The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Do Guns Offer Hope For Folks In Our Community?; We Really Like Chief Kochis - Here's Why...

Episode Date: March 1, 2024

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Do Guns Offer Hope For Folks In Our Community? We Really Like Chief Kochis – Here’s Why… CVille: What Is Outperforming & Underperforming? Harrison Family Donates $55M To University of VA Here’s How The Harrison Family Will Be Spent What Are The 3 Most Iconic CVille Area Restaurants? What Are The 3 Most Iconic CVille Area Buildings? Virginia at Duke, 6 PM, Saturday, ESPN 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 and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Friday afternoon, guys. I'm Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on the I Love Seville show. It's the first day of March 2024. It's a Friday. Great day to be above the mud. Jefferson's University, less than two miles from the lawn and less than two miles from the rotunda and the John Paul Jones Arena and Scott Stadium. We're right next to the Charlottesville Police Department, a block from the Albemarle County Courthouse and Charlottesville Courthouse, a block off the downtown mall and smack dab in the middle of the epicenter and heartbeat of central Virginia, which is downtown Charlottesville. Our studio is on Market Street in our building, the Macklin Building, which from our count and according to those that are in the know,

10,000 plus cars drive by the I Love Seville studio every day. If you take a look at the headlines on screen, we have a number of topics we're going to cover. And this was an intriguing topic that came up with Judah and I in our pre-production meeting. There was an article or two written about this that featured commentary and quotes from the Buck Squad. And one of the key members of the Buck Squad basically said, look, to get to the root of the problem of violence in Charlottesville,

we need to get to the root of the problem of why this violence is happening. And the member of the Buck Squad basically highlighted despair and a lack of opportunity as the root of violence in Charlottesville. And he said that turning to crime and utilizing a gun in some ways are offering those that are well below the financial margin hope to climb the economic ladder. So we'll start the show by saying, do guns offer hope for folks in our community? And we'll try to unpack a pretty heavy topic today. We'll also give even more props and

attention and accolades for Chief Mike Kochotchis, the George Clooney of policing. He continues to exceed expectations for me and it seems for Judah Wittkower as well. Chief Kotchis is now like almost 14 months on the job. Chief Kotchis. And the about face with crime and the news cycle has been noteworthy and significant and should be applauded as we highlight positivity here in our community. I want to talk UVA and I want to talk the Harrison family, a new donation, this one to the tune of $55 million. $55 million. The Harrison family has contributed a gift to the University of Virginia. This $55 million donation is going to fund an Olympic Sports Center in the Department of Athletics. And I think Judah's got a rendering that he can put on screen.

Give us a thumbs up when that's on screen. An Olympic Sports Center Department Athletics behemoth. It's on screen now. Look at this rendering. Everyone look at the screen here. Part of the $55 million, in fact, $25 million, will go to this new Olympic Sports Center, while $30 million is going to go to a research center within the Paul Manning Biotech Institute. And this research center is going to be for Alzheimer's research.

So we'll unpack this donation today on the program. The University of Virginia is so very, very fortunate to have such deep-pocketed benefactors. We'll talk about that today. I want to highlight on the program a thread I saw on Reddit today. We give props to the Redditors in this thread. They were discussing the three most iconic Charlottesville area buildings. I want to bring that discussion to today's edition of the I Love Seville Show. I want to take it a step further and ask you the three most iconic Charlottesville area restaurants. It does not just have to be within city limits. Three most iconic Charlottesville area buildings, and what are the three most iconic Charlottesville area restaurants?

Judah will offer his. I will offer mine. We'll have a friendly discussion and encourage you, the viewer and listener, to chime in with your thoughts. In fact, if you want to put them in the feed, we'll relay them live on air. In fact, I'm feeling very benefactory myself, very generous myself. I think I want to mail some I Love Seville stickers as thank yous to viewers and listeners that offer the best commentary on today's show. So those that provide the best commentary will not only have their name recognized forevermore in the hallowed halls and channels of the I Love Seville network, but you will also have an I Love Seville sticker mailed snail mail. Yes, that still exists to your respective abode.

Philip Dow in Scottsville, welcome to the program. Stephanie Wells-Rhodes, thank you kindly for watching us today. Annie Zeman, hello, and thank you for watching the program. Judah Wittkower, we weave you in on a two-shot, a sad story, a heavy story, a heavy topic if you put the first, lower third on screen. And we asked the question about guns and violence and how they could, in fact, offer hope and opportunity for some citizens in Charlottesville and around the area. And it's a topic that came from a quote in a recent Daily Progress article. This Daily Progress article was about the 55-year-old woman that was arrested in a raid earlier this week. The home was what? Right there on Charlton and Rose Hill? Yeah. It was a side-by-side duplex, and an undercover informant went into this side-by-side duplex on Charlton and Rose Hill,

and this undercover informant, probably someone who's trying to beat an arrest of some kind by serving as an undercover informant and basically ratting or collecting evidence or gathering evidence or data to try to climb up the criminal totem pole. This undercover informant goes into this side-by-side duplex on Charlton and Jefferson Park Avenue, and within this residence is one 55-year-old woman. And this one 55-year-old woman. And this one 55-year-old woman

sells a bag of crack cocaine to the undercover informant. The undercover informant is wearing a wire and also a camera. The transaction was recorded. The drugs were tested and found to be, in fact, crack cocaine. Long story short, an arrest was made. This was the raid that

happened earlier this week, multi-task force raid. Thank you, Judah. As the Daily Progress is covering this article, they highlight some commentary from the Buck Squad. The Buck Squad is a volunteer organization, and as a non-profit volunteer organization, their mission is to basically de-escalate violence before it happens or even as it's happening. The downtown mall shooting that happened last weekend, the Buck Squad was there prior to the shooting. So they were trying to de-escalate while the shooting was basically brewing. And in this particular circumstance, the Buck Squad was utilized as a commentary or background information for the newspaper article about the 55-year-old woman arrested. And in this article, the member of the Buck Squad says,

look, to get to the root of violence in Charlottesville, you have to understand the mindset of those committing said violence. And the mindset of these folks committing violence, they have nothing. They have a feeling of hopelessness. And because of this hopelessness, they're turning to guns and violence to try to better themselves financially.

And it's not just gold watches and fancy cars and nice clothing. This particular member of the Buck Squad said, we're talking eating food, paying basic bills, and finding a roof or putting a roof over their head. That's how deep a financial difficulty some of the folks in our community are. And he said the guns and violence offer hope because they offer economic opportunity. And that resonated with both of us. You brought this topic to the radar as today's lead talking point, so I will

yield the airtime to you. Yeah. I don't know if I would say that the guns provide hope. It seems to me it's more of a grasping at power for the powerless. Kachis expands on what you're saying, the Buck Squad, on the Buck Squad's words. He says the root cause of this is poverty, the mental health system, substance abuse, education, lots of things that are beyond our control, And I think our, he means the police. And he says, but when those systems fail and continue to fail, these communities, then we are left holding the bag. And so we are going to do our part and I hope the other systems are going to do theirs. And so I think we, I think we have to, we have to applaud the Buck Squad. They are a group of men who are out there

seeking to de-escalate situations, as you mentioned, and seeking to find, I think, peaceful common ground for especially younger men who, as you said, are oftentimes in this, especially in this economy, finding hopelessness, lack of food, lack of money for rent, I would imagine, among other things. And whether they're turning to drugs or guns or some other form of violence, I think we can appreciate the fact that these men are out there trying to make a difference. I also appreciate the fact that Kochess does not seem to be a zealot, hell-bent on destroying criminals in our area. I appreciate the fact that I think he's got a sense of scale and forbearance. There was a mention in one of the articles about this, the woman that was arrested.

The 55-year-old? A 55-year-old woman. And she's had prior convictions, but this is a 55-year-old woman. I don't think anybody out there is ever going to mistake her place in the Charlottesville criminal underworld. I doubt anyone out there thinks that this is the source of all the drugs in Charlottesville. And so now that they've got her, the article talks about the fact that the initial state police statement announced that Bowers had been charged with drug distribution. The Daily Progress found that the arrest warrant that was obtained actually charged her only for simple possession. And so I don't know if that was an error somewhere

or if that's definitely not an error or if that was forbearance on charging her with simple criminal possession is not an error. And so I think that there was a sense of forbearance involved in what happened here. And the fact that, you know, by forbearance, he means that they were whether they could have fully thrown the book at her. She's selling crack cocaine out of a house in the city of Charlottesville. They utilize a boatload of resources to make an arrest. I'm sure the expectation was there was going to be more guns and more drugs and more people in the house.

When the raid happened, there was one person. And that one person was 55 yeah and she's far from a king pen or the source of hardcore drugs trafficking narcotics uh hardware guns whatever you want to call it she's a pawn in the game we call chess maybe not even a pawn yeah and maybe lower than a pawn and the point that judah is trying to make is the charges that they hit her with and the grand scheme of charges are she's out on the street right now on bail. She's not in jail. Court records show that the magistrate allowed her to be released on a cash

bail of $2,000. $2,000, right. What is she going to do, run to another country? Even another state? I mean, so the point you're making here is consciously showing perhaps some empathy. Yeah, I appreciate the fact that our police force is not out to destroy people's lives. This was a, this was, you know, they got, they got the woman. She's clearly been, she's clearly been selling drugs. Nobody's arguing against that. And they got drugs and they got weapons. And I appreciate the fact that, you know, they, they're probably looking for the bigger fish and they're not in the

business of going into neighborhoods and just tossing their big what's around. Alright, I'll jump in. Would I have liked to have seen more guns on the table, more drugs on the table, and more people arrested when that kind of raid in the city of Charlottesville happens on Charlton and Rose Hill? Yes.

Would others in the community have liked to have seen more guns, drugs, and arrests made? Yes. But with anything in life, you do the best you can with what you've got. I mentioned this to our sons. I mentioned this on the talk show. All I want for our sons is to be the best versions of themselves. When the police are presented with certain circumstances, I want them to be the best versions of themselves and do the best they can with what they got.

And on that given day, they arrested a 55-year-old woman that was selling some crack cocaine. They were not vindictive with their charges. If anything, they were lenient with their charges. I think empathy is a sign of an experienced and talented leader. Conscious embodies those qualities. I also think arrests like that lead to other arrests. It's a domino effect. The quote from the Buck Squad of,

there's many members in our community that have a feeling of hopelessness where they don't think they're ever going to be able to get out of their current situation so that's why they turn to guns to help them is almost like it's almost akin to someone turning to like a toolbox or or or a wrench and some mechanics equipment or like a brick mason's equipment or some plumbing equipment to help them climb the financial ladder. This is all they think they can do. And that's terribly sad.

It's terribly sad. Everyone is someone's child. And as I've become more, how do I characterize the feeling we get with parenthood as your kids get older? Worn down like a number two pencil, whittled down. As I become more seasoned, as I become more seasoned, as I become more softened as well as a parent, you start looking at people in the world as being someone's kid. And you feel not only for that person, but for their parents. I can't imagine what it's like for someone's kid to feel such hopelessness that the only opportunity they see in life is the escalation or the climbing of an economic ladder through guns. That's sad.

And members in this community who are leaders are clearly saying that's what's happening. So I guess we wanted to start the program by commending Chief Kachis and his team. Kevin Higgins says, crack destroys every person's life that takes it, no doubt about it. Some of the worst of the worst. Crack and fentanyl, heroin, scare the bejeebus out of me.

We also want to highlight that there's a lot of folks in the community that really are just drowning in despair and we may not even understand the level of drowning that folks are experiencing right now and judah made a point that should not go under the radar or fly under the radar. As Charlottesville and Albemarle County in central Virginia become wealthier and wealthier and wealthier, this massive gap of have and have-nots is becoming wider. So imagine this feeling of despair that you're already drowning in, and then you're seeing every year the community becoming more expensive

and wealthier people coming in around you, driving the car you wish you could drive, wearing the clothes you wish you could wear, having the jobs you wish you could have, the partner you wish you could have. It's just going to compound the matter. Philip Dow says you'll never be able to solve the gun problem. Let's get Phillips on screen.

You can't beat the black market. I've seen people selling and trading guns in parking lots. And thanks. I've seen people trading and selling guns in parking lots around here. Cautious even said in the article, there's so many guns on the street that they're having a hard time keeping up. Yeah. Michael Buchenski, get his photo on screen. He says, I don't think a single state in these great United States of America have been able to solve homelessness, gun violence drug problem once it comes into a community it's there to stay the only possible solution would be a massive effort for police presence

and no holds bar approach toward enforcing the law that's not something I necessarily want. No. He says, I doubt the Charlottesville community would want to do that because it would go against the idea of inclusiveness, and the problem is you can't have both. If you are too relaxed on enforcing rules and the law, you're going to get all the bad that comes with it.

One of the Commonwealth's attorneys in this community, Jim Hingely, listens to this program. I hope he's listening today. He prides himself in criminal justice reform, utilizing other methods besides incarceration and long years behind bars to rehabilitate criminals, being empathetic with sentencing and being empathetic with how he goes about utilizing the law to make the community better. He would prefer rehabilitation through nonprofit outreach or through counseling over time behind bars in many circumstances. And he's in an elected position. So folks that are putting him into office are also of that mindset,

and that's called democracy. And whether you agree or not with the criminal justice reform mindset, I will say this, Mr. Hingely, Mr. Plantania, they are fair-minded individuals, consistent individuals, even-keeled individuals. And I will say this. The police chief of Charlottesville, Cotches, the police chief of Albemarle County, Reeves,

the Commonwealth's attorney of Albemarle County, Hingley, and the Commonwealth's attorney of Charlottesville, Plantania, they are predictable and consistent with how they go about their job, and that's what I'd like for those positions. The unpredictable nature of government terrifies me. I want to know where we stand with government. And I feel now for the first time in a long time, we have that with Charlottesville and Alamoral.

I say it all the time on this program. I want boring government that's in the background I think we got it now Spencer Pushard's watching the program He's got some suggestions on the top restaurants Or most iconic restaurants So does Stephanie Wells Rhodes We're going to get to the most iconic restaurants in Charlottesville

Daniel Kaufman who owns a couple of restaurants Has got some of the most iconic restaurants from his suggestion in Charlottesville and the Charlottesville area. Daniel Kaufman, who owns a couple of restaurants, has got some of the most iconic restaurants from his suggestion. Vanessa Parkhill watching the program. If we can get Vanessa's photo on screen. And you can see where you stand in the I Love Seville viewer listener rankings by visiting iloveseville.com forward slash viewer rankings.

You got Vanessa's pick on screen? She is number six in the family. She says this. Where did Vanessa's comments go? Why is it all they think they can do? That's where the fix starts. She means guns and violence. She said she grew up around a lot of people who did not have a lot. Some did not own a car. They did not choose to break the law. Good education is the first step out of poverty. There needs to be accountability, punishment, and rehabilitation. That accountability might come in forms other than prison,

but it still should be part of the equation, prison. Appreciate your comments. John Blair, number two in the family watching the show, he says, I don't know that there is any one particular answer that applies to this question about guns and hope, but I would offer this. There has been a decades-long effort in the city and county to deter the location of manufacturing facilities in the city. There has also been very little effort to help these younger men develop the trade skills that could also help alleviate the area's housing shortage.

That's a great comment. The KTAC, the lack of teachers at KTAC and the lack of priority with trade skill building in Charlottesville and Central Virginia is a factor in all this. We've become so enamored with science, technology, engineering, coding, and math that we have not prioritized utilizing our hands to pay the bills. And some folks in the community aren't destined for science, technology, engineering, math, and coding. I think there's also a common thread through a lot of American culture that we focus on dealing with the after effects of things rather than dealing with the core cause. So with a lot of medicine in America, we focus on curing the disease rather than preventing the disease from attacking the body in the first place and I think I see the same thing in a lot of American law

enforcement in that what they're basically dealing with the after effects rather than trying to prevent them from happening in the first place and as Kajus mentioned in the article where

he's saying that the root cause there's poverty, mental health, substance abuse, education, lots of things beyond the police's control. And yes, if you're not dealing with any of those things, then it can't be a surprise to anyone that you end up with crime. And then you have cops that have to deal with the crime and the after effects of all these things. What would be much better is to fix those problems

that lead young men and women into lives where they feel they need to pick up a gun because it provides a sense of power or hope or whatever, and getting into trouble with drugs and whatever else. And yes, in this case, you have to deal with the after effects, but it would be much better if our neighborhood and community were better suited to preventing this in the first place. Mr. Hingely, watching the program of the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, he says,

thank you for your comments in his message to us. He says, I appreciate you making the case for the different approach to criminal justice that Joe and I have taken, with approval from the voters, as you say, Jerry. I appreciate the message from Mr. Hinchley right there. He knows I have tremendous respect for him. He knows that. We'll go to Deep Throat, his photo on screen. In fact, we should get Jim Hingely in the power rankings. iloveceville.com forward slash viewer rankings.

If we could get Mr. Hingely in the power poll. He's a key member of this family in the 40 slot. He's in the top 40, Mr. Hingely, now in the iloveceville.com forward slash viewer rankings at 40 J-dubs. Deep Throat, number one in the family, says this, that house on Charlton has been an ongoing nuisance. A neighbor a while back posted about how a customer of that house shot at her husband. This was maybe two months ago. You might recall that kerfuffle on Next Door. I absolutely do, Deep Throat. I remember Carrie Rock, who comes on this program all the time, talking about that house on Carlton being an epicenter for trouble as well.

I think the flex of the muscle with the police raid, with all hands on deck, the show of power in this raid was as much about safety in the moment for the officers as it was to flex perception muscle, saying your shenanigans in this house are not going to be tolerated anymore. When you see the SWAT team in your front yard, you know it's time to shut down the trap house that is Carlton and Rose Hill. And that's what the police did.

They flexed perception muscle to tell those that patronize or banish the trap house, enough is enough. And it's another good job by Cautious. All right, next topic you want to get to, or is there anything else you want to go? Sarah Hill Buchenski watching the program. Sarah Hill Buchenski, when she comments, I read it out loud.

She is 23 in the family. If you can get her photo on screen. She has this comment for the Commonwealth's Attorney. She says, criminals also know where crimes are not prosecuted. I think there is some of that. I do think there is some of that. There is a mindset that if you're tough on crime, then it's going to resonate throughout the criminal underworld

and you're less likely to get crime. I get back to the fact that the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is an elected position. And Mr. Hindley's in his second term. And while he ran unopposed in his second term, in his first term he ran against Robert Tracy and he

beat mr. Tracy handedly so that shows you the voters want this it's the same thing about up zoning so many people may be opposed to up zoning in this community but guess what Natalie Oshren got the most votes on Charlottesville City Council, and she is about as pro-upzoning and pro-housing as anyone you're going to find out there. You vote people into office to actualize rules and regulations and laws and how the city is going to be governed. And Plantania and Hingely and Osheron and Payne and Snook and Wade and Pinkston are clear-cut with their platforms. Same with the supervisors. All right, next lower third I'd like for you to put on screen is the Harrison family donation.

Actually, the next one would be Seville. What is outperforming and what is underperforming? Let me know when that's on screen. You're on the one shot. I'll say this, and I'm a positive person. Charlottesville is outperforming in so many circumstances. The area is outperforming in so many circumstances. The area is outperforming in so many circumstances. What, I mean, you've got crime heading in the right direction,

stability with government, you've got quality of life, the storefronts are getting full. Office of Economic Development says the economy is extremely healthy. Maybe the only areas you can say where it's underperforming would be affordability. And that's something really that we don't have much control over if folks are sprinting to this area to move to. How are you going to control that? This Harrison family donation, it's a $55 million donation.

Of that $55 million, $30 million is going to Alzheimer's research. And get this, the Harrison family transitional research center, that's what it's going to be called. It's a transitional research center. It's focused on Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases. It's going to be housed within the Paul Manning biotech institute. Paul Manning gives a hundred million million to create a biotech institute up Fontaine Avenue. And now the Harrison family is giving $30 million

for Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative disease center within the biotech institute. You can find all this on news.virginia.edu. This biotech institute is going to be world-class. You're going to have a world-class data science school funded by Jeffrey Woodruff,

friend of the program, hell of a squash player. I've said on this program, no one's donated more money to the University of Virginia in UVA history than Jeffrey Woodruff. Public record, $180 million. No one's donated more money than that. It's got a data science school that is world class. Paul Manning's kicked $100 million in change to the University of Virginia.

He's right there below Jeffrey with a donation standpoint. He's funding a world class biotech institute on Fontaine Avenue. Everywhere you look, you've got world-class stuff happening. And all this world-class stuff is incredibly great for the Charlottesville economy, but it's going to

change Charlottesville and Albemarle as we know it. They straight up sent 3,000 additional Jew jobs. All six-figure jobs, or almost all of them, come into Charlottesville for biotech alone. What's the saying? You can't have your cake and eat it too? What is it? Help me understand that saying. And I'll let you know how it applies to this.

Let's see, how would I describe that? It's basically... It's always been kind of self-explanatory in my mind, so it's hard for me to actually explain it. But it boils down to the fact that uh like if you want something you've got to go out and get it there's no like just you don't just have it handed to you there's there's a give and a take and uh and at some point you've got a you know you've got a you've got to earn you know, you've got to, you've got to earn it, I think. I mean,

that's not a great explanation. No, that was not a good explanation right there. Here's, here's, here's what I'm going to say here. You see all this change happening. You've got to deal with the good and the bad. Yeah. There's exactly where I was going to go. You see all this change happening. You know what the good is? Your home values are up 40% in three years. You know what the bad is? Your home values are up 40% in three years.

You know what the good is? The economy is stronger than ever. You know what the bad is? The economy is stronger than ever. You know what the bad is? The economy is stronger than ever. You got jobs that are being filled by outsiders. You got home values escalating in the taxes that come with it. You just got to figure it out and navigate it. And some are better than others at doing it. You just got to figure it out and navigate it. And some are better than others

at doing it. Put the Olympic sports rendering on screen if you could. The Harrison Family Olympic Sports Center is scheduled to open in the summer of 2025, according to news.virginia.edu. It will be centrally located in the athletics precinct and will feature a performance training center, strength and conditioning facilities, tutoring and academic support space, and a hall of champions. They're building world-class stuff all over UVA. You have a world-class Olympic Sports Center being constructed with this $25 million. A world-class Alzheimer's Research and Neurodegenerative Disease Center being constructed with this $30 million. A world-class squash facility.

A world-class tennis facility. A world-class data science school. You got best place to go to school or one of the best places in America. It's going to dramatically change the landscape of the community. Anything you want to add to this?

Before we get to the three most iconic Charlottesville area restaurants and the three most iconic Charlottesville area buildings? No. Sarah Hill Buchenski says some people have trouble connecting their vote with real life consequences. I appreciate your comments. I appreciate the Buchenski family significantly on the show. Bill McChesney, his photo on screen.

Where is he in the ranking? McChesney's high up there, number 15 in the poll. He says Jerry and Judah. The three most iconic restaurants are Tip Top, the Aberdeen Barn, and the Nook. Stephanie Wells Rhodes says the Aberdeen Barn, three most iconic restaurants. I'm going to get a pen and paper here.

You go to the studio camera. You offer them some of your most iconic restaurants if you could. I'm going to start keeping track on this. I definitely think that Bodo's Bodo's? Bodo's?

Most iconic restaurant. Maybe not. that that Bodo's I would Bodo's I well I didn't mean that's the most that's just what you said first yeah it's the first one that comes to mind I also think you know it's pretty iconic all right the oldest restaurant in the city of Charlottesville if you're gonna it a restaurant, is the Timberlakes Drugstore. Some people don't call that a restaurant. If you want a straight up, there goes Neil Gropin of the famous sign shop Gropin, now run by T.J. Ronay, his predecessor. The Virginian, if you want to say straight-up restaurant, is the oldest at 1923. Jim Hingely says, the most iconic building for me

is the Admiral County Circuit Courthouse. Respect that, Mr. Hingely. Very much respect that. From a restaurant standpoint, I think the list, and Daniel Kaufman's got some say in this. I'm going to get to Kaufman's comments because he's in the restaurant game. Daniel Kaufman says Miller's, the IBM, and the Virginian. Daniel Kaufman I have tremendous respect for. He owns Public, one of the most successful restaurants in town.

Public is banging. He also owns Black Cow Chop House. He owns the bottle shop. He had one time ran the, what was the name of the pasta joint he ran on the corner? Was that Luce? No, that's Luce, by the way. That's on the downtown mall, not the corner. Oh, yeah, I know what you're talking about. He came out with his partners. Pronto? Pronto. Good memory, Judah. Very, very nicely done. I was an unfortunate victim of COVID. Bad timing. Yeah. I'm going to say most iconic restaurant in Charlottesville is going to be the Virginian number one. And I'm going to associate it with longevity. It's been in operation

since 1923. But does anybody really know what it looks like? Like I've eaten there multiple times. You don't know what the virginian looks like i i can when i think about it describe the virginian i think of the patio how would you describe the virginian i wouldn't i wouldn't know how to extremely skinny almost like a shotgun house okay barely can go three four five shoulder wide. Boots on either side. Great mac and cheese. 100 plus year institution. I'd say that's iconic. That type of length.

I'll go Virginian one. I'm going to put the C&O in the two slot. Sandy McAdams to Dave Simpson to Dean Maupin. The lineage of the C&O. The three slot, what goes in the three spot?

Do you say Miller's because of the time to Dave Matthews? Do you say a steakhouse like the Aberdeen Barn because it's been around forever? That cheese dip, that prime rib, that ambiance. I think the Nook's got its hat in the ring for that as well. What's that? I'd say the Nook's got its hat in the ring for the third spot as well. Okay. I'll give you the Nook. Yeah, I'd have a hard time deciding between the Nook and Miller's. I don't know if I'd go with... You wouldn't put the Barn in there? Daniel Kaufman says he worked at the Virginian in 2001, and he was working there when Annie McClure bought it.

And he guarantees he was the first fired employee annie mcclure did at the virginian the virginian is uh annie mcclure's got some amazing stories at the virginian he worked at the virginian while he was a student at the university of virginia studying in the mcintyre school of commerce annie mcclure friend of the program one of the first clients our advertising agency vmv Brands, ever had. And Andy McClure worked and fell in love with the Virginian as an undergrad at UVA. Then he went to Wall Street because he had a finance degree, went to Wall Street, worked at Wall Street for a very short period of time, like a New York minute, and realized that finance was not for him. It was miserable.

So he came back to Charlottesville and he bought the Virginian because he loved it so much. In the process of buying the Virginian, he said he had to, because he was a small business owner, basically do everything in the restaurant. Bartend, wait tables, short order, cook, bathroom, clean, take the trash out, bust the table, scrub the floors. He was closing the restaurant down and then opening the restaurant the next day and was so exhausted. He'd many times found himself sleeping in the booth from the end of one shift to the next shift because there was so little time to go home. He tells a story of how he had a stack of checks made out to himself, payment that he could not cash in the early stages of Virginian. So he would just collect the checks that he made out to himself as payment

and keep them in a stack on his dresser or desk. An incredible success story, Annie McClure of the Virginian, of the Biltmore, of Three, of Jabberwocky, of West Main, of Tavern and Grocery, of Citizen Burger Bar. Had a couple of restaurants in Richmond. I'm going to go in the three slot, the Aberdeen Barn. I'm going to go in the four slot, Miller's. There's very few restaurants where when a concert is going on, 100 people are lined up around the block to get in the restaurant. That's the Dave Matthews effect.

I'll give Judah the nook. I think that's a great suggestion. There's a long history of the nook in Charlottesville. It's been around for decades. I'm going to pay homage to Stephanie Wells Rhodes' family. Stephanie's still watching, I believe. Can you get her photo on screen? Stephanie, key member of this family, number 18 in the polls. I'm going to say Stephanie and her family of Riverside fame. Riverside's going to have to be on there in the sixth slot. Riverside lunch. Seven, eight, 9, 10

that's a crap shoot what do you put on that list I mean if we're going that deep we could definitely you could add Botos we could just start naming half the restaurants in Charlottesville that's not true

yeah half the restaurants in Charlottesville you're going to put in the top 10 of most iconic? That's an obviously being blasphemous statement. Blasphemous? That's an insult to the Virginian C&O, the Bar and Miller's, the Nook and Riverside. These restaurants have decades.

These restaurants have decades other i mean we these restaurants have deck are been along longer than you've been alive yeah and there's more what but wait there's we've got a list we're out you should probably call back up we do have a list you put that together i know very well it was a that list went viral my. Can you call that list up? My point being that, uh, can you call that list up and then we'll get to buildings. Let's see. In fact, if you go to, I love seville.com and click the magnifying glass in the top right corner, oldest restaurants should call it up, right? If I type that in, the search function? Something like that. Yeah, oldest restaurants in Charlottesville area. No.

That was a story we talked about. Is the story itself on there? Oh, yes it is. The oldest and longest running restaurants around Charlottesville, Virginia by the talented and distinguished Judah Wickauer. Timberlake Drugstore founded in 1890. The Virginian Restaurant founded in 1923. Mickey Tavern. God, we don't have Mickey Tavern on the list. Mickey Tavern founded in 1928. Riverside Lunch founded in 1935. Jack and Jill, owned by one of Glenmore's finest,

Zenise, founded in 1944. But wait, there's more. Corner Restaurant, owned by the Templetons, founded in 1950. The Nook, founded in 1951. The White Spot, founded in 1953. Foods of all nations. How's foods of all nations on this list? Because you're saying you

put Timberlakes on there, you put foods of all nations on there? I don't remember if I selected this one specifically. It says by Judah Wickhauer. Yeah, and we've had people suggest things that we've added to stories the mill room founded in 1964 i was just at the mill room for breakfast i love the mill room i just had an old-fashioned at the mill room uh about a week ago i love the mill room ivn founded in 1973 integral yoga founded in 1975 you got integral yoga on here? What's wrong with that? That's not a restaurant. Blue Moon Diner founded in 1979. Miller's founded in 1981. That's the only restaurant on this list. Miller's founded in 1981. That's younger than you.

When were you born? Blue Moon founded in 1979 is younger than you. C&O 1976, is that younger than you? Yeah. Yeah? C&O 1975 younger than you? Could be. Maybe not.

Integral Yoga and Judah Wickower birthed the same calendar year. Most iconic buildings, what are they for you? I would probably go with... And make sure you get that lower third on screen. I think I would probably say the Rotunda. Rotunda and Monticello, right? And, no. The old Monticello Hotel?

I'd say the Rotunda, the Pavilion, and the Dewberry. The Dewberry, the Pavilion, over the Monticello Hotel? The Monticello, like... That one right there? This big-ass hotel right there overlooking Court Square that's now condos? The talented journalist Hall Spencer lives in the Monticello Hotel. Love you, Hall Spencer. I mean, once again, if we're just putting every single Charlottesville building on the table, then we're never going to single Charlottesville building on the table, then we're,

you know, we're never going to come up with a consensus. Everybody's going to have their own top three. Those three to me are fair. I can assure you. Most people don't have the Dewberry hotel and the pavilion and their most iconic buildings. Top three.

Okay. I, and I have no problem with you offering your opinion over there but the Two Berry Hotel in the Pavilion a white tent props no problem

I'll go Rotunda, Monticello and the Monticello Hotel in my top three you say Monticello Hotel in my top three. Okay. You say Monticello is cliche. You're talking about the Monticello? The Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. But do most average people know what Monticello looks like? I would say more average people know what Monticello looks like

than they do the Dewberry Hotel, Judah. Really? You're telling me if we stop 20 people in front of the studio on Market Street, more people would know what the Dewberry Hotel is than they know more of Monticello versus the Dewberry? I think if you ask them about the names of the buildings, they might indicate Monticello versus the Dewberry? I think if you ask them about the names of the buildings, they might indicate Monticello as being higher up on the list. But I think if you showed them pictures, they would have no idea what Monticello was, and they'd be like, oh, yeah, that's that ugly building on the downtown mall.

We should do that, like Jay Leno talking to people on the side of the street. We should have a photo of Monticello and a photo of the Dewberry and say what are the names of these buildings I say way more people know Monticello than the Dewberry I don't know that people will necessarily know the name of the Dewberry but I think enough people will be like that's the ugly building on the downtown mall we are talking about and that's not iconic that is 100% the definition of iconic. I don't know the name.

I do know the name of this building, but I don't know the name of that one. But the one I don't know the name of should be ranked over the one that I know the name of. Iconic doesn't mean that everybody knows the name of it. Yes, it does. No, it means that everybody recognizes it. Agree to disagree on this one. Iconic means easily recognizable.

I mean, it... Iconic means it resonates with you to the point that you know the brand. Yeah. You're telling me you think that more people know the Dewberry Hotel than Monticello. Yeah. Okay.

We'll agree to disagree on that. What happens if you go out of the city of Charlottesville and ask that question? I still think that a lot of people will probably... If you go outside of the area, most people are going to have no idea what Monticello is are you nuts you're gonna show someone a picture of Monticello and you think people outside of Charlottesville are gonna be like oh yeah that's Monticello yes yes I do I think you're nuts because we learned this in history class as teens who you didn't learn about Monticello in history? How? Why?

Thomas Jefferson. You know who he was? He was a president. Yeah? John Dewberry was the quarterback of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and an extorting emperor of empty lots. Okay. I'd say there's a bit of prestige and notoriety differences between Johnny Dewberry and Mr. Thomas Jefferson

no doubt but you're conflating the people with their residences that's not John Dewberry's residence you get my point Thomas Jefferson lived at Monticello yeah I don't remember ever reading about Monticello in high school

or junior high or elementary school. Your high school needs some help. I distinctly remember reading about Monticello in high school. That's because you grew up in Virginia. He's the president, one of the founding fathers of our nation. Okay. You're comparing John Dewberry's skeleton to the home of one of the founding fathers of America.

How many other founding fathers' residences can you expound upon? Mount Vernon? You ever heard of that one? Yeah. Whose is that? Was that... Oh, my god!

Whoever taught Judah Wickower history was huffing glue. What are you talking about? Wasn't that Washington? I was very, very, very concerned. Yes. You... Montpelier? Montpelier?

You ever heard of that one? Maybe. Virginia basketball has got Duke on the docket Saturday. Cameron and Durham, the crazies are going to be out. Saturday, 6pm.m., Virginia basketball. There'll be multi-point underdogs in this contest. Virginia can lose this game,

and they can beat Georgia Tech a week from tomorrow at the John Paul Jones Arena and go dancing in March. And they'll get a bye in the ACC tournament. I think this team can be world beaters if their jump shots are falling. I think they can also be incredibly offensive inept if their jump shots are not. They live and die by the jump shot. And that's a scary proposition. They really don't have anyone attacking the rack off the dribble

that can offer offense besides Reese Beekman attacking the rack off the dribble. That can offer offense if the jump shot's not falling. And that's scary. We'll watch the game 6 o'clock tomorrow. For Judah Wickauer, who loves to take the role of Johnny Dewberry's skeleton over Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, I thought you did a damn good job today. Thank you. This is the I Love Seville show on a Friday. My name is Jerry Miller. We hope you

enjoy this program as much as we enjoy hosting it. It's archived wherever you get your social media content, your podcasting content, and on iloveseville.com. So long, everybody. Thank you.