Hello dear reader!

You are holding the debut issue of Vinton Magazine! The very first one! How exciting! The mission of Vinton Magazine is to celebrate the people and businesses of Vinton, Virginia. Vinton Magazine is free to the public and will be published twice a year, featuring a Spring/Summer issue and a Fall/Winter issue. The magazine will be sharing the stories of small business owners, organizations, events, festivals, art, theater, wine, beer, and more!
In this issue we begin by visiting the bastion of the past that is the Vinton History Museum, the downtown mainstay that is Citizens Upholstery, the old-turned-new that is Dogwood Restaurant, the healing hands of Vinton Veterinary Hospital, and the triumphant Pawsh Salon for Dogs.

The Vinton Magazine Team:
My name is John Brill, and I am the publisher of Floyd Virginia Magazine, Radford Magazine, and now Vinton Magazine. I have been associated with Floyd Virginia Magazine since 2013; first, as the graphic designer. I have been the publisher, however, since 2018. In 2021, I launched Radford Magazine.
Now, I will be bringing that publishing experience to Vinton. As it happens, this will actually be the second time I have been behind the layout and design of a Vinton publication. From 2015 to 2018, I was one of the layout graphic designers on the Vinton Messenger. It’s funny how things work out. With Vinton Magazine, I plan to use the same formula that has made Floyd Virginia Magazine a success for these past fifteen years.
Our sales representative is Gloria Daly. After a varied career that included small business endeavors like interior design, painting and wallpapering, photography, and finally employment with Lowe’s Home Improvement, Gloria was finally able to retire. Not being the kind to sit around on her laurels, however, Gloria took a part time position as an independent delivery driver.
Gloria and I had been friends several years and she knew that I was publishing Floyd Magazine. After I showed her Radford Magazine at a social event, Gloria became determined that Vinton should be the next area to be celebrated in a publication from my growing portfolio! The only problem was that I didn’t have a salesperson. Gloria was quick to step up! “I can do that!” she said.
As Gloria tells us, “In a million years, I never would have believed that I would become an ad salesperson. But I’ve always liked John‘s magazine, and I thought it would be really good for Vinton. It gave me the ability to work on my time and still maintain independence. I believe Vinton is just about to become a great destination town and this is the right time for Vinton Magazine. I have really enjoyed getting to know Vinton’s business owners. I’m proud to be a part of the community and to make this contribution to Vinton Magazine.”
Our editor, and Vinton native, is Vickie Holt. I have known Vickie for over fifteen years, and she is a very talented woman and excellent editor! She even edited this article! Her writing and editing backgrounds include international publication as the writer behind several issues of the once-popular ElfQuest comic book series from 1993 – 2000. In 1998, she completed a novel that was adapted by a company in New Jersey to a radio-show style, audio format. In 2003, she wrote briefly for the Vinton Messenger, and in 2005, her investigative article about Britain’s first mega-rock-star, Tommy Steele, was published in Blue Suede News magazine.
In 2014, Vickie took an interest in Bollywood, the Indian film industry. In an effort to introduce this exceptional entertainment source to America, Vickie created “Vickie’s Bollywood Beat”, a website for which she wrote movie reviews, actor biographies, informative articles, and news items. Because of her activity, representatives from the India-based news platform, UCNews, approached her to become a contributing entertainment journalist! Between July 2017 and November 2018, Vickie wrote no fewer than thirty-one articles that became available to the Indian public.
Throughout 2016 and 2017, Vickie regularly wrote for ColorsVA Magazine. From 2017 – 2019, she was the main writer for a craft-beer and community-focused magazine that went through a couple name changes, ending up as Brew Hub Magazine. She wrote the majority of almost every issue, covering the region’s craft breweries, local musicians, and local food trucks. In 2018, Vickie came on board as editor and writer for Floyd Virginia Magazine. In 2021, she helped launch Radford Magazine, and now she will be bringing her deft editing expertise to Vinton Magazine.

Where will I find it?
Chances are, you found the Vinton Magazine you are holding on a business counter, in a convenience store, in a restaurant, in a tourist spot, or in a hotel. Those are the five broad categories of locations where the magazine will be displayed. More broadly, the magazine will be distributed within the Town of Vinton, as well and nearby parts of the Roanoke Valley. As we grow the magazine, the distribution may go even farther afield. If you know of a spot where you think the magazine should be available, please let me know!

Stories!
The articles themselves will mostly be submitted to us by the people and businesses of Vinton. That’s right! If you want to submit a story for the next issue, you can! One person cannot replicate the knowledge of many. Over the past five years with Floyd Virginia Magazine, I have often had people ask me how I find some of the niche stories that we have featured. They are always surprised when I tell them that most of the time, I don’t find the stories. The stories find me!
Many may be reluctant to submit because they feel they may not be the best writer in the world. That feeling is natural. The talents of the people and businesses of Vinton are focused on the activities that define their lives and livelihoods. But that is why we provide writing guidelines and a talented editor. If you are thinking about submitting to the magazine, please see our article submission guidelines online at www.VintonMagazine.com.
The most important thing about the articles we’re looking for is the audience. There are three audiences for the magazine. People who live in Vinton, people over the border from Vinton in nearby localities, and tourists passing through. When it comes to our stories, the concern is that they speak to all three audiences. Aside from that concern, I pass stories onto Vickie, sight unseen, because you should trust your editor. Vickie then applies her polish in order to make each article meet professional, journalistic standards. Also, it’s important that the articles are not a list of services and products currently provided. Vinton Magazine offers an array of competitively priced advertising opportunities for that purpose. Stories need to be about people.

The future!
This issue of Vinton Magazine is thirty-two pages, and the next issue will be bigger. The more advertisers we have, the larger we will grow, allowing more space to showcase Vinton!
Again, Vinton Magazine is free to the public. It is paid for entirely by our advertisers. Every advertiser in this book is one that put their money where their mouth was and really wanted this magazine to exist. So, if you like Vinton Magazine and want it to be the best it can be, please stop by some of our advertisers and thank them.
I would personally like to thank everyone who is making this work. Everyone writing the stories, the advertisers, and you, the reader. That’s right. This magazine doesn’t work without you, the reader.
After working on Floyd Magazine, I came to experience that readers talk to me. They tell me what they think about this or that, and the result is valuable feedback. With that, I try to do better on the next issue. They may suggest a story idea that can then be pursued. A reader may even point out that thing I’m missing from the map. It is an ongoing conversation with the community, and that conversation is already happening.
Another reason why you, dear readers, are making this magazine work, is that before many of you even finish reading it, you will show it to others and say things like: “Have you seen this?” “Look at it! And on such quality paper too!” “Did you see the picture of the dog?”

Anyway, thank you all! And here’s to Vinton!

John Brill – Publisher
Vinton Magazine

Having just turned 83, and still hard at work six days a week, Ralph Chumley is a man who truly loves being an upholsterer and restorer of antique furniture. He began his journey with upholstery back in 1963, when he worked at the old Singer Furniture factory on Hollins Road. He worked there for five years, climbing up the ranks to Supervisor in just fifteen months. It was there that he learned nearly everything there was to know about furniture construction.
In 1965, a few years before he left Singer, he bought a recently started, un-named upholstery business that had a contract with the decorating department of Sears. He took on that contract, along with a sewing machine and a staple gun for $1,000. Ralph established himself just down the street from his current location, in what was commonly known as ‘the old bake shop building’. It now houses the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. He rented the building for $50 a month, back when it had no heat or air conditioning. He named his new side-business ‘Citizen’s Upholstery’, drawing inspiration, ironically, from his former Danville employer, Citizen’s Heating and Air. He knew it would be advantageous to have a name that would land towards the beginning of the phone book, and he couldn’t think of any better B names.
It must have worked out for him because it was less than three years before he had more business than he could handle part time. He eventually left Singer and became fully self-employed, working tirelessly at Citizen’s nearly seven days a week. He kept up that pace for fifty years, but now he makes sure to take Saturdays off. A very sensible decision.
Ralph states that he initially moved to the area to get a job with the railroad, as most of his late wife’s family had worked for N&W. However, he was edged out because he exceeded the eighteen to twenty-three age limit by just four months. “They could do that back then,” says Chumley.
This worked out for the best, as he landed at Singer. Though he’d planned on staying only temporarily, it was there that he wound up discovering his true passion. Their reasons may have been discriminatory by today’s standards, but Ralph is grateful to the railroad for not hiring him. “I’ve done a lot of (upholstery) work for the railroad over the years,” says Ralph. “I’d go down to their east-end shops where it would be 130 degrees inside…Yeah, thank ya’ll for not hiring me!”
Chumley remained in the old bake shop for ten years, but in 1975, he moved into the current location at 125 East Lee Avenue. Historically, Citizen’s Upholstery has been staffed by much of Ralph’s immediate family. His late wife, Mary, worked at the store until a few short years before her death in 2019. She helped build the business, and her loss is still felt deeply.
The Chumleys had two sons, Clint and Cliff, both of whom worked in the business for decades. Sadly, Clint passed away within a year of his mother. Cliff, however, is still part of the business after forty-two years. A perfectionist and consummate professional, Cliff began working with his dad at the age of seventeen. If you ask him, however, he’d tell you he’s been there for fifty years, as he began helping out around the shop from the age of eight. Jennifer, Cliff’s wife of thirty-eight years, has taken on the more recent task of managing the business’ online and social media presence.
Though Citizen’s is certainly a family business, the roster would be incomplete without two, particularly tenacious part-timers. Throughout the years, the Chumleys have always hired reliable people who don’t smoke or engage in depravity. This not only makes for a safer facility, it also contributes to consistently stellar reviews! Currently, the part-time folks are Jim Bowers, who “really knows his stuff,” and Jessy Gira, who “isn’t afraid of nothing,” says Ralph.
Jessy’s college background consisted of the practical arts, and she’d been restoring furniture as a hobby. As fate would have it, she also worked for several years at Willow Tree, along with Cliff’s sister in-law. When she was looking for another job, the sister-in-law referred her to Citizen’s Upholstery, and it has been a blessing for all involved, ever since. Ralph and Cliff have taught Jessy everything in the short time she’s been with them, and she’s been a quick study.
When asked about the future of the business, Cliff and his dad joke that they’ll likely retire at the same time, but that won’t be for another eight years. Ralph still loves what he does and just hasn’t been able to find a good time to stop.
“There’s a lot of satisfaction,” he says, “in taking something that looks old and ruined and making something beautiful out of it.” Though Citizen’s re-covers a lot of modern furniture every year, Ralph especially loves the process of returning old, antique pieces to their former glory. Even as Ralph talks about removing the coverings and carefully learning how the wood was once put together, Cliff and Jessy demonstrate on a beautiful, antique sofa. “You have to be very careful,” says Ralph. “If you don’t take your time and study the construction, you can break the wood when you start to take it apart.” Though it might be easy enough to fashion a replacement piece of wood, the piece would no longer be an original antique.
Ralph certainly loves what he does, but even more, he loves how many great people he’s been able to meet. “It makes the job fun!”
His implicit trust in his customers, as well as his admiration for them, has created a feedback loop that has earned him a 5-Star rating on Google, plus countless great reviews on Angie’s list. “People love us,” he says.
Between 2018 and 2019, the Chumleys suffered two losses in the family. Because of this, they closed the shop for several months. When they were ready to return to normal in 2020, they were forced to close again due to lockdowns. Though it all, Ralph is proud to say they didn’t lose a single job during those times. In fact, because of the lockdowns and the subsequent supply chain crisis, 2021 was his best year yet. As Ralph explains, “folks were forced to stay at home, looking at their old furniture.” When the lockdowns began to lift, the economy, as well as lost wages, forced more people to opt for restoring old furniture, rather than buying new. The story of Citizen’s Upholstery’s success in a time of adversity encourages a sense of hope that everything will be all right if we just keep working hard and looking for creative, economical solutions.
Citizen’s Upholstery offers and houses an extensive variety of fabrics for customers to choose from. Sourced from High Point and Charlotte in North Carolina, as well as from suppliers in Georgia, California, Minnesota, and New York, the in-house upholstery options vary widely in terms of color, shade, pattern, and texture. In addition to large rolls that line the walls, Citizen’s also has a library of sample books. They encourage clients to take the books home, to ensure prospective fabric choices match the décor under the correct lighting, throughout the whole day. In addition to the seemingly boundless variety in store, Citizen’s can also use any quality fabric chosen by the customer from other sources.
For a small fee, which is calculated based on distance and location, Mr. Chumley and his staff will even pick-up and deliver the furniture to be serviced! Mr. Chumley is friendly, flexible, and more than easy to work with. Just don’t ask him to recover your boat. That’s where he draws the line!
In love with the firm, yet cushy feel of your old furniture, but tired of the old, worn-out fabric that covers it? A professional re-upholstery job just might be the thing to solve this conundrum. There are a few reputable upholstery businesses in the area, but Vinton Virginia holds a hidden gem of its own in Citizen’s Upholstery and Furniture Co. Unassuming in appearance, this tiny, downtown building offers full-service upholstering and restoration of any furniture you want covered, re-covered, or repaired.

Ralph and Cliff Chumley
Citizen’s Upholstery & Furniture Company
125 E Lee Avenue, Vinton, VA
540-345-5060 • Citizensuph@gmail.com
www.CitizensUpholsteryAndFurniture.com

Vinton Veterinary Hospital was started in 1973 by Dr. Jesse Webster, whose passion for animal care led him to start the hospital after several years of working in other locations. He wanted to open a practice based on his own philosophy, which was to provide a Gold Standard of care with American Animal Hospital Association (AHAA) accreditation. He also wanted it to be a teaching environment in which new doctors could receive mentorship. He set up shop in a small strip mall on East Washington Avenue in Vinton, the current location of Valley Hall.
In 1975, Dr. Gerald Buckland joined the practice, adding his own touch to the thriving business. Dr. Buckland had experience working with large animals, and together with Dr. Webster, the two made a really great team.
Webster and Buckland continued operating in the strip mall for an additional four years, but then a building became available, just across the street. It was in 1979 that the doctors and staff moved Vinton Veterinary Hospital to its current location at 1309 East Washington Avenue. It was also in 1979, shortly after the move, that Dr. Kathy Neel joined the practice. This was also the year that Doctor Webster finally obtained the AHAA accreditation he had wanted for his practice. The hospital was growing.
In 2005, Dr. Courtney Wiegard became the youngest member of the already stellar crew. When Dr. Webster retired, she also became the managing veterinarian. Finally, in 2020, Dr. Wiegard completed her journey by becoming owner of the hospital.
Over the years, Vinton Veterinary Hospital has continued to provide Gold Standard care, and they have unwaveringly maintained their AHAA accreditation. They have also officially become a Gold Level, feline-friendly hospital.
The Vinton Veterinary Hospital has 8 doctors and 38 other staff. Pictured is a small selection of their staff. Left to Right: Front Row – Alyce Dantzler, Alex Worthy, Taylor Calhoun, Dr. Shelby Curbow, Solana White Rojas, Taylor Camp and Taylor Knight. Back Row – Bill Cosgrove, Liz Blyskal, Sandy Singleton, Rebekah Hughes, Christie Grimm, Cody Gunter, Sasha Kirk, Dr. Courtney Wiegard, and Heather Reed.
More recently, starting in 2015, they have certified all staff as Fear-free. Fear-free means that everyone at Vinton Vet handles pets in a way that is as fear free as possible. This is to ensure that pets do not fear coming to the vet for future visits. They never pull a pet on a leash, and they tailor each animal’s experience to their needs. They understand the fears, and they interact with the pets in way that reduces those fears. They also provide opportunities for ‘happy visits’, during which a pet comes to visit the vet without any procedures, treatments, or exams. Plenty of treats are shared so the pets learn the office can be a good place to go.
Through it all, the doctors and staff and Vinton Veterinary Hospital have treated the pets and their owners with the same care and compassion they would give their own pets and family.
In 2020, Pet Vet Roanoke joined that family. A boutique hospital located in the Oak Grove area of Southwest County; Pet Vet provides the same excellent level of care as its Vinton Vet partner. They also provide the same personal touch for clients in that area. Both hospitals provide general practice care for small animals, as well as advanced dentistry, endoscopy, acupuncture, and laser therapies.
In late summer of 2022, Vinton Vet plans to break ground on a multi-million-dollar expansion and renovation project to serve the community better. The practice will be expanding into the adjacent building which will house its Specialty Care Services. These will include a state-of-the-art surgery facility, expanded dental and endoscopy services, and a space for expanded exotic animal care.
New surgical equipment and training for doctors will allow for more extensive and complicated surgical offerings. The space will also have a comfort room for those times when end of life procedures must take place. This will allow for a more comfortable and private setting for clients and pets to share their last moments together.
The current hospital will house the general practice appointments, as well as a treatment area to support those appointments. The design includes a separate, cat-only waiting room, as well as cat-only exam rooms. This will help feline patients to remain as stress-free as possible. An updated and refreshed kennel will also add greatly to the boarding experience for customers.
While the staff of the hospital are excited for all the possibilities the expansion and renovation will offer the community and its pets, they are just as excited about a new focus on community outreach. The hospital is proud to announce a new partnership with the Science Museum of Southwest Virginia! In addition to serving as veterinarian for the animals the Museum has added over the past several years, the folks at Vinton Vet will be partnering to provide education for exotic animal ownership. They will also participate in planned events to educate children on careers in the veterinary field.
Another opportunity to educate children on career opportunities is a partnership between the hospitals and several local Boys and Girls Clubs. Visits will be to present information about pets and the path to different veterinary related careers to the students.
The doctors and staff of both hospitals truly care about the pets that they serve, and these community partnerships are a way for the hospitals to give back to the community they love.
With all the exciting things happening at Vinton Vet, it’s hard to pick one thing that shines brighter than its future. The star of this organization, however, is the hospital’s mascot, Louise. Lovely Louise, as she is known, was surrendered to the hospital due to a severe congenital condition with her knees. Louise had surgery on one knee and is doing physical therapy in preparation to have her second knee fixed. Dr. Henry at Peaks View animal Hospital in Lynchburg performed her first surgery for free. The staff at Vinton Vet and Pet Vet decided to do a bake sale to raise funds for her second surgery. Due to the extreme generosity of people all across Roanoke Valley, $5,000 was raised. Whatever money is left over, the hospitals plan to use for other animals in need of surgery who are unable to afford it.
Louise has become a local celebrity, appearing on television and across social media posts including Facebook. She even has her own Instagram account: Lovely.Louise. She is looking forward to becoming a certified therapy dog, serving as outreach from the hospitals to the community.
Whether it is providing routine care, specialty care services, advanced dental care, exotic animal care or providing outreach to the community, the staff at Vinton Veterinary Hospital and Pet Vet Roanoke are committed to giving the best of themselves for the residents of Vinton and the greater Roanoke Valley.
Vinton Veterinary Hospital: a trusted cornerstone of the community, making exciting changes to provide innovative care and outreach to the community while loving each and every one of the pets they see.

Vinton Veterinary Hospital
540-342-7821 • www.VintonVet.com

Pet Vet in Roanoke
540-904-2229 • www.PetVetRoanoke.com

by Vickie Holt

During the early development of downtown Vinton, many of the buildings that currently line the streets were being built. Particularly, the construction standing at 106 East Lee Avenue was completed in 1942. Nothing is known about the building’s occupancy from 1942 to 1948, but in 1948, it became home to Vinton Restaurant, opened by the Guthrie family.

Shrouded in just as much mystery as the first six years of the building, is the progression of the restaurant, as well as its ownership. In the 1960’s, however, we know that Velma Guthrie changed the name to Dogwood Restaurant.
Ralph Chumley, owner of Citizen’s Upholstery, across the street, recalls that when he opened his shop in 1965, the restaurant was already established, serving buffet style meals. Chumley also recalls that the restaurant changed hands several times throughout the years, being owned at one time by Dan Doss, and at another time by Dan’s brother, Melvin Doss.
From its earliest years, Vinton Restaurant/Dogwood Restaurant was a popular gathering place for Vintonites and visitors alike. In earlier times, it was also a buzzing hub of social interaction, with folks from the town visiting to meet up with friends, family, and co-workers.
As the years went by, and as the restaurant was handed from one owner to another, it ended up in the hands of Sylvia Hollinsworth, who bought it at the end of the 1980’s. In 1994, however, Keith Poff bought the restaurant, and it remains in his hands to this day.
In the early 1990’s, Keith’s brother, Mark, bought Ernie’s, a restaurant in downtown Roanoke. He purchased it from the original Ernie! Just twenty-one at the time, Keith went to work for Mark and was introduced to the restaurant business.
Ernie’s was also a popular spot and shared one very special thing in common with Dogwood – a fateful customer. It was this man who mentioned to Keith that Dogwood Restaurant was up for sale. Keith tells us that at just twenty-four years of age, he went to Dogwood for lunch and bought the place just two weeks later. His new bride, Jodi, was surprised that he’d made such a large purchase when they were just getting married, but she joined in, helping with the paperwork. Today, Jodi Poff is the school principal at Cave Spring Elementary, and perfectly happy with Keith’s leap of faith.
Sadly, in 2009, Mark passed away. In memorial, a mounted marlin Mark once caught on a fishing trip hangs behind the counter. With the exception of the marlin, Keith was reluctant to change Dogwood too much. When he first bought it, Vinton’s old folks were the biggest part of the clientele. Now, however, the younger folks have found them, too. “The older generation still comes,” says Keith, “and now it’s a great mix. Everybody knows everybody!”
In 2011, Keith brought his childhood friend, Jamie McCarthy in as General Manager. Before coming to work with Keith, Jamie had worked several other jobs, including drafting work for architects and store planning and design for Advance Auto. He worked weekends at the restaurant for nine years before finally making the switch. Jamie tells us he left drafting behind because of changes in the work environment. At Dogwood, he enjoys more interaction with people, as well as not having to sit behind a desk! Jamie loves creating food, and he has joyfully embraced the restaurant business.  (Above: Jamie McCarthy and Keith Poff)
In 2019, Jamie became a partner, and this was for a very specific reason. In mid-2009, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) awarded a Business District Revitalization Project Planning Grant to the Town of Vinton. Most who live in the area have been aware of the revitalization efforts for several years. In 2019, however, the revitalization project finally reached the threshold of Dogwood Restaurant.
A big expansion was planned, but then 2020 happened. Like other restaurants across the nation, Dogwood had to close its doors. Once allowed, they opened again, but for to-go orders only. Progress was put on hold. The partners had to let many of their employees go, and they were only making enough to pay the bills. As Keith admits, “it was difficult and scary.”
Eventually, however, restrictions were lifted, and the expansion plans resumed. The goal is to expand into the adjacent building and create a hybrid establishment. The original restaurant will not change. It will remain the traditional, family-friendly establishment it has been all along.
The expansion side, however, will be more modern. In addition to serving alcohol, the new side of Dogwood will also have extended hours for the night-time crowd. The Town of Vinton has also created a beautiful patio that will serve as an outdoor dining space, as well as a space for live music. Customers dining on the patio will be able to order and receive their food directly through a window being constructed on the side of the building.
Keith and Jamie plan to partner with local breweries, and the Town of Vinton has something special up its sleeve that will make it possible for customers to carry adult beverages off premises during festivals and special events.
As Town Manager, Pete Peters tells us, “the Town is planning on utilizing the state’s new Outdoor Refreshment Area (ORA) ABC Permit that recently went in to law. Essentially, the Town will grant approval for up to sixteen events per calendar year to use the ORA permit and restaurants/breweries located within the defined boundaries of the area would be permitted to sell ABC off-premises during the hours of the event.”
Though global shortages continue to impede progress, everyone involved hopes the expansion will be completed in late summer, 2022. Both Keith and Jamie are really looking forward to being part of the Vinton revitalization, as it will be providing them an opportunity to be more modern than ever before, with progressive styling.
The food to be served in the expansion will also carry the theme of modernization. There is a new trend in farm-to-table dining. Along with continuing shortages and inflation, Keith and Jamie plan to embrace the trend and support local farmers by buying as much locally sourced food as they can. Whenever possible, they will also be cooking and serving food that has never been frozen.
The partners are excited about the new items they will be serving in the expansion. They’ve had several dishes in mind for quite some time, as well as a few things customers would not be able to get anywhere else, such as their bourbon candy bacon appetizer.
As for the original restaurant, the menu will remain the same as it is now – home-cooked, southern American food. The restaurant has a lot of loyal customers and keeping them happy is important to Keith and Jamie. The restaurant will continue serving its daily specials, as well as its famous burgers…not to mention the best breakfast in the area! With a staff that includes long-term cooks like Carmalita Johnson (32 years), and Linda Parker (22+ years), fans of Dogwood can rest assured that their favorite dishes will not be changing anytime soon!
Also on staff is head waitress, Jessica Blankenship, who has been with Dogwood since 2009. Linda’s son, Raymond Parker, is the night-time grill cook. Finally, Karen Beard and her daughter, Brittany Conner, have both been Dogwood waitresses for ten years.
From left to Right: Front: Logan Segall, Jessica Blankenship, Jose Hernandez, Raymond Parker, Linda Parker, Brittany Conner. Back: Tyler Westerhold, Jamie McCarthy, Brittany Conner.
There’s a lot of history in Dogwood Restaurant. Not just in the building and the staff, but also in the customers who have made it part of their lives for the past seventy-four years. Sports banners hang from the ceiling, commemorating not only an age-old relationship with William Byrd High School, but also with other schools and colleges in the region. Many of Vinton’s most elderly citizens sat at the counter when they were teenagers. Vinton was established 138 years ago, and Dogwood Restaurant has been around for more than half its history.
And from the look of things, it will be around for a good part of its future. Thanks to all the new restaurants in Vinton, folks who’ve never heard of Dogwood have recently discovered it. So many, in fact, that Dogwood is doing even better than before the pandemic! Keith and Jamie are really looking forward to the expansion and they hope that even more new customers will be drawn to downtown Vinton as a result.

Dogwood Restaurant • 540-343-6549
106 E Lee Ave, Vinton, VA • dogwoodrestaurant@cox.net
www.facebook.com/DogwoodRestaruant

By Vickie Holt

In 1984, a group of Vinton citizens came together with a common passion and a common goal: researching and documenting items of historical relevance, with a proclivity toward items pertaining to the town of Vinton. Among that original group were Margaret Wood, Catharine Burkholder, June Eanes, Madeline Forbes, Frances Coleman, Frank Craddock, and Montague Swain. This group had dreams of creating an official Vinton Historical Society, but such an undertaking would require resources.
To promote their efforts, and to raise the money they needed to begin an official organization, Irma Mosely and Madeline Forbes compiled a hundred-year history of Vinton and published it in a 205-page book called “Vinton History 1884 – 1984”. The book was released in 1984, the same year that Vinton celebrated its Centennial. It would be five more years, however, before the Vinton Historical Society found a home.
The home of Mary Upson Williams, to be precise. Mary’s parents, J.H. and Amelia Upson, had moved to Vinton in 1889, just five years after Vinton became Vinton. Once settled, the couple opened a general store on the corner of Maple and Lee Avenues. In 1899, the Upsons purchased two lots from J.W Vineyard, and by 1906, had built the ten-room home now located at 210 East Jackson Avenue.
Just a few short years before her passing, Mary requested that her family home be donated to the Town of Vinton to be used for public or municipal purposes. In 1989, just four years before Mary passed away, her wishes were honored in the most fitting of ways. A house that had been standing for almost all of Vinton’s history became the Vinton History Museum.
The museum is a treasure trove of historical items and displays, arranged by theme throughout each room. Just inside the front door, on a wall in the foyer, visitors will find an amazing, framed photograph of J.H. and Amelia Upson, celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1938.

A quick trip through the information office, and visitors will be in what was the Upson’s dining room. Here, a glass case features temporary displays, such as the current collection of antique spring hats. The rest of the room is filled with other historic items, including examples of three different designs of butter churns.
Just off the dining room is the kitchen, which appropriately contains many historic items that might have appeared in everyone’s kitchen a century or more in the past.
Across the hall on the first floor are two more rooms, one containing an amazing array of early entertainment devices, such as radios, televisions, phonographs, and even a working cylinder phonograph!
The other room pays homage to Gish’s Mill, the name the area went by before it was officially established as Vinton. The name derives from the Gish family, who settled in the area in the late 1700’s and built a grist mill on Glade Creek. The room also celebrates education and church history in Vinton. Out in the hallway, visitors will find military displays, honoring those who fought for our country.
Among these displays is also the beautiful stairway leading to the second-floor exhibits. Later this year, the Society hopes to launch a project to install an elevator on the side of the old Upson house. As Judy explains, many elderly or disabled visitors, and sometimes even children, have trouble climbing the stairs to visit the second-floor exhibits. She also admits that many of the staff and volunteers face the same problem.
Upstairs, there is a business and occupation room, a vintage tool room, and two bedrooms. The child’s bedroom features clothing, toys, and other vintage items that our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great grandparents would have used when they were children. Likewise, the adult bedroom features vintage clothing, an antique bed, and other items that may have been used in the bedrooms of Vinton’s earliest citizens, including a magnificent spinning wheel.
The stairway railings in the hallway are draped with vintage quilts, all of which have been appraised to identify age, design, and value. In the corner rests a stain glass pane that once hung in Vinton Baptist Church.
That leaves just a final room upstairs, and this room is currently being used for a very exciting project. Many in Vinton may recall having to attend class in the school building on Gus Nicks Boulevard. Before the new high school was built on Washington Avenue, this building served as Vinton’s high school. After the Washington Avenue school was built, it became Vinton’s middle school, but it still housed a tradition that stretched from the 1930’s to the 1970’s.
Lining the halls of the building were large glass frames, each containing an arrangement of photos representing that year’s graduating class. When the building was sold to the developer who eventually remodeled it for housing, the framed collections were handed over to the Vinton Historical Society.  (The historic William Byrd graduating class photo collections, waiting to be digitized and stored for preservation)
The photo sheets have all been remove from their heavy, 45” x 35” frames, and over the next several months, each collection will be digitized and added to the website as the museum’s very first digital offering!
Historical Society Treasurer, Debbie Pitts, has taken the lead on the project. She tells us the images will become available for viewing on the website at www.vintonhistorymuseum.org. As for the original sheets, they will be carefully stored for preservation. Unfortunately, the museum doesn’t have the space to continue displaying all the frames, and the concern is that displaying the unframed sheets could result in them being damaged. Displayed or digitized, this is a magnificent piece of Vinton history, and a very special memory for many who will find either themselves or their family members among the digitized images.
The Vinton Historical Society and Museum, however, is not just about preserving historic or vintage items. They are also a repository for historic information! Upon entering the museum, visitors can see a very busy-looking room directly to the left of the foyer. This is Information Central, where the walls are lined with shelves containing books, catalogs, files, notebooks, and folders chock full of newspaper clippings, information about, and photos of Vinton families, businesses, events, development, and more! The museum staff and volunteers are very knowledgeable and eager to help when someone needs historic information for genealogy, research, or curiosity.
Museum Executive Director, Judy Cunningham tells an incredible story about a high school ring that was lost in the late seventies/early eighties after having been accidentally left behind at a rest stop on I81. Michele Ann Weiss (now Walker) returned to the rest stop to retrieve her ring, but by then it was already gone.
As it turned out, a woman named Velma Merrifield had found the ring, but the information age was still a few decades away. She didn’t know how to return it, so it remained put away with her family for decades. Her daughter-in-law, Sue Merrifield, recently discovered the ring and thought she’d give Facebook a try. She posted a picture of the ring, along with the graduation year, school name, and initials.
The family then located some William Byrd Alumni groups, which led her eventually to the Vinton Historical Society. Though the Museum houses and extensive collection of William Byrd year books, they were missing the critical 1977 volume. Fellow 1977 Alumni, Karen Jackson, also joined the search, keeping the Facebook exchanges going.
As fate would have it, a patron donated the much-needed 1977 volume of the William Byrd yearbook at this point in the search. Several girls’ names matched the initials, and through contact and elimination, the staff at the museum was finally able to identify the owner of the ring – Michele Ann Weiss.
Contact information for Michele’s mother was eventually obtained through Facebook messaging, and through her mother, Michele was finally reached, and the ring was posted swiftly to her home in Indiana!
Teamwork and cooperation helped to solve a forty-five-year-old mystery, and teamwork is most definitely at the heart of operations for the Vinton History Museum. The official staff are Randy Layman President), Denny Dickens (Vice- President), Marie Bell (Secretary), Debbie Pitts (Treasurer), Judy Cunningham (Executive Director), Mary Beth Layman (Program Director), Jan Dickens, Ann Hewitt, Judy Kelley, JoAnn Newman, Darlene Richardson (Directors), and Julie Tucei (Town of Vinton representative). However, the museum couldn’t operate without its army of volunteers! Currently, about twenty volunteers help to catalog items, perform research, work on projects, and just generally help out.  Pictured above, left to right: Randy Layman (President), Debbie Pitts (Treasurer), Judy Cunningham (Executive Director), and Jo Ann Newman (Director).
Judy Cunningham tells us they also get additional help in the form of those performing community service, as well as students fulfilling high school and college internships. If anyone wishes to volunteer, they may indicate their interest on the website by clicking the Help Out navigation link at the top of the page.
Everyone is encouraged to visit the webpage regularly to keep abreast of new projects, exhibitions, and events, as well as opportunities to become part of history by helping the organization whose mission is to gather and protect it.
The museum is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, an the first Saturday of each month from 10:00am – 2:00pm. For more formation about the Vinton Historical Society & Museum, to make an inquiry, or to help by volunteering or making a donation, visit online at www.vintonhistorymuseum.org. You can also follow on Facebook at Vinton-History-Museum.

Vinton Historical Society & Museum
www.VintonHistoryMuseum.org

On the eastern border of Roanoke City lies the 3.15 square mile town of Vinton, Virginia. With a population of just over eight thousand people, Vinton’s identity has long been associated with that of the greater Roanoke County. With major development happening only within the last fifty years, Vinton’s past is mostly that of a farming community. This town is not only steeped in rich history, it is also growing and becoming more and more an exciting destination spot, every day. Uniquely, there is still a large population who can say they saw Vinton both in its historic form, and its modern form. With the planned downtown revitalization, as well as newer entertainment and adventure opportunities, Vinton is a small town with a lot to offer!

Mingle at the Market
At the Vinton Farmer’s Market – Outdoor concerts, with food and beverage vendors. Family event.
Admission: $6.00, Kids under 12 admitted free

6/11 • 7 – 10pm: Five Shades of Gray
6/25 • 6 – 10pm: Glam’r Kiti & Adrenaline 6
7/09 • 7 – 10pm: Vinyl Nation
7/23 • 6 – 10pm: Low Low Chariot & Adam Rutledge
8/13 • 7 – 10pm: Five Dollar Shake
8/27 • 7 – 10pm: Fuzzy Logic
9/10 • 7 – 10pm: Mended Fences
9/24 • 7 – 10pm: Eric Wayne Band

Rosie’s Gaming Emporium
1135 Vinyard Road • Live music series • Free Admission
All shows – Must be 18 or older to attend

6/03 • 8pm – Low Low Chariot
6/04 • 8pm – Charissa Joy & The Frequency
6/10 • 8pm – The Oddfellows
6/11 • 8pm – Vinyl Nation
6/17 • 8pm – JoJo Stockton and Soulacoustix
6/18 • 8pm – Star City Dueling Pianos
6/24 • 8pm – The Bogeys
6/25 • 8pm – 5 Dollar Shake
8/06 • 8pm – Cooper Alan

Vinton History Museum
210 East Jackson Avenue
6/04 • 10am – 2pm: First Saturday –
Community Ice Cream Social
8/06 • 10am – 2pm: First Saturday – event TBA
8/27 • 10am – 2pm: Yard Sale at the Museum

Explore Park

T-Rex Trail: Summer 2022 – May 28 – August 14
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday – 9am – 2pm. Trail closes at 3pm.
Wednesday – CLOSED
Saturday and Sunday – 9am – 4pm. Trail closes at 5pm
Travel back-in-time down our half-mile wooded path to take in the sights and sounds from dinosaurs of four time periods – Triassic, Jurassic, Early and Late Cretaceous! The trail features 18 animatronic dinosaurs, a dino dig-pit and photo ops!

Adventure Saturdays
On select Saturdays throughout 2022, Explore Park will have expanded outdoor activities from 10am – 3pm. Each event will feature live music and Twilight Zipline experience at Treetop Quest. Follow online at
www.roanokecountyparks.com/659/Adventure-Saturday for all new Adventure Saturday calendar events.

Artisan Saturdays
Watch local artisans demonstrate their craft and enjoy FREE family activities at Explore Park on select Saturdays in 2022! Love what you see? All featured craftspeople will have their works on display and
for sale during the event from 10am – 3pm.
For all event dates throughout 2022, visit online at
www.roanokecountyparks.com/662/Artisan-Saturday

Explore Park Summer Camps:

June 20-24: Explore Park Mountain Biking Camp
Pedal your way to summer fun! Dedicated to honoring mountain biking skills, this weeklong day camp program will get campers trail ready with professional mountain bike instruction and plenty of ride time. Days will be spent learning and practicing new skills as well as many camp activities such as team building, games and initiatives, hiking and much more! Must be able to ride a bike. Personal mountain bike and helmet required.
Eligibility: Ages 11-13, Rising 6th and 7th graders
June 20-24 from 8AM to 4PM • $260 per week

July 11-15: Explore Park Paddling Camp
Campers will enjoy their week navigating the river using four different modes of transportation as well as other camp activities such as hiking, archery, and a visit to Treetop Quest. Participants must be able to swim.
Eligibility: Ages 11-13, Rising 6th and 7th graders
July 11-15 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM • $260 per week

July 25-29: Explore Park Ridge Ramblers Camp
A week long day camp where you will be immersed in exhilarating adventures! Cruise the mountain bike trails and explore the diverse terrain while hiking, exploring, and orienteering. Campers will also participate in archery, teambuilding, nature crafts, wilderness survival skills, and other great activities! Participants must bring their own bikes and helmets.
Eligibility: Ages 11-13, Rising 6th and 7th graders
July 25-29 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM • $260 per week

August 1-5: Explor Park Disc Golf Camp
Campers will learn basic skills, etiquette and game play while visiting 5 different courses in the area. The week will also include camp favorites such as archery, hiking, outdoor skills, and a visit to Treetop Quest! Some discs will be available for camper use, personal discs preferred.
Eligibility: Ages 11-13, Rising 6th and 7th graders
August 1-5 from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM • $260 per week

Registration for all camps is available online at roanokecountyparks.com/667/Explore-Park-Summer-Camp.
For questions or to register by phone, call (540) 387-6078 ext. 0.

Lunch & Learn Series
7/13 • Noon – 1pm: Berkshire Health & Rehab
9/14 • Noon – 1pm: TBA

Valley Hall – BINGO
1320 East Washington Avenue
Every Saturday and Sunday, except holidays – Sponsored by Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer • Doors open at 11AM
Day session: Early birds start at 1PM.
– Regular Bingo starts at 1:45PM.
Evening session: Early birds start at 6PM.
– Regular Bingo starts at 6:45PM

Vinton Fall Festival
Downtown Vinton • October 8, 2022, 10am – 4pm
Free Admission
Over 80 food and craft vendors line the streets of Downtown Vinton complimenting our local businesses with great food, craft items, clothing and local goods. Entertainment on 2 stages. Pet Costume Contest, Petting Zoo.

All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast
Join the Vinton Breakfast Lions Club for their annual All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast on Saturday Oct 8 from 7AM to 11AM at the Vinton Moose Lodge. Grab a great breakfast before heading to the Fall Festival.

NOTE: The above events are scheduled as of time of printing. We suggest that you check with the event organizers for continual updates. Also, we accept event submissions for subsequent issues.

From left to right: Danielle Napier, Sharon Sowers, and Erin Clark

by Vickie Holt

The world is filled with people who know, firsthand, the woes that come with working for someone else. For many, that means long hours, low pay, no respect, antagonism, and stress placed on them by bosses, co-workers, and employers.
For as long as there has been employment, employees across the globe have dreamed of the day they could be free of unhealthy work environments. They have dreamed of going into business for themselves and being their own boss. In 2020, Danielle Napier, Erin Clark, and Sharon Sowers did just that.
In 2008, Daniele began attending Hollins College. In 2009, she started working part time at Petsmart. The one thing she knew when she her received degree in Biology, however, was that she did not want to teach. Instead, she investigated further opportunities with her employer. She didn’t want to work full time on the floor, and she didn’t like the idea of going into management.
In 2010, almost on a whim, Daniele agreed to a grooming position, and was off to Petsmart’s grooming academy in Bristol. There, she studied under a certified master groomer with over twenty years’ experience.
Daniele really loves dogs, and as it turned out, she also really loved grooming! “It’s really fun,” she says, “but it’s also really hard work. Not as easy as it looks.”
As for Sharon, Petsmart was her second job, after beginning her work life as a teenager at McDonald’s. She started in 2005 as a cashier, not knowing much at all about the grooming services. After a year behind the register, however, she wanted to become a bather for the in-house salon. She loved learning about all the different breeds and seeing all the breeds. After two years as a bather, she decided, like Daniele, to go to the grooming academy. When she came back, she had absolutely fallen in love with grooming. “The more you learn,” she says, “the more it draws you in. You learn something new, every day!”
(Left: Sharon Sowers grooming Haggis)

Erin had only ever worked at Petsmart, having started in Richmond in 2002, at the age of sixteen. For the first ten years, she worked in pet care, which included fish and small animals. In 2010, however, she became a bather for the sole purpose of the better hours and better pay. Once she was in, however, she discovered she really had a knack for it.
In 2011, Erin decided to move to the area, as she had attended college here while maintaining her job at Petsmart. With no real affection for Richmond, Erin transferred to the Roanoke Petsmart and promptly went to grooming academy. Unfortunately, her experience had not been as inspiring or as pleasant, and it wasn’t until she was in the grooming salon with Daniele that she really felt like she learned anything valuable. That’s when she decided, “not only do I have a knack for this, I really like this. This is great! I can see myself doing this for a long time.”  (Right: Erin Clark grooming Lexi)
All now working as groomers in Petsmart, the three women became good friends, not only with each other, but also with their regular clients. They shared a philosophy that put genuinely caring for their clients at the top of the list.
Unfortunately, 2011 was also the year that Daniele began suffering from multiple difficulties and tragedies in her personal life. This also created difficulties with her employer, and in 2012, she was let go from Petsmart. Though life seemed to be beating her down, she picked herself up that same day and went over to Nature’s Emporium on Brambleton Avenue, where she’d heard that the owner was thinking of offering grooming services. As fate would have it, the manager, district manager, and the owner all happened to be preset in the store that day, so she walked right in and said, “I hear you’re wanting to create a grooming salon. I can do that.” Before they could stop to think, she also added, “I work here now.”
A few days before that, Erin had begun a week off in order to clear her head and check out some possibilities. She had become uncomfortable with the corporate way of operating what should have been a more personal service. She also had growing anxiety over in-house changes. “Things were getting weird,” says Erin. “I could see the writing on the wall. It was getting toxic.” She had even been told about the Nature’s Emporium opportunity, but Daniele had made her daring move before she could check it out. Once Daniele had told her what had happened, however, the decision was quick and easy. Within a week, Erin was Nature’s Emporium’s newest groomer.
The two women started fresh at Nature’s Emporium with no clientele. As their former employer did not allow the groomers access to client information, they had no way to let clients know where to find them.
Eventually, however, they did build a loyal group of patrons with the philosophy they shared – genuinely caring for their clients. More than clients, the folks who came to Daniele and Erin for their grooming needs also became their friends, connected on Facebook and other social media. Things were going great!
It would be 2016, however, before Sharon also followed. She was comfortable at her job, and admits to a mindset of feeling safety in that comfort. She was also attached to the clients she had been working with. She had an epiphany, however, when Petsmart was bought out in 2015. Small things changed, and it was no longer “comfortable”. That’s when she decided so speak with Daniele about “getting the band back together” at Nature’s Emporium. She wanted to work again with people who knew what she was doing and how she wanted to do it. She also wanted to get away from a corporate atmosphere.
As it turned out, however, Sharon’s timing couldn’t have been worse. The ownership had changed at Nature’s Emporium, and the new owner’s focus was the bottom line. This made it difficult for the grooming trio to continue operating under their shared philosophy. The work environment that had been so fun and satisfying before was becoming toxic.
In addition to the mental and emotional discomfort, Daniele began suffering physical discomfort, as well. Too many large dogs and affected her shoulders. Grooming is a physically demanding job, and Daniele was finding it more and more difficult to groom full time. She loved her clients and she loved grooming, but the misery and her physical difficulties were becoming too much.
In 2017, a loyal client gave her a way out. Bill Webster got to know Daniele through Bogie and Bandit, his two frisky Coton de Tulear pups. Because he had seen how she’d started and built the grooming portion of Nature’s Emporium, he offered her a job. She would be taking care of his office at Collegiate Pacific, a producer of wool felt products for showing college and university team spirit.
Knowing she could no longer groom full time, she took Mr. Webster up on his offer and began working for him, part time, in 2017. She just couldn’t leave grooming behind completely. She loved it so much, and all her friends were there. In March of 2018, however, she made the final break and went full time with Collegiate Pacific.
Despite the new career, Daniele never left her friends. Daniele, Sharon, and Erin all kept in touch, and she was still able to connect with her client friends on social media. As time went on, conversations with Sharon and Erin continued to reveal their ongoing misery. They would talk again and again about how nice it would be to open a grooming salon of their own – a subject that had been a frequent topic of discussion since long before Daniele got her new job.
Actually, the three groomers had been actively looking for a place since 2016! Since most of their clientele was already in Southwest County, they tried finding a property in that area, but no one would rent to a grooming salon. They searched constantly, and even expanded their search closer to Downtown Roanoke. Still, building owners refused to let them occupy.
Continuing to hear about the awful conditions Sharon and Erin were still experiencing, Daniele decided to double down on the search. Because she had a job, she wasn’t necessarily looking to groom again, but she was determined to make this happen for their happiness.
Eventually, she expanded her search into Vinton where she finally found Paul Welsch. He was the only property owner to give her a shot, and in December of 2020, the deal was made for the storefront at 123 East Lee Avenue.
There were a lot of people, including clients, ready to help make this dream come true. They were starting from scratch…again. They needed equipment, tools, fixtures, supplies, and everything else on the business side of things. Daniele sold her Jeep. Erin and Sharon both contributed. Erin’s mother financed a large part, and Daniele’s mother also chipped in. As Daniele tells us, even Erin and Sharon’s clients offered to help.
Erin’s husband, Paul, chipped in and was a tremendous help in getting the place set up for business. There was a lot of painting, sanding, and fixture work to be done. Despite still working at Nature’s Emporium, even Erin and Sharon helped in their off hours. Paul, however, is responsible for the beautiful epoxy work on all the floors. “We even painted our initials on the bathing room floor,” says Erin.
After all was done, Pawsh Salon for Dogs opened its doors on March 15, 2021. Knowing the opening was imminent, both Erin and Sharon had left their jobs and were able to start grooming on day one.
For the first few days, they were dusting the surfaces to keep busy, but by the end of the first week, they were hopping.
Erin and Sharon had been made to sign no- compete contracts after Daniele had left Nature’s Emporium, which meant they could not disclose to any of their clients that there was a different grooming business they could go to, even for a period of time after leaving employment. They were not permitted to call their clients and tell them to come to the new place.
Circling back around to the social media friendships they had created with their clients, however, it wasn’t difficult to let innocuous posts do the job. Also, their clients began messaging them and asking why they weren’t there anymore. It didn’t take long for their old clients to find them.
They also found new clients in Vinton really quickly. Almost as soon as they were open, business owners and employees in the downtown Vinton area began bringing in their dogs. Soon, even citizens from the church and surrounding areas started asking for appointments.
For the first year, only Danielle and Paul owned the business because of the no-compete agreement. While Erin and Sharon were doing most of the grooming, Daniele built the website and created their social media presence. Because of her full-time job with Collegiate Pacific, as well as her ongoing physical difficulties, Daniele mainly helps with the ‘bean counting’. She also helps with the training and guidance of newer folks, like Hannah Spence, who was a bather for three years at another salon but has trained to groom at Pawsh and will soon be grooming full time. There is also Sarah Atchinson, who is the newest bather at Pawsh.
In January of 2022, Sharon and Erin became clear of their no-compete contacts and were finally able to become official co-owners! Things have been going so well at Pawsh that, come next January, the trio will have paid off all their start-up debt. All three are eagerly looking forward to that day, as it will allow them to begin paying their groomers far more than industry standard.
“Money is necessary to run a business,” says Daniele, “but you don’t get it if you don’t care about your people and your clients. You have to show them respect and love instead of digging in their pockets.”
After their shared experiences, the trio strongly feel the right thing to do is to treat employees the way they deserve to be treated, with good pay, vacation time, sick leave, and Holidays – all paid because it’s earned and deserved. They also believe in allowing their groomers to set their own schedules and to select their clients. “As an employee,” says Daniele, “It’s hard to come to work every day and treat clients with love and respect when you are not receiving it from your employer. This business does not need to be rich. Priority one is treating clients and employees well.”
With that in mind, the plan is to keep the business at its current size. They don’t want to become a sweatshop – cramming is as many groomers and customers as possible. It’s not about the money. Over-crowding the salon creates chaos and stressful situations for the dogs, which customers are trying to avoid by coming to a salon like Pawsh. Still, Daniele tells us they have room for one more groomer and are seeking to hire.
Pawsh Salon for Dogs uses Chris Christensen products. After many years of trial and error, they decided that spending the extra money on high quality, show grade products was worth it. They offer grooming packages such as Bath & Brush, Touch Up, Full Groom, Puppy Bath, and Puppy Trim. They also offer nail trimming and grinding, as well as nail repair. Clients may also take advantage of a variety of different specialty shampoos and fur treatments.
Pawsh Salon for Dogs • www.Pawsh4Dogs.com • 540-997-2974
Open Monday – Friday, 8AM – 5PM • Saturday by appointment

Hello everyone!

I’m John Brill, publisher of Floyd Virginia Magazine and Radford Magazine. Gloria Daly is our Sales Representative for Vinton Magazine. We are working together to launch Vinton Magazine. We will be using the same format as Floyd Magazine, publishing twice a year with a Spring/Summer magazine and a Fall/Winter magazine. It is going be designed to celebrate the people and businesses of Vinton and to be a great read for locals and tourists alike! To see how you can support our launch call Gloria Daly at 540-355-1101 or email her at glodaly@aol.com! Follow the link to the latest issue of Floyd Magazine to get an idea of what Vinton Magazine will feel like!

http://floydvirginiamagazine.com/2021-fall-winter/