Coffee Shops Along Hull Street Road in Chesterfield

You want local coffee shops? Well, "local" for me is Chesterfield county Virginia, more specifically the area along US Route 360 between VA 288 and say, the Winterpock/Woodlake area. I grew up in the Bethia community, off Winterpock, and now live in Glen Tara, near 288, so I know the area pretty well and these are some of the places I have found, through trial and error.

Of course, we have the ubiquitous, and almost mandatory, "Starbucks." It is located at 4721 Brad McNeer Parkway, near the "American Family" fitness center and the Kroger grocery store. I have never actually been in there and merely mention it because those with money to blow seem to like blowing their money at Starbucks. Go too it rich folks.

I do drink Starbucks coffees though, once in a great while. Personally, I get them at the Barnes & Noble book store located in the Commonwealth Center Shopping Center at 4600 Commonwealth Center Parkway. The bookstore is on your right as you first enter the shopping center area and the coffee shop is on the right as you enter the store. It has its own entrance and is located next to the periodicals. The coffee shop checkout can handily ring up bookstore sales also. The only reason I ever buy a coffee here is that I may use my B&N card to get a discount on the coffee. Even at that I am an infrequent customer at best. Sorry, it is good coffee and I enjoy sitting there, sipping a cup of white chocolate mocha and reading this months Mother Earth News but I just cannot get into paying that much per cup. They are open the same hours as the bookstore 9 AM-10 PM (11 PM on the weekends).

The next place I would like to mention is in the Woodlake shopping center, next to the Heath Ice-cream store. It is Tropical Island Coffee Company or something like that. To be honest, I do not remember the exact name; it has been quite awhile since I have been there. Good coffee, friendly people, delicious scones, VERY expensive. Again, I just cannot really enjoy a cup of coffee, no matter how fancy, which is costing me $6, or more. I have better uses for that money. If you have money to spend though, this is a nice coffee shop.

By this time you are probably thinking, so this guy is just writing this to tell us not to bother getting coffee in this area of Chesterfield County? Not at all, recently I have been very pleased to find that the McDonalds at Commonwealth Center Parkway and Hull Street Road (US 360) has added a "McCafe."

I can almost hear the snickers from the serious "coffee connoisseurs" out there. "McDonalds? You are kidding us, right?" "Hardly," I reply. It may not be a fancy coffee shop but they have a decent cup of Joe at a fair price. Hey, I was surprised too. Especially the first time I tried their "mocha." Ok, they do not have a "white chocolate mocha with a shot of raspberry syrup" but it doesn't cost me $6-7 either. I'll take that trade off. Plus they are open 24 hours.

McDonalds has long been a regular stop, early on Saturday mornings, for my church's homeless ministry team, as we head into Richmond to distribute clothes and food to people. Since I operate on a tight budget I really appreciate an affordable large mocha at 6 AM on what is supposed to be my day off.

That is about it for this short stretch of Chesterfield County. I hope I have been of some help if you are new to the area or are just passing through.