Also this week: a cidery closes, two ABC reports go missing, and a penalty schedule nobody commented on

What we're reading

1. Courthouse Creek Cider closes and lists its Goochland farm and businessRichmond BizSense

   Liza Fierro-Cioffi and Eric Cioffi are retiring to California, putting the 10-acre orchard, cidery, tasting room and residence in Maidens on the market. Courthouse Creek pioneered the Scott's Addition cider taproom model before retreating to on-farm events. A licensed, built-out Virginia farm winery production facility is now available to whoever wants one.

2. Shamin Hotels will build a 99-room Home2 Suites in Henry County, breaking ground in DecemberCardinal News

   A $20 million, 63,000-square-foot hotel on Old Sands Road in Ridgeway, in a market an HVS study found so underserved that race-weekend visitors sleep in campers or drive to North Carolina. Shamin's Chetan Uka says the Smith River Sports Complex drove the site choice rather than the speedway. Completion is targeted for spring 2028.

3. Comment closed October 24 on ABC's retail tobacco penalty schedule, with two comments filedVirginia Regulatory Town Hall

   3VAC5-90 sets the first-offense penalties behind the permit you now need: 25 days' suspension or a $2,500 civil charge for a sale to an 18-to-20-year-old or an unapproved liquid nicotine product, and 10 days or $1,000 for no designated manager or missing postings. It also requires three-year record retention, a manager's name posted in one-inch letters, and off-site records producible within 24 hours. Two people commented, one anonymously.

4. ABC's hearing rules are being rewritten around administrative law judgesVirginia Register of Regulations

   3VAC5-10 renames the process from the Board and its hearing officers to the Authority and its administrative law judges, confirms hearings may be held by phone or virtually, and softens several mandatory obligations to discretionary ones. Licensees holding both an ABC license and a tobacco permit now face one agency and one hearing process for both.

5. Two statutorily required Virginia ABC reports are past dueVirginia General Assembly report system

   The report on the share of gross revenue consumed by ABC's own operations was due October 15 and is still pending. The Virginia Spirits Promotion Fund report under § 4.1-234 was due October 1 and is also pending. The fiscal 2026 annual financial report has not appeared, where fiscal 2023, 2024 and 2025 all landed as RD746, RD909 and RD985. Licensees have no current read on markup policy or the profit transfer heading into budget season.

6. Brittanny Anderson will close Metzger Bar & Butchery and the Pink Room on December 19Richmond Magazine

   Twelve years in Union Hill, a two-time James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic nomination, and a spot on an Esquire list of restaurants America can't afford to lose. Anderson's stated reason is not a failed concept but exhaustion: it is tough to own restaurants right now, and she cannot do it all herself. She keeps Bar Buoy and Black Lodge and hopes to place staff there.

7. Virginia sports betting posts its first September decline since launchVirginia Lottery

   September handle was $729.6 million, down 1%, with adjusted gross revenue down 4.2% and taxes down 4.4%. The number of mobile books fell from 14 a year ago to 10 after betr and Sporttrade exited, though handle per book rose about 19%. A consolidating market with softening revenue is the backdrop to any 2027 online casino push.

8. Texas Inn employees bought the Museum District diner rather than watch it closeRichmond BizSense

   The Devil's Triangle location closed October 23 after an inspection found ventilation and electrical problems the owner could not afford to fix. Staff at the Museum District location put together a franchise deal and reopened October 30.

Each headline links to the outlet that reported it. The summaries are ours.