One of the original tenants of City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News is moving away to Christopher Newport University.
Aromas, a mainstay of the massive development for 16 years, left its City Center spot by the large fountain and will be moving to a location across the street from CNU by the end of August.
The coffee shop’s co-owner Michelle Sieling said she began thinking about moving a short time before the City Center lease was due to expire in June. During the COVID-19 pandemic, office traffic at Aromas became anemic as employees began working from home.
The CNU location, across from the school on Warwick Boulevard, was an attractive prospect, Sieling said. In addition to university students and staff, she hopes to attract customers from the Ferguson Center for the Arts, Riverside Regional Medical Center and area museums.
“It’s a really ideal location for our business,” Sieling said.
The coffee shop will be rebranding as part of restrictions imposed by the shopping plaza, becoming The Captain’s Den and Coffee House. Sieling plans to take several items from The Hound’s Tale gastropub in Williamsburg — which she also owns with husband Steve Sieling — and feature them at the new location. They include poke bowls, homemade dumplings and crab dip. She also envisions grilled cheeses for lunch and burgers on the dinner menu.
“It’s going to be a little bit different,” Sieling said.
Of course, the location will also include the full drink menu from Aromas, including chai tea lattes and smoothies, she added.
The original Aromas location opened in 2000 on Prince George Street in Williamsburg by former William & Mary professor Don Pratt and his wife, Geri. They opened a second location in City Center in 2006. The Sielings purchased Aromas and The Hound’s Tale from them in 2018. The pair also operate an Aromas spot in the Swem Library on the William & Mary campus and another at the former Daily Grind location near the school’s medical center.
Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate, which manages City Center, is also fielding several potential tenants looking at the old Aromas location, spokesperson Eva Wiggins said.
“We have some interest in that site,” Wiggins said.
Aromas has a great relationship with William & Mary and hopes to replicate it with CNU, including fundraising efforts and other partnerships, Sieling said.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@insidebiz.com
