Hey, y’all. It’s Amie.

Alvin Williams has been executive chef and co-owner of Cobalt Grille since 2000. (Cobalt Grille)

By Aila Boyd

Here’s what you need to know: August is Black Business Month, offering a delicious opportunity to celebrate the Black entrepreneurs making a difference in our communities one entree at a time. 

Our top picks:

• Chef and co-owner of Tropical Bites in Manassas, Prudence Gordon refined her culinary techniques after years of watching the Food Network, which allowed her to open the Caribbean restaurant in 2018. The tasty spot is known for using authentic spices and traditional recipes to make dishes such as jerk chicken, oxtail, roti, and goat curry.

• Family-owned and operated Philly Vegan exists to prove that plant-based food can still taste great. Go for the Philly cheesesteak sliders, made with plant-based ground beef. Philly Vegan also gives back to the Richmond community by offering a pay-what-you-can dining option.

• Cobalt Grille has been offering Virginia Beach residents and visitors alike a fine dining experience since opening in 2000. In his cooking, Executive Chef and Co-owner Alvin Williams taps into his unique background, having been born and raised in Leeds, England, by Jamaican parents. He utilizes ingredients from local farmers and fishermen. 

Hungry for more? We’ve got more on these and other amazing eats at our link below.

Amie Knowles enjoys a veggie burger at The Daily Kitchen & Bar in Short Pump. (Kody Knowles/Dogwood)

By Amie Knowles

Remember last weekend when your small-town friend (that’s me) went to the “big city” (that’s Short Pump)? I made a purchase I needed to pick up locally, and my husband, Kody, our son, Colton, and I decided to make a day trip of it. 

When we were looking for lunch options, we chose The Daily Kitchen & Bar, a welcoming restaurant featuring unique tree decor, a ton of natural light, and an amazing menu. I grew up in a mostly vegetarian household, so even though I do eat meat, I still love a great veggie burger—and that’s exactly what I got. Plus, in our recent reader survey, one respondent said they’d like to see more vegetarian/vegan options listed (so, yes, this is especially for you, friend.)

Priced under $15, that sandwich slapped. It came with a veggie patty, lettuce, tomato, onion, and garlic toum on a whole wheat bun. I had my choice of a side, and I picked the quinoa tabouleh, which offered the perfect blend of tartness and freshness. It was so good that if we would’ve still been in the area for dinner, I’d have ordered the exact same thing.

What would you order there? I’ll include a link to the menu to save for your next stop in Short Pump. 

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, in Williamsburg, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool)

By Jonny Lupsha

Between inflation and the Iran war driving prices up, Virginians’ wallets seem to be getting lighter by the day. 

In July, Virginians all over the commonwealth received letters from Dominion Energy saying their bills would go up by $8 to $11 per month, citing increased fuel costs to generate electricity. Some of these increased costs come from data center growth, including the need for utilities companies like Dominion to buy energy from out of state.

Thanks to energy legislation supported by Gov. Abigail Spanberger, Virginians will soon have more cost-cutting options available to them.

The biggest news of Spanberger’s work for affordable energy came on July 13, when she announced Virginia will be the first state in the nation to offer a statewide group-purchasing solar initiative. The program, Switch Together, will lower costs for households making the change to solar energy.

The US Treasury website says households who switch to solar are estimated to save $2,230 annually, while the governor’s office website adds that households in the Switch Together program will save an average of 23% on installation costs.

• Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) said she supports creating better standards for data center development but stopped short of supporting a statewide moratorium on data centers, instead emphasizing it was a local choice.⁣ (Watch here)

• Carolina Molina spoke out Wednesday about her experience having a gun drawn on her by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Northern Virginia.⁣ “I feel like, in that moment, I had to de-escalate,” Molina told reporters of the moment an ICE agent pointed a gun at her. (Watch here)

• Virginia Democrats in two competitive congressional races are attacking their Republicans opponents’ records on affordability.⁣ We’re sharing what Elaine Luria and Shannon Taylor had to say. (See post)

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