City Point Ice Cream and Burgers won a readers' burger poll that asked voters to choose between Petersburg and Hopewell burger spots, taking the top spot with over 38% of the vote. The Hopewell restaurant opened in September 2022 and recently moved into the repurposed Broadway Motor Company building at 238 E. Broadway in the city's Downtown Historic District.
The win gives Phillip and Lexi Hughes a fresh burst of attention for a menu that ranges from $7.99 to $19.75 and runs from 4-ounce smash burgers to 8-ounce steakhouse burgers. Specialty burgers are priced from $10.75 to $13.75, and the restaurant also serves a City Point Challenge built around a 48-ounce burger, two loaded hotdogs, a tray of fries and a milkshake that has to be finished in 40 minutes; those who do get their photo on the wall. The Hugheses also plan to open a spacious adjoining patio for al fresco dining.
The poll was never just about one dining room in one city. It compared burger spots in Petersburg and Hopewell, and the list of choices showed how much ground the area covers on both sides of the river. In Petersburg, Big Mike's Burger Shoppe at 2870 County Dr. serves a legendary one-pound burger along with 1/3-pound, 1/2-pound and 2/3-pound burgers. The Brickhouse Run at 409 Cockade Alley offers the Petersburger, made with sharp cheddar, bacon, onion jam, lettuce and pub sauce, and has exclusive burgers on Wednesday nights. OldTowne Perks at 404 A N. Sycamore St. has 10 smash burgers on the menu, while Maria's Old Town 21 Ristorante Italiano at 21 W. Old St. serves Burger 21 with eight ounces of fresh ground chuck, grilled onions, bacon, mushrooms, provolone and balsamic glaze.
City Point's result says the burger race in this corner of Virginia is not about one style winning out. It is about choice, and right now readers picked the Hopewell shop that paired a new address with a roomier setup, a spectacle challenge and a menu that covers everything from a smash burger to a steakhouse build.
