January 2026 Central Virginia Moto Guzzi Lunch Report
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Michael S. Jones
Jan 10, 2026, 10:14:08 PMJan 10
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Greetings, Moto Guzzi friends. Our string of beautiful days for the Central Virginia Moto Guzzi Lunch stretches all the way back to May, when we had occasional drizzle and most of us arrived at the lunch in Bedford wearing rain gear. That string of beautiful weather was obliterated today. I was hoping to be able to ride my 1969 Ambassador, which hasn’t made it to a Guzzi lunch in a long time, but I awoke to steady rain and decided to ride the Convert instead. However, when it was time to leave, the rain was no longer merely steady: it has become hard. Furthermore, I had ridden the Convert nearly every day this week, I was planning to tide it to Amherst and back tomorrow, and I knew that I’d need to use the truck this afternoon, so I opted for the road more travelled: my old Ford Ranger. It’s a shame to drive a cage to the last Guzzi lunch that I’ll be able to attend for six months, but I was not the only one to make that decision.
Six people came to Napoli’s in Rustburg. I arrived first, in the aforementioned Ranger. Then Alice Komoroski (with an “i”) arrived in her new Nissan Murano (which she appears to be greatly enjoying). Dave Phillips arrived in a Toyota Sienna, followed by Al Chappell in the Chevy Equinox, and then Larry Echols arrived in his TDI VW Jetta. Everyone took the easy route – ie, four wheels and a roof.
Other than a few people stopping by for takeout orders, we were the only customers. Nonetheless, the room was filled with friendly banter and occasional laughter. This is a group of people who really enjoy each other’s company. The busboy/waitress/chef/owner (the poor guy runs the whole business by himself, and does a pretty good job of it!) seemed happy to have us there. I had an eggplant parmigiana sub, of course. Larry had a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Alice and Al both had veggie calzones. Dave had a giant ham and pepperoni stromboli. Al reported that his calzone was truly delicious. Everyone but me took some of their meal home – Dave, enough for a second meal, and Larry took home enough for two more meals (in my estimation). The portions were indeed generous, and several people complimented the tastiness, too.
My eggplant was excellent! I think it was perhaps a hair behind Sanzone’s eggplant, but I can’t point out any specific shortcoming. Everything was piping hot and fresh. This little restaurant is really a very nice place for lunch. Rustburg is a small town, and I don’t think Napoli’s gets as much business as it deserves. I encourage you to give it a try sometime.
Did you notice that I said that six people came to the lunch, but then only listed five? While we were finishing up, we noticed a guy in rain gear cruising by rather slowly on a KTM Superduke 1190. A minute later he pulled through the parking lot, but didn’t stop. A few minutes after that, he pulled in and parked. Eventually a somewhat damp Curtis Tyndell walked in. He came all the way from Richmond on a bike in the rain. The rest of us hung our heads in shame! ;-)
Unfortunately, Curtis arrived only 15 minutes before Napoli’s was scheduled to close. It closes from 2:00 to 3:00 so that the owner can have his own lunch. Curtis joined us for the last 15 minutes of conversation and then sought lunch further down the road.
Well, this morning I arranged to rent an apartment in Romania, and on Wednesday I’m scheduled to fly. I’ll miss the Guzzi lunches a lot, but I’m happy that they’ll continue and I’m looking forward to reading Larry’s writeups each month. There WILL be a Guzzi lunch next weekend. We’ll send you the invitation email soon.
Wishing you a great spring,
Mike
M. Jones, executive editor, Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies (www.jsri.ro)
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." -Blaise Pascal
"With man, instinct and reason avoid each other with adversity, yet, by repudiating each other they lure each other to reach mutual correction." -Lucian Blaga
"Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer." -Immanuel Kant
Six people came to Napoli’s in Rustburg. I arrived first, in the aforementioned Ranger. Then Alice Komoroski (with an “i”) arrived in her new Nissan Murano (which she appears to be greatly enjoying). Dave Phillips arrived in a Toyota Sienna, followed by Al Chappell in the Chevy Equinox, and then Larry Echols arrived in his TDI VW Jetta. Everyone took the easy route – ie, four wheels and a roof.
Other than a few people stopping by for takeout orders, we were the only customers. Nonetheless, the room was filled with friendly banter and occasional laughter. This is a group of people who really enjoy each other’s company. The busboy/waitress/chef/owner (the poor guy runs the whole business by himself, and does a pretty good job of it!) seemed happy to have us there. I had an eggplant parmigiana sub, of course. Larry had a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. Alice and Al both had veggie calzones. Dave had a giant ham and pepperoni stromboli. Al reported that his calzone was truly delicious. Everyone but me took some of their meal home – Dave, enough for a second meal, and Larry took home enough for two more meals (in my estimation). The portions were indeed generous, and several people complimented the tastiness, too.
My eggplant was excellent! I think it was perhaps a hair behind Sanzone’s eggplant, but I can’t point out any specific shortcoming. Everything was piping hot and fresh. This little restaurant is really a very nice place for lunch. Rustburg is a small town, and I don’t think Napoli’s gets as much business as it deserves. I encourage you to give it a try sometime.
Did you notice that I said that six people came to the lunch, but then only listed five? While we were finishing up, we noticed a guy in rain gear cruising by rather slowly on a KTM Superduke 1190. A minute later he pulled through the parking lot, but didn’t stop. A few minutes after that, he pulled in and parked. Eventually a somewhat damp Curtis Tyndell walked in. He came all the way from Richmond on a bike in the rain. The rest of us hung our heads in shame! ;-)
Unfortunately, Curtis arrived only 15 minutes before Napoli’s was scheduled to close. It closes from 2:00 to 3:00 so that the owner can have his own lunch. Curtis joined us for the last 15 minutes of conversation and then sought lunch further down the road.
Well, this morning I arranged to rent an apartment in Romania, and on Wednesday I’m scheduled to fly. I’ll miss the Guzzi lunches a lot, but I’m happy that they’ll continue and I’m looking forward to reading Larry’s writeups each month. There WILL be a Guzzi lunch next weekend. We’ll send you the invitation email soon.
Wishing you a great spring,
Mike
M. Jones, executive editor, Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies (www.jsri.ro)
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not know." -Blaise Pascal
"With man, instinct and reason avoid each other with adversity, yet, by repudiating each other they lure each other to reach mutual correction." -Lucian Blaga
"Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer." -Immanuel Kant
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