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Northam: State to loosen more restrictions May 15
Beginning May 15, the state will loosen more restrictions, including allowing larger social gatherings and expanded audiences for entertainment venues and sporting events, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced in a video message released Thursday. Restaurants will also be allowed to resume serving alcohol after midnight. Northam’s amendments to his pandemic executive orders, which take effe[...]
Bar seating reopened statewide, governor declares
For the first time in more than a year, Virginians are now allowed to sit at bars for service as long as they stay at least six feet apart. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam amended Executive Order 72 on Wednesday without an announcement, making the following policy change for restaurants, breweries, distilleries, wineries and tasting rooms: […]
Va. restaurant, hospitality industry seeks $270M+ in relief funding
Hard hit by the pandemic, Virginia’s restaurant and hospitality industry is asking the General Assembly to dedicate more than $270 million from the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan dollars to assist hotels, restaurants and other hospitality-related industries. In a letter sent Tuesday to members of the state legislature’s money committees, the Virginia Restaurant, [&[...]
Richmond supports restaurants with ‘Picnic in a Parklet’
Two Richmond restaurants will see their on-street parking lanes become outdoor dining areas this week to serve customers, spark business and encourage safer and socially distanced spaces. The dining areas are part Richmond city government’s “Picnic in a Parklet” pilot program, a partnership between the city and downtown booster Venture Richmond, according to a March […]
‘Love Local’ launches to help National Landing businesses
National Landing Business Improvement District and the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington have launched a $100,000 joint relief initiative, Love Local, which will assist struggling restaurants and small businesses in Arlington’s National Landing neighborhood with minimum $1,000 grants. “Restaurants and small businesses are the backbone of our community in National Landing �[...]
Virginia restaurants grapple with plastic foam container ban
RICHMOND, Va. — From vermicelli bowls to crispy chicken, Pho Luca’s, a Vietnamese-owned Richmond restaurant, uses plastic foam containers to package takeout meals. That may soon change after the General Assembly recently passed a bill banning such packaging. After negotiations on a Senate amendment, the House agreed in a 57-39 vote last week on an […]
Va. restaurants report consumer spending down, costs up
Consumer spending in Virginia restaurants remained well below normal levels in August while operational costs rose, according to a COVID-19 restaurant impact survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association. The organization surveyed 3,500 U.S. restaurant operators between Aug. 26 and Sept. 1. In Virginia, 87% of restaurant operators surveyed responded that their total sales volume [&hellip[...]
Retail | Wholesale
ROBERT A. ‘BOB’ ARCHER CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BLUE RIDGE BEVERAGE CO., SALEM Robert Archer runs the wholesale beverage retailer his parents bought in 1959 after moving to Salem. When his father, James Archer, died in 1972, his mother, Regine Archer, became president and forged ahead on decades of growth and acquisitions. Blue Ridge distributes a […]
Reopening weekend largely positive for restaurants
Reopening weekend was largely positive for restaurants and other businesses in Virginia localities that entered Phase One of Gov. Northam’s Forward Virginia plan on Friday. “It was actually very busy,” said Brad Smith, general manager of Quaker Steak & Lube on Bristol’s State Street. “We were busy to the capacity we could be.” Smith had […]
