Batesville Store is Closed

Update 13 June – Perhaps the best explanation comes from a Newsplex comment:

If you take time to read the letter provided by the Batesville Store to its clients, which is linked in the story, the reason for closing is clearly explained. They had been operating as a country store and were under the governance of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However, it was determined that the store did too much business to remain a country store. The only option available was for them to become a restaurant and to comply with all Virginia Health Department regulations. The owners state in their letter that the requiremetn (sic)to operate as a restaurant was not viable for many reasons.

Update 12 June: See the bottom of this post for new from the Batesville Store that they are closing. For good. Surely the State could find a way to make this work for the good of the Batesville community.

Update 12 June #2 – cvillenews has more insight.

Update 11 June: The Newsplex reports:

A store employee told CBS19 that the reason behind the shutdown wasn’t a health issue, but a safety issue. He says the store had exceeded their seating capacity.

A country store is allowed to have 15 total seats by law, but The Batesville Store has over 40. The employee was frustrated saying that the Health Department hadn’t given them a warning.

Surely someone in Batesville can shed some light on this. The Batesville Store is fantastic – the food, ambiance, smells, location, beer, music … it would be a tremendous shame if it were to be shut down by the State of Virginia.

Just received via email …

Dear Friends of The Batesville Store,

I have some sad news:

The Batesville Store is closed until further notice.

Earlier today two representatives from the state of Virginia showed up at the store without warning, informed us that we were not in compliance with certain state regulations, and basically gave us no choice except to close immediately.This came as a complete shock to Liza and me. We believed that we had been operating in compliance with all state regulations since we opened in April of 2007, and we received no indication otherwise from anyone representing the state.

In fact, we have been inspected regularly by Warren Ollinger, the representative from the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services who is responsible for inspecting the store, and he has always given us favorable reports on our operation. He never suggested in any way that we would encounter what happened today. The two representatives who showed up this afternoon told us that Mr. Ollinger initiated the complaint and the subsequent review that led to the decision to close us down.

Liza and I intend to explore this matter further. I will let you know by email about any important developments.

We cannot find words to thank you properly for your support for our humble establishment. So I hope a simple “thank you” will suffice for now.

Fondly,

Cid

Update 11 June 2011: From the Batesville Store:

MORE DETAILS ON THE CLOSING OF

THE BATESVILLE STORE

AND

HUGE BLOWOUT SALE BEGINS

SUNDAY, JUNE 12

NOON – 7:00 P.M.

Dear Fans of The Batesville Store,

As you know from yesterday’s email, the state has given us no option except to close The Batesville Store.

For the past five years, we’ve attempted to serve the community by keeping this classic, historic country store alive and thriving.Ironically, our success has proven to be our undoing.

Although we have always operated with an eye toward Virginia State Health Department guidelines (and have never been cited for a health code violation of any kind), we were in fact defined by the state as a country store and thus fell under the governance of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We were regularly inspected by the Ag Department and were never informed of any significant problems with our operations.

However, the state representatives who suddenly appeared yesterday afternoon and shut us down without warning told us that it was decided (note the passive voice, please) that we do too much business to remain a country store. They went on to say that our only option for remaining open was to convert the store into a restaurant that would comply with all Virginia Health Department regulations.

Our kitchen is basically in compliance with Health Department regulations now. But the legalities of the store’s historic status as well as the limitations of the building itself make it impossible for us to meet the state’s other requirements for operating a restaurant.

We would have to make a host of changes in the facility to stay open legally, but because of a combination of the law and practical realities, we cannot make those changes.

So much to our regret, we are closing The Batesville Store . . .

AND SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS WITH A HUGE BLOWOUT SALE – TAKEAWAY ONLY (NO TABLE SERVICE)

The sale begins tomorrow–Sunday. We will open at noon and close at 7:00 p.m.

EVERYTHING EXCEPT BEER AND WINE IS 50% OFF THE STICKER PRICE

BEER AND WINE . . . BUY ONE, GET ONE OF EQUAL VALUE FOR 50% OFF

When we say “everything,” we mean EVERYTHING.

Everything from the deli and bakery. All of our drinks. All of our groceries. All of our baking and cooking supplies. All of our serving dishes and plastic products and cooking equipment. All of our tables and chairs. All of our baskets. All of our t-shirts and caps.

WE WILL ALSO BE OPEN MONDAY AND TUESDAY NEXT WEEK (OR UNTIL EVERYTHING GOES) FROM NOON UNTIL 7:00 P.M.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET
BATESVILLE STORE FOOD OR
A MOMENTO OF WHAT WAS GENERALLY REGARDED AS THE FINEST COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT IN ALL OF BATESVILLE

Thank you once again for your ridiculously wonderful support since we opened in 2007.

Fondly,

Cid and Liza

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

12 Replies to “Batesville Store is Closed”

  1. The whole store is closed or just the prepared food section?  And what regulations were they not in compliance with?  Smells fishy.

    1. Could have nothing to do with any health issues.  Mis-handling sales
      taxes is a good way of going out of business in Virginia for example.

  2.  I too love the Batesville Store, but I knew it was a matter of time before it got busted by the State for requiring people to take used plates through the buffet line, rather than requiring a fresh plate with each visit.  That has been a state law for at least 20 years, so how the Batesville Store didn’t know about it, is a surprise to me.  The first time we ate there, we threw away our plates and requested a new one to go through the buffet again.  We were shocked when the owner told us that we weren’t supposed to get a fresh plate each time.  I hope the Batesville Store gets up to code soon and doesn’t remain shut down for too long because it is such a fun place to eat.

    1. Exactly, they played the game, got caught. At least they have enough integrity to just go away. The same laws actually protect areas. Would
      you want Restore N Station turned into a buffet with live music on a
      gas station/store permit??

  3. who knows why? taxes maybe? I certainly know that the store would have a seating limitation. such limitation is not enforced by the Dept of Argriculture is it? Occupancy limitation is a building code violation. the store may have never been examined for seating capacity when it was taken over by Cid and Liza. But the tax angle may also play a part??

  4. Very sad, it is by far the nicest and funnest destination for lovers of good live music and food. There is no comparison anywhere around here, not even in Crozet. The speculations below in the thread are basesless, and insinuating that Cid and Liza are tax cheats is nothing but insulting. Taxes have nothing to do with state regulations and compliance.

  5. This is unacceptable.

    Where’s our Delegate and State Senator?  Hanging out across the mountain I’m sure, not doing much to protect Albemarle County business and help them stay viable.  They should step foot out of Verona and Mount Solon to ensure the Batesville Store can stay open, providing jobs, products, and services for the community.

    To contact our reps:

    State Delegate Steve Landes:
    540-240-5540

    State Senator Emmit Hanger:
    540-885-6898

    Board of Supervisor Ann Mallik:
    434-978-1150

    While this seems to be a violation of state law/code, Anne Malick should be pounding down the doors of Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

    1. Haven’t talked to Ann since Wednesday, but I’ll bet she’s already started “pounding” on the appropriate doors. This is so inexplicable….

Something to say?