A 4-year-old Short Pump retailer has packed up its wares and headed for a high-end shopping area closer to the city.
Monkee’s of Richmond, a women’s fashion store, reopened last week in its new home at 5003 Huguenot Road in River Road Shopping Center II. Owner Lynne Butz first opened the store, which she licenses from a national brand, in March 2010 in the Shoppes at Westgate in Short Pump.
“The move was dictated by a need for more space,” Butz said. “It was an easy decision when you have customers saying, ‘Please move farther into the city.’”
Monkee’s has a five-year lease on the new 2,600-square-foot property, increasing its space by about 900 square feet. Butz did not say how much the move cost but did say it was company-financed.
The new Monkee’s space was formerly home to a toy shop called Rattle & Roll, Butz said.
She said the tenants at the shopping center would complement the Monkee’s brand. Its new neighbors at River and Huguenot roads include Pure Barre, Talbot’s, and restaurants Mosaic and Azzuro.
“The River Road Shopping Center has been a favorite since 1960,” Butz said. “There’s tremendous foot traffic.”
The first Monkee’s opened in 1995 in North Carolina, and today the brand has 22 locations across seven states, according to its website. The only other Virginia location is in Fredericksburg and is not owned by Butz.
The store sells women’s clothes, shoes and accessories from brands such as Parker, Joie, Frye and Jack Rogers.
“I try to keep most items under $500,” Butz said. “We have high schoolers and we have moms. I think of it as play and party clothes.”
Butz said her daughter Katie became a co-owner of Monkee’s of Richmond in 2013 and handles the shop’s accounting, financing and purchasing.
Lynne Butz said she has no plans to open another shop.
Monkee’s former space at Westgate is on the market with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer broker Jim Ashby.
The Short Pump shopping center is set to lose another tenant, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as bridal shop Jingles plans to shut down.