NEWPORT NEWS—The Newport News location of Aromas is relocating from its current spot near the fountains of City Center to the space previously occupied by Moe’s Southwest Grill across Warwick Boulevard from the Christopher Newport University Campus.
“Our lease at Oyster Point is expiring at the end of June, so it was just one of those things, and we decided it was time to move to a new location,” said Michelle Sieling, who co-owns three Aromas locations with her husband, Steve. They purchased the popular local chain from Don and Geri Pratt in 2018.
“We were able to secure a great spot right across from CNU,” Sieling said. “It’s the perfect area for us because it really fits our business model so much better, being close to a university, high traffic, and a much more desirable location.”
Due to restrictions about having a bake shop or café because of other tenants in the shopping plaza, they will be rebranding their name to the Captain’s Den and Coffee House, proudly serving Aromas coffee.
“You’ll still have your choice of Aromas breakfast and lunch items, and obviously coffees and specialty drinks, but we’re also going to add a few things,” said Sieling.
“My husband and I also own The Hound’s Tale in Williamsburg on Prince George Street. It’s a really fun kind of gastropub, so we’re going to add some of the items that we serve there to the Captain’s Den menu. We have a jumbo pretzel that’s really super popular. And we carry a local husband and wife team ice cream bars called Nightingale Cream Sandwiches that we’ll add to the new location. At night we’re going to do burgers and milkshakes, so we’re going to do things a little differently at the new location, as well as offer catering for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
Fortunately, the new location was built out as a restaurant, and renovations are currently underway. The Captain’s Den is expected to be open by the end of August or early September.
Sieling was also pleased to announce that the Aromas location on Prince George Street in Williamsburg will be celebrating their twenty-first anniversary on June 20.
“We’re really excited because last year when we turned twenty, there was covid-19 and social gathering restrictions, so we really couldn’t do anything to celebrate,” said Sieling. “Our joke is, who really gets excited about turning 20? Twenty-one is the fun one, right?”
As part of the anniversary celebration Aromas will have a jazz band in the afternoon and they are planning some giveaway activities.
