Restaurant group adding locations in Central Virginia, Hampton Roads

A restaurant group is hungry for expansion in Hampton Roads and Central Virginia.

Boil Bay, a Cajun-style seafood restaurant, plans to open this summer at 1865 Southpark Boulevard in the Southpark Square Shopping Center in Colonial Heights, says founder Raymond Xiao. The eatery has leased the 9,600-square-foot space where it plans have a bar and live entertainment.

Xiao, 40, says he plans to open at the end of this month another Boil Bay location in Virginia Beach, and he has plans to open a hot pot restaurant in Virginia Beach as well. Xiao says two more ventures are in the works for Richmond and another two are planned closer to the coast.

“I love to work in restaurants,” says Xiao, adding he’s working in the business since he was a teenager. “I love to cook.”

Xiao says he’s opened restaurants in New Jersey and Florida. He was attracted to bite into the Virginia market because of its nice weather and the size of its population.

Xiao says he’s backed by different partners who have helped him open other Virginia restaurants. Xiao opened the Captain Ray’s Buffet & Sushi, which opened in 2016 in the Military Crossing shopping center in Norfolk. Xiao says he was the original owner of the Crazy Buffet & Grill in Chesapeake before he sold it.

Andy Stein of Harvey Lindsay represented Boil Bay in its lease for the Southpark Shopping Center.

Southpark Shopping Center sits along Temple Avenue, a shopping, dining and entertainment area for shoppers from Colonial Heights, Petersburg and Hopewell. Other tenants at Southpark Shopping Center include Party City, Gold’s Gym, Ashley Furniture, Books-A-Million and Chipotle.

S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.’s Graham Sheridan and Nathan Shor represented the landlord in the Boil Bay lease. Sheridan says a 46,000-square-foot space is available for lease in a former Toys R Us location. He says there have been a few showings for the space.