Dave Gardner grew up in the farm fields of the Shenandoah Valley, milking cows for his family’s dairy. A love of animals and agriculture led him to veterinary school, where he met his wife Anne. Together, they opened several veterinary hospitals. With three children to raise, they purchased a farm of their own in Augusta County, not far from Dave’s childhood roots.
“Having grown up in agriculture,” he says, “I realized how difficult it is. I knew my kids would never be in agriculture the way I grew up in it. But I also knew that, in a way, we could still be a part of the agricultural industry.”
His children grew, the cows grazed, and the seasons passed. And then one day, he learned that a nearby 1890s barn was slated to be torn down. A landmark building, with giant white doors and painted green horses, he’d passed by it “probably 10,000 times” as a child.
Dave knew he wanted to save the barn, and he knew that he could. But then the inevitable question arose: “What are we going to do with it?”
History Reimagined
If Dave’s desire to save the barn was born from a love of the Valley’s agricultural heritage, his strategy to save it celebrates that same history.
Between the ancient timbers and time-lined flooring now lies an explosion of color and flavor: over 300 varieties of local craft beers and wines, mason jars filled with Virginia produce, fresh deli sandwiches that boast Boars Head meats and cheeses and a variety of Valley-sourced ingredients. Rebuilt and reimagined, Valley Pike Farm Market’s mission is to support Virginia’s small farmers and businesses, while also serving as a gathering place for rural residents. On Saturday evenings, Music at the Market fills the rafters with live music and laughter. 
Everywhere there are touches of history, from coffee shop tables built by Dave to hand-hewn logs that showcase carpentry older than sawmills. The restoration itself was completed by a three-man crew – generational family friends of the Gardners.
Amid the handcrafted delights, neighbors gather. “It’s amazing to me, how many people have been neighbors for 30 years, and haven’t talked to each other for three,” says Dave. “Come in for a drink and sit down together.” Wine Down Wednesdays overlook the farm fields from the wrap-around porch where childhood friends convene, meeting after work for a drink. University students study in the hayloft, and business meetings unfold at tables below. “It has been an overwhelmingly positive response,” says Dave. “We have suits and jeans here; we’re intergenerational.”
A Future Full of Family
When attempting to predict the entrepreneurial adventures of Dave and the Valley Pike Farm Market, the most important thing to know is that every Sunday is family dinner at the Gardners.
Held at Dave and Ann’s farmhouse, they are joined by their children. The family describes these dinners as a kind of “focus group,” the place where ideas incubate, hatch, and evolve. For if there is a magic in the success of the Valley Pike Farm Market, it was surely born from a playful spirit of experimentation that is shared across the family.
Dave’s latest project, the restoration of the Fort Defiance Train Depot, is just one of many such ideas. Another historic preservation effort achieved through adaptive reuse, Dave admits that many of his ideas are born from long afternoons in the tractor. “When it’s time for hay cutting, it’s time to be careful,” says Sidney, Dave’s daughter. “The ideas are going to start coming — there’s trouble on the horizon!”
Idea generation is catching. Dave’s son Trevor says his travels have taken him through the “motorcycle heaven” of Los Angeles, as well as Florida, New York, and Alberta. But after feeling the pull to come home, he found himself launching a local food business. Today, he owns all of the food trucks that fill the Valley Pike Farm Market food court.
Sidney likewise left, practicing architecture for four years while simultaneously growing her photography business in Baltimore. But when it came to children, she knew she didn’t want to raise them in a city. Shifting her energy south, she began managing public relations for the Farm Market. Today, she coordinates weddings and events in The Granary, a reception hall, bar, and dressing room suite beautifully built into the lower level of the original barn. If Dave’s hands built the tables, Sidney’s design eye inspired the elegance. “I never imagined I would settle here,” she says. “But I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Dave chuckles and smiles knowingly. Of his three children, all of them left, and all of them came back. He says, “Once you’ve been out, it’s hard not to appreciate the Shenandoah Valley.”
