The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Historic Shift: Store Closures Outpace Store Openings; Largest Closings In Discount, Drug & Apparel

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: Historic Shift: Store Closures Outpace Store Openings Largest Closings In Discount, Drug & Apparel City Of CVille Socialists Trying To Influence AlbCo What’s Best Use Of Abandoned Belmont Pizza? Murray Elementary Parents Fight For Foreign Language Is Violet Crown Going To Be Demolished? Wood-Burning Fireplaces Dying Breed In CVille F&B AlbCo Commonwealth Attorney Jim Hingeley On 3/5 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.

Quiet on the sets. Guys, welcome to the I Love Seville show. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on a glorious Monday afternoon in downtown Charlottesville. Parents that are watching the show, is this potentially the first week of 2025 that our scion, our offspring, our children, our kids are in school for a full five days this week. I mean, good night. How many moms and dads, how many daddies and daddies and mommies and mommies out there have been jaded and whittled down like a number two pencil post SAT test

with the weather and the federal holidays and the teacher work days and how it applies with our kids, our maniacs staying at home and not going to school for five days. Good night. Is this the first week parents that our kids have been in school for a full five days in 2025. A lot we're going to cover on the program. We ask you, the viewer and listener, to do us a small favor. Retweet the show, like the show, share the show, and join us in the conversation by asking questions, by pushing back, by offering perspective. We want this to be the water cooler of conversation for Charlottesville. We want to crowdsource content from you, the viewer and listener.

For example, today's show has the first two headlines on our rundown that you see on screen. We're suggested by number one in the family, Deep Throat, a gentleman that I have tremendous respect for that routinely makes the program better. And ladies and gentlemen, a historic shift is happening in brick and mortar retail. We will highlight that historic shift. But for the first time in recent years, retail store closures are exceeding retail openings. JLL said this in a Q4 real estate report. The discount, the dollar, the drugstore, and the apparel sectors were hit the hardest. And we've seen this firsthand here in Charlottesville. Roses, right? We've seen this firsthand in Charlottesville.

CVS, Walgreens. We're seeing discount stores, dollar stores, drug stores, apparel stores, Fashion Square Mall being just gutted from brick-and-mortar retail. We'll unpack that on today's program, ladies and gentlemen. We'll talk, and it's an uncomfortable conversation, but it's a conversation that needs to be had. Are we the only platform, media platform in this entire community that is sounding an alarm, a 911 alarm? We are watching as city of Charlottesville socialists, I'm talking the Gilligan gang

and Livable Seville, they are influencing, trying to influence and trying to infiltrate Albemarle County with their socialist politics and their efforts to drive tax increases for housing affordability initiatives. Can I just make this very succinct comment, Judah, and viewer and listener? How's this for a succinct comment? You know what the opposite and the antithesis of housing affordability is? Increasing the taxes on real estate and rooftops and homes. You can use a bullhorn that says, let's charge Albemarle County more taxes on their houses so we can create a fund or additional money for housing affordability. But when you do that, you're making it more expensive to live in Albemarle County. Am I missing something here? I'll

ask the very wise Judah Wickhauer that question when we feature him on screen. Why are city socialists trying to infiltrate and influence Albemarle County with their socialistic efforts? They are politicking the Board of Supervisors to raise, increase the tax rate at a time when assessments have increased dramatically. We'll talk about that on today's program. I want to talk about what's the best use of Belmont pizza. An institutional pizzeria last week abandoned in nondescript fashion, almost like the Baltimore Colts moving to Indianapolis in the middle of the night in March 28th, 1984. Do the owners of Belmont pizza use a Mayflower moving truck to pack up the little assets

they had in Belmont pizza and close their doors for good phone number is out of service. Did you say the website's down, Judah? It's not quite down, but the ordering online is disabled. Online ordering down. Viewers and listeners saying we can't spend their money with them. The doors are locked. Why go out in this fashion? And the next question is, what's the best use for Belmont pizza now that this institution is no more?

And think about this. We have lost Moose's by the Creek, Blue Moon Diner, Mel's Cafe, Lumpkins, Belmont Pizza, all in what, six or seven months? You're talking decades and decades of institutional food and beverage memory. And we know for a fact that two very established breweries are teeter-tottering on a house of cards that is nearing crumbling. It is very brittle and vulnerable and shaky out there in Main Street, Charlottesville, ladies

and gentlemen. A lot I want to talk about on today's program. I want to talk Murray Elementary parents fighting back. They say, we have a right to fight for our kids. And our children deserve the opportunity to learn a foreign language at Murray Elementary. And the PTO at a very well-organized Murray Elementary school is now chopping at the bit to get in front of the Albemarle County School Board and say, hey, don't cut language for our kids. That ain't right. That ain't fair. I want to talk about that today. Violent Crown, if you're not following this, you're not reading the tea leaves correctly. It's still potentially on the chopping block. It's so funny. So many in the community were gut-wrenched or they vocalized their lasting love for this charming, somewhat red-headed stepchild movie theater on the downtown

mall. But what they don't realize because they they don't follow the news, or perhaps because there's not very much news to follow in this market, the Board of Architectural Review is still very much considering, local government is still very much considering a future in downtown Charlottesville without this red-headed stepchild, without this charming and intimate violent crowd movie theater. I'll talk about that on today's program. And Judah, we will weave you in on a two-shot. I'll give you a Saturday afternoon that was filled with cheese curds and bar hopper IPAs

filled with giggles and laughter as our two boys, the Miller Maniacs, my wife and I met a dear family of ours, family friends of ours. They brought their son, who's four, and their wonderful daughter. The eight of us all sitting at one of the tabletops at South Street Brewery next to the bar, enjoying a UVA game that quickly started horribly. Notice that UVA is not even in the headlines. I think it was a 22 to 2 deficit to start the ball game against the North Carolina

Tar Heels, where Isaac McNeely straight up said after the game, we were intimidated by the 20,000 plus fans at the Dean Dome, and that's why we came out so flat. I'm sitting there, I'm eating some cheese curds, drinking an IPA and I notice that the fireplace at South Street is wood burning no more it's been converted to gas and I understand that the wood burning fireplace and somewhere Curtis Shaver is front of the program

somewhere he's like, Jerry you're talking about the wood burning fireplace again I know Curtis is saying that. There is nothing that a gas fireplace does better than a wood-burning fireplace, except for lack of maintenance. The wood-burning fireplace, the crackle of the wood, the smell, the way the fire flickers in unpredictable fashion creating this hypnosis

for the enjoyer of the wood burning fireplace that cannot be duplicated by a gas fireplace and it left me asking you the viewer and listener this question and the first test will fall on Judah Wickauer who's an institution in this community. When he walks the streets of Charlottesville, the ladies come a-rushing, and they ask Judah with a sharpie in hand to sign their chests. That's how beloved Judah Wickhauer is. Can't you tell? Look at his face on screen, viewers and listeners. Can't you tell he's got

that zest and panache and charm? How many wood-burning fireplaces in Charlottesville City, F&B's, food and beverage restaurants are left, Judah? Do you have that answer? I do not have that answer. I would guess zero. I have no idea. You've been to some of these places. Maybe. Dirty Nelly's. I've been there. Has a wood-burning fireplace.

It's been a couple years. Dirty Nellie's. We helped launch Tavern & Grocery and Lost Saint, our advertising agency, VMV Brands, which you see behind us. We, the two people you're looking at on screen here, designed the logo and the brand for Tavern & Grocery, did we not? Yep. We designed the logo for Lost Saint, did we not?

When the McClures owned it, Andy and Patrick. Wood-burning fireplace in Lost Saint, the speakeasy downstairs. Common House. I was so hesitant to put Common House on this list because it's a private club. I was encouraged by the viewers and listeners to put Common House on there of the I Love Seville Network. I'm not so sure it deserves to be on

the list of wood-burning fireplaces in food and beverage because it is a private club, but because there were so few of them, I put the wood-burning fireplace there. There's one at C&O on the entrance, but you cannot enjoy the wood-burning fireplace because it's at the entrance of the restaurant. You can't actually huddle around the fireplace and drink your drink because it's in the waiting area of the restaurant. Still, I put that on there.

And I ask you, the viewer and listener, for some help. I was unable to get confirmation on this. Is there a wood-burning fireplace at the alley light? Can any viewer and listener help me with this? Bill McChesney, Jason Howard, any viewer and listener that's watching this program right now? Lauren and Ivy, Joanne Mackey and Keswick, Neil Williamson, Carol Thorpe, Janice Boyce Trevelyan, Jeremy Hu, Stephanie Wells Rhodes, anyone? Olivia Branch may know the answer to this. Olivia Branch may know the answer.

She's a woman about town. Is there a wood-burning fireplace at the alley light? I know there's one at Dirty Nelly's that's a working one where you can huddle around and enjoy your libation. I know there's one in the speakeasy at Tavern and Grocery where you can enjoy your libation. I guess we'll include Common House. C&O, there is one, but it's in the waiting area, so you cannot enjoy it with a libation and huddle around it.

Is there one at the alley light? So technically, we know there's four, maybe five if there's one at the alley light. It's a dinosaur, but it's a dinosaur that has charm and nostalgia, and it has characteristics that cannot be duplicated by gas. Help me, viewer and listener, and figure out if there's one at the alley.

Judah Wickauer, my friend. Is the Dirty Nellies wood-burning fireplace the only one you have had a chance to enjoy? You've been to Lausanne and enjoyed that one, right? I've been there. I don't remember, I don't remember i don't really remember the ever seeing or noticing the um the fireplace there it's a good spot for a cocktail same with alley light i know they've got a uh i know they've got

a fireplace but i don't know if it actually works is it wood burning i have no idea i didn't have that answer either viewers and listeners if you know that answer let us know please it would mean the absolute world to us um you had an item that did not make the rundown if we could spend 60 seconds highlighting the daily progress and the story that did not make the rundown to lead the show. Before we get into the retail closures that are significantly impacting communities across the country, and certainly ours, as we see a historic shift with brick-and-mortar retail closing. Numbers that we will highlight from JLL and their fourth quarter report. Daily progress story first, Judah Wittkower, and then we'll get to the first and second and lower thirds on screen. This is a from

the editor letter from Reynolds Hutchins. An important message to our readers. It expounds upon the cyber attack on Lee Enterprises that has shut them down the last few weeks. He explains that they've had to very quickly go through and figure out new ways to get the paper up and printed, and they're diligently working to fix the problems, but he makes note that they've spoken with other people

who've had unfortunate cyber attacks on their systems, and it can often take months to fully recover from these attacks. He says that they're working as quickly as possible from these attacks. He says that they're working as quickly as possible to get things restored, and hopefully they will be back up soon. Can you, this puts things in perspective, guys. We're speaking of dinosaurs, the wood-burning fireplace of dinosaur.

Think about the dinosaur nature of a print product. A cyber attack has kept the newspaper of record, newspaper of record, that was already printing in extremely limited capacity, from printing the few days a week that it was actually doing work. A cyber attack. This is the last inning in a marathon baseball game, and we're in the bottom half of the frame with two outs, no one on base or offer or a commentary on the news that's reported. want this show to be the water cooler of conversation and the conversation is best suited when there's news to have a discussion about. We don't want to be the originators of the news,

the breakers of the news. We want to offer the opinions and commentary on the news. I want the progress to be strong, but I just don't see it recovering from this. The few people that were actually paying for the print product, I would say they were long in the tooth themselves. Neil Williamson is going to bristle when he hears that one right there. Everyone except for you, Neil, the president of the Free Enterprise Forum, you are a young at heart, forever, forever 16, Neil Williamson. Forever 25, my friend. But how do you recover from this? A cyber attack keeps you from printing the product,

and you're in the printing business. You're in the news business. All right. First two lower thirds on screen. I'll give you a macro headline and we will take the macro headline and we will localize it for you on the I Love Seville show.

Store closures is the macro headline. Our outpacing openings amid historic shift to service based tenants. For the first time in recent years, retail store closures are exceeding openings, JLL said in its Q4 real estate report. JLL tracked over 9,900 announced retail closures from 2024 through mid-February. And there were just 7,700 openings and 9,900 retail closings.

That is a massive delta. 9,900 closings, 7,700 openings. The categories most impacted... It's expected to get a lot worse than that. Oh, this is just the beginning. Way worse. 100% right. You make the argument why it's going to get way worse after I give them a little bit more data. The categories big time hit by this, discount stores, roses, dollar stores, drug stores, and apparel stores.

Bankruptcies are ravaging retail. For instance, Party City, almost 700 stores closed. Party City. Malls are being devastated. Malls currently have an 8.7% vacancy rate, which is the highest among all retail property types. What's% vacancy rate nationally. And Judah Wickhauer is going to make a convincing argument why this historic shift, it's just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, you gave the numbers for what we're currently at there is a forecast that store closings may reach 15,000 this year while openings hold steady at 5,800 that's a Delta Jason Howard on Rio Road his photo on screen the Walgreens next to Martin's Grill closed on the 17th Walgreens has plans to close more than 1,000 stores in coming years.

Jason Howard also adds the Kroger Albertsons merger fell through. Part of those plans was divestiture of hundreds of locations. Do you think that long term the plan has three Kroger's and three Harris Teeters in the Charlottesville market? Do they need to pay for six locations worth of payroll and maintenance to keep their market share? Jason Howard, I believe you're in the grocery business. Am I right on that? Am I right on that? This guy knows this line of work very well.

That's a great question. When does the Charlottesville market, which I don't know how you viewer and listeners feel about this. It seems to me that the Charlottesville market is extremely over-groceried. You got food lions and Kroger's everywhere. What do you got, two Teeters, one in Hollymead and one in Barracks Road? You just saw the fall of reeds you got foods of all nations still humming because of a loyal and wealthy customer base the farmington borset ednam lewis mountain barracks rugby ivy crowd you got some wackadoos

thinking they can open a co-op on Cherry Avenue run by people that have zip, zilch, nada experience. Literally no experience. They think that's going to make sense. You got the guy that owns the Market Street Market right next to our studio. Also owns the IGA in Crozet. They're hanging on.

Hell, there's three Teeters, right? There's one in Crozet as well. You got the Teeter Crozet, Teeter Barracks, Teeter Hollymean. You got effing Kroger's everywhere. The Food Lions are everywhere. How about this positioning for food lion you got a food lion on 5th street extended and then a one absolute parallel to it on Avon extended as the crow flies what

a couple miles apart from each other as the internet continues to cannibalize in store purchasing when do these grocery giants say what Jason Howard said, we don't need this many. And Jason Howard said, I worked 11 years with Safeway, ate in beer and wine distribution, coming up on five years with Costco now. So he knows the business inside and out. I've said this once, I'll say it again. It's an omni-experiential shopping experience now that's winning.

You watched Steven Monique at the Hoppy Cook put William Sonoma out of business in Stonefield. And I use that as a playbook or as a benchmark, a case study, of how David and his slingshot and a couple of pebbles can beat Goliath. Judah cringes right there

because it's another religious parable or metaphor for the I Love Seville show. I'm a religious mutt, dude. Southern Baptist, raised. I'm a religious mutt, dude. Southern Baptist raised. I know. Catholic school educated, Jewish neighborhood reared. I don't know what I am. What am I?

Am I Southern Baptist? Am I Catholic? Is it Hail Mary, full of grace? Is it the Lord's Prayer? Am I going to Hanukkah? Am I wearing a yarmulke? Am I playing dreidel? I doubt you're going to Hanukkah? Am I wearing a yarmulke? Am I playing dreidel? You're going to Hanukkah or playing with dreidels.

How do you know that? It's never going to happen. You don't know that? Yeah. You and Lauren are going to convert to Judaism. I'll just hold my breath until that happens. Do they have wood-burning fireplaces in the synagogue? I don't think they have one at this temple.

Because they don't at the Baptist church, darn it. Such a shame. It's the crackle of the wood for me. It is nice. And the unpredictable nature of the fire that's burning that hypnotizes me. Yeah. that hypnotizes me. Steve and Monique at the Happy Cook put Williams-Sonoma out of business. Williams-Sonoma had a bigger store,

a nicer store, in a newer shopping center. They were a mile and change apart. But Steve and Monique at the Happy Cook knew that they could win with the following. A, the customer service and their employees were as well trained as any I've ever seen in a retail setting. B, they offered these cooking classes where they were a profit center, the cooking classes, where people paid to cook in the store. And they used the utensils and the equipment that were also sold at the store. It was effing genius. And during COVID, they created a digital library of these cooking

classes where people can engage and watch during the pandemic. Williams-Sonoma had far inferior employee and employee training, much less omni-experiential activities like the classes. They had significantly more overhead. I mean, there's a little scuttlebutt that's going around town that William Sonoma didn't even pay rent, that Stonefield was using William Sonoma as a lost leader to fill up the rest of its shopping center. And once Stonefield went to William Sonoma and

said, you got to start paying rent now, that's when William Sonoma said, peace, we're out of here. Now, that's just rumor and scuttlebutt. I've never had that confirmed, but that is a rumor that's circulating. But look at how the happy cook beat William Sonoma. That's the playbook. How does Patty Zeller beat PetSmart? She's got self-serve dog washes. She's got dog grooming. She's got educational and training. And then she also happens to sell some dog food and some dog treats and some dog toys. The ones that are winning are the Omni Experiential. How do the Vermillions, John and Andrew Vermillion, 60 years in business, let's give them some love.

How are they winning? When you go into Charlottesville Sanitary Supply on East High Street online at charlottesvillesanitarysupply.com, you get the most education possible from John and Andrew. One of them is always there. They know that store like the Pope knows holy water. That was a Catholic reference right there. I'm not a Catholic. The Pope knows his holy water. I don't care what the Pope does. That was a Catholic reference. If I get a Baptist a Catholic. The Pope knows his holy water. That was a Catholic reference. If I get a Baptist one in there, then I'm three for three.

I don't care what the Pope does in the woods. Does the Pope go in the woods? The Pope doesn't go in the woods? If nobody's there to see it, who knows? The Vermilions know sanitary like the pope knows holy water but that is being lost and the ones that are able to do that seem to be the local ones find me a big box realer retailer or a national retailer that does it like that i think you would struggle to find it. You even see a massive spread in customer service with big box retailers like Lowe's. Go to the Lowe's on 29. The service sucks.

So I've heard. Go to the Lowe's at Zion's Crossroads or the Lowe's on Green County. The customer service is excellent. Why does the Lowe's on 29 North have terrible service and the Lowe's in Zion's Crossroads and the Lowe's in Green County has good service? I have an answer for that. I've never had a problem at the one here in town. How often have you been there? I mean...

And why aren't you going to Martin Hardware? How often do you need to go there? Martin Hardware has got the best service of any of the hardware stores, and it's not even close. I've been there often, too. If you're going, we go to Martin's when we have a need here at this business. But if you find yourself at Lowe's, the one on 29, the service stinks. Green County, the customer service is good. Zion's Crossroads, it's good.

And I think really it comes down to this. I think it comes down to the customer, the staff that's at the Green County and the Zion's Crossroads locations are the good old boy and the good old gal that are working there. And the good old boy and the good old gal that are working at Zion's Crossroads in Green County, they were raised differently with their human connection and their communication and their interaction skill sets than the team that is servicing the 29 location. Could also have to something that could have something to do with housing costs. Oh, go down that road. That right there is a nice road you should go down. You should unpack that one right there. Well, let's say at all three locations, anyone working there,

obviously there are going to be differences in how long someone's worked there, how many raises they've gotten, so on and so forth. But let's make all things equal and say that on average, the people are making the same amount of money at all those spots. Albemarle County, they're probably paying more for housing than they would be further out from the center of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. And so their money goes farther, and they're happier people. They don't come into work thinking, man, I wonder if I should pick up some overtime so I can actually cover rent and food and whatever else for my kids.

So perhaps that makes them happier workers. I honestly don't know, but it's a possibility. I respect that. I respect that commentary right there. Curtis Shaver said, he heard back in the day, we love Curtis Shaver, and you know he's a little bit of a jokester, says that Punky Brewster had the hots for you back in the day. I actually did get to meet her. You met Punky Brewster? Yeah.

Where? In Cherry. Where? You're telling me you do not, you've never had a photo taken with Santa Claus in your entire life, but you have met Punky Brewster and Cherry. Yeah, briefly.

Unbelievable. To be Judah Wachauer for a day. My dad worked at a computer land in Van Nuys. He sold the LAPD, some of their first computers. And what's the, does anybody know the old guy's name in Punky Bruiser? I can't remember. It's been 35 plus years since I watched that show. I'm looking it up.

Keep going. Don't get stuck in the weeds. My dad sold his wife. Henry Warnemont. Henry Warnemont. My dad sold his wife, Henry Warnemont's wife, a computer. Apparently he did a very good job

because Henry Warnemont came into the computer land, thanked my dad, and gave him free tickets to watch a production, a filming of Punky Brewster. Well, my dad had to work, so my mom took my sisters and I. We got to watch them film a show, and then after it was over, we got to go backstage and talk with henry warnemont briefly punky brewster and cherry came into his uh i don't remember if it was a dressing room

or dressing room or or just a place to hang out anyways they had no interest in you know some random people uh so they said hi, walked out, and that was pretty much it. Here's the $63 million question. Okay. Did you take a photo with Punky and Cherry? No. Oh, my God. No photo with Punky or Cherry or Santa?

This was before the time of... They had cameras then, Judah. I know. They had cameras. Not everybody just walked around with a camera in their pocket. I do remember cameras back then, Judah. I know. They had cameras. Not everybody just walked around with a camera. They had cameras. In their pocket. I do remember cameras back then.

Okay, cameras took place before you were born. They had cameras. Yeah. I'm well aware. Is the Wittkower house just photo-less? No, we've got some odd... Do you have family photos? Yeah.

You have family photos? Oh. You have family photos? Oh, yeah. Okay. Curious. Very curious. Jason Howard, Kroger on Rio Road turned the old deli seating area into drive up and go. I've heard many Whole Foods have repurposed their pub space for the same thing. Pivoting is crucial to keeping market share.

Wegmans, at the start of the pandemic, Wegmans closed its in-house restaurant and has never opened. If you go into Wegmans, the worst looking aspect of the Wegmans at Fifth Street Station is the in-house dining restaurant portion. The pub at Wegmans? Dude, I used to love the Pumat Wegmans. My wife, you should say... Is it just dark now? It's an employee meeting room, meeting area. It's like a break room, the in-house pub. I used to... My wife,

when the pub was open, she was like, you want to come grocery shopping with me? I'd go all the time. They'd have Minuteman and Emperor of Clouds and Basque Dippas on tap. She would go grocery shopping for an hour i'd have a couple bass dippas and watch basketball or football games while she went grocery shopping and it was always way under priced the pub at wegmans had one of the best

happy hours in all of the area and it was fantastic hours the happy hour was offered because the blokes like me could chill at the pub while their wives or their better halves were doing some shopping. It was awesome. Now I don't go. There's no pub. I'm not going. I haven't been in forever. The pub was brilliant. Neil Williamson asked the question, does the lows on US 29, does the service change with the opening of the Home Depot? At best, it better. Can you imagine? Just help me walk through this, okay? There's going to be a Lowe's on one side of the road.

And on the complete opposite side of the road is going to be a Home Depot. And they're going to be fighting for market share in an area that has a Lowe's in Greene County, a Lowe's in Zion's Crossroads, and a Lowe's on the other side of the mountain? I mean, that used to not be a problem. Does the Home Depot take the market share away from Lowe's? Is the Home Depot the final death nail? Nail in the coffin? Yeah. For Martin's Hardware? nail in the coffin yeah for martin's hardware

the market share that home depot takes has got to come from somewhere they're not going to just ink we're not just going to incrementally birth additional hardware store business in central virginia for a behemoth like home depot to open and run its business. Not only is Home Depot opening a Home Depot, but they've been entrusted to be the developer of a small area plan, a critical gateway to Alamaro County, that Fashion Square area. They've been entrusted with revitalizing the Red Lobster restaurant as part of the tax break incentives offered to them by Alamaro County. They just have to help find a tenant, though. They have to revitalize the Red Lobster.

That's what it means. You can't revitalize the Red Lobster without finding a tenant. Yeah, but they don't own the Red Lobster. They're tasked by Alamaro County to revitalize the vacant Red Lobster. And part of revitalization is finding a tenant. It's going to be aesthetic. It's going to be curb appeal, signage, painting, maintenance, upkeep, inside, outside. You're in charge of all of that?

Yeah. Are you sure? Positive. So they've got to keep it painted and the sign looking good even when there's a tenant there? When the tenant comes, the buck is passed to the tenant. Okay. But you are going to have a much better shot

at leasing the space if it looks good. Right? Am I right? Sure. Where is the market share going to come from in Central Virginia when Home Depot opens? We hope it just gets ripped from Lowe's. What will devastate us if it gets ripped by Martin's? Because then Martin's turns into Meadowbrook Hardware.

Remember Meadowbrook Hardware? Of course you don't. It closed. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. I learned something about Punky Brewster from Judah Wickower and Cherry. Can't believe you didn't get a photo of Cherry and Punky. Cherry and Punky. Punky a photo of Cherry and Punky. Cherry and Punky. Punky and Cherry.

Cherry and Punky. Janice Boyce Trevelyan, I would say at Costco, the people are great. Really friendly. Seem to like their job. Pricing is great as well. The Costco experience is amazing. You know, Costco makes its money on membership. Makes next to no money on the goods it sells.

Straight up loses money on its $1.50 hot dog. Does not make money on the rotisserie chicken. Loses money on the rotisserie chicken. Loses money on the hot dog. You get a free cookie with the hot dog, don't you? And makes its money on its membership. Brilliant model. Georgia Lindsay watching the program.

This is the Murray family. She says, for your conversation on foreign language education in the county, please note that it goes beyond removing F-L-E-S from three elementary schools. French won. First year French was not offered at Western Amarillo High School this year. What the H-E-S from three elementary schools. French won. First year French was not offered at Western Amarillo High School this year. What the H-E double hockey sticks? Georgia, I didn't know that.

Did you hear what she just said? And she would know. Her family's active. Her family's active. Her man was on committees in the Western Amemarle School District at an elementary school there. She's saying that French 1 was not offered

at Western Albemarle High School this year. That is a travesty right there. That is an absolute travesty right there. Parents in Albemarle County should be organizing and strategizing and galvanizing and absolutely politicking the school board on that. H-E double hockey sticks, no French one offered at Western Albemarle High School? What the heck is going on? Riddle me this, viewers and listeners. Seriously,

riddle me this. And this is a perfect segue into the socialists infiltrating Albemarle County. Can you put that lower third on screen? I know I'm going a little bit out of order, but keep me on track if you could, please. But first, let's go socialists infiltrating Albemarle County. You have livable Charlottesville, the Gilligan gang, politicking the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to increase the real estate tax rate at the same time that assessments have gone up

on Albemarle County homeowners. And they want to do this in the name of creating additional funds for housing affordability. It's not affordable housing anymore. It's housing affordability. It's not affordable housing anymore. It's housing affordability. Should we not take the money that we have in the Albemarle County budget and prioritize educating the next generation

of Albemarle Countians as the top priority? Shouldn't Albemarle County's number one priority be kids go to school here? They should not learn in trailers. They should be able to get to school on time and home on time. And while they're in the school, they should be able to learn. Learn the right way like we did as parents when we were kids. What does that have to do with the tax rate?

If there's additional money that's out there, it should go to housing affordability. It should go to kids in schools, in public schools, and learning. And not cutting out French, one, at Western Amaral High School, or cutting out Spanish and French at Murray Elementary. Okay, but do we know the reason why the French was removed? Because they're at a significant deficit with their budget. We talked about this on Friday.

You remembered Friday's show and paid attention, right? We were talking about elementary schools, though. We were talking the massive budget shortfall for the 2025-2026 school year. This, an email sent to Murray Elementary parents. Dear Murray families, sent the 21st of February at 8.35 a.m. An email forwarded to me by a fantastic mom that listens to this program who shall not be named. Dear Murray families, we are writing to inform you of a change to the programming offered in our school for the 2025-2026 school year. We recently learned that funding for the Foreign Language Elementary School, FLES, program will not be included in this year's budget. Therefore, the program will not be offered next year.

Proposals to continue the program were not successful. This reduction, along with reductions in other Alamo County public school programs, unfortunately still results in a significant budget gap for next year. We know that many of you have seen the benefits of foreign language elementary school program

for your child, and this may be disappointing news. And it continues that you should reach out to the principal if you have any questions. Now I find out from another mom who leaves the comment on the I Live Seville Facebook page that French 1 is being cut by Western Amarillo High School.

And she said, Ivy Elementary, formerly Merriweather, why they changed the name of Merriweather still baffles me when 90% plus of the parents that were surveyed said, don't change the damn name. Why send out a survey if you're not going to honor the results of the survey? That is an insult, an insult to the people who filled out the survey. We want your opinion. Your opinion matters. You are the parents of this school, and you're the foundation and backbone of this elementary school. Do you want Merriweather

change? Yes or no? 90% sale, H-E, double hockey sticks? No, don't change it. Hell no, don't change it. They changed it anyway. That's an insult. This mom says the families at Ivy and the families in Crozet also received the email that the unnamed mom sent me on Friday. Why are we talking about Albemarle County Board of Supervisors increasing the real estate tax rate at the same time that assessments are increased to fund housing affordability when we can't fund learning for our children?

And I'm going to tell you right now, and this is speaking from a mom and dad. I don't speak for my wife ever. I take that back. This is speaking from a dad of a kid that's in a local private school. Our first grader is learning French right now, folks. Straight up learning French right now.

In first grade. That ain't being cut in the private schools. And I don't do that as a toot, toot, toot. I do that to highlight the... Disparity. Yes, thank you. The word I was looking for, the disparity. Of the folks that can...

Disparity is exactly right. Stacey Baker-Patty watching the program, she leaves this comment, which I will get to in a matter of moments. This is a travesty, and this is why city of Seville socialists trying to influence and infiltrate Albemarle County deserves to be a talking point

and should be in the news cycle. We have socialists in the city that are trying to corrupt, brainwash, influence, infiltrate, strong arm, guilt trip, elected officials that are making 16, 17, 18k a year, trying to cherry pick candidates for the Jack Jewett district, my district, running candidates that match their political ideology. Stacey Baker Patty, it baffles me, her photo on screen, that these... I don't think we have her photo. We don't have a Stacey Baker Patty photo? She's awesome. We don't have her photo? You want me to look for one? Gosh, of course. It baffles me that these parents are so upset about this issue of not having a foreign language in a public elementary school at this point. I can only imagine, she says, that they will have a complete meltdown if their children continue to progress through the system and they see all of the other things done or not done in the name of equity. And it is more outrageous than anything is that so many kids can't do math

or read on grade level right now. And they, Elmore County Public Schools, want to keep throwing money at it, which will happen when taxes go up. 80% ladies and gentlemen, 80% or excuse me, let me get my number right here.

More than 50% of Albemarle County 8th graders did not pass the math SOL. Swallow those chicken nuggets, please. Half of 8th graders in Alamaro County public schools did not pass the math SOL, one of the most basic of math tests. Can you swallow those chicken nuggets? Explain that to me. Half of eighth graders in Alamaro County public schools

did not pass the math SOL. That is insane. That is insane. That is insane. Yeah, no doubt. Deep Throat highlights this. And you know, Deep Throat, I really want to use her name, but I'm not going to use her name on this

because I'm going to be the bigger person here. I will allow the viewer and listener to put two and two together because I think it's fair that this information is out there. But I am not going to be the one that puts it in clear-cut terms. There was a former local elected official that has now climbed the political totem pole, whose children were in public schools and are now in private schools. You, the viewer and listener, can put two and two together. I'll give you one other context clue. The elected official that was working at the local level was doing it at the school local level and has now climbed the political totem pole we don't need to say who it is do you do you know who it is i know you're talking about okay do you find it curious that her children are now in private schools

no i only find it curious that they made such a big, some people made such a big stink about it. I would say this person led a lot of that charge. Quite possibly. Led the charge of the stink. Are you making the tie to Dr. Meg Bryce? I am, but I'm not naming any other names. I'm not calling anyone out. I'm just saying it was particularly strange. It's not that we should be doing that with everyone. We should be doing it with anyone. Right. Anyone. And that's why we're not doing it here. And that's why it's so odd that it

was such a pronounced problem for some people with Meg Bryce. Right. This group of people tarred and feathered Meg Bryce because of her children in private schools and the fact that Meg wanted to run, or ran, ran, excuse me, ran

for the large seat of the Alamo County Board of Supervisors. And then this group of people led by one person when that one person was no longer serving in an elected capacity at the school level, and is now at a higher level in an elected capacity, kids were taken out of public schools and put into private schools. What's the word for that? Some would call it hypocrisy. Is that hypocrisy?

If indeed she was leading the charge against Meg Price. Indeed she was. We know that. Well, then there you go. We know that. Vivace. Does Vivace have a wood-burning fireplace, John Blair asks? That's a great question.

Here's a follow-up question. Is Vivace in city limits or in county limits? Is it just over the city line in the county? Because I think the city county line is at the car wash by the university shopping center. That's where the city county line and Vivace is past that. So I think Vivace is Albemarle County and not city limits. If you want a legitimate gripe, and why am I the only person that is saying this? Can somebody help me understand why I'm the only person that is saying that city of Charlottesville socialists

are infiltrating Albemarle County and influencing Almaro County? And why are they influencing and infiltrating Almaro County? And should we not be concerned by that? Should we not be concerned that we're going to, that the supervisors are considering raising the tax rate at a time where home assessments spiked, in some cases, double digits. Ours was up over 20%, 23.5% year over year. And can I just be, is this Captain Obvious here? Is this Captain Obvious, Judah? When you have higher taxes on homes, the area becomes less affordable?

Seems about right. How do you create housing affordability if you have higher taxes on homes? That's a good question. No, seriously. I think for some, the idea is that you can do some money

you can create a fund then aren't you just going to have pockets of poverty amongst a swath of wealth if you use increased taxes and increased tax rates to create a housing affordability fund

and that fund creates houses that are affordable. Subsidized, stabilized, whatever the hell you want to use. Whatever verb you want to use. Isn't that creating a pocket of poverty amongst a swath of wealth?

Explain pocket. Fund. Yeah. Taxes go into bank account. Bank account used to build housing affordability. Small amount of rooftops from taxes, bank account, building rooftops. These rooftops are dropped somewhere in Almaro. Everything else in Almaro County gets more expensive

to fund this bank account. The only people that are going to be able to afford all the other stuff in Almaro County that's getting more expensive are... The people that aren't getting pushed out. People with money! You're creating a pocket of poverty in an otherwise swath of wealth. This is not so effing obvious. Am I just, is this not so obvious? Is this not so obvious? Deep throat.

You cannot create housing affordability with a flat property tax. It's obvious to a 10-year-old. You need a very different structure of taxation to make subsidization of affordability work. So obvious. Thank you, deep throat. It's so obvious. My first grader is so into Pokemon right now. Pokemon cards. This guy wants a Charizard so bad.

Get that kid a Charizard, Uncle Judah. Oh, man. We got an app. The businessman in me comes out in just about every aspect of life, as you know. You've known me for 14 years, right? I can't help it, Judah. I can't help it. So we get an app. It's called the Price Charting app. I have it on screen here. It's a free app, Price Charting. You can scan the card. Is that app all about Pokemon cards? All kinds of cards. Sports cards, Pokemon cards, collectibles.

How much is a Charizard? Some Charizards are hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are multiples of them? There's various versions of Charizards. There's holograms, non-holograms. There's white diamonds, white stars. I'm learning all kinds of Pokemon. I can tell you so much about Pokemon now thanks to my first grader.

Get him a Charizard. What I found as he's gotten down into this Pokemon hobby, and we've started creating this database of his cards on this app, right? These cards have value. The Pikachus, the Brelooms, the Sizers, the Charizards, the Whimsy Scots, the Pupitars,

the Garchomps, the Dusknoirs. And I put the cards into the app and he's starting to realize the concept of saving money. He's understanding the concept of value. Like he said to me the other day,

so dad, my most valuable card is this Kyrian because it's this card that has on the bottom left corner two white stars and the number on the left is higher than the number on the right and the condition is good and the value of this card his most valuable card is is a whopping four dollars he said i could take this four dollar card and my two wim scott fives that are four dollars and 82 cents and that adds up then he pulls his fingers out counts to 12 12, doesn't understand the concept. You have to 82 cents.

He's six years old, but he gets to 12. He goes, I could take these three cards and we can find someone that'll buy it from us and get to $12 and buy one $12 card. And at that moment, I was absolutely beaming with pride. Like tears were like in my tears are in my eyes right now. Like I was welling with pride. Tears were in my eyes. I. I was welling with pride. Tears were in my eyes. I'm like, my son just figured out, he's six years old,

that if he takes a Kyrian $4 card and his two Whimsicott 5s, and I wanted to go and buy him $500, 500 more Pokemon cards. I was so proud of him. And he goes, I'll take these three. You can help me find someone to buy them. And then I'll get a $12 card, Dad. And it'll be in the most expensive one. I'm like, son, you're making a trade.

You're doing a deal. You're understanding economics here. I'm so proud of you. So proud of you. And it's there where I realized that, A, I don't give our sons enough credit for what they're absorbing in life, even when we don't think they're listening. B, they learn so quickly. And C, if I'm exposing our kid and this private school setting that is very expensive to as much education and curriculum possible, that is to his incredible gain at a time when his mind in first grade is rapidly developing.

If our six-year-old is learning French and our six-year-old is learning French at a time where other six-year-olds in a district like Ivy or Murray that are tony and expensive are not learning language, that is a disparity that will be felt not in real time, but a disparity that will resonate in the future. You see what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah, 100%. You're taking a piece of a very fastly developing mind. And you're fueling it with an opportunity to grow or not offering that fuel. Yeah. That's wrong. We should not be infiltrated and influenced by city socialists

to allocate additional revenue from rooftops to housing affordability. We should be allocating that additional revenue, if there's additional revenue, to maintaining or ensuring that the schools are performing at their top level possible. And who is going to finally say to the superintendent and his cronies and the school board, what the hell are you guys doing?

Half of the eighth graders at Albemarle County Public Schools can't pass the math SOL. You're cutting language at elementary schools. You're not offering French 1 at Western Alamo High School. And your solutions to figuring these things out are spend taxpayer resources on consultants. This is obvious. Is this not obvious? Bill McChesney says, Vivace is in the county, Mr. Blair.

Jason Howard says, my mortgage has gone up 30% in the last five years due to tax rate. Couldn't one make a case that higher taxes hurts local business more? If you have less disposable income, you go to Lowe's instead of Martin's to stretch your dollar. Cook more at home after shopping at Kroger instead of going out to Martin's Grill on the weekend for burgers. Damn straight. Absolutely. Well said, Jason Howard. And how is the superintendent continuing to get compensated more money?

Can you help me understand that? I mean, isn't it because the board does what he wants? Stephanie Wells Rhodes said her family used to go to the pub at Wegmans before going on date night at Alamo. The pub had great food, great beers. Holly Foster says the Happy Cook also carries a variety of items from less expensive to more expensive, where Williams-Sonoma had nothing that was cheap. Holly Foster, I love when you watch the program. Same with you with Stephanie Wells-Rhodes. And I'm just trying to shoot you straight here on the talk show. I'm just trying to shoot you straight.

Would I prefer not to have a $25,000 bill for first grade? Probably. Absolutely. But do I do it because our sons mean absolutely everything to us, and we want them to have every opportunity possible, so we'll sacrifice to make it a reality? Yes. Yes, we will.

And is our son absolutely thriving in this rigorous academic setting? Yes. Yes, he is. Do I doubt my decision? No. No, I don't. Does it sting every quarter when the payment hits? Yes. Yes, it does. But I have

the capability with what I do professionally to go figure out a way to go make some more money. Not everyone has that opportunity. We can go sell some more businesses. We can go lease some more spaces, buy some more buildings, raise some more rents, help clients make some more money, gain some more market share, raise some more capital for people. Dad's going to go work harder. Mom's going to go keep the house and family together and full of love and operating the right way. He's always going to get paid, and that's just the nature of life.

But not everyone has that opportunity. Just putting it all on the table today on the Monday edition of the I Love Seville show, huh? We didn't get to a lot of stuff. I'm 70 minutes in here without taking a break. And guess what? Tuition's coming due, so I got to go figure out a way to go make some more money. Headlines.

A lot of them we didn't get to today. We got to get safe some of those tomorrow. Which of the headlines we didn't get to today? Well, let's see. What's the best use for the now abandoned Belmont pizza building? I would think that Belmont pizza location has massive upside. Yeah. Got parking right there. A big space. No doubt. Well, a neighborhood of wealth surrounding it. That's a great one for tomorrow. What else we got? Did we find out if the alley light

has a wood-burning fireplace? Do we know if the alley light has a wood-burning fireplace? Can someone give me that answer, please? Vivace, we're going to chalk up to Almaro County, not in the city of Charlottesville. The only wood-burning fireplace is in the city of Charlottesville in restaurants. wood-burning fireplaces in the city of Charlottesville and restaurants,

Dirty Nelly's Tavern and Grocery. C&O's wood-burning fireplace is at the entrance, so you can't really huddle around it with a drink or food like you can at Dirty Nelly's and Tavern and Grocery. Common House has one,

but it's a private club. Not sure it should be on the list. Does Alley Light have a wood-burning fireplace? South Streets is no more. It's gas. John Blair adds this. Whenever he leaves a comment, I got to make sure I read them. As to the closings of retail, I've got to offer you this anecdote. Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I went to the CVS and Barracks

for eardrops. I found the eardrops within three minutes, but then I went to the front for a checkout. Two of the three self-checkouts were not functioning. There was a guy trying to use the other self-checkout, but he was having trouble. There was a line of five people and only one clerk to check out people. I certainly don't blame the staff if only one person is scheduled to work. The register. That's not on the poor clerk. Everyone in line was getting ticked.

It was just an awful retail experience. Again, I'm not blaming the staff there, but if national budget constraints only allow minimal staffing, then CVS will not be long for this world. He's 100% right. There was a time when CVS, and I've said this on previous shows,

there was a time when shopping at CVS was the sterling example of shopping in a retail setting. There was a time where you would shop at CVS and everything was clean, it was neat, it had everything, there were clerks everywhere. It was a sterling example of what a retail experience would be like. Have you shopped at a CVS now? It is legitimately asking good people to steal from them. There's one clerk on the floor.

The experience that he described of waiting. Let me ask you this, Judah. Is it stealing, and this is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, okay? This is a genuine question for you. If CVS only has one person staffed, and none of the self checkouts are working and you're waiting 20 minutes with the items that you have in your bag, in your cart or on your person, when is there that time threshold where it's not stealing and you walk out? Like if you're waiting to pay for

something for 20 minutes and can't pay it, does that 20-minute threshold say, look, this isn't stealing. This is just effing retail incompetence. I'm just going to walk out with these merchandise items. Is that stealing? My time is money, so you just took 35 M&Ms worth of my time, and I'm going to take them with me? We charge $2.95 an hour. Let's divide that by three. That's $98.33.

The stuff I have on my person is not worth $98.33 at CVS. They need to pay me money for taking that stuff out of the store. No, I sincerely mean this. And this is not just tongue in cheek. If you're at a CVS and they only have one clerk on

the floor, and that clerk is overworked and can't work the registers, and the self-checkout lines are not functioning properly, which they never do. Contribute to the death spiral. When is the point where you can walk out of the goods and it's not shoplifting?

There is no point. So you're saying it's always shoplifting? I mean, yeah. And here's another thing. I get the receipts at CVS. The receipt is like six foot tall. I can pull the receipt up, hang it over my head, and it's dangling on the floor with length on the floor. It's taller than me. And on those receipts, it's like, here's $4 back. Here's $3

back. I'm literally going into CVS. I'm picking up a Snickers bar. The Snickers bar at CVS is buy one, get one free. So I'm like, okay, I'll take a free Snickers bar. This is the downtown mall CVS. I do this once a week. I need a sugar rush at the end of the day. Why I need more sugar? You see my personality? Probably don't need any more sugar. Go and buy a Snickers bar. It's buy one, get one free.

I'll take the other Snickers bar. It's like $1.79 for the Snickers bar. Shrinkflation. They're much smaller than what I remember the Snickers bar was when I grew up and ate them. Everything else. Now, I'm getting the Snickers bar. I pay $2. Next thing you know, I get the Snickers bar was when I grew up and ate them. Now, I'm getting the Snickers bar. I pay $2. Next thing you know, I get the receipt.

How much money did they waste on that effing receipt? It's like six foot tall. But one of those coupons is, here's $3 off on your next visit. I'm like, well, why don't I take advantage of the Snickers bar right now? I then take that $3. I buy four more Snickers bars. With that $3, it was $1.79 for the Snickers bars. $1.79 times two, 1.79 times two is $3.58. That means I went in for one Snickers bar

and I left with six Snickers bars. And those six Snickers bars, I paid the $1.79 for the first one, and then I got one free. Then I got a receipt that gave me $3 off. I was able to get four more Snickers bars for 58 cents. So I literally went in for one Snickers bar. I left with six Snickers bars, and on those six Snickers bars, I paid $2.37. $2.37 divided by six, that's $0.39 a Snickers bar. CVS is not going to be able to pay its bills allowing me to go in once a week and pay $0.39 for a Snickers bar and walk out with six of them. I find it hard to believe that they have. True story.

I do that every day. I do that once a week. $3 off without any caveats. That's a stack of six snicker bars over there. Yeah. What the heck? Usually it would be X amount off on, you know, when you spend $20. Oh, well. I mean, it's Suzanne Daly says you can't ever take something without paying.

It's always shoplifting. Just leave and take your money elsewhere. That is capitalism in a free economy. I understand. I understand.'s always shoplifting. Just leave and take your money elsewhere. That is capitalism in a free economy. I understand. I understand. It's shoplifting. I'm not encouraging people to shoplift. But if I'm waiting in line for 20 minutes with my goods, and I can't give them money, what do I do? And here's a serious question. How much actual shoplifting is happening at the CVS? I'm paying 39 cents for six snicker bars,

39 cents a bar, but how many people are just walking out with the goods? That downtown CVS, I guarantee you, is raped and ravaged of merchandise. I guarantee you that. You disagree? No. I rarely go in there.

They have no shoplifting mechanisms in there. Nothing. And the poor lady that's working in the downtown CVS is about 70 years old. Legitimately. Sweetest old lady ever. 39 cents a Snickers bar. Come out with six of them.

How am I supposed to say no to six Snickers bars at 39 cents a Snickers bar? They got your number. They're not making any money on that. I wanted one Snickers bar that was willing to pay $1.79. Then they gave me a free one. Then they gave me a six-foot, five-inch-long paper receipt that has a bunch of discounts on there, including here's $3 for your next visit. I just teared the $3 off.

Use it on that trip. Come out with six snicker bars. I should take the $0.39 snicker bars, stand outside of CVS with a fold-up table and say, I'm selling Snicker bars for a dollar. Cutting CVS by 65, 70%. Sell all the Snicker bars. Then get my kid a Charizard. Buy him a, what's the yellow one, Pokemon?

Pikachu. Buy him a Pikachu and a Charizard. Hey, son, we've got a new high Pokemon here for you. Dad, you got me a Charizard? I love you, Dad. Hey, I got him thanks to CVS and selling sticker bars at a card table on the downtown mall next to Harry the homeless guy. The Monday edition of the I Love Seville show.

So long, everybody. Thank you.