By Lauren Northington

Wilson & Associates’ Funeral Service is expanding from Henrico County into South Richmond.

And for Brian Wilson, the company’s 36-year-old founder, owner and operator, the expansion is the realization of an eight-year dream.

“I have always wanted to be a funeral director and own my own establishment,” Mr. Wilson told the Free Press this week. “From the time I graduated mortuary school, I tried persistently to get the business off the ground.”

Mr. Wilson completed his associate degree in funeral service education at Fayetteville Technical Community College in North Carolina and completed an apprenticeship at Chiles Funeral Home in the East End in 2004. The position brought him to Richmond, a great market based on size and diversity, he said.

In 2008, Wilson & Associates’ Funeral Service opened its doors on Nine Mile Road in Eastern Henrico. The company specializes in restorative work, he said, which has earned his business a great reputation.

“I love helping people make their loved one look like they did in life,” he said. “I love to hear when people say, ‘He looks like he was sleeping.’ ”

After business took off, Mr. Wilson purchased the building adjacent to the original Nine Mile location for roughly $450,000 in 2013, he said.

But he has always had his eye on the city’s South Side. Many of his clients were from the city’s South Side and he liked the area.

“For several years, I would go ride around, maybe four or five times a week, and look at buildings on the South Side, looking for ‘for sale’ signs,” Mr. Wilson said.

The Chesterfield resident’s afternoon cruising paid off in the summer of 2015 when he saw the “for sale” sign at 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway.

The two-story brick building is now the site of his newest location.

Mr. Wilson plans to hire five or six new staff members for the South Side funeral home, which is slated to open in the spring.

In the long term, the young business owner hopes his service and success will inspire others.

“I want to let the area’s young people know that you can accomplish your dreams, especially being an entrepreneur,” he said.

“You don’t always have to be an athlete or a celebrity. Never give up on your dreams.”