Ghost kitchen ChefSuite shutting down on Broad

ChefSuite is closing its doors on West Broad Street at the end of July. (Mike Platania photos)

A ghost kitchen near Willow Lawn is going dark after two years. 

ChefSuite, which leases kitchen space to to-go restaurant concepts at 4711 W. Broad St., will close at the end of July.

“ChefSuite is currently in a transition phase at our Richmond location, with operations winding down in their current form by the end of July,” ChefSuite CIO and co-founder Jarnail Tucker said in a statement last week.  

Tucker said the decision is part of a “broader strategic realignment” for ChefSuite, with the owners evaluating new possibilities for the space, including “interest from new operators” who would keep the building as some sort of food establishment. 

Tucker declined to comment further.

ChefSuite offers 16 rentable kitchen suites, from which tenants can operate restaurants for delivery and pick-up only. Upon launching in 2023, kitchen rentals at ChefSuite were rented from $2,700 per month. Each suite includes a commercial hood, sinks, shelving, water heater and oil removal systems.

ChefSuite was founded by Tucker and Jay Modi. The two began work on the Broad Street location in 2021, after purchasing the former TitleMax building and the half-acre parcel for $1.2 million. 

A kitchen space at ChefSuite.

Modi and Tucker reside in Los Angeles and the greater Philadelphia area, respectively. The duo told BizSense back in 2021 that they wanted to bring ChefSuite to Richmond because of “growth potential” they saw in the area. 

Modi and Tucker later told BizSense in 2023 that they were looking to open ChefSuite in multiple cities. A second ChefSuite location opened in Austin, Texas, around this time last year. That location remains open.

As of this week, seven restaurants are listed on the Richmond ChefSuite website to order food from. They are Chef Sha’s Wings, pizza concept Fire & Char, Smoothie Kingdom, Sunrise Caribbean Cuisine, Whack Cakes & Desserts, wings and Filipino food concept WingCommand and plant-based food spot Yummvees To Go.  

None of the businesses ChefSuite had in its original lineup when it launched, including Southern comfort food concept A Pinch of Sugar, Dionis Taveras’ Latin Quarter Kitchen and On A Roll Italian Subs, which was owned by Modi and Tucker, are currently listed.  

Yummvees To Go’s Instagram page made a post last Wednesday to share news of the closure. 

The post stated that though Yummvees planned on leaving ChefSuite for a standalone spot in the fall anyway, the search now “needs to ramp up.” 

Ghost kitchens began popping up in Richmond after the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the Regency Square Mall and Scott’s Addition. Ghost kitchen The Coop was also previously located in the Fan, before closing its doors. 

In-person Manchester food hall Hatch Kitchen also shuttered its doors on Hull Street early last year after two years in business.

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