The story below is a preview from our March/April 2018 issue. For the full story Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Nestled in the cozy town of Bedford, visitors can enjoy vintage shopping, local artwork, live music and more.
Anne Sampson
You’ll find the best trends for small towns right in Bedford, Virginia.
Venerable department stores are filled with the best in vintage, kitsch and valuable antiques. Shops like Sister to Sister, Bell’s Treasures, Dirt Road Treasures and Needful Things entice shoppers with our cultural history.
The arts also revive old buildings. The Electric Company (yes, it’s the electric company building) features artists in every media in a meandering exhibit/studio/retail space. The Bower Center for the Arts, once St. John’s Episcopal Church, is home to shows, classes, resident artists and concerts.
For lunch, cross the street for fresh, vegetarian-friendly Mexican food at Azul, a reclaimed gas station. Visit Town Kitchen, with tables scattered through the rooms of a renovated house, for to-die-for sandwiches, or The Blue Lady, where you’ll dine among flowers and giftware. Be sure to walk the labyrinth at The Labyrinth Spa next door.
I grabbed lunch at Happy Coffee/Tap 201. A mocha and chicken salad with a little heat were good and inexpensive and the vibe is upbeat and handcrafted, with pallet-wood walls, a penny-covered counter and ground coffee jewelry. A rotating selection of craft beers and live music make it a happening place.
If you stay for the evening, you might catch one of the excellent concerts staged by the Friends of the Bedford Library. Before the concert, try a flight of beers at Beale’s Brewery, with smoked meats, barbeque and buttermilk mac-and-cheese, located in a revitalized industrial building.
In a county known for buried treasure, Bedford provides plenty of glitter without the need to dig.
... for the rest of this story and more from our March/April 2018 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!