Biz Buzz: Old wedding gift inspires product

Awedding gift nearly 30 years ago has inspired a Richmond-based branding and design firm to start a new company and create its first product line.

The gift, an anniversary box, was given to Susan Hogg, president and managing partner of circle S studio, at her rehearsal dinner. The box contained handwritten notes from friends and family that were to be opened over the years at the corresponding anniversaries.

"We treasure all the notes. It's such a nice way to stay connected with people, especially the ones who are gone," she said.

The anniversary box was a gift from Hogg's mother-in-law.

She is now selling the keepsake boxes through Happily Ever AfterWords, an affiliate of circle S. The boxes are silk-covered and include marked envelopes with matching notecards for anniversaries one through 50.

Hogg, who celebrates her 30th wedding anniversary in April, began seriously thinking about creating and selling her own line of anniversary boxes about eight years ago.

She began researching to see if there were similar products on the market and began looking into manufacturing and distribution platforms.

For several years Hogg and her partners at circle S worked on prototypes and designs, trying to come up with the right one.

"I always crawl before I walk," she said. "I'm a very strategic thinker."

Happily Ever AfterWords began testing its anniversary boxes about three months ago and is now selling them on a large scale.

"It's a lovely product, but we wanted to make sure it was right and that we had [enough] product to meet the demand," Hogg said.

Happily Ever AfterWords is negotiating with stationery stores, wedding planners and registry firms to carry and advertise the boxes. It has also launched a Web site, www.happilyeverafterwords.com.

The company also is looking at creating other products that center on other life events.

Chick-fil-A to open

Chick-fil-A will open a new stand-alone location this year near Regency Square in Henrico County.

The restaurant will be on Parham Road, near Quioccasin Road, next to the Ridge Shopping Center. The Chick-fil-A will go in the former Hardee's location, which closed Dec. 24.

A spokeswoman for Chick-fil-A said the restaurant is scheduled to open sometime in the third quarter.

The Atlanta-based chain has 17 restaurants in the Richmond area, including nine free-standing ones.

South Pole closes

South Pole Toy Store on Grove Avenue has closed -- finally.

"This is the third time we've had a last day," owner Tom Lind said.

The store was in the Libbie and Grove shopping district in Richmond. It shut its doors -- for good -- last Wednesday.

Lind opened his first store in Florida in 1987. He moved it here in 1994, opening in The Village shopping center at Patterson Avenue and Three Chopt Road.

In 2004, he moved South Pole to the Shops at Wellesley on Lauderdale Drive in western Henrico and then moved to the Grove Avenue spot in July 2006.

South Pole was originally supposed to close in July, but Lind said the property's landlord had been unable to find a new tenant. He kept South Pole open until someone was found.

While the store is closed, South Pole will remain in business.

Lind said he will continue to operate South Pole's Web site, www.southpoletoys.com, and will set up shop at school and church bazaars.

He hopes to reopen a retail store in a couple of years but has to rethink the retail approach.

"Most new mothers grew up [using] the Internet and go online to buy their toys. That killed us," he said.

Pearl's Cupcake Shop will go into the space South Pole is vacating.

Owner Laurie C. Blakey said construction was to begin last week and the store is scheduled to open Feb. 1.

Pearl's will sell cupcakes and other confections.

Red, Hot & Blue delay

A Red, Hot & Blue restaurant was supposed to open three months ago in Westchester Commons, but it has yet to serve a meal.

The restaurant, in the Chesterfield County shopping center off Midlothian Turnpike at state Route 288, has its façade and awning up, but the inside is still under construction.

Westchester Common's leasing office and Red, Hot & Blue did not return calls and e-mails last week.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based chain of barbecue restaurants closed its location on West Broad Street in Henrico last year to move to the new spot.

The restaurant's location in Westchester Commons is near Books-A-Million and Regal Cinema.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or LLLovio@timesdispatch.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/RTDBizBuzz.