HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A West End shopping center has found its sweet spot.
Coco & Hazel, a new espresso and milkshake shop, is preparing to open in the Tuckahoe Shopping Center at 405 N. Ridge Road, Suite 411 in western Henrico.
Chelle Bravo and husband Omar Bravo Carbajal own the confectionary, which will fill 1,200 square feet once occupied by Mary Lou & Co. Hair Designers.
“Everything just really aligned for this to happen,” Chelle Bravo said. “I’ve wanted to open a shop like this for years, and when the right place and opportunity came along, we jumped on it.”
Coco & Hazel is set to make its debut in late March. Annie O’Connor, a broker with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, represented Coco & Hazel during the lease transaction.
The couple is investing up to $35,000 to overhaul the former hair salon to make room for a custom-made countertop and seating for 50 people.
Depending on the season, the venue will employ up to eight people, Bravo said. She’s hired a store manager, enabling her to stay in her full-time job as a real estate agent with Shaheen, Ruth, Martin and Fonville — whose office is across the street from Coco & Hazel.
Looking to build on the family’s Mexican heritage, Coco & Hazel is a doting tribute to the couple’s two daughters: 7-month-old Elena “Coco” Bravo and 4-year-old Marisol “Hazel” Bravo.
“My husband’s family is from Oaxaca, Mexico,” Bravo said. “So we go there so the girls can see their family and experience their culture and heritage. We choose to use our daughters’ nicknames because this is for them; they’re our everything.”
