Coming Home to Local

I used to have three Targets within fifteen minutes. Multiple grocery stores. Every chain restaurant you could think of. When I lived in the suburbs of Richmond, convenience was never the question.

And I loved it. I really did. I lived there for seventeen years. My kids were born there. We got through the pandemic there. I watched that city grow and change and get bigger — farmland turning into live-work-play shopping centers, happening right before my eyes. Richmond, especially the Tuckahoe area where we lived, used to feel like a large Charlottesville. A little bigger, but the same soul.

And then it just... kept growing.

Coming back to Charlottesville felt like exhaling.

Yes, we have one Target. Yes, your options are a little more limited. But here's what I've come to understand: when you only have one of something, the local businesses around it get to matter. They have to matter. And in Charlottesville and Albemarle, we take that seriously.

I still think about a song John McCutcheon wrote called "They're Closing the Bookstore Down." He wrote it about our town — about the local bookstore on the Downtown Mall that closed when Barnes & Noble opened up at Barracks Road. We thought that flagship store was such a great thing. And maybe in some ways it was. But it left a mark on Charlottesville's culture that I don't think we ever fully forgot.

That song still plays in my head when I walk past a local shop.

These days you'll find me at Bodos after voice lessons with my kids. (If you know, you know — there's nothing like a fresh Bodos bagel.) And lately I've been spending time at Refill Renew, a local shop I love so much I made a little Instagram video about it. You can watch that here. I also chose to work with the amazing Sarah Cramer Shields for my updated headshots. She photographed our wedding in 2009, and the way in which she captures who you truly are in photograph form is truly striking.

When I printed my first real estate sign, I could have saved some money and gone with a quick, cheap printing option. I chose not to. I chose to spend a little more so I could give that business to someone local, choosing to work with Hightech Signs.

Because that's who I am. And that's the kind of Realtor I want to be — someone who is rooted here, who cares about this community, and who wants to see it stay special.

If you're thinking about buying or selling in Charlottesville or Albemarle, I'd love to talk. But more than anything, I just want you to know who you're working with.

This is me.

— Dory

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Have a favorite local spot you think I need to check out? Reply and tell me. I can't wait to support them too!