Greenville Life in the East - Spring 2022

Greenville LIFE in the EAST

INSIDE:

SPRING 2022

SIDE BAR, COFFEE + SPICE, DWAINE COOPER, SPAZZ FEST, CONTAINER PARK

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SE HABLA ESPANOL

SIDE BAR:

Veteran restauranteurs revamp Dickinson Avenue venue to serve Tex-Mex fusion.

Publisher Robin L. Quillon Editor Bobby Burns

COFFEE + SPICE:

Contributing writers Donna Davis, Kim Grizzard, Pat Gruner, Mackenzie Tewksbury Photographers Willow Abbey Mercando Regional Advertising Director Craig Springer

Advertising representatives Christina Ruotolo, Lewis Smith & Rubie Smith Creative services director Jessica Harris

Family transforms west Greenville home into trendy spot for dinner, lunch and a great cup of joe.

DWAINE COOPER: The new director of the Pitt County United Way is energizing the agency with ideas and enthusiasm.

SPAZZ FEST:

An underground music festival with a faithful cult following is back for 2022 this coming March.

AMANTE TACOS:

Developer and chef create a new home for outdoor eating in the Uptown District.

Creative services Lora Jernigan, Dusty Hubel Layout design Emily Leach Greenville: Life in the East is a publication of The Daily Reflector and Adams Publishing Group ENC. Contents may not be reproduced without the consent of the publisher.

Greenville LIFE in the EAST

INSIDE:

SPRING 2022

SIDE BAR, COFFEE + SPICE, DWAINE COOPER, SPAZZ FEST, CONTAINER PARK

Customers enjoy lunch at Coffee + Spice on Friday, Jan. 7.

Spring 2022

4-7 10-15 18-19 20-26 28-29

The new year brings new hope and optimism for great things to come.

In this issue of Greenville Magazine-Life in the East, we explore a few of the great new developments in our community. Sisters Alicia and Bianca McKesson already are attracting attention with their sophisticated menu and fine brews at Coffee + Spice on West Fifth Street. Writer Kim Grizzard learned the home they renovated there with help from their parents has continued its tradition as a gathering spot since it opened in September.

Their business is among several new dining experiences creating a buzz. Heading to the Uptown District, veteran restauranteurs Tandi and Jacob Wilson have teamed up with chef Kevin Kayes to open Side Bar to serve Tex-Mex fusion in the former location of Trollingwood Taproom on Dickinson Avenue. Around the corner at Dickinson and Reade Circle, developer Thomas Taft and chef Brandon Qualls have created Amante Tacos & Tequila in Taft Container Park, a new home for outdoor eating in the district. Mackenzie Tewksbury caught up with all of them to learn what’s in store. It’s not all about food, though. There’s new music coming in the new year, too. Spazzfest organizer and promoter Jeff Blinder told writer Donna Davis all about it. And there is public service with Dwaine Cooper, who took the helm at the Pitt County United Way in May and is leading with energy and enthusiasm. He told writer Pat Gruner what's new with the agency this year. Of course this just scratches the surface but we hope it gives readers a taste of good things to come. Be smart and be careful but have a great and happy new year!

— Bobby Burns

Greenville: Life In The East

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MAKES FOUR No place like Greenville to run a restaurant for Tandi Wilson & Co.

By Mackenzie Tewksbury

By Willow Abbey Mercando lawyer, a tattoo artist and a professor walk into a bar.

No, this isn’t the start of some silly joke, but rather what Greenville business owner Tandi Wilson thinks makes her businesses – and Greenville – so special.

“We get college students, we get families, we get lawyers, we get electricians. We get every facet of Greenville, from rich to poor, from young to old,” Wilson says. “Anyone can come in to Christy’s and just get along.

It’s a complete dive bar and it’s just like Cheers.”

Wilson, who started bartending at Christy’s Euro Pub in 2007, bought the bar just two years later when she was 26 years old, and now owns the bar with her husband Jacob Wilson. Since then, she has opened three more businesses in downtown Greenville: Dickinson Avenue Public House in 2015, Jarvis Street Bottle Shop in 2016, The Side Bar opened on Dickenson Avenue in November with a Tex - Mex Fusion menu. It's the fourth venture for Christy's Euro Pub owner Tandi Wilson.

and just this past November, Side Bar, a Tex - Mex Fusion joint right next to DAP House.

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

Tandi Wilson, who started as a bartender at Christy's Euro Pub, stands outside her latest venture, Side Bar.

Some of the Side Bar crew includes, from left, Taylor Johnson, Kevin Kayes, Megan Scherer, Jacob and Tandi Wilson, Hannah Garrison and Eric Amato, along with the Wilson’s children, Carson and Marion.

Photo by Kyle Roebuck

Spring 2022

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Wilson holds daughter Carson next to the bar at Christy’s, where she got her start in the restaurant business.

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

She has now watched all four of her businesses grow and evolve, ushering in those from all walks of life, creating the Cheers feel — where everyone knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.

“I came here for college and it was kind of just a party town. I ultimately stuck around because of Christy’s. Seeing the people that come in and out, it’s such a local establishment,” she said. “That’s what I feel like really makes Greenville. It’s not where we are, but it’s the people that live here.”

It’s this idea that made opening Side Bar an easy decision for Wilson and her partners. Wilson opened the restaurant with her husband Jacob and longtime kitchen manager from Christy’s, Kevin Kayes. Jacob Wilson, originally from Houston Texas, said he grew up around Tex Mex, Southern, Cajun, and Creole fusions of food and flavor, and the menu of Side Bar mimics his influence — offering things like smoked duck tacos, lamb barbacoa croquettes and shrimp and

The crew works in the kitchen at Christy’s.

chorizo empanadas.

“For years we’ve said we wanted to open up another smaller, very focused place where tacos were the center of it,” Wilson said. “It was just a love of all that food tied together.”

Jacob and Tandi used to joke about opening a “side bar” next to DAP House, and when the space became available, the idea actually started taking flight. That, paired with the roots they’ve already planted in Greenville, made all of it just start to fall into place.

“We also talked for years about opening up something in Chapel Hill or Raleigh or Asheville to spread our wings a bit, but when it came down to it, we enjoy being close to our restaurants. How can you be

Staff behind the bar at Christy’s works the lunch shift.

more close than right next door?”

With four businesses open in Greenville, Tandi is happy with the direction Greenville is going and is excited to be a part of it.

“We’ve developed roots here. Greenville’s been really good to us,” she said. It’s full of really true people, and that’s what makes it so special.”

So, whether you’re a lawyer, a tattoo artist or a professor, take a seat at any of Wilson’s Jacob and Tandi Wilson with Kevin Kayes.

The Wilson family.

bars, and know you’re the reason why it’s

Kyle Roebuck

Kyle Roebuck

special.

Spring 2022

Greenville: Life In The East

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Visit us at www.pittschools.org.

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

Kim Cobb

Kitchen & Bath Designer 252-754-1155

Spring 2022

Lora C. Jordan

Kitchen & Bath Specialist 252-814-7438

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Greenville: Life In The East

Debbie Carter (252) 670-2548

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Spring 2022

STEEPED IN

Community Coffee + Spice brings neighborhood flavor to west Greenville

By Kim Grizzard

Y

By Willow Abbey Mercando

ears ago, when people living in west Greenville had something important that they wanted to save, they brought it to Mamie Paige Hall and asked her to keep it for them.

After all, the home that belonged to the longtime school teacher

was a community gathering spot of sorts. Besides, no one else in the neighborhood had a safe.

That safe sat on the front porch of 1025 W. Fifth St. for years after Hall died at age 74. When Marvin and Lititia McKesson purchased the property four years ago, they paid a locksmith to open it, finding only some old papers inside. They returned the documents to owners they could find but held onto the weathered, green safe, placing it by the front door of what is now Coffee + Spice.

As its name suggests, the neighborhood coffee shop and restaurant, which opened in September 2021, is a nod to the beginnings of the beloved beverage and the story of how spices were traveled and traded. But this also is a business steeped in the history of the community.

“This house has so much rich history, and it was known as the gathering house for the whole neighborhood,” co-owner and manager Alicia McKesson said. “Our goal was to have something for the community right here. It’s a gathering spot for community, and it’s right in the heart of the community.”

HISTORY OF HOSPITALIT Y Deborah Hall Ebron was born just a year after her mother paid $11,000 to build the home near the corner of West Fifth Street and McKinley Avenue on land that the Paige family had owned since almost the turn of the century. Next door had been a gas station that Hall’s father had operated.

“When they got rid of the filling station, she kept the safe,” Ebron said. “That safe sat there all of my life. Different people, if they had purchased something or they needed something for safe keeping, they would give it to her and put it in the safe.”

But preserving documents was not the only draw. Hall frequently hosted gatherings for colleagues in education as well as for fellow members of the Junior Ladies Auxiliary.

Her daughter followed suit, inviting so many friends she met at nearby Fleming Street and C.M. Eppes schools that they began to refer to her home as Club 1025.

Spring 2022

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“We would walk home from school,” Ebron recalled. “We couldn’t cut up on those streets.

You had to have a level of respect for the community. But later on, those people who lived there and wanted that community to stay like that, they died, and other people moved in.”

By the time Ebron left home, got married and began raising her children, the idyllic neighborhood from her childhood had become an environment she hardly recognized.

“When we would come home from church sometimes, you could hear the gunfire,” she said. “I remember my son ducking down in the seat to ride from McKinley Avenue to the driveway to get home.”

NE W NEIGHBOR Although the city’s west Greenville revitalization efforts had been going on for more than a decade when the McKessons purchased the property in 2018, the home was still in need of upgrades. It took about a year and a half to remodel the structure, allowing plenty of time for curious passers-by to stop in and inquire about their new neighbor.

Some were surprised to learn about plans for a restaurant and coffee shop.

Although restaurants and residential

J’Quan Moore and Mary Frank show off the courtyard at Coffee + Spice.

areas coexist in many cities, separation between community and commerce is more commonplace in Greenville.

A lavendar and honey latte from Coffee + Spice.

“Coffee and tea shops have always been

Photo by Emily Leach

sort of a gathering spot for communities,” co-owner Bianca McKesson said. “We chose this property because it’s right in the neighborhood, within walking distance.

We wanted to build upon what the City of Greenville has already started to do in that part of Greenville. This is part of the charm that it’s in a neighborhood that’s unique.”

Did anyone try to dissuade them from choosing this location in favor of an area typically frequented by more upscale clientele?

“I don’t think we ever asked,” Alicia said, laughing.

Marvin McKesson said family members

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

opted not to spend time or money doing a market analysis that some restaurant chains use to determine location. They didn’t calculate the number of pedestrians and motorists who pass along this route on a typical day or measure the distance to the nearest Starbucks.

“I just think the girls and us as a family said, ‘This is the spot,’” he said. “This is what we want.”

UNIQUE BLEND Many aspects of the restaurant opening

Alicia McKesson prepares a lavendar and honey latte.

have been equally unconventional. Of the McKesson “family of foodies,” only Marvin has a food service background, having managed restaurants early in his career before going to work with Kraft Foods and moving to Greenville in 1996. Daughters Alicia and Bianca, both J.H. Rose High School alumni, chose to study health sciences and education. Bianca, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is a middle school English teacher in Durham who works remotely to handle promotions and public relations for Coffee + Spice. Alicia, who received a degree in nursing from East Carolina University, put her career in health care on hold to dispense coffee and tea.

“I love coffee,” said Alicia, who credits a trip to North Africa in 2018 with helping

The C+S burger on brioche.

to ignite this passion. “I started reading about it, the history of it. I kind of wanted to give it a platform (to) start from the original, its birthplace in Ethiopia, how it traveled through the Arabian Peninsula, how traditionally, in history its been brewed with spices. We don’t get that part so much.”

The Coffee + Spice menu reflects portions of the untold history in its coffee menu, which includes cardamom and cinnamon, lavender and honey lattes and spicy mocha in addition to more traditional coffee, cappuccino and espresso. Among the teas offered are Egyptian chamomile, Malawi antlers white tea, Kenyan black tea with golden tips and African honeybush tea.

Chef J’Quan Moore and Mary Frank prepare lunch.

Spring 2022

Executive Chef J’Quan Moore pairs spices

Greenville: Life In The East

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House salad with apple cider vinegarette & green tail shrimp.

Braised pork and grits with pickled onions and peppers.

Customers enjoy lunch in the dining room at Coffee + Spice.

from various world cultures with tastes from

Kandie Smith complimented the food and

coffee and tea in what was the home’s

the South for offerings including black-eye

atmosphere but said the location was her

former dining room.

pea and collard soup, chicken and cornbread

favorite part of the experience.

Lititia McKesson, who designed both the

waffle, crispy turkey wings or “catch and grits,”

“They have welcomed the neighbors as well

indoor and outdoor space, preserved as

(fresh catch, cheese grits and crawfish etoufee).

as those who have historically avoided this

much of the original structure as possible,

Moore, 24, practiced his cooking

area out of false fear,” she wrote, calling Coffee

retaining the floors and fireplace, along with

techniques with his family at home before

+ Spice a godsend in terms of investment into

some of the interior walls, which the owners

serving as a pastry chef at The Hackney in his

the west Greenville community.

plan to decorate with photos showcasing local

native Washington, N.C. He has found a sweet

Ebron agreed.

landmarks. The restaurant’s kitchen is located

spot at Coffee + Spice, where he creates

“To see people not of African-American

where Hall once cooked for family and friends.

sugary desserts, such as poached pear with

descent coming up into that area and

Ebron believes her mother would

whipped mascarpone and gingerbread

enjoying a cup of tea or sitting out, it’s a

have been pleased to see the McKessons

crumbs, along with spicy main-course dishes.

welcoming thing to see,” she said. “It’s a

safeguarding her legacy of commitment to

“I love African spices; I like Indian spices,”

new thing that hasn’t always been. I’m just

community.

he said. “I really, really love Southern flavors,

thrilled to death that people want to come.”

“What is going on up there makes us very

so if I can find a way to take those flavors and

Intimate seating within the 1,200-square

proud as a family,” Ebron said. “I’m so happy

tie them into things that people are used to

foot former home, along with outdoor tables

that the McKessons thought enough of that

when they come to the South, that’s what I’m

within a gated courtyard, make for what

particular spot and the history of it.

shooting for.”

Alicia considers more of a “comfort spot”

LOCATION AND LEGACY

than a “hot spot.”

Closed on Mondays, Coffee + Spice had to turn away patrons multiple times during

“They just embraced the community tried to learn about everybody that lived in the community,” she said. “That really has made the difference.”

a recent hourlong interview. On other days,

Coffee + Spice, 1025 W. Fifth St., is

Response to the restaurant has been

an eclectic crowd from medical students

open Tuesdays-Sundays. Hours and other

positive. In a social media post, N.C. Rep.

to retired educators comes inside to order

information are available at coffeespice.net.

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Greenville: Life In The East

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LIKE” US ON

CARING a bout COMMUNIT Y N E W U N I T E D W AY D I R E C T O R TA K I N G W H O L I S T I C A P P R O A C H TO H E L P I N G N E I G H B O R S

By Pat Gruner

By Willow Abbey Mercando

“The board hired me to take care of a community that I already love.”

Dwaine Cooper, director of the United Way of Pitt County

T

he newest leader of the United Way of Pitt County wants people to know that the group is living up to its name.

Dwain Cooper sits at his desk at the United Way offices in Greenville.

Dwain Cooper said his primary goal leading

the organization is to provide services across the county. He emphasized that the group is meant to serve all of Pitt County.

“I am glad to say we have a footprint in every municipality here in the county,” Cooper said. “We have done some work in Bethel, in Pactolus, Grifton and Grimesland.

I want us really to live up to that name of Pitt County. Taking care of Greenville here as well, but really reaching out to the rural communities to make sure we have a footprint there. It is a small footprint, but a footprint just the same.”

Cooper was named president and chief operating officer of the organization in May after four years of serving as the organization’s director of community impact and communications. He said his tenure has been smooth so far.

“The board hired me to take care of a community that I already love,” Cooper said.

“I have been here over 30 years and raised my children here. They have been a part of the fabric of Pitt County as well as myself and my wife.”

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

“The transition has been a pretty easy one

is staffing. In smaller towns, you do not.”

Valentines Day. We will be doing something

in the sense that I was already doing a lot

“The United Way has people contacting

once a month every year.”

of things to address issues in the community

them to do projects,” Brown continued.

When Cooper arrived to Greenville,

through the United Way. I wanted to continue

“These are people seeking to do services.

his first job was as a teaching assistant at

doing that great work I was already doing.”

I am amazed at the students for instance.

Elmhurst Elementary. He has also worked as

Gloristine Brown, mayor of Bethel, said

There are people from so many backgrounds

a training coordinator for Pitt County Special

Cooper’s goal to get into the rural reaches of

and when they come to a rural area like

Olympics and an after school programs

the county is not a new one.

Bethel they are amazed at the things that

coordinator for Pitt County Schools. The

“I can remember before Dwain became

need done. They have not been exposed to

focus on inclusivity and education is not lost

director, before the pandemic, that he was

country living, that rural lifestyle. They are

on Brown, who said it is nice to see small

already trying to reach out to the various

always gung-ho and have a smile on their

towns get a seat at the table.

areas in the county,” Brown said. “Their was a

face when they are helping.”

“He is going to be great leadership for the

listening session here in Bethel at the Family

Partnerships like the ones with ECU Dental

United Way,” Brown said. “When you have

Life Center where citizens could come and

and other groups are an essential part of

different organizations set in only a certain

voice what they want. It gave them a feel of

Cooper’s strategy he said.

area, some people do not feel included. When

what they want north of the river and in Bethel.

“That is the kind of things we want to

he says Pitt County, he means Pitt County.”

It was very informal and they let the citizens

do more of,” Cooper said. “Trying to get

“We want people to think of us first,

talk about whatever was on their mind.”

companies on board to participate in things

whether it is our corporations or agencies,

Support for rural communities will also

like a monthly challenge, such as Share

just as someone who can point you in the

require help from partners and businesses,

the Warmth in January. In February, we

right direction,” Cooper said. “We are here

some of which have already stepped up in a

ask people to write note cards to health

to do great work and we really are just

major way, Cooper said. Publix Supermarket

care workers and teachers to deliver on

neighbors helping neighbors.”

painted Grimesland’s Town Hall. A “Share the Warmth” drive by Thermo Fisher Scientific collected 113 coats, 397 pairs of socks and 112 pairs of gloves for Pitt County Schools students. East Carolina University dental students volunteered through the United Way to clean up the yards of senior citizens in Bethel, something Brown said was a huge help.

“I worked with the Council on Aging, who worked with the United Way to send a group of students down here,” Brown said. “When you are in a rural area there are very limited resources available. You do not always have the staffing to do, for instance, the clean up that you need done. You have to improvise so volunteer help is a huge help for small towns.

When you are in need in say Greenville, there

Spring 2022

Dwain Cooper and other United Way staff members sort through some of the items for the Share the Warmth drive for students at Pitt County Schools.

Greenville: Life In The East

19

Spazzfest promoter Jeff Binder said Molly’s Community Cafe will be home base for the 13th annual music festival in march.

Photo by Willow Abbey Mercando

Paleface has been involved with Spazzfest from the beginning and will be an anchor act at Spazzfest XIII. Contributed

A colorful moment at past Spazzfest.

Contributed

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Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

SPA Z ZFEST XIII F EST I VA L B R I N G S M U S I C , CO M M U N I T Y TOG E T H ER

By Donna Davis

The iconic local music festival with something of a cult following is back in 2022 for its 13th year.

Those who grew up with the festival are faithful and enthusiastic supporters. But folks new to town or living outside the Spazz bubble may benefit from some background and context.

The organizer and Spazzevangelist himself, Jeff Blinder, is happy to oblige.

Zack Mexico performing at a past Spazzfest Contributed

Wild times at past Spazzfest.

Contributed

Spring 2022

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Cousin Boneless performing at Spazzfest in 2017.

Contributed

“I don’t make music, but I curate,” said Jeff Blinder, the Spazzevangelist.

Contributed

JIMMY performing at Spazzfest X. Contributed

Spazzfest_s songwriter round robin at the Greenville Museum of Art in 2015.

The Daily Reflector

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Greenville: Life In The East

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THE SPAZZASTARTIUM (HOW IT GOT STARTED) “I’ve been booking stuff since 2003, for 20 years, almost,” Blinder explained. He operates under the umbrella of “Spazz Presents” and seemingly every weekend, and a number of weekdays, Blinder gushes on social media with teasers about musical performances like “Don’t say Greenville never gets any cool tours coming through.” If touring acts passing through are his bread-and-butter, local bands discovering and honing their musical identities are the favorite beverage and sustaining hydration.

“The festival itself came about when one weekend I had gotten a lot of requests from bands to come through the same weekend, and I said, ‘I really like all these bands. How am I going to do this?’”

A half dozen touring acts were asking to come on the same nights in addition to a number of local acts he tried to promote. “I said we’ve got to do something special, to make it more special. I turned it into a festival. It was like Friday and Saturday, with like three or four bands each night and three or four locals.”

It was a couple of years before Blinder figured out why all the bands were coming through at the same time. They were coming from the Austin, Texas, South by Southwest festival.

It’s described as a conglomeration of film, interactive media, and music festivals that some just call “South By.” Soon the bands at South by Southwest were telling other bands, “Hit up Jeff in Greenville.”

So instead of eight bands asking, it was 15, then the next year, 25. “It kept getting bigger and bigger, and with that we made the festival bigger and bigger,” Blinder said. “We kind of got word of mouth going with the underground, independent bands.”

THE SPAZZACAUSIUM (ALL THE RIGHT REASONS) Then Blinder got the idea to combine the festival with a benefit. “One of the local acts came down with a cancer diagnosis. I said, ‘We have to give the touring acts some gas cash but I’ll tell them it’s probably going to be one of the better shows on their tour because everyone’s in it for the right reasons, for someone from the community.”

The first couple of Spazzfests were at The Tipsy Teapot on Evans Street in downtown. “The

SPA ZZFEST RETURNS TO GREENVILLE MARCH 24-27 with events at multiple venues.

Homebase this year will be Molly’s Community Café, 300 Evans St., next to the Pitt County Courthouse.

second one was a big benefit for our friend, to get some money for him so he could have his cancer treatments. He was keyboardist in a local band called Lonnie Walker,” Blinder said.

“So we had some really great touring acts and the locals coming together for all the right reasons. And it was really good to see that in Greenville. Showing that you can do something for someone else is really important for the community. Sometimes it’s good to see that you’re doing things outside yourself. But when they see people doing things for the right reasons, I see the community kind of turn toward being kinder to each other.”

Other expected venues include Pitt Street Brewing, The State Theatre and Dirty Dan’s.

Partial lineup includes Paleface along with local acts Vstlty, Paper Skulls and Nu Clear Twins.

The next year the benefit was for The Tipsy Teapot, the venue that had been supportive of Blinder and local musicians. “Businesses like that really struggle because you have a whole summer when you’re not making money because the kids are gone,” Blinder said.

“The owner, Delia, said ‘We might be closing in a few months.’ I said, ‘Wait for Spazzfest … we’ll make it for you.’ And we made a lot of money for them. I told people, ‘This is our home base. Let’s do a benefit for them. And we were really able to help. I think they were able to

All inclusive Golden Tickets and al la carte tickets will be available.

Updates will be available at:

www.spazzpresents.com

keep things going for a year or two. We were able to get some people to see that this place is important and that it’s kind of a cultural hub and then some of those people graduate and leave. It’s the transitional nature of Greenville. But for that time we were able to help Tipsy Teapot and they helped me … I was able to have a place where we could do music.”

Blinder began to realize that Spazzfest was pretty special if it could basically save a business. “People started looking forward to it every year,” he said. “Some years I’m like ‘Oh Spring 2022

Greenville: Life In The East

23

gosh … I have to get ready for another one.

And then people remind me why I do it. It’s a lot of work, but it always makes the town feel like the best it can be … all the people coming together and seeing a bigger thing.”

THE SPAZZFAVORITE MEMORIES “Jeff has done an amazing job of bringing so much varied music to Greenville,” local musician Nathan Maxwell said. “Great folks, many of whom have become friends, thanks to his seemingly tireless enthusiasm and networking.”

Maxwell shared a memory from a few years back, when Birth Rattle (an improvisational group he was in with Jim Capps) played a set at Trollingwood Taproom with The Emotron and Robin from the band, On the Water.

“Everyone was given a harmonica and a tambourine, we started playing in a tight circle, slowly backing up through the space until we had expanded as far as we could, at which point we slowly moved back together again. When we started playing, there was conversation at the bar, but by the time we finished playing, everyone seemed entranced.

It was like no other musical experience I have ever had, and was so much fun!”

Musician McKenzie Shelton declared, “Spazzfest is definitely an iconic cultural event in Greenville’s recent history.” She describes her favorite Spazzfest memory: “Throughout my early 20s as a vocalist in Greenville, I participated in a few of the Spazzfest singer-songwriter round robins.

In this style of performance, musicians sit in a circle and take turns performing songs one at a time. I really enjoy this approach to performance; rather than having one stage that everyone is facing, the circular structure has all the performers facing each other, and the audience around us. To me this encourages listening, community-building and focus. It summons up both intimacy and observation between the performers and audience.”

Shelton described her first round robin at

Jeff Blinder in 2013.

Spazzfest: “One person performed an indie

The Daily Reflector

24

Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

lament and ended up destroying their guitar

go. “We do a thing called the golden ticket, so

on the ground by the end of it. That person

you can have access to everything. I keep it

is also a local comedian and worked at a

down to $50 for it and for that you get three

restaurant in town. This is what I love about

or four days of access to everything. And I do

Spazzfest and the legacy it brings; it’s a space

secret things like after parties, and merch if I

(lots of spaces, in fact) for experimentation,

get it. Bonus stuff for people who support. If

exploration, and communing through

I can sell like 50 of those before the festival

performance, not only for bands that travel far

hits, I have some money to work with and I can

distances to play, but for local talent as well.”

offer guarantees to bands that I feel are worth

David Brown, owner of David’s Used Books,

the money, but maybe there’s not going to be

said that he went to some of the Spazz shows

the biggest crowd because they’re not that

back when he was in college, but “officially

well-known yet. But in a year or two they’ll be

met” Blinder 4 or 5 years ago when Brown

known and people will be like ‘Oh, they played

was doing some record shows. “He came to

Spazzfest?’ And that gets a little buzz going.”

me and said ‘Hey, I’m doing this event the

As in major festivals, multiple events are

week in March. I see that you’re doing this

scheduled at the same time. When possible,

record show and it just happened to coincide.

he tries to get venues where attendees can

Would you mind if I put your record show on

walk from one to the other. “But if I don’t

the flyers?’ I said ‘Sure, yeah, go ahead.’ And

have that, I give a window of time so one

there was this huge turnout. A lot of people

starts a little earlier, some later, so if you

came out. He draws a very good crowd.”

like the vibe you can stick around and if you

And while the events falling on the same

While touring acts are a draw, Blinder

to bring synergy through collaboration turned

explains that locals are like the skeleton

out to be mutually beneficial. A few years later

he works around. “If I get a touring band

Brown needed someone to manage the record

interested, before I confirm them, I think

side of his business and he tapped Blinder.

about the locals that could play on that ship.

The locals will say ‘Yes’ before they even hear the bands because they trust me to put them in the right spot. That’s where my art comes in, because I don’t make music, but I curate.”

Concerning the festival’s demographics,

Last year, due to the pandemic, Blinder

Blinder said, “The older folks who are

had what he called Spazzfest Lite. “We did

interested actually make time to be there.

it out in the backyard of someone’s house.

They take off work and stuff.” Younger

Then we had a Spazzfest that was like a 12.5

people tend to come two nights in a row. He

because we were able to have some indoor

laughs and says “And I don’t see them the

stuff, and wore masks inside.”

next two nights because they’re sleeping.”

This year Spazzfest’s home base will be

For those that make it all four days, he has

Molly’s Community Cafe. “Now that’s not

what he calls a “Recovery Brunch” or “The

where everything’s going to be,” Blinder

Endurance Brunch” for “those who have all the

explained, “because Spazzfest is all over.

wristbands from all the venues and have the

We jump around to all places. But I’ll say,

ragged looking face.” He’s thinking of having

because they’ve been so good to us, that

something like that again this year at Molly’s.

will be home base.”

Touring musician Gregory Bortnichak performing at a past Spazzfest.

Contributed

While all the acts are not yet locked

Blinder plays matchmaker to the genres and

down, Blinder is certain Paleface will be an

venues so they are suited for one another, and

anchor, performing at Pitt Street Brewing.

so the crowd can move where they want to

Paleface has been a part of Spazzfest from

Spring 2022

Contributed

don’t you can go to another,” he said.

weekend was coincidental, Blinder’s efforts

GREAT SPAZZFEXPECTATIONS (WHAT’S ON TAP FOR SPAZZFEST XIII)

“Spazzfest is definitely an iconic cultural event in Greenville’s recent history,” said McKenzie Shelton, a local who has performed at Spazzfest.

Greenville: Life In The East

Nick Skulls of the Paper Skulls, a local band scheduled to perform at Spazzfest XIII. Contributed

25

The Nu Clear Twins, including Nathan Maxwell, right, are scheduled to play Spazzfest XIII. “Jeff has done an amazing job of bringing so much varied music to Greenville,” Maxwell said.

Contributed

the beginning and used to play at his old venue, the Spazzatorium.

“The history of Paleface is great because he comes from an antifolk movement from New York City, and that spawned Beck. Paleface actually had Beck’s sound before Beck had his sound. I won’t say Beck took it from him but they both definitely came together with that same style,” Blinder said.

Paleface can be heard on many of The Avett Brothers’ earliest, seminal albums, such as on the song “Dancing Daze,” off Four Thieves Gone and “Go To Sleep,” off of Emotionalism.

Blinder expects the schedule will include two nights at State Theatre (Friday and Saturday) with a kickoff event at a new spot called Dirty Dan’s (formerly Buggy’s Bar).

“Dirty Dan’s was, way back in the day, Peasant’s, where I saw some of my earliest big shows, like The Avett Brothers,” Blinder said.

Plenty of local acts such as Vstlty, Paper Skulls and Nu Clear Twins will round out the lineup. In addition to the all inclusive,“Golden

Providing the community with essential and in-demand materials, programs, space, and services to inform, inspire, educate and entertain.

Ticket” option, a la carte tickets will be available for purchase.

Spazzpresents recently launched an updated website, www. spazzpresents.com, with an animated logo by Merry Leigh that conjures thoughts of Creature Feature or Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Festival news and the complete schedule will be posted there as performances are confirmed.

4276 West Church Street Farmville, NC 27828 (252) 753-3355 library@farmvillenc.gov farmvillelibrary.org

And to quote one of Blinder’s spazztastic promotional posts, “This news should leave you quakey with giddiness!”

26

Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

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Spring 2022

Greenville: Life In The East

27

Brandon Qualls at Ford + Shep.

Contributed The outside of the new location of Amante Tacos and Tequila in Taft Container Park.

The kitchen area inside a converted shipping container.

28

Greenville: Life In The East

Spring 2022

PUSHING THE

E N V E LO P E Amante Tacos and Tequila to open in new container park

By Mackenzie Tewksbury

By Willow Abbey Mercando

s we all know, Ford + Shep owner Brandon Bennett Qualls is no stranger to culinary excellence. Partner this with developer Thomas Taft Jr. of Taft Family Ventures and the result is a new unique outdoor dining experience on the corner of Dickinson Avenue and Reade Circle called Amante Tacos and Tequila set to open in March.

Developer Thomas Taft partnered with Qualls to develop the container park for outdoor eating.

The kitchen area inside a converted shipping container in the container park.

Spring 2022

It’s not your typical restaurant.

It’s Latin food driven, offering a fresh and creative take on tacos and handhelds.

And it’s all made in modular shipping containers.

“I came across the shipping container conversion concept in a variety of different cities: Tampa, Greenville, South Carolina, and Austin. A lot of places we sort of hope to emulate in a lot of ways,” Taft said.

So, Qualls and Taft joined forces, working together to make their vision for this shipping container bar come to life. Both Qualls and Taft hope the space brings things that are unique and creative, offering Greenville something it’s never seen before both on and off the table.

“It wants to have this Miami feel, this secret garden feel once it matures,” Qualls said. “There will be live music, outdoor lawn chairs, sunshades and chaise lounges, day beds and fireplaces. We’ve planted a lot of yuca and pomegranate and kumquat trees.

We have plans for a garden scape to grow our own peppers for salsa and things like that.”

Qualls is responsible for the food and drink menu, and his goal for Amante is to continuously try to break the boundaries with both food and drink, offering creative, seasonal options you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

“There will be unique frozen drinks, anywhere from pistachio horchata to frozen hibiscus margaritas,” he said. “I wouldn’t be Greenville: Life In The East

surprised to see some wilder tacos, too. We were messing around with Brussel sprouts, a chocolate mole and some crispy pork belly for tacos. We’re pushing the envelope with tacos and handhelds.”

Whether you’re looking for a quick bite to eat, a night out with friends or a place to enjoy a nice day, Amante Tacos has something for everyone: from the young professional to families, all across the map.

“This is a place that I’d be as comfortable taking a business partner there for a lunch meeting as I would be taking my 3- and 5-year-old on a Saturday afternoon and sit on a blanket on the lawn and then also with buddies on a Saturday night at 11 p.m. drinking and listening to live music,” Taft said.

Taft Family Ventures has owned this piece of land for about two years, and while they originally had market rate townhome ideas, they were forced to pivot their ideas for the space. “We ran into some cost issues because that’s an expensive piece of dirt for just 12 or 13 townhomes,” Taft said.

Qualls has been invested in the food and beverage industry for nearly 13 years,and remains proud and excited about what Greenville is becoming.

“Amante means ‘lover’ and ‘fond of.’ Fond of pushing the envelope, fond of food and beverage,” Qualls said. “Amante is a labor of love.”

29

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