Month: December 2019

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Arts

January galleries guide

“You Belong Here Now,” a series of Polly Breckenridge’s monotype prints, opens at Chroma Projects gallery Friday, January 3. Image courtesy the artist

Precarious balance

Polly Breckenridge’s monotypes at Chroma Projects

Part of the appeal of printmaking is that it gives an artist the ability to create multiple copies of the same image.

But for local artist Polly Breckenridge, the attraction lies in the printmaking process itself—the way the pressure of the press embosses each design element into the paper, for instance—and how it satisfies her craving for “creating objects of beauty with color and layers and texture.” And so she uses that process to make monotypes (unique, one-off prints), some of which are on view in “You Belong Here Now,” at Chroma Projects gallery through January.

Image courtesy the artist

Inspired in part by No One Belongs Here More Than You, a collection of short stories published by filmmaker, writer, and performance artist Miranda July in 2005, Breckenridge’s series of monotypes use shape, line, color, texture, and a set series of human gestures to create compositions that she says “[analyze] how much we have in common, and how we’re different,” that address “our precarious balance as we go through our lives, as to where we belong, and that feeling of belonging.”

Some of the prints are vibrant and bold, with layers of ink covering most of the space; others are more ephemeral. Similar figures repeat throughout the series, representative of gestures that Breckenrdige created and chose “as an expression of a certain universal feeling.”

In one piece, a figure plunges headfirst into a hoop, only its legs still visible, in what Breckenridge calls “a visual representation of diving down a rabbit hole,” of how sometimes it’s easy to dive into another person (or even oneself), but other times, with a different person, that same action is quite difficult.

Image courtesy the artist

Another piece shows a figure caught by the big hand in “a falling kind of gesture,” says Breckenridge. “Being caught by something bigger than yourself, which could be the collective consciousness, or another person that’s there to catch you.”

Because each viewer brings their own experience and interpretation to the pieces, Breckenridge constantly learns new things about the meaning contained within her works. Perhaps that’s because, like the monotypes themselves, we humans are all alike, and yet each of us is completely unique.

First Fridays: January 3

Openings

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third Street SE. “You Belong Here Now,” featuring monotype prints by Polly Breckenridge. 5-7pm.

Fellini’s 200 W. Market St. “The Creator’s Creation,” a show of photography by Laura Parker. 5:30-7pm.

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “”, featuring acrylic and mixed media works by Jim Henry; in all other hall galleries, the new members show, featuring photography, metalwork, oil paintings, and more by new McGuffey associate members. 5:30-7:30pm.

Michael Williams at McGuffey Art Center

New Dominion Bookshop 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “New Zealand Watercolors,” an exhibition of work by Blake Hurt. 5-7pm.

WriterHouse 508 Dale Ave. An exhibition of photography by Charlie Dean. 5-7pm.

Other January shows

Albemarle County Circuit Court 501 E. Jefferson St. An exhibition of work by members of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild.

The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Ridged,” an exhibition of work by local LGBTQ+ artists. Opens January 10.

Buck Mountain Episcopal Church 4133 Earlysville Rd., Earlysville. “Coloring Outside the Lines,” featuring fluid acrylic works by Paula Boyland.

C’Ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. Studio sale, featuring works from member artists.

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Otherwise,” exploring the influence of LGBTQ+ artists, and  “Time to Get Ready: fotografia social,” both through January 5; “Select Works from the Alan Groh-Buzz Miller Collection”; and “The Inside World: Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Memorial Poles,” and “Figures of Memory,” both opening January 24.

Java Java 421 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “How do you C’ville?,” an exhibit by Allison Shoemaker highlighting local businesses and investors.

Jefferson School African American Heritage Center 233 Fourth St. NW. “A Place Fit for Women,” featuring paintings by Robert Shetterly. Opening January 18, 6-8pm.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Dean Dass: Venus and the Moon,” featuring atmospheric landscape paintings as well as stylized works of abstracted shapes and heavily worked surfaces, through January 19, with a reception January 12, 2-4pm; and “Time: Ann Lyne, John McCarthy, Ana Rendich” opening January 25, 4-6pm.

Ana Rendich at Yes Leux Du Monde

Mudhouse Coffee 213 W. Main St. “CONFLICT/Resolution,” Adam Disbrow’s series reflecting the merger of the “seen” with the “unseen.”

Northside Library 705 Rio Rd. W. “Bold,” featuring acrylic paintings by Novi Beerens and collages by Karen Whitehill.

Over the Moon Bookstore 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. “Natural Light,” a show of oil and acrylic paintings by John Carr Russell.

Radio IQ/WVTF 216 W. Water St. “40 Faces, 40 Years,” a photography exhibit marking the forty years of service of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Opening January 15, 5-7pm.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Illuminations & Illusions,” a show of paintings and sculpture spanning more than four decades of Beatrix Ost’s career as a visual artist, through January 10; and “By the Strength of Their Skin,” paintings by Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Mabel Juli, and Nonggirrnga Marawili, three of Australia’s most acclaimed women artists, opening January 24. In the Dové Gallery, “The Slow Death of Rocks,” reverse painting on glass and sculpture by Doug Young, through January 10.

Madeleine Rhondeau-Rhodes at Woodberry Forest School

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital 500 Martha Jefferson Way. “Dreamy Landscapes,” featuring work in oil by Julia Kindred.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. “Modern Folk Art,” a juried exhibition; “Iconoclasts,” featuring works on fabric by Annie Layne; and “Small Works,” featuring pieces by SVAC members.

Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Marker’s Edge,” featuring works in marker on paper by Philip Jay Marlin.

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Retrospective,” a show chronicling more than a decade of the “Every Day is a Holiday” calendars made annually by collaborative artists and lifelong friends Eliza Evans and Virginia Rieley. 5:30-7:30pm.

Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “Shadow Sites,” an exhibition of installation and photographic work by Steaphan Paton and Robert Fielding, two acclaimed contemporary Australian Indigenous artists. Opening January 24.

Woodberry Forest School 898 Woodberry Forest Rd., Woodberry Forest. “in context.,” featuring paintings in acrylic on canvas and paper by Madeleine Rhondeau-Rhodes. Reception January 9, 6:30-7:30pm.

First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many area art galleries and exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. To list an exhibit, email arts@c-ville.com.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: David Wax Museum

Ring in 2020 with David Wax Museum at The Southern Cafe & Music Hall. Publicity photo

Into the new year: Husband and wife musicians David Wax and Suz Slezak have been playing their own unique form of Mexo-Americana folk for nearly 12 years. Performing as David Wax Museum, the duo celebrates its seventh release, Line of Light, which was produced by Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket and features fellow C’ville musician Paul Curreri. The new tracks tread through the darker sides of personal struggles and current events, on what the band calls “a bright album for murky times, a reminder of music’s ability to drive out the darkness, one song at a time.”

Tuesday, December 31. $27-45, 8:30pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.

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Arts

Album reviews: Best-and-rest of 2019

Not sure why, but in 2019 I spent a lot of time with a relatively few new albums, so apologies to the stuff I didn’t listen to enough. Here’s an idiosyncratic best-of, the albums I listened to all year (in more or less chronological order), with a “rest-of”—albums I liked almost as much, or loved for a couple of weeks but left behind for whatever reason.

Best of

Park Hye Jin (above)

If U Want It (clipp.art)

In January I wrote that If U Want It “sounds like something I’ll be coming back to all winter.” South Korean DJ Park Hye Jin’s five pithy songs cover dub, tropical house, industrial electronica, and wistful minimalism. She’s a canny com-
poser and a charismatic vocalist, and hey, I’m still coming back.

Jessica Pratt

Quiet Signs (Kemado)

Jessica Pratt weaves another web of dusky psych-folk. The spirit of Arthur Lee pervades the modal chords and underlying spookiness, but Pratt’s got a voice of her own—a restrained but expressive sigh that floats above her songs like a halo of insects over a pond, and mesmerizes in the same way.

Shafiq Husayn

The Loop (Nature Sounds)

A secret weapon of L.A.’s hip-hop scene busts out this 75-minute monster that channels P-Funk and trots out a battalion of A-listers: Erykah Badu, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Anderson .Paak, Robert Glasper—and Bilal, whose showcase “Between Us” is a louche charmer. The Loop is a giddy ramble, an all-day party.

Crumb

Jinx (Crumb)

Crumb’s bedroom indie comes off like a weird dream, slightly unsettling but ultimately unthreatening. Lila Ramani’s sad-ghost vocals manage to be dark and whimsical at the same time, and the Tufts grads find a variety of grooves, from the elongated “M.R.” to the funky, almost krauty “Nina.”

Tomeka Reid Quartet

Old New (Cuneiform)

Avant-jazz cellist Tomeka Reid has played with experimental pop duo Ohmme and folky guitar wizard James Elkington, so it shouldn’t surprise that melody cuts through on Old New. Her meticulous yet loose compositions are punctuated by the gnarly solos of mindbending guitarist Mary Halvorson, and the quartet’s interplay is wondrous.

Rest of

Yola

Walk Through Fire
(Nonesuch)

Stately soul with enough grace to counteract the potentially distracting retro flourishes of producer Dan Auerbach. Yola can belt, but it’s her sense of dynamics that leads to goosebumps, as on “Faraway Look,” rightly nominated for multiple Grammys.

Elephant9

Psychedelic Backfire I & II
(Rune Grammofon)

A pair of insane prog-jazz albums from this Norwegian trio, recorded live. Dungen guitarist Reine Fisk shows up on volume II, as the band fearlessly shifts from Eno to Mahavishnu to Deep Purple—and that’s just on “You Are the Sunshine Of My Life.”

Brittany Howard

Jaime (ATO)

This tour-de-force finds Howard an assured voice in settings from avant soul to country rock. She’s also a compelling songwriter and inventive guitarist, and has a knack for making big statements sound down-to-earth. Coming to the Pavilion on April 17.

Solange

When I Get Home (Columbia)

Prismatic soft-soul featuring “Stay Flo,” one of 2019’s best tracks. Classic Stevie vibes hang over the whole thing, but Solange rises to the pretension.

Ghost Funk
Orchestra

A Song for Paul (Colemine)

Blunted ’70s-ish soul-jazz that just wants to hang out, and earns its keep.

Homeboy Sandman, Dusty (Mello)
and Chali 2Na & Krafty Kutz

Adventures of a Reluctant Superhero (Manphibian)

A pair of vets from Queens and L.A. turn in joyous albums that are reminiscent of rap’s “golden age” but feel fresh and inspired.

Categories
Arts

Turn it up: Our favorite local recordings this year

From punk to kids’ pop, hip-hop, and so much more, 2019 was another year with a lot to hear from Charlottesville-area musicians.

Lots of people complain that there’s no music scene here. And we get it—there can be lulls in shows (and definitely lulls in good shows)—but a music scene is more than what’s on stage. We love recordings, too, so may this list serve as your entry point to some local sonic treasures. We’ve compiled a lengthy list of local album and EP releases (scroll down for that) and while we were at it, highlighted a few of our favorites.

Fried Egg, Square One

When every day starts to feel exactly the same, when you’ve bought a car to drive to work in order to pay for the car you bought, you get down on your knees and pray to whatever idol you pray to for a band like Fried Egg to make you jump out of the pan. On Square One, an album about feeling disillusioned with modern life, the half-Charlottesville half-Richmond band turns up the heat with tight, off-center hardcore punk that’s neither over- nor undercooked.

Read more: “Over hard: Punk band Fried Egg goes beyond its hardcore roots”

Heron & Crane, Firesides

“It’s very much ready to be played during a Folgers coffee commercial,” Dave Gibson told C-VILLE about Heron & Crane’s Firesides. Gibson and longtime friend and musical collaborator Travis Kokas used a limited palette of instruments—a 12-string guitar, a few MOOG and Yamaha synthesizers, an Oberheim DX drum machine, and an organelle—to venture out onto the lush and gentle kinda-folksy, lightly-psychedelic, almost-kosmische, pastoral aural landscape.

Read more: “North by southeast: Heron & Crane’s Firesides arrives via online collaboration”

Little Skunks, Smells Like Music

Don’t turn your nose up at this kids’ album —we’re not talking Wee Sing Silly Songs, KidzBop, or even “Rockabye Baby” here. Smells Like Music was made by a bunch of adult musicians with pretty good manners and a sense of humor, people who usually make electronic, experimental, and rock music for grown-ups. The record is silly (“Mice in My Underwear Drawer”), endearing (“I Love You”), inspirational (“Start A Band”), and slightly ridiculous in the best way (“Who’s cooking pancakes?”). You don’t have to be a kid to get a total kick out of it.

Nathaniel Star, Bush Master

There’s alchemy in the combination of Nathaniel Star’s butter-smooth voice and producer Vintage’s rich beats, and the resulting elixir was so magical, it caught the ear of Bandcamp’s Chaka V. Grier, who named it one of the site’s “Best Soul on Bandcamp: August 2019” selections. Grier sums up the album’s appeal perfectly: “It’s not an easy thing to achieve—making music that enchants and enlightens—but Star makes it sound effortless.”

Read more: “Time to play: After nearly a decade, Nathaniel Star returns to the stage”

Patient 0, Girl Problems

In order for a small music scene to survive, young people have to start bands, make music, and play shows. So it was exciting to see a fledgling rock band like Patient 0 (one with solid skill and a lot of potential) release a full-length record, Girl Problems, which the teen band members recorded at the Music Resource Center here in town. Singer, lyricist, and bassist Tessa Majors wrote with a lot of heart and a good dose of ’90s riot grrrl attitude, and moved her audiences at every show. Majors died while this list was being put together, but her voice lives on in this record.

Space-Saver, Exponential Bummer

Local drum ‘n’ sax duo puts on one of the most fascinating live shows, and its recordings are no different. Do you lock into Steve Snider’s drum grooves, following them as they take roundabouts and sharp angles? Or into Travis Thatcher’s sorta-distorted sax paths? What if you get both at once? Whoa.

Waasi, From Virginia with Love

This is Malcolm “Waasi” Wills’ second release in as many years, and the young rapper has this to say about his new record: “If you don’t know me, I feel like From Virginia With Love gives you a perfect description of my personality: Funky, feel good, and raw.” He’s got flow, social consciousness, self-awareness, and solid stage presence—a combination that makes it easy to see how his record release show nearly sold out The Southern Café & Music Hall.

Wild Rose, Cosmic Miasma

Riffs, riffs, riffs, and more riffs. This local punk ‘n’ roll band has put out a couple tapes in recent years, and its first 7″ record (issued on local label Infinite Repeats) careens in at just under 10 minutes, with singer Josh Phipps maxing out his voice at whatever cost, eager to get his point across. The record’s great, and the band’s live show is even better. Next time Wild Rose plays in town, don’t miss it.

More 2019 local releases

Albums

Abstract Threats, Contentment (indie rock)

Alice Clair, Loop (folksy rock and soul)

Andrew Neil, Merry Go Round (alternative indie folk, grunge)

Angel Metro, Dark Days Bright Lights (dark synthpop)

Angela on the Arts, Within (chamber jazz, modern classical)

Bergot, Surmae (electronic, experimental)

Big Lean, C.A.L.M. and The Rabbit Hole (smooth, soulful hip-hop)

Butterfly Vendetta, Running in Place and Contents Under Pressure (pop punk, rock)

Charles Owens Trio, Three and Thirteen (jazz)

Chris Hall, red winter beats (emo, experimental, pop, trap)

David Wax Museum, Line of Light (indie folk-rock, Mexo-Americana)

Dropping Julia, Wake Up (funky/rootsy pop-rock)

Fried Egg, Square One (hardcore punk)

Front Porch Revival, Live at Lance’s (drum & bass, experimental hip-hop)

Grand Banks, Autumn Cannon and Live 3-31-2019 (experimental, electroacoustic, drone, raga, pastoral)

Greg C. Brown, Premieres (classical guitar)

Guion Pratt, Drone for the Holidays Vol.I III (experimental, ambient, drone)

Harli & The House of Jupiter, Deja Vu (alternative rock)

H.B. Kipps, Dead Air Telepathy (electronic, video game music)

Heron & Crane, Firesides (pastoral electronic psych-folk, library music)

Holly Renee Allen, Appalachian Piece-Meal (country, folk, Americana)

Human Shaped Objects, Country Countdown 2013 (ambient, algorithmic)

J Certi, Now or Never (hip-hop, rap)

Jeneene, the Areas (punk, garage)

Jordan Perry, Names and a Draft of First Cold (experimental guitar)

Jovon White, Thought Noise (experimental hip-hop)

LaQuinn, Nostalgia and Laquinn in South 900 (rap, hip-hop)

Lowland Hum, Glyphonic (minimalist hush folk)

Little Skunks, Smells Like Music (electronic rock for kids)

Matéo Amero and Ezra Miller, Tales from the Lazy River (country, folk, cowpunk)

Minnush, Minnush (Sephardic, jazz, roots, improvisation)

Nate Braeuer, altars were here (acoustic indie folk)

Nathaniel Star, Bush Master (Afrobeat, hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul)

New Immersion Blender, Feel Right, MF (experimental, kosmiche)

Oil Derek, The Devil’s Nine Questions (country, folk, spiritual)

Panda Slugger, Standing Outside in the Rain Trying to Remember the Way It Feels to Believe (ambient, chill)

Patient 0, Girl Problems (alt. rock with a touch of riot grrl)

Pearl Pile, Plastic Plant (alternative basement psych, indie rock)

Piko, œ (avant garde, experimental indie)

Pluto, Pluto (reggae-ish electronic)

Salvaticus, Ordo Naturalis (black metal)

Ships in the Night, The Remixes (darkwave, dream pop)

Six Foot Ceilings, Six Foot Ceilings (pop rock)

Space-Saver, Exponential Bummer (experimental drum ‘n’ sax)

ST/MiC, sevens & thr33s or something like that (lo-fi hip-hop instrumentals)

Studebaker Huck, Wired in the Darkness and Barn Burner (punk-ish Southern rock)

Tracy Howe, Things That Grow (gospel, folk, rock)

Va Doe, The Chris Newman Show (rap, hip-hop)

The Voice of Saturn, otherwordly transport (electronic, synth, kosmiche)

Willie DE, Runaway Child (blues-rock singer-songwriter, jazz)

 

EPs

ArtificalRealitySoundscape, Neutral Centipede Carpool (experimental electronic, noise)

Beasts of Least Concern, That’s Not How I Like to Do Business (gothy acoustic ballads)

Bobblehead, Bobblehead (alternative swamp rock boogie)

Cameron Taylor, The Reef (experimental hip-hop)

Carry, Small, Early, Free (Appalachian experimental drone)

Gold Connections, Like A Shadow (hi-fi indie rock)

Gold Sounds, Gold Sounds (jazz-funk)

Good Dog Nigel, The Implied Sunrise (indie rock, power pop)

jaRed lodwick, ¿ (hip-hop, rap)

Kate Bollinger, I Don’t Wanna Lose (chill indie bedroom pop)

Kendall Street Company, Lunar Dude (improvised rock, jazz-grass)

Kylie Cloud, Royal City Harbor Remixes 2

LaQuinn, If I Sold Dope (the Mixtape) (rap, hip-hop)

Lost Ray, Conflux (ambient electronic)

Matéo Amero, Untitled (folksy country rock)

Maxwell Mandell and Elinor Glassco, Next To You (electronic singer-songwriter)

Naomi Alligator, Big World (arty alternative singer-songwriter)

Paint the Watermelon, Composer (alternative ambient electronic)

Patrick Keese, Gallery (indie chamber pop)

Pretty Pulp, Break Me Up and Atrophy (grunge, alternative rock)

PROLO, singles ep and Te Hip Vol. 1 (hip-hop, rap, boom-bap)

Reagan Riley, Glass (chill neo-soul)

Ruckus the Bulldog, Welcome to Thrashville (hard rock, comedy)

The Skavaliers, The Skavaliers (ska)

Spillway, Fall 2019 Live Demo (shoegaze-y hard indie rock)

Stray Fossa, Laridae EP (poppy indie rock)

Synthetic Division, digital singles (synthpop)

Time Nothing, Losing Faith (metal, metalcore)

The Vailix, Ageless (conceptual hard rock)

True Spirit, II (noise-y post-punk)

Wild Rose, Cosmic Miasma (punk ‘n’ roll)

Wülf Boi, Thanatophilia (rap, hip-hop)

Local mixtapes

Various (Music Resource Center), It’s Here. It’s Always Been Here. (alternative, hip-hop, indie, rap, rock)

Various, Nine Pillars Mixtape Vol. 2 (rap, hip-hop)

 

What’d we miss? Email us at arts@c-ville.com to add your album or EP to the online list.

Categories
Arts

ARTS Pick: Seer’s Solstice Ball

Dark synthpop act Ships in the Night (pictured) is one of the scheduled performer's for the Seer’s Solstice Ball: A Tarot Release Party and Dark Rock Extravaganza at The Southern Cafe & Music Hall. Publicity photo

Dark night returns: Find your way in the new year by getting the scoop at the Seer’s Solstice Ball: A Tarot Release Party and Dark Rock Extravaganza. Artist and author Laura Lee Gulledge teams up with mindfulness educator Juliet Trail to celebrate the release of The Unfinished Tarot Deck. Body painting and glittering is available from artists of FUCC (the Feminist Union of Charlottesville Creatives), and music acts Phoenix Noir, Ships in the Night, and DJ Dee Facto will set the mood for the “wintry night of femme mystique and magical visions.”

Friday, December 27. $8-10, 9pm. The Southern Café & Music Hall, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.

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News

Being the change: Local mother starts cafe to employ adults with disabilities

Katie Kishore’s Kindness Cafe + Play will employ adults with cognitive disabilities. PC: John Robinson

2014 was a life-changing year for Katie Kishore. That April, she and her husband Kris welcomed their second daughter, Kiran, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome. And just two weeks later, Kris passed away from cancer.

For the next few years, Kishore, a former teacher at Jackson-Via Elementary, focused on caring for Kiran and her oldest daughter, Mira, as well as grieving the loss of her husband. But in 2017, her life took yet another shift when a friend sent her a 90 second video about Bitty & Beau’s, a coffee shop employing people with cognitive disabilities in Wilmington, North Carolina.

After taking a road trip with her daughters and visiting the shop herself, Kishore became “really motivated” to bring the idea to Charlottesville. She too wanted to provide meaningful employment for adults with cognitive disabilities—the majority of whom are unemployed or underemployed, according to the Arc of the Piedmont. 

She created an online fundraiser for her coffee shop, naming it Kindness Cafe + Play—a nod to Kris, who was known for his kindness to everyone. The fundraiser surpassed its goal in just three days, and Kishore soon connected with Jessica Maslaney, CEO of the Piedmont Family YMCA. Maslaney believed the cafe would be a wonderful opportunity for the community, and invited Kishore to start the cafe right in the YMCA lobby.

Kishore received even more community support from Innisfree Village, a voluntary community for adults with intellectual disabilities, and Grit Coffee, which pledged to train employees and provide coffee for the cafe. The Arc of the Piedmont, which also serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, volunteered to be the cafe’s fiscal sponsor. 

“Charlottesville is just full of community-oriented people,” she says. “It became really clear to me pretty early on that Charlottesville would support [the cafe and] benefit from it.” 

Kindness will employ both disabled and typically abled adults, says Kishore. It has already hired eight adults with cognitive disabilities, who will be trained, mentored, and paired with the role they are best suited for. Kishore and another typically abled adult will also be on staff. 

The cafe will start off with limited hours as well: Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 to 11:30 am. However, Kishore plans to eventually expand the cafe’s hours and staff. 

The cafe will sell coffee, espresso, kombucha, and food options, including baked goods from BreadWorks (which also employs adults with disabilities). It will feature spaces for reading, conversation, and small group gatherings.

“Our mission…[is] to create a space for people with and without disabilities to interact as peers,” says Kishore. “The hope is that we change the lives of our employees and their families by providing this opportunity…[and] of many of our customers, as they have the opportunity to interact with adults with cognitive disabilities in a new way.”

A UVA alum who played varsity soccer and basketball (and was inducted into the Virginia-DC Soccer Hall of Fame last year), Kishore says she has received a lot of support from former teammates and coaches—and people who weren’t even at UVA when she was. 

“We’ve just been so pleased with the people who’ve been attracted to this. That goes for the people we’ve hired, the volunteers that’ve been supporting us, the businesses…and individuals” she says. “It’s been really inspiring.”

Kindness Cafe + Play is expected to open in February.

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C-BIZ

Shop ’til you drop: The enduring appeal of Barracks Road Shopping Center

Set in a field in the countryside far from the town’s population center, Barracks Road Shopping Center opened a handful of stores in 1959, anchored by a Kroger supermarket. Sixty years later, the center is the crown jewel of Charlottesville retail, hosting over 80 shops, restaurants, and experiences that attract customers from well beyond the city. Despite the robust growth of online buying, e-commerce accounts for only 11 percent of total U.S. retail spending. Turns out, people still like to shop till they drop.

In the mix

Photo: Stephen Barling

In competition with easy, cheap, ‘round-the-clock online shopping, how has Barracks Road stayed viable, and vital, in Charlottesville? It’s all in the mix, says Dierdre Johnson, VP of Asset Management for owner Federal Realty Investment Trust, as she lists key factors. “Location, an attractive mix of stores valued by the customers, best-in-class merchants in their category, and an amenitized environment,” she says. “We continually evolve with the customers.”

Catering to UVA students, tourists, and townies, Barracks Road hosts a collection of local, regional, and national merchants whose offerings span a range of appetites and budgets. “A person wanting a burger can find a drive-thru option at McDonald’s or a gourmet alternative at Zinburger,” says Johnson. “Fink’s Jewelers carries fine designer selections but Lou Lou has the latest trends for someone on a budget.” Merchant variety means efficiency for the busy shopper, and services such as a post office, Fedex, and dry cleaners allow for checking off lots of errands in one location.

Beyond variety and convenience, however, Barracks Road offers something less tangible and more affecting: an experience. “It’s a ‘lifestyle center’ type of shopping mall, similar to Short Pump Town Center in Richmond,” says Lindsey Sinozich, marketing director at Fink’s Jewelers. Outdoor seating, a fountain, and canopies welcome visitors, while recent fitness studio additions such as Zoom, Orange Theory, and Club Pilates mean that customers can do even more without driving all over town.

In stark contrast with the anonymous, sometimes uncertain online shopping environment, Barracks Road counts on the heightened experience of in-person buying to draw customers in.

“When you make a big purchase, you want to be treated like you’re making a big purchase,” says Sinozich, “so we emphasize having a knowledgeable staff and high level customer service.” Customers often “pre-shop” online and come into stores to try on clothing, shoes, and jewelry, or to get assistance in choosing something unique.

Home décor and gift shop Folly stocks items in a wide price range, including one-of-a-kind pieces like an artistic floral arrangement set in a 19th century French base and glass. “A lot of the things we have here you can’t buy online, or it would take a lot to find them online,” says co-owner Beth Ann Kallen. “For some of our more expensive items, you really want to see it in person.”

The place to be

Retail tenants are the lifeblood of any shopping center, and Barracks Road’s merchants are shrewd and experienced business owners. Lease rates for store space in the center are among the highest in Virginia, running over $30 per square foot plus a percentage of gross sales above certain levels, but shop owners say the “traffic” is worth every penny.

“We were initially in a space on West Main, but when we decided we wanted to really build our brand, we knew we needed increased visibility,” says Kallen. “The foot traffic here is huge, and parking is plentiful. We knew that the people shopping here were the customers we wanted to attract.”

Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

The Happy Cook’s Monique Moshier, who has owned the store for 14 of its 41 years in the center, says she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. “Barracks Road is so quintessentially Charlottesville,” she says. “This is the place to be for holiday shopping, and other times of year we have a lot of customers who need quick in and quick out. We’d never consider, say, the Downtown Mall because of the lack of parking there. People are not going to buy heavy, expensive cookware and schlep it to their cars.”

Oliva’s Robert Johnson is one of about a half-dozen independent owners in Barracks Road, and he remembers visiting the center as a boy from Nelson county. His upscale olive oil and balsamics shop is aimed at the center’s affluent, health-conscious shoppers, and Johnson says his customers are loyal.

“We draw from Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, and Culpeper, and we have lots of people coming through going to the airport, or waiting for someone with medical appointments at UVA,” he says. “Charlottesville has a very unique vibe, much more sophisticated than an average college town.”

On trend

Photo: Courtesy Barracks Road Shopping Center

Key to Barracks Road’s long-term success is the center’s efficient management by Federal Realty Investment Trust. “The only constant in retail is change,” says Johnson, “so it’s essential to adapt our offerings.” Federal keeps pace with trends, such as bringing in boutique fitness retailers and “healthy fast-casual” dining options, and adding short-term parking spaces for easy take-out dining.

“The thing I like most about Federal Realty is that they know how to run a shopping center,” says Moshier. “It’s a well-run organization, and from landscaping to snow and trash removal, it’s all done perfectly and on time. They decorate, run community events like the holiday parade, and help us with sales events.” The realty company launched a large-scale facelift for Barracks Road in 2011, just ahead of competitor Stonefield’s construction on Rt. 29, redoing its roofing, facades, columns, outdoor spaces, and more.

In the “clicks versus bricks” contest for shoppers’ dollars and hearts, Barracks Road merchants believe there will always be demand for the in-person experience. “Hopefully retail will never completely die out, because in the end, it’s something fun to do,” says Folly’s Kallen. “Let’s go shopping!”

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C-BIZ

Have caffeine, will work: The best C’ville coffee shops for working remotely

Photos: Stephen Barling, Jack Looney, Eze Amos, Tom McGovern

What could be better than getting out of your home office or work site for a few hours, sipping a macchiato, and getting sh*t done in a buzzy coffee shop? Luckily for us, options abound in Charlottesville. Here are our top five picks for the local java spots most conducive to that sweet #teleworklife. (Note: All locations listed offer free Wi-Fi plus outlets to plug in.)

Shenandoah Joe (945 Preston Ave.)

Vibe: Restoration Hardware-meets-“Friends’” Central Perk. Think industrial concrete floors, black, white and beige tones—a super-chill, meditative space to get some work done. That’s Shenandoah Joe’s on Preston Avenue. Take a seat at one of the communal tables, comfy sofas, or oversized armchairs. The cozy yet minimalist-modern space always seems to be teeming with coffee- imbibers, but you can still likely find a place to perch with your laptop. Noise levels are moderate at its busiest. Plus, you are right across the street from what is destined to be another future tele-working hotspot, Dairy Market, so when you’ve worn out your welcome here, you’ll be able to hop across the street.

Mudhouse (213 W. Main St., Downtown Mall)

Vibe: Like walking into a friend’s moody yet welcoming den. The Downtown Mall is where all the action happens, and the Mudhouse is often the center of the buzz. Walk inside and you’ll find a certain gravitas, with well-worn wooden floors and a long, tufted black leather sofa with tables and chairs buttressing one side of the wall. A pillow-strewn window banquette and solitary leather chairs offer additional seating, as does a mallside patio. While the downtown Mudhouse likely sees more of a “who’s who” of C’ville for those remote workers looking to make an impromptu connection, it can also be too crowded for comfort. The local chain’s newest location on 10th Street, just off West Main, is light and airy–ideal for those of us who need a little more space.

Belle Coffee & Wine (407 Monticello Rd.)

Vibe: European-style café meets neighborhood hang space. One of the newest coffee shops on the block, Belle, is just that—a beautiful space. The name, of course, is a play on the neighborhood where it resides, Belmont. Chill out and get some work done amidst Belle’s cool Euro vibes—white and blue tones, blonde wood tables, and a giant map of Belmont on the far wall above a cushy brown leather sofa. Music selections run to adult contempo for the millennial generation with some throwbacks for the rest of us–everything from Bread and Hall & Oates to Haley Reinhart and Lord Huron. Can’t find room inside? Stake out a picnic table on the banana tree-curtained patio or a seat in one of the bistro-style chairs under the yellow awning.

Grit Coffee (2035 Bond St., Ste. #185)

Vibe: Do work, drink coffee, then reward yourself with shopping. While you may think the Downtown Mall location of Grit Coffee would be the best tele-work option out of its multiple local cafes, its stylish outpost at The Shops at Stonefield is even better. The café is outfitted with giant white orb-shaped pendant lights, lots of tables to spread out (but don’t—share that space with your fellow itinerant workers!), a wide, sunny yellow banquette, and stools and bar tables. The buzz is low-key and contemplative—overhead music plays at a gentle decibel. And if the weather is nice, you can grab a seat at one of the purple sidewalk chairs outside. Side note: Grit is ever- expanding—a new café opened recently at the bottom of Pantops and another from the Grit Coffee team is coming to the under-construction Wool Factory.

Snowing in Space (705 W. Main St.)

Vibe: Bold, bright, and colorful West Main Street café filled with murals. Let the artfully disembodied head of Bill Murray (whose film Groundhog Day inspired the coffee shop’s name) spark some work creativity. The Murray mural and frenetic color scheme are the first things that capture your attention when you walk in. Ample seating is available (try to score one of the booths, upholstered in sparkly fuchsia fabric), while the likes of Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and Incubus play on the overhead speakers. The café’s undertone of coolness tempers the loudness of the wall graphics–and the music. Snowing in Space may be best for the kind of work that requires free-flowing idea generation and creative thinking, maybe less so for hammering out that tedious RFP proposal or white paper. Grab a can of nitro cold brew coffee on the way out for the all-nighter or early morning work sesh at home.

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C-BIZ

Backstory: Leggett’s lives on

Photo: Courtesy of Steve Trumbull, whose third book of historic C'ville photography, "Vintage Charlottesville," comes out late 2019. / cvilleimages.com

THEN: Leggett’s, opened in 1939 // NOW: Violet Crown, opened in 2015

“Quality merchandise. Popular prices.” So went a 1954 ad slogan for Leggett’s, a department store well-known in Charlottesville—and throughout the Mid-Atlantic—for its mid-priced fashions and homewares.

Leggett’s, then a privately-owned retail business, opened its first store in downtown Lynchburg in 1927. It arrived in Charlottesville in 1939, opening at 200-204 West Main Street, according to City of Charlottesville architectural and historic surveys. (Leggett’s later expanded into 212214 West Main Street around 1956.)

The 200-204 West Main property has a long history of department store use; it was also a Hidy & Company, a Robey and Co., an A.D. Cox, and a Sears. Years later, Regal Cinemas took over the location, only to be replaced by Violet Crown in 2015.

In 1980, Leggett’s left the Downtown Mall for the greener pastures of Fashion Square Mall. In 1996, North Carolina-based Belk bought out Leggett’s, and their store—a last vestige of Leggett’s—still remains at Fashion Square Mall.

Photo: Courtesy of Steve Trumbull // cvilleimages.com
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C-BIZ

From market stall to bricks and mortar: A food entrepreneur learns the ropes

Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

Riki Tanabe opened Mochiko, a restaurant devoted to the Hawaiian food of his youth, two years ago. And while the business has grown from a farmers market stall to a food truck to a brick and mortar location, Tanabe is not resting on his laurels.

“You have to be humble,” he says. “You have to be realistic about your expectations.”

Tanabe spent years working in hospitality before deciding to launch his own business. He’d cut his teeth at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, and he’d spent 17 years at Charlottesville’s Albemarle Baking Company, working as a pastry chef and learning what he could from master baker and co-owner Gerry Newman.

After nearly two decades, Tanabe wanted to do something for himself. He got the idea to open a restaurant serving Hawaiian comfort food: fried chicken, teriyaki beef, macaroni salad, and Spam musubi, for example.

But Tanabe had much to learn about running his own shop. He decided to seek help from the Community Investment Collaborative, which encouraged him to generate a proof of concept before diving into the game chef’s hat first.

“We asked, ‘How can you start smaller, can you start as a food truck?,’” CIC President Stephen Davis says. Starting with lower overhead, he says, means “you can sell your food profitably and [then later] take on the bigger rents.”

Still, when Tanabe moved out of his food truck and opened his restaurant in The Yard at 5th Street Station last fall, challenges remained. He hadn’t realized how fully he’d need to commit to the nearby community. He overestimated sales. He underestimated costs.

Tanabe says he and his CIC cohort obsessed over rent: specifically, how to keep that expense down. Since opening his brick and mortar location, though, he thinks about rent differently. “I could have paid twice as much on rent because sales would be higher,” he says. “When I talk to other people who want to open restaurants, I say, ‘If you really want to do this, go where you get the most traffic.’”

As he’s done since he started his Mochiko journey at the farmers market, Tanabe has committed himself to learning on the job. He now better understands costs— “compared to labor, rent is insignificant,” he says. And he continues to discuss ownership issues with other entrepreneurs and would-be restaurateurs.

“I never cared much when I was an employee,” he says. “You’re on a different level—you talk about what everyone did on the weekend. When you’re an owner, you talk about the nuts and bolts of running a business: sales or managing labor, what accountants do you use, and how much are you getting them for.”

TANABE’S TAKEAWAYS

Tanabe offers three tips to help entrepreneurs enter the market.

1. Reconsider rent: “A lot of the people in CIC, when they talk about opening a restaurant, they talk about the concept of rent. You can’t look at rent as the only factor—it’s not even the biggest expense.” Paying a higher rent can be worth it if results in more traffic and higher sales, he says.

2. Connect with community: “It is more than just your technical skills and ability to manage the restaurant. It involves knowing the community, getting their support, and learning how to leverage that support.”

3. Channel Kendrick Lamar: “Be humble. A lot of restaurant owners think people will flock to them and everyone is going to love their food. That might be true. But when you hear it from friends and family, of course they are going to say that.”