Month: August 2016

Categories
Living

Kids can eat with the grown-ups at Fry’s Spring Station

A kids’ menu is unnecessary at Fry’s Spring Station, where adults and their offspring alike can share a variety of dishes including calzones, which are warm, comforting and uncomplicated. Photo by Amy Jackson

I don’t like kids’ menus. Beyond their uniform content, what troubles me most is the message they send to kids that there are two different types of food—one for adults to enjoy and another to keep you quiet in the meantime. As a food-lover and parent, I can’t see how this helps to cultivate a passion for food in children. Admittedly, in a pinch, I have sometimes resorted to chicken tender-as-babysitter. But, more often than not, when we eat out we skip the kids’ menu.

Some restaurants make this easier than others. Lately, when I ask my children where we should go for a family meal, they usually say Fry’s Spring Station. That’s music to my ears because since relaunching under new management in April, the Italian-American restaurant is much improved, and, unlike many kids’ favorites, appeals to adults, too.

The new team includes an impressive pair: culinary school classmates Ben Thompson and Tommy Lasley. After finishing top of his class at the Culinary Institute of America, Thompson worked at Thomas Keller’s Per Se and The French Laundry before opening the Nelson County butcher The Rock Barn. Lasley, a former chef at Orzo, was once named one of Charlottesville’s four rising-star chefs. After successfully overhauling Ivy Provisions, the two turned their efforts to Fry’s Spring, which, having opened in 2010, was due for a reboot.

“Every time I walk in, I am amazed,” says my daughter, Ryan, 8, who calls it “so cool” that Fry’s Spring Station was once a service station. Indeed, that was the use of the building for more than 70 years. The recent refurbishments, including updated wood floors and handsome tables of reclaimed wood, give the place a polished, airy feel without disturbing the original structure. The favorite remnant of my son, Chase, 7, is a glass garage door that forms one wall of the L-shaped bar and slides open to the patio, providing a view back into the restaurant from outdoor stools along the indoor bar. That’s where we usually sit.

On our most recent visit, though, we sat at one of the large community tables indoors because we invited my children’s friends, Anne and Edward Flick, also 8 and 7 respectively. With a menu as large as Fry’s Spring’s, some things are inevitably better than others, so the key is to find your favorites. With company, though, we decided to branch out from our standard orders. Chase, then, passed on his penne with tomato and basil, which he calls “the best in town.” Ryan resisted her charcuterie platter, showcasing The Rock Barn’s outstanding capicola and other cured meats. And I skipped my favorite appetizer: warm, just-pulled mozzarella as well as another go-to order, manciatta—a dressed salad served atop flatbread made from pizza dough with olive oil and herbs. It’s fun to tear off pieces of the bread and, like injera, use it to grab pieces of the salad.

Chef John Schaible. Photo by Sanjay Suchak
Chef John Schaible. Photo by Sanjay Suchak

A massive hearth oven is the centerpiece of the kitchen, which, under Lasley’s guidance, is manned by chef John Schaible, who worked with Lasley at Orzo and with Thomspon at The Rock Barn. Their menu is well-suited for sharing, with salads, sides and pastas all offered in small and family-size portions. At Ryan’s urging, we ordered a steak-topped Caesar salad of rough-chopped romaine with a spot-on, housemade dressing. We also added two pizzas, our first time trying the pizza in all of our visits, but certainly not our last. A hybrid of styles, it had the char and quality ingredients of Neapolitan and New Haven pizza, but the denser, satisfying texture of a neighborhood pizza joint. It struck me as the kind of pizza to enjoy at the bar with a beer. And I returned to do just that, pairing a Champion Fruitless IPA with Lasley’s favorite pizza, the Farmer John. Two sunny-side up eggs, prosciutto, sliced tomato, chives, cheese and arugula all rest on a house white sauce of ricotta and garlic confit pureed with salt and pepper.

But back to our dinner. With the Flicks’ father, I shared a calzone of smoked ham, Tillamook cheddar, pesto, spinach and onion. My favorite dish of the night, it captured the restaurant’s ethos—a warm, comforting, uncomplicated dish, elevated by attention to detail.

Drinks also appeal to all ages. My kids like to try the various flavors of all-natural Puck’s fountain sodas, but are happiest when returning to their favorite vanilla orange, which Ryan says tastes like a creamsicle. “I’m getting that next time,” says Anne, after trying Ryan’s. For big kids, there is a small, well-chosen list of affordable wines, plus a draught and bottle selection to satisfy any beer geek.

So, how did the Flicks like their first trip to Fry’s Spring Station? “Two thumbs up,” says Anne. “It’s fun and has yummy pizza!” says Edward. Sounds like a win to me. And, perhaps best of all, there was not a word about the kids’ menu.

Categories
Arts

First Fridays: September 2

Painter Lou Haney’s exhibit, “Ripe,” opens September 2 at The Garage. Photo by Katelyn Greer

“There’s something compelling about taking something small and making it large,” says local artist Lou Haney, whose gouache on yupo paper paintings of larger-than-life fruit at various stages of maturity will hang at The Garage in September. “When an object normally fits in your hand,” she says, you have to reconsider your relationship to it when you see that object blown up and bigger than your head. While looking at an enormous split fig or a gigantic cut strawberry, the viewer must consider many things—exterior seeds, interior cavities, taste memories—and lament the fleeting nature of freshness.

FF The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Road. “The Blissful Dark,” featuring work by Jack Graves III. 5:30-7:30pm.

FF C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St. “A Modern Approach to Felt Making,” featuring whimsical felted art by Karen Shapcott. 6-8pm.

FF Chroma Projects Gallery 201 E. Main St. “Realism Unbound: Observation as Narrative,” featuring paintings by John Randall Younger and Elizabeth Crawford. 5-7pm.

The Fralin Museum at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “The Great War: Printmakers of World War I,” featuring prints depicting combat scenes in France and the Near East; “New Acquisitions: Photography,” featuring work from Danny Lyon, Shirin Neshat and Eadweard Muybridge; “Icons,” by Andy Warhol; and “On the Fly,” featuring sculpture by Patrick Dougherty.

Gallerix 522 Second St. SE. “Blue Ridge Landscapes,” featuring acrylic paintings by Laura Wooten. September 3-15.

FF The Garage 250 First St. N. “Ripe,” featuring paintings and drawings by Lou Haney. 5-7pm.

FF Graves International Art 306 E. Jefferson St. “Masters of Contemporary Art,” featuring limited-edition original prints, exhibition posters, stone lithography, drypoint etching and more by Ellsworth Kelly, Salvador Dalí, Georges Braque, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Sam Francis, Philip Pearlstein, John Chamberlain, Andy Warhol, Gerald Laing, Joan Miró, Josef Albers and more. 5-8pm.

FF Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Picasso, Lydia and Friends, Vol. III” featuring prints by Pablo Picasso, paintings by Picasso scholar Lydia Gasman and work by William Bennett, Anne Chesnut, Dean Dass, Sandra Iliescu, David Summers and Russ Warren. 1-5pm.

FF Live Arts 123 E. Water St. “Intermission,” featuring oil paintings and work on paper by Nym Pedersen. 5-7pm.

FF McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. “Going Beyond the Window,” featuring work from John A. Hancock’s “Shaped Landscape” series in the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, and the 25th annual Central Virginia Watercolor Guild exhibition in the Lower and Upper halls. On view through Sunday, October 2.

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. A group exhibit by BozART Fine Art Collective. Through September 30.

FF Old Metropolitan Hall 101 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Pastoral Propaganda,” featuring paintings about small-town life by Melissa Malone. 4-7pm.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 26 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. An exhibit featuring the artwork of the BozArt Fine Art Collective. Through October.

FF Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. “Bitter, Sweet and Tender,” featuring photography, currency, sculpture and textile by Richmond-based artist Sonya Clark. 5:30-7:30pm.

FF Studio IX 963 Second St. SE. “Broken is Beautiful,” featuring acrylic works by Aimee McDavitt. 5-7pm.

FF Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St. “Sea Life,” featuring oil on canvas by Leslie Wade. 6-8pm.

FF Welcome Gallery at New City Arts 114 Third St. NE. “I Am A Man,” an exhibit featuring photographs, sculpture, mixed media and paintings by Hank Willis Thomas. 5-7:30pm.

FF WVTF & Radio IQ Studio Gallery 218 W. Water St. “Wasteland,” featuring mixed media work by David Borszich.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Green Jelly

West Coast punk blasters Green Jellÿ began as Green Jello in the early 1980s, playing electrifying performances with rowdy crowds that eventually resulted in the band getting banned from some venues, and a Kraft Foods lawsuit that forced the name change. Imprinting itself on Hollywood’s underground scene, Green Jellÿ grew its reputation with the addition of characters such
as Sh*t Man, Cow God and Satan’s Ham before breaking up in 1995, then reuniting in 2008.

Thursday, September 1. $10-12, 8pm. The Ante Room, 219 Water St. 284-8561.

Categories
Opinion

Voting wars: The fight for the franchise heats up

Ultra-conservative Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program is just one example of voter-suppression tactics used in Virginia. Courtesy photo

There’s a basic truism in modern American politics: The more people vote, the more Democrats win. This trend began in 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. This, in turn, prompted Richard Nixon’s electoral “southern strategy,” which explicitly courted the racist Dixiecrat wing of the Democratic party, and eventually turned the party of Lincoln into the party of white resentment.

Now, the politics of racial disharmony have worked for the elephants for a very long time. But as it becomes increasingly obvious that demographic trends pose an existential threat to the current incarnation of the Republican Party, GOP leaders have done everything they can to stem the tide.

The most potent current instrument of voter disenfranchisement is racial gerrymandering, which packs a majority of black and brown voters into the fewest possible districts. But voter suppression comes in all shapes and sizes, and—while the Jim Crow era of poll taxes and rigged literacy tests is thankfully gone—there are still a multitude of legal schemes that serve the same discriminatory end.

Until very recently, Virginia was covered by the “preclearance” section of the Voting Rights Act, which required certain states and districts with a history of voter discrimination to clear any changes to the electoral process with the Justice Department. But in 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, dispensed with this requirement, paving the way for a flood of new vote-limiting measures, including voter ID laws, restrictions on early voting and limiting or eliminating polling places in Democratic strongholds.

Virginia’s current requirement that voters produce a valid photo ID at the polls—which was passed in 2013, and upheld by a federal judge earlier this year—is just the most visible of the commonwealth’s vote-suppression tactics. A lesser-known, but far more insidious, disenfranchisement tool is the blandly named Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program. As recently detailed by Rolling Stone’s Greg Palast, Crosscheck was created by ultra-conservative Kansas Secretary of State (and Donald Trump adviser) Kris Kobach, who has long insisted that in-person voter fraud is rampant and ongoing across the United States.

Despite the fact that no evidence of widespread voter fraud has ever been uncovered, Kobach has convinced 28 states, including Virginia, to use Crosscheck, which purports to uncover individuals who are registered to vote in more than one state by comparing voter rolls. Problem is, the program basically matches first and last names and little else, providing completely useless data that skews heavily toward minority voters.

How bad is it? When Palast obtained a copy of Virginia’s Crosscheck report, he discovered that, “in all, 342,556 names were listed as apparently registered to vote in both Virginia and another state as of January 2014.” Of those names, 41,637 “inactive” voters were immediately removed from the rolls, while the rest were sent a nondescript postcard asking them to verify their address. (In a delicious irony, it was recently revealed that Trump’s new campaign chief, Steve Bannon, is registered to vote in Florida, a state in which he has never lived.)

It’s schemes like this that represent a true threat to our participatory democracy, not the false specter of voter fraud. And while there are legitimate measures that can be taken to try to level the playing field—like Governor Terry McAuliffe’s ongoing campaign to restore the voting rights of felons who have already paid their debt to society—the real solution will only come with a Hillary Clinton-appointed Supreme Court justice (or two, or three). With the right-wing lock on the nation’s highest court finally broken, we have no doubt that most, if not all, of these blatantly biased voting laws will be deservedly swept aside.

Odd Dominion is an unabashedly liberal, twice-monthly op-ed column covering Virginia politics.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Drew the Dramatic Fool

Drew the Dramatic Fool must pull off a one-man variety show in order to save himself in PVCC’s season opener on Friday.

All the performers in this variety show have been assassinated, except for Drew the Dramatic Fool, and the show must go on or he’s next. Drew attempts to perform every act, from juggling 36 balls to sawing someone in half, in a bumbling, comical examination of fear processed through stage antics established by royal jesters, vaudeville eccentrics, silent-film comedians and imperfect humans everywhere.

Friday, September 2. $10-12, 7:30pm. Main Stage Theatre, PVCC, 501 College Dr. 961-5376.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Sawyer Fredericks

Sawyer Fredericks released his first album of original material, A Good Storm, in May and is supporting the album on well-known stages around the country. Publicity photo

Unassuming upstate New York farm boy Sawyer Fredericks broke onto the national scene after winning star-maker reality TV show “The Voice,” under the guidance of coach Pharrell Williams. The contemporary folk singer won the hearts of fans with Ray LaMontagne and Neil Young tunes channeled preciously through his boyish, soulful style.

Saturday, September 3. $20, 8pm. The Southern Café and Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.

Categories
Living

Barbie’s Burrito Barn brings CaliMex to C’ville

Barbie Brannock’s love of Southern California-style Mexican cooking comes from her mother. The menu at Barbie’s Burrito Barn includes burritos, tacos, bowls and tortilla strips instead of chips. Photo by Amy Jackson

For more than 20 years, every time Barbie Brannock cooked California-style Mexican food for her friends, they’d ask, “When are you going to open a restaurant?”

They weren’t so much asking as they were insisting, says Brannock, who learned to cook in her mother’s Southern California kitchen, and was a Peace Corps worker, an artist and a preschool art teacher before finally opening her CaliMex takeout joint, Barbie’s Burrito Barn, three weeks ago in a stone cottage under the Belmont Bridge.

“I think it was meant to be in this weird little spot,” Brannock says, adding that she opened her modest eatery to cook and share the food she loves.

Brannock loves the texture of CaliMex food, how melted cheese, chewy tortilla, crisp cabbage, soft cilantro and creamy avocado mix together in a single bite of guacamole tostada. “It really plays with your mouth,” she says.

She wears brightly colored aprons while preparing everything herself, from soaking and cooking the beans to slicing, salting and frying the tortilla strips, all in a tiny kitchen with bright floor tiles.

Everything at Barbie’s Burrito Barn is made to order and wrapped to-go. Customers can stop in and order from Brannock herself, or they can call in their order to pick up later. Brannock’s menu of vegetarian and meat burritos, tacos, tostadas, chopped bowls and strips (her take on chips) with salsa and guac is simple, and with the most expensive item ringing up at around $7, it’s affordable. And it’s healthy to boot: Add-on side dishes include jicama slaw and chili-lime cucumbers.

Customers can eat at one of the small tables inside or out, or many take their burrito barn bounty around the corner to the Champion Brewing Company patio. Barbie’s doesn’t serve alcohol, but it does offer bottled water and soft drinks, including sweet Jarritos.

“It’s like I’m feeding people from my heart, or my mother’s,” Brannock says. “It’s not fancy food, but it’s yummy food.”

Farm to brewery

Woodridge Farm in Lovingston has grown and supplied grain for Virginia breweries such as Blue Mountain, Champion, Devils Backbone and Lickinghole Creek for several years. But now they’re getting into the beer-brewing game themselves, as Wood Ridge Farm Brewery.

This will be the fifth brewery and first farm brewery in Nelson County, which, for the record, still has just one traffic light.

Wood Ridge Farm Brewery is unique in that it grows, malts and roasts 100 percent of the grains—rye, wheat, barley and oat—used in its beers. Clay Hysell, the brewery’s general manger, says they grow their own hops, too, but often have to outsource them because the Virginia climate is not ideal for most varieties.

“It’s a great feeling to drink a beer while overlooking the land it came from,” Hysell says. “To an extent, it’s like terroir with wine” or food. Farm owner Barry Wood tapped Nicholas Payson, formerly of Winnetou Brauerei in Mount Airy, North Carolina, as head brewer. In advance of the brewery’s September 10 opening, Payson has created a kolsch, IPA, pale ale, porter, blonde ale and a shandy.

When pressed to name a favorite, Payson says he’s partial to the porter. “I love this beer because I use no additives to achieve the flavor.” The creamy, mocha coffee notes come from the grain, he says.

But all of this is just to start, says Hysell, noting the farm will continue providing grain to other breweries, as well. “We’ll have even more fun later on.”

They’re all winners

The Olympics wasn’t the only fierce competition going on this summer. While athletes from around the world were winning medals, local food and drink purveyors racked up some major accolades of their own.

Castle Hill Cidery’s port-like 1764 cider won Double Gold and Best of Category-Fortified in the inaugural Drink Outside the Grape competition held in town earlier this month.

At the 2016 Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Virginia Craft Beer Cup Awards last weekend, Scottsville’s James River Brewery took home first place, Best of Show, and first place, British Bitter for its River Runner ESB, a take on a traditional English bitter brewed with pale and crystal malts and British hops. Many other local brews received nods as well, including Pro Re Nata’s Old Trail Pale Ale American pale ale; Starr Hill’s Jomo Vienna lager, The Love German hefeweisen and Sublime Belgian wit; South Street’s My Personal Helles lager and Peanut Butter Cup Barrel-Aged Soft Serve American porter; and Three Notch’d’s No Veto brown ale and Ghost of the 43rd pale ale.

To top off the wins, Hudson Henry Baking Co.’s cashew and coconut granola, made by Hope Lawrence in Palmyra, was a 2016 Sofi finalist in the Breads, Muffins, Granola or Cereal category at the Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City in June.

Send your food news to: eatdrink@c-ville.com

Categories
News

Martese Johnson’s case will likely move forward

A photo of Martese Johnson on the night of his bloody arrest went viral. Photo by Bryan Beaubrun

The UVA graduate who was taken to the ground by ABC agents outside of Trinity Irish Pub in March 2015 appeared in a Roanoke federal court August 26 for a motions hearing in which the agents’ attorneys, once again, asked for the case against them to be thrown out.

“Though he has not yet formally ruled on the defendants’ motion to dismiss Martese’s amended complaint, Judge [Glen] Conrad stated that, at the very least, his claim for excessive force would proceed, and that, therefore, discovery may begin,” says Benjamin Chew, a UVA Law alumni and attorney for Martese Johnson.

Johnson, who was 20 years old when he was turned away from the bar
on the Corner, maintains in his amended suit—accepted by Judge Conrad in May—that he was approached by agent Jared Miller, who grabbed his arm from behind before being joined by agents Thomas Custer and John Cielakie, who then “slammed” Johnson “face first” into the brick walkway outside of Trinity.

A video of blood pouring down Johnson’s face went viral.

Though the judge indicated that the case will likely move forward, he said he may later drop agent Cielakie from the suit because he is believed to have little involvement. Cielakie did, however, cuff the college student’s legs after he was already immobilized, according to Johnson’s suit.

Johnson’s case against the ABC is scheduled for a five-day jury trial in Charlottesville next year.

Categories
Real Estate

Charlottesville’s Commercial Real Estate Market Continues to Impress

The commercial real estate market in our local area continues to improve as it does nationally. The annual report from Deloitte and the National Association of Realtors on the 2016 national commercial real estate market outlook states that expectations for growth reflect “steady job gains and stable leasing demand,” trends the authors believe will support continued expansion.

In our market both commercial sales and leasing are strong and we are seeing decreased vacancies in the retail sector. The industrial-warehouse sector is also strong and prospective tenants may face inventory shortages as they look for just the right property.

The energy behind commercial expansion starts with an active residential market and fortunately the news continues to be good there as well. The recently released CAAR Second Quarter Market Report showed a remarkable 17.2 percent increase in the number of homes sold compared to 2015, and the highest number of sales in any quarter since 2006. In addition, while listing activity was up 6.6 percent, inventory was actually down 10.8 percent compared to the second quarter of 2015 thanks to many more buyers actively looking to purchase a home. All of that bodes well for the continued growth of Charlottesville’s commercial market.

Commercial Market Continues to Expand
“The market is positive right now,” said Bill Howard, President and Broker at Real Estate III Commercial Properties, describing the agents in his office as “very busy.” He added that there is “definitely an upswing in office rentals” leaving many fewer vacancies, especially downtown.
Other sectors of the commercial market are also doing well Howard said stating that “there are not a lot of vacancies in retail centers” and that we are experiencing a “shortage in industrial and warehouse space.”

“We’re definitely seeing an increase,” said Robin Amato with Real Estate III Commercial Properties who described the market as “active,” with both tenants and buyers in a positive mode. The amount of leasing activity in both office and retail space has increased making it difficult to find the properties she needs for her clients.

She added that for a time after the economic slowdown landlords had to reduce their rates in order to get spaces leased. Now, she said, with the success of new centers like 5th Street Station and Stonefield, older, established centers are beginning to raise their rates.

“Sales of commercial properties have also increased over last year,” Amato said adding that mortgage companies are working with buyers to help make it all happen.

Much of the recent activity comes from local businesses choosing to expand their leases, or who are moving having sold their previous location. While a fair amount of the business is from out of town, Amato estimates that as much as seventy-five percent is local.

Bob Kahn with Bob Kahn Realty and Investments agreed with this assessment stating that in his experience the majority of new leases and sales in our commercial market represent growth that is happening “organically” within Charlottesville. “Many are entrepreneurs involved in cutting edge technology based industries, and many have roots in our area either by birth or because they were once students at UVA and Darden.” These entrepreneurs have a desire to “get back to Charlottesville to both live and work here,” Kahn continued.

Commercial Market Activity is Area-Wide
While downtown continues to be a hot spot, it is no longer the only active market in town.

Our local market is “unique,” said Benton Downer with Downer and Associates as it doesn’t fluctuate as much as some others. He described the downtown market as strong with a lot of appeal to major-mid to large-size companies. Part of the attraction is that employees can walk on the mall during breaks, enjoy decent food when they go to lunch and partake in the many entertainment venues available there after hours. Downtown has a “good vibe,” he said and “is a unique experience for our community.”

Kahn described downtown as the preferred location for many IT folks and technology- based companies. “All of these companies are doing well and ever in need of more space,” he said. These kinds of tech companies attract a younger group of employees, many of them Millennials, who especially appreciate the downtown location.

Preston Avenue is another active area where Amato described “two great projects.” One is the building at Preston and 10th, home to Shenandoah Joes and the former home of the Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA Rummage Store that relocated to the Seminole Square Shopping Center at the end of last year. The new owners of this Preston Avenue project plan renovations that include doubling Shenandoah Joe’s current footprint and adding additional parking behind the building.

Down the street at 608 Preston Avenue, Mark Green and Tom Hickman are putting final touches on the King Lumber Building, a structure originally built in 1909 that has been extensively renovated and today houses four businesses including OpenSource Connections, a software development company, Balance Chiropractic, Random Row Brewing and Express Employment Professionals. Of the original 10,000 square feet of available space for lease, only 2,000 remain, Amato said.

The 29 North corridor continues to be active in spite of recent construction activities. “There are not a lot of vacancies in retail centers,” Howard said. He referenced new tenants at Stonefield, and Krogers’ expected move from their long-time location at the bypass and Route 29 to the Seminole Square location previously occupied by Giant and Ashley’s Furniture.

Office leasing is also going well on 29 North. Steve Melton, Property Manager with Virginia Land Co, said that his company’s Hollymead offices are now fully leased.

Further north Bill Gentry with Jefferson Land and Realty suggested there may be national tenants looking at space in Madison as well as increased interest from locals wanting to expand existing businesses or open a new one. Recently he facilitated Yoder’s Country Market’s move to an 18,000 square foot building in Madison on Seminole Trail 25 miles north of Charlottesville, and found a new tenant, MESA, Madison Emergency Services Association, to lease the 8,000 square foot building the Yoders left behind in the town of Madison.

South of town anticipation grows about the opening of 5th Street Station with its anchor tenant, Wegmans, an upscale family-owned grocery store based in Rochester, New York. Wegmans is known for its quality and reasonable prices and for giving back to the community. A recent corporate-level press release announced that in the winter months of 2016 customers in 27 of their stores raised  over a million dollars for local food banks, a 6 percent increase over what was raised the previous year.

Wegmans is now training 350 employees for part time positions in preparation for the store opening now scheduled for November 6, 2016. The store will employ 550 people of which 500 are local.

While there are a few remaining spaces at 5th Street Station, most are leased. “It’s amazing how well it’s coming along,” Amato said. In addition to Field & Stream, PetSmart, Panera Bread and Dick’s Sporting Goods, Wegman’s will also be joined by Haverty’s Furniture and Planet Fitness along with A.C. Moore, an arts and crafts retailer, Timberwood Tap House, Dollar Tree, Mattress Warehouse and Krispy Kreme, to name a few. Shoppers can also see a movie at the new Alamo Cinema, take care of banking at one of two banks, buy cell service, get a haircut or manicure and even enjoy an appointment at Select Physical Therapy.

“5th Street Station will be a game changer for Charlottesville,” said Ed Brownfield with Brownfield Realty Associates. “Wegmans will make a big difference for the south part of Charlottesville,” he added since there is nothing comparable out there.
Downer said that 5th Street Market will “transform our community,” and predicts that people from the east end of town who have been driving to Zion Crossroads to avoid the traffic on 29 North, will be willing to drive to 5th Street Station when it opens due to the ease of access off the interstate.

5th Street Station shoppers who love wine can take advantage of another south side addition. Wineworks Extended, an extension of Michael Shaps Wineworks, is located just across the street from the east entrance into 5th Street Station on Avon Extended, Howard said. Wine will be bottled and stored in this 16,000 square foot former warehouse which will also feature a tasting room and event space. In addition to bottles of wine, Wineworks patrons can take home growlers of wine that are filled and sold in the tasting room.

Pantops on the east end of town continues to be a popular spot with low vacancy. The location is enhanced by its easy access to the interstate making it convenient for companies with multiple locations and personnel who frequently travel in and out of Charlottesville.

While there is not a lot of space for new construction, Melton reports that Virginia Land Company has submitted a final site plan for county approval for a project on the site of the former White House Motel behind Carmax. This 45,000 square foot office space called Monscane Center will consist of three buildings with office condos for rent or for sale. Built on a slope, the one story condos will have walk out access to parking on both levels. With no common spaces, stairways or elevators the offices are more economical to maintain, Melton explained. He added that this project is “moving along well.”

Another Virginia Land project on Rolkin Road is 75 percent leased, Melton said. Thanks to the popularity of the area, the building is getting leased up by word of mouth only, with no advertising required. Tenants include Atlantic Coast Mortgage and, most recently, a medical services company called Intravene Infusion for which, Melton said, they did “a nice build out.” He explained that the nearness of Martha Jefferson Hospital plus easy access from the interstate makes this area especially appealing to medical companies who also look for ground floor locations to save patients from having to navigate stairs or elevators.

Technology and Venture Capital Boost Commercial Growth
Tech companies make an important contribution to the growth in our local economy and commercial real estate market thanks in part to increasing amounts of venture capital flowing into our area. An article at Newsplex stated that “Charlottesville is the fastest-growing venture capital ecosystem in the United States.”

They added that funding of local companies grew to an impressive $27.7 million from just $250,000 between 2010 and 2015 and described UVA as “a driving force behind the rapid growth, with six of the nine leading companies that were primary investment recipients having worked directly with the UVA Licensing and Ventures Group.”

The outlook for Charlottesville’s commercial market continues to be positive. There is lots of good news including low vacancy rates in most parts of town, a strong residential market, and new projects in the works. The future does indeed look bright.

Celeste Smucker is a writer, blogger and author who lives near Charlottesville.

Categories
Real Estate

Taste of the Mountains: Madison Pride

Stroll down Main Street in Madison on Saturday, September 3 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Stop by the booth manned by the volunteer fire department and try one of their famous steak sandwiches. Head over to the bandstand and hear old-time mountain music and 21st century mountain music—they call it “country”—and the marches and show tunes of Madison County High School’s Marching Mountaineers. Check out the dozens (and dozens) of craft tables, tour a 19th century mansion, and treat the kids to pony rides and magic shows.

You can do all this and a whole lot more at Taste of the Mountains, the annual festival celebrating, carrying on and extending the musical, artistic, and culinary traditions of 18th and 19th century Blue Ridge Mountain culture. Back when it was first held in 1993, Taste was mostly a local affair. Not anymore. Not since a mere six years later in 1999 when it was named one of the top 20 festivals in the southeastern United States by the Southeast Tourism Society. The hay ride-style transport from the parking lot at Madison County High School may have given way to buses to accommodate the natives, the nostalgic, and the curious flocking to a few short downtown blocks, but Taste is still the day that little Madison shows off.

History and Heritage
Madison County was chartered in 1792 and named for a family—the same that gave the country its fourth president—which owned land along the Rapidan River. It was largely settled by families of German, English and Scots-Irish descent whose own descendants remain in the area today. President Herbert Hoover liked the area so much that he bought land along the upper Rapidan in what is now Shenandoah National Park and established Camp Hoover, which served as his country retreat throughout his presidency.

Today, most remarkably, the tiny little town of Madison, the county seat (0.2 square miles; population 229 in the 2010 census) has six structures on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Madison County Courthouse, which dates to 1828. The Greek Revival-style Kemper Residence (circa 1852) was built by Confederate Major General James Lawson Kemper, Virginia Governor from 1874 to 1877. It has been restored and furnished in period style, and will be open to visitors. Civil War re-enactors on the mansion’s lawn will portray Company C of Kemper’s own 7th Virginia Infantry Unit.

Eat, Shop, Play
Area restauranteurs including Bavarian Chef, Honey BBQ and Sweet Springs Ice Cream will welcome festivalgoers with food trucks, and Madison County’s wineries will offer samples in a tasting tent. Local small businesses, like furniture makers E.A. Clore Sons and artisan showcase Mad Arts, will display their wares at some of the Festival’s 170 booths; other booths will be occupied by out of state artists and craftspeople who think so highly of the event that they return year after year. As always, The Fredericksburg Antique Auto Club of America will exhibit its cool vintage cars, while kids will enjoy games, pony rides, and a magic show.

Music
Madison’s own Dark Hollow Bluegrass Band plays traditional mountain music in the style of Charlie Moore, The Stanley Brothers, Reno & Smiley, and Charlie Waller. “We are known for the way we dress,” says singer and banjo player Paul Fincham. “We dress up like they did back in the 30s, with the fedora hats and the vinyl black and white shoes.” The band has played Taste for the past half dozen years, and Fincham is looking forward to doing it again. “Anything you’re looking for,” he says, “you’ve got it up on Main Street.”

Madison singer Jessica Weaver played on the Katie Couric show and won Martina McBride’s Blackbird Country Contest—the $25,000 prize came with a recording session in McBride’s Nashville studio. Weaver and her band Silver Linings are Festival favorites and will entertain again this year.

Professional athlete turned rapper Jon James is known for a stage show that mixes rhymes with extreme sports. “Music is the canvas of my life,” James says. “I like to inspire the listeners to follow the voice of their own soul instead of the clustered noise of the outside world.”

David Gilmore hails from Culpeper, honed his chops in Nashville, and has played Taste “for at least the last 7 years.” He’ll sing originals and cover songs ranging all the way from The Doors hit “Light My Fire” to the George Jones classic ‘’He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

Bennie Dodd is from Nelson County but makes his home near Waynesboro today. He and his band will play his own blend of old time country, bluegrass and rock classics “with seasoning in between.”

“Madison is a real quiet neighborhood,” Fincham says. “They treat you real good. It’s just a little town that welcomes everybody in.” Madison native Tracey Gardner agrees. “When I was a teenager,” she says, “I couldn’t wait to get out. I went into travel and tourism and quickly realized what we have: it’s a sense of peace that you get when you come home. We call it ‘Madison Pride.’”