A wine and coffee bar is coming to Merchants Square to fill a building formerly occupied by Binns of Williamsburg.
It will be called Illycaffè.
During a City of Williamsburg Planning Commission meeting Wednesday, Colonial Williamsburg Vice President of Real Estate Jeff Duncan said the 15,000-square-foot Binns building at 435 Duke of Gloucester St. will include Illycaffè.
Illycaffè is a coffee company founded in 1933 in Trieste, Italy, according to its website. The company is known on five continents and sells a blend of coffee made from up to nine types of Arabica.
Duncan said Colonial Williamsburg also plans to include a “new retail concept in (the) former Binns space” — taking up about 13,000 square feet of the building.
The presentation did not name the business.
Binns announced in July it would leave Colonial Williamsburg, transitioning to a roughly 11,000-square-foot storefront in the WindsorMeade Marketplace on Monticello Avenue in James City County.
Binns has been in business for nine decades. Of that time, 55 years were spent in Merchants Square.
RELATED STORY: Binns of Williamsburg prepares to move to James City County
Duncan presented a plan for the next 18 months in Merchants Square. The plan includes:
- 2,400 square feet for ladies’ fashion
- 2,500 square feet for ladies’ and men’s fashion
- 1,750 square feet for a coffee-centric restaurant
- 3,000 square feet for a relaxed family restaurant
- New landscaping for the Berret’s corner.
In the next one to three years, Colonial Williamsburg will assess potential opportunities for expansion of Merchants Square, planning for Goodwin Square, redeveloping the Goodwin building into a retail and residential space, parking needs in downtown and more.
Duncan said there is potential for expansion in some spaces, such as the P6 parking lot.
Colonial Williamsburg confirmed it is also working on the outdoor event space at Palace Farms, which is on a property across the street from the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center.
Colonial Williamsburg does not expect to host any events there this summer.
RELATED STORY: Colonial Williamsburg gets its wish: A nearly-empty field will host events for thousands of people
