Moseley's Cosby Village Square Keeps Getting Restaurants Before the Rest of Richmond

"It's a little bit challenging up there because it's so developed." James Kimball, the local Capriotti's franchisee, said that to Richmond BizSense in September 2026 about Short Pump, where he hopes to put his third sandwich shop. His second shop is going somewhere else. It has a 10-year lease at Cosby Village Square, near the intersection of Hull Street and Otterdale roads.

His reason explains why this corner keeps getting restaurants. Short Pump is mostly built out, and the Cosby crossroads still has open sites. Brands entering the Richmond area for the first time keep choosing this intersection, and some have bought their own land here instead of leasing.

A Corner With More Than One First

Look at where the current businesses came from, and the pattern shows up quickly.

Kline's set the pattern. BizSense reported in 2024 that the dairy bar, which also has locations in the Shenandoah Valley and Lynchburg, had bought its outparcel at Cosby Village Square about a year before it opened that summer. One detail on its current Chesterfield page matters as the weather cools. The shop lists itself as "Open Daily at 11am" and "Year Round." If you've driven past assuming it closes for the season like many roadside ice cream stands, it doesn't.

Panda Express Bought the Dirt

The Panda Express that opened this summer follows the same model. In September 2024, BizSense reported that the chain had spent $1.6 million on a 1.3-acre undeveloped outparcel at Cosby Village Square to build its own restaurant. The seller was an LLC tied to Main Street Homes, which is developing the commercial center as part of the larger Cosby Village mixed-use project.

That purchase was a long-term commitment, made almost two years before opening day. By June 2026, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported the restaurant open at 15810 Hull Street. The opening celebration included a Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting and a $2,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Richmond.

A short walk away, Firebirds opened at 15700 Hull Street Road in October 2025, so this end of the corridor has had a sit-down dinner option for about a year.

Flying Biscuit Is Starting Virginia Here

The arrival with the most to prove is The Flying Biscuit Cafe. The Times-Dispatch reported that the Georgia-based franchise is coming to the Richmond area as its first Virginia location. The brand opened its first cafe in Atlanta in 1993 and has grown to 34 locations. Each location bakes about 5,000 biscuits a week. The menu covers Southern-leaning breakfast, brunch and lunch: stuffed French toast, shrimp and grits, omelets, vegan scrambles, burgers and wraps. The Richmond cafe will also have a full bar serving brunch cocktails.

The company's director of franchise development, Andrew Scherzer, explained the choice of market this way:

"Virginia has been the logical next step north as our Carolina cafés have filled in, and Richmond is where we wanted to start."

The franchise partners are Nitant, Niraj and Nimesh Patel, relatives who have run restaurant and retail businesses in Virginia and North Carolina. Their current agreement covers only this first cafe. They told the Times-Dispatch they would like to sign for a second once it opens, and they hope to develop three to five over time. That means the Moseley cafe is the test for any Flying Biscuit growth elsewhere in Virginia.

When it opens is still unknown. The latest dated record is a September 11, 2026 BizSense lease roundup showing 3,500 square feet at 15701 Cosby Road, with no opening date attached. Until the company or the Patels announce a date, it's best treated as coming, not imminent.

Capriotti's Is Coming Because the Midlothian Store Did Well

Kimball's plans for Cosby Village Square were in place before his first shop opened. He told BizSense that a Moseley-area location "had been on the drawing board from the start." He also said, "Being down on Hull Street and expanding southwest in a really developing area was always part of the plan."

The first shop, at 35 Le Gordon Drive in Midlothian, opened in June and is among the top-performing Capriotti's out of nearly 160 locations, according to Kimball. "I didn't expect the store to perform that well, if I'm being perfectly honest," he said.

Kimball's sense of timing gives the clearest calendar on the corner:

• The 1,600-square-foot space is in a new building near the center's Starbucks, and the shell was largely complete as of early September.
• Interior buildout was set to start this fall, with an estimated investment of $600,000 to $700,000.
• Opening is targeted for early 2027.
• The menu centers on the Bobbie, a Thanksgiving-style sub with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, and the Capastrami, which pairs hot pastrami with Swiss, coleslaw and Russian dressing.

The Locally Owned Places Across Cosby Village Road

Not everything at this crossroads is a regional brand making its debut. On the Publix side, the grocery store at 7200 Cosby Village Road anchors a center that BizSense reported in 2022 had brought in The Sand Dollar Beach Kitchen and Mr. Submarine & Sal's Pizza among its first tenants.

The Sand Dollar Beach Kitchen, at 7324 Cosby Village Road, takes scheduled online orders. Mr. Submarine & Sal's Pizza, at 7142 Cosby Village Road, is owned by Alex and Natasha Contreras, Chesterfield residents whose families have worked in restaurants for generations. If you're planning a weeknight around it, note the hours. The restaurant is closed Mondays, open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and open noon to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Panera, at 15612 Hull Street Road, and Chipotle were both already open on the Hull Street side by September 2024. That makes them, along with Kline's, the corner's longest-running food options.

Next Door, the Open Land Is Being Rezoned

The same open land that brought these brands is now being developed right next to them. Cosby Corner is planned on a 4.3-acre site at 15516 Hull Street Road, next to Cosby Village Square. Chesterfield supervisors voted in late January to rezone the land from Agricultural to Neighborhood Business. The developer, Maryland-based Lion Gate Ventures, plans 23,500 square feet across two buildings. Daycare chain Lightbridge Academy has leased the building at Hull Street and Fox Club Parkway, and an unnamed restaurant and a national cafe and bakery are also expected at the center.

The project's leasing lead described the plan to BizSense in March:

"You're going to see a mix of full-service restaurants and daily services. The county sees this as a gateway site and the developer has put a lot of work into the aesthetics of the buildings and the outdoor seating."

That report expected construction to start in summer 2026, with the buildings delivered in early 2027. We haven't found a later report confirming that work has started, so for now the restaurant and bakery names, and the dates, are still unannounced.

The next larger decision is on the calendar. Nunnally Village, a request to rezone 204.3 acres near Hull Street and Otterdale roads for up to 1,000 dwellings, is scheduled for a public hearing before the Chesterfield County Planning Commission on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. The agenda lists it as case 25SN1222, and anyone can follow it through the county's planning cases page.

At Pretty Properties, we keep track of what's opening around Hull Street because it's part of what makes a Moseley address worth what it is. If you live near Cosby Village and want to know how the changes at this crossroads affect your home's value, the team at Pretty Properties LLC is happy to walk through it with you. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we'll show you where your home stands this fall.