George Rennick was the PT Barnum of the Charlottesville car world, and he sold a lot of cars. A Kansas native, Rennick worked for a Buick dealership in Wichita and excelled. He loved the automobile business and worked his way up the ranks at General Motors, eventually settling in as District Manager in DC. In the early 1980’s, George decided he wanted his own franchise and bought the local … [Read more...]

Barnaby’s Pizza  We eat pizza from time to time. Who doesn’t? For us, it’s usually Voccelli’s, which is just a stone’s throw from our house. But we have the fondest memories of Barnaby’s, a pizzeria once located on Greenbrier Drive at the current site of Guadalajara. Pizza was a relatively new concept in the south in the 1960s. New York and Chicago were well known for pizza pies, an … [Read more...]

Earl’s Gun Shop When I moved to Charlottesville, it didn’t take long to find out where to go for guns, hunting supplies and ammunition. Earl’s Gun Shop. At first, it was a little intimidating to go in the shop because there were always hardcore gun enthusiasts clinging to the counter where they spoke of velocity, powder loads, primers, and the like. Most were superior marksmen, and all … [Read more...]

Before Fashion Square Mall, Sears was located on West Main, built in 1957.  In my hometown of Lewisburg, WV, we had a Sears Catalog Store, mostly where customers picked up their orders, but this Sears was something else. When Nancy and I married, the only thing I owned was a stereo and she had a single bed. When we moved into our first house on Commonwealth Drive in Berkley, we had to … [Read more...]

Great Clothiers Now Gone   I saw that Eljo’s is either going to soon sell out or close its doors, marking the end of a string of fantastic clothiers in Charlottesville. When I moved to Charlottesville in 1967 to take the reins of the Men’s Department at Leggett Barrack’s Road, the competition was fierce. Three doors down was Ed Michtom’s, who sold the finest brands available and had … [Read more...]

Ken Johnson’s Cafeteria   So many great businesses have come and gone since I first moved to Charlottesville in 1967. One of the first businesses I encountered was the Ken Johnson’s Cafeteria in the Barrack’s Road Shopping Center. I ate many meals there and I was always impressed with the quality of the food and their reasonable prices. Cafeterias are not usually known for their … [Read more...]

Leggett’s Barracks Road   Lots of great businesses have come and gone in the 50-plus years I have lived in Charlottesville. Bear with me as I recall a few of them in the coming weeks. First up – Leggett’s Barracks Road. At one time, Leggett was an old, downtown department store chain. They chose middle-size cities like Lynchburg, Waynesboro and Danville and offered inexpensive … [Read more...]

We have a Tractor Supply on the other side of Charlottesville, so I don’t make regular visits. But occasionally, I pass by and stop in. It is truly an interesting store. I generally go in when I’m low on birdseed as they have a huge selection of interesting varieties, and the prices are fair. I like to offer my backyard bird friends an assortment of seeds to draw lots of different types of … [Read more...]

We put in gas logs about 20-years ago, one of the best decisions we ever made. Tiger Fuel was there to help us get started and they have since been Johnny-on-the-spot when we need refills. They are also experts at servicing and maintaining gas logs. Each year, we have them come out and check on things, adjust the logs and add batteries as needed. They are efficient, courteous, and most … [Read more...]