Category: C-BIZ

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Steering the bus: JAUNT’s Brad Sheffield looks to the future

JAUNT CEO Brad Sheffield is leading the paratransit organization into the 21st century, exploring new fixed-route services and other innovations. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

From its origins in 1975 as a public service corporation transporting elderly and disabled customers, JAUNT (that’s Jefferson Area United Transportation) has grown to cover a six-county, 2,600-square-mile service area while welcoming the general public onto its 85 vehicles. Recently, the organization has been expanding into commuter routes for areas underserved by public transit.

JAUNT’s 29 Express Shuttle, for example, travels between Hollymead, UVA, and downtown Charlottesville for $1.50 a ride (free for UVA employees and students). And in August, it will launch the Crozet Connector, with service between Crozet and UVA Grounds. We talked to CEO Brad Sheffield about how JAUNT fits in to the transit landscape, and where it’s headed.

C-BIZ: How is JAUNT growing beyond its original mission?

The core of what JAUNT was and is and will be is very focused around paratransit for disabled and elderly passengers. Once our growth in that area stabilized, we could focus resources on rural areas, where our service is open to anybody. This doesn’t outweigh our core services. It’s a new area we’re able to focus on because we’ve stabilized our core.

Can you tell us about the new Crozet Connector service?

The route will be added on as a layer to the demand-based approach [in which customers arrange rides in advance as needed]. That curb-to-curb approach works well for those who can’t walk or access a common bus stop. The Connector is looking at those who might walk or drive to a common parking lot or downtown Crozet and catch the commuter route, which gets there faster.

Looking ahead, what is the place for JAUNT in the local transportation landscape? How does it fit in with newer services like Uber and Lyft?

JAUNT’s approach and level of service are highly unique. We struggle to find a peer for ourselves across the state or even nationally. That’s largely because, in the ‘70s, the area formed JAUNT before ADA services were a federal requirement. We provide a highly efficient and robust service, and while some systems just look at operating the buses, we’re looking at who we’re transporting.

The whole Uber/Lyft dynamic has challenged the industry to think about how we can provide a service. The on-demand transit technology is out there; it’s just emerging in the public transit realm. Our customers may not have to continue to call a day ahead. We’re making sure it’s an evolution of who we are, not just an additional service.

JAUNT is a partner in Perrone Robotics’ autonomous shuttle pilot program. What’s your goal for that venture?

We were approached by Albemarle to help Perrone explore into this market. Now that the technology is making its way into transit for fixed-route services, we need to make sure it’s not creating greater inequity. We wanted to be involved to help better inform the conversations.

I don’t believe in my lifetime there will be technology that can detect someone’s disability. That level of sensitivity or understanding is what we bring to the table. Does it mean that the divide gets bigger—the fixed-route cost drops significantly and the paratransit continues to cost the same? If it shifts to where those who rely on something like JAUNT are further marginalized, that’s a problem.

How can JAUNT be part of the larger goal of reducing local carbon emissions?

Electric vehicle technology hasn’t made its way into the type of vehicles we operate, but it’s getting there. It’s cost-prohibitive for us right now, but the more localities like the city place an emphasis on the importance of it, the more the industry will invest in making that a priority. What infrastructure needs to be in place for charging and maintenance, and how can we go after the funding that could help provide those resources?

We are of significant-enough size that we should be thinking about what we can do differently.  JAUNT can lead the way, but it’s got to be a regional commitment.

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C-BIZ

Start me up: HackCville nurtures tomorrow’s entrepreneurs

HackCville director Chip Ransler (center) helps students develop the skills to spark innovation and future startups. Photo: Eze Amos

Are entrepreneurs born or made? Doesn’t matter to Chip Ransler, executive director of HackCville—he’ll take someone who has an idea, or wants to make a difference, and fan that spark to flame.

Although HackCville may sound like a cyber threat, Ransler says “to us, ‘hacking’ is a positive—finding quick, efficient, low-cost ways to solve problems.” HackCville’s participants (mostly UVA students, although local residents are welcome too) learn or hone technology skills and apply them to social, economic, environmental, or health-related challenges.

Out of its community “clubhouse” on Elliewood Avenue, HackCville runs six programs: Skills (courses in software development, photography, data science, web design, videography, or graphic design); Hustle (four two- or three-week group projects in idea generation); The Pioneer (online storytelling and video production); Launch (summer internships focused on software engineering, marketing, or data science); Start-up Trips (weekend site visits); and the Elliewood Fellowship, which supports top HackCville graduates in launching their own business ventures.

While not a UVA program, HackCville does have multiple support lines from UVA—founding sponsors are the Galant Center for Entrepreneurship at the Mcintire School of Commerce, UVA’s Data Science Institute, and the Quantitative Foundation; partners include the i.Lab in Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Ransler, a UVA and Darden grad who has co-founded several start-ups, says “the way we learn here is very different,” but complements the traditional university classroom.

“There are myths about entrepreneurship,” says Ransler. “You CAN teach the skills if you put people through experiences that expose them to uncertainty and help them work through it. We create a sandbox where people can try things out and risk very little—low-cost, low-key, no grades.”

So is HackCville a tech gig or entrepreneurs’ boot camp? Both, says Ransler, and a recruiting tool as well: “We teach skills that make people technically competent, and then we put these smart people into start-up companies that can actually use their help.”

Over the last two years, Ransler says, HackCville has placed 154 participants in internships at 81 companies—and that’s just in Charlottesville. Its website reports 50 percent of those interns keep on working with their companies after the internship ends, and many are hired full-time.

HackCville has grown 10-fold in the last two and a half years, both in revenues and in number of participants, Ransler says. “We’re so invested in creating that next generation of people—both people who were students in our program and are now teaching in it (including HackCville’s Chief Operating Officer Daniel Willson, UVA ’16), as well as those who stay in the Charlottesville area and help build our start-up economy.”

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C-BIZ

The future of work: Shared spaces abound in C’ville

James Barton of Studio IX and Vault Virginia says coworking spaces help fulfill the needs of the modern worker. Photo: Stephen Barling

Throughout modern history, certain movements have changed how we work—the Industrial Revolution, the birth of the personal computer, and more recently, the arrival of social media. These transformations have also changed where we work (and even when we want to work).

Are you an anti-9-to-5-er who likes working for yourself? An entrepreneur who isn’t ready to commit to an office lease? Or maybe you’re a side hustler, freelancer, or teleworker who likes the flexibility of working wherever you want, but still craves connection and collaboration?

Then coworking has probably crossed your mind. And Charlottesville—as small of a city as it is—is replete with shared work environments and options to suit various work needs and styles.

Studio IX, co-founded in 2014 by Natalie and James Barton in a former textile factory on Second Street, was one of the first co-working spaces to hit the scene.

“In the modern digital renaissance, information technology has created new industries and new options for organizing ourselves,” James Barton says. Out were factories and corporate offices, he adds, and in were home offices and coffee shops. Then coworking spaces came along to fill in the gaps, “allowing people to share resources and, more importantly, experience connection as well as personal and professional growth through daily engagement with communities of peers.”

At Studio IX, you can grab a $30 day pass, or choose from a menu of four different memberships, including $800 to $1,500 monthly private office options. Workers gain access to such amenities as high-speed internet, soundproof booths for private calls, conference rooms available for booking, all the freshly roasted coffee you can guzzle, and a light-infused industrial work space.

Five years later, recognizing the trend was still on the rise, Barton founded his second coworking endeavor, Vault Virginia, in a former bank building on the Downtown Mall. At the multi-floor, 25,000 square foot Vault, day passes are $50, while on the high end, private office memberships run up to $700 to $2,500 per month, with various options in between.

“Studio IX and Vault Virginia are both focused on creating ideal work experiences for our members,” Barton says. “Beyond the essential furnished, open workspaces and private offices, there are shared kitchens, meeting rooms, multi-purposed gallery spaces, event spaces—and in development, functional ‘labs’ for various kinds of creative production.”

Barton says Studio IX and Vault Virginia members tend to be freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small teams, or those who work remotely for larger organizations.

While it doesn’t bill itself as a coworking space, Common House, a Downtown Mall social club and gathering space, is also a place where members can break out their laptops and work communally.

“Often freelancers and entrepreneurs [and so on] are working from home or hopping anonymously between coffee shops,” says Derek Sieg, Common House co-founder. “Membership to Common House compliments the freedom you get from a freelancing [or] self-employed job with a full slate of curated programming and social opportunities that can lead to a friendship or collaborator or some well-timed inspiration,” he says.

If you are looking for something a tad homey-er, The Farm House in the 10th and Page neighborhood offers co-working studio space to artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.

Next on the horizon: hedge fund CEO Jaffray Woodriff’s tech incubator, the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs, now under construction at the west end of the Downtown Mall. CODE will have co-working space on two floors of its multi-story structure. “It will have it’s own little sanctuary [and] it’s own entrance,” says Andrew Boninti, president of CSH Development, which is building CODE for Woodriff. But you’ll have to wait a bit longer to get in there—construction of CODE is estimated to be completed in spring 2021.

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C-BIZ

Book it: What local biz leaders are reading

Need insight to spark new thinking about your company, help you reach the next level of success, or give you a boost in creativity? We can all use a little inspo sometimes, and more often than not, we turn to books for answers. Whether you favor the feel-good vibes of Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass at Making Money, the uplifting leadership lessons of Stacey Abrams’ Lead from the Outside, or the go-it-solo musings of Paul Jarvis’ Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business, there is an inspirational tome for everyone.—Jennifer Pullinger

We asked a few local professionals to share what’s on their bookshelf:

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink

“Dan provides the reader with applicable concepts for any stage in their career and life. The book reminds of the need to take frequent breaks, allowing us to remain productive. It provides you with scientific concepts, such as best times to make
decisions or have meetings, when to begin something—sometimes you may have to start over in order to get the desired result.
I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for more structure in their day and life.”

—Zikki Munyao, Founder, Munyao Consulting, LLC

 

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling with Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Ola Rosling

“With so much negativity in this world, it describes our data biases that give us a bleak outlook of the world—and it shows
that things are better than you think. There is a test online and at the beginning of the book to set the tone and shed light
on these points—if you don’t have time to read the book, start with the quiz! It serves as a reminder that we all need to update
the facts and information we consume and that context is key.”

—Valeria McFarren Piper, President, Chaski Global Strategic Communications

 

Human Resource Development (sixth edition) by Jon M. Werner and Randy L. DeSimone

“I actually appreciated reading about the research and philosophy behind employee training and organizational development. Of particular interest was the chapter entitled Employee Counseling and Wellness Services. My own career was interrupted two years ago because of a mental health crisis and I had to quit my job. Had my employer and I understood how depression
and anxiety negatively impacted my sense of success at work, I may have been able to take a leave of absence instead of quitting altogether. I look forward to applying these and many other best practices in HRD as my career progresses.”

—Mary Coleman, Development Director, City of Promise (Coleman is currently enrolled in James Madison University’s online program for Human Resource Development & Management.)

(Photos Courtesy Subjects)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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C-BIZ

Squeaky clean: Car wash business expands, but keeps it local

Aqua Cville Hand Car Wash owner Jeff Kamrath is a former UVA baseball player who see his business as way to be an active participant in the community. Photo: Amy and Jackson Smith

Last April, Jeff Kamrath opened Aqua Cville Hand Car Wash on Emmet Street, and the weather promptly turned against him. In his first year in business, he says, “It rained 41 percent of the days we could have been open.”

That was far from ideal, but Aqua Cville made it to its first anniversary anyway. “We designed the business to be able to sustain an incident like that,” he says. Low startup costs and flexible employee scheduling helped the business weather the storm.

Kamrath, a former UVA baseball player who had previously worked remotely for a New York-based sports tech company, founded the car wash because he felt “the urge to be an active participant in the community. I wanted to provide a service, provide jobs, and ultimately tax revenue.” Car washes run in the family: Kamrath’s brother owns two in Texas. “It was a natural fit,” he says.

The nitty-gritty, day-to-day aspects are plenty demanding; Kamrath realized early on that his brother’s businesses would not necessarily serve as models. “The demographics, weather, and buying habits are different in Texas,” he says. “We had to learn for ourselves.”

Still, Kamrath sees his most important challenge as balancing profitability with idealistic goals. “We want to be custodians of the environment and the community,” he says. As he gears up to open a second business—this one an automated car wash, as yet unnamed, on 29 North—he’s working as much as possible within the local economy.

“Working with local businesses is a no-brainer,” he says. “Local civil engineers, architects, general contractors—those are all companies and businesses we want to support. They’re providing jobs to their employees and their taxes contribute to the economy.” He’s even been able to source much of the car wash’s specialized equipment from Charlottesville-based Washtech, which distributes regionally.

Kamrath has already publicly committed to go easy on the environment through the Better Business Challenge, run by the Charlottesville Climate Collaborative. Water use, of course, is a big issue in his industry. “Our hand wash system uses less water than washing a car at home,” he says. “We can reuse the same water for 40, 50, or 80 cars.” The automated tunnel wash system in his new location will reclaim up to 90 percent of the water it uses, and Kamrath says that’s a place where good business intersects with stewardship: “We’re always going to be looking to mitigate our impact and be smart fiscally,” he says. “People assume those things are in conflict, and they’re not.”

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C-BIZ Magazines

Tariff tampdown: Charlottesville business owners sound off on last year’s imported goods taxes

Sigora Solar, which installed 121 solar panels on the roof of the Smith Aquatic and Fitness Center, says its been preparing for the 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels since 2017. Photo: Skyclad Aerial

Much of the local uproar about the import tariffs levied by the Trump Administration last year appears to have died down, though concerns remain.

The U.S. government placed a duty of 30 percent on imported solar panels in January 2018, and several months later added a 25 percent tax on steel and a 10 percent tax on aluminum shipped from most countries around the world. Effective in September of last year, the Trump White House released a list of approximately $200 billion worth of Chinese imports subject to additional tariffs of 10 percent. The tariffs increased to 25 percent on January 1.

Reacting specifically to the taxes on metals and solar panels, a number of C’ville business owners sounded the alarm in early to mid-2018. Craft beer producers said they were concerned about packaging prices and equipment for expansion projects, and two solar panel companies with a Charlottesville presence were prepared to take a hit on component prices.

“We were very hopeful that the tariff would not be imposed, but we have been preparing for this since May [2017],” Sigora Solar CEO Logan Landry told local news outlets last January.

But Sigora marketing manager Madeleine Ray now says the 30 percent tariff on imported solar panels has not affected business. In fact, the company has seen greater growth rates in the last year than it ever has before, Ray says. The preparations Sigora put in place for a tariff that could have been as high as 50 percent—reducing operating costs and stockpiling panels and equipment—coupled with steadily growing domestic sales, insulated the company from adverse tax effects.

“We have not seen a slowdown in business whatsoever,” Ray says. “We used our buying power to weather the tariffs. There were some small price changes, but they were not enough to pass on to our customers. We have not raised prices.”

Home construction and improvement companies saw immediate effects from the tariffs, but the worst may be behind them, according to Builders FirstSource’s Stuart Walton, a Charlottesville-based outside salesperson for the national construction materials supplier.

Walton says metal framing costs “went absolutely crazy” from February to June 2018. Some suppliers hiked prices by 40 percent, and a number of metal shipments sat at port while companies waited on the fallout from the proposed tariffs.

“[Prices have] come back down, but I don’t think all the way to the level it was,” Walton says. “I have been doing this for five or so years, and it was probably at the lowest point it had ever been. The industry itself is realigning, so I don’t know how much of that is based on the tariffs.”

Local breweries took the tariff spotlight last September, when Senator Mark Warner visited Random Row Brewing Co. to discuss how the import duties might affect artisanal ale production. At the time, Warner suggested a trade war with U.S. allies was the wrong approach to other countries dumping cheap steel and aluminum in the domestic market.

Snowing in Space, a C’ville nitro coffee business, also expressed concerns about the tariffs. Co-founder and COO Damian Warshall, who did not respond to recent emails and phone calls, said in July last year the steel tariffs could affect his company’s ability to purchase steel brewing tanks for expansion. Warshall also expressed concern about rising aluminum costs, as Snowing in Space distributes coffee in cans. “Customers right now are paying about $3.49 for a 12-ounce can,” Warshall told the local NBC affiliate. “It will end up being maybe 12 to 15 cents more per can for the customer.”

Three Notch’d Brewing Company also distributes most of its product in cans, and brewmaster Dave Warwick says the brewery’s latest invoice from overseas can supplier Ardagh Group showed a 9 percent jump in price. “That’s the only increase we’ve seen in several years and the largest by far we’ve ever seen,” Warwick says. “We let the market dictate what we charge for our canned beer, so for now, we may be taking the hit. At some point, though, somebody is going to make the first move and you’ll see the price of canned beer increase.”

Warwick cautions he can’t say for certain the price hike is a result of last year’s aluminum tariffs. Representatives of Ardagh did not respond to emails asking about the increase.

Random Row owner Kevin McElroy shared Warner’s concerns about taxing metals from countries worldwide. “For a brewery our size, it’s more about the future of steel and aluminum costs and how it’s going to affect our plans to grow the business,” McElroy told Warner and members of the Brewer’s Association last September.

McElroy says he’s been looking into his options for expansion since last fall, and the Trump tariffs have “changed the way we are looking at how to expand.” For example, he may be more inclined to purchase used equipment. “Prices have gone up a little bit on new equipment,” McElroy says. “It hasn’t been quite as big as some people thought it would be, but [the tariffs are] still relatively new, and the fear is it can get worse.”

A handful of local businesses elected not to comment on the tariffs—a representative of King Family Vineyards in Crozet says the winery has nothing to add, and Margo Pollak of Greenwood-based Pollak Vineyards says the small winemaker makes only a few seasonal purchases from overseas. “I don’t have an obvious sense of the impact,” she says.

Joey Conover of Latitude 38 likewise says buying from domestic sources and making few capital purchases over the last calendar year has protected her firm from the spikes suppliers like Builders FirstSource might have passed on. But Walton says that has not been the case for all his buyers.

“As far as our customers are concerned, it created a huge problem,” he says. “They might have quoted jobs—take one of those buildings on West Main—and those things are locked into a price nine months before they break ground. By the time they are framing, they’re locked into a price, and we can’t eat it. I don’t know if people went belly up because of it, but a lot of people were impacted.”

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C-BIZ Magazines

Follow and engage: Charlottesville’s social media business influencers

Jessica Norby, Destinee Wright, and Ahmad Hawkins.

The world of social media marketing—particularly Instagram—is increasingly dominated by influencers, individuals who have amassed a sizable social media following, who’ve gained their audience’s trust, and who can sway consumers’ purchases—or even what they think.

Yet many businesses today—and the strategists behind them—are becoming influencers in their own right, with the power to move products, initiate trends, or shape culture. So what are the top social-media tactics that any local biz can use to “influence” and grow business? We asked three strategists—two who help other businesses use social media effectively, and a third who uses social to creatively engage with fans and support his own business endeavors.—Jennifer Pullinger

BE CONSISTENT

“However they define consistency is what they should stick to. So whether it’s seven days a week or five days a week or three days a week, it should be consistent week-to-week. That will help them get more brand awareness and start to build that community within their own brand so people get used to seeing their posts.”

—Jessica Norby, social media strategist (jessicanorby.com)

BE TARGETED

“I think the best bet for increasing traffic to your socials is to have consistent content that provides some sort of value and speaks to your target consumer. You can’t be everything to everyone, so it’s important to position yourself as the authority in your niche and understand who you’re communicating with and what your audiences enjoy seeing from you.”

—Destinee Wright, owner of Destinee Marketing (hellodestineewright.com)

BE COLLABORATIVE

“That’s the biggest thing you see with YouTube now–[brands are] starting to team up. Before it was just all competition, a dog-eat-dog type of a scene. Now it’s more collaborative with people working together. It’s basically like a crossover. It’s like, ‘I’m going to use your brand to help me reach your audience’ and then vice versa, so now you come together and lo and behold, you have a bigger audience at the end of the day.”

—Ahmad Hawkins, sports media personality, owner of STHU Juice apparel, and host of “The Ball Hawk Show Podcast” (iamballhawk.podbean.com)

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Bio builder: How to grow biotech right here at home

Cville BioHub's Nikki Hastings. Photo: Sanjay Suchak

Charlottesville’s biotech industry—of which the University of Virginia is a major driver—is lively and growing, employing around 1,800 people. Nikki Hastings, formerly an executive at two of those companies, recently took the helm at CvilleBioHub, a local industry group with an ambitious vision: “to double the size of the biotech industry over the next 10 years.” We asked her how the Hub will make it happen.

C-BIZ: What are some ways that the local biotech industry could benefit from more connections among companies?

Nikki Hastings: It’s beneficial to have biotech companies working together and communicating about talent pools, local resources, and shared best practices. These companies are not directly competing with one another, which allows for deeper connection and synergy. Biotech community members share knowledge and experience about local supporting resources—website developers, lawyers, accountants, and general contractors. These are services that all companies need. CvilleBioHub can also connect job candidates to local opportunities; as applicant volume to CvilleBioHub increases, member companies benefit from exposure to and matching with applicants.

What are some of the barriers biotech entrepreneurs face when starting up here as opposed to larger cities?

The three major barriers faced are access to space, capital, and talent. While biotech space is [at] a premium in places like Boston (around $80 per square foot compared to around $20 per square foot in Charlottesville), it can be harder to find desirable locations here. There’s very little available wet lab space. It is risky for start-up companies to sign long-term leases and it takes significant bandwidth to manage the space. Sublease or incubator models that are seen in other communities help companies to get established. While we don’t have a major venture capital presence here, there are several local angel funds and investors in the Char- lottesville region that can help biotech companies get off the ground, including UVA Seed Fund, Charlottesville Angel Network, and CAV Angels. On the talent side, Charlottesville has need for a deeper pool of experienced entrepreneurs and executive leaders that can balance the technical expertise that come with new concepts. With more companies in a localized network, top talent can move from one company to the next and take on more risky ventures without having to relocate.

In your experience as an executive at local companies HemoShear and Contraline, what were some key moments in overcoming those barriers?

HemoShear Therapeutics spun out from UVA in 2009, and at the height of its growth phase transitioned from its first space on Fifth Street Extended to its current headquarters in the old Martha Jefferson Hospital in 2014. It was important for the company to stay near downtown—a sign that barriers in space and talent attraction were surmountable here. Contraline began separate operations from UVA in 2016, and within one year raised over $2 million in the first round of financing (in part from West Coast venture capitalists), and recruited top scientific talent to develop the core technology. Each company has faced its own unique challenges, but the barriers to commercialization seem fewer in Charlottesville today compared to 10 years ago.

How, specifically, will CvilleBioHub help drive investment in local biotech?

Our primary strategy is to raise awareness about the 50 or so innovative and exciting biotech companies that we have here and where future growth opportunities exist. Medical devices, instrumentation, new drugs, biologics manufacturing, and agribiotech are key drivers of the industry here and are attracting national investment attention. CvilleBioHub is learning from the successes of other biotech communities—for example, in Maryland and North Carolina. As we learn more about these models, we can determine what makes the most sense for Charlottesville and central Virginia.

What will the other key goals be for CvilleBioHub over the next year to five years?

Primarily, CvilleBioHub will focus on sustainability. The goal is for CvilleBioHub to coordinate an all- inclusive organization, involving the broader Charlottesville community—UVA, government, and local economic developers. Any company that identifies with biotech, life sciences, and development of technologies that impact human health can participate and create an online profile. There are no costs to join or attend our monthly gatherings. As we build the community, we can address infrastructure, space, capital, and talent through strong partnerships with GO Virginia, UVA, and economic development authorities.

How will a stronger biotech industry benefit the area in general?

Growth and sustainability will allow strong talent to be attracted here and to stay. Biotech jobs pay 85 percent more than average salaries. By supporting the growth of well-paid jobs, our entire region will benefit from these dollars.

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Cross-pollination: C’ville to RVA and back

Charlottesville-born Champion Brewing opened a Richmond location in 2017. Photo: Ash Daniel

Is love in the air? It appears so–at least between the cities of Richmond and Charlottesville, as witnessed by the number of businesses that have decided to open locations in both cities. Charlottesville, with its beautiful setting and college town vibe, has long made lists of best places to live and work. And in the past few years, Richmond has experienced a renaissance of sorts, with praise seemingly pouring in weekly for its long-underrated, still burgeoning arts, dining, and entrepreneurial scene. So it’s not surprising that a mutual admiration society has developed between the two cities.

Hardywood Park Craft Brewery and Sugar Shack donuts, both born in the River City, added Charlottesville locations on West Main Street–Hardywood in February 2017 and Sugar Shack in June 2018 (bringing with it sister business Luther Burger not long after).

Also coming to Charlottesville in early 2020: Quirk Hotel, which first debuted in Richmond in 2015. Why are they interested in C’ville? “First and foremost, the numbers indicate that Charlottesville is a stronger hospitality market than Richmond,” says Quirk Hotel co-owner Ted Ukrop. “Second, UVA is a major and sustainable economic and cultural engine. Having said that, there are also plenty of innovative companies, organizations, and people that align with Quirk’s brand.” The proximity to Hooville–just an hour away–also made a second Quirk location appealing, Ukrop adds.

Meanwhile, Richmond has already experienced an influx of Charlottesville-based businesses, like Roots Natural Kitchen (opened July 2018 in the VCU area), Three Notch’d Brewing Company (opened in 2016 in Scott’s Addition as the RVA Collab House), and Citizen Burger Bar (also opened in 2016, in Carytown). The city’s developing reputation as a supportive, destination craft beer scene was a big draw for Hunter Smith, who founded Champion Brewing in Charlottesville and opened a Richmond location in January 2017 on Grace Street downtown.

“The two cities and their respective governments operate quite differently, which was informative from a business perspective, and has helped me to evaluate additional locations,” says Smith. “I appreciate [chef] Jason Alley from Pasture and Comfort for introducing me to the beautiful former bank space we’re now lucky enough to occupy.”

Up next? Starr Hill Brewery, which is opening Starr Hill Beer Hall & Rooftop in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition this summer. Also coming soon: Common House, the “contemporary social club” that opened in C’ville in 2017, will make the RVA’s Arts District its home sometime in 2019. You’ll be able to find the newest Common House at 305 W. Broad St., just steps away from the original Quirk Hotel.

“Richmond feels like it’s in the midst of a cultural revolution that we are anxious to participate in,” says Common House co-founder Derek Sieg. “The food is world-class, the art scene is electric, and the energy in the entrepreneur community rivals that of any city its size.” While Sieg says his team has been looking at other creative markets in the Southeast in anticipation of growth, the proximity to Charlottesville helped clinch the second location.

“We have a lot of Richmond-based members who use Common House as a landing spot when they’re in Charlottesville, and vice versa, so we see this cross-pollination firsthand and look forward to being a fruit of that pollination ourselves,” he says.

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Shirts to sweat in: Rhoback makes polos for a “young golfer” demographic

Photo: Amy Jackson Smith

In 2014, when Matt Loftus was about to enter the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, he knew he wanted to start a business, but he didn’t realize how quickly it would happen. Loftus and a group of friends had partnered that summer with the clothing company Vineyard Vines in a marketing campaign that also raised money for the friends’ scholarship fund. The campaign was successful and fun. Only problem: The clothes supplied by Vineyard Vines didn’t work for Loftus’ and his friends’ athletic lifestyle.

“They were sweating through the cotton button downs, shirts, and pants that Vineyard Vines provided,” says Kristina Loftus, Matt’s wife and business partner, who also attended Darden. Along with a third partner, Kevin Hubbard, the couple realized they’d found a space in the marketplace: “high-end lifestyle activewear for men.”

They decided to make polos and T-shirts from sweat-wicking, antimicrobial fabric: clothes that could perform on a golf course or tennis court, but didn’t look like workout wear. “It’s transitional,” says Kristina. “You can be active, then tuck it in and wear it to dinner.” Rhoback—named for the naturally active Rhodesian Ridgeback dog—was born.

Darden proved the perfect lab for growing their idea. “We used the student body to help us develop all the products,” says Kristina, recalling how they surveyed students on different fabric and design choices. None of the partners had retail or design experience, so they learned on the fly about everything from Photoshop to dealing with manufacturers in South Korea.

“We had to understand, what was the problem with the current polos on the market?” says Kristina. Some brands lacked quality, while others targeted an older demographic. “There are many brands out there designing polos for 60-year-old men that are very long and should never be untucked. The fit had to be slimmer but not too slim,” she says.

The Darden golf and racquet clubs served as Rhoback’s first customers. In late 2016, the company launched with 1,000 shirts and sold out in three weeks. The clothing isn’t cheap—most polos go for $79—but the company has enjoyed 300 percent growth year over year, fueled by marketing that speaks to a youthful, fun-loving image. And, says Kristina, knowing their market is essential.

While most customers buy Rhoback shirts and hats from the company’s website, the three founders also hit the road in a wooden camper for “strategic popups” at golf and lacrosse tournaments. “Once people meet the founders they’re more invested in the brand,” Kristina says. “They want to support us.”