Raise your hand if your toxic trait is buying new bras when you have perfectly good ones in your drawer. If your hand is up, Derriere de Soie suggests turning in the old to make room for the new, with its twice-annual bra drive. The West Main Street store chooses a nonprofit benefactor (this past […]
Raise your hand if your toxic trait is buying new bras when you have perfectly good ones in your drawer. If your hand is up, Derriere de Soie suggests turning in the old to make room for the new, with its twice-annual bra drive. The West Main Street store chooses a nonprofit benefactor (this past […]
Pete Manno is the foremost expert on the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Book Sale. Even before he began running the event for the Friends of JMRL, he was a mega-fan. At one sale, Manno was browsing on the last day after having spent “way too much money” already. He picked up a book by Victoria Woodhull, […]
With a wedding industry like Charlottesville’s (read: booming), it seemed smart and even necessary to officiant Claire Frances to create a network of professionals. In 2010, she launched the Community of Charlottesville Wedding and Event Professionals. “Over the years, CCWEP has played an integral role in bringing a community of small business owners together who […]
Your wedding is a time to present your best self—which may mean a custom suit. Luckily, Charlottesville has plenty of options. There are national retailers Brooks Brothers, Jos. A. Bank, and Men’s Wearhouse. Or you can go the shop local route. Eljo’s was opened in 1950 on the UVA Corner by two Wahoo brothers (Elliott and […]
Since the early ’90s we’ve become used to Dave Matthews sightings around town—the affable hometown boy is generous with his time and his support of the local community. Yet there was something extra special about his pop-in to the final night of Live Arts’ 30 in 30 virtual celebration in May. With little fanfare, Matthews […]
What if you took the VIP experience of a music festival and turned it into the entire event? That’s the question Festy founder Michael Allenby asked himself last fall, when circumstances made hosting even a small-scale outdoor festival seem impossible. Fortunately, the word “impossible” isn’t part of Allenby’s vocabulary. Which is why he relocated the […]
Despite Charlottesville’s ample wealth and resources, it is rife with inequality and inequity. Today, nearly one in four city residents lives below the poverty line, and one in six struggles with food insecurity. Within the city school district, over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Enter the PB&J Fund. During its normal […]
Ask Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni about the secret to their success as owners of Ragged Mountain Running Shop, and they’ll tell you it’s all about balance. The pair, who’ve been outfitting Charlottesville athletes since 1982, welcomes 20,000 customers a year to their Elliewood Avenue shop, a place that feels like a combination clubhouse, support group, […]
After a long night of waiting and bussing tables, cooking meals, serving drinks, and washing dishes, most restaurant staffs are usually ready to unwind. But in a town in which the sidewalks tend to roll up after 10 or 11pm, where’s a hard-working, thirsty server supposed to go? A regular haunt for those needing a […]
JEWELRY STORE Andrew Minton Jewelers Runner-up: Schwarzschild Keller & George Jewelers Honorable mention: Tuel Jewelers Here’s where the rubber meets the road on this whole “buy local” business: Go into a big chain store and the jewelry displayed before you is the same as the jewelry displayed before shoppers in Urbandale, Iowa, or Maricopa, Arizona. […]