Hoover Color Corp., a family business in Pulaski County, makes colors from natural and blended iron oxide pigments that are used in everything from furniture finishes to cement pavers and architectural paint. It also makes the midnight blue, purple pizzazz, burnt sienna and other hues from a 120-color palette used in Crayola crayons throughout the world.

“They are our biggest single customer,” says Chuck Hoover Jr., the company’s chief operating officer.  “They use our colors to make crayons, water colors, finger paints, markers and more.”

So, how did one of the world’s biggest color makers end up in Hiwassee?  Hoover Color moved to the tiny Southwest Virginia town after it bought American Pigment Corp. in 1970. The factory had supplied Hoover with iron oxide pigments. “We had always bought a lot of raw materials from the factory, so when it came up for sale it seemed like an ideal acquisition,” says Hoover.

Charles Hoover, his great-grandfather, founded Hoover in 1923. The company’s plant was located in Irvington, N.J., before the move to Virginia. “We migrated to Virginia over a period of 15 years,” says Hoover, who came to Hiwassee in 1982.

Hoover Color now owns 3,000 acres of land in Hiwassee. The acreage includes production facilities, laboratories, corporate offices and mine sites. The company mines low-grade iron ore limonite, a naturally occurring material that can be processed into pigments (very fine powders). “Basically we make dust here,” Hoover says.

The company employs about 50 people. Two-thirds work in the plant. The remaining employees work in technical and application services or sales and marketing. Hoover likes the fact that Hiwassee is located near Interstates 81 and 77. “That’s a big advantage logistically,” he says, adding that the location helps make shipping convenient.

Hoover enjoys the beauty of the area. Pulaski County is in the New River Valley between the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah mountains. “You can see the river outside our office windows,” he says.
Each afternoon he tries to find time to ride his mountain bike in New River Trail State Park near Hiwassee. The trails are only 500 yards from his office. “It’s a great way to clear my mind,” he says. 

The county’s economy
Manufacturing plays a significant role in Pulaski’s economy. The county houses some of the larger employers in the region such as Volvo Trucks North America. The 1.6-million-square-foot assembly plant in Dublin is the largest Volvo truck-manufacturing facility in the world.

Other large employers include James Hardie, which produces fiber cement siding and backerboard, and Bucyrus International, a mining equipment manufacturer. Pulaski Industrial Park and the New River Valley Commerce Park provide manufacturing sites for companies moving to the area. Pulaski’s economy also includes agriculture and tourism.

Where to eat
Pulaski is home to a number of restaurants including El Ranchero, a Mexican eatery that serves up a Quesadilla Ranchero to remember, and Kimono Japanese Cuisine. The River Company, a micro-brewery and steak house serves locally raised, dry-aged beef along with beer brewed on the premises. Chuck Hoover also enjoys eating at Fatz Café, a regional chain that has “good ribs, burgers and steaks as well as great desserts.”

Where to stay
Visitors to the Pulaski area who enjoy staying at bed and breakfasts might check out the Inn at Riverbend with wraparound decks and views of the Appalachian Mountains and the New River. Overnight stays include a full breakfast. Nesselrod on the New is also located in the New River Valley. The five-room B&B provides a three-course gourmet breakfast. The same amenity can be found at Rockwood Manor in Pulaski. The B&B, built in the late 1800s, features porches, fireplaces and large suites with private baths.

Ed Totanes grew up in the Philippines eating barbecue as well, but although the dish had the same name, it was a world away from Petersen’s pulled-pork delicacy. “The first real vinegar-based barbecue I had was in Florida, and it tasted so different,” Totanes says.

Ed Totanes and Mark Petersen (inset) both participated
in the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative.

Now both have turned their love for barbecue into business enterprises, thanks in large part to another common trait — military service.

Through a program called the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran), Petersen and Totanes each received a $5,000 discount on their fees to open Virginia Barbeque franchises. (The initial franchise fee is $25,000.) “You can really make a lot out of $5,000,” says Totanes, who has opened barbecue franchises in Blackstone and Farmville.

Totanes served as a hospital corpsman and submariner during 20 years in the U.S. Navy. He attained U.S. citizenship while in the service, and by the time he retired in 2007 he was president and CEO of General Aviation Flying Co., a Virginia-based firm that acquires and sells previously owned aircraft.

He researched possible franchises and, given his taste for barbecue, discussed possibilities with Rick Ivey, the founder and CEO of Tappahannock-based Virginia Barbeque.  The company participates in VetFran. Totanes, a Jetersville resident, took advantage of the initiative to open his first restaurant with his wife, Teena, on South Main Street in Blackstone.

Petersen, a major still on active duty in the Air Force, also has made a family affair of his restaurant in Carrollton in Isle of Wight County. His son, Eric, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer, help run the franchise with occasional help from Petersen’s daughter Rebekah, 17.

Petersen and his wife, Julia, have options on opening four other Virginia Barbeque restaurants, but the economic landscape has changed so dramatically since the first location’s opening in September 2008 that their main focus is the success of that restaurant. “We’re still looking at the possibility of opening another store,” Petersen says.

Virginia Barbeque restaurants sell both vinegar- and tomato-based barbecues.

Petersen, a veteran of military operations in Iraq and Kuwait, still uses the barbecue of his youth as a basis for judging what he now sells. “I think I like our vinegar-based barbecue better. But I do have a vested interest,” he says. 

The franchise business

According to the IFA, the investment required to open a franchise varies widely. Startup costs can range from less than $20,000 to more than $1 million. The initial franchise fee for most franchisers is $10,000 to $30,000. About 70 percent of franchisers charge an initial fee of $40,000 or less. The average total investment, excluding real estate costs, is $350,000 to $400,000.
A report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers for IFA in January estimated that the franchise business would see a 1.2 percent decline in the number of establishments in 2009. Franchise employment in 2008-09 was predicted to decline by 2.1 percent for a net loss of 207,000 jobs; economic output was forecast to decline 0.5 percent for a total net loss of $4.2 billion.
Relative bright spots were seen in two facets of restaurant franchises. The number of quick-service restaurants was forecast to increase 1.5 percent; table/full-service restaurants, 1.3 percent. Employment in those two sectors was estimated to increase 0.4 and 0.2 percent, respectively. Economic output also had positive signs with increases estimated at 2.4 and 2.2 percent, respectively.

For details, go to http://www.franchise.org.

The Program
More than 400 companies participate in the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, including Domino’s Pizza and Molly Maid. As of early this year, veterans had acquired about 1,370 franchises with more than 200 in various stages of negotiation.

The concept is credited to the late Don Dwyer Sr., founder of The Dwyer Group, a holding company for six service-based franchise companies.  He came up with the idea while the Gulf War was under way in 1991. It is offered through the International Franchise Association, which signed a memorandum of understanding in 2002 with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to promote the program. Participating businesses have flexibility in the amount and type of discounts offered to honorably discharged veterans for the initial franchise fee.

For details, go to http://www.vetfran.com.

“Our plant is larger than it looks,” he says, noting that most people aren’t aware of the facility behind the company’s small front office area. “We have about 100 people in the factory.”

Super Radiator Coils started in Minneapolis in 1927 manufacturing coils to replace hot-water radiators. The company, now a leading manufacturer of condenser, evaporator, steam and other coils, began operations in Chesterfield in 1980. The facility is the largest of SRC’s three plants. The others are in Chaska, Minn., and Phoenix.

Since Birk became the plant’s vice president of operations in 1982, the Chesterfield facility has grown from 18 to 130 employees.  “We’ve seen a lot of growth,” he says. “We doubled the original plant’s size in 1993 and then again in 2001.”

Super Radiator sells to more than 20 industries. Customers range from oil and gas refineries to food processors and textile factories. Customers include Hill-Phoenix, IBM and General Electric, which uses SRC’s coils in equipment it makes for electric power plants. “We design low-tech products for high-tech applications,” Birk says. “We do all the design and manufacturing here.”

He often refers to the Chesterfield facility as a “mini United Nations” because workers there represent 12 nationalities. “We have great diversification,” says Birk.  “We’ve been very successful hiring people from this area.”

The company recently won the Business of the Year Award from the Chesterfield County Economic Development Department as well as the county’s Innovation Impact Award for its new test lab and wind tunnel. The lab and wind tunnel will be used to test tubes and fins (thin metal pieces) in conventional coils as well as designs for new applications such as fuel cells and coils for turbines in windmill generators.

“We want to be a leader in the industry,” says Birk.  “In the past we haven’t been innovative in product development. Now that we are the seventh largest coil-only manufacturer in the U.S., we wanted to add research and development.”

SRC’s plant is located near Chesterfield’s Midlothian area. Birk laments the fact that he hasn’t had the chance to tour Midlothian’s historic coal mines. The Midlothian Coal Mines date back to the 1700s.
They are thought to be the oldest coal mines in the country, supplying coal for the cannon foundry at Westham during the Revolutionary War and for Tredegar Iron Works during the Civil War.

“I find them very interesting,” he says. “I want to learn more. I’d like to get there and hike.” 

The area’s economy
SRC is located on Southlake Boulevard in one of Chesterfield’s large business parks. Within five miles of SRC’s Chesterfield location there are 3,300 acres of commercial and industrial development totaling 25 million square feet. Retail establishments represent 40 percent of the area’s economy. Other business sectors include office, service retail and industrial. Large employers within that five-mile radius include CJW Medical Center’s Johnston-Willis campus, Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center and John Tyler Community College’s Chesterfield campus.

Where to stay
The Midlothian area is dotted with several chain hotels. The Holiday Inn Select Koger South Conference Center is near Huguenot Public Park with picnic areas and playgrounds for children. The hotel’s amenities include an indoor pool and a health and fitness center. The Sheraton Park South sits in a park-like setting and includes a full-service business center, health club and indoor/outdoor pool.

Where to eat
Some of Birk’s favorite haunts in the area include Café Caturra, a boutique café featuring breakfast items, soups, salads, sandwiches, tortillas, paninis and a large selection of wines. Not far away, the restaurant Q serves pork, brisket and chicken barbeque along with Southern favorites such as hush puppies, macaroni and cheese and banana pudding. Another local favorite is Pescados with Latin-inspired variations on seafood.

Birk’s company, Super Radiator Coils is concentrating marketing efforts in the Middle East because cities such as Dubai are still experiencing a surge in construction. “There is a lot of potential for growth,” Birk says. “The cranes are like flowers in a garden.”

Currently, SRC’s largest foreign markets are in Canada and Mexico, but Birk is hoping to establish an ongoing relationship with Dubai. (Foreign markets account for about 5 percent of SRC’s total business — about $76 million in 2008.)

“They are trying to build up their infrastructure and power,” he explains. “Oil can’t last forever. Now that the dollar is weaker our prices are more competitive.”

The oppressive heat that Birk experienced is a plus for the coil business, especially in power plants. They use millions of gallons of water a year, and “water is very expensive over there,” notes Birk. “It sells for 10 cents a gallon for water out of the tap. We can help them conserve water by using cooled condensers.”

Birk’s most recent trip resulted in several large quotes; one for a $40 million job.  If SRC gets it, the work would be shared by all three of its U.S. plants, including the largest one in Midlothian.  “We will continue to go back to Dubai,” he says. “We feel there is a good niche for us overseas.”

Even though he dreads the 14 hour flight to Dubai, Birk enjoys visiting the cosmopolitan city. Dubai, which sits on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf, is the most populated city in the United Arab Emirates. The city’s most recognizable symbol today is the open-sail design of Burj Al Arab, the world’s tallest freestanding hotel.

“Seeing the old and the new in Dubai is amazing,” says Birk.  “For example, they have an indoor ski slope attached to a five-story mall. People go there to play in the snow because the kids have never seen snow.”

Activities in Dubai include camel rides, safaris and sand skiing down the dunes. “They take you to a camp on the sand dunes,” explains Birk.  “They have belly dancers, traditional Middle Eastern food and you can ride on a camel. It’s a good thing to do once.”

The contrasting older side of Dubai is filled with canals and traditional souk or market shopping along the alleyways. Crowds of people fill the streets as they bargain for everything from electronics to silks from India.

The city’s economy

Because of its Middle Eastern location, it would be logical to presume that Dubai’s economy profits from the sale of oil and natural gas. However, they represent only a small percentage — 6 percent in 2006 — of the city’s revenue. Main economic drivers are tourism, real estate and financial services. The city’s construction boom also adds to Dubai’s economy. Dubai’s hotel industry hosted 7.5 million guests in 2008, an increase of 8.3 percent compared with 2007. Companies headquartered in Dubai include Daallo Airlines; Acette, an information technology firm located in Dubai Internet City; and Dubai Studio City, which is involved in the film industry. Currently, Dubai exports to Iran, India and Saudi Arabia and imports from Japan, China and the U.S.

Where to stay

Birk says that Dubai hotels are “a bargain right now.” Rooms at the five-star Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort & Towers, which sits along the white sands of Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, are under $200 per night. Amenities include water sports, an outdoor pool and squash courts. If money is no object, Birk suggests a night at the exclusive Burj Al Arab. You can arrive at the all-suite hotel either by private helicopter or in the backseat of a Phantom Rolls-Royce with your own chauffeur. “The hotel is the only six-star hotel in the world and costs between $1,000 and $2,000 per night,” he says.

What to eat
“One of the best Thai restaurants is Pai Thai,” says Birk. “It’s a cut high above the rest.” Guests arrive at the restaurant by boat or a buggy. If you go, Birk suggests starting your meal with the spring rolls. “I highly recommend the restaurant for anyone who loves Thai food,” he says. “It’s not too expensive compared to other restaurants in Dubai.”

The Manassas Park-based company makes more than 600 products that include 10 different lines of wind chimes as well as bird houses and bird feeders. Baisden bought the company in 2006 from Mike Throne who founded QMT in 1980.

“Mike was selling items in flea markets to work his way through college, and he noticed that wind chimes were selling well,” Baisden explains. “He started making them for retail sale. He was successful and then moved into manufacturing on a wholesale basis.”

All of the company’s products are made in its 30,000-square-foot Manassas Park factory. The company now sells to retailers around the U.S., and Baisden is working on expansion into the United Kingdom and the European market.

Since 2006, QMT has experienced annual sales growth of 8 to 10 percent. The company has about 80 employees that work at the company’s headquarters, factory or its 15,000-square-foot warehouse.
All of QMT’s wind chimes are tuned to a specific note during production. “Each tube is struck and checked with a chords tuner,” Baisden says. “We make sure each is on key. We use from four to eight aluminum tubes to create the scale we are looking for.”

The chimes retail from $20 to $600 and can range in weight from under one pound to 45 pounds.

When he’s not at work, Baisden and his family enjoy walking through the Virginia bluebells in Bull Run Regional Park or the meadows in nearby Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Manassas Park is adjacent to Manassas, which includes Old Town Manassas. The historic area includes local shops and restaurants along with the Manassas Museum System, which offers exhibits about area history.

During the spring and summer, Baisden and his family also visit the Manassas Farmer’s Market. “We like to pick up vegetables and meats from the local farmers,” he says.

The city’s economy
The City of Manassas Park was incorporated in 1975. In 1974 the Town of Manassas Park annexed 600 acres of land from Prince William County, doubling the size of the community. Two hundred of those acres were used to create Conner Center, a site for commercial and light industrial development. Today, the city’s main commercial base runs along Conner Center, Centreville Road (Route 28) and the Manassas Drive corridor. Almost all of the 300 companies in the city are small businesses, with the largest employing about 200 workers. The city recently opened the first phase of a mixed-use development, City Center. It includes two four-story buildings that will house retail along the first floor. The top three floors will feature luxury apartment homes.

Where to stay
If you’d like to skip the chain hotels and stay at a cozier establishment, check out the Manassas Junction Bed and Breakfast. The restored circa-1902 home is the historic district. Rooms feature period-style décor that includes four-poster beds. When available, organic and locally grown products are used in the B&B’s full gourmet breakfast. The Bennett House, another bed and breakfast, serves a full country breakfast. The turn-of-the-century, two-story home is furnished with antiques and reproductions.

Where to eat
A fan of Carmello’s & Little Portugal Restaurant in Old Town Manassas, Jamie Baisden reserved a table at the family-owned eatery for his anniversary. When the couple arrived, the restaurant had roses Baisden had ordered sitting on their table. “They really work with you,” he says. The restaurant features Northern Italian and Portuguese specialties. Other crowd pleasers in Old Town include City Square Café with French and American selections and Okra’s Louisiana Bistro with a menu full of Cajun favorites. Panino, an Italian restaurant in Manassas, is also one of Baisden’s top picks. “The owner is the chef, and they make all of their own bread,” he says.

Hosford is the president and CEO of Bay Tree Government Services, a government and media affairs consulting firm. She often is on Capitol Hill to attend governmental meetings or to get together with clients on environmental and energy-related issues. But on the days she works from her home in Falls Church — about half the time — she also tends to the environmental concerns of her azaleas, gerbera daisies, petunias, rhododendron, periwinkle, day lilies and other plants. “It’s just so much fun. It’s such a release from business,” she says. “I’ve put in over 15 azaleas myself. We have about 200 azaleas in the back yard now, and it is just gorgeous.”

The back yard tumbles from a large patio toward a creek that feeds Lake Barcroft. On one side is a pond she has fitted with aquatic plants such as Japanese iris and calla lilies. Slate steps curve through hydrangeas and dogwoods to a gazebo adorned with wisteria, and there’s even an English ivy topiary shaped like a chicken.

One spot is dedicated to vegetables and fruits — cucumbers, melons, peppers, tomatoes, beans. It’s only about 4 feet by 6 feet, but that’s enough, Hosford says. “You don’t want it too big because you spend all your time out there weeding instead of appreciating it.”

A Pennsylvania native who grew up mostly in Idaho, Hosford credits her gardening genes to her father. It was at Indiana University, however, that her passion blossomed. “I had a couple of friends who had a little garden plot, so I would go over to their house and play around in their dirt,” she says. “I learned a lot.”

Though she majored in English and journalism, Hosford followed a career path in the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Energy Institute and other government agencies and contractors. She started Bay Tree about 2½ years ago to give a voice to small environmental and energy businesses that otherwise wouldn’t have representation in Washington. One project entailed working with Virginia Tech professor Carole Cameron Inge to develop Riverstone Technology Park in Halifax County as the site for one of 14 clean-energy business incubators in the country.

For all of her horticultural and environmental acumen, Hosford has one “plum” yet to pick — the renowned Hanover tomato. This summer she plans to get her first taste. “I’ve heard from people as far away as Florida and Georgia and Wisconsin [who] say, ‘Oh, you’ve never had a Hanover tomato?’ I guess they’re legendary.”

The Business
Though subject to the vicissitudes of nature and the vagaries of economic cycles, the business of gardens, plants, flowers, vegetables and shrubs in Virginia accounts for billions of dollars.
According to a 2002 survey funded by the Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, the total economic impact of the “green industry” (nurseries, greenhouses, Christmas trees) was $2.4 billion. Consumers spent more than $1.5 billion on products and services that year (the most recent for which statistics are available), and the industry accounted for about 40,000 jobs.

Jeff Miller, executive director of the Virginia Green Industry Council, says green industry crop receipts were about 28 percent of all crop receipts in 2007. “Green industry sales have been increasing since the 2002 report, until the last 12 months, but we don’t have solid numbers on this yet,” he said.

Even a single tree delivers economic value. According to the American Nursery and Landscape Association, during a 50-year life span one tree has the potential to generate $31,250 worth of oxygen, provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycle $37,500 worth of water and provide $31,250 worth of soil control.

The Players
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden: More than 50 acres of gardens and facilities at 1800 Lakeside Ave., Richmond.  (804) 262-9887 or http://www.lewisginter.org.

Maymont: Japanese, Italian and specialty gardens on 100 acres at Shields Lake Drive, Richmond. (804) 358-7166 or http://www.maymont.org.

Norfolk Botanical Garden: About 155 acres of gardens at 6700 Azalea Garden Road, Norfolk. (757) 441-5830 or http://www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org.

Virginia Green Industry Council: Group representing various segments of green industry (turf growers, nursery owners, landscape designers, etc.) (540) 382-0943 or http://virginiagreen.org.

Baisden is president of Manassas Park-based QMT Associates Inc., one of the largest makers of wind chimes in the U.S.  He travels to Birmingham to attend the GLEE trade show in September — which caters to the garden, pet and leisure markets — and to the Spring Fair in February, a huge home and gift show. He started his international marketing efforts in the United Kingdom because he believes the “business environment is relatively similar to the United States.”

This February, Baisden landed several new customers on his second trip to Spring Fair. “We have now worked with people in Ireland and England,” he says. “Some of our product is also in Germany.”
Spring Fair and GLEE, in fact, draw buyers from all over Europe, one of Baisden’s target markets. “I want to not only expand our show schedule in the UK but also work shows in mainland Europe as well,” he says.

To help increase his export business, Baisden joined the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s AIM (Accessing International Markets) program. “It’s nice to have a government program that is directly helping companies keep jobs and expand here,” he says.

Because he spends most of his hours at trade shows, Baisden has little time to explore Birmingham. When he does have that option, he likes to walk around the city. “It’s a good way to see what’s really there,” he says.

Located in England’s West Midlands, Birmingham has a diverse population of more than 1 million. Popular attractions include Cadbury World, a museum featuring chocolate production, and the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which has silver and ceramic collections as well as a large collection of paintings by a group of English painters known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Two of Baisden’s favorite areas are New Street, a shopping district, and the Arcadian, an entertainment venue with bars, restaurants and a comedy club. “It’s nice to know that these areas don’t shut down at 5 p.m. because we’re usually working until 6 p.m.,” he says. 

The city’s economy
Birmingham, England, is called “the workshop of the world” because of its history as a major manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. Today tourism plays a large role in the city’s economy, thanks to the addition of large venues such as the National Exhibition Centre and the International Convention Centre, both part of the NEC Group, based in Birmingham. The two venues host a growing number of conferences and exhibitions.  Companies with plants in Birmingham include Jaguar Cars and Cadbury Trebor Bassett, owned by the confectionary company Cadbury.

Where to eat
When he’s in Birmingham, Jamie Baisden slips over to the Arcadian and eats at Las Iguanas, known for its food from Latin countries. He also visits the Mailbox, another popular shopping area, and eats at Red Peppers, with offerings ranging from pizza and pasta to burgers and salads. Another option at the Mailbox is Strada with specialties such as risotto verdure and linguine alla pescatora. One of his favorite eateries is Bella Italia on New Street with a menu that includes seafood, pasta, steak and chicken.

Where to stay
Baisden opts to stay in a furnished apartment when he visits Birmingham. He usually finds an apartment using the Web site http://www.staybirmingham.com. “I generally stay seven to nine nights and from a business standpoint, a furnished apartment is great,” he says. “You have a place to cook something if you want to, and the apartments usually have a little more space than a hotel room.”  Hotels in the city include The Bridge House Hotel, Hyatt Regency Birmingham and Marriott Birmingham.

The company introduced Kathy Ireland Home from Vaughan Furniture in April at the High Point Market in North Carolina. The medium-price line features several of Ireland’s styles, ranging from island-inspired Aloha to traditional Americana.

It was a good move for the company, says CEO and President Taylor Vaughan.  “Her brand, according to the research of Global License Magazine, is the 23rd most successful licensed brand in the United States. We will be manufacturing branded case goods to include bedroom and dining room furniture, youth bedroom and occasional tables for her from overseas.”

The partnership is a welcome development.  In March, Vaughan closed the company’s Galax manufacturing plant, eliminating 250 jobs. It was the last of the company’s five manufacturing facilities to shutter its doors.  After eight decades of making furniture, Vaughan decided it was time to contract with overseas manufacturers for all its products. 

“Our industry was in a recession long before the country acknowledged the recession,” he explains. “Furniture prices have depressed over the last few years to meet the demands of consumers. We couldn’t meet the price by manufacturing domestically. Closing our plant was a true necessity to be able to compete in the marketplace.”

Vaughan Furniture’s headquarters and 450,000-square-foot distribution center remain in Galax where the company was founded in 1923 by Vaughan’s grandfather, Taylor G. Vaughan Sr. and his brother, Bunyan C. Vaughan. In 2008, Vaughan says, the company had sales of more than $25 million. 

Vaughan loves the community atmosphere in Galax, especially during August when the Old Fiddler’s Convention gears up. “I really appreciate the gathering and the fellowship,” he says. The event attracts nearly 50,000 visitors and 2,000 competing musicians. 

Another local event is the Leaf and String Festival in June, a celebration of artisans, music and literature. Streets are blocked off so visitors can browse through the 100-plus vendors selling arts and crafts.
A destination on Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail known as The Crooked Road, Galax is also home to Rex Theatre, famous for the Friday night “Blue Ridge Backroads Live” radio show.

The city’s economy

Galax, long active in furniture and textile manufacturing, has lost many of its plants during the last 10 years.  Today, Twin County Regional Hospital ranks as the city’s largest employer with about 700 workers. Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. (not to be confused with Vaughan Furniture) is the largest industrial employer with about 500 employees. It plans to expand its manufacturing facility, adding 100 jobs.
Other companies located in Galax include Consolidated Glass & Mirror, a glass manufacturer, and Moog Components Group, part of Moog Inc., a supplier of aircraft and missile components.
Galax’s central business district features specialty shops, restaurants, banks and service providers. The commercial corridor along U.S. Route 58 also is home to shopping centers and restaurants.
Tourism is a main focus of the city’s economic development efforts. Galax hopes to expand eco-tourism along the New River Trail State Park where visitors can walk, bike and ride horses.

Where to eat

When he’s looking for a special night on the town, Taylor Vaughan heads to Cissy’s Food and Friends, an upscale restaurant in the downtown area that specializes in shrimp and grits. Other local favorites include Galax Smokehouse, known for its barbecue; the County Line Cafe, with down-home delicacies; and Tina’s Hub. It was featured in Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine for its “big, flaky, buttery biscuits.“

Where to stay

With a U.S. Route 58 location, Galax has its share of chain hotels. The newest is the Hampton Inn. For a more local experience, consider The Doctor’s Inn. The home, now a bed and breakfast, was built around 1913 and is listed on the Virginia Landmark Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The inn serves a full breakfast on fine china. Rooms feature such amenities as cashmere blankets and Egyptian cotton linens.

Chris Allwood is among them. A native of Yorkshire in England, he has devoted decades to sampling and learning about fine Scotch whisky. Now the seeds of that passion are bearing fruit in Nelson County.

Allwood and two business partners — Brian Gray and Joe Hungate — are developing a distillery and barley fields on about 95 acres in a spot off U.S. 29 called Eades Hollow. Their dream is to produce a line of single-malt whiskies, but you’ll find the Eades name on “anticipation” double malts already on shelves in Virginia and six other states.

The three Eades blends — Speyside, Highland and Islay — drew a crowd to the Beer Run restaurant in Charlottesville in March for a sampling. “The nose is quite different from the palate on the Highland,” said Brendan O’Neill, vice president of investor relations, as he poured thimble-size samples of the amber-colored whisky.

Capturing the complexities of fine malt whisky is what Eades and its parent, The Virginia Distillery Co., are all about. “These are wonderful, very diverse, complex, well-balanced drinks that are not for quaffing down like beer or cheap wine,” says Allwood.  “These are to be treated with respect, to be savored and explored. Whenever we do a tasting, that’s the angle we come from.”

Single-malt whiskies such as Glenfiddich, Lagavulin and Glenmorangie are prized, in part, for how their character reflects local ingredients and methods. Eades’ “anticipation” series, developed and produced in Scotland, blends two single malts from a specific region. The Highland, for example, contains 85 percent Ben Nevis and 15 percent Clynelish single malts. Bourbon barrels and wine casks are used in the maturing process.

Allwood anticipates selling 900 to 1,000 12-bottle cases in eight states during the coming year. Two of the whiskies earned “exceptional” ratings in blind tastings last year by the Beverage Tasting Institute.

While the “anticipation” blends are produced in Scotland, the envisioned single malts, to be aged a minimum of five years, will be distilled in Nelson County in stills imported from Scotland. Look for the first batch in 2015.

Producing these whiskies fulfills a dream that dates to Allwood’s first taste of fine whisky years ago. After a marketing photo shoot in Japan for duty-free spirits, he ended up with several leftover bottles of various single malts. “I couldn’t believe how smooth and complex they were,” Allwood recalls. “That was it. I was sold on the stuff.”

The Business

You won’t find any Scotch single malts among the top 50 spirits sold in Virginia. The entire Scotch whisky category, which includes blended products such as Dewar’s and Johnnie Walker, accounted for only 3.8 percent of the 2008 market share, according to the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
But those who have acquired a taste for the nuances of single malts are willing to pay top dollar. A bottle of 25-year-old Macallan, from the venerable Speyside distillery, lists for $659.95 (the 12-year goes for $52.95).

By definition, Scotch whisky (be careful not to spell it “whiskey”) is a spirit at least 40 percent alcohol by volume made from a mash of cereals matured in an oak cask in Scotland for a minimum of three years. Blended whiskies combine spirits from more than one distillery and can use grains other than barley. A single malt comes from a single distillery that uses only malted barley.
Scotland’s whisky tourism organization, ScotlandWhisky, reports that more than 1 million tourists visited distilleries in 2008, up 12 percent from 2007.

The Players

Johnnie Walker: The world’s best-selling Scotch whisky. A blended whisky with numerous brands, begun in Kilmarnock, Scotland, in 1820. http://us.johnniewalker.com

The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich: The world’s best-selling single-malt Scotch whiskies. Both are Speyside distilleries (in the northeastern region of Scotland around the River Spey and Strathspey). http://www.theglenlivet.com and http://www.glenfiddich.com.

Events

Whisky tastings often are a part of Scottish festivals, such as the Williamsburg Scottish Festival, Oct. 2-4 (http://www.wsfonline.org), and the former Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival, now the Meadow Highland Games and Celtic Festival, Oct. 24-25 (http://www.richmondceltic.com).
For a schedule of Eades Whisky tastings, go to http://www.eadeswhisky.com.

“Driving is something you don’t want to try to do,” says Vaughan, the president and CEO of Galax-based Vaughan Furniture. “The traffic patterns are unlike anything in the United States. The hotels will help you hire someone that will get you around the city safely.”

Vaughan travels to Ho Chi Minh City frequently to visit Vaughan Furniture’s Asian operations office headed by Michael Burcham, a Galax native.

Vaughan Furniture now contracts with overseas manufacturers for all of its products. The company began importing dining rooms from Taiwan in the 1980s. “Taiwan is not as competitive now,” Vaughan says. “Most of our product comes from Vietnam. We also have manufacturing partners in Indonesia and Malaysia.” In addition, the company sources furniture from Brazil, Thailand and Chile.

Vaughan hopes to increase the company’s international sales in areas such as the Middle East through its participation in the Virginia Economic Development Partnership VALET program. Vaughan Furniture currently sells to Canada and Puerto Rico. “We have done some business in Saudi Arabia,” Vaughan says. “We think there is potential for growth there.”

He recently took part in the Malaysian International Furniture Fair. “We had visitors from Egypt, Spain, Malaysia, Canada and South Africa,” he says. “It was a who’s who of international countries.”
When it comes to foreign locales, Vaughan enjoys traveling to Ho Chi Minh City because of the city’s appeal to Western visitors. Located on the Saigon River, the city has a tropical climate and a population that represents many cultures. Its expansive boulevards feature buildings that reflect French colonial designs.

The city’s museums include the Museum of Vietnamese History and the War Remnants Museum, which looks back at the Vietnam War through the eyes of the Vietnamese.

Other popular sites in the city are the Botanical Gardens; the Binh Soup Shop, which served as Viet Cong headquarters during the war; and the beautiful Giac Vien Pagoda, founded in the late 1700s.
Vaughan sometimes strolls through the Ben Thanh Market. “It has just about anything you can think of with a famous person’s name on it,” he says. “Of course they are knockoffs, but if you can barter well you can buy a Rolex for $50 or less. Just know it’s not the real McCoy.” 

The city’s economy

The economy in Ho Chi Minh City is varied, including tourism, finance, seafood processing and construction. Many companies are foreign-based such as Luxoft, an IT provider based in Moscow. The Russian company outsources back-office operations to Ho Chi Minh City. There are also a growing number of local companies such as Glass Egg Digital Media and Alive Interactive Media, which sell to Microsoft. Other major employers include Textbook Printing Joint Stock Co., which offers printing services; Saigon Maritime Joint Stock Co. Ltd., which provides maritime shipping services; and BUSS Co. Ltd., which makes underwear for Jockey. The city also houses Quang Trung, a popular location for software and dot-com companies.

Where to eat

When Taylor Vaughan visits Ho Chi Minh City, he enjoys eating at Al Fresco’s Café & Grill, which serves Western cuisine such as ribs, burgers and steaks. Other favorite haunts are Pomodoro, an Italian restaurant with pizza, pasta and seafood, and Pacharan, a casual Spanish restaurant that serves, among other items, paella. For Vietnamese delicacies, a local favorite is Nam Kha, which serves dishes such as pineapple and shrimp soup and steamed Vietnamese banana cake. A popular restaurant for food from Thailand and Hong Kong is Coca Suki Restaurant.

Where to stay

Taylor Vaughan has found that the Legend Hotel Saigon has all the amenities he looks for when traveling. The upscale hotel, which caters to Western travelers, offers five restaurants, a gym and a business center. The Renaissance Riverside Hotel on the Saigon River is another luxury property. The hotel has five restaurants, a lounge and a health club. The Sheraton Hotel Saigon & Towers is located in the business and entertainment district and provides convention facilities and a spa.