Rebuilding Gabriel Chapel A M E Zion Church: A Story of Faith, Fire, and Restoration

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After a devastating fire, the historic Gabriel Chapel A M E Zion Church in Chesapeake, Virginia—originally built in 1866—was reduced to ashes. But what the fire took away, faith and community brought back stronger.

IONIC DeZign Studios was honored to lead the architectural restoration of this beloved chapel. This project was more than just a rebuild—it was a revival of hope, heritage, and purpose. We worked closely with the congregation to blend the chapel’s historical legacy with modern design, ensuring its impact would continue for generations to come.

This transformation reminds us that architecture is not just about buildings—it’s about people, stories, and resilience.

Watch the full journey and see how design can heal, honor, and inspire.

IONIC Consultant of the Quarter Award Goes to Britt, Peters & Associates

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The Ionic DeZign team has named Britt, Peters & Associates our Consultant of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2023! Each quarter we identify a consulting partner who is the “best to work with” as voted by our DeZigners. The award is presented to a company that repeatedly goes above and beyond in supporting the IONIC team and servicing our mutual clients.

Congratulations to the Britt, Peters & Associates Team! We look forward to many more successful projects together.

IONIC Named to Best Restaurant Architects in Virginia Beach List

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General Contractor Magazine recently published a select list of the Best Restaurant Architects in Virginia Beach, Virginia. IONIC DeZign Studios was one of the firms selected for their range of services, specializations, certifications, experience, and professional affiliations. Each of these firms has also been recognized through industry awards, client reviews, and press features. Click here to read the article.

IONIC Featured in Construction Magazine

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We’re proud to share with a recent feature story about IONIC in Virginia Construction Elite magazine. It is a great honor to be a part of a construction journal such as this one, not only once, but twice! Reach out to us to snag a copy!

Click here to read the article (PDF format).

One-Minute Mile January

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Dr. Eugene Thompson and IONIC CEO takes one minute to dive into his topic of the month!

Pandemic Pivot: Bakery planned for Carver Opening in Carytown

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Published by Mike Platania on  April 1, 2021 for Richmondbisense.com 

Not one to let the disaster that was 2020 put the kibosh on her dream of opening a kosher bakery in Richmond, Claudia Strobing is now Carytown-bound.

In the fall of 2019, Strobing, a Long Island, N.Y. native, signed a lease at 800 W. Marshall St. in Carver, where she was planning to open Claudia’s Bake Shop. Then the pandemic hit.

“We were getting ready to build, we had permits in Carver,” she said. “Then everything shut down.” Last spring, as VCU put its in-person classes on indefinite hold, so did Strobing with her plans for the bakery.

“My business model was based almost entirely on VCU students,” she said. “They were going to be the ones coming in every day, stopping in before class or on the way back from class.”

As the pandemic dragged on, Strobing said she eventually decided to terminate the Carver lease and begin thinking of other options.

She took a pit stop at Hatch Kitchen, an ever-expanding shared commissary kitchen and incubator on the Southside, where she sold her babka, challah and rugelach online.

Read More at Richmondbisense.com 

Popular Virginia Beach pizza place to open second location in Pungo

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As reported in The Virginian-Pilot on August 6, 2021 

VIRGINIA BEACH — During the nearly 20 years that Brett Kassir and his business partners have operated ShoreBreak Pizza & Taphouse on Shore Drive, they’ve held fast to a simple concept: Keep it family-oriented.

Now, they’re taking that same approach across the city and building a second location off Princess Anne Road. Pungo Shorebreak will open in the spring next to the Sherwood Lakes neighborhood at 2750 Trent Place…

Read the full article at Pilotonline.com

Historic Chesapeake Church Celebrating Groundbreaking and Community This Weekend

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Posted: Aug 16, 2021 / 07:03 PM EDT / Updated: Aug 17, 2021 / 09:29 AM EDT. 

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Nearly a year after a historic Chesapeake church went up in flames, the congregation is getting ready to celebrate breaking ground on their new building.

Last August, Gabriel Chapel AME Zion Church off Long Ridge Road caught on fire after it was struck by lightning.

While many churches were trying to find ways how to hold services virtually, Pastor Sandi Hutchinson says they were just trying to find spaces to have a service when many locations like libraries weren’t open yet.

“It’s been tough,” she said. “It hasn’t been just about the building the physical church back. It’s about building the morale of the people both physically and spiritually, whose families have been there for generations. We have people at our church who are 100 years old whose parents and grandparents attended in 1866 or donated land for it to be built.”

Read the article on wavytv.com.

 

CoVa Best of 2021: IONIC Client Awardees

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Every year, Coastal Virginia Magazine hosts the Best of Readers Choice Awards. The magazine holds multiple rounds, gathering votes from the community to identify their favorite businesses, best service providers and stand-out individuals. With outstanding participation, the CoVa Awards results are widely recognized as the region’s de facto ranking of the Coastal VA business community every year. 

At IONIC, we consider ourselves lucky to partner with and build for top talent in Coastal Virginia, including many who were named in the recent 2021 results! We’d like to extend our congratulations to our partners and friends who received recognition: 

ShoreBreak Pizza and Taphouse – Overall Gold Best Family Dining/Casual, Overall Gold Best Sports Bar

The Rustic Spoon – South Side Gold Best Family Dining/Casual, Overall Gold Best Lunch, Overall Gold Best New Restaurant

Amber Ox Public House – Peninsula Silver Best Local Farm-to-Table Menu, Peninsula Bronze Best Overall Restaurant, Peninsula Gold Best Wings

Mancoll Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery – Overall Gold Best Cosmetic Surgery Center, South Side Gold Best Skin/Dermatology Practice

Navy Federal Credit Union – Overall Gold Best Credit Union, Overall Gold Best Financial Planning Company

Chartway Federal Credit Union – South Side Gold Best Credit Union

Beach Municipal Federal Credit Union – South Side Bronze Best Credit Union

Atomic Plumbing – Overall Gold Best Plumber

Patrick Henry Mall – Peninsula Gold Best Shopping Mall

Cheesesteak Brand Leases Former Starbucks Spot at Broad and Bowe

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By Mike Platania | Posted by: Richmond BizSense on July 12, 2021 

Richmond’s Philly cheesesteak market is staying hot, as another option via a national chain is setting up shop near VCU.

Charleys Philly Steaks is preparing to open at 1500 W. Broad St. It will be the Ohio-based chain’s second store in the Richmond region, joining its spot in Chesterfield Towne Center that opened last fall.

Charleys has over 600 locations all over the globe, per its website.

Located near the intersection of West Broad and Bowe streets, the roughly 2,000-square-foot space was formerly home to a Starbucks. The coffee shop and its neighbors GameStop and DTLR were damaged during last summer’s riot.

While GameStop and DTLR reopened, Starbucks vacated its space, opening the door for Charleys and franchisee Ramy Yacoub.

“I went to VCU and I always went to that Starbucks,” Yacoub said. “I saw they left and thought it’s a perfect spot.”

Yacoub is leasing the space from landlord Harper Associates, which was represented in negotiations by Commonwealth Commercial’s Morgan Trible.

Charleys Philly Steaks is opening its second store in the Richmond region. (Courtesy of Charleys Philly Steaks)
Charleys’ cheesesteaks range from $7 to $11. In addition to traditional Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks, Charleys also offers variations like Buffalo-, teriyaki- and California-style cheesesteaks.

Read More on Richmond BizSense