A rendering of a food truck park proposed for Glades. The initiative announced plans to open at an office park in Innsbrook last year but is no longer moving forward at that location. (BizSense file)
A food truck venue planned for Innsbrook ran out of gas.
Glaze had planned to open a permanent food truck park at 4991 Lake Brook Drive to serve meals to nearby office workers and families, but that is no longer part of the plan.
The cancellation of the plans was confirmed recently by Jane Dufresne, Richmond market leader for Highwoods Properties, which owns the Lake Brook site.
Phu Nguyen, the local entrepreneur who came up with the concept for The Glades, declined to comment for this story.
In addition to food trucks, The Glades would feature a farmers market, concerts, a children’s play area, seating and decorations. Nguyen said last year that it planned to open in mid-October on a site next to the North Shore I and North Shore II buildings. Nguyen expected The Glades to be a seven-figure investment and would be built in phases over time.
But Dufresne said the idea ultimately didn’t move forward there due to permitting issues in Henrico County. The operating agreement between Highwoods and The Glades ended in January, Dufresne said.
Phu Nguyen
Nguyen originally hoped to open The Glades at the former Innsbrook After Hours site at 4901 Lake Brook Drive, but those initial plans were scuttled due to zoning compliance issues, Nguyen said at the time.
Highwoods and Massachusetts-based Northland Corp. are planning a mixed-use development on a 34-acre area that includes the property.
The Glaze did not open a store in the North Shore building or the Innsbrook After Hours location, but did operate a short-term pop-up store in its nearby offices at 4470 Cox Road, according to the company’s social media posts.
In early December, the venue announced plans for the pop-up series on Facebook, and the next day posted a six-day schedule of food trucks at the Cox Road venue, also advertising the participating food trucks online. This appears to be The Glades’ first and only period of operation.
It’s unclear whether the idea for Glaze has been completely abandoned or if the venue planned for the Lake Brook Drive site will open at a new location. Glaze’s website was down as of this week and listed as “temporarily closed” on Google.
