It’s too early to mark a date on the calendar, but the owner of Mellow Mushroom said the restaurant will likely be open in Williamsburg before the end of 2018.
Mellow Mushroom will open in the Henry Street Shops in Merchants Square at 100 South Henry Street, facing Wythe Candy and the Cheese Shop.
“Construction and everything else will be done over the summer and we hope to be open in the fall,” owner Gray Nelson said.
Nelson said construction on Mellow Mushroom restaurants typically takes between four and six months, and training the wait staff takes two to three weeks. Demolition on the site began in late April.
A conservative timeline would put the restaurant on pace to open in late November. Nelson said the “overly optimistic” estimate would be for September.
“We’re always trying to be faster than that but we don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up,” he added.
The roughly 3,800-square-foot Merchants Square restaurant will feature a 1,000-square-foot patio and offer a menu including gourmet pizza, calzones, salads and craft beers. Each Mellow Mushroom is locally owned and operated and sports its own unique design and atmosphere.
Nelson said the interior designs were not yet available to the public.
The City of Williamsburg’s Architectural Review Board approved an artist’s renditions for the front of the restaurant in February, according to city documents.
Nelson said the only thing he is waiting on, besides construction, is a Section 106 review by the Virginia Department of Historical Resources. The review is triggered because the restaurant received grant funding through the city’s Economic Development Authority.
He added the Mellow Mushroom team is working hand-in-hand with Colonial Williamsburg, the property’s owner, to get state approval during the review process.
When the restaurant first opens Nelson said it will likely employ around 125 people.
WYDaily archives were used in this story.
