We recently asked downtown resident and community member, Walter Virgil, Jr. to take us along with him (figuratively) for a day in Downtown Lynchburg. This busy man never stops - breakfast and lunch, business calls and outdoor recreation, professional meetings and personal purchases - you might be surprised how much can be achieved in our city center.

Walter was armed with some Downtown Lynchburg Gift Cards, and with over 30 participating businesses, he had plenty of options on which locally-owned small businesses to support."

Note: Not every business he stopped at accepts the Downtown Lynchburg Gift Card…but we’re working on it. We’ll let you know who’s on the program by marking them** and you can check out the list of participating businesses by clicking here.

Check out his day ⇩⇩

Who is Walter Virgil, Jr?

I am commonly asked the question, “what is it that you do?” Well… I serve as:

VP of Business Development at Evolving Solution Services (staffing, recruiting, HR and IT services)

CEO of Get Fresh and Live, a non-profit initiative pro-actively attacking mass incarnation rates through programming geared to cultivating healthy self perception within at risk young men

Owner of Walter Virgil and Associates LLC rendering consultation from community development, diversity equity inclusion education and crisis management while representing executive men’s fashion brands.
Community Liaison for Bishop S.Y. Younger, The Ramp Church International
Active Board member: Centra, Community Benefits Board, Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra Executive Board

I’m blessed to be invited to be a part of a number of projects and endeavors that grant me the opportunity to connect with some of the most amazing people in the City of Lynchburg.

I’m really excited about having you guys with me for the day. I’ll be taking you to some of my favorite places to eat, work and play. Special thanks to Downtown Lynchburg Association for sponsoring a fairly average day of activity with their Downtown Lynchburg Gift Card. Let’s get to it!

I had to start the day with a good home-cooked breakfast, and I couldn’t think of a better spot than Barb’s Dreamhut located in the Lynchburg Community Market. I LOVE Ms. Barb’s because the food is amazing and reminds me of my late Momo (grandmother) Matti Virgil’s cooking. The smells alone are nostalgic, but what seals the deal for me is when I get to the window and it’s her, "Ms. Barb," ready to take care of me. She has a way of making you feel like you’re one of her own. She doesn’t just take your order, but if you decide to eat-in within the market, she’ll bring it to your table insuring that you have all of the condiments and napkins you need. Sweet woman and delicious food cooked. No better way to start the day.

While I was waiting for my food I made my way over to Oshun Organics** (which is in the Market as well), and checked out Karrye’s all-natural products. It’s not hard to find her. Just take a deep breath and follow the beautiful aromatic scents of Lavender Sage, Turkish Rose and Orange Patchouli Vanilla. The scrub demo was great. The soaps, oils, and body butters where fantastic. Check them out when you get a chance. You can even buy online for free local pick-up.

Unfortunately, by the time I took my first few bites I received my initial thread of calls for the day and I had to box up my breakfast.

Prior to heading into Ms. Barb’s, I ran into Andy Young of Mass Mutual Wyndhurst and my fellow Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance Bro. He told me that there was a ribbon cutting going, so I decided to crash it! While leaving the Market I handed my box to my photographer for the day, Derrick Hairston and told him to meet me at the Dot Drives office on Jefferson street. I had to free up my hands because I’ve been obsessed with the Bird scooters downtown. I uploaded the app and hit the streets as fast as the scooter could take me (16mph). Lol.

I pulled up to the Dot Drives office (donor engagment software for non-profits) on Jefferson just to find out that it was in the same building as Bikes Unlimited. The moment I stepped into the door I was greeted by the man himself, Sal Ferlise.

Heath Barret from the Alliance had the scissors out; it was apparent that I made it just in time for the picture and the cut.

While there I saw a lot of my friends and met some new ones. I met Ben and the Knapsack crew, I learned how they’re making amazing Squarespace websites for companies both big and small all over the country from their office space right here in the Hill City. As I looked down at my watch, I realized that I had to get to my office to respond to some emails and prep for a zoom consultation.

While heading outside, I decided to jump back on my scooter and fly to my office at 801 Church Street.

While pulling up I had to admire the awesome work that Daryl & Johanna Calfee and their Penny Lane Properties crew did on the 801 Church location. The beginning of December, Evolving Solution Services made this beautiful place our new home. It’s SUPER cool that we’re now next door neighbors to one of our clients, the City of Lynchburg. We provide staffing services to both the Water Department and Public Works. We’re very proud of the many people we’ve been able to put to work at a living wage.

As I wrapped up my consultation, I got a call from my gorgeous fiancée, Kristal Knowles.

She was at the YWCA Church Street Bridal** finalizing her choice. I’m so happy her search is now over. Of course I don’t have a clue what this dress looks like, but I’m confident that Kristal picked something GREAT with the help of Rachel Cantu and the rest of her team. Kristal told me that Rachel was patient and such a joy to work with. We’re blessed to know that the proceeds of this dress will go into programming, resources and shelter to women who survived domestic violence through the YWCA of Central Virginia. Please learn more about this program and support.

By this time, we were ready for something to eat. We decided to meet up at The White Hart Cafe**, one of my favorite spots for coffee meetings in the city. The White Hart Cafe has become a legitimate watering hole. On any given day you can see people from all walks of life there. Anyone from City officials, professors, executives, college students and various members of our community that may be going through a tough time all having a cup of coffee together. The coffee is great and the food is exceptional as well. I’ve had everything on the menu and I can testify that you cannot go wrong. I promise I’m not saying this because one of the owners, " Vic Stanley," is my Good Brother. This was my spot before he bought it! Lol

I was excited about having lunch with Kristal especially because we had a special guest, DJ!!

DJ is Kristal’s brilliant 5 year old son and I get the honor of being his stepdad and teaching him what honorable manhood denotes and requires.

We enjoyed our lunch and decided to go to Percival’s Island. I thought, “if we’re going to Percival’s island we might as well rent some bikes.” While we had lunch I talked about how cool the Bird scooters were and immediately DJ told me that he wanted to try it. I promised him we’d ride one down to Bikes Unlimited.

Once we arrived to Bike’s Unlimited we were welcomed by Ben. Ben was super helpful. He guided us through the online registration and waiver for rental. It was very easy and before you knew it we had our bikes rolling.

The rain cut our bike ride short, so we decided to head back to our new home and take some couple photos with the great Derrick Hairston.

Special shootout to the Downtown Lynchburg Association for giving me this opportunity to share a little about myself, my family and a few of my favorite things to do downtown. Wishing everyone Happy Holidays.