Crossroads is locally owned and independently operated in Richmond, Virginia… serving two neighborhoods with roots planted deeply on each side of the city's James River. In community; a place that provides an informal, warm, gathering place where conversation is prized as much as the libations that are served therein.
September 2002, we started our new business in a former garage on Forest Hill Avenue across from Forest Hill Park; the space had been a working Esso station in the 1930's until the 1960's. Some customers, including our original health inspector recall purchasing gasoline there. As a result, we had a lot of work to do to satisfy environmental concerns on the property. In the end, eight fuel tanks were excavated and a number of soil and water tests were conducted on-site.
That concern for the environment carries through today as we participate in a recycling program and try when possible to make environmentally friendly decisions that affect our trash output. It is a work in progress, but we have gradually migrated towards biodegradable cups and plates in addition to purchasing more recyclables in our stores.
Olivia and I decided on the name Crossroads because we were at a place in our lives where we stood at a figurative crossroads. The building that attracted our attention also stands within a stones throw of a literal crossroads—that crazy intersection where so many Richmonders have had near death experiences, traveling that bend where Semmes Avenue and Forest Hill Avenue come together along with a third street, Dundee Avenue.
We were refugees from Capital One and were looking for a line of work that would enable us to connect with people in a more personal way and be more fulfilling on a day to day basis. Our goal was to open a coffee shop in a neighborhood that bustled with energy, that included an eclectic group of people from all walks of life. There was never any doubt that the neighborhood of our focus was our own! As our friend Barry told me once, where else could you have placed a coffee shop with so many eccentrics per square foot!
Along the way, as we faced down potential deal-breaking issues with the Forest Hill location, we were offered a seemingly easier path when a gentleman offered us a turn-key opportunity to open a coffee shop in Carytown in the shadow of the Byrd theater.
This offer was tempting as we faced an uphill battle at Forest Hill, regarding the numerous environmental issues that potentially lingered from the location's original use as a gas station. Our choice was to turn down the Carytown offer and try to make a go of the Forest Hill property. After seven or eight fuel tanks were removed from the ground, and the required soil and water table tests showed a clean bill of health, we were able to proceed with remodeling the space.
Olivia and I, having entered into a long term lease, began remodeling the garage into a coffee shop that met our vision as a third place, away from home and office, where people could go to relax and meet their neighbors in a time when too many people rarely know their neighbors. The shop filled a void in a neighborhood that was bustling with energy and people but which had few options for coffee and comfort food. The neighborhood, from Westover Hills, to Woodland Heights to Old Manchester reached out and embraced the shop from the first day…We've never looked back.
When given the opportunity to open a second Crossroads in the Fan, at 26 N. Morris Street, between Main Street and Floyd Avenue, near VCU's Monroe Park campus, we leapt at the thought. A great second location, where World Cup Coffee most recently resided, was also adjacent to a park, and in a former garage with parking! With it, we would have access to a full commercial kitchen which would allow us to expand our menus at both stores. Additionally, it meant the opportunity to have ownership in the building, which was for sale. Truly exciting! After jumping through numerous hoops to put the finances together, we were finally in position to open our second shop in June, 2007. We brought in a partner, Jeff Kroll as a partner in the second shop. Jeff operates the shop in the Fan and we help out as we can.
Both stores are conveniently located within a few minute's drive of the city's downtown, are open seven days a week, opening at 7am and closing at 10pm. Both stores are pet friendly and bike friendly.