David Waraska in Shockoe Slip (Photo by Jay Paul)
David Waraska rarely goes out for lunch.
The creative director at visual effects and animation studio Alice Blue says that daytime foot traffic is dead in Shockoe Slip, where his office is located, so much so that fewer and fewer restaurants are open for lunch.
Nearby staples like The Tobacco Company are only open for dinner on weekdays, and longtime institution Sam Miller’s closed in 2025. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, other lunch spots have also shuttered, including City Dogs (2024) and Luxe New American Bar & Grill (2023).
Waraska sees hotel visitors and The Martin Agencyʼs employees milling about, he says, “but otherwise it’s a ghost town.”
Richmond isn’t alone. Many cities saw a hollowing out of their central business districts during the pandemic, when remote work policies sent many cubicle dwellers home. The suburban retreat, which some economists refer to as the “donut effect,” left downtown office districts without their economic engines. As workers disappeared, businesses, restaurants and retail shops closed. They’ve been slow to return.
Bob Gibbs, a Washington, D.C.-based urban planner, says it takes a 2-to-1 ratio of office space to retail space for an area to thrive. “Retail follows restaurants, restaurants follow offices,” he says. “Each office worker directly supports 20 square feet of retail and restaurants.”
It could be worse. According to the Greater Richmond Partnership, the metro region’s top economic development agency, RVA continues to attract IT and cybersecurity companies, finance and insurance firms, and law practices. These employers tend to offer high-paying jobs and compete aggressively for talent.
Employers like the city’s “cool, hip vibrancy,” says Jennifer Wakefield, the partnership’s president and CEO. “Richmond has a realness and, to some extent, a grittiness to it.”
Tech company KORE Wireless recently moved into its new offices at the James Center. The company employs more than 500 people globally and debuted a hub in Richmond in December 2025. Both CEO Ronald Totton and Chief Human Resources Officer Gloria Garber are based in the area, and Garber says they wanted to contribute to the economic growth in the city.
They looked at office space in Manchester and in Scott’s Addition but chose downtown for its proximity to hotels and restaurants — and access to the James Center parking deck. “[The new office] has inspired us to do some hiring in the Richmond market,” Garber says, noting that the office can accommodate about 15 new hires. “We’re really excited to kick off an internship program this summer, and we’re looking to get some students involved and build our presence here in the Richmond community. Richmond has been very good to us.”
Returning Slowly
The central business district, generally defined as the area stretching from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond to Capitol Square, is home to many of the city’s largest employers, including Capital One, Wells Fargo, Dominion Energy and CoStar. While many of these companies sent desk workers home at the start of the pandemic in 2020, most began calling them back to the office around 2022.
But those who have worked in the district since before the pandemic say the weekday buzz that once defined the area has been slow to return.
Alice Blue has maintained an office in Shockoe Slip since 2000. Founder Meredith Ott says the company chose the neighborhood for its proximity to other creative agencies, including The Martin Agency. “It has taken a while to get that same energy in place that existed in Shockoe Slip prior to the pandemic, but it has slowly been coming back,” Ott says. Even so, the daytime activity remains uneven.
James Henever, who has worked downtown since 2001, says it hasn’t been the same since COVID. Remote working means fewer employees in the financial district, and “it also broke dining,” he says. Amy Wight, who has also worked in the area since 2001, is more optimistic. She recalls a time when downtown largely shut down after offices closed. “It just was so dead down there after five o’clock,” she says. With more residential development and cultural goings-on in 2026, like plays and art galleries in the Broad Street corridor, Wight now spends more time downtown in the evenings.
Space to Grow
Downtown also has an inventory problem, GRP’s Wakefield says. The lack of top-tier “trophy” office space, she says, means the city has missed out on potential new business moving in. But that could be about to change.
The 20-story Dominion Energy building at 707 E. Main St. is currently being converted into a hotel and residential apartments. Meanwhile, the James Monroe Building at 101 N. 14th St. just hit the market after the state began relocating employees in mid-2025. The property’s zoning allows for offices, housing, hotels, restaurants and retail — giving developers wide latitude to reimagine its future.
The city also has programs to incentivize both new leases and property redevelopment downtown. The transformation of Dominion Energy’s former headquarters is benefiting from a city tax abatement program that offsets a portion of the property taxes generated by the redevelopment.
Through its Enterprise Zone program, the city, in conjunction with the state, awards up to $10,000 to companies relocating offices to downtown’s business core. Smaller businesses, such as restaurants, that invest in equipment can apply for up to $5,000. Property owners big and small can apply for grants through the city’s Commercial Area Revitalization Effort (aka CARE) Program that help with interior and exterior improvements to their commercial buildings.
Katie McConnell, deputy director for the city’s Department of Economic Development, says there is a new program set to launch in 2026 that will award funds for projects that “add vibrancy” to the area, including murals, lighting and art.
“The pandemic hurt a lot of downtowns, and Richmond is no exception. But Richmond’s fundamentals have been really strong,” McConnell says. “I think there’s a real groundswell from the community, from the private sector, and from the public sector to support and increase the revitalization of downtown.”
