Manchester's 1200 Block of Hull Street Heads to Auction, With Tenants in Place
Three empty restaurant spaces found new tenants while the courts sorted out the old owner's debts. On December 9, the buildings get a new landlord.
On December 9, Tranzon is scheduled to auction five Manchester properties tied to former Richmond businessman Michael Hild. The list includes the old Dogtown Brewing building, the Hull and 12th corner where Butterbean Market & Cafe once operated, and the former Hot Diggity Donuts storefront. Bolo's Eatery, The Sassy Biscuit Co. and Scharolina's Custom Cakes & Confections now fill those spaces, and their leases carry over to the new owners.
If you've walked the 1200 block lately, you've seen it wake back up. Brunch crowds at the corner in the morning. Oysters and house beer up the street at night. A cake shop in between. According to Virginia Credit Union's attorney, as reported by Richmond BizSense on October 29, both the commercial leases and the residential leases upstairs will stay in place after the sale.
I've worked Richmond real estate for more than 25 years, and a lot of my time is spent just south of here in Woodland Heights, Forest Hill, Westover Hills and Stratford Hills. Manchester is the front door to those neighborhoods. What happens on Hull Street shapes how buyers feel about the whole Southside before they ever tour a house. It's the same reason I paid close attention when the Mayo Bridge went to two lanes this fall.
What Goes Up for Sale December 9
The five properties secured loans from Virginia Credit Union. After the loans defaulted, the credit union took control in 2024 and the properties went into court-supervised receivership. Since then, the receiver has stabilized the buildings and leased the commercial spaces while the foreclosure case played out.
- 1200-1206 Hull St., the former Butterbean Market & Cafe, now The Sassy Biscuit Co., with 10 apartments
- 1209 Hull St., the former Dogtown Brewing Co., now Bolo's Eatery, with 12 apartments
- 1213 Hull St., the former Hot Diggity Donuts, now Scharolina's Custom Cakes & Confections, with 4 apartments
- 2010 Maury St., a single-family home
- 1124 Bainbridge St., a vacant lot of about a quarter acre
The city assessed the five at a combined $7.03 million, more than the $6.2 million the credit union said it was owed when it first sued. Assessments aren't the same as market value, and they won't predict the hammer price. BizSense reported that any surplus will be held in escrow until the court says otherwise.
One nearby building isn't part of this. The former Siegel's Super Market at 2005 Hull St. was left out of the credit union's case, and its future is tied up in separate legal proceedings.
A Receiver Leased It Up, One Storefront at a Time
The receiver, working with One South Commercial on leasing, filled the three Hull Street storefronts one by one. Each went to a separate, independent operator.
Address | Former business | Current tenant | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
1209 Hull St. | Dogtown Brewing Co. | Bolo's Eatery | Lindsey Food Group / Brainstorm Brewhouse |
1204 Hull St. | Butterbean Market & Cafe | The Sassy Biscuit Co. | Jilan Hall |
1213 Hull St. | Hot Diggity Donuts | Scharolina's Custom Cakes & Confections | Scharolyn Hall |
Upstairs, the three buildings hold 26 apartments. Court documents cited by BizSense show residential occupancy rose substantially during the receivership, and Tranzon's listings describe the buildings as having high or consistent occupancy.
So the winning bidder gets working mixed-use buildings with rent coming in from both floors. The restaurants stay independently run, and their leases ride along with the sale.
Bolo's Eatery Took the Brewery Space and Kept Brewing
The old Dogtown Brewing building still pours beer, now from the Bolo's rooftop.
The old Dogtown Brewing building at 1209 Hull St. still makes beer. Bolo's Eatery is a partnership between Lindsey Food Group, run by Mike Lindsey and Kim Love-Lindsey, and Brainstorm Brewhouse's Darryl Puller and CM Bryant. BizSense reported the deal in July 2025, and RVAHub covered the soft opening that September.
The tagline keeps it simple: fried chicken, oysters and beer. The menu adds burgers and seafood, and the beer and cider come from the in-house brewery and cidery. There's a bar and a rooftop, too.
Bolo's is the block's evening anchor. Per its website, it's closed Monday and Tuesday. Hours run 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
The Sassy Biscuit Co. Is the Newest Name on the Corner
The old Butterbean corner at Hull and 12th, now home to The Sassy Biscuit Co.
The old Butterbean corner at Hull and 12th waited the longest. BizSense first reported the brunch concept in April 2025, and Richmond Magazine's August profile puts the Richmond opening in June 2026.
Owner Jilan Hall opened the first Sassy's in Billings, Montana, in 2018 and moved to Richmond in 2023. Almost everything on the menu starts with a biscuit. The Sassy is a cinnamon-vanilla waffle biscuit with sweet buttermilk gravy. The Cluck adds fried chicken and apple cider gravy. The Carolina Cristo stacks applewood-smoked ham, Swiss and pickled blueberry jam on a French toast biscuit.
Hall told Richmond Magazine how the kitchen tests new ideas:
"We always say, 'Is it sassy?' when we're coming up with something. 'Is it sassy enough?'"
The restaurant also gives people a second shot. The magazine reported that Sassy's hires people coming out of rehab or incarceration who are working toward a fresh start. The stained-glass entry is the work of local studio Mojo Glassworks.
It's open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., which makes it the block's morning stop.
Scharolina's Grew From Custom Orders
Custom cakes are the specialty at 1213 Hull St.
The third storefront, at 1213 Hull St., belongs to Scharolina's Custom Cakes & Confections. Scharolyn Hall built the business on custom orders and pop-up markets before moving into the former Hot Diggity Donuts space.
Custom cakes are the specialty, with cupcakes, cookies, pies and puddings filling out the case. In February, WTVR featured Hall and Scharolina's ahead of Family Lifeline's Choco event at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
Yes, it's a little ironic that a block headed to a foreclosure auction has this much dough on hand. 🍰 Like the other two, the lease transfers with the building.
The December 9 Auction and What Comes Next
Tranzon's announcement sets the date and place. The January and February steps come from the schedule the credit union's attorney, Robert Chappell, laid out for the judge, per BizSense.
- December 9, 2026: Tranzon holds the auction at 11 a.m. at The Westin Richmond, 6631 W. Broad St.
- January 2027: Winning contracts are expected to go to the court for approval.
- February 2027: The sales are expected to close.
Those last two are a plan, not done deals. Everything still runs through the court.
"A lot of work went into getting here."
Robert Chappell, attorney for Virginia Credit Union
The receivership left these buildings in far better shape than when the case began. Now the question is who owns them next.
Turnover Elsewhere on Hull Street
The auction is one kind of change on the corridor. A few doors down, other operators have chosen to close.
RVAHub reported Pig & Brew's goodbye in late August. The barbecue spot at 1313 Hull St. closed for good after eight years, according to BizSense. Red Hibachi & Beer at 1011 Hull St., which shared a co-owner with Pig & Brew, closed earlier in the summer. City planning documents show Richmond Halal Chicken & Gyro getting ready to move into that space.
Those closures were the owners' calls. The 1200 block went the other direction. A court process brought tenants in, and the auction hands over the landlord's interest with those leases intact.
Hull Street Plans for the Weeks Ahead
Around 200 local artists fill the Studio Two Three Winter Market through December 23.
If you want to see the block for yourself, the holidays give you a good excuse. 🎄
The Studio Two Three Winter Market runs daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., November 27 through December 23, at Studio Two Three (109 W. 15th St.) and Shop Two Three (1437 Hull St.). Expect work from around 200 local artists, from ceramics and home goods to vintage finds. Market details here.
Start the morning with a biscuit at The Sassy Biscuit Co., 1204 Hull St., open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. On a Saturday, finish at Bolo's Eatery, 1209 Hull St., which stays open until 11 p.m. for oysters, a house beer and the rooftop. And if you're hosting this season, Scharolina's at 1213 Hull St. takes custom cake orders.
Who buys these buildings, and how they run them, will shape this block for years. I'll be watching the results on December 9. If you want more on what neighbors are building just up the road, read how two Woodland Heights neighbors are reviving a long-empty building on Semmes.
Common Questions About the Hull Street Auction
When and where is the Hull Street auction?
December 9, 2026, at 11 a.m. at The Westin Richmond, 6631 W. Broad St. Tranzon is running the auction.
Will Bolo's, The Sassy Biscuit and Scharolina's stay open after the sale?
Their commercial leases carry over to the new owners, as do the residential leases upstairs, according to the credit union's attorney. The three businesses are independently operated.
Which properties are included in the auction?
1200-1206, 1209 and 1213 Hull St., plus a single-family home at 2010 Maury St. and a vacant lot at 1124 Bainbridge St.
Is the old Siegel's Super Market building part of the sale?
No. 2005 Hull St. was left out of the credit union's case and is tied to separate legal proceedings.
