Lori shares her story and inspires others through the written word. She loves chai tea and mountain sunrises with her son and is heavily influenced by the beauty and wholesomeness of nature. She invites you to meet the author at “Christmas at the Depot” on December 3rd along with other artists, Red Wing Academy, and Santa!
Broken Crayons Still Color: Life Afteris the first book by Author, Lori Mier. She is also the author of Merin and Her Very Bright Star: A story of resiliency, a children’s book that was deeply inspired by Lori’s own story of loss and healing. This book has been reviewed in the Citizen and praised as an excellent source for children to understand resiliency. She uses her story to inspire and nurture a love of reading. She has a degree in Social Work and currently works independently as an Ecotherapist Guide, Life Coach, and nature photographer, combining all of these to offer a unique and healing experience. Her healing nature photography has been published on the cover of AT Journeys magazine as well as in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine and local travel brochures. Lori lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with her husband and son, working to make her community a better place through her writing and photography.
Today we will be discussing a favorite small business Restless Moons! Restless Moons is a one-of-a-kind brewery that opened in February of 2018, located in downtown Harrisonburg. Customers often come for the limited edition experimental brews and stay for the exceptional staff. The bartenders that work at Restless Moons make an effort to not only be friendly with customers but to build friendships beyond the bar. Aside from the people who work to keep this brewery running smoothly, the location itself provides a cozy open atmosphere, with floor-to-ceiling windows and an open backyard (now featuring igloos!).
Aside from the inviting people and atmosphere, the hand-crafted beers are something to rave about. This dream has been in the making since almost 2008 and began with an at-home beer kit and a creative brewer. Their team also features custom flavors that have been inspired by their own family members and life events/occasions. You have to be sure to keep an eye on the rotation because as soon as these experimental brews are here they’re gone and replaced with a whole new batch of flavors!
You can learn more about the history of Restless Moons here, and keep up with what they have on tap.
Another day of highlighting some of our favorite small businesses, and today Deborah Smith chose to talk bout Boboko! Boboko Indonesian Cafe serves Indonesian food with a twist of Southeast Asian spices, they pride themselves on providing several delicious vegetarian and vegan options! So of course it is no surprise why it is Deborah’s (the office vegetarian) favorite! But you don’t need to be a vegan to enjoy these delicious dishes, omnivores alike can find plenty of options.
Boboko is also a favorite small business because of their unique dishes, some of Deborah’s favorites being the fried noodles and spring rolls. We of course couldn’t write a blog about Boboko without mentioning their life-changing macaroons, with several different flavor combinations and the perfect crunchy shell it is no surprise that they have become our office go-to for this french pastry. Aside from having amazing dishes and pastries, they make every customer feel at home with their welcoming staff and cozy environment.
Another bonus point to add to the long list of factors that make Boboko amazing is their food blog, Rice and Coconut, which explores several different unique recipes from spiced sesame salmon to Nutella sponge cake roll. These recipes are not only delicious but incredibly helpful for breaking down complex dishes such as macarons and cream puffs.
As a small business owner myself, I can tell you, these last 2 years have been tough. We have faced unprecedented challenges from people objecting to doing simple practices to keep us safe to figuring out how to work remotely. We have adapted, changed, pivoted, and transformed to survive. In an effort to celebrate the other businesses in our community that has faced these same challenges over the last 2 years, our team wanted to celebrate some of our favorites in Harrisonburg.
There are so many businesses in our community that I love that are owned by our neighbors and friends and they all deserve to be highlighted and supported. However, I need to pick just one for this post. I picked Rocktown Kitchen to highlight for my small business because Mira and Kristo are amazing owners, community members, and hosts. With their restaurant’s proximity to my office, I frequent them for business lunches and often will send clients to see them. Recently I sent clients over for a late lunch, not knowing the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner, and as first-time visitors, my clients were welcomed in and the kitchen was reopened to serve them. Each time I visit Mira, Kristo, Anya, and their staff I always feel welcome and enjoy incredible food and the best service anywhere.
I asked Mira about doing a post to celebrate Rocktown Kitchen and she asked me to mention Wine Down Wednesday. These special nights each week features selected wines for 1/2 off and even some for $15. While wine is not my thing, I can tell you that the wedge salad with salmon is the best I have ever had and the fried chicken sandwich is my go-to staple. In fact, I have never had a less than awesome meal at Rocktown. As a former line cook, while I was at the University of Virginia, I know how challenging it is to keep a restaurant viable, and with these difficult times, the challenge is even greater. I encourage you to visit, parking is easy across the street in the Farmer’s Market parking lot and there is outside seating for warm days and fresh air. Please tell Mira and Anya that I sent you.
It is that time of year again and we could not be more thrilled for the 2021 Rocktown Turkey Trot! The signup deadline for this race is November 15th for a guaranteed shirt, but online sign-up closes on November 23rd at 12:00 pm. You don’t need to be a seasoned marathon runner to participate in this event! Racers are welcome to run, walk or jog, in the Rocktown Turkey Trot and pumpkin pie cups will even be provided along the way! This event is not only an excellent opportunity for the community to come together, but also a great way to support the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank! The race will begin promptly at 8:30 am after the mayor pardons the Turkey Trot Turkey (yes you read that correctly).
You can also sign up your kids for the children’s dash that starts at 8:00 am, a great way to wear them out before Thanksgiving dinner! Our very own Charles Hendricks will be participating in this year’s dash and we hope to see some familiar faces out and about this year to support their community and enjoy getting back to being together!
Signing up for this event is not just fun, VA Momentum that organizing countless events is a local company that needs your support as we continue to figure out how to navigate the pandemic. Alan and Kevin have worked hard to keep their events safe and evolve and change to survive.
