One of the best parts of doing social media for a living? We get to spend a lot of time focusing on local businesses. We notice that a new coffee shop is opening down the street. We see a restaurant trying something different. We follow along when a local business celebrates a big milestone. And sometimes, we walk into a place and immediately think:
Okay… more people need to know about this.
Virginia Beach has no shortage of incredible small businesses, and while we could make a list of 50, we’re starting with five that we genuinely love supporting.
They all do very different things, but they have something in common: they each have a story worth telling.
And honestly? That’s where we notice a company. Because good social media isn’t always about inventing something new to say. Sometimes it’s about paying attention to what’s already happening inside a business and helping other people see it too.
So, here are five small businesses we love supporting in Virginia Beach. You should know, follow, visit, and support them too.
1. The Creative Well Arts Foundation
If you want to surround yourself with creativity and meet some really interesting people in Virginia Beach, The Creative Well Arts Foundation is a good place to start.
Yes, it’s an art gallery featuring artists from our area, with artwork available for purchase. But it’s also much more than a place to hang art on the walls.
It’s a gathering place. The Creative Well hosts events like CreativeMornings, bringing people from across our community together to learn, connect, socialize, and hear from people doing genuinely awesome things in and around Virginia Beach.
And as a social media management company, we love that. Because community doesn’t always happen behind a screen.
Sometimes you have to close the laptop, leave the office, drink some coffee with strangers, and find yourself in a conversation with someone you didn’t know you needed to meet.
The Creative Well Arts Foundation has created a welcoming space for exactly that. And if you visit one of their art shows, here’s our advice: if you see a piece you love, buy it. Trust us. You’ll only regret the art you didn’t purchase. (There may or may not be a piece from one of their shows that we are still thinking about.)
Their space, their artists, and the community they’re building are all worth following along with.
2. Vinyl Daze Records
Located within walking distance of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, Vinyl Daze Records has been serving the community for more than 13 years.
And in a world where almost anything can be streamed instantly, there is something really cool about a business built around slowing down and intentionally choosing what you want to listen to.
Vinyl Daze is Virginia Beach’s original vinyl-exclusive record store, and it’s the kind of place that gives both locals and visitors something they can’t get from scrolling through an app. Misty loves a good vinyl record, and frequents this shop’s selection.
Vinyl Daze gives you a real experience. You can browse. Discover something unexpected. Find an old favorite. Pick up an album you’ve been searching for.
And from a social media perspective? A business like Vinyl Daze has content everywhere.
New records coming into the shop. Staff favorites. Customer finds. Music recommendations. Stories behind rare albums. Tourists discovering the store for the first time. With this niche business, the best way to immerse yourself is to dive right in. Visit their shop and explore for yourself.
3. Yorkie’s
We know and live by the saying that good food brings people together. Yorkie’s has built its approach around that idea while putting an emphasis on local farmers, growers, artisans, and even its own on-site gardens. Their goal is to create a hospitality experience that feels welcoming and inclusive while taking sustainability seriously.
But don’t worry—you won’t get a lecture with your lunch. You will experience good food, good people, and a place that gives you a reason to come back.
“Wait… You went to Yorkie’s today too? I was there earlier.”
From an actual conversation Misty and Phoebe had.
What we love about businesses like Yorkie’s is that there is so much happening behind the scenes.
Where their ingredients come from. The people growing them. What’s happening in the garden. What’s coming out of the kitchen.
Then there are the people gathering around the table. These are the kinds of stories social media can help bring to life.
Because sometimes your audience doesn’t just want to know what you’re serving. They want to know the people, places, and ideas behind it.
4. Mary’s Kitchen
Some businesses don’t need to reinvent themselves. Mary’s, for example, has been doing something right for a long, long time.
Mary’s has been a local favorite at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for breakfast and lunch for more than 60 years.
That’s 60 years of biscuits made from scratch and breakfast served all day. The early mornings, friendly service and recipes that have all been carefully carried on from Mary Craft herself.
Now simply known as Mary’s, the business continues the traditions that made it a local favorite in the first place. And that’s a story we will keep coming back for.
Sometimes business owners think they need a brand-new idea before they have something worth posting about. That’s simply not true.
Your history is content. Your traditions are content. Your longtime employees are content.
The regular customer who’s been coming in for years? Yep. Content, too.
There is something special about businesses that have been woven into the fabric of a community for decades.
Social media gives those stories a new place to live, and introduces them to people who may have lived here for years but still haven’t discovered them. Mary’s is a place you don’t want to miss.
5. Pinup Coffee Co.
Pinup Coffee Co. has a simple mission: Better Coffee for ALL. And honestly, we love that they put the emphasis on for all.
Specialty coffee can sometimes feel a little intimidating. There are terms to learn, brewing methods to understand, and plenty of opportunities to pretend you know exactly what you’re ordering.
Pinup Coffee Co. takes a different approach. Their goal is to make specialty coffee approachable, welcoming, and exceptional, without making anyone feel like they need a coffee education before walking through the door.
Of course, coffee has always been about more than coffee. It’s conversations. It’s meetings. It’s catching up with friends or our Misty Saves the Day coworkers.
It’s working remotely for a few hours. It’s the place you stop at before starting your day.
The best businesses give people something to connect with beyond the product itself. Pinup Coffee Co. has created something rooted in connection, from the people growing the coffee to the people roasting, brewing, and enjoying it right here in Virginia Beach.
Every Small Business Has a Story Worth Sharing
Here’s the thing about these five businesses: we could hand five different social media managers a phone, drop them into each of these places, and they should come back with five completely different content plans. Because that’s the point. The same social media strategy shouldn’t work for every business. They all have different stories.
A 60-year-old breakfast institution shouldn’t sound exactly like a specialty coffee roaster. An art gallery shouldn’t post exactly like a record store. A restaurant with an on-site garden has different stories to tell than a business at the Oceanfront. Your business deserves content that actually sounds like your business. At Misty Saves the Day, that’s what we love to do.
We get to know the people behind the business. We pay attention to what makes you different. We look around and find the stories you may not even realize are worth telling. Then we turn those stories into social media that helps people get to know you, too.
So yes, this is a list of five small businesses we love supporting in Virginia Beach. And we want you to visit and support them, because they’re awesome!
But it’s also a little reminder for every other business reading this:
- You probably have more content than you think.
- You have a story.
- You have history, personality, customers, products, behind-the-scenes moments, and probably at least one thing that makes someone say, “Wait… I didn’t know they did that.”
Sometimes you need someone to help you see it. And that’s kind of our thing.
So keep supporting local. Keep discovering new places. And if you’re a Virginia Beach business wondering what the heck you’re supposed to post next…
Well, you know where to find us.
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW