Editor’s Note: The Richmond Experience
We’re putting a little more long(ish)-form content in front of your peepers and kicking things off with our newest series, Editor’s Note! Here, every month, we’ll wax poetic stream-of-consciousnessly (?) about local people, places, and things we’ve had on the brain recently. Today, we’re writing a bit about why we love small businesses in gen and about our very own small business — The Richmond Experience itself.
Small businesses line the street on Memory Lane for me. When I was a kid, my family could’ve been considered an unofficial primary investor in Sam’s Pizza & Subs. The spot offers a buy-one-get-one-free deal that still slaps when my family of seven (plus in-laws) gets together for dinner. And don’t sleep on the calzones — or the fries, according to my brother.
When I went to JMU for undergrad, Cally’s Restaurant & Brewing (RIP) offered $0.75 pints, and I spent many a night there, putting off paper-writing. And of course, just down the block, Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint — its original location! — was another must-sit-and-shoot-the-shit place off-campus. To this day, I’m as close with The Elvis, fries, and JB Sauce as I am with my former roommates; the latter were in my bridal party, and maybe the JB Sauce should’ve been, too, honestly.
Of course, right down the street from us on Columbia Pike, when my husband and I lived in Arlington, there was Bob & Edith’s Diner, a mainstay for my aunt and uncle who lived in the area in their twenties, too. And when my husband and I moved to San Diego for a couple years before finding a place to put down roots, we frequented Pacific Beach Fish Shop so much that it may have been more of a reason we were reluctant to move back to Virginia than the constant sunshine and our apartment’s five-minutes-away proximity to Ocean Beach.
Then, when we were making plans in 2018 to move to Richmond later that year, The Richmond Experience was our main resource for fueling our excitement to put down those roots in the River City. From what we could tell, the James was a stunner (ofc), the neighborhoods were affordable-ish (lol), and, to paraphrase someone in our support system who could vouch for this being the right choice for us: Richmond is brimming with small brands, from restaurants and breweries to artists and other creators — a few of our favorite things. It was a perfect fit.
And now it fits so well, I co-own a small brand here with my friend, Paige Poprocky, *another* Richmond fangirl. Like, that small brand I just mentioned looking to, once upon a time, for tips and tricks about getting comfortable in a new-to-me city. I’m not (still) sweating; you are!
Small businesses are the point of any great city. They’re the reason people visit from other great cities. They’re who you tell people they should check out when they move to a new neighborhood in a great city. They’re who you’re excited to see highlighted outside of your great city. They’re what makes your home that friend you’re so psyched to know, because she’s so pretty and does so many cool things and knows so many cool people and she’s really dog-friendly! Er, like… you know what I’m saying.
Small businesses are why you’re here. They’re why we’re here, too. And we can’t wait to head into the new year, sharing more about new ones and established ones. They’re building on Memory Lane — stay tuned.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelsey is RVAx co-owner and editor-in-chief. She moved to Richmond in 2018, settling(ish) first in Scott's Addition, then in Church Hill, before finding a suburban spot that gives her and her family just a bit more room to grow. You can usually find her reading yet another thriller or rewatching whatever Friends episode she rewatched least recently.
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