The Virginian: The Oldest Restaurant In CVille

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Did you know The Virginian Restaurant is the oldest restaurant in CVille? Yep, this venerable eatery has proudly served Charlottesville since 1923. Today, The Virginian Restaurant, one of the crown jewels of the CVille landscape, continues to deliver history, charm and tradition on The UVa Corner.

Since its inception in 1923, The Virginian has remained in the same location, making it the oldest restaurant in the city of Charlottesville. The Virginian was one of the first tenants in the then-newly constructed Hildreth building at 1521 University Avenue. This building was named for its developer and was the first of many developments designed to stretch The Corner, UVA’s commercial district, westward toward the University.

Congrats to Mike Kondor, who correctly answered last week’s trivia question: “What’s the oldest restaurant in CVille?” Mike won a free “I Love CVille Orange Pride” t-shirt from The CVille Store! Answer this week’s I LOVE CVILLE TRIVIA question and you could win an “I Love CVille Orange Pride” t-shirt as well.

Billy Gooch and Ellis Brown, both alumni, were the founding owners of The Virginian. During Prohibition, The Virginian was no speakeasy, but instead “was known for its root beer, goose liver sandwiches, and small sporting goods shop,” writes Coy Barefoot. Upon Prohibition’s repeal in 1933, The Virginian, along with many other Corner restaurants, turned their soda fountains into draft taps. For roughly the first thirty years of the 20th century, tradition forbade first-year men from hanging out on the Corner. The most prized spots on soda fountain stools and on benches at the corner were reserved for fourth-year “Corner Kings.” But all that started to change around 1930 when bold first-years made The Virginian their own.

Learn more about The Virginian Restaurant by clicking: READ MORE.

At Virginia Wine Life (www.VirginiaWineLife.com) and Charlottesville Love (www.CharlottesvilleLove.com), we love to feature all that’s awesome and beautiful about Virginia! We also think you will LOVE our designs & clothing at The CVille Store. Please visit www.TheCVilleStore.com to see how Charlottesville, Va has inspired our team!

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Scoutology Staff