower? Of course, but I think that’s anywhere that you’re renting. We have a long-term lease, which helps stabilize some of the rent. At least we know how much it’s going to go up every year.”
John Haggai, CEO of the Massachusetts-based Burtons Grill & Bar (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Parking Problems
Although Jones misses the vibe of Carytown, he says moving Toy Lair to Broad Street has afforded him more space, more customer traffic and, importantly, parking. “We have a parking lot, and that’s something that people complain about in Carytown all the time,” Jones says.
Parking is top of mind for many shop owners, although it is more plentiful now than in years past thanks to the free, 500-space parking deck that was built in 2020 as part of the Carytown Exchange project. In addition, the city offers two paid parking structures, and there is free parking along both sides of Cary Street, on side streets and at Cary Court.
“The biggest factor that causes a lot of people to avoid Carytown, I think, [is] parking,” says John Haggai, the CEO and president of Burtons Grill & Bar at Carytown Exchange, as well as a co-founder of Tazza Kitchen. “Parking has always been a challenge.”
Tsiptsis agrees, adding that parking also needs to be better advertised. “A lot of people don’t know we have parking behind [New York Deli],” he says. “There needs to be better signage for the parking decks, because so many tourists don’t know the parking decks even exist.”
Brown thinks there’s normally enough parking in and around Carytown, but also admits, “During the holidays, it’s nuts. People park on the wrong side of the road or block alleys.” She would like to see more accessible parking spaces made available and is also worried about being a good neighbor to nearby residents. “There’s nothing worse than coming back with a ton of groceries and not being able to park anywhere near your house,” she says.
Toe to Tow
The regular annoyances of vehicles have led some to campaign to permanently close Carytown to cars. The effort stems in part from the success of the annual Carytown Watermelon Festival, which sees the streets packed with pedestrians every August while bands play and vendors sell everything from watermelon to watercolors.
Some residents, like Richardson, applaud the idea. “It’s not pleasant to walk around,” he says. “Waiting at the bus stop, there are people just flying down Cary Street at like 45 miles an hour.”
He’d like to see Carytown create an area similar to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, which was formed in 1976 by closing streets to cars. “There’s parking garages,” he explains. “You don’t have to go into the [mall] area to park your car. You just park it nearby and then walk to [the mall].”
Business owners are more ambivalent about permanently closing the street to traffic.
“After much consideration and thought, I am against blocking off the street,” New York Deli’s Tsiptsis says. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I think Carytown needs tweaking. It doesn’t need an overhaul.”
Bottcher says it’s “a great idea,” but it needs to happen in a smart way. “There needs to be a lot more planning around parking, around diverting traffic flow,” she says. Closing the street once a month seems “more viable in the short term,” she adds.
World of Mirth’s Brown sees both sides of the issue. Although it would be “lovely” for children to be able to play outside the store without worrying about traffic, she wonders what sort of infrastructure is required to implement such a change. “There would definitely have to be some solid changes made before we could ever do that on a permanent basis,” she says.
‘Short Pump Central’
While Carytown Exchange brought extra parking to the area, it also lured several national or regional chains to the neighborhood, including Burtons, Torchy’s Tacos, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Sweetgreen, Warby Parker and Monkee’s boutique. Although chains have been part of Carytown since the beginning, opinions are mixed.
Burtons’ Haggai says a balance of chains and local shops is important, but he understands small business owners’ frustrations when chains move in. “There’s always been the stigma of chain restaurants. We kind of get a bad reputation,” he allows. Haggai argues that chains started as local businesses. “Everyone starts [with one location] and grows from there,” he says. “I think a lot of people have that aspiration to grow and multiply if they can.”
Tsipsis says the chains have spurred local businesses to stay open later. “There was a time when you would come to Carytown, and it was dead after 6 o’clock. … And I’m like, ‘You guys complain that everybody’s going to the mall. You know what you can do at a mall? Shop till 9 o’clock.’ Now, the smaller places are staying open till 8, 9 o’clock,” he says.
Others are more wary. Kamran Shaikh, the owner of T-Shirt Studio RVA and the 2024 Carytown Merchants Association president, says, “If they are competing with 10 of the smallest stores, then that’s a problem. I think if the chains go over 25%, 30% of the total mix, we got a problem. That would be the tipping point.”
Bottcher, whose ice cream shop is located near The Byrd, says competitors at the other end of the street, like Jeni’s, don’t necessarily impact her business, but admits, “It is frustrating to know there’s a huge chain competitor that has access to company-wide marketing.” She’s thankful that her regulars have stuck with Bev’s despite the advent of several ice cream chains over the years.
As a resident, Richardson doesn’t like seeing chains in Carytown. “It definitely feels a lot more impersonal,” he says. “It doesn’t feel like the businesses there exist to serve the neighborhood; it feels like the businesses exist to serve tourists. … I would like to see some care taken with Carytown before it becomes another Georgetown, before it basically becomes Short Pump central.”
Kamran Shaikh owns T-Shirt Studio RVA and was the 2024 CMA president. (Photo by Ash Daniel)
A New Bird?
Solving these problems — or at least getting people together to discuss them — falls to the Carytown Merchants Association.
A group of volunteers who own or rent brick-and-mortar businesses in the area, the CMA has represented Carytown for five decades. Perks of membership include a listing on the association website, carytownrva.com; social media boosts; and inclusion in a shopping guide. Responsibilities include keeping the streets clean, organizing events and publicity, and communicating with city officials.
According to Shaikh, “Less than 50% of the total businesses in Carytown are part of the CMA,” which members think creates an unfair burden.
Getting more businesses to buy into overall upkeep is one reason many merchants support the creation of a Business Improvement and Recruitment District, or BIRD, for Carytown. Businesses and property owners would pay an agreed-upon fee into the district account, which would fund beautification projects and publicity — and perhaps a few other items on merchants’ wish lists.
“My No. 1 thing for Carytown would be public restrooms,” Brown says. “We don’t have any. We need public restrooms.”
In July 2024, Richmond City Council adopted a resolution instructing the Department of Economic Development to hire a consultant to work with property and business owners to discuss whether a business district would be beneficial and outline an ordinance to establish one. But the BIRD is “still up in the air” Shaikh said at the end of April.
The problem? Many of the chains don’t want to buy into the BIRD, Shaikh says. A few of them originally seemed interested in the idea, he adds, but then the business owners proposed a fee schedule based on square footage. “When the numbers came to crunch, they kind of pulled out their support,” he says. That stalled the proposal.
It’s a sore point for Tsipsis. “I’m extremely disappointed that Kroger and some of the other bigger corporations weren’t involved. Hopefully they’ll change their mind,” he says.
James Menees, corporate affairs manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic, says the company is “supportive of initiatives that build community and [enjoys] serving the community in many ways, including sponsorships of the [Monument Avenue] 10K, Feed More and, really, nonprofits across the area through our community rewards program.” However, he declined to comment on the BIRD.
Reps. Stephanie Lynch, 5th District, who represents Carytown, and Reva Trammell, 8th District, co-sponsored the resolution. In an emailed statement, Lynch says, “The BIRD initiative will help enhance the shopping experience for both locals and tourists by fostering thoughtful improvements, supporting small businesses and attracting new, complementary retailers. It’s a smart investment in the future of Carytown that builds on its legacy while positioning it for continued success.”
Despite the lack of action on the BIRD, many of the businesses are happy with their interactions with the city. “I think they’ve always been helpful. I hear people complain about the city, but they respond,” Tsiptsis says, adding that Lynch attends CMA meetings. “They are constantly fighting for more money for Carytown. They are huge supporters of us, which it’s great to have somebody in your corner.”
Moreover, Carytown residents are also content. Tracy DeVera, who’s lived near Kroger for 11 years, says the street suits all of her needs. “I feel like it has a good mix — a little bit of everything,” she says. “I will say that it’s gotten better. They’re opening lots of restaurants, salons, things for dogs and pets. [It’s] quirky. They have pretty much everything we need and more.”
And although you can no longer get a pork pie hat in Carytown, Richardson hasn’t entirely given up on it, either. “There’s still a little bit of what Carytown used to be as far as just a neighborhood resource, a neighborhood retail district. And I would love to see something happen to keep that about Carytown.”
The 2900 block of West Cary Street (Photo by Ash Daniel)
Origin Story
Cary Street has had several names over the centuries, but it was called Westhampton Avenue in 1927, when City Council voted to rename it to honor Revolutionary War hero Archibald Cary, says Christina K. Vida, a curator at The Valentine museum. However, the new name was slow to catch on. When The Byrd Theatre opened on Christmas Eve 1928, a splashy story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch gave the theatre’s location as Westhampton Avenue.
The area around The Byrd began to grow in the 1930s when the shopping center now known as Cary Court opened. “It was called the Park and Shop,” Vida says. “It was the first shopping center in Richmond, and when it first opened, it had 150 parking spots.”
The Park and Shop was anchored by two grocery stores, A&P and Sanitary Grocery Co., evidence that chains have been part of Carytown since the beginning. Vida notes that one store advertised its location as West Cary Street, while the other, “literally next door,” placed itself on Westhampton Avenue. “It took about 12 years for people to really commit to the West Cary Street address,” she adds.
The area wasn’t known as “Carytown” until the mid-1970s, Vita says. “The Carytown Association advertises that they have revived this Merchants Association and are hoping to do sidewalk sales and Fourth of July sales together to attract customers to this area” she explains. “And that’s the first time where you really see ‘Carytown’ associated with the neighborhood.”
