HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Sidney Gunst had a problem. He was faced with two vacant, adjoining spaces in his Innsbrook Shoppes strip center after two restaurant tenants closed down.
But Gunst, known as the mastermind of the surrounding Innsbrook office park, didn’t panic.
He decided to knock down a wall separating the former Sharky’s and Curry House spaces and build out a nearly 12,000-square-foot bar and restaurant, designed to have the feel of downtown breweries while also catering to Innsbrook workers.
Atlas 42 will open at 4032 Cox Road at Innsbrook. (Mike Platania)
He’s calling the spot Atlas 42, inspired by a statue of Atlas he rescued from being thrown out at Stony Point, as well as Douglas Adams’ novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The statue is visible from the space’s large outdoor patio, which includes a bar.
With two 30-foot bars, six pingpong tables, two bocce ball courts, eight cornhole sets and two stages, Atlas 42 aims to be a destination for Innsbrook workers after they clock out, Gunst said.
“I needed a creative solution to the problem,” he said. “I’ve got the space. Now I just need an operator.”
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