Mike Keenan probably would have been happy with just one Juice Laundry. But he and his wife Sarah are now floating five juice joints in Charlottesville and beyond.
Keenan’s socially-conscious Juice Laundry is ostensibly all about cleansing—cleansing the body through pure ingredients and cleansing the spirit through a business model that gives back to the community and environment. “Our larger purpose,” opines the chain’s website, “is to improve the way everyone thinks about health, nutrition, and his or her body.”
And while the mission is laudable, Keenan says he and his wife understood early on that caring-capitalism might not make the cash flow like OJ. “If we were a corporation being dictated by shareholders who wanted to squeeze every dollar out of the profit margin, we wouldn’t survive,” Keenan says. “We don’t operate that way. In the world we want to operate in, we have to relate to people that you either pay for something up front, or you pay for it down the road.”
The sales job hasn’t turned out to be difficult. Not long after the Keenans opened their flagship Preston Avenue location, they were “bursting at the seams” and opened a second store on the Corner. A modest outpost followed at the UVA Aquatic & Fitness Center. Then, the little Laundry left the local, moving into Washington, D.C., and, most recently, Richmond.
The Keenans’ company certainly isn’t the only firm finding its way on the socially responsible business bandwagon. Defined as businesses specifically focused on leveraging their market power to improve some element of society (think the buy-one-give-one model of TOMS shoes), SRBs are catching on. Exact numbers are elusive, but anecdotal evidence suggests the number of U.S.based SRBs has grown significantly in recent years, and an October report from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing showed 85 percent of investors are now interested in putting money in SRBs.
“This is a recent phenomenon,” Keenan says. “Maybe five, six years ago, we couldn’t be doing what we’re doing today. There wouldn’t have been enough people. But it is becoming more and more commonplace, and we are going to reach the tipping point where this becomes the norm, rather than the exception.”
As other SRBs crop up around Charlottesville, D.C., Richmond, and the nation, Keenan still believes Juice Laundry is doing something special—if only for its complete commitment to decreasing food packaging waste through compostable, non-plastic products, serving food intended to make people healthier, and sourcing sustainable ingredients that are 100 percent certified organic, vegan, and gluten free.
“We’re passionate,” Keenan says. “The restaurant industry is one of the larger offenders in terms of environmental footprint. If we can spread what we’re doing to our people and our community, we want to do that.”
It can be isolating to blaze a trail. Since 2014, Charlottesville Women in Tech has been working to smooth the way for women in the local tech industry. With a mailing list of around 500, CWIT serves everyone from coders to high school STEM teachers. Current President Eileen Krepkovich gave us the lowdown on how the group is making a difference.
What does the gender gap look like in the tech field?
Nationally, about 18 percent of computer scientists are women, and engineers are 12 percent women. It’s a challenge everywhere. Computer science is interesting because the first computer programmers in the ’40s were all women. It was seen as secretarial work. And then as the technology became more advanced, it became more prestigious and men started taking ownership of it. In the 1980s is when we saw this pretty big drop in the number of women represented. The personal computer was marketed more towards boys. Since then it’s been hard to get women back in the door. A lot of us are minorities in our jobs, so it’s nice to have a space to connect with other women.
How is CWIT trying to change the landscape?
We mainly focus on having meetups, some with a technical topic, some with career topics. We have more casual events too—monthly lunches and a book club. Both of those are very popular. Last year we had our first formal conference featuring speakers and workshop-type sessions where we worked on different networking skills, social media, personal branding, and some tech-specific tools like GitHub. We like to think our connections are the main benefit we offer. We’ve had so many women tell us they found new jobs based on people they met. We try to get our members out to other tech happenings around town. When I moved here, I started checking out some of those groups to try to meet people, and it was tough—here’s a room of 30 men and one other woman. We do like to have representation at those events.
You focus on girls too. Why is it important to bring girls into the field?
If we want to actually improve the disparity between men and women in the field, we need more girls interested in pursuing it as a career in the first place. It’s absorbed by people in our society that programmers are geeky, so a lot of girls will immediately reject the field. We need intentional programming that is appealing and also lets them see mentors—that there are women working in these fields. Our program Tech Girls has events for elementary, middle, and high school students. At this point we’ve reached over 2,000 girls.
What benefits does a tech career offer girls?
There’s a lot of creativity associated with it. There’s also the ability to work on things that can really make a difference in other people’s lives. Girls connect with that idea of doing something meaningful.
You see it splashed across social media— #selfcare. It’s one of the hottest buzzwords in wellness. (The hashtag appears more than 21 million times on Instagram.) Hashtags for #corporatewellness or #workplacewellness aren’t as sexy, but don’t let that mislead you. Corporate America has been in the self-care game for years.
Whatever moniker you want to apply to the concept, workplace wellness is defined as the company-sponsored practices that support and aim to improve overall employee health. Most employees spend at least a third of their life at work (or more than 90,000 hours, according to the book Happiness at Work), so it makes sense that many businesses and organizations are seeking ways to create a culture of health—both mental and physical—for workers.
Examples of workplace wellness programs include nutrition counseling, stress management resources, smoking cessation, health fairs, preventative screenings, workout challenges, walking clubs, on-site gyms, and employee assistance programs. It can even include offerings like in-office yoga classes, healthy snack and lunch options, nap rooms (Ben & Jerry’s, Zappos, and Nike have snooze-friendly on-site rooms and policies, according to the National Sleep Foundation), well-being days, dog-friendly workplaces, and office vegetable gardens.
Improved worker productivity, reduced absenteeism and “presenteeism” (when a worker is there, but not really there because they don’t feel well and are thus unproductive), morale boosts, higher employee engagement, a more connected work culture, decreased health care costs, and of course, healthier employees, are among the hoped-for outcomes of workplace wellness programs, as is, ultimately, an improved bottom line.
A wealth of research backs up the purported benefits of such programs, as well as their prevalence in the workplace. According to a “2017 Employee Benefits” report from the Society of Human Resource Management, roughly one-third of organizations surveyed “increased their overall benefits offerings in the last 12 months, with health (22 percent) and wellness (24 percent) benefits being the most likely ones to experience growth.” The main reason for increasing work wellness benefits (or benefits overall) per that SHRM report? To attract and retain top talent.
Another 2017 report, from Aflac, found that “employees who participated in wellness programs offered at their workplaces had higher levels of job satisfaction.” And a majority of millennials—the largest generation of workers in the U.S. labor force, according to the Pew Research Center— say they value workplace wellness. Nearly six in 10 say both “work-life balance and well-being in a job are ‘very important’ to them,” per Gallup.
C’ville area organizations are no stranger to workplace wellness, with some setting the bar when it comes to developing opportunities for employees to live their best, healthiest work-life.
Crutchfield’s holistic approach to workplace wellness
Photo: Martyn Kyle
Creating a “safe, comfortable and challenging” work environment is a top priority for Crutchfield Corporation, says Chris Lilley, chief human resource officer, as is one that supports wellness.
“We look at wellness holistically and include mental, physical, emotional, and financial health in our approach,” Lilley explains.
The consumer electronics retailer— which employs 615 people at locations in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Wise County—offers such workplace wellness benefits as fitness event registration and Weight Watchers membership fee reimbursements, gym membership discounts at ACAC, Brooks Family YMCA, and UVA Wise Gym, seasonal wellness challenges, free annual flu shots, and standing desk or ball chair options, to name a few.
According to a 2017 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, dog-friendly workplaces have been shown to reduce rates of absenteeism and boost worker morale and productivity. Crutchfield—like many other companies such as Amazon, BISSELL, and Etsy— is on board with that policy, with dog-friendly workspaces at its Charlottesville headquarters and its southwest Virginia and Charlottesville contact centers.
“We have installed and actively maintain wooded walking trails on our headquarters property, where we also have a fenced dog run to support our employees who choose to take advantage of our ‘Dog Pawlicy,’ which allows them to bring their dog to work,” adds Lilley.
Employees can also take advantage of Crutchfield’s employee assistance program—EAPs are typically designed to help individuals with personal and work-related concerns, including mental, health, emotional, financial, legal, and other issues that could impact job performance. EAPs, in general, are employer-paid, and offer confidential access to a range of programs and services like eldercare support, health coaching, marital counseling, and substance abuse treatment.
In addition, the company offers a voluntary “Live Longer, Live Better” wellness program, created in consultation with the University of Virginia’s Medical Center, which further incentivizes and rewards good health. When employees visit their primary care physician for a physical exam, “depending on the level of wellness achieved as determined by the employee and the physician, the employee will receive a monetary award,” says Lilley.
Lilley adds that for Crutchfield, workplace wellness has been integral to creating an engaged, high-performing workforce—so much so, the company plans to add to its menu of wellness initiatives and partnerships, including mental health, to further develop its culture of wellness.
“Eliminating real and perceived stigma and disparate treatment for those dealing with mental health is an important step in that process,” Lilley says, adding that overall, efforts like these “are known to support a reduction in absenteeism, presenteeism, apathy, and loneliness which all deteriorate the employee experience in corporate America today.”
CCRi customizes workplace wellness
Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith
Commonwealth Computer Research, Inc., a C’ville-based data science and software engineering company with almost 145 employees, has created a collegial work atmosphere where on-site grilling, food truck days, and movie and board game nights with co-workers are routine–activities that set the tone for the company’s approach to workplace wellness.
Other fun wellness perks: A communal massage chair, which is “in our library area, so you can go close the door and turn the light off and get a little relaxation time,” says Julia Farill, CCRi human resources and recruiting manager.
Access to a wooded park with walking trails also gives employees a break when they need it. “That’s been great for wellness as well, especially for the folks here whose job requires really intense thinking and they’re working on the computer and staring at the screen. Being able to get out and walk around on the trail is huge,” she says.
Customizing workplace wellness as much as possible, and creating an environment where employees are listened to and heard works best for a growing company like theirs, Farill adds, because employee wants and needs are constantly evolving and changing over time.
“I like to try to understand that before we make corporate decisions about where we’re going to invest,” says Farill, “Because I think that it’s really crucial to take a look at who’s here, what they care about, what matters to them, and then allocate resources towards those things based off of what their interests are.”
If CCRi’s employees are into biking as a health and wellness activity–like they are right now, for example–Farill says she tries to figure out how the company can support that even more.
“We have an area set up to be able to work on your bike, so if you ride in as a commuter you can bring your bike in,” she says. “And we have an indoor bike parking area and a little table set up that has a bunch of bike tools so you can work on it. We also have a couple of loaner bikes if people wanted to go out for lunch or something like that.”
Gym and yoga discounts with places like ACAC, FlyDog Yoga, and Formula Complete Fitness are also standard, but because wellness is different for everyone, Farill will make sure she explores other employee interests. “I’ll ask them: ‘Hey, if you have a different interest—if you have a different type of gym or place you work out and you want us to try and contact them to see if they are interested in setting up a corporate partnership, then I’m happy to reach out.”
Farill says the company offers not one but two employee assistance programs. “Those programs are great because they are kind of a one-stop-shop for employees if you are dealing with something that’s going on in your life,” she says.
“The idea is that everybody at some moment in their life has something come up that’s hard to navigate, whether your child care fell through, you have a parent that needs more support, or you’re dealing with a financial issue, you have to do a trust or will or something,” she says. “So the idea of the employee assistance program is that you can just go there and say, ‘This is my issue, and what resources exist?’”
Having a customized workplace wellness program at CCRi is important, Farill says, because ”our people are absolutely the most important thing about our company.”
Supporting wellness in the workplace—whatever that looks like—is in “everybody’s best interest” and is critical to creating an environment where employees can flourish, she adds.
“As a company, trying to individually understand what matters to our people right now, and how is that changing and shifting, and what are we doing as a company to help people not just feel that they’re supported and appreciated, but understand that they really are—this is a big deal to us,” she says.
Charlottesville City Schools gives a boost to teacher and staff wellness
Public school employees have rewarding–but stressful–jobs. A 2017 issue brief from Pennsylvania State University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reported that soaring stress levels “are affecting teacher health and well-being, causing teacher burnout, lack of engagement, job dissatisfaction, poor performance, and some of the highest turnover rates ever.”
The brief suggests that “organizational interventions” designed to help reduce teacher stress can help. Charlottesville City Schools employee wellness program, for example, was created to help employees not only get and stay healthy, but feel valued and cared for, says Laura Floyd, the district’s human resources coordinator.
While CCS’ wellness program is “something that we’re constantly monitoring to see how we can improve,” Floyd adds, current offerings include fitness promotions like discounted gym memberships to area facilities, including ACAC, Brooks Family YMCA, and Smith Aquatic & Fitness Center and Carver Recreation Center. If an employee joins and visits one of those gyms at least eight times per quarter, the school division will pay $29.50 per month towards the membership, in addition to the already discounted corporate rate.
“So it’s an incentive to not only join but to make sure [they’re] actually going,” says Floyd. The school system’s hike/ bike-to-work program similarly incentivizes employees with an extra stipend to get and stay active.
Like many other organizations, Floyd says a key element to workplace wellness is access to an employee assistance program; CCS offers theirs through a partnership with the Faculty and Employee Assistance Program at the University of Virginia. “That’s important to let people know if they need to talk to someone, they can do that. [FEAP is] completely confidential. It’s free of charge,” says Floyd.
Some of the best workplace wellness programs are ones that are derived out of an understanding of your employee population and what motivates and incentivizes them, adds Floyd.
“You have to get to know what works, and understand that there is not necessarily going to be a one-size-fits-all—you need to have some sort of combination of things that you can do to suit the needs of your entire population,” she says.
“Wellness programs are very costly, so you have to be willing to invest,” she adds. “But you are investing in your employees, and what better thing is there to invest in?”
Apps for workplace wellness
Yes, there is an app for that. If you need an extra nudge—or maybe even an assertive push—to motivate you to adopt healthy behaviors at work, look no further than your mobile phone. While these apps are for living well in general, they have useful applications for on-the-job wellness.
Headspace: “A few minutes could change your whole day.” (Subscription)
Who wouldn’t want to be Zen AF at work, ready to blissfully and mindfully handle any challenge that comes your way? The Headspace app just might be able to get you there. Headspace features meditation exercises designed to address things like personal growth, anxiety management, work productivity, and creating a performance mindset. In addition to a more focused mind and less stress, Headspace purports to help you sleep better, so you can wake up feeling refreshed for another day at the office. Try the free, 10-day beginner’s meditation and mindfulness course.
MINDBODY: Book a local fitness class, spa appointment, or wellness treatment. (Free)
MINDBODY may be one of the more ubiquitous wellness mobile apps out there. With MINDBODY, you can sign up for a wake-up-your-brain, pre-work “Rise and Shine” yoga session from Common Ground Healing Arts, an early morning motivational running class set-to-music from Tread Happy on Eighth Street, a mind-and-body strength-building barre class from barre.[d] on Water Street, and plenty more wellness options to fit your busy work-life schedule. (Note: The app is free, not the classes.)
MyFitnessPal: “Fitness starts with what you eat.” (Free)
Weight loss challenges and nutrition counseling are common components of many workplace wellness programs. MyFitnessPal, routinely listed as one of the best calorie-tracking apps available, is a solid app that can help you be more mindful of your dietary needs and jumpstart your physical fitness journey, especially if your work-life is all-consuming. Tap the app’s massive food database and document your daily food intake into the food diary, monitor your nutrition stats and weight loss, and access other food tools and insights.
Mental health in the workplace
While physical health is often the centerpiece of workplace wellness programs, a focus on mental health is equally important to fostering a happier, healthier, and productive place to work.
Experiencing mental health issues on the job “is the norm, not the exception,” according to a recent report that surveyed more than 1,500 U.S. employees. With depression-related absences alone costing employers about $44 billion a year, helping employees address these issues makes business sense, says Elizabeth Irvin, executive director of The Women’s Initiative in Charlottesville.
In the workplace mental health report, 61 percent of those surveyed said their mental health impacted their productivity levels, and in general, employees were reluctant to talk about the topic at work, especially with human resources or senior leaders.
So how can employers create a more resilient work environment that supports mental health?
First, businesses and organizations can create a culture where workers feel safe to reach out to their supervisors or co-workers if they need help, suggests Irvin.
“So often, peers in the work setting are the ones that are going to notice changes in people’s ability to perform their daily tasks…so having those relationships where there’s a culture of being able to ask for help or ask how colleagues are doing [is important],” she says.
Second, basic training, like mental health first aid (which teachs skills for how to help an individual in crisis) can help prepare employers and supervisors to support staff who are struggling when they do come forward.
“That being said, there are going to be situations that would be outside of basic training, and so that’s where your supervisors or your HR folks would just want to know local resources and know that they wouldn’t have to go through the situation alone,” Irvin says. “They can actually get on the phone with a crisis counselor and walk through the steps that they need to take for an employee.”
Locally, employers can rely on resources like HelpHappensHere.org or emergency services from Region Ten, which also offers mental health first aid training.
Nationally, Irvin recommends the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health as a resource. “Just knowing that professional help resources are available [is helpful]. And then the Women’s Initiative offers walk-in clinics and support groups as well,” she says.
Unique local workplace wellness resources
Local Food Hub and 4P Foods: While the occasional doughnut or pizza order for the office is a nice treat, healthier, locally cultivated delivery options are available.
In 2015, the Local Food Hub launched its Fresh Farmacy Fruit and Veggie Prescription Program, created to provide community participants with more equitable access to free, fresh, healthy food.
“But we very quickly realized that lots of people out there would benefit from seasonal shares of local produce,” says Portia Boggs, associate director of advancement and communications at Local Food Hub. “And a lot of workplaces were interested in providing those shares as a way of supporting their employees, because there is so much data out there that supports [outcomes like] reduced health care costs that come about from eating healthy.”
Later, a workplace wellness program—paid for by the participating companies themselves—was added to the Fresh Farmacy fruit and veggie prescription initiative.
In June 2019, Local Food Hub merged its distribution operations with Warrenton, Virginia-based food hub 4P Foods. Now, Charlottesville-area employers who want to sign up for a locally- and regionally-sourced seasonal fruit and vegetable share and have it delivered to their office need to go directly to 4P Foods.
Meanwhile, Local Food Hub continues the original mission of Fresh Farmacy by working with organizations like the University of Virginia’s BeWell program, where they provide free, fresh fruit and veggie shares to UVA employees most in need of health support services.
“Along with that food, participants get nutrition information, information on where the food comes from, recipes, and storage and preparation tips and all sorts of things that are designed to give participants confidence when working with whole produce, and ensure that they have the skills that they need to carry on those healthy lifestyle changes after the program ends,” says Boggs.
PivotPass: Richmond, Virginia-based PivotPass—originally founded in Charlottesville but now available in both RVA and C’ville and anywhere in the U.S. and internationally—offers corporate wellness solutions to organizations. In Richmond and Charlottesville, that includes discounted access to a network of participating gym and fitness studios. Through a custom app, PivotPass is also able to collect anonymized fitness data and insights that enable employers to better measure employee wellness and engagement levels, and reduce company health care costs.
Participating local gyms and fitness studios include Bend Yoga, Hot Yoga Charlottesville, Iyengar Yoga of Charlottesville, Solidarity CrossFit, and The Yellow Door (yoga and fitness).
Local PivotPass clients include Apex Clean Energy, GreenBlue, and Fringe (“the world’s first fringe benefits marketplace,” based in Richmond).
Whether you want to try Crossfit, or spend more time practicing yoga, co-founder April Palmer says PivotPass not only gives employees the option and variety to do what they like when they like, but it also layers in an “accountability factor” to help keep them on track.
The best thing [about PivotPass] is it’s so versatile,” says Palmer. “It’s a wellness program that meets me wherever I am at the moment.”
Common Ground Healing Arts: Common Ground Healing Arts, a nonprofit community wellness center located inside Jefferson School City Center, offers a workplace wellness program dubbed “Ground Work,” consisting of services designed to help employees de-stress, improve focus, and enhance productivity.
Services include yoga, chair massage, auricular acupuncture, and mindfulness workshops, the latter covering such workplace-relatable topics as “overcoming challenges,” “eliminating overwhelm,” and “dealing with change,” among others. To participate, employees can visit wellness practitioners at Common Ground, or the nonprofit can come to your office.
Common Ground executive director Elliott Brown says the benefits of workplace wellness are well-established. “Studies show, and most everybody you talk to will say, that the less stress they have, the better they can work, the more productive they can be, the happier they are, the longer they want to stay,” she says.
Brown adds that because they are a nonprofit, accessing workplace wellness—or wellness services in general—from Common Ground is not overly costly. Plus, providing access to wellness services like these can have a big impact on the employee, “which ultimately comes back around and makes it worth your cost because you get it back in productivity,” she says.
Bordeaux, France. Napa Valley, California. Central Virginia? Possibly. Though Thomas Jefferson first attempted to plant a vineyard back in the late 1700s, our local wine industry is still young, only really emerging in the last 15 years. But in that time, the central Virginia region has become home to the second-highest number of wineries in the state, producing dozens of award-winning vintages each year.
People aren’t just stocking up on bottles. Vineyards are also enjoying the fruits of their labor in the form of agritourism: tourists coming out for the scenery, tastings, events, and tying the knot. It’s clear that our wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries are an important part of commerce in this region, but just how big is that economic impact?
VIRGINIA WINE AND AGRITOURISM
In 2015, The Virginia Wine Board estimated the full economic impact of the Virginia wine industry to be $1.37 billion, roughly the GDP of a small island nation. This marked a growth rate of 83 percent from 2010, and breaks down to 705,200 cases sold, 8,218 jobs, and 261 wineries.
Uncorking the official numbers for the City of Charlottesville or Albemarle County is a bit more difficult. The Charlottesville & Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau doesn’t currently track that information, though they are hoping to have the budget to conduct that research, and other estimates can vary depending on how you define the region.
David King, the King Family Vineyards’ co-founder who died in May, was instrumental in passage of the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. / Photo: Jack Looney
What makes it especially tricky is that we aren’t just talking about the number of bottles sold and weddings hosted. The biggest slice of the economic impact pie comes from agritourism.
The Virginia Wine Board calculated the retail value of Virginia wine sold in 2015 to be $129 million, while winery-related tourism was more than $187 million. It becomes harder to estimate the local economic impact of tourism when you factor in other elements of a trip. Imagine a group of friends decides to come down from Washington, D.C. for a bachelorette party with Cville Hop On Tours. They aren’t just spending money at the area wineries they visit, they are most likely staying in a Charlottesville hotel, eating at Charlottesville restaurants, and shopping in Charlottesville stores during their visit. So even though Charlottesville does not have a winery within its city limits, it’s benefiting from the area wine industry.
By using the Virginia Wine Board report (“The Economic Impact of Wine and Wine Grapes on the State of Virginia – 2015,” produced by certified public accountants Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP) to take the average number of visitors for each winery in the state, Neil Williamson, President of the Free Enterprise Forum and editor of The Virginia Wine Journal, is able to roughly calculate the impact of the industry in a given region. With 28 wineries, he predicts that the economic impact will be more than $110 million for Albemarle County in 2019.
“Thanks in large part to David King’s [the late co-founder of King Family Vineyards and champion of the local wine industry] contributions on the state and local level, Albemarle today has some of the best winery and winery event regulations in the state,” says Williamson in reference to King’s advocacy for the Virginia Farm Winery Act, which allows wineries to sell their products directly to consumers. “We fought hard to get them to this point.”
MONTICELLO WINE TRAIL
With the City of Charlottesville at its center, the Monticello American Viticultural Area stretches from the edge of Shenandoah National Park to the James River and was was the first AVA to be established in Virginia. The Monticello Wine Trail, which includes a current membership of 35 wineries within this designated grape-growing region, has an economic impact that is probably closer to $120 million a year. Current President George Hodson believes the region is primed to be the next big thing in wine. “When you look at a lot of the things that are happening in Charlottesville, it becomes a perfect place for the industry to thrive.” Hodson cites the area’s academic culture, natural beauty, and the land’s ability to grow amazing grapes as ingredients for the industry’s organic growth.
What makes the Monticello region distinct in the Commonwealth is the consistently high quality of its wines. More than 60 percent of the wines crowned at this year’s Virginia’s Governor’s Cup were from the Monticello AVA. While Monticello Wine Trail wineries have had success with a variety of vintages, Hodson believes that the region’s petit verdot, petit manseng, and red Bordeaux blends have the potential to define it.
The major challenges preventing economic growth for the region come down to supply and demand. Area residents and visitors are drinking everything the wineries are supplying before it can be distributed to new markets. “We’ve got to make enough to let it leave the Charlottesville area,” says Hodson. He hopes that the continued popularity of events like Starry Nights at Veritas Vineyard & Winery and regular polo matches at King Family Vineyards will bring in the revenue needed to allow wineries to plant more grapes and produce more wine.
Support from state and local tourism boards are also critical to ensuring the industry’s ascent. Virginia’s tourism board makes it a priority to funnel visitors to the vineyards by highlighting wineries, festivals, and wine trails in campaigns. Support from local governments can vary quite a bit by county. Advocates for the industry agree that the best outcomes happen when state and local governments proactively work together. The positive economic impact numbers have helped government officials understand the promise of a rosy future in wine.
“We want Charlottesville and the Monticello [American Viticultural Area] to be the first name in Virginia wine,” says Hodson. “We are wholly committed to and doubling down on making Charlottesville and Monticello AVA a renowned wine growing region.”
VIRGINIA BREWERIES, CIDERIES & DISTILLERIES
Spirit Lab Distilling’s Ivar Aass thinks craft spirits will attain a momentum similar to that of area craft beer and wine: “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years,” he says, “and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.” / Photo: Eze Amos
The glass isn’t just half-full for wine. Local breweries, cideries, and distilleries all have plenty to toast about, too. The Virginia Brewers Association reported that 405,465 barrels of craft beer were produced in the state in 2017. That’s two gallons for every Virginian over the age of 21. With 236 craft breweries in Virginia creating a total economic impact of $1.37 billion (the same as the 2015 number for wine), that’s an average economic impact of close to $600,000 per craft brewery.
Local breweries have their own version of the wine trail: the Charlottesville Ale Trail is 2.3 miles, pedestrian-friendly, and includes six participating breweries. They’re plotted along a map that visitors are encouraged to get stamped like a passport.
Virginia’s craft beer scene has been cool for a while now, but Virginia cider is catching up and hotter than ever. Bold Rock Hard Cider currently outpaces almost every other local brewery in sales. The Virginia Association of Cider Makers reports marked growth in the number of cideries opened since 2006, with national cider sales growing an average of 73 percent each year.
Boutique distilleries are looking to be the model for what’s next for their industry. Spirit Lab Distilling became the first distillery to open within Charlottesville city limits in 2015, and owner Ivar Aass sees the potential for craft spirits to attain a similar momentum as the local craft beer and wine market.
“I think all distilleries are basically playing catch-up,” says Aass. “Prohibition throttled the industry for 80 years, and we’re finally getting to the point where craft distilling is gaining steam.”
Just as we saw with craft beer, Aass predicts that the trends in distilling will favor unique, high-quality, and historically-rooted products. He also sees a future in Virginia-made brandy after recently collaborating with local winemakers on a Virginia oak-aged vintage by distilling some of the 2018 grapes that were too sweet for traditional wine processing.
So whether you like to sip, swig, or savor your locally produced spirit of choice, you can be guaranteed to see more varieties and an improved quality in the next few years. And if you haven’t yet been invited to a wedding at a farm or barn where something boozy is made, you can expect that “save the date” to come any day now. Beverage-related agritourism in central Virginia is booming. We can all cheers to that.
WEATHER OR NOT
Winemakers are learning and experimenting with new ways to adapt to the forces of climate change so central Virginia’s wine industry can continue to grow. / Photo: Andrea Hubbell
The summer of 2017 was a gift for wine grapes. The arid days were the source of complex vintages with the kind of balance winemakers aspire to produce. Then vineyards had to deal with the wet summer of 2018, when too much rain too close to harvest encouraged mold and caused the grapes to swell with water, diluting flavors. Increasingly erratic seasons due to climate change mean that if the burgeoning Central Virginia wine industry is going to survive, winemakers need to find new ways to adapt.
“When you plant a grapevine, you want it to [last for] decades, so depending on how quickly things change, it can affect what you’re doing,” says Ben Jordan, who has been the winemaker at Early Mountain Vineyards since 2015. Grapes can be a fickle fruit. And considering it can take three to five years for a vine to produce anything usable for winemaking, planting decisions are fraught. By that time, and especially with climate change, you may no longer have the right grape in the right site. “On top of that, we’ve always had a relatively dynamic climate,” says Jordan. “We can have droughts, we can have 2017, which was dry and hot, or we can have 2018, which is kind of a washout.”
For local winemakers, being in an emerging industry could be a protective factor when dealing with climate change. Unlike European regions, vineyards in central Virginia are not tied to producing certain wines or trademark processes that haven’t changed in 200 years.
The Winemakers Research Exchange, a local research cooperative for wineries, is encouraging experimentation and knowledge-sharing through studies and sensory sessions. Winemakers can invite their peers to try the unfinished results of everything from whole cluster fermentation to wines aged in concrete eggs. Joy Ting, research enologist and exchange coordinator for the WRE, believes the region’s ingenuity is a good thing when it comes to acclimating to seasonal swings. “It does help us to have more options when we think about how to respond to those things,” she says.
When your seasons become unpredictable, it’s not a bad idea for your wines to be too. “The world is changing,” says Jordan, “and you don’t have to make wines that taste one way or grow grapes the same way.” Central Virginia winemakers are integrating modern science in their old world craft. They are looking at how different clones of cabernet franc behave in the vineyard to decide what to plant for the next 10-15 years, and experimenting with breeding to try to make merlot more resistant to mildew.
Ting says that while the WRE isn’t set up for long-term experiments (most of the studies are designed to look at one year at a time), it’s an opportunity for winemakers to get creative with testing interventions. By learning new techniques for different scenarios, winemakers can be more prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
In 2018, several members of the WRE had success with one grape in particular: the petit manseng. Described as a “storm grape” that can take on loads of rainfall, it’s becoming a popular choice for local vineyards in need of a stable crop. “More and more people are looking to petit manseng because it does seem to have a good, consistent expression,” says Ting.
Petit manseng, a French grape typically used to make white wines, can be used to make dry wines, off-whites, and dessert wines. Local residents may not be as familiar with it as they are with a vognier or a petit verdot, but as the manseng grows more popular with winemakers, it has the potential to define the central Virginia region. “It’s something that can be really useful in our industry, and can help us stand out in the country and the world,” says Jordan. “It’s a distinctive grape that makes distinctive wine.”
Tony Wolf, professor and director of viticulture at Virginia Tech, started evaluating petit manseng in 1987. He concluded the grape would have an excellent time adapting to the Mid-Atlantic’s climate due to its hardiness against cold and rot, and consistent yields of crops per vine.
“Disease resistance is high on the list of desired traits,” says Wolf in regards to petit manseng. “But we are also going to need to evaluate new (and old) varieties that are suited to higher temperatures and higher rainfall conditions.”
Critics are taking note. This year was the first year a petit manseng won the top prize at the Virginia Governor’s Cup. The 2016 vintage produced by Horton Vineyards in Orange County was lauded for its dry palate and full body with notes of stone fruit and hazelnut.
Jordan is so confident in the grape that he recently ripped out a site of cabernet sauvignon grapes, vines that were planted with generations in mind, to plant the manseng in their place. “That’s part of adjusting to these changing factors,” says Jordan. “It’s about understanding a piece of land in context to its climate as opposed to just what you like to drink.”
CHANGE AGENTS
Beverage leaders are disruptors by nature. Their willingness to take risks when it comes to flavors and production can often lead them to delicious places—and profits. Several have made big changes in the last year.
Potter’s Craft Cider
Potter’s Craft Cider, which currently operates a 128-acre cidery in Free Union, is expanding, adding a 100-year-old church on approximately 20 acres in Albemarle County. The move comes thanks in part to a $1.56 million injection of funds from the state. This development will allow Potter’s Craft Cider to establish a much-anticipated tasting room, and is expected to quadruple its cider production. Governor Ralph Northam announced the investment in January and cited agritourism as a valuable source of income for rural areas. Renovations to the church will take place over the next three years while the team establishes an on-site apple orchard.
Wild Wolf Brewing Company
“Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Mary Wolf of Wild Wolf Brewing Company, which recently opened another location near the Downtown Mall. / Photo: Sanjay Suchak
The Wolf is also on the move. Wild Wolf Brewing Company, based in Nelson County, recently opened a satellite location near Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. Owner Mary Wolf said she fell in love with the location two years ago and had been thinking about it ever since. When it became available again this year, the company grabbed it.
She knew it was important to have a location within city limits. “Charlottesville has really become a mecca for great beer,” says Wolf. She attributes the city’s thriving industry to the mix of talented brewers who embrace innovation and a population full of young professionals who are willing to try new things.
While Wolf says she might consider opening other locations in the future, she’s not interested in becoming huge. “We’re focused on quality—on great food and beer.”
North American Sake Brewery
North American Sake Brewery may be the most unexpected newcomer to the city. The first craft sake brewery in the commonwealth opened at IX Art Park last year, and started distributing in Virginia last March. Co-owners Jeremy Goldstein and Andrew Centofante, a filmmaker and a web developer, respectively, are a self-described “unlikely [saki] duo,” but they put all of their passion for sake into the products they make. They managed to catch the attention of the Embassy of Japan and were invited to pour their own sake at a reception in D.C. this June.
Firefly owner Melissa Meece, a former environmental consultant, earned her business a certification from the Green Restaurant Association by investing in making the eatery more sustainable. / Photo: Eze Amos
More and more local businesses and nonprofits are looking for ways to operate sustainably. While not everyone is familiar with the “triple bottom line” approach (gauging success by three rubrics: economic, environmental, and societal), most do see efforts to go green as beneficial beyond saving money or reducing waste. And their number includes more than the usual suspects.
“People might not necessarily think of us as among green companies,” says Tiger Fuel Company president Gordon Sutton. “But my brother and I [who took over the family-owned business when their father retired in 2017] are passionate outdoorsmen. We’re looking to the future, and we want to do the right thing.”
Sutton’s brother Taylor, who is COO, was an environmental sciences major; Gordon himself interned at a biodiesel company and always had an interest in renewable energy. Their company, which distributes home heating fuels and petroleum products and owns The Markets convenience stores, began by installing solar panels on two of its stores, the Exxon stations on Preston Avenue in Charlottesville’s Rose Hill neighborhood and in Ruckersville. Sutton saw this step as both a sound financial move–“Our stores and car washes are significant energy users”–and a way to raise awareness and contribute to the community.
He says both customers and employees have been enthusiastic and supportive. The company’s delivery fleet is diesel-powered; “we’ve looked into propane motors, but weren’t thrilled with the results,” Sutton notes. Tiger Fuel is now in the process of assessing its carbon footprint and developing a plan to set significant reduction targets.
While traditional car dealers might also seem to be on the wrong side of climate issues, Carter Myers Automotive’s vice president Peter Borches calls CMA’s Colonial Nissan the company’s “incubator test site” for ways to reduce environmental impact at its 13 dealerships in central Virginia.
Because lighting is a huge energy cost at auto dealerships, Colonial Nissan switched to LEDs and installed a 480-panel solar array designed to produce 93 percent of the facility’s electricity needs. While Borches notes the many incentives for greening the business–cost savings, tax incentives, positive public relations, and marketing benefits–his motives are personal: “My wife and I are worried about [the world] when our children are 50 years old. We need to raise this issue above the political fray, and get as many people as possible in the tent and working together.” An added benefit, in his view, is “our associates have really run with this,” contributing ideas like providing car shoppers with cup- and water-bottle filling stations instead of single-use bottled water, and recycling everything from paper to outdated computers.
Ravi Respeto, president of the United Way Thomas Jefferson Area, says that as a nonprofit, “we’re always looking to reduce costs, but there’s a community leadership aspect as well as an awareness factor” in taking action to lessen environmental impact. United Way began by replacing its building’s old HVAC units with a high-efficiency system that includes programmable thermostats.
Next year, after upgraded windows are installed, the agency is expecting a 10-15 percent savings on its electric bill–and it’s considering solar options down the line. “Climate change affects our lower-income constituencies the most,” says Respeto. Since investing in energy-savings technologies costs money up front, she notes, “there’s an equity aspect to this issue, and we are in the business of equity.”
Firefly Restaurant, as a tenant, can’t make these kinds of capital investments–but it has invested in qualifying as the city’s first Green Restaurant Association-certified eatery. Owner and general manager Melissa Meece, a former environmental consultant, has installed UV film on the restaurant’s huge windows (cutting energy usage for air conditioning by 43 percent); invested in LED bulbs (“expensive up front, but saves energy and staff time, because they never need changing”); and committed to non-toxic cleaning supplies and customer toiletries.
Meece also looks for used or rehabbed Energy Star-rated restaurant equipment: “I’m a big fan of second-hand [she’s also the owner of consignment shop Rethreads], and it saves the energy used in manufacturing.”
It might seem hard for a hospital to go green, but when Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital decided to create a new campus on Pantops, in 2007, they tried to build sustainability in from the start. The facility (LEED®-certified by the U. S. Green Building Council) uses a range of technological tools to save resources: low-water-usage toilets, automatic controls for temperature and lighting, re-use of condensation water from AC units, and irrigation water supplied from the site’s retention pond.
Focusing on a more sustainable building enabled the hospital to double its square footage (from it’s previous location) without increasing either energy or water consumption. As both a large community institution and a major employer, executive director of support services Catherine Hughes says Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital sees the need to set a visible example, from recycling in the kitchen (including composting food and reclaiming fryer oil) to encouraging staff to bike to work and even cutting out bottled water and photocopied materials at meetings.
For help in their efforts to reduce their environmental impact, several of these organizations–and others–have looked to the Charlottesville Climate Collaborative, a nonprofit founded in 2017 to coordinate government, business, nonprofit, and community resources to address climate issues. One example: C3 is assisting on Tiger Fuel’s environmental impact assessment.
C3 also runs the annual Better Business Challenge, founded in 2010 by environmental website Better World Betty and the community-based Local Energy Alliance Program. This year (2018-2109) more than 90 businesses and nonprofits participated, taking steps that collectively will save more than $675,000 a year in energy costs and cut 4,331 tons of CO2 emissions. Teri Kent, the original Better World Betty and now C3’s director of communications and programs, says, “There’s great momentum now as businesses are stepping up to this issue. Looking just at the money side of sustainability is too siloed–we all share the same air and water.”
Business sustainability by the numbers: a hyper-local case study
New York City is requiring all large buildings to slash carbon emissions to meet a collective goal of a 40 percent reduction by 2030. In Seattle and Washington, D.C., plastic straws are officially banned at all businesses to reduce plastic waste.
So how is the C’ville business community stepping up on sustainability? From Kardinal Hall to WorldStrides, many area businesses and organizations are pledging to reduce their carbon footprint with the help of the Charlottesville Climate Collaborative’s Better Business Challenge, a friendly, year-long competition that encourages energy savings actions and spurs sustainability initiatives on the local level. What kind of tangible impact can they—and did they—make?
The 2018-19 Challenge tracked participant actions, and the energy-savings metrics are in.
Store managre Don Cochrane and lontime employee (and resident skateboard expert) Duane Brown say customized service from real athletes has kept Freestyle competitive. / Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith
Remember all those specialty shops that went belly-up when the internet came along? Freestyle wasn’t one of them. Founded in 1983, the local sporting goods store is way older than online shopping—and it’s managed to stay relevant through lots of industry changes. “We want customers for life,” says store manager Don Cochrane. That’s meant operating as both a community-based business and a national online presence.
Back in the early ‘80s, when Hans and Sandy Natterer founded the store, they and co-owner Tom Zimmerman called it Ski & Sport Center and focused mainly on ski gear. Competitive swimwear followed. And Duane Brown joined the company in 1986, bringing skateboard expertise that allowed the store to expand in that direction.
As Brown—who’s now 57, still skating, and still with the company—says, “Skateboarding has gone through ups and downs over the years.” But it’s proved more enduring than, say, in-line skating—one of several fads that have come and gone during Freestyle’s tenure. The store is now owned by Sepp and Measi Kober, and, says Cochrane, is serving its third generation of customers.
How has Freestyle stayed on its feet? For one thing, Brown says, service delivered by actual athletes is a pillar of its business model. “People still like to come in and see the product,” he says, “and talk to somebody that skis or skateboards. We shine in that regard.”
Also, Cochrane says, the company has built a reputation for top-notch servicing of winter sports gear. “We offer some of the highest-end ski and snowboard tuning you can get without going to New England,” he says. “We have people travel from upstate New York, Georgia, Michigan, specifically to come to us to get custom ski boots made.”
As for the online component, rather than ignoring it to focus on brick-and-mortar sales, Freestyle decided to treat it as an important parallel track where the company can compete nationally.
“Our online product, the experience the customer sees, is equivalent to anybody else even if they’re a much bigger company,” says Cochrane, adding that Freestyle has sold to online customers in all 50 states.
This spring, with the opening of the Charlottesville skatepark, the folks at Freestyle noticed a bump in skateboarding sales. “As the parents are bringing their children in to get skateboards, they say ‘I remember doing this when I was a kid; I want to do this with them,’” says Brown. If skating is becoming a family activity, like skiing, then it promises to deliver more generations of customers to this business—now middle-aged, but still going strong.
Local entrepreneurs gain access to mentorships, networking, financing, and general business knowledge resources with the help of the Community Investment Collaboratives, says CIC president Stephen Davis. / Photo: Sanjay Suchak
Since 2012, locals wanting to start their own businesses have been turning to the Community Investment Collaborative for support. The CIC runs a training program to help folks develop their business ideas—its 16-week Entrepreneur Workshop has graduated more than 300 people so far. It also offers financing, mentorship, and co-working space. We chatted with Stephen Davis, CIC’s president, about the collaborative’s impact here in Charlottesville.
What kinds of things are covered in the entrepreneur workshop?
Number one is to help someone determine if a business idea, or existing business, is viable. Will it work for them? What are your goals and reasons for starting the business? The second piece is learning the basics of running the business. How do you think about marketing, sales, cash flow, hiring?
Who are the people who take the workshop?
A little over half of them have a business in the idea stage. A little under half have a business that already exists in some variety—some are very part-time, and others are a supplemental source of income. In a few cases they’re already full-time in the business and have gotten as far as they did by sheer hard work. They’re asking, “How do I stabilize this?”
Why is an organization like the CIC needed in Charlottesville?
Our mission is helping under-resourced entrepreneurs. Seventy-five percent of our clients have incomes below the median; two-thirds are women; over half are racial minorities. For each of those groups, they experience barriers beyond the normal ones. Our program is needed to give these groups access to business knowledge, education, and networks—you need to know the right people. We also provide access to capital through microloan funds. We are willing to take much more risk than a bank would.
What does the mentorship program offer to clients?
In general, we look for volunteer mentors who are interested in helping the person more than the business, because part of our work is about developing clients as people and entrepreneurs so they can make decisions as opposed to the mentor primarily giving advice. You take a client where they are, figure out what their goals are, and provide coaching and support.
What are some of the success stories that have come out of CIC?
There are a lot of them. Just opened up in Fifth Street Station is Mochiko Cville, which does Hawaiian food. It started with catering, then a food truck, and now has a small restaurant. He [owner Riki Tanabe] really utilized all the different parts of our program along the way. And High Tor Gear Exchange, which does outdoor gear consignment, we were able to help them with some financing and ongoing support.
Beyond the success of our businesses that come through the program, a big part of what we do is make our community stronger by bringing together people from different neighborhoods, backgrounds, education, and income levels. They all come through working on their dream, so they get to know each other well and make connections.
There is a podcast for just about any aspect of business life you can imagine–#entrepreneurlife, #bossbabelife, #contentmarketerlife–you name it. So. Many. Choices. But you have to start somewhere, and so we did. If you are looking for inspiration to help you grow as an entrepreneur, tips to introduce more work-life balance into your world, or career insights to help you find your purpose, then check out our list of recommended, must-listen-to podcasts.
“The Goal Digger Podcast”
Hosted by marketing guru Jenna Kutcher, “The Goal Digger Podcast” empowers women to “dig in, do the work, and tackle your biggest goals” and “live more and work less.” Kutcher has seemingly navigated many of the topics she discusses. She gave up a “nightmare” of a corporate job to build her own business, which has become a lucrative, motivational personal brand.
Sample Episode: A recent edition featured lifestyle influencer Sazan Hendrix, who discussed navigating new “seasons” of her life and work, including how motherhood and the evolution of the influencer space impacted her business, how she conquered fear, change, and uncertainty, and realigned her entrepreneurial path along the way.
“Secrets of the Most Productive People”
From Fast Company magazine comes a podcast focused on how to “work smarter instead of harder.” (See a modern work theme?) Hosts Kate Davis and Anisa Purbasari share pro tips, hacks, and insights on everything from the morning routines of successful people and the plausibility of four-day work weeks to managing digital distraction and staving off burnout. Each episode is short and sweet, at 30 minutes.
Sample Episode: Are you crazy busy, but still not getting everything done? Join the club. Then listen to Episode 8: “How Can We Feel Less Busy?” with time management expert Laura Vanderkam, who tells us how to slow down, expand our perception of time, and work with intention.
“Don’t Keep Your Day Job”
Host Cathy Heller spotlights creative entrepreneurs and experts, like Seth Godin, Mark Manson, and Angela Duckworth, and asks interviewees to share ways we can find more joy and purpose in life while making a living doing what we love. Episodes also pack healthy doses of the latest thinking on building a business, from disrupting the status quo to designing your creative path.
Sample Episode: Email has made a comeback in a big way. Heller talks with the co-founders of the seven-million-subscribers-strong, Oprah-approved e-news digest Daily Skimm, who reveal how they developed their millennial women-focused company, which now includes an app, book, and podcast (natch).
“Creative Pep Talk”
Creativity comes in ebbs and flows. In this podcast, host and illustrator Andy J. Miller hopes to spark more flows than ebbs as he sheds light on the intersection of creativity and business. Topics include influencer marketing for creatives, unlocking your creative biz potential, and approaching creativity and business with a healthy mindset.
Sample Episode: In “Starbucks Doesn’t Sell Coffee: This is the Secret to Unbelievable Growth,” Miller draws analogies and lessons for artists from our fave mass latte-maker, specifically, how to generate consistent income in your creative career and create art that sells.
“The Tim Ferriss Show”
Lifestyle design guru Ferriss, the bestselling author of “The 4-Hour Workweek,” chats with a variety of successful people, from Michael Pollan and LeBron James to Aisha Taylor and Cindy Eckert, sharing takeaways to help you live your best biz life.
Sample Episode: Ferriss extracts plucky business lessons from SoulCycle co-founder Julie Rice, who talks about her career journey, from launching the indoor cycling powerhouse to, later, co-working company WeWork, both of which have strong community-building components.
Customized landscaping that creates welcoming outdoor spaces can elevate a business's brand and leave a positive impression on the customer or employee. / Photo: Courtesy of J.W. Townsend
As a business, you don’t have to limit your branding to the design of your website, or the packaging of your product, or the logo on your delivery van.
After you’ve enticed a customer with a benefit-promising commercial or meticulously curated Instagram aesthetic, and it’s time for them to actually pay a visit to your place of business, why wouldn’t you extend your branding further–with a visually enticing exterior?
It’s the exterior that makes the true first impression, beckoning customers to spend their time at–and money on–a biz that has thought about the holistic user experience, inside and out.
Local landscape and fine gardening specialists J.W. Townsend Landscapes demonstrate how businesses can enhance their branding by creating tailored, inviting outdoor spaces and experiences where customers or employees want to stay a while longer. At the CFA Institute (the former Martha Jefferson Hospital site), for example, the landscape company transformed a new employee entrance from something that was “stark”–lots of metal, cement, brick, and glass—into a more welcome-to-work space, says Townsend employee Avery Ellis.
“There wasn’t a lot of color [or] a lot of greenery, even though the rest of their landscape was really nice,” adds Ellis, who is “hotpots team leader” at the company. J.W. Townsend installed several planters–a.k.a. hotpots–lining the walkway to soften the hard edges, filling them with a bright assortment of spider flowers, annual salvia, and vinca. “It made a big difference to how the overall building looks,” she says.
Ellis says dressing up the outside of their building wasn’t something the CFA did to attract more clients or customers—they did it so their employees would feel more welcome. Those thoughtful garden features communicate a message–that ”this is a good place to spend your time eight hours a day.”
Last spring, J.W. Townsend also helped Downtown Mall hang spot Common House create a “summer jungle vibes” theme on its rooftop–essentially, an extension in plant form of the social club’s overall brand as a stylish community gathering space. And they brightened up Tiger Fuel’s gas station markets with flower containers. “It’s amazing the difference that just a couple of containers full of flowers next to the door makes. It makes you feel like this is a safe place. This is a clean place. This is a place where I want to go and spend my money,” says Ellis.
At Albemarle Dermatology Associates, the landscape company installed lush, multi-tiered potted plants full of curvaceous begonias, purslane, vinca, climbing mandevilla vine, and euphorbia at the entrance–creating a peaceful, cared-for vibe for patients.
When The Shops at Stonefield wanted to communicate to guests that they were a local shopping destination, Ellis’ team helped send that brand message with splashy container gardens. “We tried to kind of blow them out almost and make them really full and a showstopper,” she says. “It goes a long way on a bald, cement sidewalk to line it with planters.”
Well-designedlandscaping and garden features not only show appreciation to your employees, they invite customers to hang out a little longer, buy another drink, take another spin around the shop, or make a repeat visit to that well-maintained gas station, which leads to more sales, maybe even more customer loyalty and worker satisfaction. In a competitive job market and commercial environment, what business wouldn’t want to aim for that?
In retail, 25 years is more than a lifetime–and Amy Gardner, owner and founder of Scarpa, knows this as well as anyone. The women’s shoe shop she opened in North Barracks Road in 1994 has evolved into one of the area’s premier women’s apparel stores.
Gardner’s adventure in retail was spurred by her passion for shoes (“I spent my first babysitting dollars on a pair of gray Esprit driving loafers”), and–oddly enough–the problem-solving skills she honed as an architecture major at UVA in the early ‘90s. “Architecture is basically three-dimensional problem-solving,” she says. “You have to learn to collaborate, to present your thinking, to keep the end-user in mind–a lot like business thinking.”
Gardner saw a problem–Charlottesville had no shop dedicated to fine women’s shoes–and the solution was clear: open her own. “I thought, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ I could fail at age 24–but wasn’t that better than getting to my 40s knowing that I had never tried?” She added accessories in 1997, and clothing in 2004. Then the 2009 recession almost forced Scarpa under. “I had been doing a fine job at watching the top line, but not so well at keeping an eye on the basics–profit margin, expenses,” Gardner says. “I learned a lot about being a better business person.” In 2012, as the market was recovering, she hired a consultant who became a mentor and “reignited that spark I needed to keep going.”
Customer service and loyalty are the heart of Gardner’s business approach. Scarpa’s offerings reflect both the expertise of Gardner and her staff, and their intimate knowledge of their clientele. And this isn’t third-hand market research–it’s personal. Gardner has customers who have been shopping at Scarpa since it opened.
Scarpa’s customers are still largely local, but now include out-of-towners as well. As Charlottesville has become a destination, shoppers often make the store their first stop on a weekend visit. And UVA has brought students’ parents and a large and loyal alumni community who return for reunions and events–and revisit their favorite shoe store.
What spurs this kind of loyalty? Beautifully crafted shoes, jewelry, apparel, and accessories–but above all, Gardner’s commitment to customer service. Need a pair of shoes adjusted? They’ll send them out to their expert cobbler. Need accessories to update your favorite outfit? Bring it in, and they’ll help you figure out a new look. Need a dress for a special event, but can’t get in during business hours? They’ll open early or stay late.
These days, Gardner’s role is managing the business overall, and ensuring that her customers always know Scarpa is their store. “I’m self-made,” she says, “but no one is truly self-made.”
Small biz staying power
What has Amy Gardner learned about small business longevity? Here, she offers her top tips:
1. Figure out what you don’t know, and learn it. Ask for feedback and advice from everyone whose opinion you value, she says–whether for their expertise in business, finance, products, people management, or life balance.
2. Show the customer you are investing in your business. Gardner got this advice early on from Donna Doll, whose restaurant Brasa was part of Charlottesville’s dining boom in the 1990s. Fresh decor and comfortable spaces tells customers you are willing to spend money on their experience. For Gardner, this is one aspect of “playing the long game”–thinking beyond this month’s inventory or this year’s profit.
3. Keep personal relationships in the forefront. Every type of business is about people, Gardner believes: “The trick in business is to read your customer.” Likewise, when hiring staff, she looks for empathy as well as expertise. Asked to name one of her biggest accomplishments, she cites developing and inspiring her employees.
