VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A new strawberry-themed gift shop is a new destination in Virginia Beach, embracing the spirit of the "Pungo Strawberry Festival."
Kristen and Daniel Schooff moved to Pungo in Virginia Beach three years ago.
“When we moved here and our realtor said, 'Oh! The Pungo Strawberry Festival! You're gonna love it!'” Kristen recalled.
But the festival didn’t happen that year because of COVID , and it hasn’t come back.
“A lot of our local community thrived off that strawberry festival, and they don’t have that opportunity anymore,” said Schooff.
So to bring back some of the spirit of the festival, the couple opened the Pungo Strawberry Patch Gift Shop.
“To bring the community back together in this particular area because it means so much to everybody,” Kristen added.
Residents, like Nina Eaton, were thrilled to see the shop open last month.
“In 2006, we were nominated for mayor and first lady and also the 'Witch of Pungo' for the strawberry festival,” said Eaton.
Resident and artist Anna Anderson just moved to the area last year.
"I was really excited. A strawberry festival! And then I realized that they don't do this anymore. So I was a little bit sad, so I thought painting it would kind of like commemorate it, and I know that people really loved it,” Anderson said.
Her painting is now sold in the gift shop along with other strawberry-themed items.
Kristen listed many of the berry cute items, "Strawberry tumblers, strawberry backpacks, strawberry lunchboxes, strawberry BBQ sauce, strawberry earrings, strawberry hats, strawberry paper cloths, strawberry dish mats."
And it's truly a family affair. The Schooffs' daughter, Bella, has a book room, and their son helped paint the walls before the store opened.
“We’re going to bring the traffic and we’re going to bring life back to this area and hopefully bring the strawberry festival back even if it's at a smaller capacity,” said Kristen emphatically.
“Honestly, we’re just trying to have fun, and she offers a lot of different gifts, a lot of Pungo merchandise specifically that you can’t get other places,” said Daniel proudly.
The Pungo Strawberry Patch Gift Shop appears to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood and is positively Hampton Roads.
