The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Charlottesville Area: Why Are You Bullish Today?; Charlottesville Area: Why Are You Bearish Today?

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Charlottesville Area: Why Are You Bullish Today? Charlottesville Area: Why Are You Bearish Today? Can Charlottesville Tomorrow Quench News Desert? Draft Taproom: “Very, very close to opening…” Approaching 5 Years Since Draft Closed (Covid) Why Is The Downtown Mall Missing A Sports Bar? “The Charlottesville Taco Tour – A Flavor Fiesta!” UVA Football: 2 Road W’s vs Top 20 Since 2002 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.

Good Monday afternoon, guys. I'm Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Seville show. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to make the donuts. So much to cover on the program, including Tony Elliott, a shocking victory in the Steel City against the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Virginia football team. Under Tony Elliott has two road victories against top 20 opponents. And think about this stat for you. Since 2002, UVA football has only had two road victories against top 20 opponents. And Tony Elliott has both of them.

Remember, ladies and gentlemen, they beat a very talented North Carolina football team last year that was 10th in the nation in Chapel Hill. On Saturday night, in front of a large television audience, they beat the Pitt Panthers, 18 in the country. Tony Elliott may have just saved his job. We'll talk on today's program, ladies and gentlemen, about why we are bullish and bearish for Charlottesville, for Alamo County, and for Central Virginia as we head into the final 45 days of the calendar year. You're looking about four weeks, four business weeks left

when you include holidays and the fact that this community in this region likes to take a lot of time off around Thanksgiving, around Hanukkah, and around Christmas and New Year. So about four working weeks in the Charlottesville area will give you an idea of why we're bullish and bearish for the community. I'll ask this question. The non-profit news site, Charlottesville area, we'll give you an idea of why we're bullish and bearish for the community. I'll ask this question. The non-profit news site, Charlottesville Tomorrow, I think this organization is in a prime position, a prime position to fill a media and news gap. It's no question we're in a news desert. The television stations NBC29 and CBS19 are shadows of their former selves.

NBC29 just cut its Saturday morning and Sunday morning newscasts. Think about a news station cutting its newscasts. That's what NBC29 did for Saturday mornings and for Sunday mornings. CBS19 is doing the best it can trying to claim market share from NBC 29, but the reality is people do not sit on a couch and watch a box at 6 o'clock, at 10 o'clock,

or at 11 o'clock anymore. The Daily Progress, as we've covered, they're struggling to fill subscriptions. Its business model has a print product that's delivered, frankly, not very frequently, and its digital platform is not subscribed by or to by many people. So who's going to fill that gap? It might be the nonprofit news organization Charlottesville Tomorrow. We'll talk about that today. I also want to talk draft taproom. We kind of broke a little bit of news today on the I Love Seville Network. The closest thing to what downtown Charlottesville has to a sports bar is draft taproom. It's owned by Stefan Friedman, the retired venture capitalist. Stefan Friedman owns Bonnie and Reed, the seafood restaurant on the downtown mall that's head chefed by chris humphrey stefan freeman owns judah wickhauer ace biscuit and barbecue stefan freeman owns what else you got there j dubs a part owner of little john's stefan freeman i'm told he is uh the man behind licking hole creek brewery

he's the guy behind draft tap room after almost five years of a shuttered storefront on the downtown mall, an end cap unit, ladies and gentlemen, that is right around the corner, directly behind I Love Seville Studios, Draft Taproom is very, very close to opening. I talked to the remodeling crew today. They said we're finishing the floors now. And Jerry, get ready. Draft Taproom is going to be bigger and better than it ever was.

We'll talk about Draft Taproom reopening, the self-serve beer epicenter. And remember, this is the second ownership group behind Draft Taproom. The first ownership group, lieutenants to front of the program, Jeffrey Woodruff of the QIM hedge fund family. So a new sports bar back in action on the downtown mall. This has Judah Wittkower, the diehard sports fan who loves nothing more than going to football games on the road in 15 degree temperature without a shirt on with his favorite mascots letters painted on his chest their colors painted on his face as well as he's standing in the freezing cold passionately cheering for his favorite football team the Cavaliers I'm going to ask the football virtuoso the football genius Judah Wittkower this very important question

why do we have no sports bars on the downtown mall we We'll get Judah Wickhauer's answer on today's program. Also on today's show, we're going to highlight the Charlottesville Taco Tour. Our family and two other couples, even our boys, our six-year-old and nearly two-year-old, went on an epic taco tour over the weekend. We'll give you some insight to that, and then I'm going to ask you this question. If you wanted to put a taco tour together, what would be the best path of attack? And folks on the program, we're going to have a lot of fun taking your comments, the viewer and listener. So put them in the feed and we will relay them live on air.

We're going to have a lot of fun. Judah Wickhauer on a two-shot as we give some love to John Vermillion, Judah, and Andrew Vermillion of Charlottesville Sanitary Supply. 60 years in business. John Vermillion in the studio tomorrow at 1230, taking your questions and your comments. We're going to talk all things business, all things entrepreneurship, all things Charlottesville history, all things related to the news cycle with a man who's been in this community for 60 consecutive years as a business owner. His third generation company, Charlottesville Sanitary Supply, just launched a brand new

website. Did you get a little visual for them on screen? Did you come out of that visual without the black screen to death? Yeah. Oh my God, I could give you a hug right now, Judah Wigdower. Let's welcome J-Dubs on a two-shot. And remember, we're going to give some love to Mexicali and Charlottesville Business Brokers as the show matures. But first, the football topic, UVA, two road victories against top 20 opponents. Tony Elliott steals one at Pittsburgh. Tony Elliott stole one at Chapel Hill last year, number 10 in the country, North Carolina. Maybe he saved his job. I know you were at that Pittsburgh game in the Steel City, shirt off with your chest and face painted, cheering on the Cavaliers.

That sports bar question is right up your alley. I kid because I care. The taco tour topic is right up your alley. If you're going to create a Charlottesville taco tour, what would be the best path of attack? So much I want to cover with you, my friend, including why you are bullish or positive people, glasses half full first on the Charlottesville area, but also why you may be bearish on the Charlottesville area. So much to cover. Which headline, my friend, intrigued you the most?

Like I said, I'm excited to... Like I said. Like I said, I'm repeating what I said. I'm excited. I hear you in the off-air commentary when we post the show later. That's why I'm excited to, like I said, I'm repeating what I said. I'm excited. I'll hear you in the off-air commentary when we post the show later. That's why I'm repeating myself. I'm excited about draft taproom opening back up. It was a great little spot. Like you said, it's just behind us, like literally right behind us.

We can walk out the back door and be in the draft. In their kitchen. We can walk out the back door of the building and basically walk into where they keep the kegs. Yeah. Or go around to the front door. I like to go in the back door through the kitchen and then come through the kitchen into the self-serve port area of Giraffe Taproom, Jbs yeah you don't do that one you don't go that way next time i go that way you come with me we give props to the back of the house we see what's cooking with the back of the house and then we go have uh for you it's going to be uh uh something brown probably right a lager maybe a goza you never know that's what's great about it depends

on my uh what I feel like. They said it's going to be bigger and better than ever before. Nice. I want to talk about that topic later in the program. First, I'm going to ask you a question as you get the lower third on screen. Why are you bullish? And bullish, ladies and gentlemen, for those that don't know the jargon, why are you high?

Why are you upside? Why are you high? Why are you upside? Why are you positive? Why are you eager? What are you excited about in the Charlottesville area? Charles Blunden, you can just remove yourself from the group if you'd like. That would be the easiest way to do it, my friend. Why are you bullish on the Charlottesville area? Charlottesville is growing. Charlottesville and the area, Charlottesville is growing. Charlottesville and the area,

including Albemarle County. I mean, we've got, we've talked a lot on the show about the injicts and the spies and all of the contracts that are flowing into this area. We've got the university. We've got the bioresearch lab.

There is so much happening in Charlottesville that it's hard to not be bullish uh, not be bullish about this area. You're not concerned that same innovation and that same influx of people is going to gentrify the community aggressively. That's why I'm bearish. Oh, so that wasn't, you didn't lead with the bullish. Your bullish answer is your bearish answer i mean they're connected they are connected it's such an interesting such an interesting little great part of the venn diagram yeah where the bullish and bearish venn diagram are connected is exactly what judah said that gray area where the circles are connected is the population influx and the population influx is tied to biotechnology,

Paul Manning, 100 million Fontaine Research Park, Jeffrey Woodruff, Data Science School, Amazon, 11 billion investment, Louisa County, Northrop Grumman, quarter of a billion dollars, Waynesboro, all those employees' average salary for that new facility, 94 grand, plus all the accolades, Charlottesville area, best place to live, happiest place to live, best place to retire. All those elements are in the overlapping circles on the Venn diagram.

And all of those elements could be interpreted as bullish or bearish, depending on how you look at the glass of water that's sitting in front of you judah yeah for some people it's going to be a lot of bearish for others it's going to be a lot of a lot of uh what do they say bearish bullish it it all depends on your perspective of things i think housing it's going to change the labor market it's going to change the cost of living it's going to change. The labor market, it's going to change. The cost of living, it's going to change. I'm very curious to see what is going to happen

to the labor market over the last four years. Last week on the show, we talked about Donald Trump and his presidency over the next four years, how he's going to enforce immigration reform or drive immigration reform. There was a report out by the National Builders Association, more than one third of job workers on remodeling sites and new construction sites are immigrants. More than a third of the labor pool, immigrants. There was commentary out, I was watching on Bloomberg today, on a restaurant owner that has a number of restaurant holdings.

We're talking dozens and dozens of units. And he highlighted that many of his colleagues in the space have back-of-the-house hires that are immigrants. And both made the case, the National Association of Builders and this talking head on Bloomberg, that Trump's approach to immigration reform is going to cut the labor pool at a time when the labor pool is already tight. And those that are left in the labor pool will have leverage to ask for more money. And as they have leverage to ask for more money, the increase in labor will be passed down the stream to the consumer with increased prices. The restaurant talking head on Bloomberg said this also could force even more innovation or pivoting into digital labor, kiosks, tablets, and online ordering. And he made a compelling argument that this will drive

third-party labor associated with retail food and beverage. That third-party labor associated with retail food and beverage could be seen as like Grubhub, Uber Eats, online delivering type of solutions. So that's something to follow very closely. I'm extremely intrigued by that. This is what I do know. And then, Judy, you jump in, okay? This is what we do know. If you're making, let's call it the UVA minimum wage, $15 an hour. Michael Payne fought for a $15 an hour UVA minimum wage. Activists fought for that. That's part of what Michael Payne ran his campaign on as a Charlottesville city councilor, as one of the ring leaders behind the $15 an hour UVA minimum wage. That 15 bones an hour UVA minimum wage is 30 grand

a year. 30 grand a year. Living in Charlottesville or Alamoor County on 30 grand a year is going to be your characterization? Very succinct answer, Judah. Next to impossible. Next to impossible. Are you in here? Yeah, I'm with you on that. Next to impossible. Living on 30 grand a year, right? Oh, yeah. Okay, so if the $15 an hour is the labor pool now, what's the number needed to attract

frontline food service, retail, anything that interacts with customer on a frontline perspective. Is it 20? Is it 25? And if it gets to that point, how does the consumer respond? Does the consumer say, I'm not going to cover the cost of $20 or $25 an hour labor at your quick serve restaurant, I'm just not going to support it. Is that why we're seeing only one Wendy's fast food restaurant in all of Charlottesville and Alamaro County? Only one? We learned last week there was only three Burger Kings left in all of Charlottesville and Alamaro County. The Wendy's at the base of Pantops has got a triple net lease, 15 G's plus rent, maintenance, taxes, and insurance a month for that Pantops location. It's now vacant.

How will the consumer respond to $25 an hour labor? And if it's $25 an hour labor, are you talking like a McDonald's value meal of $20 for a burger, fries, and a soda? Is the consumer going to be so wealthy, the influx of people tied to data science, biotech, Northrop Grumman and Waynesboro, the $11 billion in Amazon, that they're not going to care about spending a 20 spot on a value meal from McDonald's for a burger, a quarter pounder, fries, and a soda? Or will they say, good God, it took us a while to get to this point of wealth. We're not going to spend that money on that. It's such an interesting Venn diagram right there, that gray area, the influx

of people that are new to the community, that are rapidly changing the community, how they're going to change the labor pool, what they're going to do to housing, what they're going to do to the commitment of supporting local businesses. Influx of new people don't have that same affinity of supporting the businesses that have been around since we've been children. We're in a sociology, anthropology experiment right now. We're living it right now in the Charlottesville area. You raise your eyebrows like you're going to offer something compelling on a talk show. I just, I don't know how it's going to work. I think we're becoming detached from reality.

I mean, when everybody has to work 80 hours a week just to pay rent, I think you start to get to a point where things just don't make sense anymore. I don't know how Wendy's survives, much less a local place. Local places certainly aren't going to be able to pay $25 an hour, and they're certainly not going to survive doubling their food prices. So you're right. It is going to be interesting to see how things go in the near future and how businesses find ways to survive. There it is.

Is it going to be a labor pool that's digitized? As much as possible. And if it's a labor pool that's digitized, through kiosks, through tablets, through QR codes, through online ordering menus provided by Toast, if it's that world we live in, what's that then do to the lower class

and the middle lower class? Does that completely evaporate and eviscerate that subset of the socioeconomic stratosphere? Yeah. And where does that subset of the socioeconomic stratosphere. Yeah. And where does that subset of the socioeconomic stratosphere move to? Migrate to? They move to localities

that are better at balancing the realities of price and... Affordability is the word you're looking for. Which locality is that? It's not Fluvanna County where 90% plus of the county is supported by taxes on real estate

and rooftops because the portion of business in Fluvanna County is next to nothing. They have very little. That labor pool can't move to Fluvanna because the jobs aren't nothing. They have very little. That labor pool can't move to Fluvanna because the jobs aren't there. I think it's going to be moving further out than a county or two away.

Curious to see how that happens. Are you bullish or bearish on Charlottesville? Bill McChesney watching the program said, I loved your posts on Facebook and on Twitter and on LinkedIn about Arlington and the new zoning ordinance. I said this. The activists in Charlottesville, the Gilligan gang, is trying to push the new zoning ordinance

through. The Gilligan gang, earlier this morning, I should rephrase, thank you, is trying to emphasize the Gilligan gang that nothing is materializing from the new zoning ordinance. And the Gilligan gang is saying that is because development projects that are 10 units or more have such crazy affordability requirements that they don't pencil out financially. And he's exactly right. He said something must be done about these projects that are 10 units or more for them to become a reality. Council should modify the NZO immediately. I said, not so fast, my friend, in the words of Lee Corso. I said, no, we shouldn't

do anything at all with the new zoning ordinance right now. We must first see how Judge Worrell is going to respond to the lawsuit initiated by citizens and taxpayers before we do a single other thing to the NCO. Because if the new zoning ordinance in Charlottesville goes by the way of Arlington, where a Fairfax County judge struck down what Arlington, Virginia did, saying you did not give enough time or preparation before you put this zoning ordinance in play, this upzoning in play, it is now struck down. If that's what happens with the NCO in Charlottesville, then we've wasted a

boatload of time, money, and resources on a document where we're going to have to start from scratch. I mean, think about that. Absolutely bananas the world we're living in right now. Why am I bearish on Charlottesville? I'll tell you why I'm bearish on Charlottesville, okay? I'm bearish on Charlottesville because the University of Virginia is expanding. And while it's in a political crossfire, while it's in a DEI crossfire, while the University of Virginia is searching for its brand identity, will it be the University of Virginia of my time at UVA from 2000 to 2004? Will it be the University of Virginia of my father's

time from 68 to 72? Or is it going to be the University of Virginia that Jim Ryan's trying to push, that Burt Alice is trying to diss and keep from happening, that Governor Glenn Youngkin is trying to stop. 13 of his appointments on the Board of Visitors, Youngkin. It's searching for a brand identity. One thing that can be said is it's expanding left and right. Left and right, it's expanding. And the chitter chatter is out of state tuition is going to flirt with a hundred grand for room board tuition, books, all the pomp and circumstance. So as it's expanding left and right, it's bringing people into the community that want to use mommy and daddy's credit card to spend, spend, spend. We were on a Charlottesville taco tour, Judah, on Saturday.

And we went from Mexicali on the Charlottesville taco tour to what's the restaurant right down the road from Mexicali? And gives Mexicali some love. River Hawkins and Johnny Ornelas have a fantastic, fantastic restaurant, Mexicali. I had a spicy margarita at Mexicali restaurant made by River Hawkins. That was the best spicy margarita that I ever had. Legitimately the best spicy margarita I ever had.

While I was drinking that spicy margarita, our six-year-old and our two-year-old were playing on the playground outside on the patio. It was pretty awesome. Me, my wife, and two other couples were lounging by the fire pit. My wife and I were alternating

on supervising the children playing on the playground. The Charlottesville Taco Tour, Mexicali 2, what's the restaurant right down the road that I always forget their name in the old horse and hound location? Oh, Marisco's El Barco.

God, I love you. I'll give you a hug. That's exactly what it is. Can you say it three times fast? Marisco's El Barco, Mariscoos El Barco. God, I love you. I'll give you a hug. That's exactly what it is. Can you say it three times fast? Mariscos El Barco, Mariscos El Barco, Mariscos El Barco. From there, Continental Divide, and closed at the Bebedero. Nice.

It's not a bad Charlottesville taco tour. No, not at all. And you could even go Bebedero, Continental, Mariscos El Barco, and close at Mexicali. The wheels are turning over there. Why the pensive look up to the left? You're trying to see which one would connect the dots easiest and most efficiently, aren't you?

Yeah, I'm just trying to place them all in their proper order. I would create a new brand where we would do a digital map where you could check in and you can get points and awards. And the more you check in, the more points you earn, the more prizes you can get. And it would be called the Charlottesville Taco Tour, a flavor fiesta. We could build that brand and boom those businesses with the drop of a hat with the I Love Seville Network. In the process of doing the Charlottesville Taco Tour, I was taken aback by how many University of Virginia students I saw at each locale. They are expanding their support and patronization of locally

owned businesses. Where when I was there 20 years ago, you didn't leave the bubble. You didn't go past Orbit, which is now Boylan Heights. You stayed down Rugby Road. You didn't go past Orbit. You didn't go to Dirty Nelly's. You rarely went to Anna's. Now it's a Charlottesville, Nowmore County footprint for the UVA student. So, a lot to cover. A lot to cover. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. We'll relay them live on air. We're going to go to Deep Throat, number one in the family, fresh from a trip to London

in Paris. He mentioned his time in London was spent traveling via e-bike. Very cool right there. He said his first time on a London trip, no, sorry, for the first time on a London trip, I got around for meetings all day

on dockless e-bikes and it worked like a charm. He also says, I am tempted to say that as a Texan, I assert that there are no tacos in Charlottesville. Wow. Those are fighting words over there from Deep Throat. Mostly true, but I think he says La Michoacana, Tacos Gomez, and Mexicali are pretty damn good.

He throws massive shade at Brazos, he says, which is sad for me because he's a guy who used to live in Austin and had an office at the corner of Brazos Street in Austin. So deep throat, the cosmopolitan number one in our family says the only legitimate tacos in town are La Michoacana, Tacos Gomez, and Mexicali. That could be another Charlottesville taco tour path. You start at Tacos Gomez, the food truck, at the base of High Street.

Then move your way up high. Then you go to La Michoacana. From La Michoacana, you start migrating onto the downtown mall where you hit Bebedero. You might get Guadalajara.

Before you actually get on the mall. Providing some value there. Then there's El Comalito. Where's that? I believe across the street. From where? That's, it's next to the gas station. You know the gas station on the corner of Market and.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The old fuel, the old Patricia Kluge failed experiment. Many failed experiments by John Kluge's ex-wife, Patricia Kluge, the former risque dancer. Look it up on your own time. She thought that she could put fine dining, white tablecloth dining, inside a gas station that had three to five parking spots,

and people would support it. It was called Fuel Company. Yeah, Fuel Co. Fuel Co. Let's put fine dining and $100 a plate dinner and drinking in a gas station that has no parking. Patricia Kluge's idea.

You could totally do that. Tacos Gomez to La Michoacana. It's called Comalito? Yeah, Comalito. Comalito? Elalito comalito god you're on point today to guadalajara you better walk some of that off you're going to need the guadalajara walk to bebedero bebedero to continental divine to uh continental vads okay so then it's the other one. So you'd go to Marcos El Barco. Then you'd go to... Continental Divide. Then Mexicali.

Yeah. That's a hell of a Charlottesville taco tour. I could do that. One taco at each place. I could totally do that. I'd do one taco and a margarita at every place. Oh, man. That would be rough.

That would be rough. Dude, I swear to God I would do that. I swear to God I would do that. Why would that be rough. That would be rough. Dude, I swear to God I would do that. I swear to God I would do that. Why would that be rough? Because we're talking about, I don't think they sell them at, probably the only place they don't sell them would be. Tacos Gomez. Yeah, Tacos Gomez.

I don't think La Michoacana sells margaritas, do they? Yeah, they definitely do. They sell margaritas? Okay, I stand corrected. I've had them there. Okay, he's had them there. We should do that. I've even gotten them to go from there.

There we go. There we go. All right, Charlottesville tomorrow. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. Anything you want to talk about, we'll relay them live on air. It's the Monday edition of the I Love Seville show. And, Dan, we are making the donuts today. I want to offer Charlottesville Tomorrow commentary.

I believe they're actually watching the program right now. If you want to get that lower third on screen. It is. NBC 29 has cut its weekend newscasts. CBS 19 is trying to grab market share from NBC 29 right now. Both TV stations dying the death of a thousand cuts, specifically who watches news at a given time while sitting on a couch and staring at a box. Yeah.

Especially when you take away someone's the time that they want to watch and then tell them, Oh, sorry. Exactly. You'll watch when we tell you, because when you take away their time of when they want to watch Saturday and Sunday them, oh, sorry. Exactly. You'll watch when we tell you. Because when you take away their time of when they want to watch, Saturday and Sunday mornings, that will then infiltrate their other behavior patterns. And the other times they watch,

they get out of the habit. The newspaper is also dying the death of a thousand cuts. You don't nearly have the subscribers they once did when I worked there as a rising third year at the University of Virginia into my mid to late 20s. It's three times a week, I believe. They publish their actual subscribers. You can find them online. Deep Throat has sent those to me before. I would love to see those numbers again. I believe the actual paying subscribers of the DP is sub 10K, and it might be even less than that. So I'm going to ask this question.

Charlottesville Tomorrow recently got a massive grant. Let me see. I should know that number. If I Google it once, I'll remember again. Was it a million dollars? I should know that. Yeah, I was right. It was a million dollars. The American Journalism Project is investing one million over three years into Charlottesville tomorrow. This was announced approximately 19 days ago, and it flew very much under the radar. A million dollars over three years into a nonprofit news platform is a massive amount of money. If we see this million dollars over three years put into an organization that has one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight people on staff right now,

and they're able to get another five to eight additional people on staff, and they give those five to eight additional people specific beats that they're currently not covering, Then you are looking at the news outlet of record for Charlottesville. Siva Weekly has turned into what? Siva Weekly is kind of like the advertising, advertise your business. Siva Weekly has turned into the crossword puzzle media outlet. I mean, that's why I pick it up. There it is. Judah picks up the Siva Weekly into the crossword puzzle media outlet. I mean, that's why I pick it up. There it is.

Judah picks up the Siva Weekly for the crossword puzzle. But I'm not normal. You said it, not me. I did say it. You said it. I'm not normal. I get it for the crossword. You said it, not me. Okay.

I think they're still running the movie times in the Siva Weekly. The movie days, the movie times in the CVO weekly. The movie days, the movie times. Hal Spencer created the movie time website, neighbor of the I Love CVO show. So you are seeing a platform, Charlottesville Tomorrow, that is in prime position as we head into the final 45 days of 2024. I think this is one of the underrated stories that's not being talked about. Going into the 2025 year, the 2025 season, I think you will see Charlottesville tomorrow become the media platform of record. Maybe in the second slot. You know what's probably in the first slot there?

What do you think? I'm going to make you say it. What did you just say you were? What did you just say you were? What did you just say you were? Could it be something about loving a city or something like that? I'm very encouraged and bullish on Charlottesville tomorrow. I would very, very bullish. Bill McChesney says that would be a taco crawl.

You want the alliteration of the taco tour, Bill, for branding purposes. Jason Noble watching the program. It's only a matter of time before traditional news is no more. One last thing on traditional news. It's going to require an infusion. No, one last thing on legacy news. A lot of things are going to require an infusion. One last thing on legacy and traditional news.

How the legacy and traditional media covered and reported upon this Harris and Trump race has left tens of millions of people extremely disenchanted. And I am not going to make this show about national politics I say on this program all the time we don't say we don't support we don't endorse who we vote for from a national politics standpoint we're national politic politically neutral but one thing we can say is the legacy and traditional media poorly covered the Trump and Harris race and how they positioned the outcome and what was going to happen. Their analysis on the race. And that has further left many, not just in the country, not just in the Commonwealth, not just in Central Virginia, but in Charlottesville, disenchanted with the legacy media, the traditional

media. And that disenchantment may be the, is it death nail? Nail. What do I call it? Death nail? Yeah. Why can't it be a death nail? Why can't the nail also be death? Like if you drove a nail into somebody's heart, that would be death. Why can't it be a death nail? You can change the narrative. What is a knell? What is a knell? A knell, K-N-E-L-L, is the sound of a bell. And I believe the death knell is the bell that rings when they're carrying the casket to the church.

Okay, so it's a bit ominous, poppin' circumstance foreshadowing the nail? Yeah, somewhat, I guess. Where the nail would actually be tangible and reality and physical? Yeah, I mean, you could say the last nail on the coffin. It's roughly

the same thing as a death knell. I mean, it's something that, you know, signifies the end. Thank you. Okay, we'll use last nail in the coffin. There we go. Last nail in the coffin. Is it the last nail in the coffin?

Is it the last nail in the coffin? I'll take it a step further. The bullish bearish thing. Okay? Bullish bearish thing. Viewers and listeners, bear with me on this one. Which businesses advertise and support legacy and traditional media? What kind of businesses? What kind of businesses? Locally owned businesses. Businesses in the community are supporting the locally owned

traditional media platforms. The locally owned business in the community that's supporting the traditional media platform is the one facing the headwind of labor pool shrinkage with Trump immigration reform, cost of goods increases with tariffs. It's consumers having affordability headwinds tied with housing, tied with income and paid not keeping up with inflation and consumer of media, with legacy media, because of how they've covered this race. At the very same time,

that type of media was already dying the death of a thousand cuts. At the very same time, there's headwinds for the small business owner. That might be the death now, or the nail on the coffin. Next topic, Judah Wickauer, on a glorious and gorgeous Monday afternoon. It's draft taproom.

We're going to go out the back of the I Love Seville building and in the alley between our building and the alley behind the nook and draft taproom, we're going to walk into the kitchen of draft. We're going to say hi to the back of the house staff, see what the mood is, what the tempo is, see what the word on the street is. Then we're going to go out into the room.

What's that? The word on the street. The word on the street. You want the word on the street, you talk to the back of the house. I learned this at a very young age. I'll tell you a story, okay? 14, 15 years old. My first business was what?

The first type of work I did was what? Sunglasses. No. I was not doing sunglasses at 14, 15 years. I was like 14 or 15 years old. I was cutting grass in the neighborhood. And I realized that I could hire my buddies to cut the grass

and I would go knocking on the doors and get the yards and split the pay for them. And I could work the buddies to cut the grass and I would go knocking on the doors and get the yards and split the pay for them. And I could work the day and make more money. Work smart, not hard. They didn't want to knock on the doors. I had no problem knocking on the doors. We were doing five to seven yards a day,

Saturdays and Sundays. After doing that, I worked at a restaurant in Williamsburg called the Sportsman's Grill. Rick Phillips and his wife Charlene hired me. I was a busboy. As a busboy at 14 or 15 years old, I learned so much about life. I learned what goes on in the back of the house

is extremely different than what goes on in the front of the house. I learned as a busboy at the Sportsman's Grill about drinking and drugs and older women and all the things probably I shouldn't have been doing at 14 or 15 years old. I learned at that job that I could ask one of the 21 or 22-year-old waitresses and I'd give them 40 bucks, and then they would go and scoop up some vodka or bourbon for us and they'd keep $10 or $15 for themselves.

I learned how things were chopped up and sold at a smaller amount versus a wholesale amount. I learned so much nuance for life. Much of it bad, to be frank. Much of it very bad. But it was still an eye-opening experience. You want the word on the street on life, you talk to the back of the house.

You get to know the guy working the dish pit, or you get to know the guy working the line. I'm not talking the executive chef, I'm talking the line cook. You want another real hookup in life? You get to know the concierge or the bellhop, the top concierge or bellhop at a local resort or hotel. Because that bellhop or top concierge can get you anything you want. You get to know the bartender that's been around in the community the longest. Because that

bartender who's been around the community that longest knows everybody. You get a trusted mechanic. You get a barber you can trust. You have some kind of CPA you can trust, an attorney you can trust. I would say some of the key things you need in life for success in life. This is the stuff they don't teach you in school or in college, okay? You want a master class in street smarts? I'll give you a master class in street smarts. Have a bartender that you know you can trust that's been in the game a really long time. Have a barber you know you can trust that's been in the game a really long time. A mechanic you know you can trust that's been in the game for a really long time. A concierge or bellhop that you know you can trust. Someone working in the back of the house that's been in the game for a really long time. A concierge or bellhop that you know you can trust. Someone working in the back of the house

that's been in the game for a really long time. An accountant and a lawyer you know you can trust that have been in the game for a long time. I think that's seven or eight people. You have those seven or eight people in your corner, the outcomes of so much in life, the chips will fall so differently for you. So differently for you. So differently for you.

Draft Tap Room, we go and talk to one of the jeffees over there. Draft Tap Room owned by Stefan Friedman. He owns Bonnie and Reed Seafood Restaurant in the downtown mall. He owns Ace Biscuit and Barbecue. He owns Vitae Spirits, Judah.

He's an owner of Little John's. He owns Licking Hole Creek Brewerbecue. He owns Vitae Spirits, Judah. He's an owner of Little John's. He owns Licking Hole Creek Brewery. He owns Draft Taproom. This place has been closed for nearly five years. Nearly five years, Judah. It's going to reopen very soon. They were finishing the floors today. And the guys said it's going to be bigger and better than it ever was before, Jerry.

You're going to be impressed. It led me to ask you this question. Why is there no sports bar in the downtown mall? The entire eight blocks, it's the most important eight blocks in a 300,000 person region, and there's not a true sports bar. Tell me why that's the case. I have a sincere question for you. Are there enough sports fans that want to go to the downtown mall

to wander towards a bar where they can catch the games? Is that our sports bars another thing of the past? Wow. I can see people ending up at a place like Lazy Parrot,

where you just pull up, you park, you walk in. But is the downtown mall the place where a sports fan wants to search around for a parking spot off the mall and then go walking however many blocks to get to a bar where there's a game on the TV. I mean, obviously that's not a whole lot of work, but I think we're seeing people taking the easy route more and more

these days, which is why people are, you know, why people are ordering a carton of milk from, you know, to get delivered to their house rather than, you know, spend five or ten minutes going out of their way to, like, stop at a

grocery store on the way home and pick up a carton of milk. You know what? Your commentary and analysis on this is pretty fantastic. I'm so deeply rooted or like in the bubble of being a diehard sports fan that all I can see is there's a basketball game tonight. Yeah. And the Virginia football team beat a top 20 opponent for just the second time since 2002.

They beat North Carolina last year in Chapel Hill, a number 10 team. They beat Pittsburgh, a number 18 team on Saturday evening. And Tony Elliott both has the road wins on his resume. Both road wins coming out of bye week. Virginia, a 27 and a half point favorite tonight against Coppin State, who's 0-3. I'm so immersed with that that I didn't see that maybe human behavior is changing. And that human behavior is less about the passion and the fraternity and the community felt at a sports bar when cheering against or cheering for a team. While drinking, while eating,

while being amongst friends. And maybe the average Joe and the average Sally would instead rather watch on their 75-inch televisions that cost like $700 at Best Buy and can be installed by the Geek Squad while having their food delivered to them through Grubhub and talking with their friends via Twitter or via text or via Instagram. Yeah. And if that's the society we're heading for, dear Lord, I pray. I mean, that's kind of what you're campaigning for when you ask me to try buying groceries from Grubhub or whoever it is that will pick them up and deliver them to your door. I suggested you try it once and I would pay the delivery fees.

Yeah, I know, Judah Wickower, who's worked at this company for 15 years, someone I spend 40 hours a week, a work, 40 hours per week alongside. I would make a legitimate argument, and this is not ego. This is realism. This is realistic. There are aspects of Judah Wickower I know better than Judah Wickower knows himself. And the Judah Wickower I know, once he gets a taste of the delivery at a very marginal fee, would do that type of grocery shopping for the rest of his life. Because the Judah Wickower I know does not want to interact with people at the grocery store, certainly not strangers, does not want to interact with the sales clerk, does not want to interact

with anyone really he doesn't know. I'm not that bad. I didn't say you were that bad. I think that is reality, though. You've highlighted that on the show in the past. And that would, I would bet you, save an hour to 90 minutes every time you do this.

But I don't think it would save me that much. You're underestimating how much time you would save here. But to your point, that approach to grocery shopping is just like the NBC 29 cutting the newscast on Saturday and Sunday. If you cut the morning cast, it's going to change human behavior.

Yeah. I think we're doing that a lot. And that, and part of that may be why people aren't going out to watch sports anymore. I think we're doing that a lot and that and part of that may be why people aren't going out to watch sports anymore there's is there less sake of human connection in 2024

versus 2004 in 2024 is today's human connection here's how we'll close the program because I have a 1.30 real estate showing I think that uh i think that the problem is we've slowly become uh like like frogs in a pot slowly heating up water. We've accepted this and we've grown into it. For those that are not watching the show,

what was this? This was a cell phone. Yeah. And we've grown into it and we've accepted it and we've allowed it to engulf more and more of our daily life, whether it's ordering clothes or ordering groceries or catching up with people. I just got a message from

one of our viewers saying that they run into friends and catch up at the grocery store. But not everybody does that anymore. And the problem is that the more people that are wooed away from life, the more news channels and grocery stores and sports bars are going to have trouble making ends meet, much less is someone even going to make an attempt once they're gone? Now that we don't have any sports bars, is anybody going to try to open a sports bar? Why would they? Do they think they can get enough people that want to spend time in a room together paying for beer and the wonderful chance to sit together with a bunch of people you kind of know and watch a game?

Excellent commentary from Judah Wittkow. Is 2024 a version of human connection, a connection made through direct message, text message, and FaceTime, instead of what we used to call human connection, interacting with people at the grocery store, at the checkout line, at the sports bar when you were cheering for the same team over a cold beer waiting in line at the fast casual restaurant to get food to eat in their dining room

instead of having it delivered via third-party delivery like Grubhub or Uber Eats? That's a question for later in the week. Today's Monday. We made the donuts on the I Love Seville show. For Judah Wickauer, my name is Jerry Miller. So long. Thank you.