Submitted photos
Sugar Magnolia literally rose from the ground up. Located between London Underground and the old National Bank of Blacksburg building, it was dirt when the Raubs leased it. It later expanded to include some of the NBB space. Sugar’s conference room is in the old bank vault.
Making Sweet Memories By Jennifer Poff Cooper
The concept is unique – a seemingly disparate combination of ice cream and paper goods in one retail space. Yet market reaction has been positive for that premise at Sugar Magnolia in downtown Blacksburg. The idea “grew out of things already going on in town,” said Tom Raub, co-owner with his wife, Michelle. The couple had opened the small T.R. Collection gift shop down the street in 2015 and realized that greeting cards, note cards, and planners were top sellers. This sparked the idea that a full-scale stationery store might work well in Blacksburg.
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Meanwhile, Michelle was President of the Downtown Blacksburg, Inc. (DBI) merchants’ association, which was conducting focus groups to learn what residents wanted to see downtown. Ice cream was at the top of lists for every age category. Who will fill that gap? Michelle wondered. When it occurred to her that ice cream and paper goods were two of
