Petsmart Hollymead Town Center 964-9213 petsmart.com Runner-up: Pet Food Discounters 607 Woodbrook Ct. 974-6060 Talk about happy accidents: Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the principles of gravity, also invented the cat door. That’s just one of the things you’ll find at Petsmart. Readers agree it’s the best spot in town to find what you need—from […]
Petsmart Hollymead Town Center 964-9213 petsmart.com Runner-up: Pet Food Discounters 607 Woodbrook Ct. 974-6060 Talk about happy accidents: Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the principles of gravity, also invented the cat door. That’s just one of the things you’ll find at Petsmart. Readers agree it’s the best spot in town to find what you need—from […]
Whole Foods 1797 Hydraulic Rd. 973-4900 wholefoods.com Runner-up: C’ville Market 221 Carlton Rd. 984-0545 cvillemarket.com We probably should have been a bit more specific when we said “local grocery store,” because while Whole Foods is indeed inside city limits, it’s not locally owned. Still, its appeal is undeniable—a commitment to natural foods free of growth […]
Market Street Wineshops 311 E. Market St. 305 Rivanna Plaza Dr., Suite 102 964-9463 marketstreetwine.com Runner-up: Trader Joe’s Stonefield Shopping Center 974-1466 traderjoes.com For nearly 30 years, Market Street Wineshops have served as not only the best place to buy wine (there’s more than 1,200 wines in stock), but also to learn about it, through […]
Ivy Nursery 570 Broomley Rd. 295-1183 ivynursery.com Runner-up: Fifth Season Gardening Co. 900 Preston Ave. 293-2332 fifthseasongardening.com During the 1600s, tulips were so valuable in Holland that their bulbs were worth more than gold. The craze was called tulip mania, or tulipomania. You can find the valuable flowers (and more!) at Ivy Nursery, where readers […]
Barnes & Noble Barracks Road Shopping Center 984-0461 barnesandnoble.com Runner-up: Daedalus Bookshop 121 Fourth St. NE 293-7595 The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., contains 28 million books and has 532 miles of shelving. If you’re looking to build your own collection, readers say there’s no better place to start than Barnes & Noble, where […]
Ragged Mountain Running Shop 3 Elliewood Ave. 293-3367 raggedmountainrunning.com Runner-up: Blue Ridge Mountain Sports Barracks Road Shopping Center 977-4400 brms.com Ralph Sampson, at 7’4”, is the tallest player to ever be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. And you know what they say about tall men, right? …They have a hard time finding clothes. […]
Shenanigans 601 W. Main St. 295-4797 shenaniganstoys.net Runner-up: Alakazam 100 E. Main St. 971-1717 alakazamtoys.com It takes 63′ of wire to make a slinky. There are no hard and fast facts about how long it takes a child to get it all unraveled and tangled up, but we’re guessing it’s not long. Kids are tricky […]
Martin Hardware 941 Preston Ave. 293-8171 martinhardwareinc.com Runner-up: Crozet Hardware 5783 The Square (Crozet) 823-4381 facebook.com/crozethardware If it’s true that the average wood frame house uses between 20,000 and 30,000 nails of varying types and sizes, then Martin Hardware, readers say, is the place to go for supplies. For folks outside of the city, Crozet […]
Rock Paper Scissors 225 E. Main St. 979-6366 thinkrockpaperscissors.com Runner-up: Caspari 100 W. Main St. 817-7880 casparionline.com When you think of stationery, you think of friendship—people writing to each other across land and sea, sharing hellos and thank-yous and catching up. Take, for instance, Nellie Beaven and Daphne Morgenson, pen pals in England who wrote […]
Blue Ridge Cyclery 1043 Millmont St. 995-2453 blueridgecyclery.com Runner-up: Blue Wheel Bikes 941 Second St. NE 977-1870 bluewheel.com Before getting into the bike business, Blue Ridge Cyclery owner Shawn Tevendale was a paramedic. Once he fell in love with cycling, he was hooked, and has been a sponsored athlete for eight years, with experience in […]