Shopping in Christiansburg

Serving fresh and speedy pizza across America since 1959, Little Caesar's has grown into a huge, international carryout phenomenon. The menu features pizzas with dough built from scratch that are made to order ($5.99 for a large one-topping). Toppings range from classic pepperoni and sausage to Canadian bacon and pineapple. Return as the conquering hero of your family and save your twins the trouble of hunting down bipedal mastodons by picking up one of Little Caesar's Hot-n-Ready pies ($5.99). Hot-n-Ready pizzas are available in pepperoni or cheese, and can be picked up any time without the need to order ahead. Fans of three-dimensional eats can try the Italian cheese bread combo ($4.99 including sauce) or chicken wings ($4.99) with a variety of sauces.

Hometown USA Furniture hosts top brands of furniture for every room of the home in a smorgasbord of styles. Couches ($299–$1,800) in an array of upholstery and layouts give tired pedal-pumpers rest, while crafty cushions pilfer inhabitants' loose change. Or, brighten up dark dwellings with a selection of lamps ($19.99–$169), and add character to communal living spaces with abode-complementing chairs and end tables ($45–$475). Hometown USA Furniture carries popular brands such as Bassett, Hughes, Holland House, and more, and promises 100% customer satisfaction on both furniture lines and its famous yodeling mix tapes.

Elderberry’s, voted Platinum for both smoothies and milkshakes by Roanoker magazine, busies blenders with fresh and healthy ingredients to create its award-winning beverages, and a crisp collection of wraps, salads, and soups silences audible appetites. The menu of suave solutions showcases juices joined in flavorful matrimony, such as the Elderberry, a fruity fusion of raspberry and cranberry juices, strawberries, elderberries, and orange sherbet ($4.59); the raspberry-packed Really Raspberry ($4.59); or the Not Actually Raspberry, a handful of red paint balls mixed with a pair of Faberge eggs. Desserty drinks implant pep in energy-deficient steps with the coffee-based Perkilator ($4.89), or swaddle exposed sweet teeth in silky sips of the Chocolate Peanutter ($4.89).

After a dozen years in the restaurant business, Roya Gharavi had an epiphany: instead of traveling far and wide to gather specialty ingredients and kitchen tools, why not bring those things to her? The idea took root; in 2000, she sold her restaurant, and the Gourmet Pantry was born. After outgrowing its first location, the business expanded into a second location in 2006, where Roya finally had the space to construct a kitchen and bring her dream of founding a cooking school to fruition. Today, the shop is stocked floor-to-ceiling with cookware and is equipped for cooking classes as well as a variety of special events such as wine tastings and cheese-eating contests.

Chosen by the Independent Jewelers Organization as a member of the elite group of Master Jewelers, Kent Jewelers stocks an assortment of fine diamonds and head-turning jewelry. Slip on a selection of sterling-silver jewelry from renowned French designer Frederic Duclos ($70–$300), or dazzle onlookers with a variety of 14-karat gold, diamond, and gemstone jewelry ($300+). Kent Jewelers also carries hand-enameled Virginia Tech football pendants ($99) and Virginia Tech charms ($45). For jewel aficionados seeking a custom piece, Kent Jewelers' goldsmith collaborates with customers to bring their design ideas to life, whether they want a diamond ring or a chocolate coin covered in real gold. Additionally, the expert staff is trained to do insurance appraisals in-store at their IJO-certified gem lab, and every piece of jewelry in the store is hand-selected instead of randomly acquired out of a gumball machine.

At Mosaic Yarn Shop, a community of knitting enthusiasts equips for upcoming projects with supplies including skeins of yarn from more than two-dozen brands. Yarns from Malabrigo, Cascade, and Berroco accommodate a wide range of budgets with a rainbow of needle-ready bundles ready to transform into sweaters, caps, and ineffective football helmets. The shop's brick walls, brick-patterned floor, and sunny skylight evoke a homey atmosphere, encouraging patrons to relax as they peruse wares or ask the staff for tips on bartering with alpacas for their wool.

A bearded and scruffy Shawn Hash launched his outfitting business 20 years ago with a spartan collection of four bicycles, two canoes, and a pickup truck. Tangent Outfitters now oversees a small flotilla of aquatic craft as it leads guests to all the outdoor adventures the New River and its surrounding valley have to offer. Tubing trips afford a leisurely 1- to 2-mile jaunt down the river, with plenty of pit stops at sunny beaches, swimming holes, or riverside nail salons. Instructors bring a slice of Hawaiian watersports to Virginia with standup paddleboard lessons or teach guests to snag unsuspecting smallmouths with guided fishing trips. The surrounding mountainous trails invite bikers to speed through their dirt-stained paths, and the riverbeds host seven different types of kayak and canoe day trips. Adventurers can stock up on excursion rations at Tangent's onsite deli.