Corner of Draper Road
& Miller Street
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION…
We already have located an excellent spot for this venture, strategically located just on the fringe of downtown Blacksburg, in the dilapidated mini-strip mall at 405-409-411 Draper Road—literally across the street from Blacksburg Public Library. This advantageous locale makes it within walking distance for downtown business professionals, government workers, university faculty, students living in the populous Center Street area, and downtown residents…and includes the historic, high-profile 16 Blocks neighborhood. This Draper location also has its own parking lot (25 spots), as well as public parking along roads and adjacent government buildings, increasing ease of general accessibility. We intend to restore this building to glory and make it a source of pride for the area, by beautifying the site and vicinity, and turning it from an eyesore into a daily neighborhood destination.
Our location is directly next to Miller Addition, one of Blacksburg's most popular neighborhoods. This classic Blacksburg neighborhood features a mix of Cape Cod, Craftsman, and other traditional styles built mainly in the early 1900s. With tree-lined streets and well-maintained homes, Miller Addition is within walking distance to both Virginia Tech and Downtown Blacksburg. (-Nest Reality). Average house price in this neighborhood is $606,121, so Draper Provisions & The Library Cafe will be within comfortable walking distance to one of our town’s most prestigious and expensive neighborhoods. (Zillow). In 2023, the median property value in Blacksburg as a whole was $417,200, and the homeownership rate was 34.2%. An adjacent neighborhood that will be drawn to our location is the entire MidTown Project directly across Main Street, another significant source of high income, high net worth individuals within easy access walking distance.
In general, Blacksburg is home to a high percentage of highly educated, upwardly mobile, high income professionals who are interested in higher quality/exclusive goods as well as more refined, non-student-dominated dining/shopping spaces. We have a total population of over 45,000, (about half of which are VT students on and off campus—38,000 students total at VT), and fully expect that our new business venture here on Draper will attract virtually all permanent residents (especially to the gourmet shop and the cafe), and a healthy portion of students as well (especially to the Grab-and-Go market concept.) With the continued growth of our town, along with the growth of VT and the Corporate Research Center, Blacksburg currently has a large underserved population seeking high quality dining/drinking and retail experiences in spaces that cater to their age and income bracket—for both residents and “wealthier” students.
Several other advantageous elements of this location should be noted, and this final map of Downtown Parking (below) helps highlight them. Our location will be a bookend of the downtown region, making it a highly visited site during the wide variety of events conducted in the area every year. Multiple festivals, along with the big VT home football games, make this area a "grand central station" for increased attention and sales. And there is currently a Draper Road “beautification” project occurring to extend sidewalks and plants trees, so this Road is soon etc become a major thoroughfare for shopping and dining beyond the “core” downtown grid that is currently dominated by student-focused establishments.
Outside of special events, Draper Provisions & Library Cafe will become an integral part of weekly residents' visits to the Farmer’s Market, just blocks away. We also will be frequented by those visiting the public library across the street, as well as the thousands (or tens of thousands?) of visitors to the Huckleberry Trail, just hundreds of feet away from our front doors. And don’t underestimate the huge potential of the hundreds of students that live in the Center Street area, as we would be the first point of contact for ready made meals—as well as alcohol—within walking distance of their domiciles. We also plan to build a lunch subscription model targeted towards VT students parents that will bring in a steady cash flow as well.
In short: festivals, Farmer’s Market, football, foot traffic from Downtown and the Huckleberry and Center Street—this is a prime location to benefit from all the already established potential clients in our small town, and that alone will help us thrive all year-round. We will continue to strive to make Blacksburg more like Charlottesville for downtown cafe society look and feel, and Draper Provisions & Library Cafe will become a catalyst for development in that direction.
