You’ll be able to spy it from the interstate soon. The string lights will give it away — a below street level venue in the Carver community. Don’t be fooled by the lime green FlixBus (or several) you pass. Keep going.
Once you peep the shipping containers (or “conex” boxes) adorned with signature artwork from the likes of Nils, Humble and Silly Genius, you’ve arrived: Conex.
“I don’t think anyone knew he was doing this,” Conex co-founder Brandon Garner says of business partner Chris Farag. Farag had secured the space — a little over an acre — at 900 Axtell St. back in 2021, but as far as Garner knew, nothing had taken root. That is until the spring of this year, when Garner and Farag had a meeting, “worked out some numbers,” and came to an agreement.
“We’re getting it done,” says Garner. He and Farag are both entrepreneurs. Garner, a Marine Corps vet, started RVA Iron Gym in 2020 with locations now in Chester and East Richmond. He also has his own line of pre-workout, Perform Nutra.
Farag is behind longtime bar/restaurant Southern Railway Taphouse and Scotty’s Taphouse, which opened about a year ago in the former Slingshot space. Garner says they’ve been working tirelessly over the past few months to transform the industrial lot off Axtell Street into a multifaceted venue.
The 17 total containers in Conex serve more as more frame than function, creating an intimate yet expansive hideaway — the covered pavilion is a whopping 4,500 square feet. “Everything is connected, the containers are creating kind of a city vibe,” says Garner.
Where there was graffiti there are now 10 murals by eight artists: shapes, faces, animals, words. All the art commissioned for Conex can be found under the RVA Walls Instagram.
The murals drew enough attention that 2nd District councilwoman Katherine Jordan reached out to Garner to see what exactly was going on with all the containers behind the brick wall in the overgrown lot. “She loved the art,” says Garner. “I told her about the vision, and she said I needed to meet with leaders from the Carver neighborhood.”
Garner says he received their blessing and wants them to be involved as the concept comes fully to fruition. “Because we’re so close to the city we’ll be able to host so many things,” says Garner, who notes that they’re still working on procuring their special use permit so they can host larger musical acts.
For now, they’ll have their own in-house restaurant, River City Smash Burger, serving up a simple menu plus a full bar. Garner is on the hunt for food trucks to set up shop on a rotating or semi-permanent schedule to complement the restaurant offerings. They’ll also have a separate full-service bar in the pavilion where folks can walk up and order a beverage.
Garner says they’re trying to open ASAP to capitalize on fall weather and weekend football. Starting mid-November, they hope to launch a “winter wonderland” replete with a skating rink, smores, hot cocoa and even local Christmas trees for sale.
“We want this to be a family-focused, daytime place,” says Garner. “Maybe you’re single and you come with your dog to hangout and watch football or listen to live music.”
Garner says Conex will open with weekend hours, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., to start. “We want people to come here and meet great people, have great conversations,” says Garner. “I think having a big outdoor space like this gives us an opportunity to connect with other local businesses.”
Conex is located at 900 Axtell St. Follow along on Instagram for the latest updates.
