Virginia
Whisk bakery to open cafe in Library of Virginia next month – Richmond BizSense
Whisk owner Billy Bryan is planning to expand the coffee shop and bakery with a new location in the Library of Virginia in downtown Richmond. (BizSense file)
A Shockoe Bottom bakery and coffee shop is doubling down in the city.
Whisk is planning to open a cafe in the Library of Virginia at 800 E. Broad St. in early January, owner Billy Bryan said.
Whisk will take over the space in the state library that was formerly occupied by Can Can Cafe, a now-shuttered spinoff location of Carytown-based French restaurant Can Can Brasserie.
Bryan said the expansion would allow Whisk to tap into what he called an underserved area for coffee, and the location would be able to serve not only people at the library but also nearby city and state government workers and those working at the General Assembly building.
“While you’re not getting walk-by pedestrians, you are able to capture and serve a huge market down there, with City Hall being next door, the staff in the library, the state buildings across the street,” he said.
Whisk, which continues to operate its original location at 2100 E. Main St., plans to serve coffee, baked goods, smoothies, sandwiches, soups and salads at the library location.
Library of Virginia Executive Director Scott Dodson said in a prepared statement that Whisk’s entry would support the library’s mission of being a community space.
“Whether our guests are here to see an exhibition, hear a book talk, do family research, or just looking for a place to meet, Whisk will add to the Library’s ability to serve as a public square for the city and Commonwealth,” Dodson said.
Whisk is leasing the cafe space in the atrium on the library’s first floor. Dedicated to preserving the state’s history and culture, the library says it attracts nearly 100,000 visitors annually with its exhibitions, events and resources, and has a collection of more than 130 million historic items.
The cafe has a dedicated seating area that can accommodate 50 people. Bryan declined to share the investment being made to launch the new Whisk location.
The Library of Virginia announced on social media in early September that Can Can was out, and that it was on the hunt for a new operator for the café space. Bryan said that after a short period of discussion, the library and Whisk were able to come to an arrangement for the coffee shop to take over the space.
“Over the course of several months we were able to determine it would be a good partnership and we’d be a good fit. Throughout the process, they talked to some other operators as well and they felt we most closely modeled what they were looking for,” Bryan said.
Bryan felt he could bring a unique perspective to the library-bound cafe. He worked as a librarian in a New York public library for a few years. He noted that his own love of books drew him to the partnership with the state library, and that Whisk has come to do more business with nonprofit and educational groups.
“Being able to marry my love of books and education with my love of culinary, it seemed like a natural progression. One of the things we’ve started to do as an organization is work more heavily with nonprofits and with organizations that are education-minded or arts-minded, either in philanthropy or our wholesale business,” he said.
In addition to selling coffee and pastries, Whisk also offers culinary classes and is expected to do so at the library space as well.
Whisk’s first day of business in the library is expected to be Jan. 6. It will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Library of Virginia’s atrium cafe space prior to the arrival of Can Can Cafe in 2022. Whisk is now preparing to take over the space and planning to open there in early January. (BizSense file)
The opening of the library cafe follows the closure earlier this year of Whisk’s western Henrico outpost at 8308 Staples Mill Road.
Bryan said the location, which was a neighborhood market concept, didn’t catch on as expected. Whisk shifted the Henrico outpost away from customer-facing retail into a catering facility before closing it entirely.
“Honestly, it’s just not a good location. The traffic just wasn’t sustainable for the expenses you were incurring there. While customers had asked us to be in a West End area, that particular area wasn’t necessarily the demographic that’s a Whisk customer,” he said.
The new library cafe is the latest chapter in Whisk’s nearly 10-year history. It first opened at 2100 E. Main St. in 2015 under the ownership of Morgan Botwinick, who sold the business to Bryan a little under three years ago.
Can Can’s run in the library cafe space began in late 2022 and ended shortly after Can Can was acquired this year by Housepitality Family, a local restaurant group that runs Boathouse and other eateries. Housepitality continues to operate Can Can’s flagship location in Carytown.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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