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The ribbon cutting for Petersburg's Boppers Malt Shop in October; the business opened its doors in July.
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Boppers employees wear old-fashioned ice cream parlor uniforms.
Petersburg has gotten a little sweeter.
Craig Richards and co-owner Ray Ferguson opened Boppers Malt Shop, a 1950s-style ice cream parlor, at 414 N. Sycamore St. in downtown Petersburg in July.
Guests step through the doors and back in time as they are greeted by checkered floors, sparkly red-glitter chairs and a life-sized statue of the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley.
“We had one in West Virginia before we moved to Virginia,” Richards says of the shop. There was also a Boppers location in Hopewell that closed in late 2016.
Richards and Ferguson chose to open their third shop in Petersburg because of the town's unique and quaint personality, and the retro-themed eatery aims for an experience that transports guests.
“Our [employees] are in, you know, white shirt, suspenders, hats and bow tie, and they're dressed as soda jerks,” Richards says, referring to the nickname given to employees who once worked the soda fountains inside pharmacies, the term deriving from the jerking motion they made when pulling the handle.
Beyond the aesthetics, Boppers' menu also offers a whimsical and nostalgic experience.
“We make old-fashioned malts, black cows, a lot of unique products that were available back then,” Richards says.
While Boppers' offerings lean towards the sweeter side, savory options are available, including “The Rebel,” a toasted pepperoni roll with melted mozzarella, a steak and cheese roll dubbed “The Fat Cat,” hot dogs, french fries, and other casual fare. Diners can find three flavors of house-made soda on tap: grape, root beer and cherry bomb. Richards says that Boppers is considering bottling and selling its sodas.
But at the forefront of the nostalgic joint are shakes, chocolates, ice cream and house-made nondairy ice cream. “We make a lot of our products in house,” Richards says. “We also do special things like dipping honey buns and Twinkies [into] chocolate."
Boppers recently unveiled its premium coffee cafe for the fall and winter seasons. While they offer traditional french press and drip coffee, several of the options have a sweet spin. “Floated” takes a cup of joe up a notch with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, a cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Coffee drinks can be “bopped,” or finished with whipped cream and caramel and chocolate sauces.
Also publisher of the Progress-Index newspaper, Richards says he was born into the world of chocolate, and opening Boppers was a natural evolution.
“I'm a third-generation chocolatier, so the candy store was part of that,” he says. “We thought people would enjoy the throwback of an old malt shop, and we thought it would be a fun and exciting place to be.”
Boppers Malt Shop is open from noon until 8 p.m. daily.
