Nellysford
Nelson County, VA For years we have been following the bunch down at Basic Necessities in Nellysford. It’s no secret, one of our favorites! Recently Kay Pflatz who founded the restaurant back in 1997 repurchased the restaurant back from Bev Lacey and Keith Dix who bought it from Kay about 10 years ago. Though Kay still worked there, she exited as an owner during that time.
Be sure to click on any of the photos below for a larger view and a walk down memory lane.
Above, our March 2014 printed story by Jennie T. Williams on the Nellysford restaurant that’s returned to the Basics. Click on the magazine spread to read the story online.
Cyndy Wilson (L) and her husband from Roseland were one of the last couples to eat in the old dining room of Basic Necessities before it was gutted and totally renovated just before Valentine’s Weekend. Click on image to enlarge.Just 3 days after starting the renovation construction crews completed the makeover of the restaurant’s dining room. It included new weatherproof windows, doors and walls with insulation. Click on image to enlarge.The finished product at Basic Necessities is nothing short of astonishing. New windows let in the light, yet still charming and quaint as ever.Blast from the past, Kay Pfaltz who recently bought back into the restaurant in Nellysford, is pictured with some of the crew working there back in May of 2007.Basic Necessities has long been a place where high schoolers and college students worked. Pictured here back in May 2007, Kelsey Vergin (now of Scottsville and now with Feast in downtown Charlottesville) along side Hayley Osborne of Faber. Hayley is still seen in Basic as a customer these days and is in the final stages of becoming a school teacher in the area.Sarah Leake Shelton was the manager of Basic Necessities for years when Bev owned the restaurant. Sarah started at there over a decade ago as a teen. She left several months ago and works today as a pastry chef at Boar’s Head in Charlottesville. A little birdie tells us she’s got a project cooking and we’ll be hearing lots more from her in the Nelson area in the coming weeks.Heidi Diehl Reed (Left) with Hayley Osborne (center) and Heidi’s husband Randy Reed (right). Heidi was one of the original employees of the restaurant as a youngster. Today she’s a new mom. She and Randy had a little girl in the past few months and continue living here in Nelson. This was at the 15 year anniversary of Basic back in July of 2012.Bev Lacey (left) and Kay Pfaltz during their 15 year anniversary party in July 2012. Bev & her husband Keith Dix recently sold the restaurant back to Kay and other business partners after a decade of ownership.Photo Courtesy of Kay Pfaltz : This is what Basic Necessities looked like long before it was the restaurant today. It was a home, a bakery, then Basic Necessities. This is around 1997 shortly before it became Basic. You can see Kay on the far left side of the porch looking toward the camera.Photo Courtesy of Kay Pfaltz : The very beginning. Original founders Kay Pfaltz (left) along with Judy Nelson on the right. This was in 1997 just as the restaurant was opening.
The charm is still there with a brand new update and lots more exciting things to come.
