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I have been reading as many threads as possible about your state of VA to get as much info as i can , and people have been helping . I posted a general thread but now i am trying to really zero in on a particular location.
A little about me :
I grew up in Texas for 14 years and now have been living in NJ for about 16 years. I want to get out of NJ as i am sick and tired of a lot of things in NJ. I have been in the food industry my whole life growing up , i bailed on school to be in the kitchen with my father. He has been a successful business man that has opened up and ran many italian restaurants in TX. We moved to NJ since i have a lot of family in the tri state area, and from there we got into the pizza business and have been doing good.
I am 31 years old , recently engaged and my fiance is 24. I have the choice of taking over the pizzeria in NJ which is making enough income to support me and my family , and still live very comfortably but i dont want that. I am looking for a change and would like to invest my time and money somewhere that i can get more for my money. For work i am looking to bring in a fresh gourmet pizzeria NJ style . I would say NJ and CT have better pizza then NY I dont know how much competition there is in Richmond area but it cant be as bad as NJ. The current town our pizzeria is in has 12 total pizzeria just in 1 town .
Downtown Richmond sounds like a fun good place to be work wise and go visit . I wouldnt want to live in downtown but i prefer to live outside of it ? I am looking for a town/suburb that provides newer homes/development , good schools , low crime , and friendly neighbors. I want at least 1 acre of land so i dont want to have my neighbors house sitting on top of mine , i like my space and love the outdoors. I am a very outdoors kind of person , love a lot of sports , hard working , outgoing , and i am a middle class person that is not snobby and i could careless what kind of clothing you wear or car you drive. I would love a town that has a more family feel to it.
As far as pricing for homes for i would like to spend no more then 350k , and would love to have LOW taxes ? I have been seeing a lot of new construction homes and they look great but i am not familiar with the towns they are in. I dont mind working or visiting the city but i dont want to live in a busy city. I can commute up to 45 minutes if need be. I am not a very religious person , i love freedom and i am a gun supporter. I believe in hard work , liberty , and being responsible for your own actions. I hate politics as both parties we currently have are out of their minds but i tend to lean more to the right i guess you can say. I was informed that whatever cars you own there is a yearly tax that you pay ? I plan on buying a travel trailer and a couple atvs. Dunno if they charge you on those as well ? Thanks for any feedback , hope whatever information i have supplied might help ?
Moseley and Midlothian look like a couple nice areas..
I would strongly suggest a conservative approach for you particularly concerning starting a pizza business. My first question is have you ever visited Richmond to get a feel for the place? Finding a home in the price range you specify would not be a problem since you are willing to commute. Properties with an acre of land are very hard to find near the city but are readily available in the surrounding area. There are lots of locations where you can open a restaurant besides downtown and a savvy business man makes himself aware of all of the possibilities. There are many New Yorkers who move to Richmond and open up New York Style pizza joints and it is not always a happy story. This is not to say that we don't need a place which can serve up some good grub at a reasonable price. I would personally start by spending a couple of weeks in the area to get a feel for what is going on. If I were you, I would also rent and perhaps work for someone else for a few months until I got a feel for the place. Once you invest your money in a home and a business, you are here to stay. Richmond in not the city nor is it Jersey and life here is far different than what you are accustomed to. This region is filled with transplanted people who have come from up North and there is always room for one more. Good luck and I hope you like it here and your business is a resounding success.
I agree with vman's advice. I love Richmond, would recommend it to anyone. We do have a thriving restaurant industry, but it also includes a lot of failures. If you go to RVA News, Events, Entertainment, and Sports in Richmond, Virginia they have a food section, and list new restaurants and restaurants that have closed. Also, I went to urbanspoon and just looked up pizza. I just counted Italian restaurants and pizzerias, and came up with 123 on the first three pages of listings. I stopped counting there. So, you would have a lot of competition. Not to discourage you, just to let you know what you might find here. You'd have to have a strong marketing plan and location to make an impact.
At the budget you're suggesting, you should be able to find a property with an acre of land in Hanover, or maybe Chesterfield, but it probably won't be new construction, unless the house is smaller. Most of the new developments in Chesterfield and Henrico have much smaller lots. All three counties have very good schools. If you get out into Powhatan and Goochland (more rural, still within your commute range), I'd look into the schools, I just don't know that much about the more rural systems. This is a great area to be outdoors much of the year (just not right now!) and there are many festivals and organization geared around outdoor living. You'd probably enjoy that aspect of our area. Oh, I think you'd find taxes to be lower than Jersey, too. At least that's what we hear, and was our experience coming from PA.
Good luck!
Last edited by novanwbie; 01-07-2014 at 06:19 AM..
Reason: add content
Thanks for the good tips guys , me and the fiance were chatting last night and i did mention that we probably should just go rent , and work in the area to see who things go , what the life is like, and what the business aspect of things might be like. From a business point of view i do not want to be in an over populated area of pizzerias , we have that in NJ but our population is so dense for the sq mile that it doesnt effect the business.
I am def ready for the culture shock and its a shock that i will love , that is the person i am. I am not a city person at heart and being raised in Texas for half my life i can probably relate to Virginia. Once i am up and established i will be sure to invite all
If you are looking for Richmond suburbs I'd say there are 3 major ones to focus on. The Mechanicsville area of Hanover county is north-east of the city. It is smaller in size and has less development than other areas. If you are looking for a touch of a rural setting you may find it here. Some people consider Mechanicsville to be some what of a "redneck" area, but by that all I really see is lots of lifted trucks and real tree. Hanover County i think has the lowest property tax rate of the major counties.
Next would be the West End of Henrico, which is due west of Richmond. You also hear of an area called Short Pump out this way. Nice houses, good schools, endless shopping and development. Fairly expensive area by Richmond standards. Lots of NY/NJ/PA transplants.
Finally there is the Midlothian area of Chesterfield which is South West of downtown. Midlothian is really just a mailing address rather than a town. Most of the counties have ZERO incorporated municipalities in them, Chesterfield being one of them. So there are zero Townships, Cities, or Boroughs, VERY different from NJ. You pay your county taxes and that's it. Chesterfield has a higher tax rate than Hanover or Henrico. But don't let that fool you, it is still a FRACTION of NJ taxes. Also, your money seems to go much further than in Henrico here, so you have to factor that in as well. Meaning a 300k house in Henrico may only be 270k in Chesterfield, so even at a higher rate the taxes may be very similar on the two houses. $350k can buy you a VERY nice house in Chesterfield county. We have looked at stuff in that price range that would have cost $800k+ where I grew up in Mercer county NJ. My parents old house last sold for $710k up there and today pays $13,900 a year in property taxes. A similar house in Chesterfield would sell for about $325k and pay maybe $3100 a year in taxes. Good luck and let us know any other questions you may have.
Oh and on the pizzeria thing, I think there is plenty of room for more down here, especially if you get into a newly developing neighborhood. I think there is plenty of market share for GOOD pizza here.
If you are looking for Richmond suburbs I'd say there are 3 major ones to focus on. The Mechanicsville area of Hanover county is north-east of the city. It is smaller in size and has less development than other areas. If you are looking for a touch of a rural setting you may find it here. Some people consider Mechanicsville to be some what of a "redneck" area, but by that all I really see is lots of lifted trucks and real tree. Hanover County i think has the lowest property tax rate of the major counties.
Next would be the West End of Henrico, which is due west of Richmond. You also hear of an area called Short Pump out this way. Nice houses, good schools, endless shopping and development. Fairly expensive area by Richmond standards. Lots of NY/NJ/PA transplants.
Finally there is the Midlothian area of Chesterfield which is South West of downtown. Midlothian is really just a mailing address rather than a town. Most of the counties have ZERO incorporated municipalities in them, Chesterfield being one of them. So there are zero Townships, Cities, or Boroughs, VERY different from NJ. You pay your county taxes and that's it. Chesterfield has a higher tax rate than Hanover or Henrico. But don't let that fool you, it is still a FRACTION of NJ taxes. Also, your money seems to go much further than in Henrico here, so you have to factor that in as well. Meaning a 300k house in Henrico may only be 270k in Chesterfield, so even at a higher rate the taxes may be very similar on the two houses. $350k can buy you a VERY nice house in Chesterfield county. We have looked at stuff in that price range that would have cost $800k+ where I grew up in Mercer county NJ. My parents old house last sold for $710k up there and today pays $13,900 a year in property taxes. A similar house in Chesterfield would sell for about $325k and pay maybe $3100 a year in taxes. Good luck and let us know any other questions you may have.
Oh and on the pizzeria thing, I think there is plenty of room for more down here, especially if you get into a newly developing neighborhood. I think there is plenty of market share for GOOD pizza here.
Thank you for your information and yes you know how it is in NJ , im just tired of the burdens we are stuck with and smoking mirrors. Im paying 11k a year for a 1800 sgft home that was built in the 1940s lol with a half ass school system and barely any local business.
To be honest, there are a ton of mediocre pizza places in Richmond. You should come down and try what's already here, get a feel for which areas may support a place the best, etc. What types of pies do you make?
Also, Richmond is a cool town, but downtown is still pretty quiet at night and on weekends. If you open a place downtown, you may be doing most of your business at lunch during the week like JoJo's (which is terrible BTW). Carytown and the fan have lots of places, only one which is decent IMO, but they're still busy. I can't speak for the counties, but there seem like a good number of places out there.
Richmond is in desperate need of a good pizza, but good pizza isn't easy to come by even up north!
From a business point of view i do not want to be in an over populated area of pizzerias , we have that in NJ but our population is so dense for the sq mile that it doesnt effect the business.
I wouldn't worry about that! 90% of the Pizza in the Richmond Metro is TERRIBLE!!!!! Bad dough, bland sauce etc. If you can make GOOD Pizza you will make a TON of money here. There are TONS of us North East transplants here and always a huge disappointment when it comes to Pizza and Italian food. To give you an idea of how bad it is, in Richmond an "Italian Restaurant" is a Pizza Parlor with some tables. I went to a place in Midlothian once and they asked if I wanted Garlic Bread.... OF COURSE I did! Except that "Garlic bread" was actually stuck together (like from the package) dinner rolls with some garlic powder sprinkled on them, NOT A JOKE! and that's not the first time that happened here! No good bakeries or deli's either. There are 2 exceptions to that rule, and I eat at those exceptions a lot But seriously if you can make good Pizza don't worry about the other places that are already here, there will be no competition from their poor excuse for Pizza or "Italian Food"
I wouldn't worry about that! 90% of the Pizza in the Richmond Metro is TERRIBLE!!!!! Bad dough, bland sauce etc. If you can make GOOD Pizza you will make a TON of money here. There are TONS of us North East transplants here and always a huge disappointment when it comes to Pizza and Italian food. To give you an idea of how bad it is, in Richmond an "Italian Restaurant" is a Pizza Parlor with some tables. I went to a place in Midlothian once and they asked if I wanted Garlic Bread.... OF COURSE I did! Except that "Garlic bread" was actually stuck together (like from the package) dinner rolls with some garlic powder sprinkled on them, NOT A JOKE! and that's not the first time that happened here! No good bakeries or deli's either. There are 2 exceptions to that rule, and I eat at those exceptions a lot But seriously if you can make good Pizza don't worry about the other places that are already here, there will be no competition from their poor excuse for Pizza or "Italian Food"
I haven't made it to the newly opened Sub Rosa in Church Hill, but the old one was fantastic...for the extremely brief time they were opened until they burnt down.
I haven't made it to the newly opened Sub Rosa in Church Hill, but the old one was fantastic...for the extremely brief time they were opened until they burnt down.
Thanks for the recommendation -- I love a good wood-grilled pizza! I'm not picky, though, so I like a lot of pizza places in Richmond. Except Bottoms Up -- which is blasphemy to many Richmonders. I'd welcome another pizza option!
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I dont know how much competition there is in Richmond area but it cant be as bad as NJ. The current town our pizzeria is in has 12 total pizzeria just in 1 town 
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