The Dames RVA storefront, which now includes the former Lakeside Burgers & Fries. Jackie DiBartolomeo photo
A vintage clothing shop in Lakeside has just doubled its footprint after taking over an adjacent storefront left empty by a controversial fire in 2024.
Dames RVA, which has operated at 5402 Lakeside Ave. since early 2023, recently expanded into the former Lakeside Burgers & Fries space next door.
The restaurant at 5404 Lakeside Avenue was set on fire in February 2024 in a convoluted scheme that sparked an arson investigation and entangled the restaurant’s owner and others.
Once that drama was resolved through multiple court cases, Dames RVA owner Damien Chew found an opening to grow his budding business.
This spring, he took over the around 1,500-square-foot former restaurant space and reopened it as a new streetwear-focused section of his shop, he told BizSense.
Dames RVA Damien Chew stands outside his newly-expanded storefront. Dames RVA photos
Dames RVA opened in the smaller neighboring space in March 2023, selling a mixture of streetwear, sneakers, vintage clothing and accessories.
Chew, who had already been a vintage reseller before opening the shop, said having a business in Lakeside had always appealed to him because of the “up and coming” nature of the neighborhood.
After a successful first year in business, an influx of inventory led Chew to consider moving to a space with more room.
“I was running out of space over here,” Chew said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how many more racks I can build in this small space to house the amount of clothing and amount of sneakers that we had coming in.’”
Chew said he remembered seeing the caution tape outside the Lakeside Burgers storefront the morning after the fire. Though the blaze destroyed the restaurant, Dames RVA was unaffected, Chew said.
After the fire and amid thoughts of expansion, Chew’s wife floated the idea of expanding the store into the suddenly vacant burger spot, as opposed to moving elsewhere. Not wanting to leave Lakeside, he agreed.
“I started looking for spaces outside of this space, but I didn’t want to leave Lakeside because it’s up and coming, there’s a lot of people I know over here. … It’s young people in Lakeside now,” Chew said. “I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I didn’t want to leave Lakeside.”
Chew said when he told Tony Rolando of Pollard & Bagby, who handled the sale of the Carytown Burgers & Fries and also handled the leasing for the former Lakeside Burgers & Fries spot, of his idea to have Dames RVA take over the restaurant space, the plan took off.
Chew secured the neighboring space and renovations began last summer, but with arson-related litigation going on, it wasn’t until this past spring that he was able to open the doors on the newly expanded Dames RVA, which now spans almost 3,000 square feet in total, he said.
Earlier this year, siblings Jordan and Shelby Castaneda, who faced felony arson charges related to the Lakeside Burgers fire, were sentenced in Henrico County Circuit Court.
In April, Shelby, who had worked at the restaurant, was sentenced to 10 years’ probation for her involvement in the fire. In March, Jordan, who admitted to starting the fire, was sentenced to three months in jail. Each was ordered to pay over $191,000 in restitution.
Tiara Black had been the restaurant’s owner. She bought the business in 2023 when it was an outpost of Carytown Burgers & Fries and rebranded it with the Lakeside name. After the fire and by mid-2024, the state charged Black with arson and accused her of paying the Castanedas to start the blaze.
While the siblings pleaded guilty, Black fought the charges and was ultimately found not guilty in a jury trial earlier this year.
Dames RVA sells a mix of eclectic vintage clothing, streetwear, sneakers and accessories. Dames RVA photo
The formerly charred restaurant has since been transformed, with new floors, ceilings, paint and a “clean” look that Chew said he tried to keep consistent with the original side of the business.
Chew said contractors for Pollard & Bagby covered the cost of bringing the building back to life.
“The contractors started the renovations and said, ‘We can build it how you want to build out.’ Wood floors, new ceilings … they came in and did the renovations and cut a hole in the wall for it to be one space.”
Customers now can go back and forth to the store’s vintage merchandise in the original location and the streetwear and sneakers in the newly expanded area.
And a bigger space has also brought with it the need for a bigger team; while Chew previously worked at and managed the store by himself, he now has three employees.
Chew said he’s excited to continue expanding his offerings, like sourcing more vintage inventory from earlier decades, including from the 1900s to the 1960s. Dames RVA previously focused on the ’70s onward for its vintage stock.
“There’s a lot of people that want those eras of clothing. We’ll have more pieces like that in the store,” he said.
Dames RVA is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 6 p.m.
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