According to the T-D’s restaurant column, Miss Hathaway’s Cafe in Stratford Hills has closed. While I can’t say that I’m shocked, the closure is unfortunate, as they always could be counted on for good soups and sandwiches. Hopefully someone else will step in to fill that niche locally before too long.

From the City Dept. of Public Utilities:

Beginning Mon. Sept. 22 through Fri. Sept. 26, 2008 from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. each day, the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities will be performing water main work in the right east bound lane of Forest Hill Avenue from Heartwood Road to Glyndon Lane, a length of approximately 300 feet.

There will be minimal traffic disruption, as only one lane of the four lane road of Forest Hill Avenue will be affected. There will be signs, cones, and traffic barrels in place to alert motorists of the construction. During peak rush hour periods, motorists are asked to proceed with caution around this area.

Apparently there’s a rather nasty wreck @ Forest Hill and Hathaway involving a vehicular rollover and possible fire. Not sure how it’s affecting things overall, but you may want to take that into account this afternoon…

From today’s Style, a new chef is in at Positive Vibe Cafe. The Cafe will also be hosting Christmas in July on the 26th. Live music and seasonal decor accompany a food drive for the Central Virginia Food Bank.

A student is looking for assistance with a project on the history of Stratford Hills. If any experts on the subject would be willing to help out, let us know and we’ll pass along your contact information.

The latest issue of Richmond Magazine includes a brief feature on life in Stratford Hills, with a focus on Riverside Outfitters owners Matt Perry and Scott Turner.

Style profiles the newly-remodeled Thai’s Mama in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center.

Property owners circa Rockfalls Drive & Riverside have been cited for illegally removing buffer vegetation along the river. The article comments haven’t descended into total chaos yet, but they’re trying…

Sort of, anyway. The Stratford Hills Shopping Center will be celebrating several milestones tomorrow afternoon. Positive Vibe Cafe is celebrating their 3rd Anniversary with live music and their nationally-recognized food. Once Upon A Vine South holds their official grand opening with a beer & wine tasting featuring several distributors sampling their wares. To top things off, Forest Hill Antiques is holding a large sale.

In talking with the Once Upon A Vine folks tonight, I learned that the merchant community at the Stratford Hills Shopping Center is a reasonably tight group that’s working together to better the neighborhood. I encourage everyone to stop by at some point tomorrow afternoon.

The Stratford Hills SunTrust was robbed this afternoon. Police describe the robber as a black man, 25-35 years, 5′9″ to 5′11″, heavy build and a salt-and-pepper beard. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a puffy white jacket and dark pants and left in a silver VW Jetta.

A wheelchair-bound pedestrian was struck and killed by a car this morning in the 7800 block of Forest Hill, just east of Thompson Middle School. NBC12 suggests the car was pulling out of a parking lot when it hit the man.

The fine folks at Once Upon A Vine South have been up and running for a couple weeks in the Stratford Hills Shopping Center, featuring the same format (and occasionally some of the same faces) as the Bellevue original. Please note that H&H is not affiliated with Once Upon A Vine in any way, but as wine & beer enthusiasts, we feel it’s our duty to let everyone know that there’s finally a proper beverage shop in the neighborhood.

This coming weekend sees the return of the Richmond Marathon. Once again, the CVS parking lot will host a “Party Zone” with musical entertainment by Worn Glory. Other musical spots include the intersection of Scottview & Longview in Stratford Hills, the entrance to Willow Oaks Country Club, Forest Hill Ave. & Leicester, Forest Hill Park, Forest Hill & Semmes, Semmes & 22nd and the south end of the Lee Bridge.

Traffic changes abound too:

• Riverside Dr. closed b/w Huguenot Bridge & Scottview Drive 6AM-Noon
• Forest Hill Ave. westbound closed b/w Roanoke St. & W. 47th 8AM-11:30 AM
• Huguenot Bridge closed to northbound traffic 8 AM-11 AM
• The southbound exit ramp from the Powhite Parkway to Forest Hill and the northbound entrance ramp from westbound Forest Hill onto the Powhite closed 8 AM-11 AM.

Word has trickled out that a Richmond grand jury decided against indicting David Fielding for his actions. The Stratford Hills business community is said to be delighted with the decision.

Now, if the Baskin Robbins owner would just do something about the boarded up window and the ripped awning…

Stratford Hills’ own Positive Vibe Cafe is the recipient of a 2007 New Freedom Initiative Award. The award, handed out by the US Department of Labor, “recognizes non-profits, small businesses, corporations and individuals that have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in furthering the employment and workplace environment for people with disabilities.”

VCU student Michelle Antogiovanni wrote the following article for Dr. Jeffrey South’s Mass Communications class; Dr. South was nice enough to share it with us (any formatting issues hereabouts are my fault). A different piece along the same lines from Michelle also appears in the VCU Commonwealth times. Thanks to Michelle and Dr. South!

Read more >

Several news outlets are reporting that Richmond prosecutors will go before a grand jury to seek a felony charge of reckless discharge of a firearm against Baskin Robbins employee David Fielding. Fielding has the support of almost the entire Stratford Hills business community, who this year saw a 5x rise in robberies compared to last year.

A would-be robber was fatally shot by a clerk at the Stratford Hills Baskin-Robbins tonight.

A little birdie tells me that Maldini’s Ristorante will be offering delivery to the immediate area. Look for a Richmond.com blurb on them shortly.

On the beverage front, the much anticipated Stratford Hills location of Once Upon a Vine is nearing. ABC permits have been posted for quite some time now, and while no official date has been announced, folks at the Bellevue location say it won’t be long now.

The folks at Urban Richmond and VCU’s Commonwealth Times let us know that our own Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream is taking over the World Cup Coffee space on Morris Street, near VCU. Here’s hoping they hang tough against the Big Green Monster.

On the other end of the beverage spectrum, Bellevue’s favorite Beer & Wine shop, Once Upon A Vine, is soon to open a 2nd store in the Shops At Stratford Hills, in the vicinity of Rock Falls Tavern. The Bellevue store’s selection has been known to attract beer fans from out state and the summer movie nights they host have been a big hit with neighborhood residents. Their expansion to Stratford Hills will be a very welcome addition!