BizBrief: Ryal Thomas opens new shop

One of Charlottesville's better known furniture men has gotten back into business after other endeavors including spending some time running the now-departed Saxx Jazz Club in Belmont. Ryal Thomas, who has a public access television show called "Voices" and who formerly owned a Belmont-based furniture company called Ready Restoration, has just opened Ryal's, an antique furniture store at 301 West Main. Located next to the Lewis & Clark (and Sacajawea) statue, the location was formerly the site of RSC Rental and oft-discussed as a pharmacy or skyscraper site. "We haven't even had to advertise," says Thomas, who opened July 1 with a hand-lettered sign, "and already things are working."