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 From Wayside to Portside:
A Roadside Story
By Yolanda Reyes
It is, in all respects, a typical crab shack. You would have no idea that two years ago Leslie Lowry, owner of Lowry's Crab Shack, didn't know anything about the restaurant business.
"It was a lot of trial and error," Leslie says. "At first we just steamed crabs, but then people wanted meals."
Waiter Tom Kramer, drapes an arm over the counter. Across his chest, his T-shirt reads in large red letters "Same shirt, different day." She smiles, shoos him away, and rings up
an order, then another. The phone rings. She answers, satisfies a question, hangs up, jabs the cash register with one finger and the drawer pops open with a healthy "Ding!" Apposing the counter, a domed display case housed in a recessed cavity separating kitchen from dining area holds rows of crabs, oysters, clams and fish tucked in ice. Under the dewy glass runs a shelf of Lowry's homemade cocktail sauce, tartar sauce and other wares. Signs proclaim "If You Are Grumpy, Irritable, Or Just Plain Mean, There Will Be A $10 Charge For Putting Up With You." and "Crabs." Draped under the television in the corner is a flag with a large red crab on it.
Leslie's husband, Donald Lowry, apparatus from the kitchen and stands poised in the doorway behind her. He rests a forearm just under the lintel. "My husband steams the crabs," Leslie says. Donald joins his wife, puts a hand gently on her shoulder and smiles. "She's in charge," he says
At a nearby table, Kramer is now chatting with a customer.
"We
didn't have any experience in the restaurant business," Leslie recalls,
"and we were totally overwhelmed with the demand. We went through a lot
of growing pains, especially growing staff. At first everything was
to-go, then we decided to have servers, then we had to come up with a
menu. We basically started the restaurant from scratch."
Like so many self-starters, humble beginnings begot larger endeavors. Leslie got her start in the crab business helping her father sell seafood from a table and box truck on the streets of Hamilton, in the '70s. "At first he delivered to his customers, and he set up on the side of the road," she says. When her father became ill she took over his deliveries and expanded the business.
A year before Leslie's father's death in 1999, the family opened Lowry's Farm Market in Hamilton, then bought interest in a local general store and the flower shop across the street from what is now their crab shack. The Lowrys began leasing the new site for their seafood enterprise in 2006, when another Hamilton institution - a much-beloved, woodstove-heated shack named Planet Wayside - closed its doors for good. Lowry's Farm Market was disassembled, the shack was torn down, and the new Lowry's was erected in its place.
 The crab shack has had a lot of community support because of the farm market, Leslie says, but there's also been new business because of the site's history. Many people still reference Planet Wayside when directing people to the crab shack. "This corner will always be Wayside corner," she says.
An establishment lauded for its "crummy but good" status, famous clientele and quirky owners, Planet Wayside offered up an eclectic mix of hearty meals made from scratch with pithy names like "Whiskers on Kittens," and raw unmitigated wit. After about 16 years in business, the eccentric eatery served its last meal on Father's Day 2006.
The restaurant began to suffer in 2003 after the sudden illness and death of Suzanne Ward O'Neil, who founded the restaurant and made the majority of the soups, specials and desserts while her husband Tim manned the smoker and fixed the barbecue. "Without her it just didn't really exist," Leslie said. "When his wife passed away, Tim did everything that he could to keep the business going, but it just didn't have the same flair. He wasn't himself."
Leslie can relate. In many ways, the relationship between the site's previous entrepreneurs mirrors the couples own daily story. "Donald and I would have a hard time if something happened to one of the two of us, too. When one of you is gone ... Whoa. I totally understand how it would be same. Oh, definitely."
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Is Loudoun County - Talking about you?
Business
Leaders - join Talk's 'good will, all good news, pay it forward'
mission to the community, through its sharing of unique and/or moving
stories (we're touched weekly when we receive many e-mails of accolades
just after we go out) and its charitable donation of 5% of its gross
receipts (that's 5% of all monies coming in), given to a different
charity quarterly. Talk also furthers its charities' causes by
providing them with complimentary ad space when possible, which link
our readers to their websites. Now, we're asking you to come on board
this exciting, new member of the Loudoun media and further Talk's
caring and innovative mission, by being a visible advertiser or
Founding Supporter. Join us -- we'd value and warmly embrace having
you! Call Talk's office today, at (703) 771.8893.
Thank you.
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Staying in the Right LANEs to support small business
By Betsy Allen
 On any given drive in Loudoun County, you'll see them on every town's street, off the highway or even down a gravel road. Small businesses are the heart and soul of our area, and a dream come true for many who start them. But even the most enthusiastic of these owners will tell you it's tough out there.
In the age of big box stores and volume discounts, how do small businesses make a go of it? Certainly, that takes hard work and good business practices - but it also takes a steady stream of customers. That's where Jennell Lynch of Egnite Marketing, and Stacy Brooks of Suburban Nights, an event production company, felt compelled to lend a hand.
The two Herndon residents note that their effort to support small businesses, The Right LANEs (Ladies Advancing a New Economy), also started small. They just wanted the chance to network and have a little fun.
"We both had so many friends who were working full-time or stay-at-home moms with something going on - an interest in networking or a home-based business venture," Lynch explained. "We started out wanting to get ladies together for a one-day road trip for shopping and wine tasting. But (the concept) grew into something much bigger supporting local small businesses, especially women-owned businesses."
The realization that they were on to something big came with last year's bad economic news and the words of a new president.
"I read an article in the local paper in Charlottesville talking about the economy and how a lot of the local businesses were going out of business due to the downturn," Lynch recalled. "I was thinking to myself, these were shops that could stay open because their operational costs aren't as high as large stores. If I could get together a group of women, and go in there and have some kind of impact to help sustain them for 30, 60 days, that would be great. And we would be doing our part - not just sitting around, reading the papers, saying 'Woe is me.'"
As Lynch and Brooks note on their website, "doing their part" was also a response to a call to action from President Obama, who asked Americans to aid the economy by helping small businesses succeed.
"All of us shop at bigger stores and easily spend $150 in a weekend," Lynch said. "I'd rather put my money into businesses that really need the support and also help the local economies. So I got with Stacy, we talked about it, and The Right LANEs was born in the middle of February (2009)."
"We both have full-time jobs," Brooks said of herself and Lynch, "but we wanted to create another avenue to support local business and help the markets help themselves."
TalkLoudoun caught up with The Right LANEs on their second official excursion, what Brooks described as a "networking road trip" to Northern Virginia on Saturday, August 29. Earlier that morning, 15 women, including Lynch and Brooks, met in downtown Herndon and boarded a luxury bus, where they enjoyed a continental breakfast. They picked
flowers, fruits and veggies in Berryville, tasted the fruits of the vine at Leesburg's Zephaniah Farm Vineyard, then came to historic downtown Leesburg for a wardrobe workshop and shopping.
The afternoon's first downtown stop was Eyetopia, a store featuring premium eyeglass frames, jewelry, handbags and gift items. Before shopping, the women met with image consultant Julie Avren to discuss how to coordinate outfits to one's lifestyle, and the merits of a perfect blue suit, a crisp white blouse, khaki pants, well-chosen jewelry and
accessories. There was plenty of talk and lots of questions, but Avren noted that she had a small difficulty with this day's audience.
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Cool but not cold, still time to Kayak It!
By David Sackrider
 Relaxed. Wet. Cool. These are three sensations many people long for at some point during not only the hot afternoons of August and September, but on into the end of October. And you can experience all three by drifting slowly in a tube or paddling a kayak down the Potomac River.
Any summer or early fall day, you might find kayakers working deftly around the rocks just below Harpers Ferry. Each dip of a paddle causes its opposite to rise like a hand waving, beckoning you to join the fun. It sure looks like fun. But then you remember that you wouldn't have a clue what you're doing.
That's where a company like River Riders of Harpers Ferry enters the picture. Amanda Mullins, office manager of River Riders, told us that her company has quite a few ways for beginners to start enjoying the pleasures, relaxation, and occasional thrills of kayaking on one of the nation's most historic rivers.
"For children at least 10 years old, we recommend the Express trips, which last about an hour and a half on flat water. Half-day flat water trips and white water instruction are suitable for those 12 years old and older," she explained.
Since
any water sport raises safety concerns, Amanda assured us that River
Riders keeps such issues front and center. "All kayakers must watch a
safety video before they leave for
the river. Each is required to wear a helmet and a personal flotation
device." But, well, what if? "Each kayaking tour has a leader and a
sweep - someone who basically follows the
group to make sure everyone remains together. Each leader and sweep is
certified in CPR as well as first aid, and all the instructors are
approved by the ACA," Mullins assured us. Sweeps also carry well-stocked first aid kits should they be required.
The
basic kayaking equipment is the inflatable "Duckie," which looks
nothing like the rubber duckie found in the more placid waters of a
bathtub. The brightly colored, highly visible Duckies have one modest
seat and plenty of leg room.
 If the proof of a pudding is in the tasting, to judge Duckie riding, we needed to talk with people who had just ended their watery journey. For that we waited on a sand bar at the Potomac's Virginia side, just above the Route 340 bridge early one August evening.
The sunny sky of early afternoon had turned overcast as west-bound commuters on the backed-up bridge worked their way home. Probably some of those commuters wished they could be on the river rather than way above it, barely moving faster than the River Riders party paddling our way. Two mid-20ish members of the tour, Lindsay and Matt were the first to get out of their Duckies and onto the shore. Their smiles gave a pretty good indication of how their day went, but we asked
anyway.
"We liked it," Lindsay said. Matt turned up the praise a notch. "I loved it. We'd done tubing and jet skiing before, and this was just as good as jet skiing - and more relaxing." They had driven from Harford County, Md., to Harpers Ferry just for the kayaking tour. Will they do it again? Lindsay quickly said yes, and Matt added, "Absolutely!"
Mullins told us that the section of the Potomac used by River Riders provides beginners with suitable conditions. "Out of the one-to-five scale of rapid ratings, with one being the easiest and five being the most challenging, our tours cover mostly one and two," she said. Other sections of the Shenandoah and Potomac have more extreme conditions, so it is best for tour members to remain with the group.
Whatever the water brings your way, if you want a cool day of fun, kayaking is an idea worth floating.
For your own river adventure, you can contact River Riders, www.riverriders.com, 1(800)326-7238.
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Coming November 18: Our Second Rendezvous Destination
Take 3 - Six times per year Talk will dedicate an entire Rendezvous or Total Health issue to a related destination getaway within 3 hours of Loudoun County: 3 hours by plane, train, Bolt Bus or car!
Promote Your Community Event:
We're happy to help get the word out! Check out the Local Events on Talk's website, and post yours following the listed guidelines.
Execs & Their Pets:
Know an exec who adores/can't do without his or her pet(s)? Let us know at info@TalkLoudoun.com.
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