Yard House, headquartered in Irvine, California, has announced plans to open its first location in Virginia at Virginia Beach’s Town Center. The company is investing $5 million in capital improvements and training to open the location on the corner of Independence Boulevard and Commerce Street, and will create 200 new jobs in the city. The restaurant is scheduled to open this fall.
Currently, Yard House has 28 locations in the United States and one in Hawaii. Expansion plans for 2011 include three new locations on the East Coast in Westchester County, New York, Boston and Virginia Beach. The new location in Town Center is expected to generate between $8 to $9 million a year in revenue.
“We are thrilled to welcome Yard House to our extensive offerings at Town Center,” says Warren D. Harris, Director of Virginia Beach Economic Development.
Armada Hoffler is completing the demolition phase of the construction, and Yard House will complete the interior build out in addition to façade improvements.
Yard House opened its first location in 1996 in Long Beach, California. The company is privately owned and has a reputation for its extensive menu of American fusion cuisine featuring 130 items including appetizers, salads, pastas, sandwiches, grilled burgers, individual-size pizzas, seafood, steaks and ribs. The lively environment is created by colorful abstract artwork, classic rock music and dozens of flat screens that showcase the day’s news and sporting events. Yard House is also know for the world’s largest selection of draft beers, with 250 choices on tap.
The glass-enclosed keg room is essentially the pulse of the operation, housing as much as 5,000 gallons of beer at a time. Three to five miles of individual beer lines stretch overhead from the keg room to the island bar maintaining a constant temperature of 34-36 degrees, keeping the beer consistently fresh and perfectly chilled for every pint. Guests can sip their favorite draft beer from the popular half yard, traditional pint or six pack sampler.
The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international business and industry that results in the creation of new capital investment and jobs that increase the per capita income in the community. The City of Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a population of 434,000 and is the 42nd largest city in the United States. Virginia Beach has been recognized as having one of the 10 best economic development groups in the nation by Site Selection magazine. In 2006, Virginia Beach was named one of the 10 best big cities in America by Money magazine. In 2008, the Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council, one of only 25 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. In 2010, the Department won an Award of Excellence for its marketing efforts from the International Economic Development Council. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com.
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