TCB Jan. 27, 2022 — Germane: Jermaine! by Triad City Beat

JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022 TRIAD-CITY-BEAT.COM

GREENSBORO EDITION

! E N I A M R E J : GERMANE JERMAINE EXUM IS (FINALLY!) THE OWN OF ACME COMICS! ER pg. 11

OF S P O P A D O S O G BINGO-BAN pg. 13

hiatt street update! pg. 4

our brand new website!

pg. 8

UP FRONT | JAN 20-26, 2022

Coronavirus in the Triad

(as of Wednesday, Jan 26) Documented COVID-19 diagnoses NC 2,323,482 (+175,705) Forsyth 82,989 (+6,255) Guilford 101,821 (+6,856) NC 20,440 (+403) Forsyth 673 (+20) Guilford 967 (+10)

COVID-19 deaths

Documented recoveries NC 1,926,579 (+178,491) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 85,010 (+6,691) Current cases

NC 376,463 (-3,189) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 15,843 (+155)

Hospitalizations (right now) NC 5,090 (+401) Forsyth *no data* Guilford 308 (+46) Vaccinations NC Partially vaccinated 6,222,263 (+19,838) Fully vaccinated 6,244,293 (60%, +10,321) Forsyth Partially vaccinated 246,283 (+632) Fully vaccinated 229,128 (60%, +847) Guilford Partially vaccinated 340,136 (+1,083) Fully vaccinated 319,236 (59%, +1,322)

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Brian Clarey brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS

Allen Broach allen@triad-city-beat.com

OF COUNSEL

Jonathan Jones

Michaela Ratliff michaela@triad-city-beat.com

Chris Rudd chris@triad-city-beat.com

SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

Nikki Miller-Ka niksnacksblog@gmail.com

EDITORIAL ADVISOR

Jordan Green jordan@triad-city-beat.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

ART ART DIRECTOR

STAFF WRITER

SALES SALES EXECUTIVE

Sayaka Matsuoka sayaka@triad-city-beat.com Nicole Zelniker nicole@triad-city-beat.com

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.681.0704 CHIEF CONTRIBUTOR KEY ACCOUNTS

Charlie Marion charlie@triad-city-beat.com

Drew Dix drew@triad-city-beat.com

Carolyn de Berry, James Douglas, Matt Jones, Jordan Howse, Jen Sorensen, Clay Jones

COVER

W-S: MICHAEL ROBINSON II OF BINGOBANGO SODA CO. IS EXPANDING HIS BUSINESS (PHOTO BY OWENS DANIELS) GSO: JERMAINE EXUM IS NOW OFFICIALLY THE OWNER OF ACME COMICS (PHOTO BY SAYAKA MATSUOKA) DESIGN BY CHARLIE MARION

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Dead men’s clothes

call it the Midtown Leather Coat: Black, of soft, almost buttery leathby Brian Clarey er, three buttons with two side pockets and a notched lapel. The men’s version comes down just low enough to cover your ass, the women’s version just short enough to reveal a glimpse. Hardy enough to withstand a brittle, sidewalk wind; layer it up with a sweater and a scarf and it can withstand the worst of the city’s winter. It looks good with jeans or slacks, pairs well with gold jewelry and sunglasses. And in 1994, virtually everyone in the New York Metropolitan Area, including most of Connecticut and New Jersey, had this coat. By the year 2000, the Midtown Leather Coat had gone nationwide. Things moved slower then. I didn’t have one then — I lived in Louisiana, where we didn’t wear coats — but I have one now. It’s a Gordon, meaning that it was once in the possession of my dear, departed Uncle Gordon, who in 2016 left

this world too soon. The jacket, along with a couple sweaters and shirts, eventually made their way to me. I wore the Midtown Leather Coat today, along with a plain, black dress shirt — a Bob, meaning that it was once my father’s. I don’t know that he ever wore this one. Feels like it’s never been washed, and the collar tabs are pristine. But it was still in cardboards when I found it, which means it dates back to a time when my father sent his shirts out to be laundered every week; they came back starched and folded around cardboard, stacked in boxes, ready to be deployed into the professional world. It’s been waiting for more than 10 years for me to take it out and put it on. Bob’s tuxedo, I know, has been in dry-cleaner’s wrap since the 1980s, when it was last worn, probably on New Year’s Eve. There was a red cummerbund and bowtie, too, a little red pocket square that’s really just a piece of cardboard with a bit of folded silk glued to it. Removing Bob’s tuxedo from the cellophane and paper was like unwrapping a mummy. Freed from its bindings, looking sleek and black and new, the jacket fit perfectly, ready for a whole new life.

The jacket, along with a couple sweaters and shirts, eventually made their way to me.

by Michaela Ratliff

THURSDAY Jan. 27

Organ Studio Recital @ Crawford Hall at UNCSA (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

Girl Power! Female Depictions in Art @ NC A&T State University Galleries (GSO) 10 a.m. The university galleries are displaying a collection of works dedicated to women in art until Feb. 22. Art by Black creators examines the female form and more in pieces covering various time periods and cultures. For more information, contact Paul Baker at pkbaker@ncat.edu or visit ncat.edu/ cahss/gallery. SECCA Book Club: The Memory Police @ SECCA (W-S) 6 p.m.

As part of the 10th Annual High School Organ Festival and Competition, students of Thomas Olsen will play a selection of songs, including works by César Franck during this free performance open to the public. Head to uncsa.edu/music/events/ organ-festival.aspx for more information. Satellite Screen @ a/perture Cinema (W-S) 7:30 p.m.

Songwriters in the Round @ Centennial Station Arts Center (HP) 7 p.m.

UP FRONT | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

CITY LIFE Jan. 27 - JAN. 30

High Points Arts Council is excited to present Songwriters in the Round, a quarterly concert series featuring local artists. Enjoy the sounds of William Nesmith and the Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs. Purchase tickets at highpointarts.org/ event/songwriters-in-the-round. The Shugga Daddies @ Ham’s Palladium (HP) 10 p.m. Ham’s invites you to party with the Shugga Daddies while they play a mix of rock, country, pop and dance covers.

SUNDAY Jan. 30 Join SECCA’s executive director Bill Carpenter for a discussion of The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. Learn more about the novel on the event page on Facebook.

1990’s Drag Brunch @ Earl’s (W-S) 12 p.m.

FRIDAY Jan. 28 Kundalini Yoga & Gong Sound Bath @ Humbled Warriors Yoga (HP) 6 p.m.

a/perture Cinema is excited to announce screenings of a special selection of films from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Learn more about the films at aperturecinema.com/film-series/sundance-satellite-screen.

SATURDAY Jan. 29

Explore the techniques, mantras and breath styles of Kundalini Yoga and meditation with Humbled Warriors’ newest instructor, Brian Ford. No experience required. Check the event page on Facebook for more information and future event dates.

Short Tales for Children @ Van Dyke Performance Space (GSO) 2 p.m. UNCG School of Theatre in collaboration with Creative Greensboro invites you to view four short original plays written by the Greensboro Playwrights’ Forum and directed by UNCG School of Theatre Education students. Admission is free with a suggestion of $5. Find more information on the event page on Facebook.

Celebrate the 90’s with Queer Winston-Salem during this drag brunch. Dress in your best 90’s attire and come ready to party with your favorite performers and queens. Purchase tickets at queerwinstonsalem.com. Glenn Miller Orchestra @ Carolina Theatre (GSO) 2 p.m. The Glenn Miller Orchestra has specialized in swing dance and jazz music since their formation in 1956. Now, they’re bringing their sounds to Carolina Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at carolinatheatre.com.

NEWS | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

NEWS Despite recent reports, owner of Hiatt Street mobile home park says residents have to be out by March 31 by Sayaka Matsuoka

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Despite local media reports, residents at the Jamison Mobile Home Park have until March 31 to vacate the property; a deal that allows them to stay until the end of the school year has yet to be agreed upon.

resenting Jerry Wass of Owl’s Roost Partners, said that the families have until “the t’s all pretty confusing. end of the Spring 2022 school semester before they vacate.” For the last six months, the residents at the Jamison Mobile Home “The buyer and seller heard the testimony of some of the residents at recent city Park situated off Hiatt Street in Greensboro have been going back council meetings and are empathetic about their situation,” Isaacson was quoted as and forth between the developer, who is buying the land they live on, saying. “The parties to the contract agreed to extend their closing date from Januand the seller: Lynn Anderson of Family Properties. ary to two weeks after the end of Guilford school year (i.e. June 19) to allow ample The land has been used as a mobile-home park for 50 years since Anderson’s grandfather owned the property. According to reporting by the News & Record, the time for residents to relocate.” However, in an email recently forwarded to TCB, Kelly land will be used for multi-family housing units. Morales, the executive director of Siembra NC, a Latinx As has been reported by multiple news outlets including Triad advocacy group that has been working closely with the City Beat, the residents of the park, which totaled about 21 fam[T]hese statements families, said that they had received no such written ilies at one point, originally hoped to buy the land so they could agreement that the families had an extended deadline. stay on the property. However, both Anderson and representatives about a post-school “The residents have NOT received written notice that of Jerry Wass of Owl’s Roost Partners have repeatedly told TCB year extension are... they have until the school year ends,” Morales wrote. and others that backing out of the sale, which was reported on not legally enforceable. “The last written notice they have received from the back in June, was impossible and legally untenable. current landowner, Lynn Anderson, states that they have At that point, the residents were told they had until the end of Kelly Morales, Siembra NC until March 31 to vacate. This means that although these September, then the end of December to vacate the premises. statements about a post-school year extension are being Shortly afterwards, the families received an extension until the made to the press, they are not legally enforceable.” end of January 2022. However, more recently, outlets such as the In a call on Jan. 20, Anderson reiterated what Morales said in her email to TCB. News & Record and Yes! Weekly have reported that the remaining residents have until “We don’t have a closing date,” Anderson said. “These people know they have to the end of the school year in June to leave. be out by March 31. We extended three months past the 180 days required.” But reporting by TCB has shown that there has been no written agreement between the parties that this is the case. Anderson noted that she has not been able to communicate with the residents as In a December article, Yes! Weekly reported that Marc Isaacson, the attorney repof late, expressing confusion at their dismay of the property’s impending sale.

NEWS | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

NEWS

CAROLYN DE BERRY

More than half of the families that used to live on the property have left.

Last fall, the residents and the surrounding community hosted a fundraiser to raise money for the families to buy the property. However, Anderson said that’s not an option. “I cannot get out of this contract without being sued,” Anderson said. “It is a legal contract that is binding. The tenants now, after we have a contract, they’re saying that they wanna buy it. But they could have bought it at any time. We never put the property on the market. [The buyer] came to us. [The residents] don’t own the land. We aren’t putting them out of a home. The contract has run out. I didn’t do anything illegal.” Anderson, who according to the News & Record inherited the property from her family and was directed by her recently deceased aunt to sell the lot, expressed little concern for the remaining families. She noted that she didn’t think to ever offer the residents to buy the property because they had “struggled to pay their rent” and that they all “signed a lease that said they could be given a 30-day notice” if the property were to ever be sold. “Their rent has not paid for the land,” Anderson said. In an email to TCB on Tuesday, Isaacson seemed to counter Anderson’s assertion that the families only had until the end of March to stay. “I spoke with the seller’s agent who confirmed that our understanding is correct — that the buyer and seller have agreed to delay closing until just after the end of the current school year to allow time for students at Hiatt Street to complete their studies at their current schools,” Isaacson wrote. “We are working to get a packet of documents together for residents to sign to agree to this timeline.” However, when asked about the discrepancy between Anderson and her agent, Isaacson responded with a message to TCB that he states was from Anderson’s agent. “Marc, I would just tell her that we are working with all parties to find a suitable resolution that all parties can agree to as we discussed yesterday,” Isaacson’s email read.

Michelle Kennedy, former at-large city councilmember and current director of the city’s neighborhood development department, told TCB that she hoped that the families would be able to stay until June but that the “final pieces haven’t been confirmed yet.” She also noted that the remaining families, of which there are nine, will have to receive funding from an outside source to relocate. “We’re working with the Community Foundation and other partners to identify the best course of funding,” Kennedy said. “I think they’re going to require complete support for relocation. It’s a costly endeavor and it’s been communicated to us that they’ll need complete funding for relocation.” The amount, Kennedy says, is not clear yet. “We’re working to get estimates on the cost for that move and what we’re looking at is a complete break down and then a complete set up where they are,” Kennedy said. In her email, Morales noted that some of the families who left at the end of last year have seen costs pile up due to relocation. That’s why her organization is advocating for a “feasible Plan B” that shows any changes in writing so that the commitments are legally enforceable. Kennedy, who has been meeting with residents on and off for the last several weeks, also expressed her willingness to support the families. “Our goal is to support these residents the best way we can,” she said. However, during the call, Anderson did not express any plans to extend the March 31 deadline. “These people have protested on our land,” Anderson said. “Why should I work with them? You don’t treat people like that and expect to work together…. They have moved on from me helping them, so no. At this point I have done everything that I can possibly do to help these people and they’re not interested in my help.”

NEWS | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

NEWS Roar looks to hire more than 100 employees by offering healthcare and more amidst staffing crisis

by Nicole Zelniker

COURTESY PHOTO

Neighboring restaurant owners say Roar’s plan to pay workers $15 per hour, plus tips and benefits, will not upend downtown Winston-Salem’s fragile serive-industry ecosystem.

iring more than 100 employees during a massive service-industry shortage is no easy task, but that’s what the people behind Roar need to do to run Winston-Salem’s newest dining and entertainment facility. Roar is located on North Liberty Street, where Twin-City Motor Co. used to be. Mayfair Street Partners purchased the 42,000-square-foot, three-floor building in 2019, according to the Winston-Salem Journal, and will offer bowling lanes, golf and basketball simulators and a vast array of restaurants, among other things. “That is a lot of employment opportunities here for this city,” said Gabe Higgins, Roar’s live entertainment director. “It’s not a hurdle. It’s a high point.” Higgins and the others at Roar plan to open the first part Gabe Higgins of the facility before the end of the month. To operate at full capacity, the facility needs servers, bartenders, line cooks, hostesses, sound techs, janitorial staff and even beer wall ambassadors, who will stand at the 90 beer taps across three floors and serve customers. Higgins said Roar has advertised with Indeed, an online hiring website, teamed up with local colleges and run job fairs out of Hotel Indigo located nearby. The facility needs approximately 80 employees to get started and 125 at full capacity.

“We are opening in sections,” Higgins said. “The entire building is not going to open next week, and my focus is the entertainment center. We’re going to have about a 700-person occupancy and bring in national acts. That’s another part that I’m really excited about. We don’t have to ride to Greensboro or run over to Charlotte. That will be opening in March, over St. Patrick’s Weekend.” So far, Higgins says Roar hasn’t had a problem with hiring, which he thinks is, in part, because of the benefits offered with a full-time job at the business, which include health insurance and 401-K contributions. “A lot of time with a typical service job, you don’t have those options,” he said. Roar comes to Winston-Salem at a time when other small businesses, even those in the downtown area, are suffering. Some are pushing to stay open, while others have shut their doors. Peyton Smith, owner of Mission Pizza, says he does not have concerns about his own business, but does worry about downtown Winston-Salem as a whole. “If we can’t see a rebound soon, then it’s not about our business going away but having to explore alternate options with where to put or how to conduct my

It’s not a hurdle. It’s a high point.

NEWS | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

COURTESY PHOTO

Roar’s concept includes bowling, indoor golf and a food hall with several options.

business,” Smith said. “But I don’t anticipate that decision being taken out of my hands.” On the other hand, Vivian Joyner, former co-owner of Sweet Potatoes, made the difficult decision to close her business for a day earlier this month because of staffing shortages. “We haven’t really had staff leave,” she said. “We’ve had staff be out. We’re working with a skeleton crew, so if a staff member has been out with COVID, depending on where that staff member is, we can’t continue.” Joyner has seen the same thing happen to several businesses she knows. That said, she has hopes that Roar will be good for the community. “Sweet Potatoes has been around for 19 years, and we hold nothing but a welcome mat for a new business that comes into the neighborhood,” she said. “It’s good for everyone. We’ve lost several really good restaurants over the last year and a half, so to have a new neighbor, we welcome them to the neighborhood and wish them the best.” Even with a smooth hiring process, Roar has had its share of struggles. Joseph Correll of Mayfair Street Partners, the company that owns Roar, says that the project was supposed to launch last year, but that the pandemic set them back. If all inspections go according to plan, he hopes to open part of the food hall before the end of January. “Opening in phases allows us to test out all the functionality of the different places of the building,” said Correll. “Being able to phase that stuff means you can catch issues maybe quicker than you could fire it up at once. Of course, it allows us to train smaller and more hands-on groups. But make no mistake, our goal is to get the place open as quickly as we can.” Roar currently has a handful of staff on board, and Correll sent out several offer letters last week. They are planning on hiring at least 40 people over the next month. “The challenge is real of getting people and retaining them,” said Correll. “Part of it is encouraging people, if they left because of being burnt out, there’s a lot of ways we can encourage them to come back through better benefits.” Roar is located at 633 North Liberty Street and will open within the next month. Learn more at roarws.com.

GEENA DAVIS Academy Award winner, known for roles in such films as The Accidental Tourist, Thelma & Louise, and A League of Their Own, and on television as the first female president in Commander in Chief.

FEBRUARY 26, 2022 UNCG AUDITORIUM | 8:00 PM For tickets visit UCLS.UNCG.EDU or call 800-514-3849

OPINION | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

EDITORIAL

OPINION

Upwards and onwards: TCB’s new website

t’s modern and it’s fast plus all the plug-ins we installed, the and it’s complicated, and programmatic ads running through like a lot of things about it, the custom code we’ve dropped this newspaper, it’s way all throughout, our site had come to better than it ought to be. resemble a barn built over a half-cenThough we’ve been working on tury, one room at a time. it for six months, Triad City Beat’s In spring 2020 we got a Google new website launched grant to build a new site with no fanfare this — or, at least, bring the It’s a custom week, and that’s how old one up to standards. we wanted it. For one, The first three developjob, built from we like surprises. For scratch, elegant ers we hired to do this another, we’ve seen way job ghosted us. Betoo many media outlets and clean, bereft cause generally speakoverpromise and under- of extraneous ing, web designers are deliver on their “new” even bigger flakes than code. web properties. Usually musicians. it’s a lot of noise about And then Sam LeBnothing at all. lanc came along. In February 2014, the Triad City He didn’t really just “come along” Beat site began as nothing: a simple — he’s married to Managing Editor WordPress install with a logo and Sayaka Matsuoka, and he’s a top-tier some basic customization. We didn’t WordPress developer. Also: Not a even have a home page, because we flake. had no content to post, so our first We won’t tell you what we paid articles came in a thread, with very Sam to make this site, but we will tell few photos. In spring 2016 we enyou that work of this caliber would tered the digital big-time: We bought normally call for a team of programa theme with a homepage and a mers and a five-figure cost. bunch of other bells and whistles. It’s a custom job, built from In the short time we’ve used it, this scratch, elegant and clean, bereft of theme has undergone 10 incarnaextraneous code. The images look tions and no longer even operates better. The stories look better, and it’s the same way it did when we infast AF. stalled it. With all the legacy code,

QUOTE OF THE WEEK I’m looking forward to doing more things where people can say, ‘That’s my comic shop. I’m an Acme Comics person. Jermaine Exum, pg. 11

Jen Sorensen jensorensen.com/subscribe

John Cole Provided by NC Policy Watch

OPINION | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

FRESH EYES

Republicans attack the integrity of the court, the intelligence of voters by Sen. Michael K. Garrett

e’ve heard a lot in recent months from Republican legislators about partisan NC judges overstepping their power by reigning in the General Assembly. The truth is that the seeds of politicizing our courts were planted and tended to by Republican legislative majorities for the last decade. In fact, this has been a cornerstone of their larger assault on our democratic norms. Let’s roll back the clock to 2013. For a decade up to this year, 80 poercent of NC judicial candidates, both conservatives and liberals, took part in a voluntary program that offered public campaign financing in exchange for strict campaign-spending limits. The aim of this program was to limit the partisan influence that comes with high-dollar fundraising efforts seen in non-judicial races. In 2013, the new Republican supermajority in the General Assembly ended this program, the NC Public Campaign Fund, when it passed HB 589. This bill was the first of many direct attacks on voting rights and free and fair elections in North Carolina. Among its provisions, HB 589: • Shortened early voting, • Eliminated same-day voter registration during early voting, • Eliminated pre-registration of 16-17 year-olds, and • Repealed the NC Public Campaign Fund. With partial public financing of judicial campaigns a thing of the past, candidates for judge were left with no other option than to fund their campaigns just like candidates for partisan offices. Fast forward to 2017. The Republican supermajority passed HB 100 and then overrode Governor Coo-

per’s veto of it. Among other things, this bill made all NC Superior and District Court judicial races partisan. A “D” or “R” would appear on the ballot for each candidate just like other partisan races. More insidiously, candidates were pushed to run as a Republican or a Democrat rather than as an independent. The law forced independent candidates to gather signatures of 2 percent of all the voters in the district just to run without a party label. That brings us to 2022. Today, judicial races for all NC courts are as politicized as they have ever been. This is no mistake or accident. It is part of a yearslong, concerted effort by Republicans in the General Assembly and their influential donors to reduce our courts to just one more partisan battlefield to be won each election year. Yet, despite Republicans’ best efforts to polarize and discredit the judicial branch, I believe that our judges still act with integrity and impartiality. And I believe in the intelligence of voters to elect judges that will interpret the law on behalf of the people regardless of their political affiliation. The judicial branch has endured a barrage of attacks from the right — whether it’s dragging them into the political fray, or accusing them of participating in the partisan theater of their own creation. I’m as troubled as anyone by the growing partisanship in our courts in North Carolina and beyond. It is not too late to roll back some of these law changes in recent years and de-politicize the bench. However, as long as Republican legislators cry foul over rulings that overturn laws they have passed, remember that modern NC courts are products of their own creation.

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CULTURE | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

From sales clerk to shop owner: At Acme Comics, CULTURE Jermaine Exum finally gets his due by Sayaka Matsuoka

SAYAKA MATSUOKA

Jermaine Exum has worked at Acme Comics for the last 25 years, and late last year, he became the owner.

Since 1983 when the shop was founded in its original location on Elm Street, currently occupied by Little Brother Brewing, it’s been owned by Mark s he sits, in his zip-up grey denim vest and white Panama hat, Austin. But last year, once the shop had made it through the pandemic, Exum beneath a tower of intricately crafted, colorful robots, Jermaine says talks about ownership really started to solidify. And by the early winter, it Exum ponders the inevitability of the trajectory of his life. The 45-year-old’s first foray into the world of comic books took was a done deal. And even though it’s been a few months since the handover, Exum says he still doesn’t think the reality has quite set in. place more than three decades ago, when he picked up the very first issue of “I don’t know if it’s still real for me now,” Exum says. “I’m still kind of like, ‘I The Transformers, published in 1984. Now, at 45 years of age, he’s the owner haven’t heard from Mark in a while….’” of the Triad’s largest and oldest comic-book store : Acme Comics in GreensExum’s been at the store for decades. There’s virtually no aspect of the boro. “Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if I had not picked up a place that hasn’t been influenced by his touch. And he takes pride in that. As he talks about his relationship to the store, he points out the comic book,” Exum says. “Like, Where would I be? What would kid’s section stocked with Marvel offerings like Spider-Man I be doing? Would I be anywhere? I don’t know; it’s so hard to and Thor to independent books about the challenges of explain because it’s such a big part of my life.” growing up. He notes the diversity of the store’s offerings, no For the last 25 years, Exum has been working behind the matter what month of the year it is. counters, within the stacks and between the pages of Acme “It’s important that a variety of material be visible in the Comics. He started working there as a sales clerk after being a store for people to discover on their own,” Exum says. “They’re regular customer as a teenager but soon moved up the ranks gonna see a variety of content by such diverse creators. I to assistant manager and manager. For the last decade or Jermaine Exum take for granted that all stores are like that, but I know they’re more, customers would regularly be greeted by Exum’s warm not. In here, we want to have diverse material and we want to smile and far-reaching expertise. Many assumed he was the make it visible.” owner of the shop, which didn’t become a reality until late last A large part of that intention stems from Exum’s personal experience as year. a Black man in what has predominantly been a white world. Growing up in “It was a conversation that had been happening for 20 years,” Exum says Virginia and North Carolina, Exum says he was never made to feel weird for about becoming the owner. “But you know, sometimes you just don’t know liking comics but remembers being kicked out of a store once as a child. how things are going to go. But once we successfully came through nones“There was a toy store that they didn’t let me come inside,” Exum says. “I sential shutdown thanks to the community at large, it was more like, ‘Okay, was younger. My mom was in another store. They literally escorted me back let’s start this process.’”

I don’t know if it’s still real for me now.

CULTURE | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

out onto the sidewalk.” The memory, which Exum says he hadn’t thought of in years, just reiterates the kind of welcoming environment he says he hopes they foster at Acme. “The store is about the people that shop here and the people that work here,” Exum says. “Because when I first started volunteering here, it wasn’t really the name of the store, it was the people who worked here and the people who shopped here. It’s still that same thing for me now. So I take it very, very seriously…. There’s a lot of stories about what this place means to someone else so it’s important to me that this place continue and be a place that people are happy to shop at, comfortable to shop at, bring friends, bring family to, that this is a place that people feel good about being at. That’s super important to me.” And it’s not lost on Exum that as the new owner of Acme, he’s now part of a growing list of Black comic-shop owners across the country. When he made his announcement public, another Black owner, Fred SAYAKA MATSUOKA Wright Jr. of EastGate Comics in High Point, called Exum up personally to congratulate him. And that kind of representation is important, Exum Exum prides himself on Acme’s collection of Transformers merch. It’s a love affair that started when he was a kid. says. “I’m looking forward to doing more things where people can say, ‘That’s my “I’m a position to be able to showcase what is possible,” Exum says. “That comic shop. I’m an Acme Comics person,’” Exum says. you can literally start at the entry level position of a place and it’s going to And although the stock in the store changes every week, there will continue cost time… but it can be done. I think it’s important that people of color be to be a constant at Acme, as there has been for the last two decades, for the able to own businesses and own property and be able to say that they are years to come. part of something. Not like a marginalized, over to the side, but that people of “I’m not going anywhere,” he says. “This is woven into my very identity. This color are absolutely capable and can be a part of business and all conversaplace is definitely a part of me so I’m not going anywhere.” tions.” As he moves around the store Exum talks about his future plans for the Visit Acme Comics at 2150 Lawndale Drive in Greensboro or business, including wanting to redo the outside sign and entrance area. He visit acmecomics.com to learn more. also says he’s excited about seeing what Acme can do in terms of showcasing local talent or fostering a love of reading for kids.

February 5–May 8, 2022 The exhibition is organized by Aperture Foundation, New York and Kwame S. Brathwaite. The exhibition Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite and the accompanying Aperture publication are made possible, in part, with generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Photographic Arts Council Los Angeles.

Major Sponsors

The Cathleen and Ray McKinney Exhibition Fund

PLAN YOUR VISIT

reynolda.org/beautiful

Reynolda House Museum of American Art 2250 Reynolda Road Winston-Salem, N.C.

Kwame Brathwaite, Grandassa Model onstage, Apollo Theater, Harlem, circa 1968; from Kwame Brathwaite: Black Is Beautiful (Aperture, 2019). Courtesy the artist and Philip Martin Gallery, Los Angeles.

by Sayaka Matsuoka

CULTURE | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

Michael Robinson II of Bingo-Bango Soda Co. talks CULTURE representation, fundraising for expansion

OWENS DANIELS

It’s really simple. We use fresh fruit juice, water and cane sugar, and we carbonate it.

Q A

OWENS DANIELS

Michael Robinson II, a Winston-Salem native, started Bingo-Bango Soda Co. in 2017 with some soda water, fresh-squeezed lemon juice and a bit of sugar. Now, more than four years later, Robinson’s business has grown to more than half a dozen flavors sold in shops all around the state. Recently he started a Kickstarter in the hopes of growing Bingo-Bango from the 40 cases per week it currently produces to 200 cases to accommodate growing national demand. The fundraiser aims to raise $30,000 and runs until Feb. 15. Learn more about Bingo-Bango at bingo-bango.com.

Tell me the history of Bingo-Bango soda.

and put it on my fridge. I gave the other to my mom and she has it on her fridge at her house. I wanted to give up at that point but that’s when I got inspiration from my grandfather who had just passed away.

Q A

I started homebrewing in 2014. I was working with my brother, Chris, who owns Carolina Vineyards and Hops. At the time, the brewing boom was starting to take hold and I wanted to learn how to brew and sell craft beer. I started to do that in my mom’s backyard. I had a propane burner and everything. I sucked at it. I just wasn’t good at it. I didn’t have the patience for it, so I ended up converting that equipment for craft soda, and I started with a craft lemonade. I let friends try it. I would take it to barber shops, family barbecues, anywhere I could take it. I kept honing the recipe and then started working at Coca-Cola to find out where my niche was in the market but ended up getting let go because I was so focused on my business. I went to my first festival in Charlotte in 2016 at a farmers’ market. I had a keg of sugar water, a lemon press and a jockey box, which is the thing used to dispense beer. I was basically pressing lemon juice onto a cup of ice and tapping the soda water. I just sold one. It was for $2; I kept $1

I read that the name of the company draws inspiration from your grandfather.

He always would talk about stories like life lessons and perseverance. Whenever he would tell a story, he would cap it off with Bingo-Bango and that’s how he would describe things. I ended up getting a juicer he gave my mom and going to another festival in Charlotte in 2017 and I sold out. In that year, I revamped and came out with a complete product in a keg and had more flavors. I didn’t make any money at the festival, but that when Bingo-Bango was born and I kind of decided to see it through.

Q A

Why soda? Why not something alcoholic?

I always thought I was pretty creative, and with home brewing you can be as creative as you want to be, but you have to be patient. And with different flavors of beers, you can’t make the beers until you master the traditional styles first, but I wanted to just jump in and start going crazy with it. When I transitioned to soda, I could get creative with flavors off the bat.

CULTURE | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

Q A

On your Kickstarter you mention that you’re the country’s first Black-founded, owned and operated craft soda company. How did you find that out and how does it feel to be the first?

Q A

I was told I was the first and I did some research on my own. I found some other companies that were started after me but weren’t 100 percent Black-owned. It feels amazing; it’s an honor. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so running something that’s your own isn’t new, but I hope it encourages others into the beverage space.

Tell me how you make the sodas and come up with the flavors. The website says it’s seasonal, so does that mean some flavors are only available for a limited time during the year? It’s really simple. We use fresh fruit juice, water and cane sugar, and we carbonate it and bottle it and label it and cap it. I work out of a Carolina Vineyards and Hops, my brother’s place, and coming up with the flavors is completely random. Like my wife came up with pineapple-apple one day when she was walking out the door. Our most popular flavor is strawberry lemonade. I always wanted to do strawberry lemonade because it’s kind of a gateway to our soda line. There’s a little bit of a research and development process, but I just kind of go for it.

Q A

What are your other flavors?

Q A

Ok now for the hard question, what’s your favorite flavor?

My favorite is lemon-peach-pomegranate. I try to make something for everybody, like some of the flavors are sweeter than others. But lemon-peach-pomegranate is very complex. Being a craft beer fan, you get different flavors and aromatics just like you would a wine or beer.

Q A

What’s your favorite part about the business?

Q A

There are four year-round flavors: strawberry lemonade, lemon-peach-pomegranate, pineapple-apple and passionfruit-strawberry. Every fall and summer I introduce a seasonal. This fall and winter is cranapple honey. Last summer I did guava colada, which is guava and pineapple-coconut. Sometimes I’ll do one-off random flavors like black cherry-blackberry. In October for the pumpkin fanatics, I did a pumpkin cream soda. That’s the advantage of being a small-batch, craft company. I can do things like that on the fly; I can do it off of demand.

The interactions with the customers and business owners; that’s what has kept me going on. That connection with people and getting their feedback. And also being able to make relationships with businesses, that’s gratifying to me. I played basketball in college and that’s the closest thing to a slam dunk. When you’re playing a sport, you get that immediate gratification, but when you’re making a product, you don’t know if they like it until you see a photo on Instagram. I’ll get messages like, “My husband moved to North Carolina for your soda.” Recently, the soda was even used in a proposal.

What are your future plans for the business?

Being able to scale will allow us to grow faster and take on more. We’ve gotten a huge demand nationally as well. Pretty much every week I get an email from someone whether it’s from Pittsburg or Chicago, but I don’t have the means to do it right now. It’s been that way for a while now. It would be great to see it in larger stores, big box stores. That’s what I’m hoping for, to continue to grow.

February 4-6 TANGERCENTER.COM

SHOT IN THE TRIAD | JAN 20-26, 2022

SHOT IN THE TRIAD Guilford Avenue, Greensboro

CAROLYN DE BERRY

Winter evening.

PUZZLES | JAN 27-FEB 2, 2022

CROSSWORD

by Matt Jones

Across

1. West African amulets (and bad word to open a certain game with) 6. Smoke detector noise 10. Frozen waffle brand 14. Backspace over, maybe 15. Pac-12 powerhouse 16. “Moonraker” villain Hugo 17. Entry at the top of some crossword grids, or a good description of the game’s dimensions? 19. Spice Girl who got a 2022 honor from Queen Elizabeth 20. Phobia 21. “Except ...” 23. Chess rating system 24. Make a choice 25. “You don’t have to tell me” 27. “In Living Color” acting family 31. Malfunctions, like a printer 34. “Easy On Me” singer 35. Radiant glow 36. Light bulb unit 39. Advanced H.S. math class 40. Blend thoroughly (and bad word to open with) 41. Highlight at The Met 42. Norway’s largest city 43. “Sorry, can’t” 44. Snarly kitten, maybe 45. “The Gift of the Magi” writer 47. Goat-legged revelers 48. Shows signs of tiredness 50. Complete collection 51. City area, briefly 52. Spirited gathering? 56. 1% alternative 60. It’s protected by a pad 62. Representation of a synthesizer sound, or the onslaught of game solutions people are posting on social media? 64. “To ___ a Mockingbird” 65. Door word 66. Ending with way or sea 67. Cryptozoological giant 68. “The Lion King” lioness 69. Wood-related isomer derived from coal tar used to make tear gas and dyes (and a *terrible* word to open with)

Down

“Wordle Has It”--when everyone is posting results.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

“Survivor” host Probst “Ugly Betty” actor Michael Morning mugful Operator Coral or Caspian, e.g. In the toaster for too long Earth sci. Contrarily “Yeah, I’m out this round” Dubstep or techno, e.g., for short

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

11. Eco-friendly bloc also seen when you win the game? 12. Ernest or Julio of winemaking 13. U-shaped bend in a river (and bad word to open with) 18. Baking measures 22. “Pretty sneaky, ___” (Connect Four ad line) 24. Free throw value 26. Iraq neighbor 27. Home of Baylor University 28. “Law & Order” figures, for short 29. Beginner’s karate wear, or clump you may see when letters are in the wrong places? 30. Tenor sax player who worked with Zoot Sims 31. Nervous from caffeine (and bad word to open with) 32. Indy champ Luyendyk 33. “Mad ___: Fury Road” 35. Love, in a telenovela 37. Stadium section 38. Road materials 40. Tavern 44. Mammal in a cave 46. Snaky letter 47. Fortune teller 48. Bad-tasting (a variant spelling ... and worse word to open with because of that) 49. Schwarzenegger, informally 50. Milan’s Teatro alla ___ 53. “2 Minute Drill” channel 54. Bluish color 55. ___ and void 56. Move back and forth 57. Designer Lagerfeld 58. Judith of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” 59. Jerry Garcia collaborator Saunders 61. Peyton’s brother 63. Das ___ (1990s hip-hop group)

SUDOKU

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS