By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 15, 2007

On her drive to work, Vicki Bendure often gets stuck driving behind a tractor or a hay wagon. Sometimes the horse trailers passing by her office make such a racket that clients ask if she's calling from a barn.

No, she tells them, that's just the main drag through Middleburg.

The tiny town, with a population of 641 and a single traffic light, doesn't seem to have strayed far from its rural roots. Nestled among horse farms and rolling hills, its quaint collection of shops, cafes and bed-and-breakfasts feels very far away from the high-tech towers of Reston and Tysons Corner, just 35 miles down the road.

But behind the traditional facades that line Washington Street is a thriving mix of big-city businesses. Lured by small-town charm and absence of traffic jams, investment firms, architects and Internet companies are among the businesses that have set up offices beside saddle repair shops and antique stores.

Bendure relocated her public relations and marketing firm to Middleburg from Bethesda 10 years ago to escape suburban sprawl and to be closer to her horses. Her husband runs a real estate company out of their home.

The town's too small for mail delivery (everyone has a post office box), and the nearest Kinko's is nearly an hour away. But, she said, that's the point.

"I thought I'd be isolated out here, but so many people are moving this way and they all need services," Bendure said. "It's bringing very sophisticated businesses."

Tucked away on the edge of Loudoun County's western border, Middleburg sits in the middle of a triangle of development: Winchester, where several federal agencies are gradually relocating operations; Leesburg, where commercial expansion is continuing; and the area surrounding Dulles International Airport. The location has turned out to be popular with a variety of entrepreneurs.

After long stints of working in Washington and Tysons Corner, Peter Justen brought his family to Middleburg two years ago and created MyBizHomepage.com, an Internet start-up that helps small businesses keep track of their finances. His office occupies the top floors of an old manor house in the heart of town, with wood-burning fireplaces and a pastoral mural painted on the staircase walls.

Around the corner, in what used to be a tavern frequented by fox hunters and steeplechasers, Charles Akre runs a $1.7 billion capital management firm, Akre Capital Management, which used to be located in Arlington. With clients all over the country, proximity to the airport is Akre's only business requirement.

And down the street, Brad Davis manages a $75 million private equity firm, Ridge Capital Partners. Originally from Chicago, he kept horses on property near Middleburg for two decades before moving there permanently three years ago. He said some of his District-dwelling colleagues also have expressed an interest in moving part or all of their business to the country.

"People come out here from an urban epicenter and think there's nothing here but grass growing," he said, sitting in an office that looks more like a cozy living room than an executive suite. "But that's not the way it is. People are beginning to realize there's more than shops on the main street and horses in the field. . . . You don't need to be in McLean or Reston -- you can do the same things out here."

About 65 percent of Middleburg's tax revenue comes from businesses, said Mayor Betsy Davis, whose day job is running the Fun Shop, her family's 50-year-old store. The growing business community also provides a built-in clientele for retailers and restaurants, many of whom have also relocated from larger cities such as Alexandria and Rockville.

Business expansion has brought with it some urban-style changes. Wireless Internet and cable lines have extended through town. The post office is often bustling with business owners. Staples makes next-day deliveries of office supplies. Traffic between Washington and Fauquier County has created a mini rush-hour in the late afternoon, but nothing a Beltway commuter would recognize.

The increasing number of people looking to work at least part of the week in Middleburg has created a demand for office space, which is becoming hard to find along the main corridor. An old boardinghouse above an antique emporium has been converted into offices. Across the street, a new building offers shared offices and communal conference rooms that local professionals can use as satellite offices or personal workspace.

And there are people like Lynne Kaye, who run businesses from home. After spending years commuting to an Arlington office, she began her own corporate strategy consulting firm in Middleburg and visits clients in Washington two or three times a week.

Local professionals have formed a networking group called Mosby's Rangers, named after the Confederate officer John Singleton Mosby, who led surprise attacks against Union outposts along the Loudoun-Fairfax railroad line. Each meeting reveals new members, many of whom telecommute.

Surrounded by multimillion-dollar estates in the heart of horse country, the town has long been a magnet for tourists and equestrian enthusiasts. The original businesses here were started by affluent residents, economic development officials said.

Residents' money is still playing a role in growth. Sandy Lerner, a co-founder of networking company Cisco Systems, owns a 1,000-acre organic farm in western Loudoun County and opened a market that sells locally grown produce and organic meats. Sheila Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, is building the Salamander Resort and Spa, a luxury hotel that will open in 2009 just outside of town.

The well-heeled patrons of such cosmopolitan attractions have helped bring big-city business to the boonies, said Claudia Dornin, Middleburg's economic development coordinator. But the town itself has a modest average income, and most residents are retirees or working-class employees of local schools and nearby farms.

"The amount of knowledge and experience is far more than a typical small town would have," she said. "But we're still somewhat of an agrarian working class. We have a different rhythm."