Real estate agent
Sasha Farmer
Runner-up: Jamie White
Honorable mention: Bob Hughes
They say, once you step into a house, you know within 60 seconds whether or not you’re interested in making it your home. We wonder if the same can be said of hiring a realtor. It certainly seems that way for Sasha Farmer, who stays on top (she was last year’s runner-up) with an informative website that gives potential homeowners the 411 on Charlottesville—both in and outside the home. In second place, London-born Jamie White continues to impress with his top-notch negotiation skills.
Homebuilder
Craig Builders
Runner-up: Element Construction
Honorable mention: Southern Development
If home is where the heart is, then you’ll need a safe place to put it. Readers know the architects and contractors at Craig Builders are dedicated to providing customers with high-quality, affordable building services—and have been for more than 55 years. Time-tested techniques and an appreciation for the natural beauty of Central Virginia shoot the custom home builder to No. 1. Element Construction takes the red ribbon, specializing in custom residential, light commercial and renovation projects.
Lawn and garden Care
Fifth Season Gardening
Runner-up: Snow’s Garden Center
Honorable mention: Nigel Wood Tree Service
After opening in 2009, Fifth Season Gardening quickly sprouted to the front of the area lawn and garden line. But the North Carolina-based family business offers more than fertilizer and packaged seeds. In addition to hydroponic and organic gardening supplies, Fifth Season carries beer and winemaking products, supplies for cheesemaking, vinegar-making, canning, fermentation and other cutting-edge “urban DIY” tools. Runner-up Snow’s Garden Center just gets better with age. The 103-year-old Charlottesville institution boasts a garden center, plus landscape design and lawn care services.
Dog trainer
All Things Pawssible
Paw patrol
All Things Pawssible helps you help your dog
Karen Quillen has trained dogs for over 15 years and attributes her success to the specialized training given to each furry friend she encounters. She has a unique agenda for every one of her clients at All Things Pawssible, and she works closely with the dog’s handler to understand specifically what the human wants for his loyal companion.
She has always believed in the power of humane training, and Best of C-VILLE voters have validated her technique. We asked her a few Qs about being the best trainer in town.—S.B.
What’s the worst habit you’ve seen?
Definitely poop eating.
How do you break it?
You don’t always break it—you just have to be faster than the dog! It’s a delicacy.
Poop is a delicacy?
Yes!
Have you ever fallen in love with a dog you’re training?
Every single one of them.
Any dogs you didn’t want to give back?
I would say about 90 percent of them I’ve wanted to keep for myself.
Any dogs you couldn’t wait to give back?
I was hesitant with some, I’ll say.
What are the funniest habits dogs have?
They’re so perceptive. Each dog within each family is going to do something unique for its owners. My cleaning lady came in and my dog went over and got her cleaning rags for her. They do funny things you don’t even realize they’re doing, like if I put on a T-shirt, my dog goes and gets my running shoes!
Runner-up: Off Leash K9 Training
Honorable mention: Pampered Pets
Place to board your pet
Pampered Pets
Runner-up: All Things Pawssible
Honorable mention: The Dogg House
If man’s best friend isn’t lucky enough to accompany you on your vacation, he deserves the next best thing. Readers look to Pampered Pets, which offers your furry friends (dogs and kitties) an overnight experience that probably rivals your own beach visit. In addition to providing cozy lodging, Pampered Pets has play sessions, story time (really!) and day camp, where they can enjoy some off-leash entertainment. In second place, the Bed & Biscuit at All Things Pawssible offers an almost spa-like experience: a full day of play with other dogs followed by a raw beef bone to be enjoyed in private to the sound of classical music.
Veterinarian
Georgetown Veterinary Hospital
Runner-up: Old Dominion Animal Hospital
Honorable mention: Charlottesville Veterinary Hospital
It may be true that cats have nine lives (and all dogs go to heaven), but that’s little comfort when your pawed pal is under the weather. The folks at Georgetown Veterinary Hospital know what it’s like when a four-legged family member falls ill, and for more than 50 years have taken a gentle hand to get pets back up and running. The Georgetown Road clinic serves as a surgical hospital, pharmacy and offers boarding and grooming services for dogs and cats. Family-owned Old Dominion Animal Hospital, opened in 1982, nabs the runner-up spot for its personal touch and attention to the individual needs of your pet—cat, dog, bird and exotic pets among them.
Place to get your car repaired
Airport Road Auto Center
Mechanical difficulties
Tips from an honest car repair shop
Those who are auto-inept well know the anxiety that comes from going to a car repair establishment and feeling pretty confident they’re going to be ripped off. Maybe it’s the free tire rotation that ends up costing around $400 because, “gosh ma’am, that brake pad is within a millimeter of not passing inspection.” Maybe it’s the state inspection that turns up hundreds of dollars of repairs even though your car seems to be running fine. Even if you just need an oil change, there’s the terror of waiting for the mechanic’s summons that “you need to see this.”
This year’s winner, Airport Road Auto Center, was last year’s runner-up and owner Scott Marshall knows the black eye his industry has. “They try to sell you everything,” he says. He had a client who needed maintenance work that would cost between $300 and $400, but was told before coming to Marshall it would cost $2,100. “It’s getting really bad,” he says.
New car owners with lifetime oil changes or tires don’t want to go back to the dealers because they know they’ll be hit up for extras, he says, and even other independent shops are getting into the up-sell act.
Marshall’s advice is pretty straight forward. Follow the 15K-30K-60K-90K scheduled service. Keep an eye on fluids, especially brake and transmission. Rotate tires every 6,000 miles. “It makes the tires last twice as long,” he says.
But most important is finding a repair shop you trust. The philosophy of Airport Road Auto Center founder Jack Marshall was “reputation by recommendation,” and his son continues that successful business plan today, with much of his business brought in by referrals.
Scott Marshall says it’s customer loyalty that put Airport Road Auto Center in the winners’ circle. “We have customers who’ve been coming here 30 years,” says Marshall. “People trust you if you don’t try to rip ’em off.”—L.P.
Runner-up: Bob’s Wheel Alignment
Honorable mention: Peacock Auto Service
Private school
Tandem Friends School
Prep school
Tandem Friends’ alt education sets students up for success
It wasn’t until the middle of Priya Curtis’ time at Tandem Friends School, in 1995, that the school adopted Quaker educational practices. Still, as someone who was born at Yogaville and whose mother has always practiced Buddhism, she often gets asked the same question: How religious was it?
“The major difference I remember was ‘silent meeting,’ which is just time to come together as a community for quiet contemplation or meditation,” she says. “There was also a more intentional effort to engage in service projects, both within our community and elsewhere. From my perspective, therefore, a Friends education can be compatible with, and comfortable for, students and families from any religious (or non-religious) background.”
In fact, what stands out the most to Curtis, now a chapter director at Birth Matters Virginia, a professional conduct investigator for a global financial services association and a mother to her 6-year-old son, is the bonds she formed while she was there. Tandem has long preached the gospel of close, trusting relationships between students and faculty, and that’s what Curtis took away from her eight years there most. We asked her to tell us a little more about attending this year’s best private school.—C.W.
What kind of effect did Tandem have on your upbringing and who you are today?
The Tandem community was like my second family; I felt like my teachers genuinely cared about me, and my classmates felt like siblings to me, so I felt personally supported while I was there. Academically, we were required to think critically and bring the best we had to offer to class each day. Our teachers treated us with trust and respect, and encouraged us to explore our instincts and interests. Additionally, we were encouraged to speak our minds and engage in our local and global community through service and dialogue. I have been shaped in large and small ways by these experiences, from my personal work ethic and desire to learn from others, to my personal and professional relationships. I’ve also been drawn to work and activities that are oriented towards making the world a more equitable and livable place for everyone, which I think can be attributed in part to my Tandem education.
What’s your best memory of attending Tandem?
I can’t narrow down just one, but favorites include the sisterhood that was the field hockey team (go Truckers!), spending a lot of time outside and being on a swing dance team that was invited to perform in Las Vegas by Norma Miller, a Lindy hop legend. I also got to hike a 50-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail for a week, which is still probably the most arduous thing I’ve done so far.
What do you think are the school’s biggest strengths?
Its dedicated teachers and its underlying philosophy. Between the two, students are empowered as thinkers, as individuals and as emerging citizens who know how to engage with the world around them in effective and meaningful ways. I was academically well-prepared for college after graduation, and because of the strong relationships I had with my teachers at Tandem, I also entered college with the ability to develop good rapport with professors, even when my classes were 400 students strong.
Are you still friends with some of the people you met there? Oh, yes—a lot of my friends from Tandem are still some of my very closest friends, even though we are spread all over the world now.
Runner-up: St. Anne’s- Belfield School
Honorable mention: The Covenant School
Wedding planner
Dickie Morris
Runner-up: Barbara Lundgren
Honorable mention: Courtney Hildebrand
When it comes to orchestrating your big day, readers know they can feel confident saying “I do” to wedding planner Dickie Morris, who has over eight years of experience in the event industry. In her free time (as if planners get such a thing), Morris also runs Stonegate Event Rentals, which she co-founded with her brother, and creates custom “ditty bags” from new and repurposed materials. Barbara Lundgren, of Barb Wired Event Planning, uses her 20 years’ experience and longstanding partnerships with local venues and vendors to make the knot a tad easier for you to tie.
Wedding photographer
Jen Fariello
Runner-up: Sarah Cramer-Shields
Honorable mention: Rob Garland
A brief glance through the condensed gallery of wedding photos on Jen Fariello’s Instagram account (where she often posts sneak peeks of romantic black and white portraits and whimsical wedding scenes) makes it clear why she takes top honors as the best wedding photog in the area. For almost 20 years, Fariello has been trusted to document local (and non-local!) couples’ special days. Sarah Cramer-Shields takes second place with simple, yet stunning, portraits.
Spa
Oasis Day Spa & Body Shop
Take a personal day
Residents can relax and rejuvenate at Charlottesville’s best day spa
Whoever said “laughter is the best medicine” had probably never spent an afternoon at Oasis Day Spa, where there can’t be a better cure for what ails you than a little classic R&R. Visitors to this Downtown Mall-adjacent spot can pamper themselves with a luxurious Body Bliss Package—two-and-a-half hours of body exfoliation, a body wrap and a 60-minute aromatherapy massage—or opt for something a little less time-consuming (but equally gratifying), like a pedicure or facial. All body treatments end with a soothing rain shower and facials can be supplemented with a 30 percent glycolic treatment, a chemical peel that smoothes the skin.
Oasis owner and aesthetician Kore Russell has been offering such rejuvenating treatments since she opened the store in 2001, but she knows how to stay current in an ever-changing beauty industry.
“The biggest part of our business is skin care and that’s how we keep up-to-date,” she says. “We are always introducing new products as they come on the market, but don’t always go with the trends that are here today and gone tomorrow. We shift between newness and sticking with tried and true things.”
The UVA grad attributes Oasis’ staying power (and perennial win in this Best of C-VILLE category) to her dedicated staff and loyal clientele.
“We have great regular clients who relay to other people their quality of service,” Russell says. “In Charlottesville, word of mouth is golden.” You heard it here first!—K.S.
Runner-up: Spa at Boar’s Head
Honorable mention: CitySpa
Salon
The Honeycomb
Runner-up: Moxie Hair & Body Lounge
Honorable mention: Salon Druknya
The beehive hairdo may have gone the way of lava lamps and go-go boots, but there’s something to be said for a fad that’s still memorable decades later. The Honeycomb, readers know, is the place to go for a ’do that makes an impression whether you want to look like Ruby Rose or Rhianna—or just a more fabulous version of you. On Preston Avenue, Moxie Hair & Body Lounge boasts a modern-retro vibe and a variety of services—hair, face, nail, waxing, threading and more.
Hotel, inn or B&B
Clifton Inn
Runner-up: Keswick Hall
Honorable mention: Boar’s Head Inn
We like a trip out of town as much as the next 9-5er, but a staycation at Clifton is a home away from home. Coming from out of town? If you’re lucky enough to visit our hamlet, Clifton is readers’ top choice for its location (it feels remote, but you’re only 15 minutes from the center of town), dining offerings (get a seat at the chef’s counter or have a private dinner in the wine cellar) and commitment to relaxation (find a spot at the waterfall infinity pool, for instance). In second place, the 600-acre Keswick Hall resort features 48 rooms in the mansion, a prestigious golf club and spa services.