Photo by Jay Paul
Sugar Shack won for Best in Food/Dining Scene
Best in Art
Virginia Museum of Fine Art
200 N. Boulevard, 340-1400
The Virginia Museum of Fine Art never closes its doors. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, patrons seeking a quiet escape from city life find refuge in its expansive galleries on the Boulevard. “Our permanent collection encompasses more than 33,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of world history,” says VMFA Director Alex Nyerges. “There is something for everyone.”
2. VCU
3. Ed Trask
Best in Architecture
SMBW Architects
smbw.com
“We’ve always been really driven to collaborate on projects that make a big impact on Virginia creatively, culturally or economically,” says SMBW’s Principal Interior Designer Tamara Van Meter. Seeking a more “holistic” approach, the architecture firm frequently looks outside of the design community for inspiration. A collaboration with Big River Advertising on a project for pharmaceutical company Kaleo (formerly Intelliject) helped the firm fuse environment, brand and user experience.
2. Ed Slipek
3. VCU Institute of Contemporary Art
Best in Food/Dining Scene
Sugar Shack
1001 N. Lombardy St., 278-5900
Don a fake mustache; stroll in with a stuffed animal; sport a superhero T-shirt — there’s always a way to get a free doughnut at Sugar Shack. The free-doughnut promotions are part of owner Ian Kelley’s social media strategy, which in a good week results in 25,000 doughnuts sold. New locations in Manchester, Midlothian and Alexandria are in the works, and the business is looking to expand beyond Virginia’s borders. Kelley, 29, says he’s open to new management at some locations, but “It has to be someone like myself who is willing to wake up at 2 a.m. and be covered in dough.”
2. Shyndigz
3. The Daily Kitchen & Bar
Best in Community Development
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University’s growth has not only benefited its students. The university has granted nearly $600,000 to 50 community-engagement projects since 2007, according to a release. In 2013, VCU students logged more than 700,000 volunteer hours, according to a release. What did you do in college?
2. Storefront for Community Design
3. Art 180
Best in Sustainability
Tricycle Gardens
2314 Jefferson Ave., 231-7767
By partnering with corner stores in food deserts, Tricycle Gardens aims to solve the problem many low-income Richmond communities face — access to healthy, affordable food. The Manchester-based urban farm delivers fresh produce to partner stores twice a week to promote healthy eating. Internships and outreach programs targeting “future farmers” are key to its mission as well, says director Sally Schwitters: “We want children to learn the joy of growing your own food.”
2. Ellwood Thompson’s
3. Farm to Family
Best in Environment
Maymont
1700 Hampton St., 358-7166
Here’s a challenge: Find somewhere more relaxing than Maymont. Can’t do it? Executive Director Norman Burns says the 100-acre estate-turned-park is the city’s premiere place to “unplug and reconnect with family, the community, the outdoors and with self.” More than half a million people visited the park in 2013. Do yourself a favor: Add yourself to this list soon.
2. James River Association
3. James River Park System
Best in Urban Planning
Virginia Commonwealth University
Often, Virginia Commonwealth University’s soundscape is awash with the clamor, clang, thud and growl of construction machinery. The college invested more than $500 million on construction projects across its two campuses for 2013-14, according to a report on downtown development activity. Perhaps the most anticipated project, the Institute of Contemporary Art, broke ground in June.
2. Storefront for Community Design
3. Urban Land Institute
Best in Government
Henrico County
Richmond city politics may get more front-page ink, but Henrico County’s local government quietly goes about its business. For Pat O’Bannon, chairperson for Henrico’s Board of Supervisors, responsiveness to people’s concerns builds trust between the elected and the electorate. “We have respect for each citizen and each dollar they give us,” she says. That’s what they call the “Henrico Way.”
2. Gov. Terry McAuliffe
3. Mayor Dwight Jones
Best in Education
Virginia Commonwealth University
Despite dwindling state funds, Virginia Commonwealth University continues to raise its academic profile. Named an up-and-comer by U.S. News and World Report in 2013, it appears that the university once best-known for its standout art school has re-invented itself as a research university.
2. University of Richmond
3. Millwood School
Best Corporate Leader
Michael Gracik Jr.
For Michael Gracik Jr., managing partner of Keiter, being a corporate leader is as much about work outside of the office as it is about doling out financial advice. Once chairman of the VCU Massey Cancer Center advisory board and a 25-year board member for the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College Educational Foundation, the tax guru knows the value of investing time in the community he works in.
2. Tie: Capital One; Dominion/Tom Farrell
3. Altria
Best Small Business
Bombshell
10 S. Crenshaw Ave., 342-0051
It took only five years for owners Melissa and Scott Black to, um, explode on Richmond’s salon scene. Already operating three locations in the city, the couple is exporting Bombshell to downtown Las Vegas by the end of the year. The memory of your first Brazilian wax is one thing that definitely does not stay in Vegas.
2. Sugar Shack
3. Off Leash K9 Training
Best in Economic Development
Greg Wingfield
After working in economic development for 37 years, what keeps Greg Wingfield motivated? “Seeing a company come in and hiring your neighbors and hiring people in the community,” says Wingfield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership. The organization touts the region to companies worldwide in hopes of attracting employers to the region.
2. Tie: Greater Richmond Partnership; Hanover County; Sports Backers; Venture Richmond
Best in Retail
Short Pump/Short Pump Town Center
11800 W. Broad St., 360-1700
Love it or hate it, Short Pump remains Richmond’s retail epicenter. The additions of Kate Spade, Oakley, Michael Kors and a dozen other retailers keep customers coming back, says Director of Marketing Pam Howland, “Short Pump Town Center is more than shopping. It is an experience.”
2. Carytown/Carytown Merchants Association
3. Need Supply Co.
Best in Fashion
Need Supply Co.
3100 W. Cary St., 355-4383, needsupplyco.com
Need Supply Co.’s brick and mortar is but a fraction of its growing fashion empire. The retailer’s e-commerce and social media presence has built its international reputation. Public relations and social media manager Molly Szkotak says the business ships to more than 210 countries worldwide. “We really look to the international design community for our aesthetics.”
2. VCU/VCU Department of Fashion
3. Short Pump/Short Pump Town Center
Best Nonprofit Work
Richmond SPCA/Robin Starr
2519 Hermitage Road, richmondspca.org
Thirty-six thousand animals have been spared death by euthanasia since the Richmond SPCA adopted its no-kill policy in 2002. After 17 years as the nonprofit’s CEO, Robin Starr is still working to make Richmond a no-kill city. “Most people are inherently compassionate,” Starr says, “but frequently they need to be motivated and channeled to use that sense of compassion to actually save animals’ lives.”
2. Art 180
3. Habitat for Humanity
Best Event
Folk Festival
richmondfolkfestival.org
With all the new festivals cropping up in Richmond, how does the Folk Festival keep drawing hundreds of thousands to the riverfront year after year? “It sounds trite to say that there is something that will appeal to everybody, but we really believe that,” says Lisa Sims, deputy director of Venture Richmond. The festival has something special planned for its 10th anniversary in October, she says. Sorry, die-hard festival fans — bide your time, bite your nails.
2. Monument Avenue 10K
3. Dominion Riverrock
Best Online Community
Richmond.com
Witty arts and entertainment and dining coverage may be its calling card, but engagement is the name of the game for Richmond.com, says editor Karri Peifer. “It’s not only about covering Richmond,” she says. “It’s about delivering the content to readers the way they want to get it, and now that’s social media.”
2. RVANews
3. RichmondMoms.com
