Business Briefs: September 2020

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Drs. Allison Kramer and Garrett Wood at the new Crozet office of Old Dominion Animal Care Hospital. Photo: Malcolm Andrews.

New Veterinary Practice in Crozet

Dr. Martin Schulman, the long-time owner of Crozet Veterinary Care Center, retires this month, and Dr. Garrett Wood, one of the owners of Old Dominion Animal Care Hospital in Charlottesville, has established a second practice at its location, retaining most of the previous staff. 

“I had kept in touch with Dr. Schulman over the years, and always thought it would be great to have a second office in Crozet,” Wood said, “so with his retirement, it seemed like the right time.” 

The Crozet practice, which will take the name of Old Dominion Animal Care Hospital, will offer animal wellness care, plus acute care for cancer, orthopedic injuries and diseases, and injuries requiring surgery. 

Joining Dr Wood in his practice is Dr. Allison Kramer, specializing in dentistry. “She has a real passion for this,” Wood said. “Both of us are dedicated to making sure our animals live a longer, fuller, more comfortable life.”

Wood has been an owner of the Charlottesville practice for seven years, following his father, Charles Wood, who began the practice in 1982. “I grew up around the practice,” he said. “At one point, my father advised me to do something else for a while to see if this was really my choice.”

He quickly discovered that working with animals was his true calling, and said his long-time exposure to veterinary medicine gave him a greater ability to communicate with his patients. “Our pets can’t talk to us,” he said. “They can’t tell us what’s wrong, so it’s up to us to understand what they’re trying to tell us.” 

Although both the practices offer advanced care, Wood said he’s found over the years that much of what he does relies on basic, low-tech tools: experience, observation, a stethoscope and a thermometer. 

He said his clients are always welcome at either location. Both offices have precautions in place that allow only four-legged patients inside except in extreme circumstances. The close-knit staff in Charlottesville and the familiar staff already established in Crozet have the same goals, he said: “We are all committed to the best quality of life for our patients.”

Hamner Theater Stages The Newtown Project

The details are so awful in words that it’s painful to imagine what the contemporary images were like. Employees fled for their lives from the Greenwood Chemical Plant, their clothes burning into their skin. It was April 18, 1985, in the middle of the afternoon. Accounts later said the explosion was unexpected but not surprising. Greenwood citizens were aware of frequent fires at the plant and the putrid smell of chemicals had hovered for years over the otherwise residential neighborhood. People there said the creeks in the area were sometimes green, sometimes red. 

A dramatic reading of “Boomtown” and “The Newtown Cockerille Sketch,” both part of The Newtown Project: Kaleidoscope in Black and White, based on the event, was held on Zoom in August, and The Newtown Project: Kaleidoscope in Black and White; Solo Voices. will be presented in September, part of “Second Saturdays,” Crozet’s celebration of the arts.

Company officials told worried neighbors there was nothing to fear, since a well they’d dug found no groundwater pollution. Their version was at odds with reality, as the EPA would eventually spend more than $300 million cleaning up the toxic mud, hauling off tons of polluted soil and groundwater. The complicity of the chemical company and the suffering of the community are the themes of the play, which is constantly changing and growing. “Each time we stage it, we’ll have a little more information,” said director Boomie Pederson, Hamner Theater’s founder.

Playwright Royal Shiree specializes in writing about the lives of those caught in unendurable circumstances in ways that deeply touch her audience. The project has relied on extensive research, which is still underway. 

The cynical immorality of the plant’s executives and former Dupont chemist F.O. Cockerille, who founded the company, was the subject of “Boomtown’s” companion piece, “The Newtown Cockerille Sketch” by John Lawson. A facilitated discussion and original music followed, and will also be part of the September reading. 

The Newtown Project reading will be via Zoom on September 12 at 5 p.m. To receive a link to the production, please email [email protected]. There is no charge, but donations to the Hamner Theater are welcomed.

 The Hamner Theater is seeking area residents with personal knowledge of the plant, the explosion, or the effect on the Newtown community. Please be in touch via the email above if you can contribute any information to this important effort, or know of someone who can.

Albemarle Ballet Theatre Expands

The Albemarle Ballet Theatre will have a new space, but regular patrons won’t have a hard time finding it. The moving arts landmark is busting through walls and clearing the dust to add a formerly residential area for classrooms and storage to its existing studio on Three-Notch’d Road. It’s a long-time dream for theatre founder Sally Hart, who has felt cramped for many of the 15 years she’s been in the space.

Albemarle Ballet Theatre on Three Notch’d Road is growing. Photo: Malcolm Andrews.

Long before businesses needed extra space in order to operate safely, Hart dreamed of teacher’s lounges, dressing rooms, and storage for the priceless assortment of costumes painstakingly created over the years. The extra space will also enable the theatre to offer additional classes in forms like swing, hip-hop and ballroom as well as the ballet, jazz and Pilates classes offered presently. Find out more at abtdance.com.

Changes at Clover Lawn

Enigma Sports Bar and Jalisco Mexican Grill have moved into the former Haynes Law Group space, expanding both indoor and outdoor seating to allow for more distance. To accommodate the expansion, the Haynes Group has moved upstairs at 375 Clover Lawn, Suite #202. Meanwhile, the ABC store is also planning an expansion into the former Rudy’s Dry Cleaners site. The former Pap & Zan’s restaurant in the same group of shops is for lease. 

Jewelry, Watercolors, Pottery, Fabric Featured in Second Saturday Crozet

Second Saturday, the ongoing monthly celebration of the arts in and around the Crozet community, includes three live events, as well as the Hamner Theater’s virtual event. (See above). At the Crozet Artisan Depot, there will be two shows on September 12, both with artists present from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Tigermoth necklace shows off gemstones and detailing by artist. Submitted photo.

A show and sale by Allison Schroeder of Tigermoth Jewelry features natural stones and minerals, with textured details. Distinctive jewelry with mixed metals, including silver, copper, brass, and stainless steel, are distressed for an aged look. The Tigermoth show runs throughout the month. 

See the work of 18 artists at the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild juried show and sale of small works. The Central Virginia Watercolor Guild is a non-profit educational organization that embraces traditional transparent watercolor as well as gouache, acrylic, and other water-based media.  The Guild accepted 30 works in these media for the show.

Fruit of the Vine by Carolyn Ratcliffe from Central Virginia Watercolor Guild show.

Sunset Farm Studio at 5026 Jones Mill Road presents a Shibori workshop in the morning from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m, and will have free open studio hours in the afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m.  Shibori is a traditional Japanese dying technique that involves folding and stitching fabric before dying. The open studio is free, and the workshop has a $50 fee. The workshop will be limited to four people to allow for social distancing. Find details at sarahtremaine.com.

Meet artist Roslyn Nuesch at Two Owls Pottery, with pottery demonstrations throughout the day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

A map to participating venues is available at: www.SecondSaturdayCrozet.com and more details can also be found by following Second Saturday Crozet on Facebook and Instagram.

Crozet Running to Close Sept. 30

John and Michelle Andersen announced in late August that Crozet Running, the store they opened below the Crozet Library, will close September 30, after selling down their stock of shoes and other sports apparel and gear. The Andersons, both veteran distance runners, live in Crozet with their son and plan to continue to do so. Crozet Running opened in late 2013 and quickly became a gathering place for runners and others who love the outdoors. The Andersens were especially interested in encouraging people to run and walk in shoes that provided a more natural interface with the earth. In an effort to adapt to COVID-19, they offered an array of individual services but on August 28, announced the difficult decision to close the store. (See Back to Fitness, page 24). The Andersons are both veterinarians, and John works at Monticello Animal Hospital in Charlottesville and writes a popular column for the Crozet Gazette.

Crozet Running will be open throughout September, with all items on sale. 

Bizbits

Those waiting for the opening of the restaurant at the intersection of Routes 250 and 240 will wait a little longer, said Stuart Rifkin, one of the owners of Ivy Road House. “COVID is making this difficult,” Rifkin said. “We were on track for an early summer rollout before the pandemic hit.” It’s still happening, he said, just not as expected.

Fardowner’s food is now available in Ivy, thanks to Mark Cosgrove, one of Fd’s owners and a catering chef. Photo: Malcolm Andrews.

Check out the Fd food truck parked in Ivy’s main intersection, dispensing breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. and lunch until 3 p.m. Some Fardowner’s favorites like the potstickers and rockfish and chips are for lunch; breakfast sandwiches and pastries for breakfast. The truck will be there until late September. Meanwhile, the bricks-and-mortar restaurant on the Square has been approved for the addition of an outdoor tent. 

In other food truck news, Mondays are Dumplin’ days for Crozet most weeks, and former Duner’s chef Laura Fonner has been tinkering with the menu. Check the Dumplin’ Facebook page before heading out to Crozet Park, the usual location. 

The purchase of Maupin Brother’s store by Peter and Alice Handy Stoudt is one of several recent acquisitions by the Albemarle County couple, who have bought up rural acreage as well as several downtown business properties in the Free Union area.

Every other seat and every other row allow JAUNT’s Crozet Connect to maintain distancing. Submitted photo.

Crozet Connect, the commuter bus operated by Jaunt, has continued to transport Crozet residents to several stops in Charlottesville. As UVA has reduced on-site staff, the ridership has diminished, said Jody Saunders of JAUNT. The agency has combined the east and west routes, operating the commute in a loop through Crozet. The full-size buses have marked seating to allow social distancing, and they are cleaned throughout the day, said Saunders. The full schedule will be resumed once ridership increases. Riders are asked to wear masks, and presently ridership is free. Find details https://findyourconnection.org/covid-19-connect-transit-impacts.

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