NORFOLK, Va. — It’s hard to miss the eye-catching pink paint along Granby Street and Olney Road. But perhaps, the only thing that stands out more than the colors outside are the flavors served inside the French café and bakery of La Brioche.
Since its opening in 2019, it's become a local favorite along the Neon District corridor. Now, owners Jacqueline and Yvan Devulder will take their business elsewhere.
"This area is a very nice area, but it’s like on pause right now," she told 13News Now.
With their lease coming to an end, La Brioche's ownership has decided to relocate out of the Neon District and take over the space of the old Colley Avenue Pharmacy in the heart of the Ghent neighborhood. Devulder estimates the move will begin after Mother's Day, May 12, with an expectation to re-open in the new location in early June.
“Colley Avenue is very pedestrian and it’s what we need"
When asked what prompted the departure from their original storefront, Devulder shared how she felt there was a better opportunity for pedestrian traffic there compared to the Neon District.
“At one point you need to make more volume to be sustainable," she said.
Devulder shared that many of her customers are regular clientele, but do not come from foot traffic along the Granby Street corridor. They've simultaneously noticed business is "slow" since the middle of 2023, a cause for concern that led them to rethink their location. They signed the lease for the new space at Colley and Baldwin Avenues in late December, following a decades-long occupation by the Colley Discount Pharmacy.
“Since last September we’ve had less pedestrian traffic, less people walking around for the murals."
This is the latest development along the Colley Avenue corridor. The restaurant Tacos Y Tequila took over the space once occupied by Red Dog Saloon.
When La Brioche opened in 2019, the continued prospect of a culinary and arts facility for Tidewater Community College kept them optimistic about their original storefront. However, that project never got off the ground and the space of the Norfolk Greyhound bus station remains undeveloped.
"That hospitality school was supposed to be there instead of the Greyhound station, so that’s a concern."
New location, new hours?
By moving to a location they believe may attract more pedestrian foot traffic, Devulder shared that the business may be able to accommodate different hours and stay open for later.
“We have already the beer and wine license here, but when you close at 1:30 it’s not worth it," she said.
The goal is to roll out extended evening hours on the weekends, with a potential to open later during weekdays too.
"When we established, it was to be here [Granby Street] forever. But due to lack of traffic in the streets, it’s kind of difficult."