The Charlottesville 29

​The lot at the corner of Charlottesville’s Water Street and 2nd Street SW is hallowed ground, home to legends like Mono Loco and Umma’s. The mom and pop behind Popitos, Lauren and Ray Zayas, have the passion to do it justice.

Popitos was originally a passion project for the Zayas — a mobile pizza business they launched during the pandemic to make some money by selling the pizzas they loved at vineyards and other outdoor locations. It was so successful that, in 2022, they launched a brick-and-mortar in Rio Hill, serving their signature pizza every day. On the strength of success there, they are expanding yet again. While the Rio Hill location was the former location of the iconic Brick Oven, their downtown home at 200 W. Water St. also has a history.

For the new location, in addition to their signature Neapolitan/American hybrid style, they’ve added three new pizza types to the menu. The “Traditional” is a reminder of how few Charllottesville pizzerias serve the classic American-Italian pizza parlor style. Hand-stretched, round, with a balanced crisp and chew, it’s a spot-on rendition for family pizza night. The Sicilian Square is a thick, pan-baked pizza, made from dough pressed out daily by hand, and then rested for 4-6 hours to rise.

Traditional pepperoni and Sicilian Square cheese

And then there’s Grandma pizza. A style made popular in Long Island, named for Italian immigrants who would make it in their own kitchen, it uses the same dough as the Sicilian, again pressed out daily by hand into a rectangle, but baked right away, yielding a more delicate crunch.

Popitos is open daily except Tuesdays from 12 pm – 8 pm. Hours extended to 9:30 pm Friday and Saturday. Follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

One of my favorite childhood treats was ice cream after the doctor’s office. For major visits – like stitches – I’d be allowed to order anything I wanted. Instead of the usual single scoop, everything was fair game.

Ever since, ice cream and the doctor’s office have just gone together. Which makes the second location of Charlottesville ice cream parlor SugarBear so ideal. It’s at 2405 Ivy Road, beside Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville. Nervous children getting shots may soon associate ice cream and doctors’ visits, just as I always have. It’s a match made in heaven.

This is a pattern for SugarBear, as its first location in the happiness hub with Hogwaller and Rivanna River Company, was also a match made in heaven.

SugarBear is the brainchild of ice cream school graduate Emily Harpster, whose inspiration is to use Charlottesville ingredients to tell stories through ice cream. While her initial plan was a wholesale business, she opened a parlor in 2024 to spread some happiness, and now has the bug to spread more. “It turns out that the art of conjuring something from nothing is addictive, and I’d like to give it another go,” said Harpster.

Why this space and time? As for the space, anchored by a brewery, the location is like another little happiness hub west of town, with Selvedge Brewing, Bellair Market, and Charlottesville Center for the Arts. And the space itself provides a new creative outlet for Harpster, with something her first location lacks: indoor seating. “We love creativity, and this will push us in a different direction design-wise from ice cream garden to ice cream greenhouse — light, bright, and full of life and sweet things,” said Harpster. Architect Stephanie Williams and builder Sanger Carpentry – the duo behind places like Hogwaller, Lampo, and Cafe Frank – will make that vision a reality.

As for the timing, a new year brings new chapters and resolution, Harpster says. “Resolution to learn, to make it work, to make it all count, to honor people, and to try and create the kind of place that enables people to spend a little good time together, which is the thing that truly counts.”

The heart of SugarBear is community collaboration, and SugarBear fans can expect the same great flavors as the original location – Wild Woman Whiskey, Dreamsicle, Girl Power, Golden Milk, Maple Pecan, etc. – plus whatever creations 2026 brings. Sounds better than my triple scoop of pink bubblegum at the Baskin-Robbins on Elm Street.

Follow along on SugarBear’s Instagram page, for the latest.

Good news: Charlottesville has a legit Harold’s. Bad news: they’re moving.

In Chicago, where the legendary chicken franchise began, quality can vary from one location to the next. The variance stems from the hands-off approach of founder Harold Pierce, who launched the first Harold’s Chicken Shack in 1950, before franchising to family and friends. Franchisees have since grown beyond that intimate group, and unlike a chain, the locations are independently owned, so, while menus are consistent, quality and procedures may vary. North Side Chicago residents have been known to travel all the way to the South Side for their favorite Harold’s, passing a dozen others on the way.

Pierce died in 1988, and Harolds Chicken Corp. is run by his children, Kristen and J.R., who are prioritizing consistency across franchise locations, which now span eight states. But, nowhere is Harold’s more beloved than Chicago. As Pierce expanded Harold’s, the transplant from Alabama to racially tense Chicago didn’t risk opening in White neighborhoods. “They’d kick my ass out,” Pierce said. Instead, it became a fixture of the Black community and part of its culture, celebrated by musicians like Common, Kanye, Rhymefest, Chance the Rapper, and Kendrick Lamar. “Everything about Harold’s is Black, and everything about Harold’s is really Chicago,” said culture scholar Arionne Nettles. “It’s like the best of both worlds for someone who has that specific identity.”

Harold’s Comes to Virginia

Harold’s would not be so famous if not for the food. People swoon. Serious Eats calls it the best fried chicken on Earth. Pierce’s original focus was sourcing and cooking to order. Despite the basic, order-at-the-counter setting, this is not fast food. It takes at least 14 minutes to fry Harold’s chicken, but they say it’s worth the wait. While wings (“fried hard”) may be Harold’s signature, some swear by the other fried chicken pieces and fish. “Mild sauce” is the franchise’s signature sauce, like a combination of barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and ketchup. Some regulars slather it on everything.

If Chicagoans sneer at a Harold’s on the next block, imagine what they might think of one in a strip mall in central Virginia. Is Charlottesville’s Harold’s any good?

In a word, yes. A Charlottesville native with Chicago roots runs the kitchen, and it shows. Though I don’t have the experience of comedian Larry Legend, who has ranked Chicago’s Harold’s, I find the chicken at Charlottesville’s Harold’s to be outstanding. Crispy, juicy, flavorful, and nearly impossible to stop eating. And yes, worth the wait.

Unfortunately, we’ve got just a few more days to enjoy it. The Charlottesville Harold’s is moving to Richmond, and will end Charlottesville operations in January. Even after the move, though, you can still get your fix, as Harold’s plans to maintain a Charlottesville presence via a food truck and catering. Follow along on their website and Facebook page for the latest.