Plans to pamper the elite

An Amelia County businessman wants to renovate a former trolley barn east of Church Hill into a members-only restaurant for the elite featuring "intelligent, talented and attractive" maidens who also play musical instruments or dance.

But plans for The King's Retreat restaurant, slated for 6.68 acres on Glenwood Avenue off Government Road, have raised the eyebrows of some city and civic leaders in Richmond who worry about the type of entertainment that may be conducted there.

The King's Retreat president, Robert Huotari, 48, said he does not plan to have any nudity and adult entertainment taking place at his proposed establishment.

Diners will have the focused attention of staffers.

"Each table will receive the dedicated services of a king's maiden, an intelligent, talented and attractive woman," the restaurant's Web site said. "Her goal is to make our guests feel pampered."

Huotari said squires, or male attendants, also will be on the wait staff, though the Web site mentions only women.

"What we're looking for is your consummate hostess," said Huotari, who owns custom printing company Merlin Industries in Amelia.

The maidens and squires, he said, "all have to be able to perform in the same way and be easy on the eyes."

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When Huotari first floated the idea for his members-only restaurant in 2006, a city zoning administrator replied with a list of suitable zoning areas and a definition of adult entertainment. The intent was to make Huotari aware of the distinction between adult entertainment and other types of entertainment, the letter to him said.

Huotari filed an application in August for a special-use permit to renovate the building, which is in a residentially zoned area.

"My concern was that there would be nudity and more like a strip club, but he assured us it wouldn't be," said Rachel Flynn, Richmond's director of community development.

Huotari has not filed a complete application, which city planners expect sometime this month.

The Planning Commission and the City Council would have to approve the application.

To get the support of the planning department, Huotari will have to promise that nudity and adult entertainment will not take place, Flynn said.

"The city gave me all the descriptions and definitions, and we don't approach any of that," Huotari said.

If the permit is approved, the renovation is expected to take a year and cost $5 million.

. . .

The idea for The King's Retreat was borne out of a frustration Huotari felt when it came to dining and a lack of quality service, he said.

Diners at his restaurant will be able to fully customize their experience, from the size of food portions they receive to individual sound and climate control.

Stage performances -- reminiscent of classic Broadway shows or Hollywood movies -- will occur throughout the night, offering entertainment and employment to talented locals, he said.

"If you think of his venture as show biz, I think the show bit is tremendous," said Keith Martin, managing director of the Richmond Ballet who knows Huotari because he is a patron of the ballet.

The King's Retreat plans also call for having a dry cleaner, car detailing center, spa, boutique and day-care center at the site.

The idea is that diners can have their car cleaned, get laundry done and have their kids minded while dining a la carte. The day-care center will be open days to serve neighborhood needs, as well as at night for diners and employees. The restaurant will serve dinner only.

Huotari said he did a lot of research and knows of no other similar business, not even in Las Vegas.

Membership to The King's Retreat is $2,500 a year and limited to 2,000 people. Huotari wants members who earn more than $150,000 annually.

Huotari said he scouted sites and had trouble finding a location because parking was an issue. His planned site also was once home to a trailer park in addition to the trolley barn.

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Margaret Freund, owner of Fulton Hill Properties, said she turned Huotari away when he sought to locate his business in the Lady Byrd Hat building on the Canal Walk.

"If it's an upscale, normal [restaurant], why would you put it there?" she said, referring to his planned location east of Church Hill.

Fulton Hill Properties plans to build a 33-unit condominium development near the proposed King's Retreat site. The project was approved by the City Council in late February.

"Shame on the city if they let this happen," she said of The King's Retreat. "This is not an appropriate use for that location."

John Johnson, president of the Church Hill Association, said his group had yet to take a stance on the project.

"We don't really know what the intent of it is, how it's going to be run and what kind of services will be offered," he said. "On one hand, it's described as an upscale restaurant. On the other hand, it's described as something else."

Renee' Lacy, chief executive officer and executive director of Cameo Models Internationale in Richmond, provided some models for a dinner party Huotari threw last year to explain the concept. The night was a creation of what Huotari hopes to offer at The King's Retreat, she said.

Lacy said she understands it will be a different type of dining experience. "It's not going to be for everybody. Richmond deserves to have a club of this magnitude. People deserve to be catered to."

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Huotari is a political donor and sits on a scholarship selection committee started by Del. Joseph D. Morrissey, D-Henrico.

His custom printing company has worked with Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. for at least the past seven years and now supplies about 80 percent to 85 percent of the in-store signs used by the grocery chain.

"He's very hands-on, very customer service-driven," said Barry Roach, manager of creative services in the chain's marketing department. "Robert wants to do things right and make things right."

Huotari also is a member of the Greater Richmond Chamber's chairman's circle, which offers leadership opportunities for members who are not on its board of directors.

Morrissey, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, and Carthan F. Currin III, Richmond's economic-development director, signed a May 2008 letter sent to the state Department of Historic Resources supporting the use of tax credits to rehabilitate the building.

The letter did not mention specifics about the proposed uses for the building.

In the letter, the four said Huotari's plan would create jobs, generate salaries and generate "energy toward making the East End all it can be."

Randy Marcus, Bolling's chief of staff, said the lieutenant governor knew Huotari and supported using tax credits to refurbish a historic building.

"We're not familiar with the marketing materials," he said. "We would not condone anything that would be considered inappropriate or offensive content."

Morrissey, to whom Huotari donated $1,000 worth of postcards in 2007, acknowledged he signed the letter. "I stand by the language that's included in the letter."

Currin said he did not look at the specific details of the proposal but supports restoring an old building and promoting business activity in that area. His signature came with knowledge that Huotari would have to comply with zoning rules.

"If there is something that is not agreeable, that's why we have a process," he said.

Marsh did not return several calls or e-mail seeking comment.

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or edooley@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writers Will Jones and Olympia Meola contributed to this report.