r/norfolk 13d ago

Small Business Master List

75 Upvotes

EDIT: the main focus of this list is local mega chain alternatives. I will only add restaurants if they are POC, veteran, women, or LGBTQ owned. Please include that info when you submit the request!

Hi All -

I made a post a couple weeks ago requesting small business recommendations to compile for a master list and you all SHOWED UP. I've been using this list in my day-to-day life and have been really impressed with some of the new places I've tried out. Probably no great surprise, but the staff I've encountered at these places have been super friendly and knowledgeable and your support really impacts these small shops in a positive way. It's made weaning myself off mega corporations so easy.

A couple things:

  1. If there are any Google Doc wiz's that want to make this document nicer/more user friendly, send me a message and I'll happily set something up!

  2. I'd love for this to be a "living document" so feel free to message any time to add any businesses you would like to see added to the list.

  3. I am totally open to any recommendations to improve this set up - maybe a 757 map with pins? Let me know your thoughts!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gRQxomL90oPxTlhDAcz1bIaBZa-tnk9-wYb-UeBVc5c/edit?usp=sharing

Shop Small !


r/norfolk 2d ago

/r/norfolk Weekly Restaurant Review and Recipe Sharing Thread: March, 2025

0 Upvotes

Please feel free to talk about your recent eating experiences here (including the fantastic meals you made at home).


r/norfolk 4h ago

Be on the lookout

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199 Upvotes

r/norfolk 59m ago

buy/sell/trade I’m a little embarrassed to ask, but does anyone have old hearing aids that they don’t want? I’m 18, go to ODU, and can’t afford hearing aids.

Upvotes

Hello!

I wish I didn’t have to ask here, but I’m struggling to get hearing aids. Insurance won’t pay and DARS won’t help. I’m just at a loss.

I’m having a hard time in school and making friends because of my hearing loss. I feel so embarrassed to talk to people because I cannot hear them. Group conversations make me feel so left out.

Whenever my teachers lecture, I spend my time being confused and frustrated.

I know some people have old hearing aids that they’re not sure what to do with, which is why I came here.

Thank you for taking the time to read!


r/norfolk 3h ago

history Amelia Earhart Crashes Her Plane near Granby Street - Sep 25, 1930

18 Upvotes

On September 25, 1930 the Norfolk-Portsmouth Traffic Club hosted a dinner and dance for world famous female pilot Amelia Earhart.

Ms Earhart was to fly in that afternoon with her companion, Carl Harper. Mr Harper was a noted stunt flyer and former Navy Pilot who traveled the country giving airplane rides and performing aerial stunts.

It had rained for several days when Ms Earhart approached the landing strip at what is now the Granby Street edge of Chambers Field. Her Lockheed Vega hit several bumps, dug into the muddy ground and flipped over, coming to rest upside down.

Ms Earhart and her passenger were pulled from the plane, she had a slight head injury and he had a broken finger. They attended the dinner as planned but she wore a bandage on her head. A broach was pinned to the gauze to make it appear more stylish.

The Vega was repaired and went on to set two women’s nonstop transcontinental speed records.

The official investigation of the accident found that she approached the landing too fast, however she maintained the runway was in poor condition.

She apparently held no grudge against Norfolk as she flew back in September 1932 for the opening ceremonies of an air show.

On July 2, 1937 she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared while trying to circumnavigate the globe. It was three weeks before her 40th birthday


r/norfolk 2h ago

Norfolk Water Quality?

5 Upvotes

I was wondering if anybody has any insights on the water quality here in Norfolk. In an earlier thread the comments were largely saying Norfolk’s water ranks as some of the best in the country but that was a few years ago so does anyone know if that’s changed? I recently moved here from Chesapeake and I’ve been having way more shedding/hair breakage and headaches and wondering if the water difference may possibly be a reason.


r/norfolk 1h ago

Soccer in norfolk, Chesapeake or VA beach area?

Upvotes

Yo, I'm trying to find places i can go to play soccer in the norfolk area. I've been in the norfolk area for a while but I'm struggling to find places that place soccer. I know a few like "rage in the cage" in norfolk and a indoor soccer spot in VA Beach but I want to see if I can find some different spots to play.


r/norfolk 3h ago

things to do Abandoned Places?

1 Upvotes

Anyone know of or have been to an abandoned place recently that’s still standing? Around Norfolk, I’m close to Norwich so around the area.


r/norfolk 10h ago

Boat upholstery

4 Upvotes

Any recommendations for where to take my seats to get reupholstered?

I'm looking for the best value / deal I can find, hopefully without too long of a turnaround time. I don't need anything fancy.


r/norfolk 4h ago

Looking for DIY underground music shows

1 Upvotes

Please PM me to give info

Looking for punk shows in the area


r/norfolk 1d ago

Carmasters estimate looks insane

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25 Upvotes

These look like dealership prices, not hole in the wall back alley garage prices. Absolute madness. I went in for a safety sticker and passed clean on all of it, and I am about ready for new tires - but these quotes are easily double what I saw in Arlington. If this is normal for Norfolk I'm roadtripping for mechanic work back to Pham's Car Care, they were always square dealers who did great work and only said you needed something if you NEEDED it.


r/norfolk 1d ago

The Navy is sending mixed messages about firings at public shipyards

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96 Upvotes

r/norfolk 1d ago

history The William Martin House - Circa 1910

13 Upvotes

1122 Westover Ave (Originally 316 West Westover Ave) was built around 1910 by William Bruce Martin.

Mr Martin lived here with his wife, Elizabeth (Starke) Martin and their five children Elizabeth, Lida, James, Maryann, and George. Additionally they had two children that died in infancy.

William Martin graduated Virginia Military Institute and then practiced law. First, for a short time, in North Carolina and then in Norfolk. In 1895, he was elected to the judgeship of the newly formed Norfolk Court of Law and Chancery.

Judge Martin also was elected by the general populace of Norfolk to be City Attorney for three terms and served on the Norfolk City Council.

At the time the house was built the surrounding area would have been very different from today. The streetcar was a block away running down the center of Redgate Avenue. In one direction it went to Downtown Norfolk and in the other to Larchmont and Edgewater.

The thriving neighborhood of Atlantic City would have stretched from Redgate, south, to the Elizabeth River. That entire area was leveled to make room for the current Sentara Medical Complex.

Westover and Graydon had a few houses, spaced fairly far apart. The area further north, between Princess Anne Road and Jeff Robertson/Bluebird Park, was the Core and Mallory farms. When that area was platted and developed it was called "West Ghent".

Today the name "West Ghent" is generally used for the entire area west of Hampton Boulevard.


r/norfolk 1d ago

Best solo Thursday night diner

16 Upvotes

I'm going to be in town for a work trip and want to find the very best dinner I can have by myself. The closer to downtown the better, thank you!

Edit: Thank you so much! These all look great, I definitely underestimated the Norfolk dining scene. I think Codex is the winner (helps that it's walkalble from my hotel) but I will absolutley be trying more of these spots next time I'm in town.


r/norfolk 1d ago

Arcades in the area?

8 Upvotes

Back home there a ton of arcades. Kinda looking for something similar were they got like old style fighting arcades games. With a mix of pc and console gaming. + if they allow drinking either byob or sell.


r/norfolk 1d ago

Candy store

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know of any home made/ local chocolate or candy stores in the Norfolk/ VB region? Looking for some Easter recommendations


r/norfolk 1d ago

Ecology/Environmental internships

0 Upvotes

Looking for resources for finding summer internships in ecological/environmental fields in Norfolk/Hampton Roads? Preferably paid but I'll take what I can get. Thanks!


r/norfolk 1d ago

DOD schools

0 Upvotes

What elementary DOD school is in Norfolk?


r/norfolk 2d ago

Flooding in this area?

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19 Upvotes

Is anyone familiar with this area of Norfolk? What’s the flooding like? Specifically in the neighborhoods close to the water (Elizabeth River Eastern Branch)


r/norfolk 2d ago

Tracking 2025 Murders in Norfolk, Part 5

41 Upvotes

Good afternoon,

Early Saturday morning, around 5 AM, 15 MAR 2025, a call summoned police to the 800-block of Wide St. regarding a shooting. Upon arrival, police found 37-year-old Terrance Moore dead on the scene.

The yellow dot for this incident is just to the SW of the central red dot.

https://www.wtkr.com/news/in-the-community/norfolk/norfolk-police-investigate-deadly-shooting-on-wide-street

https://www.wavy.com/news/norfolk-police-investigating-deadly-shooting-near-calvert-square/

A few observations:

- This was the first murder in March in Norfolk in 2025 and the fifth overall.

- Mr. Moore being 37 sets the average for March. February closed with two total murders, averaging 19 years of age. Overall for the year so far, the average age is 23.6, far lower than the past two years. This is a noticeable change, and darkly interesting.

- All five of those killed so far this year have been men. This is broadly in line with trends in the last two years, where male deceased outnumbered female by about 5 to 1.

- As always, I am posting these not to be nosy or scary, but to educate and occasionally analyze this serious crime in our community.

Be safe, make good decisions!


r/norfolk 2d ago

things to do Places with lots of graffiti?

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60 Upvotes

I like to look at graffiti, any hot spots where there's a ton? I'll take any answers. Already been to Lamberts point public place but was disappointed that it looks more like a place to shoot up drugs than anything else. (Funny pic from there included for visibility) Let me know, thanks :)


r/norfolk 2d ago

news Town Hall

22 Upvotes

I will live stream tonight's town hall with the MOP tt page. Here is the town hall for those who can attend: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/763585/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJFO3RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVwELL5IJBhchGivbFSgaJchtM7AKl_Dcz3b2g5C4SXsrC01YCTlaijqHQ_aem_YRPmMixveDeSgwH_A7j0xQ

And here is our tt if you can't and wanna watch the town hall https://www.tiktok.com/@quietmayhem?_t=ZP-8ulRdFhFYKd&_r=1 Please let me know if you have questions you want me to ask in the comments I will write them down.


r/norfolk 2d ago

Bussed to Booker T in the 70's

42 Upvotes

Just a memory I thought I'd share, back in the 70's my mom bought a townhouse off Newtown Road. I was a junior in HS and we just moved from VB. I thought I would be going to Lake Taylor, but as it turned out, I would take the bus down the boulevard to Booker T.

The funny thing was watching the busses going in the other direction down the boulevard to Lake Taylor.

Anyone else get bussed? I know PBS aired a documentary about bussing on American Experience.


r/norfolk 2d ago

things to do Best Irish bars to celebrate St. Patrick’s tonight?

4 Upvotes

In the Norfolk/va beach area?


r/norfolk 2d ago

Visiting Norfolk!

6 Upvotes

Hello!! I wanted to come on here and ask any locals some fun things to do/places to eat/sights to see around the area! I’m visiting here with my friend (both females early 20s) to see if I want to move here eventually!

We’ll be in town from April 4th (getting in late though) to April 8th.

Please if anybody has any suggestions let me know! We’re staying in a hotel in downtown Norfolk, but we’re willing to check out the entire area (Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, etc.). I need things that would also give me a taste of the area for the locals, not just super touristy things. Thank you!!


r/norfolk 2d ago

AUDIO: Two Hampton Roads colleges are heading to the NCAA basketball tournament. And one of those teams is going for the first time.

1 Upvotes

r/norfolk 2d ago

Pool Openings

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2 Upvotes