Stories with a twist: Belmont’s pretzel pedaler Shelly Stern gets people talking
Shelly Stern has always had a knack for finding and telling stories, and what goes better with storytelling than food? If you hang out in the Belmont area long enough, you might find Stern at community events, pedaling around on a three-wheeled bicycle, handing out her homemade soft pretzels and asking for neighborhood tales in […]
Board warriors: Local yogis fall for paddleboard yoga classes on the water
Catherine McMahon knows what everyone’s primary concern is when they sign up for their first stand up paddleboard yoga (SUP yoga) class, and she nips it in the bud before even getting in the water. “I totally encourage falling in,” she said to a group of first-timers at last week’s Monday morning class at Montfair […]
In balance: Waiting for dinner at Tavola just got easier
The ability to interact with and understand people is a crucial element when it comes to making the perfect drink, Christian Johnston said, and it’s in no small part what he’s trying to accomplish behind the bar at Tavola. As for the new cicchetti dishes, Keaveny’s goal is to present something that will pair with a cocktail and prepare the palate for a full meal, but won’t overshadow the main event.
In balance: Waiting for dinner at Tavola just got easier
We’ve got good news for those of you who love everything about Tavola except for the fact that you almost inevitably have to wait for a table. No, they still aren’t accepting reservations at the Belmont hot spot, which means the chances of strolling in for dinner on a weekend and getting seated right away […]
Splash from the past: Blue Ridge Swim Club celebrates 102 years
Whether you’re a believer of climate change or not, there’s no denying that it gets hot as Hades here during the summer. The Charlottesville/Albemarle area has its share of holes in the ground filled with water where you can get a respite from the sweltering heat and so-thick-you-can-taste-it humidity, but there’s at least one pool […]
Fur friendly: A traveling petting zoo offers kids and pets playtime
Christine Eichler’s fondest childhood memories are of running around with all the sheep, horses and rabbits at her grandparents’ animal farm in New Jersey. “It was like the SPCA of the county,” she said with a laugh, recalling how her grandparents happily took in farm animals that needed homes. “That was always my happy place, […]
Stay sharp: Six ways to keep the wheels turning this summer
We love swim team and beach trips and even the occasional lazy day at home just as much as the next person, but it can be all too easy to let your kids’ brains go into hibernation mode during the summer months. Luckily for kids (and parents) in the area, schools and organizations in Charlottesville […]
Closing the gap: Boys & Girls Club director James Pierce picks up where schools leave off
Like a lot of us in this town, James Pierce ended up in Charlottesville by accident. Shortly after graduating from William & Mary in 1996, he had a stack of 12 job applications in the backseat of his car. All but three of them flew out the sunroof never to be seen again; one of […]
Let’s talk shots: The HPV conversation isn’t easy, but it’s important
Less than 30 percent of Virginia’s adolescent girls were vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV) last year, despite the fact that the Commonwealth was one of the first to pass legislation mandating the vaccine for sixth grade girls. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) wants to know why vaccination rates for HPV—the most common sexually transmitted disease […]
Farm fresh: A roundup of local community supported agriculture
It’s not too late to sign up for a share of a local CSA (community supported agriculture). But if you want a weekly basket of freshly picked fruits and veggies to satisfy your seasonal cravings for tomato sandwiches and tricolor salads, you’d better act fast. A few farms in the area are still taking memberships […]
Anything’s Posse’ble: Nonprofit program helps Houston students find success in first year at UVA
De’Lena Martin didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. A Houston native and the fourth of five kids, she brought home A’s and filled her time with sports and activities like model UN and the debate team. College was always on her radar, and she “figured the money would figure itself out,” most likely through […]
A piece of the pie: New sweet and savory eatery The Pie Chest finds its place downtown
It started out as a joke of sorts. Local restaurant owner Will Richey was chatting with a buddy about a newly vacant storefront on Fourth Street. “Hey man, you should open a pie shop there,” the friend suggested. Richey originally laughed it off—he already owns Revolutionary Soup, The Whiskey Jar and The Alley Light, and […]
Light as a feather: Aerial classes break taboos at Phoenix Dance Studio
Erica Barga has been living and breathing all things dance since she was a kid. Tap, jazz, ballet, ballroom—as long as she was moving across a dance floor, she was happy. It wasn’t until 2004, when she was teaching ballroom at a studio in Washington, D.C., that she first took a class with her feet […]
![Hanna Dobbels founded barre.[d] studio in hopes of cultivating “a diverse student and teaching group, people of all ages, shapes and sizes,” she said. Photo: Martyn Kyle](https://www.c-ville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Barrd_MartynKyle-200x200.jpg)
Raising the barre: New downtown studio aims to make fitness more approachable
It’s easy to make assumptions about boutique fitness studios. And before she moved to Charlottesville from D.C., barre.[d] studio owner Hanna Dobbels found a lot of those assumptions to be true—workout classes were pricey and exclusive, and not entirely welcoming environments for anyone who wasn’t a size two with an extensive Lululemon wardrobe. “My whole […]
Spring C-VILLE Kids: Slam dunk: Up close and personal with St. Anne’s Javin Montgomery-DeLaurier
If someone had told Javin Montgomery-DeLaurier when he was a little kid that by age 16 he’d already be on the receiving end of more than a dozen scholarship offers to play college basketball, he probably would have laughed. “I was still growing really fast when I was 10, and I was really clumsy,” Javin […]
Spring C-VILLE Kids: The family that plays together: In the Evans household, it’s all fun and games
When Selene and Avery Evans got married in 2007, they weren’t entirely sure how they were going to merge their two families. They had five kids from previous marriages between them, ranging in ages from kindergarten to high school, and a new house with enough space for everybody to have their own room. But if you ask […]
Getting tanked: AquaFloat promises physical and mental relaxation with sensory-deprivation flotation therapy
It looks a lot like a spa or massage parlor upon first glance. Relaxing is something I’m not especially skilled at unless a beach-side bar is involved, but when I entered the AquaFloat lobby with its soft, aquamarine-and-sand-colored decor, sounds of nature playing in the background and friendly staff who immediately offered me a cup […]
‘Back on the map’: New chef gears up to reinvent Keswick cuisine
It’s been a big year for Keswick Hall, and it’s only February. Within weeks, the inn announced its five-star rating from Forbes Travel Guide, and also welcomed a new executive chef to Fossett’s Restaurant. “The hard work really starts now, in keeping it,” marketing director Janet Kurtz said of the five-star rating. “Now we have […]
Talking Turkey: Sultan Kebab turns out dishes with a taste of home
Sultan Kebab isn’t new. Deniz Dikmen and Serhat Peker, both natives of Turkey, opened the restaurant tucked away in a small shopping center at the corner of Route 29 and Rio Road in 2012. But if you’re like me and don’t often schlep up to that side of town, it’s easy to miss. But partially […]
The Airbnb question: City struggles to regulate short-term lodging industry
Unregulated short-term lodging is a booming business in Charlottesville, but as more and more locals rent out rooms and houses to guests on sites like Airbnb, city officials are increasingly anxious to get rules on the books and find a way to make hosts pony up for required taxes and fees. Charlottesville’s Department of Neighborhood […]
Down home: Red Hub brings back classic, no-frills Southern fare
Ryan Hubbard and Mark Marshall aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel. The two guys behind Red Hub Food Co., a catering service that recently opened a lunch counter at its 202 10th Street NW location, are serving up classic North Carolina-style barbecue, plain and simple. For them it’s not about being on the cutting culinary […]
Fresh-squeezed: Juice bar opens just in time for healthy New Year’s resolutions
It’s resolution season, and a pair of local business owners are hoping to capitalize on the influx of interest in all things healthy that rolls around every January. If all goes according to plan, made-to-order juice bar and health food counter Cville Juice will be open by the end of January. “It’s a healthy thing,” […]
Dynamic duo: Culinary couple opens European-inspired bakery-restaurant combo
One loves to cook, the other loves to bake. It was a match made in heaven—or, in culinary school. Patrick Evans and Jason Becton met at the International Culinary Center in New York in 2007, just before graduation. Seven years, a marriage, and two kids later, they’re doing something they’ve been talking about since they […]
Reading rainbow: Local children’s authors address issues from racism to bullying
It’s no secret that Charlottesville loves the written word. The home of the Festival of the Book, local treasures like Dedalus Books, and ongoing workshops and classes at WriterHouse, this town is the place to be for writers and readers of all ages. You might recognize some of the big local names (John Grisham, anybody?) […]
Cider mill: Virginia’s boozy historical apple beverage is coming full circle
Apples are iconic in our culture; they have been for years. As American as apple pie. The apple of my eye. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. How ’bout them apples? Comparing apples and oranges. Colonists in the 17th and 18th centuries drank hard cider like water (literally—the water wasn’t safe to drink, […]
A new leaf: Regional chain puts global teas on the map
The way people think about tea is changing. At least, that’s what the owners of Capital Teas are banking on. Capital Teas, a Maryland-based regional chain with shops in the Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia areas, arrived in Charlottesville this summer. The Shops at Stonefield location opened its doors in August, and owner Manelle Martino […]
Local docs, experts talk Ebola preparedness
Just two weeks before a diagnosis of Ebola in U.S. hit the news, local doctors were quietly testing a patient for the deadly virus at UVA’s infectious disease clinic. The test results were negative, but that doesn’t mean the threat of Ebola is something they’re taking lightly. In light of the recent epidemic of the […]