The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Changing The Face Of CVille's Neighborhoods; How To Increase Walkability In Charlottesville?

Episode Date: November 12, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: What Neighborhood Most Needs A Coffee Shop? Changing The Face Of CVille’s Neighborhoods How To Increase Walkability In Charlottesville? CVille To Begin Sidewalk Improvement Project AlbCo MicroCAT Beats Ridership Expectations City Must Encourage Stefan Friedman To Open Storefronts UVA Hoops Beats Hampton, How Good Are Hoos? If You Need CVille Office Space, Contact Jerry Miller Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

guys good to be with you on a wednesday good wednesday afternoon to you thank you kindly for joining us on the i love seville show pleasure to connect with you guys across the i love seville network on our flagship program and we have a lot we're going to talk about today um no clear uh insight into chandler morris i know many of us whether die hard or casual fans are watching what is going on with Virginia's injured quarterback as it looks to make a push for the college football playoff and potentially an ACC championship title. That path a lot clearer and a path of least resistance

with Chandler Morris under center. Tony Elliott does what coaches do, and he plays it close to the vest with an injury, especially a head injury and he has indicated to all of us we will know more if he can practice if Chandler Morris can practice or not if he's in practice there's a good chance he can play if the guy does not practice then you're looking at Danny Kalin the backup quarterback and and today's practice deadline if you can't practice today Danny Kalin's your guy for Virginia football the line has moved interestingly from six and a half to open

down to five and a half now. We'll talk Virginia football in that victory for the Cavalier basketball team against Hampton last night, an absolute shalacking. First year, freshman point guard Chandler, Chance Mallory, Chance Mallory from San Anns Belfield Academy looks absolutely phenomenal, not only a fan favorite, but from my standpoint, he should be your starting point guard with Dalen Hall, the upper classman coming off the bench because of the upside Chandler Morris provides offensively and defensively. So we'll cover that. We'll talk neighborhoods in this community. The changing

face of Seville neighborhoods. We'll ask the question which neighborhood locally most needs a coffee shop. These are Judah's ideas today. How to increase the walkability in Charlottesville. I'm very excited to see what he has in store for the show. I think he's going to compare and contrast it to Savannah, Georgia, a town that he loves. We'll talk microcat, the Almaro County, public transportation that has exceeded ridership expectations. And ladies and gentlemen, there's a restaurateur and a business person locally who is becoming, you know, a bit troubling for the business community. And, you know, talk shows like us, shoot it straight.

And I gave him significant props when his business was doing well, Stefan Freeman. I gave him significant props when he was purchasing Little John. Ice Biscuit and Barbecue, Draft Tap Room, Travis Wilburn's Old Metropolitan Hall, opening Bonnie and Reed, purchasing Vite Spirits from Ian Golomsky, opening Chef Toshy's sushi joint and the back of Vite Spirits. But I'm going to highlight again, and I'm going to be much more pointed in my commentary today, the same guy who got a lot of accolades from this program and this platform as the most impactful and an influential restaurateur at one time, a very short time, but at one time

in Charlottesville, is now the one with the most vacant storefronts under his purview. And that's Stefan Freeman. He watches and listens to the show. I know he does. So to his lieutenants. It's time to put a little pressure on the restaurant group, on ownership, on Stefan himself because he's got Little Johns that sit in vacant, draft tap room sitting vacant, Bonnie and Reed, sitting vacant, old Metropolitan Hall, sitting vacant, and some in the business community are calling Stefan Freeman Hunter Smith 2.0. A lot we're going to talk about on the program. We'll give some love today to Conan Owen, the owner of Sir Speedy of Central Virginia. He helps us with our business, our clients, and he helps us with our tenant portfolio, 24 of them, with our

signage needs. He can help you. business owners with your direct mail, your uniforms, your print marketing collateral, your signage on your windows or your storefronts. Conan Owen can help you with your tickets, your lanyards, your merchandise, your holiday gifts. Conan Owen's a Darden graduate and his company Sir Speedy, Central Virginia, has proudly served this area for a very long time. Judah Wickhauer Studio Camera, so we can showcase the studio if you can. I'd love if you rotate the studio camera in from time to time. If you could please, I know you're doing a lot. You should be commended for the value you provide to this show. Vanessa Park, you'll walk up to the broadcast. You do a hell

of a job. Today's program, the rundown of headlines, very much Judah influence, perhaps more so than at any time before. I'm excited for that. I value your opinion. You wanted to talk about the walkability of neighborhoods and how we can make Charlottesville City a better place by considering the character, the layout, the footprint of neighborhoods and prioritizing them because you see an opportunity to create quality of life through your time in Savannah here in Charlestville. I'm curious where you want to go with this topic, my friend. Well, I think we've talked a lot in the past about food deserts, about, you know, just areas that have a hard time finding, you know, finding services.

Obviously, we've discussed the Cherry Avenue potential for having its own grocery store that doesn't seem very likely to happen. I think that deal is done. But whether or not it's grocery stores or just more, you know, things like gas stations oftentimes take at least some of the pressure off that because they provide, you know, they don't obviously provide the same amount. of services the same amount of products that a grocery store does but they you know they do a good job of at least at least shoring up some of that availability and I think if we had neighborhoods that were a little more mixed use there would be there would be more it would be easier for people to to find things that they need with without traveling halfway across the city?

I'll offer first-hand perspective on this. I've lived, if you watch the program, sometimes I tell a story of what my history in Charlestville is. I've now lived in this area in Charlottesville, on the Charlestville area for more than 25 years. I often tell the story. It came here as a first year at the University of Virginia, old dorms, Dabney Hall, Dorm 1-01.

I was placed in a dorm randomly with a student named Shannon. And interestingly, Shannon and I grew up in the same neighborhood in Williamsburg, Kingsmill, went to different schools and never knew each other. And randomly, by happenstance, the University of Virginia placed two Williamsburg boys as roommates and old dorms. We've been friends ever since. Random coincidence. And from my first year at UVA, old dorms Davinie, to my second year, I lived in Lambeth Commons, which is UVA housing, but it's UVA housing right next to Rugby Road. My third year, I lived in the fraternity house Phi Kappa Psi, which is the iconic fraternity house

when you're going down Rugby Road, just past the Mad Bowl. the one that's looking over the Mad Bulls, five cap-as-eye, social and rush chair there. Then my fourth and final year, I lived on 14th Street, which was close to the bars in the corner. From there, we decided to move post-school to Oxford Hills, which is right there on Preston Avenue,

crossed from George Washington Park, next to the Shenandoah Joe's. And after a year living in the UVA bubble in Oxford Hills, my friends and I decided to move to Belmont. We moved to Belmont in circa 2005. And in Belmont, when we moved there in circa 2005, on a road called Little Graves, right behind Spudnuts,

we watched the evolution of Belmont from working-class neighborhood into what has become today a white-collar, expensive, professional neighborhood. Belmont, when we first moved there, was anchored by Moss Tapas and the Belmont market and nothing else. Adam Frazier, the owner behind the local, was just starting to have a dream of building a restaurant in Belmont

in an area that wasn't even called downtown Belmont. He, Adam Frazier, lived on Grave Street. We lived off Little Graves, which was just off Graves, Street. We saw Adam Frazier put the blood, sweat, and tears into designing, remodeling his house on Grave Street. I believe he still lives there to this day. Adam Frazier is talented. He should be commended on the value he's provided Charlott's, on what he's done with creating a vision for downtown Belmont, with the local, with buying the hair salon, I think it was called jeans in downtown Belmont and converting that into a private dining room for the local.

Then Adam Frazier buys the historic but extremely dilapidated building across the way that is now Mockingbird restaurant where Melissa Close Hart is the face of the brand. He's evolved or has been the inspiration behind downtown Belmont. But when my friends and I first arrived in downtown Belmont in 2005, it was working class. and the extent of what was there was Mas Tapas, a restaurant that was the vision of Tomas Rahal. I always mess up his last name.

Tomas, I apologize for messing up your last name. He is now the owner of Quality Pie who's since rebranded, I believe, quality pie. Bar Tomas. He no longer has an ownership position in the Tapas restaurant, Moss. Tomas, and I believe with some financial backing of corn capsule built a tapas restaurant in belmont and that tapas restaurant in belmont was um the magnet

that helped attract yuppies and the wealthy and those with disposable income to a working-class neighborhood called belmont and this working-class neighborhood before moss tapas was was there was anchored by belmont Belmont Market and Belmont Market at a time was this jewel of a market that was much closer to a grocery than a convenience store. There was a time where Belmont Market was much more elevated bodega than what it is now, malt liquor, cheap beer, lottery tickets, and cigarettes. When Moss Tapas and Tomas Rahal and Corrin Capshaw built this tapas restaurant in downtown Melbourne, Belmont. You started to see people flock to it. You saw folks that lived in the neighborhood, walked to it for happy hour, for sangria,

bacon-wrapped dates, tomato-a-todas-dos. You saw folks drive to the area for it. And this anchor tenant started creating a revolution in a working-class neighborhood. Then you saw Melissa Easter. Anyone remember the name Melissa Easter? She and her husband, now ex-husband, Jeff Easter, helped bring La Tasa coffee shop to downtown Belmont.

Jeff Easter had an ownership stake. He very well still May, but he had an ownership stake in that strip of retail that is in downtown Belmont. That is where Bell is now located. and shops, retail shops, were located. But Melissa had an idea of an El Salvadorian coffee shop, which she ran with her daughter, Vanessa.

And this coffee shop, I remember working hundreds of hours as a young professional out of college, as a journalist for the Daily Progress at the time, and would file stories or write my stories while drinking El Salvadorian coffee and looking out the window at La Tassa as Adam Fraser was building the local restaurant.

And when Melissa and Vanessa Easter, beautiful women, hope they hear this, hope they listen to the show, Vanessa and Melissa, hope you hear this, as they were building this fantastic you know epicenter. I mean, a Zocalo for conversation.

You know Zocalo restaurant, the meaning of the word Zocalo is like town center. Vanessa and Melissa, with La Tassa, built a Zocalo town center in the heart of Belmont. And that attracted locals by the hundreds, if not thousands, on a weekly basis. That was the point where Moss Tapas and Melissa and Vanessa Easter's Latasa, that you saw a working-class neighborhood start evolving into a yuppie neighborhood. And then when Adam Frazier opened this sit-down diner.

experience called the local that sells elevated cuisine with Maddie Hart as the executive chef, then the momentum really started building. And at that point, Melissa's brother opened a barbecue joint across from La Tasa called Belmont Barbecue. And her brother would ride around town in this barbecue van promoting his brand while serving fantastic barbecue. One of my favorites, and I forgot what the name was, and Wes, I apologize, and Melissa, I apologize. He had this barbecue dish that would come in like this bowl, and it was like this hodgepodge or a cornucopia of barbecue served in a bowl. It was absolutely dynamite.

He had fantastic barbecue, Wes. this is what made Belmont a coveted place to live workplay and if you want to look at Belmont home values now and where they are basically in the neighborhood of a million dollars depending on the style of the home the street the remodeled nature of the home how well taken care of it is Belmont homes can trade

upwards of two million dollars you can buy something that you're basically buying for the dirt value to build something upon for probably four or five hundred thousand but you're looking at homes for the most part that are a million bucks in belmont because of its proximity to the urban core and the epicenter of employment in charlesville we can attribute the success of this neighborhood and the astronomical meteoric rise of home values to Tomas at Moss to Melissa Easter and Vanessa Easter at La Tassa to Adam Frazier at the local to Maddie Hart's cuisine at the local to Wes at Belmont Barbecue these folks made Belmont cool and as a result buyer demand shot through the roof

And when buyer demand shot through the roof and homes went from $150,000 to $200,000 homes to a million dollar homes, people with disposable income moved into the neighborhood. And that disposable income started walking around the neighborhood and patronizing the businesses around there. And now you have the Shaughnessy brothers and Annie McClure at Bell who replaced Latassa. you have tabla next to the local you have what's the what's the place the the restaurant that's in the where the barbecue join is I believe it's Molle

Con Moli? Comolei I think that's it The owner of Komole used to be the manager at Mastapas at one time and it's because of this evolution a neighborhood now has an identity that is no longer working class and $200,000 homes, but as white collar and $1 million homes.

James Watson remembers this evolution. Yes, Rob Neal and Georgia Gilmer. It was called the slop bucket at Belmont Barbecue. You're 100% right, Rob Neal and Georgia Gilmer. Thank you kindly for reminding me. That was my go-to order at Belmont Barbecue. It was called the slop bucket. And you got a bucket of cornucopia of mac and cheese, mashed potato,

gravy and barbecue and you ate it as if you were eating a bowl of ice cream. Sounds crazy, but was absolutely amazing. Absolutely amazing. James Watson watching the program. He says, don't forget Adam Frazier would walk around

Belmont with that big mastiff. You're jogging my memory, James Watson. Thank you. He had that huge dog, the mastiff that Adam Frazier used to have that was walking around the neighborhood with. This is before Adam Frasier married and has, I think he has two boys.

Okay, walk around the neighborhood with a mastiff, I think even an unleashed mastive, a 150-pound dog walking around Belmont. I tell the story often about living at 208 Little Graves as this neighborhood was gentrifying. There was this extremely working class, you know, tenant that lived at the end of Little Graves adjacent to the dirt road, the potted pothole dirt road that could cut you, that was a cut through or a shortcut to downtown Belmont from Little Graves. And they had this shack in their backyard where somehow they managed to put like an eight-foot Brunswick pool table in and had a beer fridge in there. And these boys who got after it at all hours of the night, and I'm not just talking about butt heavies and shooting pool and smoking a little weed. they did all kinds of extracurricular activities

and this shack. In a couple days, a few times I went in there and shot pool with them, and the next thing I know these boys are chopping stuff up on the pool table ledge. I'm like, you know what? This is two in the afternoon. I like to get after it and party, but at this point, I think I'm going to leave. And I saw my way out of there after sinking the eight ball and went in three or four racks in a row.

But where Judah's going with this, the walkability of Belmont, the demand of Belmont, the brand of Belmont, the essence of Belmont was crafted or was evolved because of two or three businesses that chose to set up shop in Belmont. You want to dramatically revolutionize a neighborhood. Look at what, look at what Beer Run has done. for some of Hogwaller. Yeah. Look at what public has done

for some of Star Hill in West Main. You want to dramatically dry value for 10th and page. You find a Mastapas or a Melissa Easter or an Adam Frazier for 10th of page and you have the zoning flexibility for those businesses to come to market.

10th and page has a bodega. Remember, we patronized it all the time while going to the University of Virginia. It was called Shady Grady. Shady Grady on Preston Avenue was the spot we used to go to buy kegs without being given a hard time if we were underage. A lot of times fraternity brothers, if we were looking to raise money for a party, we'd find keg shells around town.

We'd get those keg shells. We'd deliver them to Shady Grady or we delivered them to Anderson's carriage house across from Barrett's Road Shopping Center because you've got a $35 deposit for every keg shell that was delivered to you, and that's how you'd get your money for your beer for your next party the next day or the day after that. You can create walkability like Judas seen in Savannah, or you could create demand or neighborhood evolution by having three or four businesses move into the neighborhood, planning a flag, and creating a demand of clientele that is then going to spark,

other economic evolution or economic growth. And Belmont's the perfect example. You want to figure out a way to drive value for Fifeville and who should lead this charge is the Woodard's. Friend of the program, Anthony Woodard, I talk about him from time to time. Dude gets after it in the wait room. He's an absolute brick house, Anthony Woodard.

His family, his firm, owns much of Cherry Avenue now. They made some significant purchases very much under the radar during COVID when commercial real estate was significantly dropping in value, but the Woodard's had the foresight to be greedy when everybody was scared. And because of that, they've really made out financially and a lot of real estate deals they did during the pandemic. If I was part of the Woodard contingent or offering consultation to the Woodard firm,

I would say how do we take these parcels, these plazas we own, One of the plazas they own is, I believe, where the go-co is, that shopping center where the gas station is that sells the fantastic fried food, fried chicken on Cherry Avenue. They also own some empty lots over there. And my strategy would be, how do I take this distressed stretch of residential and commercial corridor? And how do I make it what Belmont was in 2005 or 2004? And the playbook is straightforward. You take a distressed area and you figure out a way to make it an in-demand or Tony or cool or hip area.

And how the best way to do it is by incentivizing the business community to create the next coolest, best, cool, you know, hippest thing, just like Tomas did with Moss or Melissa did with LaTasa. Because right now on Cherry Avenue, you don't have that. No shade on Royalty Eats. I think Royalty Eats is fantastic. The food is fantastic. I think it's great. No shade on the go-co. No shade. I think there's a Tiger Fuel over there. Markets by Tiger Fuel somewhere on Cherry Avenue. But Cherry Avenue, who I've often said is the most underappreciated, underdeveloped, the most upside stretch of commercial and residential quarter in the city that's struggling right now does not have that Melissa Easter, that Tomas, or that Adam Frazier to change the vibe.

Yeah. It's as much about walkability. It's as much about proximity as it is economic ecosystem driving quality of life evolution. James Watson, this is right up his alley. He says the downtown mall was also beginning to thrive and spike during that time. The pavilion was opening in that era, which also added to the value of Belmont. He's 100% right. I had an opportunity to purchase 208 little grave.

from Arthur Feiner, Ben Feiner's father, Ben Feiner owns ProLink. Arthur Feiner was in and out of 208 Little Grays when we were like 24, 25. The four of us that lived there, we tore that house up, but we always paid our rent on time. We got after it, but he always got his rent on time, the first of the month. So we left us alone. We rarely called in issues with the house. We fixed the stuff ourselves because we didn't want him walking in at all random times, seeing what we were doing in that house.

Okay. That house, the opportunity to purchase 208 Little Graves, I think, was like at $189,000, like $200K. It was under $200K. Let's see what 208 Little Graves is on the Charlestful GIS. Charlestful GIS. So in 2006, I could have purchased this thing. I think it was 169.

169K. Here it is. 208 little gray street right now it's owned by a trust and it's assessed assessed value is 538,700 so this home has 3x in value more than 3x in value assessment just on the assessment the assessment is well below market value it's in 20 years 3x and less than 20 years let's see what the zestimate is on zillow on 208 Little Graves. The estimate is over 600K.

Excuse me, it's 629,900. I had a chance to buy that thing at a buck 69. I ended up buying a condo at the Villas at Southern Ridge instead, which certainly did not appreciate like this. 169 times five. 169 times four. it's 4xed in value yeah

and for and from 2005 to now and 20 years basically 400% in value Bellbot white collar or excuse me working class to white collar someone had the vision to buy

the working class stock and held it today, they're looking at a 4X return. That's basically a possibility in 10th and page if you wanted to do it. That's basically a possibility if you wanted to do it around Fifeville or the prospect neighborhood if you wanted to do it. A Star Hill neighborhood if you wanted to do it there. If you wanted to do it in the Star Hill neighborhood, that would work there. Yeah. If you wanted to do that in the high street area, high street area, it would work there.

And work in a lot of places. Yeah. Comments coming in quickly. Codin Owen, isn't dairy market to Guajiros and Carmilla's mud house considered 10th and page-ish? I'd say that's on the cusp of 10th and page. I would say that's on the outskirts of 10th and page and not the dead center of 10th and page. maybe the border of 10th and page. I'd say the heart of 10th and page

would be those two little bodegas in 10th and page. I'd say the heart of Cherry Avenue would be that Cherry Avenue shopping center, which the Woodard's own. John Blair's got a comment. Deep throat, we'll go to you. This one's from John Blair. He says this.

And then will we'll be. view in Judah. I loved La Tasa, Jerry. But one other big pillar that changed Belmont was Bel Rio. The long wild nights there were also part of the cauldron that got Belmont cooking. I got a Bel Rio story for you, the viewer and listener, as well. This is me, but that's John Blair's words. I'll tell you my Belrio story, viewers and listeners in a matter of moments. John Blair says, and it's probably fair to say that for people who don't recall working class Belmont, it used to be that you had spud nuts where working class people would drop in. and get donuts before heading to work.

He's 100% right. Spudnuts in Fox's Cafe. I told my Fox's Cafe story last week. Bel Rio was the nightclub. You remember who owned Bel Rio, Judah? I don't. I don't even remember Bel Rio. Bel Rio was a nightclub in downtown Belmont.

And they had music of all different varieties, all different varieties. There was a gentleman, was his last. Last name? Baldi, John? Jim Baldi? Jim Baldi was either an accountant or a CPA who started moonlighting as a nightclub owner. And Jim Baldy basically took his client's estimated payments that he was trusted by his clients. to make to the Commonwealth of Virginia and to the feds. And instead of making those estimated payments, he left an utter trail of heartbreak and misery by pocketing the estimated payments instead of allocating them to Virginia

and to the feds, keeping them himself, and I believe funneling them or laundering them through the club, Bel Rio, and Belmont. Who remembers this, viewers and listeners? Do you remember this story of Jim Baldy? This guy was a bookkeeper and accountant, a CPA. He bamboozled a friend of mine Tony Jorge who owned Cafe Cubano on the downtown mall. And Tony Jorge and I for about seven years were neighbors in the neighborhood Redfields on Rockledge Drive.

And Tony and I love to smoke cigars. we love to drink bourbon, we love to socialize, and we love to talk about Charlottesville business. This is when I was in my late 20s, early 30s that I lived in Redfields. And Tony told me a story, and this is public record, I'm not speaking at a turn, this has been covered by local media. He told me the story of Jim Baldi handling all his payroll in accounting. and Jim Baldi was entrusted with paying Tony's payroll taxes, estimated payments, all the accounting work, and he never did any of it over that four-year period of time. To finally, the taxman comes dropping a hammer and starts putting liens on stuff,

and then you're the unassuming, unexpecting, business owner saying, what do you mean? This guy, Jim Baldi, handled all this for us. then Jim Baldi went on the lamb do you guys remember this story viewers and listeners Jim Baldy went on the lamb this is like an 18 maybe 18 19 year old story he goes on the lamb with one of his way younger servers from Bel Rio Jim Baldi and he changes his identity they go on the lamb they go to California and recreate a new life in California working in the F&B business, hiding their true identities, and live in California for an extended period of time

until basically somebody like Walker, Texas Ranger, like a marshal, hunted him down and this beautiful young lady half his age in California and discovered they were using an alias to finally handcuff him, extradite him, and bring them back to Virginia. Who remembers the story of Jim Baldi? That's a blast from the past. This show has literally got me on Memory Lane. you remember that James do you remember that Georgia Gilmer

you remember that John Georgia Gilmer you're exactly right she calls him he was an absolute crook exactly right about that Georgia Gilmer but to John's point Jim Baldi's club Bel Rio helped fund the nightlife in downtown Belmont

yeah Baldi's club was funded by the fraud the laundering of payroll taxes and estimated payments stealing. I mean, I guess the word of stealing from his many clients in this community, clients like Café Cubano and Tony Jorge, clients like Martin's Grill. I think Martin's Grill was a part of that too, Ryan Martin,

if memory serves correctly. Wild times. Comments coming in. Deep throat, number one, in the family. He says, this. I agree about Cherry Avenue having potential, but would you be the guy to start a new restaurant and a risky new hotspot that doesn't exist as of yet

in a city where restaurants are failing left and right and where you're going to have to pay 14% in combined sales and meals taxes? Or if you were going to take that kind of risk, wouldn't you go someplace growing much faster than here with a shortage of food restaurants and business-friendly government? I agree with everything he said. I think for Cherry Avenue to take off like Belmont did, it's going to take an investment of sizable notion by the Woodards. It's going to be like basically the Woodards finding someone

that they see a lot of upside in and being like, we're going to invest in this ownership guy or this gal or this ownership group. And we're going to offer abatements, free rent, TI, build out, because we know if they're successful and they're going to to be successful opening in this extremely distressed neighborhood. The only way they're going to be successful is if they have no rent payment, if we cover a massive allowance for a buildout, and if they have success, that means all our property, which is a massive position in Cherry Avenue, is going to have incremental increase in value. That's what Corrin did with Tomas at Moss Tapas. Corrin realized that

I believe he's still trying to develop parts of Belmont but he had an ownership stake in Belmont and he knew one of the ways to make Belmont sexy was to have restaurants. At one time Corrin had, remember all the restaurants corn at one time was invested in? Corn capture was invested. Remember Blue Light Grill, the predecessor to the Fitzroy?

He had an ownership stake in Mono Loco. He bankrolled Chas Webster at the box. Remember the box viewers and listeners? It used to be Atomic burrito before that. Corinne bankrolled Tomas at Moss. He did a lot of bankrolling of restaurants strategically downtown and strategically in Belmont because he knew that while they were basically lost leaders for him. He's like, I'm going to bankroll this restaurant.

In the worst-case scenario, I'm going to have a significant opportunity for tax shelter with all these losses tied to my investment. And the real upside is these restaurants are going to cause massive gentrification for the neighborhood. Deep Throats giving me some color. Yes, Corrin and his development firm, River Bend, are developing the Belmont Condos Project. There's no Belmont condos without Mas Tapas. There's no downtown mall

without Blue Light Grill and Mono Loco and Atomic Brito and the Box. Corrin's also tied to 10 sushi. James, this is right up your alley, James Watson. What were the other ones that he was tied to, Corrin, that he had ownership stake in? Very much up James Watson's alley. He knows the restaurant scene, especially from back in the day, as well as I do.

Because we patronized the same ones together and closed him down. John Blair says, it's crazy to think that Jim Baldi and the Chris Dumbler stories occurred around the same time. Two very prominent guys just fled the area. Chris Dumbler was the Scottsville District, Almore County Board of Supervisors member who got in some trouble with, I mean, I got to choose my word. carefully here. I mean, I guess rape and sodomy.

Yeah. I'll leave it at that and resigned from his spot on the board of supervisors in the Scottsville district and fled. And Baldi also fled. Yeah, it's wild to think that you could have gone on, that was before where social media really made it prominent.

The guy, Tristan Kelby, The head of the nonprofit that the Charlottesville Police Department is looking for. He's got a nonprofit that's out there. What is Tristan's nonprofit? Is he related to the head of Virginia Film Festival? No. That's Jody Kilbasa. This is Tristan Cabessa.

Oh, you said Kilbasa. He is the come-as-you-are nonprofit. I believe he's still on the land. Did the police department ever catch Tristan? I think he's still on the lamb. For Fifeville and for Fifeville and Cherry Avenue, for 10th and Page,

for Hogwaller and High Street, for those to evolve into what, Belmont or downtown has become, it's going to take some Melissa Easter's, Adam Frazier's, Tomasses, to blood, sweat, and tears, something sexy like FMB, and if you build it, they will come. we took your savanna idea and neighborhoods and ran with it today juda good work good work other topics on the show what do you got let's see what neighborhood most needs a coffee shop tied into this as seville is going to begin a sidewalk improvement project soon to make Charlottesville more easily walkable since we clearly

have some issues with some of our sidewalks. And on the topic of getting around, Albemarle County's microcat started with the expectation of, I think, running 100 trips per day. I believe they've close to doubled that. So they have certainly beaten their ridership expectations. Do we want to talk about Stefan Friedman? Yeah. Here's a good example,

okay? And I've been hesitant to have this conversation on the show to finally, I got stopped today by someone who I respect in the business community. You were privy to that conversation today. And I'm not going to use his name, but he says today on the downtown mall that Stefan

Friedman is basically Hunter Smith 2.0. His words, right? Yeah. That's what he said. And I started thinking about it. He might even be worse than Hunter Smith 2.0. How so? I'm not privy to the the payroll. The thing that was the most damning thing with Hunter was that he was missing He was going weeks, if not longer, without paying his employees. That's what they were saying. And not letting them know what the issue was. I think that's a big problem is that I'm sure some of them would have moved on. Significantly behind on rent at his places, screwing landlords, forcing them to sue him.

Also, his vendors, way behind on pay to his vendors. I mean, the issues are well documented. Yeah. this guy we run into on the downtown mall that's a mover and shaker Judah's part of this conversation we're not going to utilize his name

he says what he is doing is just as bad and while they may not be employees that are missing paychecks I don't know that answer I do know that there are numerous business transactions that have been done where promises have not been kept

payments are way behind rents are way behind and now you have one man who was touted in the daily progress, touted in Legacy Media, and touted on this talk show as being one of the most influential people in food and beverage

as recent as like 18 months ago to now being one of the most notorious, if not the most notorious in food and beverage right now. When he was doing these interviews with Legacy Media and had his face on the cover

the Daily Progress or the face on the cover of the front of the news. He had to know that the House of Cards was on the cusp of crumbling. It doesn't happen overnight. And now he is Little John's vacancy.

I believe, and don't hold me to this one, for 100% Little John's vacancy, may be tied to the lease of Michael's Bistro above Little Johns said vacant. I know definitely Little Johns. Unsurant. certain about Michael's Bistro, but I think those two leases are linked.

He's tied to the lease at draft tap room, tied to the lease at Bonnie and Reed, tied to the lease at Old Metropolitan Hall, tied to the lease at Vite Spirits. I mean, this guy's vacant storefronts are Little John's draft

tap room, Bonnie and Reed and Old Metropolitan Hall. a deal he did with Travis Wilburn and seller finance capacity where I think he still needs to pay a sizable amount of money to Travis Wilburne and is behind on contractual expectations. And those empty storefronts on the downtown mall are a good portion of the empty storefronts on the downtown mall. We should figure out which percentage of the empty storefronts on the downtown mall are his. I mean, we could just walk by and see them. It was so, you know, more I can offer on this with, but I don't want to offer more on this because at that point I'm going to be blowing up, I'm going to be like exposing, exposing

conversations I've had in confidentiality with other people that are close to this, close to these leases and these deals, so I'm not going to do that. But if the platform that we call the I Love Seville Network, champions people like this for influence, that platform also has to hold the same people accountable for notorious. Yeah. If we champion noteworthy, then we hold accountable for notorious. Notaryity.

This would be the opposite of notoriety. This would be notorious. You're saying if we champion notoriety. Notoriality? I don't think that's a word. If we champion notoriety, then we have to hold accountable notorious. Yeah. And what can the city do to do something?

Eventually, the city is going to have to say, hey. Right? Yeah. Like, what, hey. What do other cities do? Is there anything that's ever been talking about to the empty storefronts? I wonder that. That's a good question for John.

The biggest thing I think we can do is the pressure of public outcry. Yeah. the pressure from the masses. Something to think about. Content and conversation for your cocktail party. We'll give some love to Charlottesville Sanitary Supply. 61 years in business. They do business the right way, Charlestville Sanitary Supply.

I'm going to see John and Andrew Vermillion tomorrow, and I'm excited to see them. John and Andrew Vermillion are five generations. Their family in Amar County and their business, Charlottesville Sanitary Supply, is three generations strong at Charlottesville Sanitary Supply on East High Street. online at charlottesville sanitary supply.com.

They offer free in-market delivery, guys. Free in-market delivery. Tomorrow is Real Talk with Keith Smith. No, no. Tomorrow is Thursday. Real talk with Keith Smith is Friday. I'll talk about that on a real estate on Friday show. I want to close the program with basketball and football. We don't know the status of Chandler Morris,

but yesterday in the press conference, Tony Elliott told Jerry Rackleff, who passed it on to us, that if Chandler Morris doesn't practice today, then Chandler Morris is not going to play against Duke on Saturday. It's a 3.30 kickoff. So everyone should be following what's happening in practice today with UVA and quarterback Chandler Morris,

because if he doesn't practice, Danny Kalin, the backup is a starter against the Duke Blue Devils. And interestingly, the line was six and a half yesterday, and it's dropped to five and a half today. Wow. So it's gone in a direction of a narrower margin when the uncertainty for the quarterback is up in the air. That might surprise some folks.

And I'll close with this, the basketball team last night, beat the bejibis out of Hampton. The absolute bejibus. This team is loaded. This team has a guy on the roster and Devon Tillis that has yet to play who's soon to turn 24 years old. 24 in December.

They got a 20th, 22-year-old freshman and Derritter. They are elder statesman roster. But the guy who's the youngest on the roster, Chance Mallory, the St. Ant's product, is already the fan favorite. And from my standpoint, should be into the starting lineup.

Chance Mallory, the point guard, should be a starter with Dalyan Hall coming off the bench. We'll give some love to Oak Hill, to Oak Valley Custom Hartscapes. Oak Valley Custom Hartscapes will help you, the homeowner, or you, the business owner, with any heartscape need and remember the value of a hardscape is is return on investment without question

but it's return on an experience return on experience and the memories made with a hardscape that really is is is the massive upside Oak Valley Custom Hardscapes and see you contact for anything hardscape related my name is Jerry Miller for Judah Wickcarrow this is the I Love Seville show Thank you.