Ask a longtime resident where to find something new in Virginia Beach and the answer used to be automatic: head to the boardwalk, see what changed since last summer. That reflex made sense for decades. This year, there are also reasons to explore elsewhere in the city.
Among the new options are a hi-fi listening bar tucked a block off the boardwalk, a coffee shop's first real storefront in a Hilltop strip center, and a bar near Oceana with a stage and a happy hour. Virginia MOCA has also made a major cultural move, relocating to a college campus.
The Weekly Rhythm Nobody Advertises
If you live anywhere near the ViBe Creative District, west of the Oceanfront, you already have a schedule you didn't have five years ago, whether you've named it or not. The Old Beach Farmers Market runs weekly near the Virginia Beach Convention Center with more than 40 local, artisan vendors, which is a real number worth sitting with. That's not a folding-table produce stand. That's a market with the density to be a Saturday-morning habit, not an occasional errand.
Across the street, the Old Beach Art & Eco Market keeps its own rhythm: every Saturday morning from April through October, 9 a.m. to noon, then scaling back to the third Saturday from November through March. First Fridays bring monthly artist pop-ups to ViBe Park. Second Saturdays turn into informal mural tours through the district's public art. And VB Flea claims the third Saturday of the month for vintage finds, with a smaller night market on the first Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. at 607 19th Street.
None of these are new-new. What's changed is the density. A resident who used to treat the ViBe District as a once-a-season detour now has a reason to be there most weekends, because the calendar finally overlaps enough to function as one.
Three Openings Around Virginia Beach
Three addresses are worth a look this year.
As reported by VEER Magazine, Rose's opened this spring at 325 Virginia Beach Blvd, near Atlantic Park and The Dome. It's a hi-fi listening bar, built around a serious sound system, with a chef-driven menu and a rooftop. It's open Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday until 1 a.m. Owner Tracy Horan described the concept to the magazine as built around discovery, guiding guests toward new sounds, new flavors and new experiences. Her partner on the project, Doddie Braza, is also behind Frank and Patty's, Only You Lounge, and the Thanks for Listening record shop.
Meanwhile, out in Hilltop, Sleepy Cowgirl Coffee opened its first true storefront at La Promenade shopping center after building a following out of a vintage horse trailer, according to Northern Virginia Magazine's roundup. The magazine also reports that near Naval Air Station Oceana, a new bar called the Lucky Penny opened with pool tables, patio seating, a stage for live music, and a daily happy hour.
Virginia MOCA's New Home
According to Northern Virginia Magazine, Virginia MOCA spent more than 70 years at the Oceanfront before relocating this year to a new home on the Virginia Wesleyan University campus. The new building is 35,000 square feet and cost $25 million to build, with more than a 20 percent increase in exhibition and education space over the old Oceanfront location. That's not a downsizing or a quiet retreat. It's an expansion.
The magazine reports that two inaugural exhibitions, Nina Chanel Abney's "The Pursuit of Happiness" and "Seamless: Art and Design," run through August 16.
Events at the Oceanfront
The Oceanfront's event calendar is busy this month, too.
Date | Event | Notable |
|---|---|---|
Aug. 15 | Coastal Craft Beer Festival | 11th annual |
Aug. 23–30 | Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships | 64th annual, from 1st Street Jetty to 10th Street |
Aug. 28–29 | Funk Fest Beach Party | 17th year, headlined by Trey Songz, Jeezy, and Lil Kim |
A surfing championship that's run for 64 years and a music festival now in its 17th aren't experiments. They're established Oceanfront events, alongside new places to explore around the city.
New Activity Across Virginia Beach
New openings give us a reason to take another look at familiar neighborhoods, from Hilltop and the ViBe District to the corridor near Oceana.
Atlantic Park has something new to see, too. Earlier this year it unveiled a new mural, "Dispersion" by Virginia Beach native artist Schuyler Beecroft, a 21-by-13-foot piece overlooking the right break of the Wavegarden Cove surf lagoon, mounted just below the infinity-edge pool at The Sitio boutique hotel.
If you're the kind of person who already knows the Old Beach Farmers Market's vendor lineup or has a favorite ViBe District mural, none of this will surprise you. If you've been meaning to catch up on what's changed, there are new places to explore in Hilltop and the ViBe District, and events to check across the city.
If you're weighing a move in Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Beach, or the surrounding area and want a local's read on how a neighborhood is actually changing, not just what the listing photos show, Sandbridge Life is a good place to start that conversation. Get in touch whenever you're ready.
