New Richmond selfie lounge pays tribute to family's loss: 'The city has been through a lot'

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Richmond is known for its rich history, culture, food, and art. Now, it has a new museum to offer to residents and visitors alike.

The owners of F-Stop Selfie Lounge want their space to add to the creative vibe of the city. Jasmine Snead, her sister Brandy Snead, and their cousin Kaelynn Brockett are the brains behind the business.

"I thought it was just an easy thing for my family to do," Jasmin said, explaining the family's reason for starting the business. "We have literally, put our blood, sweat, and tears into this."

Located inside Regency Square Mall in Henrico, the F-Stop is curated for those who are social media savvy.

"The TikTokers, the Instagramers, the influencers, they love it here," Brandy said. "It's for anyone who likes to take pictures. It's for everyone," she added.

The themed rooms are designed to spark creativity and to make photos pop.

"People can come and just get crazy with their selfies," said Jasmin.

The passion project started as an idea in January. After praying, planning, and visualizing their end goal, the three signed a lease for the space in March.

They launched the business in June, but everything didn't go as easy as they would have liked.

Jasmin said there were many challenges. The biggest one came in May when they suffered a tragic loss.

"We had a huge loss in our family. My baby cousin passed away. She was recently shot," Jasmin said while talking through the painful time."That kind of took us down. We took probably two weeks off."

Aureon Evans, 18, died in Henrico. Her family said the teen was killed during a domestic dispute with a 19-year-old male who shot and killed himself after killing Aureon.

The family dedicated space inside the F-Stop's graffiti-themed room to honor their loved one.

"The city has been through a lot," Brandy said. They hope the F-Stop is a bright spot that brings peace and more sparkle to the community and social media timelines.

"I hope this is a place for our youth to come and just have a ball and get away from their everyday life and what they may go through," Brandy added."It makes me feel really, really good," said Jasmin.

The trio has already secured several private bookings and generated lots of content for influencers on social media. They plan to change their booth themes quarterly to keep people coming back.

You can learn more about the F-Stop Selfie Lounge by clicking here.