Business Briefs: December 2019

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Alexandra Caddenhead with one of her arrangements. Submitted photo.

Floral Design Business Grows in Greenwood

Alexandra Caddenhead was moved by the thoughtfulness of the floral designer at her wedding, which she characterized as a “lower-budget” kind of celebration. Nonetheless, she said, the designer gave everything her best attention, including a bouquet featuring the velvety leaves of lambs ears, their understated misty color and pillowy surfaces adding a touch of calm and texture to the bridal flowers. “I hadn’t expected that,” recalls Caddenhead, who had a patch of lambs ears in her yard that the designer must have observed.

She decided to map out a career path for herself, with floral designing as her goal, and began shadowing accomplished designers and taking small, free-lance jobs. As she built up her business, she found out there was more to it than happy brides and sweet bouquets.

One of Caddenhead’s most memorable jobs was designing a floral dog collar for a wedding. Submitted photo.

She’s seen flower-filled urns on elegant high tables wobble and topple when the wind comes up and arbors festooned with flowers start to sway. She does encourage the wedding party to consider the weather when planning, she said, but they don’t always focus on this. Luckily, she does, she said, finding anchors for the wedding arches and wiring flowers securely. At one wedding, the urns toppled but she was there to catch them before the flowers hit the ground.

Because Greenwood Floral Design is small, she tries to make her services very personal. When she first meets with a client, she asks them for a link to their Pinterest page, and has several meetings before imagining the end result. Over the time she’s been in business she’s found that, just as people have their favorite flowers, they often have flowers they don’t like and she’s glad to work around them. Caddenhead said she’s flexible: glad to put together an arrangement for a holiday dinner centerpiece as well as planning all the flowers for a wedding. She does recall a time when her flexibility was tested. “There was a golden retriever in the party,” she said. “I fashioned a garland for his neck and it turned out well.” Caddenhead has recently joined Steelcut Flower Company to serve its Charlottesville customers.

Find Greenwood Floral Design at greenwoodfloral design.com and on Facebook and Instagram.

Jalisco’s Mexican Grill and Cantina Opens

After weeks of anticipation, the second location of the popular Waynesboro grill opened at Clover Lawn Nov. 25. Owner Juan Ocegueda said he’d been ready to open for so long that he was able to open on a Monday after getting final approval Friday. With him for now are many key members of the Waynesboro staff, and Ocegueda said business has been very good. Jalisco’s is in the former Otto’s restaurant space.

Jalisco’s staff welcomes diners to their new Clover Lawn location. Photo: Theresa Curry.

A casual southern restaurant, “Pap and Zan’s” is scheduled to open this week in the other vacant Clover Lawn restaurant, the former Mountainside, and has been advertising for staff.

Bold Rock Sold

The 200 or so employees of Bold Rock Hard Cider aren’t going anywhere for now, according to Derek Detember, chief marketing officer for Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV). ABV has announced its agreement to acquire the fast-growing Nellsyford cidery and the number two cider brand nationally (behind Angry Orchard) that also has an operation in North Carolina and seasonal retail outlets in Charlottesville and at Chiles Peach Orchard in Crozet. 

This will be the first venture outside of beer for ABV, which itself was formed by the merger of several brewing companies. Bold Rock has recently added flavored seltzer and canned cocktails to their products, and it has plans to begin distilling apple brandy. The financial terms of the sale were not disclosed, but the acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Detember also said company founders and executives Brian Shank and John Washburn will continue at ABV in roles similar to ones they occupied at Bold Rock.

Ancient Vehicles Visit Crozet

A parade of Rolls Royces rolled through Crozet on their “Blue Ridge Idyll” fall tour last month. Other pre-World-War I cars were also in the caravan. Crozet Antiques shopkeeper Patty Roberts said the club’s president had scouted out her shop and the town in advance of the fall trip. The group, which collects, restores and drives the antique cars, plotted a course that would bring them to wineries, scenic small towns and rural landscapes. The club, called “Friends of Ancient Road Transportation,” had just returned from a European tour. Maryjo Ashenfelter, the club’s president, said the cars of the era were lovingly built by hand by cabinet makers and other master craftsmen once the basic mechanics were finished. The club also stopped at Chiles Orchard for a visit. 

Ancient vehicles visit Crozet. Photo: Theresa Curry.

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