The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Guadalajara Restaurant Closing On Fontaine Ave; Chickadee Pivoting Biz Model To Bodega Concept

Episode Date: March 19, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Guadalajara Restaurant Closing On Fontaine Ave Chickadee Pivoting Biz Model To Bodega Concept Martin’s Grill Rebranding As Virginia BBQ Company Stonefield Owner Ignores CVille Tesla Protesters Cav Crossing Renters Booted 7/31, Rents 2X Uptick The Flipbook Of UVA’s Ivy Road Evolution UVA’s Blake Buchanan Entering Transfer Portal Tim Shropshire Comedy Night, Pro Re Nata, 3/27 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.

Welcome to the I Love Seville show guys. My name is Jerry Miller. Good Wednesday afternoon to you. Thank you kindly for joining us on the show. Today's program is loaded with local content for you, the viewer and the listener. Take a look at the screen at the headlines and what we will discuss today. We're gonna highlight Guadalajara Mexican

restaurant on Fontaine Avenue and the Jefferson Park Avenue announced yesterday that they are closing the location down. We're going to discuss Chickadee on today's program. A beloved sandwich shop is pivoting its model away from essentially table service, essentially full-service restaurant, to a bodega concept. We'll talk Mike Copany, friend of the program, Martin's Grill rebbranding as Virginia Barbecue Company. On today's show, we will highlight the private equity group out of New York that owns the shops at Stonefield, basically saying to the Tesla protesters from this past weekend, you know what, we don't really care that you're protesting.

A Tesla gallery coming to the Stonefield shops. We're gonna open this Tesla gallery regardless if you like it or not. Get ready for that on the Isle of Seville show. We're gonna talk on today's program, ladies and gentlemen, Blake Buchanan, the first of the basketball players on Ron Sanchez's, on Tony Bennett's roster to enter the transfer

portal. Agent confirms that news with media outlets. Expect more Virginia basketball players to enter the transfer portal. And right now, the transfer portal's gonna officially open on Monday. Virginia does not have a head coach, an official head coach yet. Good Lord, good Lord, good Lord. We'll talk Ivy Road, ladies and gentlemen.

The University of Virginia has purchased yet another piece of real estate on Ivy Road. We have dubbed the Ivy corridor as the academic village 2.0, as the lawn part do. We will highlight on today's show what UVA, what the foundation is doing for Ivy Road, and what that stretch of business is facing, as development is very near.

We're going to talk on today's program, Cavalier Crossing, booting financially strapped tenants at the end of July and two exing rents. It is now official. The residents that were paying $500, $600 a month for a room at Cavalier Crossing off Fifth Street Extended, they officially get the boot at the end of July and the rents are going to at minimum 2X. That topic on today's program. Judah, I wanna highlight what Pro Renata has going.

We put that on screen. Tim Shropshire, one of the funniest guys in comedy, will be at Dr. John Shave's Crozet location on the 27th of March, Judah. Tickets extremely affordable for this event. I mean, $10 a ticket, Judah. You cannot beat that. You can get a table top, a reserved table for four people at $65. Seven to nine p.m. in Crozet on the 27th of March

as Dr. John Shabe and the team at Pro Renata really do a fantastic job of creating an experiential food, beverage, food and beer experience in what we've called the Disney World of Crozet Pro Renata. A lot of headlines I want to talk. Judah, studio camera first please and then a two shot. I'm going to ask you which headline you find most intriguing and why and then we'll highlight our partners at Charlottesville Sanitary Supply, 60 plus

years in business. J-Dub's, restaurants left and right. We saw it last year. We're brokering the deals left and right. We just brokered the sale of, I would say darn near close to an institutional business, Great Harvest Bread Company. Our firm, Charlottesville Business Brokers online at Charlottesvillebusinessbrokers.com, sold the business, found the buyers, new couple, the Crowley's, the owners

of Great Harvest Bread Company, and they are gonna take this brand and lead it into 2025 and beyond. There's been a significant amount of restaurant news and movement in this community. Which headline do you find most intriguing and why? Well, I'm saddened to learn that the Guadalajara on Fontaine is closing up. We're good friends with the owner, Johnny Arnalis, and seen him start several other businesses and I'm sad to see Guadalajara's go. Guadalajara on Fontaine.

We just saw Kyle Irvin, the communications, the fantastic comms guide for the Charlottesville Police Department, wave to us outside the studio on Market Street. We'll talk Johnny Ornales, we'll talk Guadalajara and Fontaine Avenue closing, and we'll talk Chickadee pivoting to a bodega concept and Martin's Grill rebranding. The headwinds with food and beverage are tangible, they're palpable, they are obvious. Especially breakfast and brunch. And it's especially breakfast and brunch, especially food and beverage associated with table service or heavy labor. I want to talk about that on the show.

One of the businesses that is very much behind the scenes partnering with a lot of these restaurants in the community is Charlottesville Sanitary Supply. There's one place, Judah Wickauer, Charlottesville Sanitary Supply to get your sanitary needs, your pool supplies. It's pool season. Ours is about to open at the Miller House. Charlottesville Sanitary Supply on East High Street and online at CharlottesvilleSanitarySupply.com. John and Andrew Vermillion do amazing things. Viewers and listeners, like and share the show. Bill McChesney, Vanessa Parkhill, thank you for watching the program.

We work hard for you. The only thing we ask in return is you like and share the show. Hammer the like button, subscribe to the show. James Watson, Carol Thorpe, welcome to the program. Philip Dow in Scottsville, thank you for watching the show. Johnny, hello. Ray Cadell, Jesse Rutherford, hello. thank you for watching the show. Johnny, hello. Ray Cadell, Jesse Rutherford, hello.

Thank you for watching the program. This news on the Guadalajara Facebook page is yesterday. The Fontaine Avenue location is closing. I'm gonna start with some commentary, Judah, we will weave you in. It's never, never an easy pill to swallow or good for the community when a locally owned business closes. It's never good.

I've been eating at the Fontaine Avenue location for nearly 25 years. It was one of the first restaurants that I tried during my first year at the University of Virginia. My roommate, Shannon Maranzano, he and I, old dorms, first years at the University of Virginia. We both went to high school in Williamsburg, Virginia. I went to Walsingham Academy, he went to Jamestown High School. We both lived in the same neighborhood, Kingsmill. We did not know each other, but we were randomly placed as roommates in Dabney 101 as first-years at UVA. We very

quickly became best friends, brothers. We were in this rite of passage as 18-year-olds, figuring out life out of the nest and on our own. And often our parents would visit, mine for home football games. His parents would visit as they were passing through the area. His father, a superintendent of public schools, Dr. Chuck Maranzano, one of the best humans I have ever met,

his father, Dr. Chuck Maranzano, sincere, kind, a man of perspective, level-headedness, consistent demeanor. His son, Shannon, embodied these qualities as well. That's why we became very close friends. And Dr. Maranzano, when he visited, he would often take Shannon and I out to dinner. We often found ourselves at the Fontaine Avenue, Jefferson Park Avenue, Guadalajara location. We started as first years, he'd visit second year, third year, fourth year, and afterwards, and we always found ourselves bonding and conversating over chips and salsa. As we got older, we got the big beers, we got the big coronas.

I would always get special number 12. It was what? A soft taco, a burrito and a cheese quesadilla. I always left the Fontaine Avenue location happy, satisfied, pleased. I love the spice and the kick of the Guadalajara salsa. I think it's gotten spicier recently. I personally love the Fontaine Avenue location the best. It was intimate. It's not that large. I never had difficulty parking in that lot behind the restaurant. The service is always It was clean. Johnny ran fantastic business. Yeah. I'm sad to see this close. No doubt. Unfortunately, what is happening is this is a sign of the times with table service, with food and beverage.

Since the pandemic, collateral damage of COVID, The consumer has shifted their habits. And it's a society, it's human behavior now, Judah, and you jump in here in a matter of moments, that is much more focused on third-party delivery and eating food in your respective home and underwear and rob food and and and your respective home and underwear and robes and pajamas while streaming Netflix or prime or max going to restaurants table service 20% gratuity getting in a car parking waiting for food doing it in a dining room, is becoming something of yesteryear, which is crazy to

say. On top of that, the space, food and beverage, is as competitive as any space in this community. I've said on the program, the most competitive spaces of business in this community, restaurants, being a realtor, a residential realtor, coffee shops. Those three spaces of business, food and beverage in totality, coffee shops is a subcategory. And being a realtor in the greater Charlottesville area, the most competitive lines of business that you can be in. And with locations on Greenbrier Drive, right? Yeah. A location due to what is it on Market Street? On Market Street and... Pantops. One on Pantops. The family makes the decision of closing Fontaine. They own a lot of the real estate over there. This real estate has significant upside, ladies and gentlemen.

But a location has bit the dust. And that is disheartening. I've said this for 24 months, at least 24 months, since COVID, more of these are going to close. And I've highlighted on this network that our team at Charlottesville Business Brokers, our firm, Charlottesville Business Brokers,

is doing a fantastic job of brokering business deals in FNB and in other spaces. Before you have your back against the wall and are at the point where you're closing your doors or you're basically doing an asset sale where you're selling things for pennies on the dollar, please reach out to someone who can broker deals and get you perhaps some return on your sweat equity and investment.

Please, Judah, perspective from you as we then utilize this as a spring to Chickadee pivoting its table service model to a bodega, grab and go away from table service. Martin's Grill pivoting its model to Virginia Barbecue Company and away from an institutional brand and Martin's. This continues to hit the industry. It's being ravaged. Blue Moon Diner, Judah.

Mooses by the Creek, table service, being pivoted to grab and go. It's happening. I can continue to list them off if you would like. Your thoughts on Guadalajara first? Well the last time I was there, I actually spoke to Johnny. It was kind of funny. I was sitting there just grabbing a quick bite

because I was meeting someone nearby. And as I'm sitting there eating my tacos, I hear my name. Like, that's odd, look around and there's Johnny. So I get up, shake his hand and we start talking politics and you're right, it's a great little space. The Guadalajara's are all incredibly fast. I mean, it's amazing how fast they are sometimes. I'll barely sit down after placing an order to go

and here comes someone carrying a bag out to me. Like what, it's ready already? Great. But it's definitely a shame to see it go. Sadly, I haven't been able to get back to that one very often because it's kind of on the other side of the city. My usual go-tos are Pantops because it's close to my church. And the one right here downtown is a great spot for stopping after work.

Not to mention, I've had a lot of success ordering from them late at night. If it's after 8.30, sometimes the Pantops one doesn't respond. So I hope they do well, whatever they do with that spot, sell it, repurpose it. Mariachi and Zion's crossroads. They're crushing it at El Mariachi and Zion's crossroads. Johnny and his partner River Hawkins, the two gentlemen behind Mexicale in the old World of Beer location on West Main Street. Mexicale is Johnny's blood, sweat, and tears. No doubt. The artwork on the walls at Mexicale embody portraits or images, recreations of Johnny's family. That's how much blood, sweat, and tears are a part of Mexicale in the old world of beer location.

Yeah. Okay? The Ornalas family class people. No doubt. Generous, affable, outgoing, kind, considerate. Okay? But I'm gonna put things in perspective for the society and Kevin Yanti, I'm going to get your comments here

from the I Love Civo group about the Guadalajara-Fontaine location. I'm going to put things in perspective here. My wife and I and two boys, a six-year-old and a two and a half-year-old, we went to the new Plaza Estaca location, Judah. Where is that? I can look it up.

Don't worry. I can't give you the – is it the old Applebee's? Is it the old Applebee's viewers and listeners? The old Plaza – the Plaza Estaca location? I believe that was at one time – no, I think it was Chili's at one time. I think it's the old Chili's on Branchlands. If memory serves correct, viewers and listeners, call me there. Right across from that car.

571 Branchlands Boulevard. I think that's the old Chili's. Across from the car wash? Yeah. That's, I try not to, I don't go down Route 29 that often, intentionally. But we're at Plaza Estaca, the new spot. My wife and I, two adult meals. OK?

Our sons, two kids' meals, one appetizer, a small margarita for my wife and a small margarita for me. Kids waters for our boys. Can't give the kids margaritas. They're only six and two and a half. You get in trouble for that. You may want to get them some margaritas so they stop acting crazy and pass out. But evidently they call child protective services on you if you do that.

Appetizer, adult meal for my wife, adult meal for me, margarita for me, margarita for my wife, kids meal for the 6-year-old, kids meal for the 2-1 half-year-old. After tip, what do you anticipate, what do you predict the cost was? After tip, I'm going to say $100. $130 plus dollars. That's a lot of money. $130 plus dollars. For two adults and two children to eat out. One alcoholic beverage per adult and kids' meals.

That is absolutely bananas. We are dying the death of 1,000 cuts as consumers, as just everyday Sallys and everyday Joes. Whether it's groceries, whether it's health insurance premiums, whether it's rent or mortgage, the cost of housing. Netflix is increasing its price. Dollar Shave Club is increasing their price.

Water, electric, utilities, everything is going up. And what's being sacrificed are luxury experiences in some cases. And some of those luxury experiences that are being sacrificed are table service, dining at restaurants. Look at what Chickadee is doing, that lower third on screen. And then Kevin Yancey, I'm going to go to your comments here about the Fontaine on Guadalajara, the Guadalajara Fontaine. I don't agree with them, but we're an equal opportunity employer when it comes to an equal opportunity broadcaster when it comes to relaying comments live on air. Chickadee table service, brunch and lunch. Some of the most delicious sandwiches you can find

in the Central Virginia market. Best sandwiches you find in Central Virginia, Peloton Station and Curtis Shaver. RIP, Peloton Station. Chickadee right there with the sandwich lab, with Peloton Station, some of the best IV provisions, fantastic sandwiches at IV provisions, ladies and gentlemen. Foods of all nations has fantastic sandwiches.

Chickadee has decided and they made this announcement on their social pages, that we are no longer going to do the model that we're doing now. It's not gonna be table service. We've been working brunch and lunch as a family. They call themselves the Family Stone, a reference to the fantastic holiday movie with Claire Danes and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Love that holiday movie. A touching holiday movie. And they say, this is a, is the exact words they do do they use slog in their announcement I'll find it here. I will find it here. I'm very curious of your perspective here, Judah Slugging it out with lunch and brunch service is what they describe it with the with the photo of the of the of the family Yeah, slugging it out and lunch and brunch. The family stone has

decided it's best we take things in a different direction, they say. For the past year, we have been building out the space next to us for a market concept. And after much thought and deliberation, we think the best move for us will be to try and combine both concepts into one space. Chickadee market. This will be more of a transformation than a door closing. The capacity in which food will be involved is still to be determined. But definitely scaled back. Yeah. Think bodega vibes meets cha-chas. Cha-chas was a funky boutique, cha-chki store on the downtown mall at one time. The reference to cha-chas I don't quite understand frankly. I don't either. I've patronized cha-chas many

times. The boutique on the downtown mall that was next to Zocalo restaurant, the cha-chki store that next to Zocalo restaurant, the tchotchke store that's next to Zocalo restaurant. Is the meeting here bodega vibes with tchotchkes, meaning it's going to be like food and beverage tchotchkes? Is it going to be like an eclectic offering of food and grab and go and pre-made meals? I mean, is it like a Manhattan bodega? My wife and I, when we go to Manhattan all the time, she's 10 years of her life in the city working for Blackstone. She speaks so highly of the bodega experience, of the deli experience, where you go to the deli and you order your breakfast sandwich and you then eat it outside the store on a bench,

you know, or while you're walking in the city and enjoying the energy. Is that what we can expect from Chachas or from the chickadee bodega? That is what it sounds like. That's definitely what it sounds like. Then maybe what you have at this particular location at this bodega is the Chachkiza food where you can get where you can get locally sourced products. Maybe there's some local honeys and some local syrups and some local jellies and some local peppers and some local pickles and other ‑‑ maybe it's a showcase of local.

What it's not staying is table service and restaurant. And full service. They're straight up saying this ain't working. And they're saying the final day of service for Chickadee the restaurant will be Saturday, April 12th. Here are the questions that I have as just someone who likes to ask questions through the lens of a businessman that's been self-employed since 2008 and brokers a lot of deals. They said that they in the location next door to Chickadee were working on a market concept and that market concept next door is going to fall under the roof of Chickadee now. Does that mean that they are breaking the lease for the location next door? Does that mean that they are breaking the lease for the location next door?

Does that mean they will still be paying Oliver Kooten or rent for the space next door? Or have they done a deal with Oliver and said, look, we can't afford both of these? Are they still going to be paying rent for the space next door? They said for the past year we have been building out the space next to us for a market concept. What is going to happen with that space and is it an item of overhead for Chickadee? Or has Oliver decided to figure out a way for them to get out of that overhead and then rerun it somewhere else. I have that question. The next question I have is this,

what happens to the labor employed by Chickadee? Chickadee, one of the first post-COVID to say, we are going to auto-gratuity no matter what. We believe in our team members and props to them having an above average wage. And whether you like it or not, there's gonna be auto gratuity on your bill. Salvage Brewing Company does the same thing.

On Ivy Road. Every time you go to Salvage, whether it's a pint of beer, one of their delicious cheeseburgers, one of their basket of fries, we love salvage. You're gonna get a 15% auto gratuity and then you're asked to tip on top of that. I always add an additional 5% to take it to 20%.

Yeah. That's becoming more common because labor's so expensive and not everyone tips the 20% they should. It really is difficult for me. You have to be absolutely awful at your job to not get 20%. Yeah. Like, for me to not give you 20%, you just completely forgot about us. Yeah, definitely. I got to be sitting with an empty glass for a long ass time.

15, 20 minutes. Yeah. Or like, you know, yeah, just being ignored. I've had below average table service and still tip 20%. Yeah, because that's their livelihood. Because that's their livelihood. Absolutely. Anybody that's worked, I mean, I haven't

done any actual serving. But I've worked in the food industry. I've worked in other places where people show their appreciation and that's never left me. Everyone, viewers and listeners, I'm getting to your comments right now. Put them in the feed, we'll relay them live on air. Everyone should work in the food and beverage business

in some capacity. It will make you a better person working in food and beverage in some capacity. When you deal with angry Karens, what's the male version of an angry Karen? I think you just still call them Karens. Maybe it's Kevin. When you deal with angry Karens and angry Kevins, well interestingly Kevin Yancey throwing a little shade over here at Guadalajara.

Oh is he? Yeah. Oh man. Kevin is saying he says the Guadalajara on Fontaine was handicapped with location and parking since it opened. It's the smallest location of the group and he says welcome to the on-demand disposable society we created and he says yes that was Chili's. And he says, you do realize that all the Plaza brands are chain locations. They are locally owned. It's basically a locally owned franchise of Plaza Azteca. The Charlottesville is not even listed on the big Plaza Azteca website. Kevin Yancey says, we took our entire family

to Los Panchos in Waynesboro on Saturday. 16 people, it was $250 with tip. So he's creating a comp a comp so 250 divided by 16 is $15 call it $16 a person for Los Panchos and Waynesboro hmm $16 a person okay I had a buck 35 for my wife and I and two kids so So we'll divide that by four. That was $33 a person, 2X. What we're doing is we're putting in perspective what's happening in the Charlottesville market with labor being such a high piece of overhead. The Fontaine The Fontein location, they own the real estate. They're the landlord.

Right? Plaza Estaca location, they do not own the real estate. And the rent at that Chili's location, I would have to guess if I had an idea, and this is my line of work here, if I had a guess, you're talking 25 a square, $17,000, $20,000 a month in rent, it's a massive restaurant. It can't be that different from the spot they were at, which was literally a stone's throw away. That was the old Mavericks steakhouse

location, the old boathouse location. Yeah. Phenomenal restaurant in there. Yeah, I love that place. Those restaurants massive in size. How is Plaza Estecca, and I'm not throwing shade, I'm asking a very genuine question. Do you understand how many salted margaritas, jumbo margaritas, frozen margaritas, how many burritos, tacos, and enchiladas you have to sell at Plaza Azteca with rent at $20K a month? I would not even be surprised if the rent is more than that. Would not be surprised if it's more than that, folks. And every year it increases.

And have you seen the amount of staff they have at Plaza Azteca? A boatload of people on the clock at Plaza Azteca. A boatload of people. So I have these questions, okay? Are you ready? And then I'm going to get to the comments in the feed here. Question number one, what happens to the labor that was employed at Chickadee and the labor that was employed at Guadalajara and Fontaine?

Are these folks now out of work? Question number two, Chickadee was creating a concept next door to the restaurant. Are they still on the hook for the rent there? Or did they figure out some kind of arrangement with Oliver Kooten or Ludwig's son, so they're not on the hook for the rent there? Or did they figure out some kind of arrangement with Oliver Kooten or Ludwig's son? So they're not on the hook there anymore. So you think they may be only using one of the spots instead of both?

They say that, Judah. They literally ‑‑ I'm going to read it verbatim. I'm looking at it. It's a little vague. I'm going to read it verbatim. It says for the past year we have been building out the space next to us for a market concept and after much thought and deliberation we think the best move for us will be trying to combine both concepts into the same existing space. So you think by same existing space you mean they're going to move everything into that

space next to where the restaurant was? I don't have that answer. But I do think what they're doing is they're they're Consolidating the market business and the chickadee business in one space Yeah, whether that space is chickadee or whether that space is in the market concept that they were building out I don't know but I don't think it's gonna be two spaces. Hmm. It says same existing space It also says combine both concepts into one space. It also says combine both concepts. Into one space. Yeah.

They're not going to have a bodega in two spaces to cut down overhead, right? Does that make sense to you? I mean, if it's supposed to be a bodega slash market, they may need the extra space. The bodega is the market. A bodega is a market. Yes. You're getting in the weeds here. I'm getting in the weeds.

It's one space. They're not going to rent two spaces when they're basically saying it's a struggle to survive here. That's what they're saying. Our model is struggling to survive. They're not going to rent two spaces if the model's struggling to survive in a high rent district. All right. We're, we're using our...

I asked an easy question. I'm not sure why... I respect the question that you're asking. I respect your question. Absolutely. Okay. What happens to the people? What happens to the space? And is this a sign for more things to come? There are, I say this on the talk show all the time, you want to buy a business in this community, you don't go to business listing websites to buy them. Those are the dregs of business listings on there. You go to brokers like us that have two dozen opportunities

that are off the record or off the market that are available to purchase. A business is not listed in public fashion if it's gonna be sold. Because you risk your staff leaving your organization and your business. And you also risk theft from your staff because they don't have anything to lose.

Martin's Grill, you put that headline on screen. The Copany's rebranding Martin's Grill as Virginia Barbecue Company. More change in the food and beverage space. Think about some of the change we've seen with Blue Moon Diner choosing to legitimately close their doors. Mooses by the Creek choosing to go to Shadwell.

Fontaine Avenue Guadalajara closing, right? I mean, it's significant change. Passy floor at Commonwealth Sky Bar still has not opened. Draft taproom, Stephon Freeman, has remodeled the space, put new flooring in, brought out the TVs, brought out the tech, still hasn't opened it. Still waiting. What's happened to Blue Ridge Country Store? The folks that bought Blue Ridge Country Store from the original owners, ran it into bankruptcy, owe a boatload of money to vendors all over town. What's going on with that, right? Yeah. Lottie Murray watching the program. I love

Guadalajara. But he says it's a very generic kind of Mexican food that is now available with almost identical menus all over Virginia. We need more Mexican, Latin American food that's healthier with more of a homemade feel and more unique menu items. Guajeros is an example of the kind of restaurant I'd love to see more of. Guajeros doing a great job in the old Peloton Station location. The brothers, Harvey and his brothers do great work. Food is fantastic.

Will, the bartender, does a great job behind the bar. He loves to throw shade, and at yours truly, Will does, but he does a great job behind the bar at Guajira's. One of the best bartenders in the business, Will. Talented artist, talented illustrator, visionary comic book genius, Will. Eddie watching the program, I love Eddie, I miss you. He says we missed Peloton. Shad, Shad Gatewood, God, I'll give you a chest bump right here, Shad. He said Peloton had the best sandwiches, Curtis is a gem.

Curtis is a gem. Inner Circle friend Curtis Shaver. Recently moved to Greene County, Curtis Shaver. The chatter on the street is Blue Ridge Cafe has sold. That's the chatter on the street that Blue Ridge Cafe has sold to a new owner, an institutional business in Greene County. Kevin Yancey, I lived a block from Guadalajara Fontaine for 15 years. When they opened, they had little competition. They had old Virginia Fried Chicken, which is Wayside, Anna's and Juan Ho. Only three other restaurants

for at least a decade. That Fontaine Avenue corridor has exploded with food and beverage. A friend of the program, Terry Hinderman, who owns the Maury Avenue shopping center and he owns the Fry Springs gas station, He's got a Jersey donut shop in there and half the side of Anna's pizza and he's got a Neapolitan pizza parlor where Fry's — NEPO. NEPO. Pie NEPO. I think it's NAPO. Pie NAPO?

Something like that. In the old Fry Springs station location. He's right. That corridor has bustled with food and beverage offerings. But you know what else has dramatically uptick in the Fontaine JPA Avenue? The median family household income. The Frye Springs neighborhood, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city of Charlottesville. And you know what else is about to happen?

The biotech Paul Manning Research Park, you can have thousands of people within a walking distance of where Guadalajara, of Wan Ho, and where the pizza parlor are located. Thousands of people. This industry is an absolute peril. And I said on this talk show that we are still navigating the collateral damage of COVID, inflation,

collateral damage of COVID, inflation that we're dealing with right now, that drone power is still trying to get under control, that Trump thinks he can get under control with these new tariffs that are making the stock market absolutely plummet in correction territory. That's collateral damage from COVID. Collateral damage from COVID, how about housing? Guess what happened during COVID when we started offering home buyers 2 and 3 percent and 4 percent interest rates on fixed 30-year mortgages? They are never going to get off the 2, the 3, and the 4

percent interest rates, which is limiting available inventory. And because the inventory for sale is so limited because people are holding with dear life to a 2, 3 or 4 percent interest rate that means the stock that does hit the housing market is exponentially more expensive because it's a supply and demand conundrum. That's collateral damage from COVID. How's this for collateral damage from COVID? How many of us over the last 12 to 24 months have been, have found ourselves sicker than ever? Put your hand in the air. You got kids sicker than ever. Parents sicker than ever.

Fighting colds and flus and getting stuck in bed and fevers. Well, guess what? For two years we didn't use our immune systems. We stayed at home, we masked our faces, and we didn't use our immune systems. And now we wonder why our immune systems are a little bit weaker and can't fight off what we were accustomed to fighting off in 2019 or earlier. Collateral damage from Covid, weaker immune systems. How's this for collateral damage from COVID? We got accustomed for two years

because we were instructed to stay at home and not leave our house, and then given money by the government to stay home and not leave our house, to living our lives on screens and on our phones and in front of TVs in our houses, to the detriment of businesses that need us to come into their doors. Let me ask you this question. You go online and

you order on a menu through Grubhub or Uber Eats, right? And you see a menu and it's just you and your phone and you're ordering food, are you not more apt to order less food from a menu on a screen than when you go into a restaurant, you sit at a table and you hear the specials from a waiter or waitress, you look around a dining room and you see people drinking margaritas and cold beers and cocktails, you see the dessert stand or the dessert cart go out, you see and feel your senses are romanticized and your senses, your smell and your hearing and your vision are seduced by plates whizzing by your table. The aromas of fajitas and the smells of barbecue and the tastes of steaks and sirloins whizzing by your foretop,

the salt on margaritas trickling down your neighbor's glass as it sweats in their hands and the salt slides down and you can you can taste the margarita in your mouth and you can feel the heat from the enchilada under your nose as it percolates the inside of your nostrils you go into you're getting hungry just thinking about it that's the concept of a dining room. A dining room is an auditory, visual, sensory experience. Don't forget olfactory. You know what is not a sensory experience? Ordering enchiladas through your phone to

be delivered by some random schmo via Grubhub or Uber Eats. I can bet you 50 bucks the average ticket for Grubhub and Uber Eats and having a cold taco and a cold enchilada delivered to your house is way lower than the average ticket when you go into a dining room and you potentially order booze and dessert and appetizers and additional food because you're seduced and you potentially order booze and dessert and appetizers and additional food because you're seduced and you're romanticized by the sensory experience of eating in a dining room. I speak with confidence and conviction because we all know it's right. As folks are less likely to eat in auditory and in sensory experiences, dining rooms,

experiencing businesses firsthand, and more likely to stay in their Tidy Whities Judah, their bathrobes, I don't know if you have Tidy Whities or not. I don't. Their Victoria's secrets. I've had Tidy Whities in I don't know how many decades. You don't have Pokemon Tidy Whities? They wouldn't be Tidy Whities if they had Pokemon on them. Tidy Whities can have Pokemon huh? Wolverine Tidy Whities? Captain America Tidy Whities? Spider-Man Tidy Whities? I may have had... Can you tell I'm a father of a six-year-old? I may have had Superman Underoos at one time. The person that doesn't go to the dining room is ordering less food than the person that's ordering through a screen.

And you know what the shittiest thing of all this is? Grubhub and Uber Eats are literally the, what's the guy that walks around that's the merchant of death? The Grim Reaper. Grubhub and Uber Eats are the grim reaper of locally owned food and beverage. The grim reaper of locally owned food and beverage is Grubhub and third party delivery. Because they're going to take your food, they're going to get it to the customer cold, they're going to get it to the customer after some Grubhub and Uber Eats drivers finagle and touch and eat your food, put their grubby little fingers in it, enjoying some of your fajitas and some of your French fries, some of your onion rings, getting their DNA and their disgust on your $19 tacos and enchiladas.

They're going to deliver it to you with their grubby fingers and their DNA all over it. It's going to be cold and your experience for that brand is not going to be an experience where you have disdain for the delivery driver, the third party delivery. Instead that disdain is going to be for the brand that made the food. And that's bogus, but that's reality. They are the grim reapers of locally owned full service restaurants. Then they take a massive cut, Grubhub and Uber Eats take all the profit. You're working for nothing. Zilch zero nada. You want me to give you a word of advice for Charlottesville and Almaro County and Central Virginia food and beverage owners? Create a co-op, galvanize in a union fashion, organizational fashion,

some kind of team, some kind of group, some kind of fraternity or sorority or entity, and as a group say, we're no longer going to offer third party delivery. Everyone is going to have to do this in conjunction. In organized fashion and say we're not going to do it. If you want the food that we're making, you come into our dining room. Or at the very worst you order, take out directly from us and pick it up at our location. We're not letting grubby, grubby, grubby-handed DNA passing third-party delivery to send our tacos and our burritos to your doorstep for it to show up with hair

follicles and dead skin and smushed tortillas for you to eat and then blame it on us. Wow. I got smushed tortillas for you to eat and then blame it on us. Wow. I got third party delivery, my wife and I, to our home in Ivy. Open the bag. Get the food out. Take the containers out. And immediately I feel like I'm at a head shop. Take the containers out.

And immediately I feel like I'm at a head shop. Or I'm at Cypress Hill concert. At a Bob Marley concert. The aroma, it must have been someone was roasting a fat blunt and their cutlass with some rims on it. Because I opened that bag and and I was immediately super stizzed. It was that much weed smoke was all over our food. Even my wife said, Jerry, did you just

rip a binger in the kitchen? Our kins are over there. I said, I did not. I just opened the plastic bag. The food was in the bag. And then she said, oh my god, you're right. And she goes, I'm going to call the restaurant. I said, it's not the restaurant.

It's little Carlo and his El Camino on 19 inch rims that deliver the food. Insane. Bill McChesney said he went to El Puerto, got fajitas and two amber dos And two beers. It's 34 bucks. Unbelievable. Daniel Kaufman, the owner of Public and Black Cow Chop House watching the program, he says Judah's getting pornographic. I am. He didn't say Judah. He said this is getting pornographic.

I guarantee you Public and Black Cow Chop House don't do third-party delivery. You want a third-party delivery, some raw oysters? From West Main Street, third-party delivery, raw oysters from Public to Crozet? That's a scary thought. What are those oysters going to look like? And little Carlos El Camino on 19 inch rims.

Tom Powell, the founder of the Toy Lift, you're hitting it on the head Jerry. We've lost our desire to interact with each other as a result of COVID. Sad just sad that we cannot wake up. We as humans are literally creating the demise of institutional brands that we cannot wake up. We as humans are literally creating the demise of institutional brands that we cherish and love that have made Charlottesville and Almar County special. I have been here 25 years. Before COVID, there was a massive movement

to buy and shop local. That movement has been whittled down like a number two pencil post SATs. Where is the movement to shop and buy local? It is collateral damage from COVID. I think a lot of this was present in one way or another and gaining in popularity before COVID. The same way that our kids are getting addicted to the screen, we are addicted to the screen and to ease of use, to not getting in the car

and going somewhere, to, I mean, Amazon? John Blair on LinkedIn. I'm afraid more closings are coming. I was in a very long time Charlottesville restaurant two Friday evenings ago with my family. I was shocked at how few customers were there. I'm talking about one of the most recognizable names in Charlottesville. I know for a fact they're coming, ladies and gentlemen. This is the

business we are in. I know for a fact they are coming. Ginny Hu watching the program. She says Plaza Azteca is the old Applebee's. The Korean barbecue is the old Chili's. Thank you, Ginny Hu. Plaza Azteca, she says, isn't even that good and definitely not worth $130. I was almost appalled. Almost appalled at the bill. Like literally, almost appalled. Like literally almost appalled. We got more on the agenda. Georgia Gilmer watching the program, El Taco Naco food truck just opened a brick and mortar. They reached out to us about that right? Yep. El Taco Naco just opened a food, a

brick and mortar. Where's the brick and mortar, Judah? You know, I'm not sure. All right, we don't have to look. By the time you find it, we're onto something else. I think they should have stuck with the truck. Someone said they got three tacos and a drink from El Taco Naco and it was $21. Pre-COVID, the tacos were two to $3 each. The consumer cannot do that, cannot afford these prices.

Daniel Kaufman says, no, we do not do delivery. The consumer cannot do that, cannot afford these prices. Daniel Kaufman says, no, we do not do delivery. And of course I knew it was me the way I was describing the food, Daniel. I was playing a joke, it was a joke, Kaufman. Kaufman does a great job with public in Blackout Chop House. Daniel, my wife and I and my in-laws are coming to cut to public for lobster rolls and for cocktails. We're gonna be there very soon.

I can't wait to enjoy oysters and lobster rolls and old-fashioned cocktails with my wife and my parents, my parents-in-law, as we have a babysitter for the Miller Maniacs. And that's another thing. If your parents and you don't go with kids and you choose to get a babysitter, the sitter's costing you 20 bucks an hour. Yeah. My wife and I met an inner circle couple, Alex and Missy at the alley light.

Two rounds of drinks and some of the best food we've had. It was like $300 a couple. And then you're looking at $80 for four hours. That's bananas. That is bananas, right? Vanessa Parkhill says Black Cow is awesome. He does it right. It's going to take, if you want to do full service restaurant, sit down restaurant, labor intensive restaurant, it's going to take a special experience for you to survive. Like a special, special experience for you to survive. And it's not, and that experience is gonna be more than just really good food. It's gonna be like really good food, really good service, really good drinks, really good ambiance, and nothing else can go wrong.

I mean, you're basically creating a scenario that is like you have to on every single outing be absolutely perfect to have longevity in this type of work. That's unrealistic. It is absolutely unrealistic. I don't know what your earlier comment is, Kev. What is your earlier comment? He says $300 for dinner and better be a private chef in my kitchen. First of all, the likelihood of you getting a private chef in your kitchen

for $300 is just not reality. Pushing back on you there, Kevin Yancey. That is not reality. Daniel Kaufman says, you want to talk inflation? The price of a lobster is twice what it was last year. And he would know. Dude owns public. That's insane. Insane. Jamie Turner, the mayor of Gordon's, Gordon'sville. He says,

if they can't survive in DC with that income, can only imagine how Charlottesville will be impacted. I think something like 40% reported significant drops in revenue as well. I just read a report that Jamie Turner is talking about. The DC food and beverage and restaurant scene is imploding right now. This was on CNBC.

Let me see if I can find the report. CNBC, Washington DC restaurants. This came out yesterday. I read the same thing he's talking about. JT was talking about. Let me see if I can find it. Or JT, see if you can send me that link. Oh, man, I can't find it. This is literally me doing it on the fly. DC restaurant CNBC. JT, Absolutely unbelievable.

Curtis Shaver, as a restaurant chef, you're only as good as the last dish you sent out. That's exactly right. He's exactly right. People are, this is another down, another fatal flaw with the restaurant model, okay? People are more, most, one of the most, one of the most critical, people are most critical in life with their significant other, probably first most critical in life and less patience, lacking of patience, first with their significant other. Second is with their food. You'll give people the time of day and be patience if they bump you, if they give you the burden, flick you off at

work. But if it's your spouse or your girlfriend or your boyfriend or your food, you are going to be nasty. And that nasty comes out on Yelp. And then you've got the racket that's Yelp. Where Yelp will call you up and say, you don't give us any money, we're going to push your bad reviews up and your good reviews down. Literally, they have class action lawsuits against Yelp.

Yelp is digital bullying, digital racketeering. You don't give us any money, We're gonna push your bad reviews up and your good reviews down and we're not gonna give you a prominent listing. Jamie Turner shares the link I read yesterday. This is, listen to this, 40% of DC restaurants likely to close by the end of the year, a survey says. This was published yesterday. You can find this link that JT, the Mayor of Gordonville, sent shared on the I Love Seville Facebook page. Two out of five full service casual restaurants

in DC say they are likely to close in the coming year. Restaurants blame rising costs, fewer people dining out, and federal worker layoffs as part of the problem. Kevin Yancey said, zip, a Vivace said, you have to make yourself a destination and not just another sit down restaurant. We ate at Vivace on Sunday. We eat as a family at Vivace often. Sitting at the bar in one of the booth as a family at Vivace often. Sitting at

the bar in one of the booths are two kids, my wife, not at the actual bar, but in one of the booths on the bar side. Get popcorn, get the bread, get some calamari, get some pizzas and get a couple of beers. Food is always good there. Ginny Hu says, hearing all these depressing comments makes me happier than ever that we worked hard to keep our families lives as normal as possible. We did the exact same. You know what we changed during COVID, Judah? Hmm. What our family changed during COVID? Do I know what your family changed during COVID?

Yeah. No, of course not. We put on some masks. That's it. You put on some masks? Yeah. My sister's put on masks made of net and Swarovski crystals. Yeah. We put on some masks and that's it. We didn't change anything about work. We took the money that was given us to the government, put it into the stock market, didn't spend it. Kids learned and went to school in person, played outside, didn't change any aspect of our life.

Not one aspect. Outside of putting on some masks. One forty marker on the I Love Seville show. We have some more topics we've got to get to. If we save the other topics for tomorrow so we can really get into them. Yeah, I think we might have some. I really hope you're rebranding some of those, rotating those lower thirds on screen.

Because it's not just Martins we're talking about. All right, I'll save these topics for tomorrow's show. And do you, when I say we save the topics tomorrow's show, because I did this yesterday, are you actually making note of these for the rundown tomorrow? I've got them all saved. You didn't want to use any from yesterday.

What was the one from yesterday? Yesterday we had a new candidate. We had Meat Chen Flesher, Creuset Crepe Company. What was the ones that we saved for today's show from yesterday? Did we talk about 1,000 Wirtland? There's the UVA Foundation buys another bank. I don't think we talked about that. Region 10 spends $7.8 million. We didn't think we talked about that. Region 10 spends 7.8 million.

We didn't talk about that. Okay, I definitely wanna save these. Headline that the Stonefield owner, is it O'Connor Capital Partners? Yeah, I believe so. The private equity group that owns the shops at Stonefield. They basically told, we'll talk about this yesterday, O'Connor Capital Partners out of New York.

They own the shops of Stonefield, and they told the hundreds of protesters that were bucking up to the Tesla dealership that's coming to Stonefield, they basically gave them the one finger salute. Unsurprisingly. They said, whatever you're doing here, we don't care about Tesla's opening here,

and you can hit the road Jack Yeah, I mean is anybody surprised by that O'Connor Capital Partners said you want to protest stonefield? Who gives a rat's ass we're still opening Elon Musk Tesla gallery here they clapped back That topic on tomorrow show show. Also on tomorrow's show, the organization out of Northern Virginia, the Real Estate Investment Trust, St. Bonaventure, that owns Cavalier Crossing now, they're booting out the residents that are paying $500 a month on the 31st of July and the rents are 2Xing at one of the last affordable spots in all of Charlottesville and Amarillo County.

We told you that was coming. We predicted this was coming. We covered this right from start to finish. We're going to talk on tomorrow's show, the flipbook of Ivy Road, as the University of Virginia has purchased another bank building. Ivy Road is in the crossfire of UVA development. It is Academic Village 2.0.

And I'm gonna tell you right now, that crossfire and that momentum is upticking and it's upticking noticeably. Blake Buchanan entered the transfer portal, the first of many. Others are entering, we know who they are. The men's basketball team may have a completely depleted roster

before a head coach is announced. And the head coach, Odom of VCU, don't have any players from Virginia Commonwealth University come with them, because they've exhausted their eligibility. This could be a disaster in the making for the athletic director, Carla Williams. We'll remind the viewers and listeners that on March 27th, Tim Shropshire is coming for Comedy Night at Pro Renata and tickets are just $10.

If your business is in a customer-facing type of model, you need to create experiences for your customers. Experiential businesses are the ones that cannot get cannibalized by the internet. And John Shave and Pro Renata are doing just that. Word on the street is arcade games are coming to Pro Renata. Axe throwing, music venues, comedy clubs, a playground, a sports bar, outdoor seating, fire pits, corn hole. It's not just a brewery, it's an entertainment center. Judah Wickauer and Jerry Miller, the I Love Seville show needs to be on your calendar Monday through Friday at 12.30 p.m.

If you're not listening and watching this show every Monday and Friday at 12.30 p.m., you're literally not keeping up with what's going on in your community. I would take your phone out and put it on your calendar with a reminder 30 minutes in advance and 15 minutes in advance that Judah Wickauer and Jerry Miller are on the I Love Seville show at 12 30 p.m. Monday through Friday on every social media and podcasting platform possible. This is the news of Charlottesville folks. God bless you. God bless you.