RICHMOND, Va. – A pair of Southside entrepreneurs have boxed up their business and headed downtown.
Todd Butler and Chad Thompson opened Lola’s Out of the Box Lunches at 10 E. Franklin St. on Monday. The 11,000-square-foot space will also be headquarters for Butler’s Unique Catering, launched in 2005.
The move gives the boxed lunch and catering business room to offer eat-in dining on weekdays, as well as an event space to meets its goal to go after a slice of the Richmond wedding market.
“We’ve been looking for a while for our own ballroom for clients who want to do a wedding at a reasonable price,” Butler said. “We fell in love with the décor and the history behind it.”
Butler said he spent more than $50,000 of his own money to get the downtown space ready to host weddings and serve lunch.
A catering business with its own venue gives the company an advantage in the competitive wedding industry, he said.
“We can sell the space and offer our food,” Butler said. “There’s no competition for food catering in our venue.”
