Over the last few years, baker Arley Arrington has won our hearts with her baked goods—from her pies at the now-gone Brookville Restaurant to exquisite wedding and birthday cakes topped with flowers and fresh fruit, and (this reporter’s personal favorite) oatmeal cream pies. Now the owner of Arley Cakes is taking her sweet skills to Richmond to win them over, too.
Her move is spurred by readiness for a change, for “a bigger city with a diversity of people and things happening,” says Arrington. “I’m looking forward to seeing how my dreams and passions get to take shape in a new place.”
In Richmond, she plans to take a break from the Arley Cakes hustle to work for someone else and “have a chance to breathe, reflect and reboot using all that I’ve learned over the last year of running a business.”
Arrington says that while she’s excited for the move, she’s “definitely bittersweet about leaving Charlottesville.”
But Arley Cakes isn’t gone for good.
“I’ll definitely full-fledged pick up Arley Cakes again, it’s just a matter of time,” she says. And she’ll continue her monthly cookie subscription service through her website, arleycakes.com, and fulfill wedding orders until the end of this year.
What will $10,000 get you?
For whiskey fans who have dreamed about having their own cask, Virginia Distillery Company’s Cask Society membership can make that dream a reality. The Cask Society, a partnership between the local distillery and the Washington, D.C., wine and spirits shop Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, allows members to purchase and customize a cask of Virginia Distillery Company whiskey. Customizable options include cask type (ex-bourbon, treated wine, sherry), bottling proof (standard 92-proof or cask proof) and aging time (anywhere from four to 10 years).
According to the Virginia Distillery Company website, the private barrel is “guaranteed to yield 250 750ml bottles at the conclusion of the aging period.” Once cask contents have been bottled, owners can either pick up their custom single malt whiskey at Schneider’s or have it shipped to them (depending on state laws and regulations). Those who want to be members of the Cask Society will have to reach deep into their pockets, though—pricing starts at $9,900.
Something to taco bout
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Charlottesville has another taco shop.
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opened last week in the 5th Street Station shopping center. The restaurant chain, which operates more than 100 locations throughout the U.S.—most of them in Texas—has built a cult following with its Baja-style tacos, burritos, dinner combo plates, nachos, quesadillas and sandwiches. Fuzzy’s serves breakfast all day and offers sopapilla chips and churros for dessert.
Fuzzy’s is open from 7:30am to 10pm Monday through Thursday; 7:30am to 11pm Friday and Saturday; and 10am to 10pm on Sunday.
Plus, as our At The Table columnist C. Simon Davidson reports on his Charlottesville 29 blog, Tacos Gomez food truck is now serving authentic Mexican cuisine (tacos, fajitas and more) from the corner of High Street and U.S. Route 250, from 11am to 6pm Tuesday through Thursday; 4 to 11pm Friday; and 11am to 11pm Saturday.