13 Things Virginians Are Fiercely Loyal to That People in Other States Have Never Heard Of

The state motto is “Virginia is for Lovers,” but the real motto might as well be “Virginia is for People Who Argue About Brunswick Stew.”

Every region in the Commonwealth has its own list of fiercely defended local treasures, from a wild pony swim on the Eastern Shore to a cider barn in Nellysford.

These are some things Virginians are fiercely loyal to that other Americans have never heard of.

1. Sweet Frog Frozen Yogurt

Sweet Frog launched in Richmond in 2009 and became a Virginia obsession within a year.

Founder Derek Cha opened the first store in the Short Pump area of Richmond, then expanded along West Cary Street and across the state.

The chain grew to 340+ locations worldwide before MTY Food Group acquired it in 2018, but every Virginian still considers it a hometown brand.

The self-serve setup with the pay-by-weight model felt revolutionary in 2009.

Virginians taught their kids to navigate the toppings bar like a rite of passage.

2. Sally Bell’s Kitchen Boxed Lunches

Sally Bell’s opened in 1924 on West Grace Street in Richmond, four years after women won the right to vote.

Sarah “Sallie” Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton started the place selling condiments to local grocers.

The boxed lunch came later: a sandwich, a deviled egg half, a cup of potato salad, a cheese wafer, and a cupcake flipped icing-side-down on the wax paper.

Yes, icing-side-down. That’s how Sally Bell’s has packed it for 100 years.

Richmonders eat lunch and then eat the icing off the paper at the end like dessert.

The James Beard Award-winning restaurant moved to 2337 W. Broad St. in 2016.

Cupcake flavors run from chocolate with devil’s food to lemon-filled, caramel, and crushed almond.

3. Texas Tavern in Roanoke

Texas Tavern isn’t in Texas and isn’t really a tavern.

The 10-stool diner at 114 W. Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke opened on Friday, February 13, 1930. Founder Nick Bullington picked up the chili recipe at a San Antonio hotel while working for the Ringling Brothers Circus.

The Bullington family runs it today in the fourth generation.

The “Cheesy Western” is the signature: cheeseburger with onions, relish, and a fried egg. The chili comes “with” (onions) or “without.”

Order a hot dog “walking,” and they’ll bag it to go.

Open 24 hours, 363.5 days a year. Cash only. The motto is “We serve a thousand people, ten at a time.”

Roanokers call it “The Tavern” and use it as the universal meet-up spot at 3 a.m.

4. Bold Rock Hard Cider

Bold Rock launched in June 2012 in the rural hamlet of Nellysford, in Nelson County between Charlottesville and Wintergreen.

Founders John Washburn (a Virginia farm owner) and Brian Shanks (a New Zealand cider expert) built the first cider barn along Route 151, the craft beverage corridor.

The “Chapel of Apple,” a timber-frame barn overlooking the Rockfish River, became the headquarters.

The brand grew to 2nd best-selling cider in the United States.

Virginians drink it at tailgates, weddings, and dock parties. The taproom packs out every weekend during apple season at nearby Carter Mountain Orchard outside Charlottesville.

5. Hubs Peanuts From Sedley

Hubs Peanuts, made by the Hubbard Peanut Company, come out of the tiny crossroads village of Sedley, Virginia, about an hour from Virginia Beach.

Dot and HJ Hubbard launched the company in 1954 from their kitchen.

Dot hand-skinned every peanut at first, then her husband helped design equipment to keep up with demand.

The Hubbards specified “Super Extra Large” Virginia peanuts, which became an unofficial USDA grading standard.

The peanuts still cook in Sedley, in the same house where the company started. Dot’s daughter, Lynne Rabil, runs it as CEO.

Virginians ship tins of Hubs to friends and family across the country as the official Virginia gift.

Receiving a red Hubs tin at Christmas in another state outs you immediately as a Virginia transplant.

6. Brunswick Stew

Brunswick County, Virginia, and Brunswick, Georgia, have argued for over a century about who invented Brunswick stew.

The Virginia version claims an older origin.

Local historians trace the dish to 1828 on a hunting expedition led by Dr. Creed Haskins, a member of the Virginia State Legislature.

His camp cook, Jimmy Matthews, simmered squirrel with butter, onions, stale bread, and seasoning over a wood fire.

Georgia’s claim dates to 1898, seventy years later.

The Virginia General Assembly officially proclaimed Brunswick County, Virginia as the origin on February 22, 1988.

The county hosts the annual Taste of Brunswick Festival every fall, where teams of Stewmasters compete for the county title.

The Virginia version uses chicken now, plus butterbeans, corn, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes. The stew isn’t done until the paddle stands straight up in the pot.

7. Crozet Pizza

National Geographic named Crozet Pizza the best pizza in the world.

But most people outside of Virginia have never heard of it.

Bob and Karen Crum opened the place in 1977 in Crozet, a small town about 15 minutes from Charlottesville. The first restaurant had five tables, all hand-built by Bob.

Karen perfected the dough recipe before opening, and it hasn’t changed since.

Bob handmade every pizza himself for 31 years. Daughter Colleen and husband Mike Alexander took over in 2002.

A second location, Crozet Pizza at Buddhist Biker Bar, opened on the UVA Corner in 2014.

The original at 5794 Three Notched Road has well-worn wooden booths, a bulletin board of customers wearing Crozet T-shirts from around the world (including outer space), and a whiskey selection bigger than the wine list.

8. Ukrop’s Bakery (Especially the Rainbow Cookies)

Ukrop’s Super Markets ran Richmond grocery shopping from 1937 to 2010.

Joseph Ukrop founded the family chain, which grew to 25+ stores around Richmond.

The stores stayed closed on Sundays and never sold alcohol, which limited revenue but earned fierce customer loyalty. The Monument Avenue 10K, run every spring on Richmond’s tree-lined boulevard, started as a Ukrop’s event.

Giant-Carlisle bought the grocery chain in 2010 and rebranded the stores as Martin’s.

But the Ukrop family kept the bakery operation, and Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods still produces baked goods sold across the region.

The rainbow cookies, White House Rolls, and signature decorated cakes show up at every Richmond birthday party, baby shower, and holiday spread.

9. The Chincoteague Pony Swim

Every July, the wild ponies of Assateague Island swim across the Assateague Channel to Chincoteague Island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company has organized the swim since 1925.

“Saltwater cowboys” round up the herd on Assateague, swim them across at slack tide, and parade them along Ridge Road to the carnival grounds.

The pony auction the next day raises money for the fire company and controls the herd size.

Marguerite Henry wrote the 1947 children’s book “Misty of Chincoteague” about a foal sold at the auction, which made the swim a bit more well-known.

About 40,000 spectators show up every year, jamming the small island town for a week.

10. The Foxfield Races

Foxfield Spring Races take place every April outside Charlottesville, and the event has been a UVA tradition since 1978.

The steeplechase races run on a 179-acre course in Albemarle County, about eight miles northwest of UVA Grounds.

Mariann de Tejeda purchased the property in 1977 and built the course, which had previously served as Wood Field, Central Virginia’s first commercial airfield, from 1929 to 1933.

Students dress up like they’re going to the Kentucky Derby. Sundresses, seersucker suits, big hats, and bourbon punch are the day’s required uniform.

Tailgates run for hours before and after the actual horse racing.

Foxfield has produced legendary stories about UVA undergraduates drinking too much in the spring sun.

The university has tightened the rules over the years, but the tradition holds.

11. The Tangier Island Accent

Tangier Island sits in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, accessible only by boat, with a population of fewer than 400 people.

The islanders speak with a distinctive accent that linguists have studied for decades.

Some researchers believe it preserves traces of Elizabethan English spoken by the original English settlers who arrived in the 1600s.

Either way, the accent sounds nothing like Virginia mainland speech.

Tangier residents make their living from blue crab fishing.

The island has one school, no liquor sales, no fast food, and golf carts in place of cars.

12. Calling Virginia “the Commonwealth”

Virginia is technically a commonwealth, not a state. Virginians use the term.

Four U.S. states officially carry the “commonwealth” designation: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Kentucky.

Only Virginians make a habit of using it in everyday conversation.

“Across the Commonwealth,” “the Commonwealth of Virginia,” “Commonwealth’s Attorney” instead of “District Attorney.”

The term dates to the Virginia Constitution of 1776 and reflects the idea of a government founded on the common consent of the people.

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Kentucky picked up the same terminology, but those states use “state” most of the time.

Virginians don’t.

13. Smithfield Ham

Smithfield ham comes from Smithfield, Virginia, a tiny town on the Pagan River across from Newport News.

The town has produced cured country ham since the 1700s, and Virginia law has tightly defined which hams can carry the “Smithfield ham” name for over a century.

The 1926 Virginia statute, still in effect, requires every “Genuine Smithfield Ham” to spend at least six months curing under the long-cure, dry salt method, with all processing, smoking, aging, and curing happening within the corporate limits of the town of Smithfield.

The resulting ham is extremely salty, dense, and intensely flavored.

Virginians soak it overnight before cooking, slice it paper-thin, and serve it on small biscuits at weddings, Christmas dinners, and Easter brunches.