Louie Keen said he’s excited to open his third Uranus Fudge Factory and General Store in Richmond.
The Uranus owner — or self-described mayor — appeared July 24 before the Richmond Advisory Plan Commission to support a zoning request for a portion of the former New Creations church and boarding school along U.S. 40 at the Ohio border. To open the 15,000-square-foot candy store, Keen needs his property rezoned from institutional to general commercial.
The seven plan commission members present unanimously voted to recommend that Richmond Common Council approve Keen’s zoning change.
“We’re going to bring a great business here,” said Keen, who opened his first store in Lebanon, Missouri, and his second in Anderson. “Everybody seems to be excited about it — a lot of tax revenue and a lot of jobs created.”
Keen said the store will employ 50 to 60 workers, and the company provides all employees health, dental and vision insurance as well as a 401(k) program. The store is scheduled to open this year, and Keen plans to move his warehousing facility next year from Anderson to Richmond, creating 12 additional jobs.
Uranus bought about 22 acres of the former New Creations campus, including multiple buildings. It posted on social media photos of items being moved into the future store.
The business will make its own fudge, cotton candy and other items on site daily, Keen said. It will also sell its premium ice cream. In the future, Uranus could add additional attractions such as a gas station and miniature golf.
“I’m an entrepreneur, so I just always want to build cool stuff,” Keen said.
Plan commission member Michael Devine asked about the gas pumps, and Keen said that might happen down the road.
“Do you have Buc-ees in mind as you approach this?” Devine asked.
“Buc-ees should worry about me,” Keen said. He added that his employees say that you can go to Buc-ees or “you can go have fun in Uranus.”
The exchange drew laughs from about 50 people gathered, most interested in the public hearing for the Smith Hill planned unit development that followed the Uranus hearing.
Devine also asked Keen if the giant cross, a Richmond landmark visible from Interstate 70, would remain.
“Absolutely,” Keen said. “I am a walking testament to the power of Jesus.”
Keen said he was diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer last year, but he’s now in remission.
Subdivision plat
WPO Scripture LLC received primary plat approval for Next Door Living Subdivision, which will include five homes along South 23rd Street.
The 10-acre tract is west of South 23rd and south of Wernle Road. The approval included a waiver so the homes, which are in the 2-mile fringe, will not be connected to Richmond Sanitary District sewer lines. Instead, each home will have a septic system.
A proposed site plan shows three lots about 2.5 acres each and two lots about 1.3 acres each. The two smaller lots are side-by-side along Wernle Road.
A version of this article appeared in the July 31 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.