When Charlottesville City Council granted permission for three student apartment buildings to be constructed on West Main Street in the 2010s, the zoning rules at the time required that the ground floor have space for commercial establishments.
Since then, several of the required spaces have remained vacant while other businesses have struggled to stay afloat. A chain restaurant in The Standard at Charlottesville closed for the final time earlier this month.
“Potbelly – Charlottesville, which was operated by a multi-partner franchise group in Virginia, was forced to close as a result of the franchisee’s personal financial challenges,” reads a statement from the corporate office.
Aside from The Standard’s marketing office, the sandwich shop has been the only commercial establishment in the student apartment building. Since opening to residents in August 2018, the flooring for two retail spaces on the eastern side of the building remains unfinished.
“Now that Potbelly has closed, we are actively seeking new tenants for that location and our other available retail spaces,” said Jeff Carter with Landmark Properties. “We view this as a great opportunity to bring new and exciting establishments to our residents and the community.”
A block away, the third brewery to occupy retail space at Lark on Main will stay in business—but not for the public at large. Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company opened a Charlottesville location in October 2023.
“This summer, our Charlottesville location has transitioned to private events only, offering a centrally located space available for rentals for a variety of events with beer brewed right on-site,” said Rebecca Holland, Beer Brands Manager for Devil’s Backbone.
Hardywood of Richmond lasted in the same spot from February 2017 to December 2019, followed bySlippery Rock of Staunton, which stayed in the space less than a year in 2020.
A cycling studio in the Lark remains open.
Charlottesville’s economic development office keeps vacancy reports for the Downtown Mall, Barracks Road Shopping Center, Preston Avenue, and three other locations, but does not track space on West Main Street.
“Members of the Office of Economic Development team regularly engage with businesses along the West Main Street corridor so we can have general knowledge of how they are doing and connect them with various internal and external resources or programs as needed,” says Matt Johnson, the city’s assistant economic development director.
There is one retail space in the Flats at West Village that has never been rented. A chain restaurant called World of Beer opened with the residential complex in the fall of 2014 but closed a few years later. An independent operation was there for a few months but the space was vacant for many years until Johnny Ornelas and River Hawkins opened Mejicali in 2024.
Another restaurant project on West Main appears to be stalled. Last year, a chain called Mochinut had filed a building permit to open a store at 917 W. Main St. but that permit has been withdrawn and the space remains unfinished.
