Forest Lakes Arby’s owner Tom Slonaker has never been shy about promoting his business while expressing his libertarian beliefs, a tendency that’s got him in some hot water with County officials over the years, and those beliefs appear to have helped create a new restaurant concept.

Slonaker has repeatedly defied a County zoning ordinance prohibiting commercial flags (an ordinance that has been in place since 1969) by hoisting an Arby’s flag in front of his restaurant, along with signs for another business he owns. In 2003, Slonaker even hosted a “rally around the flag” event by handing out little Arby’s flags for people to put on their cars, and portraying the situation as a property rights issue.

Later, he claimed the sign ordinance was enforced unevenly against businesses along 29 North, and he filed a civil suit against the county with the help of the Rutherford Institute, which argued that Slonaker’s First Amendment rights were being trampled on.

Last year, however, a judge ruled that Slonaker had violated the sign ordinance and slapped him with $1,000 fines for several violations.

Meanwhile, Slonaker has also been having issues with Arby’s corporate rules, which have not allowed him to (more)

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Dish recently got a hot tip from a reader about a new Japanese fusion restaurant in Waynesboro called Osaka III. Apparently, it’s a little tricky to find as it’s tucked away on the tire-changing side of the Waynesboro Walmart shopping center on Lucy Lane, but according to local foodie Dori Hoffman-Latter the place has “phenomenal food at great prices.”

“If you go at night, the sign you will see is not the right sign,” says Hoffman-Latter. “It’s a sign for the restaurant that was there for a month before this one opened up, but if you go when it’s light you will see the Osaka sign.”

Unfortunately, Dish wasn’t able to find a listing for Osaka III, but Hoffman-Latter says that the family that owns the place has two other restaurants in different states, but says it isn’t a “chain” per se.

“The food was really fantastically fresh and definitely worth the trip,” she says.

Anyone for a Waynesboro road trip?

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It looks like Amtrak parking lot owners Gabe Silverman and Alan Cadgene have finally begun taking steps to pave the pot-holed dirt and gravel Amtrak station parking lot they own, which some West Main business owners say has become a health hazard to customers because of the dust.

Silverman has been publicly promising to pave the Amtrak parking lot at least since 2004, when he proclaimed it “was going to happen.” In January this year, Neighborhood development chief Jim Tolbert told the Hook that Silverman and Cadgene had told him they were going to pave the lot “as soon as the weather is appropriate.”

Eight months later, some West Main business owners have decided that it’s been bad behavior, not bad weather, that’s left the parking lot unpaved. For instance, Maya restaurant owner and Midtown Association member Peter Castiglione called the lot a “blight” on the neighborhood. Indeed, as an early morning photograph taken by the Hook shows, the dust from the lot can nearly block out the view of West Main. Along with several other business owners, Castiglione finally decided to talk about a lawsuit against Cadgene and Silverman to get them to finally do something about their dust. Not to mention the sizable potholes that have plagued the lot.

Apparently, Castiglione got the duo’s attention. He says that Cadgene suddenly promised to treat the parking lot with a product called Durasoil, a synthetic-organic fluid that controls road dust. Preparation for the Durasoil began on the morning of Tuesday, November 2.

“They have been very responsive since our lawyer (more)

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The upscale wine businesses built by Patricia Kluge are under foreclosure, according to a pending legal notice, and although this marks the second forced auction this year on a Kluge property, this one— at nearly $35 million— looms much larger and could dismantle the award-winning winery founded 11 years ago by a billionaire’s ex-wife.

The latest foreclosure notice claims a total debt of $34,785,000 and lists assets of the Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyards to be auctioned off, including 907 acres in southern Albemarle, 164 of which are vineyards. The sale would also include the well-known Farm Shop and tasting room, as well as offices, production buildings, six employee houses, and a 34,000-square-foot former carriage museum.

The December 8 sale takes place at noon at the vineyard office building on Grand Cru Drive in the southeastern part of the county. Another auction on December 11 in Madison would sell off 15,000 cases of Kluge Estate wine, including its 2005 New World Red and sparking wines. (The Madison sale is open only (more)

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Chipotle’s Steve Ells and chef Jamie Oliver have teamed up to underscore the importance of eating wholesome, unprocessed foods.  So, to help illustrate their point, they are asking you to support a good cause while getting into the spirit of the Halloween season with a special promotion that focuses on a terrifying topic: the frightful eating habits of many of our citizens who seem to be addicted to processed foods.

“We have begun a national movement to change the way America eats,” says Oliver, a celebrity chef and creator of the Emmy award-winning program, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

It’s called “BURRITO 2010: The Horrors of Processed Food,” which is a bit different than the fastfood chain’s BOORITO promotion of years past where you could wrap your self in aluminum foil, walk into a Chipotle, claim to be dressed as a burrito and get a free burrito for the trouble.

Here’s how the new promotion works: stop by any Chipotle on Halloween, Sunday, October 31 between 6pm and closing time dressed up as a Horrific Processed Food item and, as a thank you for a $2 donation, you will get a huge, gourmet burrito made to your specifications. Chipotle will then donate up to $1 million dollars to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

Not only that, there also will be an online costume contest that will win one really creative Chipotle lover $2500 for the best horrifying processed food outfit. Five runners up will be awarded $1,000 each. And, twenty honorable mention winners will each receive a burrito party for 20 guests at the Chipotle location of their choice. Take a photo of yourself in costume at a Chipotle on Halloween and post it online at chipotle.com/boorito for judging.

“We have a long-standing tradition of rewarding our customers who dress up as their favorite Chipotle menu item with a free burrito on Halloween,” says Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “It’s always been a fun promotion, but we wanted to do more with it this year and use the opportunity. to reinforce with our customers our belief in the importance of eating wholesome, unprocessed foods.”

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Foodies may have noticed that Carpe Donut’s red trailer hasn’t been showing up Downtown these days. That’s because organic donuts aren’t the only thing that owner Matt Rhodie has been cooking up.

Currently, he’s busy opening a storefront behind Cville Coffee, in the old Wahoo Ridge Catering space, where he’ll be offering hot donuts six mornings a week from 7:30 to 10:30am. Plus, he’ll be partnering with Mike McBlair, maker of WahooQ bbq sauce, in offering what he’ll call the “The Organic Breakfast”: organic breakfast burritos, coffee, and juices to go.

“We’re taking the space to expand our wholesale production capacity,” says Rhodie, saying he wants to ramp up from 2,000 donuts a month to a whopping 45,000. “We will Twitter and Facebook whenever we are making production runs, and folks can stop by for hot donuts right then.”

But don’t worry, it’s not the end of the red trailer completely. Rhodie says it’s still available for special event catering, weddings, Fridays After Five, Pavilion Concerts, festivals, and the like.

Since Rhodie rolled out the donut trailer in 2007, which he calls “Gypsy,” its been a one-man, one-family operation, but that is about to change.

“We’re finally bringing staff on board Carpe Donut,” he says, ” but will still be owner operated. Every staff member will be a stock-holder and get a monthly profit share in addition to wages, after buying their member share.”

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When Tim Kindrick went into his bank on September 23, he thought it would be business as usual to deposit a $2,100 insurance check he and his wife received for water damage. Kindrich ultimately got the check deposited, but when he complained about how it was handled, First Citizens froze his debit card and said it didn’t want his business.

“It kind of floored me and my wife, the way we were treated,” says Kindrick, 45, who’s retired from the Army.

He’d been banking with the Forest Lakes branch of First Citizens— motto: “We value relationships”— for about three years, had over $20,000 in his account and had deposited three or four similar checks already (more)

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Jefferson Vineyards has started a new wine club, and you’re invited to join. But you better hurry. While the freshly corked Jefferson Connoisseur’s Wine Club is free to join, it’ll be limited to 250 wine lovers.

Members will receive quarterly shipments of three bottles, priced between $50 and $75, delivered via mail or available for pick up at the winery. Other member benefits include access to older vintages and reserve wines, free wine tastings at the winery, early notification of ticketed dinners and events, and a 15% discount on purchases.

“Many of our most compelling wines are created in 50- and 75-case volumes,” says Jefferson’s winemaker Andy Reagan, “allowing us to be very aggressive in crafting and aging the wines prior to release.”

The limited membership, says Reagan, is to ensure that the limited-production wines are available to all members. In essence, it’s a key to Jefferson Vineyard’s private wine cellar.

“These are wines we drink and enjoy on special occasions with family and friends,” says Jefferson Vineyard’s general manager Chad Zakaib.

To join the wine club, contact Zakaib at [email protected] or at 434-977-3042.

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Martha Jefferson Hospital announced today it will merge with Sentara, a regional health care system based out of the Hampton Roads area.

Like Martha Jefferson, Sentara is a not-for-profit. Unlike Martha Jefferson, Sentara already has nine hospitals, including the recently purchased Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge and the July-announced merger with Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg.

“They certainly have been on a tear acquiring hospitals,” says Tom Brown, an attorney with McGuireWoods specializing in healthcare mergers.

Especially attractive to Martha Jefferson, which has revenues of $230 million, is that Sentara, with earnings of $3 billion, has the assets to capitalize the Charlottesville hospital.

Martha Jefferson President Jim Haden says the final numbers for a cash infusion from Sentara will be worked out over the next few months, but he stresses that it was the cultural fit, not the size of Sentara’s bank account, that was most appealing in their union.

“Our goal has always to become a better hospital,” he says, especially in maintaining quality and safety. And to get there, Martha Jefferson needs additional help, he adds.

For instance, Sentera is ranked number one in the country for its integrated systems, says Haden. And the move to electronic medical records is looming.

“It’s not a matter of more hardware,” says nephrologist and board member Kevin McConnell. “but where you use the data.” That could mean pinpointing a cluster of flu outbreaks, or cameras in patients’ homes, a high-tech revival of the near-obsolete house call.

“How do we work out the system so that we can take care of patients in their homes?” asks McConnell, who acknowledges that the desire to provide preventative care and keep people out of the hospital offers a “cognitive dissonance” coming from a hospital.

Martha Jefferson’s Board of Directors began looking for a merger in 2008 and considered five different healthcare systems before settling on Sentara— without a request for proposal.

“Three years ago I thought it was a crazy idea,” says Dr. John Ligush, head of the Martha Jefferson medical staff. “Now I wish we’d done it three years ago.”

According to the release, Sentara has never had a layoff and has no plans for layoffs here. Martha Jefferson Hospital will retain its name and a board of directors to handle local issues. And donations to Martha Jefferson will stay in the community, assures Haden.

Approval of the deal will take about six months.

With healthcare reform, more hospital mergers are likely. “What’s happening is very common,” says attorney Brown. “Hospitals account for one of the least consolidated industries in the country.”

For Martha Jefferson, the deal represents the end of an era. Founded in 1903 as the Martha Jefferson Sanatorium and taking a site near Locust Avenue the following year, it has recently been constructing a new home on Pantops Mountain.

In 2007, several years after announcing that it would leave the city for an 88-acre site at Peter Jefferson Place office park, Martha Jefferson began inviting proposals from developers and revealed just a week ago that it was selling its 8-acre Locust Avenue site for $6.5 million.

The seemingly low price for prime downtown real estate has raised some eyebrows. “That was the best bid we received,” says Haden. And time was a factor with the impending move to Peter Jefferson Place next year. “We didn’t want to leave an empty building,” he says.

The not-as-high-as-expected sale of the property and the merger with Sentara have prompted some speculation that Martha Jefferson is facing financial difficulties.

Not true, says Peter Brooks, a Martha Jefferson board member who serves on its finance committee. “Martha Jefferson is in a very strong position financially,” he says.

Even with building a new $275 million hospital, he says costs have been below projections. Brooks, too, has heard talk that Martha Jefferson is hurting. “It just plain upsets me because it’s just not true,” he declares.

Sentara was founded in 1888 as the Retreat for the Sick in Norfolk. It now provides care at more than 100 sites in Virginia and North Carolina, and its health plan, Optima Health, has 420,000 members.

And according to Martha Jefferson’s McConnell, Sentera’s girth will serve the local hospital well. “Sentara’s size allows them to be heard,” he says. “The government is interested in hearing from health systems about what is working and what isn’t. The larger you are, the better chance to be heard.”

Updated 11:45am.
Updated 4pm.

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The folks at Thai ‘99, with locations on 29 North, behind Albemarle Square Shopping Center, and on Fontaine Avenue, have added a third location in Crozet right off 250 West next to the relatively new Harris Teeter called Bankok Thai ’99 Cuisine.

“I had takeout from Bankok Thai ’99 last Saturday,” says Crozet-based realtor Jim Duncan on his blog, ” and they were so busy that they didn’t have time to figure out their phone number for me.”

Watch out, Charlottesville, at this rate Crozet could steal some foodie thunder. In the last few years, Crozet has added two chinese restaurants, three cafes, a Mediterranean restaurant, an Italian restaurant, and a tapas-style wine bar and cafe.

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In case you haven’t heard, the old Outback Lodge at 917 Preston Avenue became Deuces Lounge on September 10. And according to optimistic owner Jerome Cherry, it’s going to be “the gem of Charlottesville.”

Upstairs is the “lounge” where they’ll have live music shows and serve dinner from an extensive menu that includes everything from bruschetta, burritos, wings, fajitas, and BBQ, to burgers, fish platters, and spaghetti and meatballs.

“Its a very relaxed setting, and we have a totally new look–new stage, lights, sound system, you have to see it,” say Cherry. “Our down stair’s is set up for our club functions with a dj booth, lazer lights, and strobes and fog in a black light setting.”

Cherry says they want to feature music for everyone in town to enjoy, including country, southern rock, 70’s and 80’s rock, metal, reggae, blues, r&b, hip-Hop, old Motown, and jazz. Recently, the Waynesboro-based reggae, blues, funk, and rock group The Righteous Friendz Band played Deuces and “blew it up” according to the Deuces Facebook page. For information about upcoming shows, check out Deuces website at deuceslounge.com

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The dismay that avid social networker Marijean Jaggers felt when she discovered her distinctive mango-colored kayak had been stolen soon turned to joy when one of her Twitter followers found the purloined boat at a nearby sporting goods store. Case closed? Not quite.

Instead, the mystery deepens. Why did it take seven weeks to get the kayak back? Why have no arrests been made, even though police know who accompanied the seller? And why do police say they’re unable to determine that Jaggers is the owner, despite a folder full of documentation?

“It was a big purchase for the Jaggers family,” says Jaggers, producing the receipt she and her husband received for the $850 Pamlico tandem kayak purchased in 2007 from Appomattox River Company in Farmville.

Along with receipts, Jaggers has photos of the kayak showing her husband, Mark, in it. “It’s something we do together,” she says. “It’s symbolic.”

Just three hours after (more)

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With Netflix and YouTube grabbing eyeballs, and with blockbusters expanding their hold on the movie-going public, the problem stymieing indie filmmakers has only intensified. Getting an independent film distributed is tough.

Enter the Charlottesville-New York firm called ATO Pictures. In its first foray in feature film distribution, the company teams up with Samuel Goldwyn Films to bring Mao’s Last Dancer to Charlottesville’s Vinegar Hill Theatre on September 24.

Dave Matthews and Coran Capshaw co-founded ATO, so it appears there are deep enough pockets to overcome some of the hurdles like distribution and financing that face the foundering indie industry.

“We saw this in Toronto and fell in love with it,” says ATO CEO and co-founder Temple Fennell. “We didn’t produce it; we acquired it.”

ATO’s strategy veers sharply from the studio formula geared to the male-12-to-29 audience, explains Fennell. “We’re really focusing on the 30-plus market,” he says. “When they look at the paper on Friday night, there’s very little there for them.”

ATO is also taking a page from the DMB/Capshaw playbook (more)

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Chuck and Charlotte Shelton of Albemarle CiderWorks at Rural Ridge Orchard in North Garden, just off of 29 South, want to invite you to a tasting this Sunday, September 26 from 1pm to 3pm. Their artisan hard ciders will be paired with cheeses from Gail Hobbs-Page of Caromount Farm and accompanied by jams by Daniel Perry of Jam According To Daniel.

Founded in 2008, Albemarle CiderWorks is a family-run apple orchard and cidery that produces cider from heritage varieties of apples that thrive in Albemarle County. They grow a dozen or so heritage apples as well as other old-fashioned varieties that are blended to create full-bodied ciders to rival those produced in the Colonial era. If you can’t make it out to the tasting, their ciders are now available at Beer Run, Court Square Tavern, feast!, Foods of All Nations, Greenwood Market, In Vino Veritas, Wine Warehouse, Market Street Wineshop, Mona Lisa and Tastings.

Last July, former Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine presided over the grand opening of the cidery, one of only two hard cider producers in the state.

It’s really spectacular,” said Gov. Kaine of the hard cider. “If you want to put me on a billboard or something to promote it, I’ll do it.”

So far, Kaine hasn’t been spotted on any billboards.

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We may not be in Germany, but The Horse & Hound Gastropub on West Main Street will be doing its best to bring Bavarian culture and food to town for the next month or so.

On September 18, the European-style pub kicked off its Oktoberfest celebration with The Sourdough Band, playing traditional German Oompa music, while the Horse and Hound’s kitchen served up stuff like a 9-ounce Wiesnbrezn soft pretzel app, a Jager-Schnitzel with Spatzle (that’s pork scaloppini with a burgundy mushroom sauce and egg pasta), and a wurst platter of bratwurst, knackwurst, weisswurst, red cabbage, potato salad, with grainy mustard.

German beer, of course, is also being featured, such as Paulaner Oktoberfest and Oktoberfest Weis’n, Organic Wiesen Edel-weiss Hefeweizen, Bitburger Premium Pilsner, and Reissdorf Kolsch. And during the celebration, which ends October 16, customers can buy a beer stein and get discounts on refills.

There will also be Happy Hour specials every day from 5-7pm, with gifts and prizes all month long. Several evenings of live entertainment are slated for the patio, and two beer dinners on October 7 and 14 are being planned.

This Saturday, September 25, there’s classic acoustic roots rock and roll with Billy Caldwell from 7-10pm. For more information, check out Horse and Hound’s website at www.horseandhoundgastropub.com

The Horse and Hound is at 625 West Main Street, Charlottesville. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 5-10pm, Friday lunch 11:30-2:30pm, Saturday and Sunday Brunch 11-3pm.

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Brace yourself, foodies. Chinese chef Peter Chang is back… and he’s here to stay. According to a reliable source, the famously elusive Szechuan chef will be signing a lease this week for the former Asian Buffet space on U.S. 29 North and launching extensive renovations that could begin as early as next week. If all goes according to plan, the source says, the restaurant should open in December or January.

While Tim Rose, leader of the University of Virginia Foundation, which owns the 7,835 square-foot building, won’t confirm that the property has been leased to Chang, the source says Chang “really wants this space” and that they are “99.9 percent sure” it will happen.

And that’s good news to a pair of Virginia Academy Award winners. More on them in a moment.

During the short time Chang cooked at Taste of China in Albemarle Square, he created a national stir. The New Yorker even ran a piece on the Chang frenzy. Naturally, the publicity attracted people from all over to sample the fare from the spice maestro.

Not only is the Chang deal good news for foodies, it’s good news for the property, which has become a bit of an eyesore with tall grass and weeds growing up in the cracks in the parking lot. In 2002, Coran Capshaw’s WM Management Ltd. bought the site for $1.5 million. Four years later, the savvy music promoter sold it to the UVA Foundation for $2.5 million, leaving UVA to carry it through the real estate doldrums without a long-term tenant.

There have been Chang sightings (more)

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