Editors' Letter: Welcome to Volume 13

Susie Matheson (left) and Christy Ford (right)

Welcome to Volume 13 of The Scout Guide Charlottesville.

The year 2020 was unlike any other, and while it was rife with challenges, it also solidified the strength and resilience our community possesses, a fact consistently proven to us over the last thirteen years of producing The Scout Guide Charlottesville. As the pandemic emerged, and small businesses were being hit harder than most, the shops, restaurants, and service providers in our town pivoted quickly, thoughtfully, and with a tenacity that was nothing short of inspiring. We would like to dedicate this volume to all of those who have weathered the storm, closed their doors, ordered curbside, shopped small, reopened, lent a helping hand or a listening ear, and had the courage to carry on.

The best part of creating The Scout Guide is getting the opportunity to spend time with the talented folks that grace these pages, and learning why they are so passionate about what they do. We hope to show you the faces behind some of the businesses that make our beautiful town so remarkable. They are the reason we worked harder than ever to make sure our guide displayed the true spirit of what our local community has to offer. It is our goal to show the soul of the people who have built our city’s wonderful small businesses and to encourage our readers to engage with them beyond these pages. Think local when you are looking for ways to enhance your life or elevate your surroundings, visit our shops, introduce yourself, build relationships, and enjoy all that Charlottesville has to offer. Every dollar spent at a locally-owned business sends a ripple of economic benefit throughout our community.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the Charlottesville community for its ingenuity as we navigated these unchartered waters together. And to all of the businesses that appear in Volume 13, including our talented photographers who helped us create these stunning images, we are proud to be members of the same community. Here’s to the continued dedication in supporting our vibrant, diverse, and creative small businesses, who remain the backbone and lifeblood of Charlottesville.

Live. Love. Local.

Christy Ford & Susie Matheson
TSG co-founders and TSG Charlottesville co-editors

Browse The Scout Guide Charlottesville online here, find a list of businesses included in the guide here, and order a copy of the guide here.

Editors’ Letter originally appears in Volume 13 of The Scout Guide Charlottesville.