Drive West Broad Street this month and you will pass three storefronts in three different stages of change. A new Italian dining room already seating tables at GreenGate. A sushi spot moving into the old Baker's Crust space inside Short Pump Town Center. A revolving conveyor-belt concept still behind construction paper in the old Persis Indian Grill space at Short Pump Station. From the sidewalk, it reads like a neighborhood on a growth spurt.
Two of the three featured restaurant openings trace back to the same Richmond restaurant group. Separately, Downtown Short Pump changed ownership, and a controlling stake in Short Pump Town Center was listed for sale. Together, these developments show activity in Short Pump's restaurant and commercial real estate sectors.
That restaurant connection matters if you live here and have noticed EAT Restaurant Partners among the new restaurant openings.
Three restaurant projects, two from one group
EAT Restaurant Partners, the locally based group led by president Chris Tsui, opened Civita Italia Ristorante & Bar at GreenGate in early August, its first foray into classic Italian cooking inside a new 7,000-square-foot building at 3401 Haydenpark Lane. The menu leans on fresh pastas and dishes like chicken marsala, built around chef Kevin LaCivita's classical French training rather than any single regional Italian style, according to Richmond BizSense.
Richmond BizSense reported that EAT planned to open a second concept around the same stretch of summer: Lucky AF, a sushi spot, in the former Baker's Crust space inside Short Pump Town Center, just a short walk from GreenGate. Between that opening, Civita, and a handful of other projects the group has underway in Hanover and on Forest Hill Avenue, EAT expects its Richmond-region count to reach 16 restaurants, plus one location in Raleigh, North Carolina.
That is two new restaurants from one company within roughly a mile of each other. Kura Sushi, a separate company, has leased 3,200 square feet at Short Pump Station, taking over the space Persis Indian Grill vacated.
Indian Aroma, now part of the tenant roster at Downtown Short Pump, opened in 2025 and sits alongside longer-running local names like Yaya's Cookbook and Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken. Independent restaurants remain part of Short Pump's dining mix.
Commercial properties changed hands and came to market
Alongside the restaurant openings, Short Pump saw separate commercial real estate activity.
Downtown Short Pump, the 126,000-square-foot center anchored by Regal Cinemas and Barnes & Noble, sold on December 18, 2025 for $31.5 million to an entity tied to local firm Hackney Real Estate Partners and its principal, Ashby Hackney, according to Richmond BizSense. The seller was SITE Centers Corp, the Cleveland-based investment firm that had owned the property since 2003, when it bought the center under its former name, DDR Corp, for $33 million. By the stated prices, a national REIT that had held the property for more than two decades sold it for slightly less than its 2003 purchase price, and a Richmond-based buyer took over.
Six months later, the ownership question got bigger. In June 2026, a controlling stake in Short Pump Town Center itself went on the market. The mall, which opened in 2003 and totals about 1.25 million square feet, is currently split among local firm Pruitt Associates, Australian investment firm QIC, and Brookfield Properties, a major New York-based real estate investor. Eastdil Secured, the investment banking firm handling the listing, is marketing roughly 725,000 square feet of the mall's retail space, excluding the Macy's and Dillard's buildings, which the anchor retailers own outright. Richmond BizSense reported the combined assessed value of the parcels being marketed at $299 million, and RVAHub reported the selling entities describe the property as 97 percent leased.
Put that number next to other recent regional sales and the scale becomes clearer. Chesterfield Towne Center sold for $80 million last year. Stony Point Fashion Park sold for nearly $15 million in 2022. A $299 million mall sale would be nearly four times the Chesterfield deal and would rank among the largest real estate transactions the region has seen, alongside the $208 million sale of Bank of America's Villa Park complex in 2021 and a $245 million Henrico warehouse portfolio sale in 2023.
The reported 97 percent leased figure offers a snapshot of occupancy as a controlling stake in the mall is marketed.
What's actually different, at a glance
| What changed | Location | What it replaced |
|---|---|---|
| Civita Italia Ristorante & Bar (EAT Restaurant Partners) | GreenGate, 3401 Haydenpark Lane | New construction |
| Lucky AF sushi (EAT Restaurant Partners) | Short Pump Town Center | Former Baker's Crust |
| Kura Sushi | Short Pump Station | Former Persis Indian Grill |
| Indian Aroma | Downtown Short Pump | Opened 2025 |
| Downtown Short Pump (property) | 11600 W. Broad St. | Sold by SITE Centers to Hackney Real Estate Partners, Dec. 2025 |
| Short Pump Town Center (controlling stake) | 11800 W. Broad St. | Listed for sale by current ownership group, June 2026 |
Why this matters for how you actually eat and shop here
Two of the three restaurant projects featured here are associated with EAT Restaurant Partners. EAT has built a track record locally with concepts residents already return to. Kura Sushi is a separate company, and Indian Aroma, Yaya's Cookbook, and Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken are also part of Short Pump's dining mix.
On the ownership side, the practical effect is slower to show up but larger in scope. Downtown Short Pump changed hands from a national REIT to a local buyer. Watch Downtown Short Pump's tenant mix over the next year or two for changes. And if the mall's controlling stake actually trades, the buyer's plans for that 725,000 square feet of retail space will shape the corridor's next decade more than any single restaurant opening this year.
The read for someone who lives here
Short Pump has several new restaurant projects and recent commercial real estate activity. EAT Restaurant Partners is behind two of the three restaurant projects described here. Downtown Short Pump sold to a local buyer, and a controlling stake in Short Pump Town Center was listed for sale in June. If that stake sells, the transaction could rank among the region's largest.
None of that changes where you'll grab dinner this weekend. Those developments may shape what the corridor looks like next, even as its dining options continue to come from a range of operators.
Garner Realty keeps an eye on these shifts because they shape more than where you eat. Property sales like the ones reshaping West Broad this year are the same kind of transaction data we track when we help neighbors understand what their own home is worth in a market that's moving underneath them. If you're curious what your Short Pump-area home is worth in today's market, Garner Realty LLC offers a free home valuation with no obligation attached.
