Roanoke’s Txtur bringing furniture showroom-restaurant combo to Seaboard train depot in Manchester

A rendering of the planned restaurant/showroom. (Courtesy Txtur)

A Southwest Virginia furniture maker is bringing a new sort of hospitality concept to a red-hot stretch of Manchester. 

Roanoke-based Txtur has leased the former Seaboard train depot at 604 Hull St., where it’s planning to open a furniture showroom as well as Stock Café & Bar.

Txtur is a division of 88-year-old furniture manufacturer Chervan, which primarily sells to commercial clients like banks, hotels and senior living facilities. In 2020 the company debuted the Txtur brand to cater to everyday consumers. 

Amber Horton, a Txtur spokeswoman, said the brand’s main differentiator is that its furniture is fully customizable. 

“You can choose the fabric or the leather, the wood species, the color of the wood species, the frame and the stain and all that as well, and we even get into dimension work,” Horton said. “Custom, made-to-order furniture is really our claim to fame.”

Both Txtur’s and Chervan’s furniture is made from scratch at their plant in southeastern Roanoke. When pandemic-induced supply chain strains stretched many large furniture manufacturers’ lead times to over a year, Txtur was able to keep its order turnaround at about six weeks. 

That quickness helped Txtur grow quickly, and by 2021 it had lined up a deal to take over an historic firehouse in downtown Roanoke. 

Stock Café & Bar is planned to include a full food and drinks menu.

Fire Station One now houses not only a furniture showroom, but also a seven-room boutique hotel and restaurant, all of which Txtur operates. 

“It’s a three-pronged approach to try to connect with people in the community and offer them a unique experience,” Horton said. 

Txtur is now bringing a variation of that concept to Richmond, minus the hotel. 

Txtur and Stock Café & Bar were a vision Chervan and Txtur CEO Greg Terrill had had for years, and Horton said they always saw Richmond as a natural next step for expansion. 

“It opens up not only the Richmond market to us, but it gets us a little closer to D.C., Norfolk and the (Tidewater) area as well,” Horton said. “We feel like it’s just a great place for us to go into… We really feel like the audience there will enjoy our furniture. We think that our style really speaks to the area.”

The former train depot at 604 Hull St. is a historical structure in a part of Manchester that’s booming with new development. (Mike Platania photo)

The Richmond location of Stock Café & Bar will serve the Nordic- and Scandinavian-inspired fare it serves in Roanoke. 

“The menu has delicious fish dishes, and fresh local ingredients are what we try to source,” Horton said. “It’s a little bit upper scale, but we also do hot dogs and burgers.” 

The restaurant will be sectioned off from the showroom, and once the furniture shop closes, Horton said they’ll actually seat restaurant guests on the showroom furniture. 

Once the showroom closes, Txtur plans to seat restaurant guests on the shop’s furniture.

“It’s a running joke that we encourage you to drink wine on our sofas, and we do have a lot of white sofas in our showroom,” Horton said. “It’s a testament to  (the quality of) the furniture, and how the fabrics are able to withstand use.”

She added that Txtur’s staff is cross-trained, “so somebody that is serving you your wine can also let you know details about a sofa or a chair you’re interested in.”

Txtur looked throughout Richmond for a space, but Horton said the 114-year-old train depot on Hull Street jumped out given its historical significance in a booming area. 

“We think it’ll be a perfect place for us to showcase our furniture. It fits with what we did with the fire station (in Roanoke),” Horton said. 

They’re leasing the 8,400-square-foot structure from Doug Albertson and Palmer Wilkins. The Wilkins family has owned the Seaboard train depot for decades, and Albertson bought into the property a few years ago. Horton said Albertson and Wilkins are helping with the renovation of the building. Bruce Shirley of Ratio AV is the project architect. 

Horton said Txtur is hoping to open in Richmond sometime in the spring or summer.