Crafaik

Class of 1993

John Michael "Mike" Crafaik, III (1971-2008)

John Michael Crafaik, III was born in Charlottesville in 1971. He attended Charlottesville High School and won a National Merit Scholarship. He joined the Beta Upsilon Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi on the 28th of August 1990.

The following is taken from an article by Courteney Stuart in The Hook.[1]

[After High School], Crafaik remained in Charlottesville to attend University of Virginia, where he double majored in physics and Russian, pledged Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, and used his hometown knowledge to show others a good time.

"He always looked out for guys from out of town," says Brian Smith, a New York native who was Crafaik's fraternity brother, ultimate frisbee teammate, and roommate for three years. "He took us to good spots, places around the city, parks, cool places to hike."

In the early 1990s, Crafaik's father, John Crafaik, owned the popular 24-hour eatery Littlejohn's, as well as an upstairs music venue called Jazz, a concept that the younger Crafaik started thinking about improving while still in college.

In 1994, a year after his graduation, he opened Michael's Bistro in the former Jazz location, offering fine dining and local music along with a then-brand new concept: microbrews. Besides encouraging faculty to patronize the restaurant and introducing craft-made beer to a still Budweiser-centric populace, Crafaik designed a wine list for budget-conscious diners and organized beer-tasting dinner parties.

Yet Crafaik also had another party in mind: the Republican Party.

"Most people only know him as a conservative bucking the tide in liberal Charlottesville," says author Doug Hornig. "The truth is that he was one of the most open-minded people politically that I've ever known. He was very interested in politics as a vehicle to change things for the better."

By 1997, Hornig says, Crafaik was hosting lively Wednesday night political discussions with fellow libertarians at the Bistro. "Michael," says Hornig, "believed that government was out of control because it had lost ability to trust people with their own freedom."

Backing his political views with action, Strzepek says, Crafaik donated to charities and volunteered for various local nonprofits including Literacy Volunteers of America, teaching immigrants to read.

"He believed very much that rather than government taking a direct role in addressing these problems," says Strzepek, "that private citizens should and could do these things better."

Although Crafaik was defeated in his two City Council runs--- in 1996 and 1998--- he became chair of Charlottesville's Republican party in 2000.

A memorial service for Michael Crafaik will be held at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church on Rugby Road at 2pm on Friday, December 19 [2008].

--The Hook,

Presented by: Gregory C. Zachmann, Class of '90

[1] “Life of the party: Crafaik left mark on business, politics,” by Courteney Stuart <stuart@readthehook.com>,The Hook. Published 3:35pm Tuesday Dec 16, 2008 in issue #0751. Used with permission of Courteney Stuart.

http://www.readthehook.com/73314/life-party-crafaik-left-mark-business-politics