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Anchor Bar chicken wing restaurant to open at Stony Point Fashion Park

Posted at 2:06 PM, Oct 11, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-11 14:13:21-04

RICHMOND, Va. – South Richmond shoppers will soon have a new food option, now that the Anchor Bar has signed a 10-year lease and announced plans to take over residence at the former Champps Americana location in Stony Point Fashion Park.

Anchor Bar calls itself the “home of the original chicken wing,” and hails from Buffalo, New York.

The restaurant’s wing origin story goes back to 1964, when bar owner Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the flagship Buffalo location. His mother, Teressa, was tasked with fixing up a meal for some friends and so she deep fried chicken parts that would usually go into a soup stock and covered them in a special sauce.

These days there are 9 sauces from which to choose, and one of them is labeled “suicidal.”

Though each menu is catered to its geographical location – there are two Canadian and five U.S. Anchor Bars – a sample menu of the staples includes wings and boneless bites, in addition to house-made lasagna, pizza, and hot sandwiches.

The local franchise operator David Allred has signed a 10-year lease with the mall, and plans to open by the holiday season, confirmed Reilly Marchant, with commercial real estate brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.

Allred, a technology specialist with Microsoft, said he has wanted to “open a restaurant for many years.”

“Stony Point is a very family oriented entertainment and shopping center,” Marchant said. “The Anchor Bar prides itself on its quality of food and appeal to families of all ages. That part of the concept is a natural fit at Stony Point.”

“Additionally, the restaurant has a sports bar component to it and the convenience and accessibility of Stony Point will draw patrons from Chesterfield to the West End, where there are very few sports bar options,” Marchant said.

The shopping center could see new construction if new tenants call for additional space. Renderings courtesy of Starwood, via RichmondBizSense

The shopping center could see new construction if new tenants call for additional space. Renderings courtesy of Starwood, via RichmondBizSense

Stony Point’s restaurant tenants include P.F. Chang’s, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, CineBistro, Kobe Sushi, Brio Tuscan Grille, Chipotle, Panera and Les Crepes.

In recent years, Stony Point’s overall performance has trailed its rival Short Pump Town Center – they both opened in 2003 — which in 2012 posted revenue three times that of Stony Point’s, according to RichmondBizSense.

In 2015, the new owner of Stony Point Fashion Park announced plans to spruce up the 13-year-old Southside mall.

Chicago-based Starwood Retail Partners, which purchased the shopping center in 2014, for $72 million, announced a $50 million plan to upgrade Stony Point’s outdoor areas and add more retail options.

The outdoor upgrades include adding games, fountains, tables and fire pits, among other amenities, to the mall’s west side. A new park, dubbed the Triangle Park, created on the eastern side, will feature heated benches and a stage for summer concerts that will turn into an ice skating rink in the winter.

Starwood acquired Stony Point as part of a $1.4 billion, seven-mall deal with Taubman Centers, which developed the Richmond mall in 2003, according to a RichmondBizSense report.

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