BIZ BUZZ: Brothers combine office and storage spaces

Driving north on Chamberlayne Avenue from downtown, you'll see a nondescript beige building that sits off to the left.

From a distance, it looks like any warehouse in any urban area in America.

But look a little closer and what you'll find is a nearly 60-year-old building that has been gutted and renovated by its owners, brothers David and Tom Kern.

The sign pronouncing the business as AAAA Chamberlayne Storage is a bit of a misnomer.

Sure, there are 500 storage units inside the 77,000-square foot building that opened 10 days ago. But the brothers haven't limited themselves to storage.

"We wanted to do something a little different" than offering a place for people to store their belongings, said Tom Kern, the older of the two brothers.

They've added a business center with computers, office chairs and gourmet coffee. High-backed chairs surround a large conference table in a glassed-in conference room.

The building also is wired for Wi-Fi, music is pumped through the carpeted halls and the five loading docks are under cover.

Past the lobby, storage units run down the length to one side while private offices line the other side.

The brothers say combining the office concept with storage units was something they'd seen in bigger cities, including Chicago.

"I must have visited 60 or 70 places and just took ideas from the best of them," Tom Kern said.

However, the offices and self-storage both serve audiences whose lives are in transition.

The storage units are primarily rented by people moving to or from homes and apartments or getting divorces, the brothers say. Some businesses use storage facilities to store records.

The business services are for those starting out, including those who have lost a job and are looking to start a business.

"There are some people who are looking to start a business or hang up a shingle who just can't afford to lease 15,000 square feet, but they also don't want to work from home," David Kern said. "This is a good place for them to start."

An office, including optional storage area for merchandise, runs about $400 per month.

"We see this as sort of an incubator," David Kern said. "A company can get its start here and then grow to the point where they move to a bigger space."

If the concept works, they plan on adding more offices and storage units.

Dinner & a movie

Alabama-based CinéBistro is expected to open a location at Stony Point Fashion Park in South Richmond, according to real estate sources.

The CinéBistro would take over the former Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro restaurant, which closed in November.

CinéBistro combines fine dining with movies. Diners get private tables inside theaters and eat from gourmet menus served before the start of the film.

A bar in the lobby also offers drinks and appetizers.

CinéBistro has three locations in Florida.

No opening date for the Stony Point location is available yet.

Flu shots and bread

The Kroger Co. is offering health care along with groceries at its local stores.

The Cincinnati-based grocer is opening five Little Clinics inside Richmond-area stores.

Two stores -- 9480 W. Broad St. in Henrico County and 14101 Midlothian Turnpike near state Route 288 in Chesterfield County -- already have the clinics.

The three remaining locations -- 6335 Mechanicsville Turnpike in Hanover County, 9351 Atlee Road in Hanover and 1356 Gaskins Road in Henrico -- are expected to open by the end of the month.

The clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Patients can get diagnoses, treatment and have prescriptions written for maladies such as strep throat, sinus and ear infections, and the flu. The clinics also offer physicals, screenings and vaccinations.

Little Clinics accept most insurance policies but also take patients without coverage.

Kroger has 16 stores in the greater Richmond area. It has Little Clinics in stores in 11 states.

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