“I think it’s important as a family business, that’s the beauty of it because you can bring in your children and family members. It’s not like if you’re a lawyer and you’re gone for 12-14 hours a day and your kids never see you and they don’t even know what you do. But when the family can come and be a part of it, they see that you’re working and they can understand a lot more."
Carla Buchler, owner, Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe
Welcome to the website for the Virginia Tech "Celebrating Arlington's Legacy Businesses" project. In Spring 2017, Masters students in Urban and Regional Planning explored the history of longstanding, or "legacy," businesses in Arlington County, VA. Our study focused on two areas: the neighborhoods along the Lee Highway corridor and the historically African-American Nauck/Green Valley neighborhood.
This website includes a comprehensive interactive map of longstanding businesses along Lee Highway and a collection of oral histories of business owners in both areas. Businesses featured in the oral history collection are a sample of those operating for 25 years or longer. We will build on this initial collection in the months and years to come. In the meantime, enjoy the stories of these important contributors to Arlington's history and community character!