Spaghetti
Spaghetti
Local business owners acquire ‘The Station’
)Preliminary site plan of the Harris Street Development project.
From left to right: Ryan Baker, Harrison Schroeder, John Mathis, and Shane Edgell.
Floyd Station, LLC, a partnership of local business owners, has acquired “The Station” and the Floyd Community Market Pavilion at 203-205 South Locust Street in the heart of the Town of Floyd. The property was purchased from Floyd Village Square, LLC for $2,300,000. The transaction closed on May 6.
The purchasing group consists of Shane Edgell, owner of EdgellBIM; John Mathis, owner of Mathis Community Living; Ryan Baker, owner of Baker Cattle Co.; and Harrison Schroeder, owner of the Schroeder Law Firm. Collectively, the four partners’ businesses currently employ 21 Floyd County residents. All have deep roots in the community.
The sellers, members of Floyd Village Square, LLC, included William “Woody” Crenshaw (founder of Crenshaw Lighting), Jacqueline Crenshaw, Silvie Granatelli, Kathleen Ingoldsby, Susan Icove, Don Nathan, and Ed Erwin.
“We cherish where we live. We genuinely believe that this is a special town and we are lucky to have grown up here,” said Shane Edgell. “Our current mission is to obtain, own, and operate various keystone commercial properties around Floyd that will help preserve the special small town charm that we all love. The goal for our group is to keep Floyd properties in Floyd hands.”
Harrison Schroeder added: “We admire Woody Crenshaw and his group and what they have accomplished through the renovation of this property. The creation of the retail space and vibrant farmer’s market have made the property the town square of Floyd. We look forward to carrying this on and being good stewards of the property.”
The building contains three 2-bedroom apartments, six 1-bedroom apartments, ten retail units, and the market pavilion. Current retail tenants include Troika Gallery, Eye Candy Optical, Blueprint Insurance Advisors, Jeanie O’Neill Originals, Heathers of Floyd, Emma’s Loft, Sustain Floyd, Floyd Artists Association, Floyd Barber Shop, Earth Dance Jewelry and Gems, and A Little Monkey Business. Property management is handled by Craig Chancellor of RE/MAX Dominion in Floyd.
The building has a long history in Floyd. It began in the 1940s as a Gulf Oil service station, later operated as the Turman-Yeatts Dodge dealership, became Floyd Amoco around 1958, transitioned into the retail furniture outlet Harris & Baker Furniture around 1975, and housed the Italian restaurant Momma Lazardo’s around 2002. Floyd Village Square, LLC purchased the building in 2007 and undertook extensive renovations along with adding an addition onto the front of the building and construction of the market pavilion.
Edgell, Mathis, Baker, and Schroeder are also behind the recent acquisition of another downtown property at 120 West Main Street and 115, 121, and 127 Harris Street. Their company Harris Street Development LLC purchased that property from the Town of Floyd in August 2025 for $549,481 and are developing renovation plans. Silas Clinton “Dinky” Harris built and operated a shoe repair shop on the front part of that property in the late 1930s or early 1940s, which in more recent years served as Dale Profitt’s law office, and then the Green Man Inn. The rear portion of the building, separated from the shoe shop by a party wall, was constructed by Vernon and Cornelia Harris in the 1940s, where they operated Harris Drycleaners on the main level and lived in an apartment upstairs. Separate structures on the rear of the property once housed a car wash, woodworking shop, and a mechanic’s garage, which was later converted into a coin-operated laundromat by the Harris family.
The group intends to renovate the three existing buildings into a mixed-use development similar to “The Station”, featuring retail and restaurants on the main level and apartments on the second floor. Plans include a new façade facing Main Street that would create an ideal location for a café with outdoor seating, and conversion of the former laundromat building into restaurant space. The group is also exploring the possibility of transforming Harris Street into a pedestrian walkway with architectural pavers, tables, benches, and aesthetic lighting that would connect to the sidewalk on North Locust Street next to the Lineberry Building.
Beneficial shredded leaf mulch added to a fall perennial garden.
Beneficial shredded leaf mulch added to a fall perennial garden.
Plein Air event returns to Floyd
The 5th Floyd Plein Air Biennial, presented by the Floyd Center for the Arts, will bring 30 juried artists from 10 states to Floyd County Sept. 14–19 for six days of painting, exhibitions, demonstrations and special events.
Throughout the week, Floyd will become an open-air studio as artists set up their easels along the Blue Ridge Parkway, on local farms, beside rivers, in downtown Floyd, and throughout the surrounding countryside. Working outdoors and on location, participating artists will capture the landscapes, architecture, farms, and community that make Floyd distinctive. More than 100 new paintings are expected to be created during the week, culminating in exhibitions and sales at the Floyd Center for the Arts.
Visitors are encouraged to find artists painting throughout the week and experience the plein air process firsthand. The Biennial also includes free artist demonstrations, wet paint sales, special gatherings, the Friday Night Quick Draw, and the Public Gala Celebration & Art Sale.
The week begins Monday, Sept. 14, with artists painting at the Floyd EcoVillage, followed by the Meet-the-Artist Reception & Small Wet Painting Sale from 6–8 p.m. at the Floyd Center for the Arts. Free and open to the public, the reception offers an opportunity to meet the participating artists and see paintings created during the first day of the event.
On Tuesday, artists will paint along the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Smart View area toward Mabry Mill. Wednesday takes artists into the Poor Farm Road area and Riverstone Organic Farm, followed by a free painting demonstration with nationally recognized plein air painter Kyle Buckland at 3 p.m. at the Floyd Center for the Arts. Buckland won first place at the inaugural Floyd Plein Air Biennial in 2017 and returned as Festival Judge in 2024.
Thursday’s painting locations include The River Property and Honeypot Farm. That evening, artists, patrons, and supporters will gather at the Floyd EcoVillage & Event Center for the ticketed Plein Air Soirée from 6–8 p.m. The evening will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres by Maples Restaurant & Tavern, live music by Jennifer Brooke and Mike Mitchell, and an exclusive Small Art Sale featuring donated works by participating artists. Proceeds from the Small Art Sale support the Floyd Center for the Arts Education Program.
On Friday, Sept. 18, artists will spread throughout downtown Floyd and surrounding locations before Festival Judge Deliece Blanchard presents a free painting demonstration at 1 p.m. at the Floyd Center for the Arts. Blanchard, an award-winning painter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was recently honored with the 2026 Outstanding Achievement in Landscape Award at the American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition.
Friday evening brings one of the week’s most energetic events, the Friday Night Quick Draw, held from 6–9 p.m. in downtown Floyd during the Friday Night Jamboree. Both Biennial artists and members of the public are invited to participate, with just three hours to create a painting from start to finish as visitors watch the works take shape throughout downtown Floyd.
The Biennial concludes Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Floyd Center for the Arts. The day begins with the opening of the Quick Draw Exhibition in the Falcon Gallery, followed by a free outdoor painting demonstration with Biennial Chair Joli Ayn Wood at 10 a.m.
From 5–6 p.m., Patron Pass holders and ticket holders will receive early access to the week’s newly created artwork during the Collectors Preview in the Hayloft Gallery. At 6 p.m., the doors open to everyone for the Public Gala Celebration & Art Sale, a free event featuring the week’s paintings, food, beverages, a cash bar benefiting the Center, and the presentation of awards at 7:30 p.m.
“Plein air painting is about experiencing a place in the moment, and Floyd offers an incredible variety of landscapes, light, and character for artists to explore,” said Joli Ayn Wood, Chair of the 5th Floyd Plein Air Biennial. “Throughout the week, the community has the unique opportunity to watch paintings come to life across Floyd County and then see those works come together in the gallery. We’re excited to welcome these 30 artists to Floyd and share that experience with everyone.”
Many events throughout the week are free and open to the public. Tickets and Patron Passes are available for the Plein Air Soirée and Collectors Preview.
For the complete schedule, participating artists, Patron Passes, tickets, and visitor information, visit FloydArtCenter.org/plein-air.
Floyd man sentenced in home break-ins
In Floyd County Circuit Court Tuesday a 33-year-old man was sent to prison on a plea deal for home break-ins.
Ronald Eugene Dalton II’s deal, cut by Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Branscom and court-appointed defense counsel Fred Kellerman, dismissed eight charges after Dalton and a partner broke into the home of James and Martha Cox.
Branscom told the court that pair stole worth just under $400. When sheriff’s deputies arrested Dalton, he first claimed that he had never been in the home, but a cigarette found at the scene tested positive for his DNA.
Although Dalton was indicted and arrested less than a month after the break-ins and a trial set for Jan. 9, 2018, it was continued five times and Dalton failed to appear at a scheduled hearing to set for trial and at additional hearings to set a new trial date four times again before a new date was set for June 9 of this year. That trial was continued twice before a plea agreement was reached on Tuesday.
Judge Gerald E. Mabe II noted the sentencing recommendation for the plea bargain fell within the state sentencing guidelines before sentencing Dalton to two five-year terms with a year in prison on each and four years suspended.
Because the sentences are set to run concurrently, Dalton is set to serve a year in prison with two concurrent four-year suspended sentences.
In another case, Jeffrey Wayne Radford, 25, of Floyd, charged with attempting to elude police after trying to outrun a sheriff’s deputy on U.S. 221 North of Willis at speeds up to 125 miles per hour before being chased down on Sept. 28, 2025,, entered a plea on that and a second drug charge of possession of methamphetamine when a deputy found a meth pipe in the car.
The judge ordered him to join the county’s drug recovery program (drug court), perform 100 hours of community service and pass mandatory drug tests and other items. Sentencing on the charge will be on hold and reduced if he completes the long program.
Dorian Dwayne Hendricks of Dublin entered a plea and was convicted of assault and battery of a family member on May 24, 2025. The judge, following sentencing guidelines, gave him a 12-month suspended sentence on the misdemeanor charge.
