JEWELRY STORE Andrew Minton Jewelers Runner-up: Schwarzschild Keller & George Jewelers Honorable mention: Tuel Jewelers Here’s where the rubber meets the road on this whole “buy local” business: Go into a big chain store and the jewelry displayed before you is the same as the jewelry displayed before shoppers in Urbandale, Iowa, or Maricopa, Arizona. […]

WEDDING PLANNER Adam Donovan-Groves (Donovan-Groves Events) Runner-up: Marisa Vrooman (Orpha Events) Honorable mention: Angelica Laws (Angelica & Co. Weddings) A fun fact about Adam Donovan-Groves? As a child, he attended Astronaut High School near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It’s not what you think—kids here aren’t preparing for space travel—but it might explain his meteoric […]

MUSICIAN Chamomile & Whiskey Runner-up: Erin & The Wildfire Honorable mention: Abbey Road It was over a cup of tea and a fifth of Evan Williams that Koda Kerl and Marie Borgman decided to form Chamomile & Whiskey in the winter of 2011. Since then, the band —which also includes banjo, bass, drums and electric guitar […]

RESTAURANT Lampo Runner-up: The Local Honorable mention: Al Carbon Good things, they say, come in small packages. And the best things come from Lampo. The pint-sized Neapolitan pizzeria opened in 2014 to rave reviews and since then has set the standard for just plain good food in our area. Don’t get us wrong—“just plain good” […]

KIDS’ PARK IX Art Park Runner-up: Pen Park Honorable mention: Greenleaf Park It isn’t just that IX Art Park, that whimsical wonderland of weird and provocative work on Second Street, stretches the imagination —though it certainly does. But the folks at IX also stretch the bounds of what a park should be: a playground with […]

REAL ESTATE COMPANY Nest Realty Runner-up: Story House Real Estate and Montague Miller & Co. (tie) Honorable mention: Loring Woodriff Real Estate Associates If the name Jim Duncan sounds familiar, it’s because the realtor—and Nest founder—has been an agent in our area for nearly 20 years, penning the Real Central VA blog and educating clients about […]