Rose’s and the Crawling Derby Rose’s was one of the first Five and Dimes, originally called Rose’s 5c 10c 15c. It began in tiny little Henderson, NC in 1915. At the start of WWII, Rose’s had 118 stores. Charlottesville opened its first store at the Barrack’s Road Shopping Center, and all was well until the arrival of Walmart. Then it was arrivederci  and last week Rose’s announced it would … [Read more...]

Rio Road Gulf In the 1960s’, Charlottesville had no mega-gasoline stations – Wawa, Sheetz, Liberty and such. There were only mom-and-pop stations that sold Amoco, Esso, Pure or Gulf gasoline. Most had 2 garage doors where they did mechanical work. Our gas station of choice was Rio Road Gulf at the corner of Rio Road and Rt. 29 N. The station was located in what is now the upper corner of … [Read more...]

The Spudnut Coffee Shop The Spudnut Coffee Shop was a Charlottesville institution, at least as famous as Monticello. People of all walks of life flocked to the small cinderblock building on Avon Street each morning to satisfy a craving which only a Spudnut could satisfy. Not long after I moved to Charlottesville, I noticed the new shop and the interesting name. What’s a Spudnut?  I … [Read more...]

Anderson’s Seafood They were some of the nicest people in the world. The Anderson family, and they brought fresh seafood to Charlottesville. I remember way back, when Mr. and Mrs. Anderson and occasionally a few of their children would set up a tent on a Friday afternoon beside what was Hardy’s at the intersection of Rt. 29 and Rio Road. I often stopped by to poke around in one of his … [Read more...]

The Tavern It was a dump, but it was our dump. It was widely known as the place where students, tourists and towns people would meet. It was fondly known as The Tavern. The Tavern, sometimes called Sarge’s though no one knows why, opened in1954. It was a place for cheap beer and hearty breakfasts known to cure even the most severe hangover. It was home to some of the fastest cockroaches in … [Read more...]

When I first moved to Charlottesville, I quickly discovered that if there was anything you needed in the way of tools and hardware, Downtown Hardware was the place to go. What a neat store - with hardwood floors and chests and most any tool or doodad imaginable No matter what you needed, they had it and the experienced clerks had all been there since Teddy Roosevelt was president. I loved … [Read more...]

Tiffany’s Seafood Once upon a time in a land not-so-far away, there was a fabulous seafood restaurant. The land not-so-far was Charlottesville, and the restaurant was Tiffany’s Seafood. Today, there really are no seafood restaurants in town. Some, like Rhett’s, have seafood specials from time to time, and some, like Bonefish off the usual salmon, shrimp, and frozen fish entrees. But there … [Read more...]

Sloan’s Restaurant If the Gaslight Restaurant was Charlottesville’s Best, then Sloan’s Restaurant was the Friendliest. Everybody loved to go to Sloan’s. Sloan’s was the brainchild of Mac Sloan, a beloved Policeman in Charlottesville. When Mac turned in his badge, he decided to go in the restaurant business with his sons, Dale and David. Dale and Mac opened Tiny Macs while David and Mac … [Read more...]

The Gaslight When I moved to Charlottesville in 1967, one restaurant had established itself as the best in town: The Gaslight, at 615 W. Main Street stood alone. The Gaslight was the brainchild of John Tuck, known to one and all as “Tuck”. He wore a beret and visited every table to make sure the guests were completely satisfied. I have always said that the best restaurants have hands on owners … [Read more...]

Miller & Rhoads Miller & Rhoads was as Virginia as a field of Wakefield peanuts. A prestigious department store based out of Richmond; Miller & Rhoads had two locations in Charlottesville when I came to town in 1968. The Downtown Store and one at Barracks Road Shopping Center. There are two things that stand out in my memories of Miller & Rhoads - the Gift Wrap Lady and … [Read more...]