Turning Point, a breakfast restaurant chain, is coming to Richmond
This breakfast and lunch-focused chain serves avocado toast, huevos rancheros, lattes, cappuccinos and more. (Courtesy of Turning Point Restaurants)
A breakfast and lunch spot with roots near the Jersey Shore is the latest out-of-town restaurant chain targeting the Richmond market.
Turning Point Restaurant plans to open early next year at 5320 Wyndham Forest Drive, just north of Short Pump in Henrico County. Its location in the Nuckols Place shopping center, anchored by Publix, will be the chain’s first location in Virginia and 27th overall.
Turning Point was founded in Little Silver, New Jersey, in the 1990s as a tea and coffee shop that also served lunch and dinner. It changed hands in 1998 when the original owners sold it to Kirk Ruoff, who worked at Chili’s but dreamed of owning his own restaurant.
Kirk Ruoff
Shortly after taking over Turning Point, Ruoff decided to cut back on dinner and add breakfast to the menu.
“We killed it at night. There was no night business,” Ruoff said. “I went in and bought it with very little money. After six or eight months, I was able to break even.”
Ruoff said that these days the average bill at Turning Point is about $18 or $19, and they try to offer a more refined touch for breakfast and lunch than a typical diner or IHOP.
“It’s not fine dining, but it’s definitely high-end,” he said of Turning Point’s cuisine.
In addition to breakfast staples like pancakes, omelets and skillets, Turning Point’s breakfast menu includes several types of eggs Benedict and a sandwich made with pork loaf, a type of ham popular throughout New Jersey. The lunch menu includes paninis, sandwiches, salads and more.
Ruoff has also kept a piece of Turning Point’s coffee shop roots intact with his drinks, as he said the restaurants serve several blends of coffee served in French presses, as well as lattes, cappuccinos and a variety of teas.
“We’re very well known for our French press coffees. Customers’ palates have improved and they want a nicer coffee,” he said, adding that Turning Point’s beverage menu also includes breakfast cocktails like mimosas and bellinis.
In the early 2000s, Ruoff began slowly adding more locations, but things took off in recent years after Turning Point received an investment from Philadelphia-based private equity firm NewSpring Capital in 2019. That deal allowed Ruoff to retain a majority stake in the company while absorbing more than eight figures in capital.
Turning Point now has 26 locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Ruoff said the company has been looking to enter the Maryland and Northern Virginia market for some time but hasn’t found a suitable location.
“So we decided to go a little further south to Richmond and found this place in Glen Allen,” he said.
The chain is taking a space in the Nuckols Place shopping center, anchored by Publix. (Photo by Mike Platania)
Turning Point ended up leasing about 3,500 square feet at Nuckols Place. Trey Blankinship and Jamie Lanham of Segall Group represented Turning Point in the deal. Connie Jordan Nielsen and Alicia Brown of Thalhimer represented the landlord.
Turning Point plans to open the new restaurant in the first quarter of 2025.
Ruoff said the company continues to look to expand in Virginia. It recently signed a deal to open a store in Stafford, and Ruoff said he would like to expand into other parts of the Richmond area, such as Midlothian.
The company has begun franchising a few locations in Pennsylvania, and while Ruoff said he hasn’t ruled out selling the franchise rights to Virginia, the company isn’t rushing to do so either.
“We are quite capable of running the project ourselves, but if a good franchisee came along, we would certainly look at that,” he said. “We are very selective in who we hire. I am not looking to get into trouble or become a growth maniac. It is about smart, steady growth.”
Ruoff said so far he has enjoyed the taste of Southern Virginia hospitality.
“The people we’ve met and the people we’ve dealt with have been very nice. I don’t want to disparage the Northeast,” he said with a laugh. “People in New Jersey and New York are very busy and it seems like in Virginia they’re enjoying life a little bit more and can slow down, which is refreshing.”
