GREGORY J. GILLIGAN
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Yancey S. Jones had considered for some time moving his company’s Mega Office Furniture store on West Broad Street in


Henrico County. But Jones, president and CEO of The Supply Room Cos. Inc., wanted to buy a building in a good location. He did. His company bought theformer Mulligan’s nightclub building at 8006 W. Broad St. The company spent more than $2.1 million to buy the building and renovate it, Jones said.

Mega Office, a division of The Supply Room Cos., opened in the new spot last month.

At the same time, it closed the superstore at 7425 W. Broad St., which had been one of its original stores. Mega had operated the superstore there for 15 years.

“This place is a more open showroom and has more useable space,” Jones said of the new location. “The old store was more broken up with low ceilings.”

The new store has vaulted ceilings. A mezzanine level used for employee offices gives customers a perched view of office furniture on the first level.

“You can now look down on furniture settings to get a different sense of what it looks like,” he said.

The new store is smaller. But much of the space in the former location was for warehousing, but wasn’t used because of the company’s large warehouse on U.S. 1 in Hanover County.

While the new spot is set back about a block off West Broad Street, a huge sign near the street draws attention for those driving in either direction, Jones said. The former location was closer to the street, but it was difficult for consumers to see.

The Supply Room also is looking to open a Mega Office store in Northern Virginia, possibly in 2014, and maybe in the Raleigh-Greensboro, N.C., area after that, Jones said. Besides the store on West Broad Street, the company has a location in Norfolk and a clearance center in Hanover.

Cracker Barrel coming

A Cracker Barrel restaurant will open next year off Gaskins Road near Interstate 64.

The restaurant would be in the Gaskins Place development at the southeast corner of Gaskins and Mayland Drive.

Construction should begin this month and Cracker Barrel should open in February.

Short Pump hotel?

Look for a upscale, all-suite hotel catering to business travelers to become part of the Short Pump Town Center.

The seven-story hotel would be built next to the Dick’s Sporting Goods store and across the walkway from Baker’s Crust Café, real estate sources and county officials say.

Craig White, the mall’s manager, couldn’t confirm that a hotel would be built at Short Pump. “But if so, that would be a fantastic addition.”

CarMax construction

Automotive retailer CarMax Inc. began construction on a new store in the Charlottesville area, which would be the chain’s smallest market.

The 13,600-square-foot store is expected to open in December on 5 acres near Interstate 64 and U.S. 250.

The store would be CarMax’s smallest. The chain is testing a smaller store format there that would have a different management structure.

Contact staff writer Gregory J. Gilligan at ggilligan@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6379.