Charlottesville is famously late to the trend game (anyone remember the national cupcake craze of the early aughts…which hit the ’ville about 10 years later?), but we’re (almost) right on time with this one: Birria—a regional Mexican stew of goat, garlic, cumin, bay leaves, thyme, and chili peppers, slow-stewed—has taken Charlottesville by storm, with nine […]

A functioning—thriving—wine culture like the Monticello AVA requires participation on both sides of the equation: winemakers cultivate varieties of grapes while locals curate and encourage community.  But when oenophile Tasha Durrett relocated from northern Virginia to Charlottesville for a job opportunity, she found herself craving more social and educational opportunities at local wineries. Hoping to […]

Small business owners push hard to keep the gears of entrepreneurship moving and oiled, and Mohammed Alazazi is no exception.  Originally from Iraq, Alazazi doesn’t have a background in the grocery business—encouragement from his culture, wife, sons, and in-laws inspired him to represent and sell the food that feeds them. Hummus Grocery is his first […]