Young neighbors in historic downtown Ashland, Virginia
If you've ever pushed open a door on England Street and felt like you were walking into a hug — you already know what this is about.
There's a particular kind of magic to Ashland, Virginia. It's not something you can package or pin down easily, but you feel it the moment you step off the train, catch the smell of something baking on Railroad Avenue, and hear someone call out a greeting from across the street like they've known you for years. That magic doesn't happen by accident. It's made — every single morning — by the people who open their doors, turn on their lights, and pour everything they have into this town.
This year, Hanover County is asking us to say so officially. The Heart of Hanover Business Awards are back for their second year, and nominations opened Monday, April 13th. The contest is 100% driven by the community — no committees, no judges, no insider selections. Just neighbors recognizing neighbors, one vote at a time. You can nominate once per category per day, right up until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 26th.
The Downtown Ashland Association is proud to be a Pulse Sponsor of this year's contest — and we're here to make sure not a single deserving business gets left out. So let's take a walk through this town together, category by category, and talk about what we stand to celebrate.
🗳️ Nominations are open NOW — through Sunday, April 26 at 11:59 p.m.
📍 Nominate online: richmond.com/contests/heart-of-hanover
📋 Paper ballots: Town of Ashland front desk (121 Thompson St) or Hanover Economic Development (8200 Center Path Lane, Mechanicsville)
💡 You can nominate in each category once per day — come back daily and keep the love going!
Restaurant of the Year
Where Ashland Pulls Up a Chair
Neighbors dine in historic Downtown Ashland
Food is how this town shows love, and the proof is in the dining rooms, front porches, and lunch counters scattered across our five square miles. Andy's Restaurant & Lounge has been doing it since 1968 — the kind of place where the stool at the bar has probably held three generations of the same family. Iron Horse Restaurant turns a meal into an event, serving upscale Southern cuisine in a two-story landmark with live train views that tourists drive an hour to experience. Thompson Street Tavern has quietly become one of the most exciting new dining rooms in Central Virginia, blending seasonal ingredients with a modern take on Southern comfort that absolutely deserves a spotlight.
But the spectrum here is wonderfully wide. Ash & Olive is bringing stone-fired artisan pizza and craft cocktails to a family-friendly downtown setting. The Caboose Market & Cafe has made farm-to-table dining feel like second nature along the tracks. Jake's Place is smoking brisket and chicken on premises daily — the kind of barbecue you smell before you see. Cafe54 opens at 8 a.m. and handles breakfast like a mission. Casa Herradura's margaritas have a loyal following that borders on devotion. And Pepicellis? Laid-back, generous, and exactly the kind of neighborhood pizza spot every town deserves.
We'd be remiss not to mention Bravo Bakeshop, bringing a European-style bakery café experience to Ashland — artisan pastries, handcrafted espresso, and the kind of savory bites that make a Tuesday feel like a treat. The Henry Clay Inn offers gracious dining in a Georgian-style setting that feels like a living piece of history. And Homemades by Suzanne has been feeding Ashland from scratch — breads, boxed lunches, catering, love — for years.
Huddle Up, IL Forno, Sports Page Bar & Grill, Los Regios Tienda Latina — if you've got a table at any of these, you've already got a reason to nominate. And Farmview Creamery — a farmer-owned mobile unit serving fresh, farm-made ice cream — because some meals are just dessert, and that's perfectly fine.
Nominate now →
Retail Business of the Year
The Shops That Make Ashland Worth Wandering
You can't scroll past Ashland's retail scene — you have to walk it. And when you do, you start to understand why people drive from Richmond and beyond just to spend an afternoon on these blocks.
Wagner Jewellers has British-trained goldsmiths crafting and redesigning heirloom pieces in full view of the showroom — it's a working studio as much as a shop, and there's nothing else quite like it in this region. Center of the Yarniverse has built a genuine creative community around fiber arts — classes, expert guidance, luxurious yarns — the kind of shop people join, not just visit.
Chirp VA is one of Ashland's newest and most beloved additions, carefully curating high-quality bird feed and supplies for both seasoned birding enthusiasts and those just starting to discover the joy of backyard wildlife. Their belief that connecting with nature begins right at home is woven into everything they carry. Over on England Street, Thrill of the Hunt is one of those stores you can't rush — vintage furniture, home décor, and the full Annie Sloan Chalk Paint line in a space that feels like someone's beautifully curated home. Hickory Creek Antiques gives you 40 vendors under one roof. Caravati's Architectural Salvage has been outfitting renovators and artists since 1939.
Take Away on Hanover Ave is the beating heart of thoughtful gifting — cards that actually say something, local finds, and the kind of shopping experience that restores your faith in small retail. Tiny Tim's Toys & Trains is pure joy in a storefront: a wonderland for children and collectors alike. Miss Timmies, Crimson & Clover, refunkit, Changing Reins — each one a discovery. Ashland Meat Company at Cross Brothers has quietly become one of the best specialty grocers in central Virginia. And Ashland Feed Store, serving this community since 1918, still brings baby chicks in spring and fresh-cut trees at Christmas. Some traditions earn their place.
Service Business of the Year
The People Who Show Up When It Matters
Cara Mia Arts in historic downtown Ashland
Service businesses don't always get the fanfare — but they're the ones you remember when something goes right at exactly the moment it needed to. Ashland has an extraordinary number of them.
Cara Mia Arts started when Angelica began face painting at 13, fell in love with the way it made people smile, and never really stopped. Twenty-five years later, her daughter Alana reignited that spark, and together they built Cara Mia Arts — face and body painting that brings joy to every event it touches. Haven House Florals is already a nominated Best Florist of 2026, and if you've seen their arrangements, you understand why. Fresh flowers and boutique gifts sourced with a florist's eye and a neighbor's heart.
Foliage LLC approaches landscaping the way an artist approaches a canvas — with intention, creativity, and a genuine love for outdoor spaces. Smallwood Renovations builds decks, porches, and installs windows and siding with the kind of craftsmanship that makes a house feel more like a home.
On the legal side, Berdan Law is a boutique estate planning practice helping Central Virginia families protect what matters most through custom wills and trusts. Railside Law Group, right in the heart of Ashland, serves families navigating criminal defense, family law, and estate planning — an experienced team that doesn't shy away from going to trial when their clients need them to.
Health & Wellness Business of the Year
The People Taking Care of Our People
Your Path Counseling Center in historic Downtown Ashland
Wellness means something different to everyone. For some, it's a quiet hour on a massage table. For others, it's finally making the call that takes courage to make. Ashland has people ready to meet you at both ends of that spectrum.
Your Path Counseling Center, our Gold Sponsor and a cornerstone of this community's mental health landscape, offers in-person services in Ashland and telehealth sessions across all of Virginia — meeting people exactly where they are. Miles Counseling is led by Jenna Miles, a Licensed Professional Counselor and LPC Supervisor with a deep specialty in maternal mental health and the transition to parenthood. Her counseling style is collaborative, authentic, direct, and deeply human. She describes herself as someone who feels honored to be invited into people's stories — and her clients clearly feel that.
Thai Nail Spa offers a genuinely restorative experience — Thai-inspired nail care, foot massages, and spa packages that are a cut above the ordinary.
Revival Spa is what happens when someone builds the spa they actually wish existed. Tucked in Ashland, Revival is a cozy, community-oriented wellness space offering massage, facials, body treatments, waxing, halotherapy salt cave sessions, infrared sauna, and red light therapy— all in an environment that swapped the sterile front desk for a comfy lounge stocked with coffee, tea, and snacks where you settle in until your provider comes to get you. They support local through their products and partners, and they've built a model that makes regular self-care genuinely accessible: an $85/month membership covers a one-hour massage or facial plus 45 minutes in the sauna or red light bed. Oh, and they're the 2025 winners of the Center Street Pitch Competition — proof that Ashland already voted once. Time to vote again. 💆
Destination Business of the Year
Worth the Drive. Worth the Stay. Worth Coming Back For.
Origin Beer Lab’s Beer Garden in historic downtown Ashland , Virginia
Some businesses don't just serve the community — they become the reason people come to Ashland in the first place. They're the ones that make visitors slow down, look around, and think: I could spend a whole day here.
Origin Beer Lab, the sister operation of the beloved Center of the Universe Brewing Company, was built for research, development, and the teaching of all things beer. It's where the craft gets deeper and the curiosity never stops. Meadowgate Alpacas is tucked into 10 peaceful acres in nearby Beaverdam and offers a different kind of destination entirely. Surrounded by forest and the Newfound River, Stephen and Nicole Phillips have created a place where visitors can slow down, reconnect, and meet some of the most gentle, soulful animals you’ll ever encounter.
Manufacturer of the Year
Made by Hand, Made in Hanover
At the heart of C'vrd-N-Dust Woodworking is a Gaelic phrase: Chun gra' adhmaid. For the love of the wood. Owner and retired veteran has built a practice around seeing the life in a piece of lumber before the first cut is ever made — conceiving each piece whole, then bringing it out. The furniture and craftsmanship that come out of this shop carry that intention into every home they enter. If you know a manufacturer, a maker, or a producer doing extraordinary work in Hanover County, this category is their moment — and C'vrd-N-Dust is a more-than-worthy place to start.
Nonprofit Organization of the Year
The Organizations Holding This Community Together
Historic Hanover Arts and Activities Center
If restaurants are the soul of Ashland and retailers are its personality, the nonprofits are its backbone — the organizations doing the quiet, essential, often undersung work of making sure no one gets left behind.
ACES — Ashland Christian Emergency Services is an all-volunteer operation supported entirely by churches, civic groups, schools, and community members across central Hanover County. They provide food, clothing, household essentials, and limited financial support to neighbors in need. No salary line. No overhead bloat. Just volunteers showing up because someone has to.
Hanover Safe Place works to prevent sexual and domestic violence, provides direct services to those affected, and builds community awareness around support and resources. This is the work that doesn't make for easy conversation — and that's exactly why it matters so much to say it plainly: they deserve recognition.
The Arc of Hanover is the leading advocacy, service, and awareness organization for citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Hanover County. For decades, they have fought to ensure that every person in this community has access to the resources, dignity, and support they deserve.
Divine Assist is guided by faith and community, empowering youth to overcome challenges and embrace their God-given potential. In a world that often forgets about young people until they're in crisis, Divine Assist is showing up early, showing up consistently, and showing up with love.
Hanover Arts and Activities Center has spent more than 50 years living up to its self-described mission of being the "Center" of the Center of the Universe — located right on the railroad tracks, dedicated to enriching this community through cultural, educational, and civic programming. If you've brought your child to a performance here, taken a class, or attended an exhibit, you know what this place means.
And finally — a small admission of bias — the Downtown Ashland Association is on this list too. We are organizers, fundraisers, and small-town cheerleaders. We are artists and farmers, government leaders and business owners, parents and grandparents. We harness the power of this community to build a stronger future for everyone in it. We think that's worth nominating — but more importantly, we think every organization on this list is.
Nominations close April 26 at 11:59 p.m. 🗳️
Every nomination is a vote of confidence. Every day you come back and nominate again is a signal that this town pays attention to the people who serve it. You can nominate once per category per day — so don't wait, and don't do it just once.
Questions? Contact Ann Glave, Existing Business and Project Manager, Hanover County Economic Development — agglave@hanovervirginia.com or (804) 365-6459.
Proudly brought to you by the Downtown Ashland Association, Pulse Sponsor of the 2026 Heart of Hanover Business Awards Contest. Special thanks to our sponsors: Your Path Counseling Center (Gold) · Cara Mia Arts, Haven House Florals, Berdan Law, Farmview Creamery, Miles Counseling, Smallwood Renovations, Pepicellis, Oaks Church, Railside Law (Silver) · Foliage LLC, Chirp VA, Bravo Bakeshop (Bronze)