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From FUSION, page 1
in healthy food between the store and restaurant businesses all in one convenient location.
Milton and Karen always loved going out to dinner and made the drive to Durham once a week to enjoy upscale dining at the Magnolia Grill, now closed. The Southern Pines area, at that time, lacked any upscale dining niche. There were a few restaurants in town, however. Nature’s Own Market & Café was not considered upscale. Milton, a true, dedicated entrepreneur, decided when they made the move to turn 195 American Fusion into its own entity, the focus was to make it fine dining. “I would like to mention we are an eclectic, casual, upscale dining experience. I think our menu touches on just about every cuisine and I want everyone to be able to find something they enjoy on our menu,” Anna said.
The ingredients for 195 American Fusion’s cuisine are sourced locally whenever possible. C.V. Pilson Farms is one such local source – and yes, this is part of the Pilson Family. “This is where we get our very famous sweet potato wedges as well as our strawberries for our seasonal strawberry quesadilla dessert,” Anna said. Recently, 195 American Fusion began using SGT Peppers Mushroom Farm for their gourmet mushrooms. They obtain goat cheese and related products from Paradox Farms. They support the local community and economy whenever possible and in doing so, they have a farm to table approach in fine dining. The Pilot’s 2022 Best of the Pines declared 195 American Fusion the Best Farm to Table Restaurant in the area, in fact. Derek Platt and Alex Turner are the faces behind the food. Pilson explained, “They’ve been with us for multiple years now, and training under our former Executive Chef Prem Nath, were able to become experts in our old dishes, and bring a good mix of new items into play. Syrups for the bar drinks are all created in-house. They juice daily which keeps everything as fresh as possible. They have signature cocktails and rotate the seasonal cocktails. They offer craft beer, a full bar, and a variety of non-alcoholic options besides a variety of wines. Derek carefully curates the wine list to pair with items on the menu. Nice to have someone in the back of the house control what goes on in that respect.
You can order wines based off appointment for further details.
Anna comments on 195 American Fusion’s dedication to the ultimate in customer service. “We have always strived to give excellent customer service. I like to have a small staff,” she told GFBJ. “They know who all our regulars are and a lot of times those people turn into family. I think people enjoy coming here and seeing friendly faces and having the servers know what they want before the customers themselves even tell them. Just like a part of the family. Even with the influx of military and all the new faces and growth the community has experienced, though the restaurant has become much busier, I will say that we have always been able to maintain that high quality standard.”
“Consistency is key to having a successful restaurant,” she continued. “Make sure your front door never has fingerprints on it.” These wise words are ones Anna learned from her father. She knows the secret to the best customer service rests in dedication, high quality in every sense of the word, great food and drinks and extreme cleanliness. 195 American Fusion strives each day to meet the highest standards possible coupled with heartfelt southern hospitality – where everyone feels at home, just like one of the family.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY 195 AMERICAN FUSION Derek Platt (pictured left) and Alex Turner (pictured right) trained under former Executive Chef Prem Nath to master old dishes and bring new flavors to the table.
flavors created in the kitchen.”
The restaurant features a lovely outdoor patio and bar, open yearround. Last year, they installed overhead heaters. The heaters keep the outdoor dining area warm when the cooler months arrive while patrons enjoy the same outdoor ambience. Aside from the normal seating and reservations, 195 American Fusion rents out the space for private events, too. Rehearsal dinners, bridal showers and just about any other event the customer desires. Customers can inquire about the private dining room off the main dining room. The private dining room serves to fulfill customer needs for private functions indoors. On and off-site catering are available. All menus are customizable to fit customer needs. Call 910-692-7110 or email Anna at anna@195americanfusion.com for more information or to make an The hours of 195 American Fusion are: Sundays and Mondays, closed; Tuesday-Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. To make reservations or ask questions, call 910-692-7110. The lunch and dinner menus along with other information about 195 can be found on the website at www.195americanfusion.com.
Greater Fayetteville Business Journal welcomes Hatton, Meador to editorial team
Greater Fayetteville Business Journal is excited to introduce two new hires to its editorial team.
FAITH HATTON joined the team on July 25. A graduate of Appalachian State University, Hatton holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Media Broadcasting.
Hatton Prior to joining GFBJ, Hatton was a multimedia journalist and anchor at KMOT, a TV station in Minot, North Dakota that is affiliated with NBC and Fox, and then worked as a reporter for the channel’s sister station, KFYR-TV.
STEPHANIE MEADOR joined the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal team in the role of contributing writer/ reporter on Aug. 8. Meador holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from
Meador the University of Central Arkansas. Among her experiences are fiction section editor and the nonfiction editor for The Vortex Magazine, short story judge for Reedsy, and intern positions for youRhere| Modern Retreats and the International Leadership Association.
GFBJ Editor Jenna Shackelford, who has been supervising both Hatton and Meador, is excited to see them both excel in their positions. “Both Faith and Stephanie are passionate about what they do, and they both bring an abundance of skills to the table,” she said. “They’ve been hard at work, so people who have kept up with the Journal’s print edition and daily newsletter have already seen their efforts to cover and uplift GFBJ’s thriving seven-county region.”
Sampson Regional Medical Center has been recognized by online medical resource Healthgrades as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient.
This recognition places SampsonRMC in the top 10 percent of all short term acute care hospitals evaluated by Healthgrades.
“This is a real honor for us, especially being recognized three years in a row. We take great pride to be among the nation’s hospitals earning this distinction. We work hard every day to deliver safe and quality care to our patients, and this award reflects that commitment,” said Dr. Shawn Howerton, chief executive and medical officer for Sampson Regional Medical Center. “This level of quality care is possible because of our providers, leadership, and staff who make continuous improvement a priority. We value our team and their commitment to keep patients safe in our hospital,” stated Dr. Howerton in a press release.
After a study period that lasted between 2018 through 2020, Healthgrades graded hospitals across the U.S. based on four main patient safety indicators that accounted for 74 percent of all patient safety events. These include: hip fractures due to an in-hospital fall, collapsed lung resulting from a procedure/surgery, pressure or bed sores acquired in-hospital, and catheter-related bloodstream infections acquired in-hospital.
Hospitals awarded the Patient Safety Excellence Award were found to have less patient risk in those four areas when compared to non recipient hospitals.
“Through our 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Awards, we seek to recognize hospitals that excel in providing top-quality care for their patients while preventing serious injuries during hospital stays,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer and head of data science with Healthgrades. “We are proud to name Sampson Regional Medical Center as a 2022 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient and look forward to their continued efforts to make patient safety a priority.”
What are you and your peers achieving? Have you reached a new goal? Have you acquired another business? Maybe your business has a new hire you would like to highlight. Greater Fayetteville Business Journal wants to hear from you and your business to shine a spotlight on your accomplishments.
To nominate someone for GFBJ’s Achievers section, email editor@bizfayetteville.com with the subject line “Achiever.”
for City of Fayetteville
ROSE RASMUSSEN has been appointed to the Internal Audit director role. She began in the position on Aug. 1. The responsibilities of her new position include overseeing the City’s Internal Audit Office, which is charged with as-
Rasmussen sisting City Council with oversight of City resources through audits and fraud investigations, and ensuring City government remains transparent and accountable.
Rasmussen’s employment with the City began in March 2014 when she started working as a financial analyst. Upon establishment of the Internal Audit Office, she was promoted to senior internal auditor where she aided in developing the office. An Army veteran, Rasmussen has over 20 years of accounting, finance and audit experience. Rasmussen is enthusiastic about her new role and her opportunity to play a part in City leadership during a time of transformative growth. She anticipates leveraging her broad view of the organization to provide key perspective to City leaders while growing and developing her team.
Rasmussen spoke about the specific professional privileges and challenges that accompany work as an auditor: “Every audit is a new challenge and a chance to improve our City’s processes. As an auditor, we are privileged to work with all City departments and learn about their processes. This gives the Internal Audit Office a holistic view of the organization. The Internal Audit team will expand as we hire new employees. We anticipate the creation of a flexible audit plan that will allow the Internal Audit Office to focus on areas where our attention is needed, when we are needed.”
Fayetteville State student research team receives recognition from NASA with award winning design
A research team of two Fayetteville State University Students, LAURA DESANTIS and KYLE SCHULTZ, one student from North Carolina State University, CHRIS ARSENAULT, and their FSU faculty advisor, SAMBIT BHATTACHARYA, PHD traveled to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio to present their winning project: “Improving the Design of Heat Exchangers with Artificial Intelligence.”
The team developed an artificial intelligence (AI) driven, multifunctional, lightweight and more efficient heat management systems for NASA’s University Student Design Challenge 2021-2022. The competition works with universities from around the country to find designs that will help NASA meet its mission needs. After having their project accepted, they partnered with NASA scientist Dr. Ezra McNichols spent the next few months collecting data, developing and testing software and collaborating with their NASA connection preparing to present their work.
NASA announced the winners of the competition in April of 2022, and winning teams were invited to the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) for an event in June.
Teams made presentations on their winning designs for GRC senior leadership, personnel, subject matter experts, and interns and faculty.
“It’s been extremely rewarding and exciting to mentor this team throughout this process and see them engage with NASA scientists and engineers creatively and innovatively to help address genuine, specific challenges facing NASA,” Bhattacharya said in a press release. “Their curiosity, drive, tenacity, and intellectual agility in this challenge have been inspiring, and they have earned and deserve this honor. I am so pleased to have served as their faculty advisor, and
FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
Laura DeSantis and Kyle Schultz, Chris Arsenault, and Sambit Bhattacharya, PhD.
