SBQ: New quarterly magazine highlights business in Southside, central and Southwest Virginia

The past two years have been turbulent to say the least. We've all had to adapt and change course numerous times. Businesses haven't been immune to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many businesses bore the brunt of lockdowns. Unfortunately, some businesses didn't survive. The ones that did survive did so through multiple pivots and strong leadership. In fact, a number of the businesses that survived the past two years have emerged stronger and more resilient. After all, they made it through a once in a lifetime global pandemic.

As a result of the past two years, we know just how important businesses are. Our local health care providers ensured that we were safe and taken care of. Grocery stores made sure their shelves were stocked so that we would have food when we were otherwise staying at home. Simply put, the business sector is the lifeblood of our communities. Without stable businesses, our communities would wither.

Amy Carrier is CEO of Centra, a regional nonprofit health care system based in central Virginia. Serving its communities for more than three decades, Centra has more than 7,600 caregivers, 500 employed providers and physicians, and a medical staff of nearly 800. Providing care in 50 locations, Centra serves 500,000-plus people through critical medical services in central and southern Virginia. Centra is committed to being a trusted partner in the communities it serves by helping people live their best lives. For more information, please visit centrahealth.com.

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be in this job.

A history between friends of making wine has turned into a craft distillery in Ridgeway.

Smith River Spirits comes after 20 years of Martinsville businessman Kevin Nelson and Patrick County attorney Alan Black making wine up on the Blue Ridge Parkway just for fun. Some years, when it was good, they bottled it; some years they didn’t bother.

A line of more than a dozen state and local leaders, hard hats affixed and gold-colored shovels in hand, broke ground on a chilly January day in Wythe County.

The ceremony, which included former governor Ralph Northam, sounded like a tailgate party, complete with music and appetizers. The reason for celebration was obvious: the dignitaries participated in a ceremonial groundbreaking for a $714 million industrial project that has been called the largest industrial development for Southwest Virginia in a generation. Connecticut-based Blue Star NBR LLC and Delaware-based American Glove Innovations Inc. are planning a facility to manufacture up to 60 billion medical gloves a year, a project that’s expected to bring 2,500 jobs to Wythe County.

There's a saying among people who enjoy planting trees about a three-year process of growth: first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap.

So goes the pace of our regional real estate market, emerging from two years of pandemic times and now, as springtime blooms anew, leaping — at least in terms of the demand side of the classic economic equation.

On the day in May 2020 when Danville officials announced they were in negotiations with Paradise, Nevada-based Caesars Entertainment, Mayor Alonzo Jones needed just a few words to sum up his mood.

"I wish you all could see the smile on my face," Jones, wearing a mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, told a crowd gathered at the site of the former Dan River Inc. finishing building in Schoolfield.

Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums have a growing economic footprint in Southwest Virginia with a Vinton location recently expanded and one in Collinsville newly opened.

The games featured at Rosie’s are very similar to traditional slot machines found at casinos, except instead of using a random number generator, the machines use three historical horse races to determine the results each turn, according to Todd Lear, the Vinton location’s gaming operations manager.

A new florist opened during the first quarter of 2022. Antonia's Floral Design is owned by new Smith Mountain Lake residents Antonia and Cornel Cretu. Antonia, the floral designer, spent more than 20 years employed by a shop in central New Jersey. Her new shop is located at 75 Westlake Road, Unit 109 in Westlake. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. To place orders or learn more, call 540-565-0255, email orders@antoniasfloraldesign.com or visit antoniasfloraldesign.com