SPOTLIGHT
CELEBRATING THE BUSINESSES THAT MAKE O UR CITY SHINE
BUSINESS
Brian Hrozencik brian@c-ville.com
ACCOUNT
Gabby Kirk gabby@c-ville.com
Sarah Smith sarah@c-ville.com
Candace Stevens candace@c-ville.com Stephanie Vogtman stephanie@c-ville.com
VERITAS VINEYARD & WINERY
IN VINO WE TRUST
Tell us about Veritas’ history. Patricia [Hodson] and I were very comfortable in the world we had built in Jacksonville, Florida: a house on the river, a beach house, a thriving medical practice, and a thriving billing company so absorbing that there was precious little time for anything else, including three beautiful children. We had played with the idea of changing career paths, but it wasn’t until we met a couple from San Francisco who had done just that at seemingly the height of their careers, bought a small farm in Virginia, and made a go of it. And when they told us that there were vineyards in Virginia, Patricia got goosebumps. Within a few weeks, we found Saddleback Farm in Afton
and put a deposit down; we closed on the property in December 1999 and established Veritas Vineyards and Winery soon after that.
Describe a pinch-me moment for Veritas. The pinchme moment was when we held a dinner in the tasting room for Steven Spurrier, probably the best-known and most-liked International wine critic. He was in Virginia tasting in the Virginia Governor’s Cup competition, and he was gracious enough to come to Veritas to celebrate the wines he felt were most influential in his vast career as a wine connoisseur.—
Andrew Hodson, Co-owner
SPOTLIGHT ON : VINEYARD
MASSANUTTEN RESORT
UP ON THE MOUNTAIN
Massanutten Resort opened in 1973, but its full story began nearly 100 years earlier, with the founding of Rockingham Springs. A health resort created as a respite for city dwellers looking to escape poorly maintained water sources, Rockingham Springs provided the inspiration for Massanutten— today a 6,450-acre four-season resort with ski slopes, golf courses, and an indoor water park.
“The history has been pretty amazing,” says Marketing Manager Jason Owney. “Through all the ups and downs throughout the history, we are now an employee stock-owned company and having great success year over year.”
Speaking of ups and downs, the resort is working on the Mountain Mayhem Coaster—which will cover 2,156 feet of terrain, and have two 360-degree spirals—and expanding the water park to include a 22,000 additional square feet that will include new attractions like an adult pool, mat racer slide, bar and cabanas, kiddie pool and slides, wave pool, and family raft ride. And while the resort is also adding a 140-room hotel on property, anyone is welcome to join in on the fun.
“You don’t have to be an owner or even be staying at the resort to enjoy all of our wonderful amenities,” says Owney. “We have annual memberships for golf, the waterpark, and rec centers, and seasonal memberships for biking and skiing that locals can enjoy.”
SPOTLIGHT ON : RESORT
CITIZEN BURGER BAR
SPOTLIGHT ON : RESTAURANT
THE PURSUIT OF YUM
Citizen Burger has been a Downtown Mall fixture for more than a decade. What would you say is its specialty? Our Citizen Burger showcases what the area has to offer. The beef is 100 percent grass fed grass finished from a farm about five miles away—no hormones or antibiotics with real pasture-raised farming. The bun is a proprietary brioche blend from Albemarle Baking Company (just down the road from us), slightly sweet and melt in your mouth. The Swiss cheese is from a family farm about 30 miles away that uses traditional cheese-making processes. I like to add some mushrooms that come from a family farm nearby as well, along with our house-cut fries.
Tell us about a “pinch-me” moment for the restaurant. For me, it’s our postcards. We give each guest a postcard highlighting what makes the meal special, but on the back is a comment card option. I read every single one.
What do you wish people knew about Citizen that they don’t? It’s weird to say, but out of all the amazing restaurants in this town, and even with the amazing job everyone does supporting our community, I think Citizen sells more local food than any other restaurant by far. By far. All of the jobs and support that fan out from that fact is very cool to think about. It’s an amazing thing.—Andy McClure, Owner
THE IVY GROUP
OPEN BOOKS
Tell us about the history of the company. The founding partners of The Ivy Group began working together in 1989. One was the communications expert and the other was a librarian with a wealth of experience in strategic planning. Over the years the company grew into a full-service marketing agency that also has a national consulting practice focused on libraries. The company was acquired by Denise B. Prince in early 2021. I’ve been with Ivy since 2014 and am the managing director.
What’s The Ivy Group’s specialty? “Ivy Groupies” (as employees call themselves) have an authentic interest and curiosity in their clients. They bring a human touch to all types of marketing and website development, but especially digital marketing, which requires extensive customization and savvy to succeed. Ivy invests in understanding audience needs
to achieve desired outcomes (not just clicks!) that provide tangible value for customers, especially those that have had bad experiences with other approaches.
Tell us about your work with libraries. Our strategic planning and community engagement projects with 100-plus library clients have taken us to diverse communities across the country. In our 35-plus years as passionate library advocates, we have successfully navigated it all: from single-location libraries to systems with dozens of branches; those concentrated in urban neighborhoods to those spread widely throughout rural counties; the well-funded to the not-so-well funded; and firsttime to near-retirement directors. Ivy Group’s client portfolio contains numerous National Medal and Library of the Year winners. Julia Prince, Managing Director
ON : MARKETING AGENCY
FORMIA DESIGN
In 2010, producers from the “Today” show called. Goldsmith Mia van Beek had come up with a way to create jewelry from kids’ art, and the NBC program wanted to feature it—two weeks before Christmas.
“I declined,” van Beek says. “There was no way I could pull off very many orders in that short time all by myself.” After she hung up, she recruited other jewelry artists to help, called back and told them yes, and that December watched as Ann Curry showed the world her work.
At that point, van Beek had been in the jewelry business since she was a teenager, having applied to goldsmith technical school at 16 and becoming Sweden’s youngest female master goldsmith. She started her own business in Stockholm before moving to Charlottesville and opening up Formia Design (a combination of “form” and the artist’s name) in 2004.
These days, she says, most of her favorite work comes from love—her own love of the craft, but also the love between soon-to-be and newly engaged couples.
“My favorite thing is to be in a creative zone where I have no sense of time and I’m able to design pieces completely after my own aesthetics,” she says. “But a very close second is to work with my customers on their desired design and for me to be able to execute a custom piece of jewelry for them.”
CUSTOM COOL
SPOTLIGHT ON : JEWELRY
STARR HILL PRESENTS
SPOTLIGHT ON : MUSIC VENUE
Tell us a little about the history of Starr Hill Presents. Starr Hill Presents was born out of the original Starr Hill Brewery and Music Hall that was located on West Main Street. In 2005, the Charlottesville Pavilion (now Ting Pavilion) opened at the east end of the Downtown Mall, becoming a new home for even larger national touring acts. The Jefferson Theater was completely renovated and re-opened in 2009, followed by The Southern Café & Music Hall being added to our roster of venues in 2013.
What’s great about Charlottesville having so many music venues? To provide the community with spaces to see some of their favorite artists on tour is a great honor. Because of our three venues, in addition to JPJ, Charlottesville really
overachieves in music offerings for a typical city of our size. We also take great pride in shining light on local talent at all of our venues. The long-running Fridays After Five free concert series held at the Pavilion every April through September is a cherished community event and an opportunity for bands to play on the big stage in front of large audiences.
What’s coming up for Starr Hill Presents? 2024 marked the 15-year anniversary at The Jefferson Theater, and this year we will celebrate 20 years with the Pavilion. We are constantly working on booking shows, and 2025 is shaping up to be another memorable one! Nathan Leslie, Red Light Management’s Director of Marketing and Sponsorships MUSIC FOR ALL
AVENUE REALTY
After he left the Air Force, Paul McArtor and his wife, Jenn, were free to move anywhere. They picked Charlottesville, the site of his last military assignment and, he says, a place that’s come to feel like home. It wasn’t long before McArtor hung a shingle as a real estate agent, pursuing full-time a hobby that had kept him busy while in the Air Force.
“Being a realtor combines my love of talking and teaching about real estate with the problem-solving and contract skills I developed in the military,” he says.
The Avenue Realty agent says not being a Charlottesville native works in his favor. Helping out-of-town buyers find a home in the area comes naturally, since he’s been through the same experience and, he says, isn’t blinded by “the way
things used to be.” But he works with sellers, too, which he feels is part and parcel of providing a well-rounded customer experience.
“Knowing how current buyers are reacting to the market helps my sellers understand their target audience,” he says, “while working with sellers gives me insights to help buyers craft their offers in the best way for success.”
McArtor prides himself on getting involved in all aspects of a transaction—from offer to inspection to contractor recommendations post-closing—and to great result.
“One of the things I am most proud of is how many of my clients still reach out to me for help years after closing on their home,” he says.
SPOTLIGHT ON : REALTOR
J. FENTON TOO
HAPPY ACCIDENTS
Joan Fenton never meant to be a business owner (“I had no background in business—other than playing Monopoly,” she says), but somehow, by 1996, she owned nine stores across the country.
She was a working musician, teaching guitar and performing regularly in restaurants and small venues, when she and her husband started selling antique, and later, new quilts. They opened a store in Lewisburg, West Virginia, and, while visiting the Homestead, noticed the resort had empty retail space (store No. 2). After that, they traveled to Williamsburg on vacation and saw it had retail space up for grabs, too (store No. 3). Things continued on just as serendipitously—opening up shop in Aspen, Colorado; Snowmass, Colorado; Hot Springs, Virginia; White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; and Charlottesville, where they opened Quilts Unlimited at Barracks Road, The Pear Tree and April’s Corner downtown, and, eventually, J. Fenton Too (a cheeky name that draws on the original, Williamsburg-based J. Fenton Gallery, which still stands).
Shortly before the pandemic, the couple combined their two Charlottesville stores into one, moving the best of Quilts Unlimited—the jewelry, gifts, whimsical socks (Fenton herself is a fan of the ones that say “Cool Beans”)—into J. Fenton Too.
The now-downtown shop finds customers of all ages with everything from 3D animals and craft kits for kids to FLAX linen clothing (a bestseller) for women who want comfort and style in natural fibers.
“We have 5-year-olds that come into our store that tell us we are their favorite store,” Fenton says. “And we have people telling us that their 90-year-old father loved the gift they purchased for him.”
SPOTLIGHT ON : RETAIL SHOP
MARIEBETTE CAF ´ E & BAKERY
SO SWEET
Tell us about your background and how it led you to MarieBette. I had a bit of a meandering career path that started out in the direction of med school, ended up in advertising, and settled into cooking. Patrick [Evans, co-owner] had a similar path that started in the art world before he found his way into baking. While in advertising, I decided that I needed to ditch the corporate world and have my own business. Like anyone who had never owned a restaurant before, I thought restaurant work would be all fun. Patrick and I decided to open the MarieBette concept because it allowed us to work together but still work apart (I’m the chef and front-of-house person and he’s the baker).
Many former MarieBette employees have gone on to start their own ventures. Is a feather in your cap? It’s funny to think that we have mentored people to do their own thing because sometimes we still feel like the new shop in town although clearly we are not anymore. It’s been 10 years. When former employees become partners, as in the cases of
Will Darsie and Melissa Portera, or when former employees move on and do their own things, I am proud that we have been able to give people the opportunities to feel confident to do that.
What’s your bestseller? The bestselling pastry is by far the humble pain au chocolat. My favorite is the pretzel croissant and Patrick’s is the apple galette.
Describe a pinch-me moment for your business. We went to see Audra McDonald at the Paramount [Theater] and had front row seats. At the end of the concert she asked the crowd what the best bakery in town was and someone sitting next to us who recognized us stood up, pointed at us, and told her that we had the best bakery in town. She told us she would come the next morning—and she did. She has been someone I have admired since I was 19 years old and we had a great conversation in the shop. She was so lovely and it is something I’ll never forget. Jason Becton, Co-owner
SPOTLIGHT ON : BAKERY
MINERALS & MYSTICS
MAKING CONNECTIONS
Even before her family moved to Charlottesville ahead of her starting high school, Leah Williams had a favorite shop in town: The Crystal Connection.
When she decided to apply for a job there, “I was persistent! [Then-owner] Kathy [Campbell] later told me that I was so persistent she felt she had no choice but to hire me and most of the time, she didn’t regret it (I think),” Williams says. “She tried hard to persuade me: ‘It’s temporary. It’s just cleaning. Not very many hours, etc.’ I just knew I wanted to work there.”
Williams worked at The Crystal Connection through high school, college, and into adulthood, when, during the pandemic, she took over the business. In August 2020, Williams relaunched as Minerals & Mystics, keeping the most popular inventory—tumbled stones, affordable crystals, sterling silver and gemstone jewelry—and adding her own spin on the rest, including expanding into a new space in Seminole Square Shopping Center. The shop now has room for classes, intuitive one-onones, and a gathering place for curious customers.
“We genuinely want you to come hang out,” Williams says, noting the store’s coffee shop, private rooms for meditation, and event space. “We don’t focus on selling products; we focus on creating connections and community. We want to be more than just a retail store for you.”
SPOTLIGHT ON : SPECIALTY RETAIL
PRINCE MICHEL WINERY
CONTINUING A LEGACY
Founded in 1982 by Jean and Sylviane Leducq as a way of melding their interest in French food and wine with their love of Virginia, Prince Michel Winery has established itself as a force in the local wine industry through its 40-plus years in business, thanks in no small part to Kristin Easter, who purchased the winery in 2005.
Under Easter’s stewardship, Prince Michel has become a kind of one-stop destination, with regular live entertainment, a unique gift shop, educational tours, event space, and four on-site luxury suites for overnight stays.
“Prince Michel is a place you can count on any day of the week,” says CEO Reo Hatfield. “Many of our visitors have been coming here for generations, creating a sense of family that extends beyond just our staff.”
Then, of course, there are the beverages—the award-win-
ning wine (including bestseller cabernet franc) and, with the addition of Tap 29 Brew Pub, craft beer and pub food. (“We also have the best wine slushies around,” says Easter.)
The winery has been undergoing a renaissance in 2024 in particular, after announcing a partnership with Vanguard Renewables to enhance its sustainable operations by creating “a custom organics materials recycling program, whereby Vanguard Renewables combines the food and beverage waste along with dairy cow manure into renewable gas and a low carbon biofertilizer.”
Says head winemaker Bryan Jones, “Prince Michel’s new management team is blazing a trail toward a bright and promising future full of new energy and commitment to outstanding quality of products and services, as well as a continued focus on great customer and member engagement.”
SPOTLIGHT ON : WINERY / BREWERY
SPOTLIGHT ON : RESTAURANT GROUP THOMPSON HOSPITALITY
WELCOME IN
Food creates community, and the folks at Thompson Restaurants— the minority-owned hospitality group behind The Ridley and Ralph Sampson’s American Tap Room—know that better than anyone.
“[UVA alum and Thompson Hospitality founder Warren Thompson’s] commitment to diversity, community, and integrity is the foundation of both restaurants,” says Natalie Kraft, an associate brand manager with the company. “Each restaurant is named after a remarkable Black figure who has left a lasting impact on UVA and Charlottesville.”
At The Ridley, which pays homage to Dr. Walter Ridley, the first Black student to graduate from UVA, diners find modern takes
on Southern cuisine at breakfast, lunch, and dinner (think classic Brussels sprouts, but with mint and cilantro). At Ralph Sampson’s eponymous Barracks Road sports bar, you’ll get a go-to spot to watch (and celebrate) big games while chowing down on a Coach Bennett ribeye. You might even find basketball legend Sampson himself at the bar.
“Every time Ralph visits and connects with fans, it’s a reminder that Ralph Sampson’s American Tap Room is about more than just dining,” Kraft says. “It’s about community, connection, and shared memories in a place that’s truly Ralph’s.”
SPOTLIGHT ON : SHOPPING CENTER
ONE-STOP SHOPS
Live, work, play—when The Shops at Stonefield was conceived (originally as Albemarle Place, back in the early aughts), its developers envisioned a community where visitors could have it all. And since its official opening in 2012, The Shops at Stonefield has accomplished just that, with more than a dozen restaurants offering everything from sushi to gelato, service-oriented businesses like fitness studios and spas, and retail stores for shoppers looking to stock up on perfume, sunglasses, outdoor gear, and pet supplies. That’s not to mention the area’s anchor businesses: Trader Joe’s, L.L. Bean, and Regal Stonefield IMAX movie theater.
The mixed-use area invites visitors to stay awhile, either at the neighboring Hyatt Place hotel, or in one of its three residential properties.
The newest addition, The Elysian, features apartments with energy-efficient appliances, Smart Home technology, walk-in closets, and covered balconies.
“This fresh address seamlessly integrates a sophisticated living environment with unparalleled amenity-centered experiences,” reads the community’s website.
More than a decade since its official opening, The Shops at Stonefield has become a true neighborhood in its own right, with regular farmers’ markets, community events, and live music. Why leave?
THE SHOPS AT STONEFIELD
VIA CENTERS FOR NEURODEVELPMENT
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Tell us about the history of VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment. Since our founding nearly 30 years ago, VIA has grown from a small school started by parents of children with autism to one of the leading providers for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Our mission focuses on building inclusivity, awareness, and acceptance of people with disabilities.
What services does VIA provide? VIA day schools serve as an extension of the public school system, offering clinical and educational services to our students experiencing the most severe and challenging symptoms of autism and related neurodisabilities.
Our Adult Services programs are designed to support adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities as they live, work, and play to their fullest potential in their community. Through our behavioral health services, VIA offers Applied Behavior Analytic early intervention and speech language therapy, and school coaching and consultation services.
How can people support the work of VIA? Donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners help fund quality evidence-based programs and services that make an enormous impact in the lives of the people we serve and their families. Philanthropic support is critical for program expansions like the construction of a new school in Charlottesville, which will allow us to serve more students in need of our services.—Sarah Tok, VIA Communications and Marketing Coordinator
