Patterson Ave. shop Gild and Ash moving to River Road ahead of Westhampton Pastry redevelopment

Gild and Ash is planning to move out of 5730 Patterson Ave. this summer to relocate to River Road Shopping Center II. (Jack Jacobs photo)

A Richmond retailer is planning to relocate within the West End, as its current home of almost a decade is set for redevelopment.

Gild and Ash is slated to move to 5021 Huguenot Road in River Road Shopping Center II, replacing its existing store in the building shared with Westhampton Pastry Shop at the corner of Libbie and Patterson avenues.

That building is soon to make way for a four-story, mixed-use project. While Gild and Ash was offered a chance to lease space in the new building, Ellie Caplice, who co-owns Gild and Ash with Ann Alverson, said the store has expanded its stock in recent months and wanted a larger space that could handle its continued expansion. It’s new River Road home will be more than three times the size of its Libbie-Patterson store.

“We’re currently busting at the seams,” Caplice said. “I think we’ll be able to have a layout where people can visualize how our products work in a space better.”

Gild and Ash sells a range of home goods, jewelry, art, gifts and other items. The main brands sold at the store include jewelry company Ellie Vail, clothing line Mersea, and Jonathan Adler, a decor and furniture company.

Caplice said many items in the store are sourced from Richmond-area companies. The store also sells paintings by local artists, and currently has works by eight painters for sale. The new space will allow the shop to offer more products from its suppliers and also introduce new items.

Gild and Ash has leased a 3,500-square-foot space between the Japanese restaurant Osaka and interior design firm Flourish Spaces at the River Road center. Also in the center is Stella’s Grocery and other tenants.

Reilly Marchant of Thalhimer represented Gild and Ash in lease negotiations for the new location.

Gild and Ash intends to wind down its operations at its current 1,100-square-foot space at 5730 Patterson Ave. in August and then reopen in the new location the following month.

Caplice and Alverson took over the business last August, following the late 2023 passing of their friend Holly Walsh, who opened the store under the name Gilt and Ash in 2016. Walsh co-founded the concept with Sasha Hogan, who is no longer part of the company.

The new owners met a couple years ago when they were both working at Gild and Ash and helping Walsh run the store.

“Ellie and I didn’t know each other until two years ago when Holly got sick. Holly and I were good friends, and when she got sick she called me in to cover some hours at the store. Holly and Ellie were friends, and she had worked at the store,” Alverson said.

Alverson said they were inspired to take on ownership of the store as an homage to a friend whose untimely death prevented her from fully realizing her vision for the business.

“Ellie and I just wanted to carry Holly’s legacy and her vision through, because she was taken too soon,” Alverson said. “The store brought us together in a way, because we feel like sisters at this point. It’s kind of a strange way to have come together, through another friend and carry her business on.”

As for the Libbie-Patterson property, Richmond City Council approved a permit last month to allow the redevelopment project to move forward. The development team behind the project has previously said that Westhampton Pastry Shop is expected to be retained as a tenant in the new building.

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