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About Us...
Our building, known historically as Inges Grocery, was built in 1820 and was many things over the years, including a boarding house, tavern, and grocery.
The grocery, which had several names over the years, most recently "Inge's Grocery," occupied the main floor until 1973. The upstairs rooms housed the family, as well as functioned as a boarding house. The most famous visitor was Booker T. Washington, and one of our private rooms bares his name. This was the first African American business in Charlottesville, and was owned by freed slaves.
This area of Charlottesville was called, and is often still referred to as, "Rose Hill." Originally, the entire neighborhood was made up of buildings much like ours. Today, unfortunately, all but two of those buildings, once houses and businesses, have been torn down to make way for strip malls, big box stores, and fast food chains. Tavern & Grocery is one of these last two remaining buildings, along with the Jefferson School, just down the street from us.
As we discover more details about our history, we will update this page...