Biz Beat Roundup: Popular chain coming to Thornburg

BUSINESS ACTIVITY

• The Fredericksburg area is getting its first Zaxby’s location. The chicken-oriented chain will open a location just west of the new Wawa off Mudd Tavern Road near the Thornburg interchange of Interstate 95 and the planned Kalahari Resorts property. The restaurant (and Kalahari) is expected to open later this year.
• Founders Endodontics has opened a practice at 400 Chatham Square Office Park in Stafford County.
• The FedEx Ship Center at 1117 International Parkway in Stafford will permanently close and relocate to 180 Centreport Parkway in Stafford on June 1.
• The technology-repair business formerly called Experimax Fredericksburg in Central Park is now called Experts in Tech.
• The Target store in Central Park is undergoing a major renovation. The store is open during the project.
• Novel FXBG at 212 William St. in downtown Fredericksburg this week has been expanding into the entire space in the building and plans to reopen Friday (April 10). Green Eyed Vines, which had been sharing the space with Novel, moved into its own space at 720 Caroline St. and reopened this past weekend.
• An all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant called Crab O’Clock is expected to open in May at 4714 Mine Road in Spotsylvania County.
• A conditional-use permit is being requested to allow for a Craftsman Auto Care facility on about 2.6 acres south of Garrisonville Road between Parkway Boulevard and Shelton Shop Road in North Stafford.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

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  Screenshot from Garden & Gun

  Downtown Fredericksburg (Caroline Street) this past week vied for the championship of Garden & Gun magazine’s online competition for “Best Main Street in the South.” Fredericksburg was pitted against DeLand, Fla.; in the finals after surpassing Eureka Springs, Ark.; Bristol, Tenn./Va.; and Blowing Rock, N.C.; in previous rounds. Winners were chosen based on number of votes received in an online poll. The winner of the championship round is expected to be announced today (Wednesday, April 8).

• Longtime area resident and real estate professional Richmond McDaniel is the subject of this week’s edition of the Biz Beat Banter podcast.
• Bloomia in King George County and its ongoing tulip festival is the subject of this week’s Biz Beat Clips video.
• The following regional business were among the 161 selected statewide as a Top Virginia Employer for Interns for 2026 by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV): Cyber Bytes Foundation, F45 Training Stafford VA, Fredericksburg Technology, Matern Staffing, Natural Scentiments, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Rappahannock Goodwill Industries, REIGN the Venue, SimVentions, the University of Mary Washington (UMW) and the Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce.
• The National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons announced last week the hiring of Fredericksburg native and James Monroe High School graduate Jeff Scott as the team’s assistant general manager.
• UMW Head Men’s Basketball Coach Marcus Kahn has received the 2026 Glenn Robinson National Coach of the Year award, which is presented annually to the top head coach in NCAA Division III college basketball. UMW on Sunday won the DIII championship by defeating Emory University 75-73.
• Quantico Corporate Center in North Stafford is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week. An event is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Thursday (April 9) at 525 Corporate Drive. People can register to attend, and space is limited.
• Kasper Mechanical Heating & Cooling in Stafford has donated $2,000 to help fund a bulletproof vest for K-9 Rudi with the Fredericksburg Police Department.
• First Line Technology, SimVentions, Legacy Engineering, Renewal by Andersen and Corps Solutions were among the locally based companies to make Virginia Business’ recently released annual list of the best places to work in Virginia. Other companies with a significant local presence including Colliers International, Premium Distributors of Virginia, Davenport & Co., Cushman & Wakefield Thalhimer, CarMax and Edward Jones also made the list.
• The Spotsylvania Education Foundation recently received a $1,500 grant from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to support Spotsylvania County Public Schools.
• Kalahari Resorts and Conventions is well on its way to filling many of the high-level positions the company requires when the sprawling new indoor water park opens its Spotsylvania facility in November. Kalahari plans a big local hiring event in June.

REAL ESTATE REVIEW

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  This Orange County home sold last week for $1.5 million, topping the list of local home sales.

  There were 101 homes sold in the past week in the Fredericksburg area, including three for more than $1 million in Orange County, according to the Fredericksburg Area Association of Realtors’ (FAAR) weekly sales list. Check back weekly for the new list.

• The 7,164-square-foot building at 1791 Carl D. Silver Parkway (where the KPOT restaurant is located) sold last month for $2.7 million, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report. The seller was an affiliate of MCB Real Estate, and the buyer was Vienna, Va.-based TJX88 Property LLC.
• An LLC created by the owners of Ponshop Studio and Gallery, Caroline & Company LLC, last month purchased the 4,253-square-foot building where the business has long been located at 712 Caroline St. in downtown Fredericksburg. The building was purchased for $894,000 from previous owner Francis W. Bacon III, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report.
• Local real estate investor and business owner Matt Haney last month purchased the roughly 9,000-square-foot properties where White Supply and Glass is located at 2609, 2611 and 2613 Race St. in Fredericksburg for $925,000, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report. The seller was Randolph M. Altman.
• An LLC affiliated with local dentist and real estate investor Joel Butterworth last month bought the 0.83-acre Dixon Street Carwash property at 1603 Dixon St. in Fredericksburg for $700,000, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report. 1603 Dixon Street LLC bought the property from Dixon Carwash LLC. The property is available for lease.
• The Fredericksburg Surgery Office at 210 Executive Center Parkway sold last month for $1.775 million, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report. The buyer was Dumfries-based Castro’s Properties LLC.
• The 5,520-square-foot office building at 816 William St. in Fredericksburg sold last month for $1.35 million, according to Fredericksburg’s monthly land transfer report. 816 William Street LLC sold it to Lofts of Littlepage LLC.

Biz Beat Roundup runs every Wednesday and includes a roundup of business news from around the Fredericksburg region. Send submissions to: bill.freehling@fredericksburgfreepress.com