Local Life · New River Valley

The NRV is
Worth Staying For

Written by someone who lives here. Celebrating the mom and pop stores, farm-to-table kitchens, local businesses, and the neighbors who make the New River Valley something worth building.

NRV
Pulaski · Radford · Blacksburg · Christiansburg · Floyd · Giles County · Montgomery County · Pulaski County Mom & Pop Stores · Farm-to-Table · Local Restaurants · Main Street · Real Estate · Community Voices
Featured
Stories & Experiences
More on Substack →
Food & Farm
Farm-to-Table in the NRV: What It Actually Means

Behind the buzzword is a real network of farmers, chefs, and customers making deliberate choices to keep money and flavor local. A look at who's doing it right in our backyard.

Coming Soon
Main Street
The Case for Shopping Local — Even When It's Inconvenient

Every dollar spent at an independent business is a vote for the kind of community you want to live in. A personal case for choosing Main Street over the algorithm.

Coming Soon
Community
What Calfee Park Taught Me About What Towns Can Be

On summer nights at Calfee Park, Pulaski shows what it looks like when a community focuses its energy on one place. That energy is worth studying and replicating.

Coming Soon
Real Estate
Investing in a Place You Believe In

Real estate in the NRV tells a story about who's staying, who's arriving, and what kind of future the region is building. An honest look at the numbers and the neighborhoods.

Coming Soon
Restaurants
The Restaurants Worth Driving Across the NRV For

From Pulaski to Floyd, from Blacksburg to Radford — a personal guide to the kitchens and tables that make the New River Valley worth eating in.

Coming Soon
Collaboration
When Local Businesses Support Each Other, Everyone Wins

The strongest Main Streets aren't just a collection of stores — they're ecosystems. A look at what business collaboration looks like in practice across the NRV.

Coming Soon

What We Cover

The New River Valley through local eyes
🏪
Mom & Pop
Independent stores, family businesses, and the people behind them
🌾
Farm to Table
Local producers, farmers markets, and kitchens sourcing close to home
🍽️
Restaurants
Where to eat well in the NRV — and the stories behind the kitchens
🏡
Real Estate
Housing, neighborhoods, and what it means to invest in this region
🤝
Community
Events, collaboration, and the civic life that holds towns together

Written by Link

I'm Ben Linkous — most people around here just call me Link. I'm a retired Army Master Sergeant who grew up in Pulaski, left, served, and came back. The NRV is home in a way that's hard to explain until you've been somewhere else long enough to miss it.

I write about this region because I believe it deserves more attention than it gets. The businesses here, the food, the people who stayed or chose to come — they're building something worth documenting.

This site is personal. No press releases, no sponsored posts. Just honest writing from someone who shops local, eats local, and is invested in what this region becomes.

Full story at benlinkous.com →