Spartanburg Magazine | Summer 2018

SUMMER 2018

Casual Elegance

INSIDE ALEXANDER SMALLS BAR 1884 COOKING WITH FATBACK $4.95 WWW.SPARTANBURGMAGAZINE.COM

Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens

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Owner Carolyn Roy said that on their first day of business they had a line of customers waiting outside their door.

CONTENTS

HOW TO REACH US SUMMER 2018

FOR STORY IDEAS OR COMMENTS

Jose Franco

10 | COVER STORY

54 | HAT PARADE

A visit to Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens

Colorful headwear at Block House races

24 | GARDEN DAY TRIPS

56 | ORGANIC CAT CAFÉ

Carolinas offer a variety of places to visit

The lounge is home to 30 rescue felines

32 | PEARL FRYAR

68 | ALEXANDER SMALLS

Whimsical topiary garden in Bishopville

Chef writes “Between Harlem and Heaven”

36 | BAR 1884

78 | TRAVEL TO CANCUN

Five dishes to try at new Spartanburg restaurant

Writer shares tips on first passport trip

40 | BISCUIT HEAD

ESSENTIALS

Restaurant offers gravy flights, jam bars

9 FROM THE EDITOR 80 SCENE

editor 864-562-7223

Jose.Franco@shJ.com

FOR SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS

JenniFer Bradley circulation coordinator 864-562-7402 JenniFer.Bradley@shJ.com

ON THE COVER

TIM KIMZEY PHOTO

Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens, located on Willis Road in Spartanburg.

48 | FATBACK A great all-in-one flavor enhancer

8 | SPARTANBURG MAGAZINE

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PUBLISHER

Kevin DraKe EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Jeepers! Waving ‘Hello’ is like a secret handshake

Michael G. SMith

EDITOR JoSe Franco COPY EDITOR

Beverly KniGht

DESIGNERS Keith SaunDerS, Katherine Silvia, Michelle WallenBerG STAFF WRITERS

SaMantha SWann, GaBe WhiSnant CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

JaSon GilMer, latria GrahaM, Betty MontGoMery, alySSa MulliGer, Steve WonG STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

alex hicKS Jr., tiM KiMzey

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

S

everal years ago, I purchased a slightly used vehicle from a friend — a black Jeep Rubicon nicknamed “Rubi.”

At the time, I didn’t realize I was making a lifetime commitment. A life-

time commitment of waving “Hello” to complete strangers.

My friend, who sold me his Jeep, let me in on a little secret: Jeep owners

wave at other Jeep owners. I don’t know how this tradition started. I didn’t

Google it. I didn’t ask him any questions. I just found out very quickly that this is really a thing.

At first, it took awhile, to get used to waving at every Jeep driver that would pass me on the highway. Some were very enthusiastic wavers. Others were polite wavers. Some were last-minute wavers. Some would wave by lifting one finger off the steering wheel.

John ByruM, GWinn DaviS, WenDy ShocKley

I was always the surprised waver who would take my eyes off the road for a second to

Mccarty, lelanD a. outz

notice a Jeep was headed in my direction and that I was going to need to wave at that com-

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aron GoSS ADVERTISING ASSISTANT SALES MANAGER

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an aFFiliate oF

plete stranger. One, two, three seconds and I would grin and wave.

But over time, I got used to the tradition. It would bring a smile to my face every time I waved at a fellow or female Jeep driver. It was like we were in on an inside joke.

Over the years, I became so programmed to wave that I couldn’t always turn it off.

Sometimes, when I would be walking I would instinctively lift my arm to wave at a Jeep driver without actually being in my Jeep. This would lead to a lot of quizzical looks from Jeep drivers having to decide whether they should wave at an unknown pedestrian.

So I decided to Google “jeep drivers secret wave” so I could be a bit more knowledgeable of the wave. This is what I found under the title, Jeep Wave Explained. Jeep wavers possess “intelligence, taste, class, and discomfort tolerance.” Sounds like it was written by a very smart Jeep driver.

Another site says the Jeep Wave started off with Jeep Wranglers but now extends to all Jeep owners. This explains why I spend most of my commute waving.

Apparently, there are also different waves for different Jeep drivers. Drive with the top off? Got a few dents and scratches? Different waves.

The best advice I read is to just go with the flow.

I still don’t quite understand it but I know I’m not alone on the open road as long as I get that enthusiastic return wave from that approaching Jeep driver.

So wherever you decide to head out on the open road this summer, remember a wave is a great icebreaker.

We may be all headed in different directions so why not make a few new friends along the way.

Happy travels!

Jose Franco, Editor JOSE.FRANCO@SHJ.COM

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COVER STORY

PONTHEOLLA’S WONDERLAND Couple restores Clevedale into bed and breakfast STORY BY LATRIA GRAHAM PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY

Editor’s Note: In 2012, Clevedale, a historic home on Spartanburg’s west side, got a new owner. Here’s what they found when they started digging around.

It all started with a hutch. Pontheolla Mack was taking a break from studying for a test and decided to climb into her 1967 Mustang and go for a drive. Leaving the University of South Carolina campus on that sunny spring day, she found herself cruising through downtown Columbia.

That’s when she spotted the piece of furniture that would change her life.

Sitting on the street right outside the governor’s mansion was a big chestnut-colored hutch, abandoned by the caretakers of the grounds. Mack got out of the car to examine the piece. A strip of wood on the base was broken, but she surmised the rest of the piece was still in good condition. Made of solid timber with ornate scrollwork on its feet, the forlorn piece of furniture sat on the curbside, just waiting for someone to come along and claim it. It was almost as tall as she was, but that didn’t matter. She popped the trunk of that Mustang, wrestled with her find, tied it down and drove away.

It would take 40 years before her decision made sense.

Over the years she kept collecting deserted things, pieces in need of repair and items that needed a home. Eventually, they all made their way to 1050 Willis Road in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where they found a home at Clevedale.

The Clevedale grounds are home to a variety of plants, shrubbery and trees.

The stately home was originally built in 1913 by Jesse Franklin Cleveland, a member of one of the Upstate’s oldest families, as a wedding present for his son. For the last six years, the new owners have been constantly fighting to preserve its history while opening up space for residents and visitors to explore.

Pontheolla Mack Abernathy, 59, and her husband, Paul Roberts Abernathy, 66, purchased the historic home in 2012 because they felt the need to make a change. Life in Washington, D.C., was getting crowded and Pontheolla, a native of Bishopville, felt the pull of her home state. The couple decided to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, searching for their next adventure. Charlotte, Greenville, Asheville and even Charleston, the city where they met, all lacked some of the things they were searching for.

Then they found a house, tucked behind a curve on a tight winding road, sitting there much like that hutch had been, waiting for someone to restore it to its original elegance. When Pontheolla saw the home, she knew it needed some love. Her husband was still in Washington, working as a rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill,

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Paul and Pontheolla Mack Abernathy purchased Clevedale in 2012.

when she came down to scope out the house she’d seen on the Internet. While in college she had fallen in love with bed and breakfasts, working at different ones up and down the East Coast, exploring the country that way. A house like the one that sat vacant on the west side of Spartanburg, with its high ceilings and large windows, would be both a labor of love and the realization of a dream.

“I didn’t see the house until the closing,” Paul recalled, but he had trusted his wife’s judgment. Now he can often be found in the check-in space, answering the phone and greeting visitors as they make their way into the home. “She is the visionary,” he mused, stroking the granite countertop of the check-in desk. Indeed, he said, all of the design concepts in the home are the work of his wife. This is Pontheolla’s wonderland.

The estate was in rough shape when the Abernathys submitted their bid. The columns at the front of the house had split and were beginning to rot. The gardens were in fallow, overtaken by weeds. There was so much water damage that the clapboard was bowed in places, and termites had eaten away at the wooden beams in the basement, destroying the

supports one mouthful at a time. A piece of curved wood with a series of channels running through it sits on a table near the front door. “This isn’t a sculpture,” Pontheolla explained.

“This is what the beams underneath the house looked like when we bought it.”

This Colonial style historic home turned bed and breakfast is the third restoration project for the couple. The first house was in Washington, D.C., on Geranium Street, a little bungalow in one of the historic areas of the city up near Walter Reed Army Hospital. For this project, she interviewed neighbors that were old enough to remember the original architecture of the homes and worked backward, filling in details from there.

Then in the late 1990s, she tried her hand at a place on the corner of 9th Street and A Street, seven blocks from Capitol Hill, where she turned the basement into an executive apartment, her first tinkering with the bed and breakfast idea.

As they began the work to restore the house in Spartanburg, they found castoffs from former renovations and scraps from previous projects all over the property. The two ceramic Dalmatians on the mantle in the dining room were unearthed recently when the kennel was removed.

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Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens, located on Willis Road in Spartanburg, May 22, 2018. The original dwelling, built in the 1790’s, was replaced with the current home, of colonial design, built in 1913, Paul and Pontheolla Mack Abernathy bought the home in 2012 to share the space with others as a Bed & Breakfast and events venue.

The original ironwork for a fireplace, with its lush filigree and heavy embellishment, was found in the old pump house out back. “It was rusted,” she said. “It was out in the ice house. I found an ironworks person who redid it for us and put it back up. I thought to myself, every time I find something like this, it’s meant to be. It keeps me going because these things tell stories. It made me feel good about the family that lived here.”

She found the ornate mirror that sits on the mantle in the dining room stashed in the back of a closet, forgotten until she unearthed it during the renovation. “This is an old English mirror and the reason we know that is because mirrors here in the United States, they didn’t make them out of

wood and then put gesso or plaster on top and finish it with hand gilding – that is not a traditional American process.”

She continued, cradling a broken fleur de lis in her left hand that belongs at the top of the piece of furniture. “We know that either the family ordered it, or they brought it back with them.”

Pontheolla sees what she does as a bit of a treasure hunt.

With all of these gems popping up, she wanted to learn more about the family that had occupied the home before she did.

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TOP: The dining room at Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens is often used for bridal showers, luncheons and tea parties. Florentine Turquoise china by Wedgewood is on display. The abandoned hutch from Pontheolla’s college days is topped by an antique tea serving set. BOTTOM: A bathroom in the Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens, located on Willis Road in Spartanburg.

“I’m a historian at heart,” she explained. “Part of it is that I’m an adopted child, and family history is something that intrigues me because I don’t know mine – at least I don’t know my father’s side of it. The history of the Cleveland family, it’s rich. There are some great stories in it. Some sad stories too.”

The family that would eventually become the Clevelands of Clevedale had been in the Upstate since the 1790s. According to Dr. J. B. Landrum’s “History of Spartanburg County,” a book published in 1900, Jesse Cleveland was a merchant in Spartanburg. His genealogy in South Carolina stretches back to the 1790s, and his family had previously purchased a large tract of land, more than 440 acres in total, on what is now Spartanburg’s west side. In 1913 Jesse Cleveland razed an older home that was on the property and built a new home for his son, Conrad Pierce Cleveland. It was a wedding gift to celebrate his marriage to Alice Louise Williams. At the time, Clevedale was thought to be so far from town that the couple used the home as their summer residence.

Three children would be born in the home: Elisabeth Cleveland Burke (later Welch), Nancy Cleveland Poole and Conrad Cleveland Jr. At the entrance of the house, next to that termite sculpture, sits a photo of Conrad Cleveland Jr. with his friend, United States Army Gen. William C. Westmoreland. The pair were schoolmates at Spartanburg High School and, for a time, at The Citadel. They were also fellow Eagle Scouts. Cleveland even served as Westmoreland’s best man at his wedding.

Conrad Jr. was a banker by trade, but he was also an avid horticulturist who raised Dalmatian dogs as a hobby.

He died in 1985, the last Cleveland to occupy the house.

After that, Hugh Donald Brown and his family lived at 1050 Willis Road until Brown’s death in 2007.

Following Brown’s death, the house, known for its hospitality, sat more or less empty until the Abernathys made it their home. It took 18 months to restore the house to its former glory, and now the 4,200-square-foot home radiates warmth in the winter time and sparkles with majesty when the sun shines. Spring unfurls into summer in the parlor, and the space is dressed for it. Right now the salon and formal dining room are awash in purple and green, but the decor changes seasonally.

An Asian wedding dowry trunk and ebony grand piano occupy other sections of the salon. The house is filled with antiques the Abernathys have collected in their travels all over the world. In her previous career, Pontheolla worked for a satellite communications company and the trade often sent her abroad. The prints that adorn the living room walls are from a trip to Beijing. In the dining room, Florentine Turquoise china by Wedgewood is on display. The abandoned hutch from Pontheolla’s college days, useful after all these years, sits in the formal dining room, topped by an antique tea serving set.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Clevedale is filled with antiques the Abernathys have collected in their travels all over the world. The prints that adorn the living room at Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens are from a trip to Beijing. The tapestries and bed linens in the Wren Suite match the colors of Westminster College where Paul Abernathy attended.

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The Westmoreland Bridal Suite is named after Gen. William C. Westmoreland. A large print of blossoming magnolias hangs over the bed, and on an adjacent wall a framed vintage purse, dripping in crystals and pearls, collects and scatters light from the chandelier above, creating rainbows on the floor.

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The Abernathys often cook breakfast for their overnight guests. “My favorite is shrimp and grits,” Pontheolla mused.

“I flavor my grits with goat cheese and herbs. I top the dish with Cajun shrimp and a combination of peppers, onions, mushrooms and a little fried okra on top.” Her husband Paul mentioned that she also makes a mean crab cake Benedict.

Recently the dish got an upgrade – now she adds a locally sourced fried quail egg to the offering. When she has international guests, she often serves potato latkes stuffed with sausage, but she’s also been known to whip up red velvet waffles topped with fried chicken or sweet potato pancakes when she’s in the mood.

Bridal showers, luncheons, and tea enthusiasts are often booked in the dining room too, but the Abernathys use another local chef to fill those larger catering orders. With

house maintenance, gardening and regular posting on social media, the pair has their hands full.

Upstairs the four themed bedrooms have meaning to either the Abernathy or Cleveland family. There were a number of Elisabeths, spelled with an “s,” in the Cleveland family, and many had proclivities in the visual arts. Thus the idea for “Elisabeth’s Studio,’ the smallest bedroom, was born.

The “Ohana Suite” at the top of the stairs was inspired by the Abernathy’s trip to Hawaii, and Pontheolla wanted to try colors that contrast to the other three offerings. “I wanted to do really bold colors in here,” she said. “When I told the contractor I wanted to paint my bathroom black, he looked at me and said, ‘You’re crazy.’ After it was all over, he was like ‘Oh my God, I’m going to take that idea,’” she chuckled.

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The Clevedale grounds are home to a variety of plants, shrubbery and trees.

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The Elisabeth Room at Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens.

The “Wren Suite” has a double significance: “I call this room ‘The Wren’ for two reasons,” she explained.

“First, it’s the state bird. Second, my husband always jokes that there’s never a touch of him in the rooms when I decorate them. So I changed that. He went to Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where they had a Sir Christopher Wren Chapel, which was transported stone by stone to America. The tapestries and bed linens are his school colors.”

The “Westmoreland Bridal Suite” is named after that Cleveland family friend, and it is regal in its adornment. A large print of blossoming magnolias hangs over the bed, and on an adjacent wall a framed vintage purse, dripping in crystals and pearls, collects and scatters light from the chandelier above, creating rainbows on the floor. As beautiful as the room is, history has its place here too. “I did all my homework,” Pontheolla said, picking up a magazine. “I went online and got an original Newsweek magazine [Westmoreland] had signed. This is all Army paraphernalia to support the story.”

Even the bathrooms have style, and an original tub from the Franklin Hotel, once located in downtown Spartanburg, occupies one bathroom. C.W. Anderson’s charcoal drawings of thoroughbred horses live in another. The fabric arts in the house, like the curtains and foot warmers, are the work of Karen Ballard, a local seamstress.

Still, decorating the spaces came with its challenges.

“In old houses, you always have to find a way to make things do double duty,” she mentioned. To illustrate that point, she flipped open an old TV cabinet she has turned into a beverage station with a small refrigerator humming in its interior.

Now that the house is complete, it is time to work on the grounds. When the Abernathys purchased Clevedale, the property’s acreage was 1/100th of its original size, now just four acres. Still, the grounds contain a multitude of vegetation, including an English knot garden and a section with Italian cypress trees. Purple and white bearded irises unfurl themselves and reach toward the sky.

Pontheolla became animated in a different way when she stepped across the threshold and jogged down the steps. Miles of ambition packed into her tiny frame, she began to talk about the projects that are underway.

“We have four different kinds of pecans on the property. Soft shell, hard shell, the little one with dark stripes….” Her words trailed off for a moment when a squirrel loped across the lawn, unbothered by her presence. Recovering her thought, she said, “The pecans that I can keep from the squirrels, I use in my maple pecan syrup when I do sweet potato pancakes.”

As she moved around the estate, she rattled off the names of a number of plants: snowball viburnum, swamp lily, mock orange, dawn redwood.

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She stopped in front of an old, listing tree. “Elisabeth told me that this Kousa dogwood was planted in 1905 and that it came from the Carl Sandburg House in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Right across the street is another Cleveland house,” she said.

Pontheolla is documenting the history out here too: “There are two buildings from 1798. This one, two stories, it’s the tool shed. It was also supposedly used as the County Jail. I believe that story because there are bars on both windows and there’s a coal burning stove outside.” Those original buildings, the toolshed and ice house, are covered in ivy and she tries to keep the creeping plant contained, waging war against the tendrils that crop up in unwelcome places.

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Wisteria drapes from the pergolas in the gardens at Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens.

Every year is better than the last but the weeds are persistent, resistant to Pontheolla’s efforts to root them out.

Wisteria drapes from the pergolas, also hoping to expand its territory, the area around heady with their scent. Back near the Roman baths, Confederate jasmine and English ivy cover archways and the perfume are intoxicating in late spring’s heat. A baptismal font from Church of the Advent in downtown Spartanburg sits in the garden too, a remnant of Conrad

Pierce Cleveland Jr. who brought the piece here. He played the chime at the Episcopal Church of the Advent for 50 years.

There’s a black walnut tree in the back, near the greenhouse.

Inside the conservatory, a creeping fig is so happy that it has started to bear fruit. The Abernathys expanded the existing structure and poured a concrete floor. The glass building often houses weddings on the weekends, the lush green scenery the perfect backdrop for photos.

“Supposedly we have the largest variety of magnolias on one property than any other in North and South Carolina,” Pontheolla said, quickly pointing out a saucer magnolia on one side and a star magnolia in the corner. Occupying a quarter acre of its own, an ancient Southern magnolia has spread out so much it looks like a banyan tree. She dreams of building a two-story treehouse with a wraparound porch and tempered glass roof so that guests can look up into the tree and out onto the stars.

“Dreaming is what keeps it fresh and fun for me,” she explained.” That’s what keeps me going. The paperwork can get tedious. How many times do you wash sheets, iron sheets, and clean toilets before it gets boring?”

But there is always something growing or moving outside, and she often has her hands full trying to keep up with it.

Bending the gardens to her will is what keeps her in love with the Clevedale project. And she still has dreams the size of that old magnolia tree.

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CAROLINA

GARDENS DAY TRIPS THAT CAN INSPIRE YOUR YARDWORK

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A

STORY BY BETTY MONTGOMERY

landscape architect friend once told me that he enjoyed visiting gardens to get new ideas.

I also enjoy visiting gardens for inspiration. I am more of a plantsman than a designer, so visiting gardens gives me ideas that I would not have dreamed of doing.

Visiting other gardens allows me to see different ways of putting plants together, different ways of laying out a bed and different plant material to use. It also lets me see which plants will perform well in the area, a vitally important thing to know.

Here in South Carolina, we have many public gardens you can visit, and I encourage you to visit at least one this spring or summer. Along the coast, we have three that are famous. Each has its own special features. Closer to home we have several that are also worth a visit, as well as some beautiful ones just over the state line in North Carolina.

Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet is a combination of sculpture and plant material. It has a

Top: Oak Allee with Caladiums; Above: Fountain of the Muses by Carl Miles at Brookgreen Gardens. [PHOTOS COURTESY BROOKGREEN GARDENS] Left: Camellia Allee at Middleton Place. [MIDDLETON PLACE FOUNDATION PHOTO] SPARTANBURG MAGAZINE | 25

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Riverbanks Botanical Garden in Columbia features 70 acres which include an Asian Garden, a Bog Garden, a Dry Garden, a Shade Garden and a Walled Garden.

[SOUTHERN HOOK PHOTOGRAPHY]

wonderful display of trees, shrubs, annuals, and perennials in combination with sculpture. The garden is known throughout the country as an outstanding sculpture garden, probably the best in the country. They do a magnificent job of displaying the exquisite pieces in a natural setting. Brookgreen also has a zoo that is a treat for the children to see as well as boat rides and a butterfly house.

Travel & Leisure Magazine selected Magnolia Gardens, located outside of Charleston, as one of “America’s Most Beautiful Gardens.” It was founded in 1676 by the Drayton family and has survived the centuries. It is the oldest public garden in America and has a collection of old camellias that were among the first to be introduced to this country.

Magnolia Gardens is a romantic garden, meaning it is not to remind you of everyday life. The tranquil landscape lets you relax and take in the beauty around you. The paths are always slightly overgrown, bending and winding through the magical garden. You will enjoy the lovely trees that support the wonderful cascading Spanish moss, taking you back in time as you stroll through the winding paths of azaleas and other flowering plants. A visit there provides a stroll through the beauty of its gardens and its rich history.

Middleton Plantation, an 18th-century rice plantation, is located just down the street from

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Above: Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve located off John B. White Blvd. in Spartanburg. A rhododendron (middle left), star of Bethlehem (left) and a decidious azalea (bottom left) at Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve.

[JOHN BYRUM FILE PHOTOS]

Top left: Secret garden in spring with azaleas. Below: Wood nymph at Middleton Place. [MIDDLETON PLACE FOUNDATION PHOTOS]

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Landmark and America’s oldest landscaped garden, designed in the European style. Located on the Ashley River, this garden has charming ponds that are surrounded by lovely azaleas, camellias, magnolias, crape myrtles, and roses.

Middleton contains the oldest camellias in the “new world,” planted in 1786 by Andre Michaux, a French botanist. The garden has lovely cypress trees with their charming “knees” and an oak that is nearly 1,000 years old named the Middleton Oak. It was sad to hear that a third garden, Cypress Gardens, was closed after the flooding in Charleston and had not yet reopened as of our press deadline. I have fond memories of visiting this garden in a self-paddled boat and seeing the lovely reflection of azaleas in the black water.

Leaving the coast and headed inland, you can visit Riverbanks Botanical Garden which boasts 70 acres of beauty near Columbia. There is an Asian Garden, a Bog Garden, a Dry Garden, a Shade Garden and a Walled Garden. This magnificent maze of seasonal and themed gardens will help inspire you to create your own garden.

In Spartanburg, do not forget to visit Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve. Harold Hatcher had a real vision, taking an unsightly and overgrown area and slowly, over the years, creating a lovely garden with beautiful water features that make you forget you are near the heart of the city.

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Biltmore’s grounds flourish as a progression of colorful blooms blanket the estate, paying homage to the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted and his final professional project — George Vanderbilt’s gardens at Biltmore. [STEVEN MCBRIDE PHOTOGRAPHY]

The garden has been expanded with paths and structures during the years since it became a nonprofit public garden. The lovely paths are lined with exotic trees and shrubs, giving inspiration to everyone who visits. The gardens host a multitude of plants and help you see what will grow and flourish in our area.

If you want to venture out of state to North Carolina, Biltmore Gardens in Asheville is outstanding and well worth the trip to see their exceptional collection of native azaleas. Duke Gardens in Durham is another one of my favorite gardens with its lovely Japanese Garden within the larger garden.

Montrose in Hillsboro is a private garden that can be visited on certain days.

There are many more gardens worth your time to visit to get ideas and be inspired.

Betty Montgomery, a master gardener and author of a “Four Season Southern Garden,” can be reached at bmontgomery40@gmail.com.

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PEARL OF WISDOM

A walk through Fryar's inspirational topiary garden STORY BY BETTY MONTGOMERY

Pearl Fryar’s garden is filled with trees and shrubs carved into arches, spirals and many different kinds of geometric shapes.

FROM THE MOMENT I PLANT A T R E E , I S TA RT P RU N I N G I T I N T O T H E D E S I G N I WA N T. T H E D E S I G N S A R E ALL IN MY MIND.

J

PEARL FRYAR

ust at the edge of town in Bishopville, South Carolina is a whimsical garden created by Pearl Fryar. This garden is filled with trees and shrubs carved into arches, spirals and many different kinds of geometric shapes – a garden unlike any other I have visited. Fryar© s creations are not typical topiaries, the ones you often see in magazines. His creations are abstract, magical designs that he has created from different evergreen plants. Each of his creations has a personality of its own. If you have never heard of Fryar, I would like to tell you his fascinating history.

Fryar grew up in Clinton, North Carolina. After graduating from college, he moved to New York before settling in Bishopville in 1976. He transferred there with his job in a cannery. In 1980, he built a house in a former cornfield.

Shortly after the house was finished, Pearl visited a garden center in the nearby town of Camden and spotted a topiary he wanted to purchase. The owner, Mr. Spitzer, asked him some questions, and because he knew nothing about plants, Spitzer would not sell him the topiary. Mr. Spitzer was afraid that Fryar would not know how

[BETTY MONTGOMERY PHOTO]

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to take care of it, the plant would die and he would want his money back.

Fryar wanted to learn how to create a plant with a different shape, like the one in the store. Mr. Spitzer took him out back and showed him how to make the cuts to create a design.

Fryar went home and immediately started cutting on the few plants that were across the front of his home.

After sculpting these, he became friends with a wholesale nursery where they let him have plants they had put on the compost pile, ones that were not looking healthy.

As he started nursing these rescue plants back to good health, he began shaping them into abstract forms.

Fryar used any material he was given and worked to create different designs. He made his whimsical garden with an idea that came to mind.

Fryar would come home from work at the cannery and head outside to prune, climbing up a ladder and working from the lights on his truck.

Over the years, Fryar has created this showplace of about 150 topiaries, comprising hundreds of plants. He has used plants such as cedars, Leyland cypress, and Japanese hollies.

He has even sculpted a dogwood tree to look like a lollipop when in bloom.

Fryar’s first goal was to get the local garden club’s “Yard of the Month” award that was given to a well-maintained yard inside the city of Bishopville. His house was outside the city limits so he knew he would have to be very creative to get their attention. After almost five years, he was awarded the prize. And he kept creating the artistic creations that today have brought him much fame.

Fryar says he is an artist with no training who breaks all the rules.

He loves what he does and wants to inspire others. He has developed a scholarship at local technical colleges for students who haven© t done well in high school but who show potential.

He also has been inspiring students at nearby Coker College where he has taught art, inspiring students to use their creative ability, no matter which art form: cooking, painting, sculpture, etc. The head of the art department says that one

Pearl Fryar’s topiary garden.

[JEAN GROSSER PHOTO]

Pearl Fryar started his garden by nursing rescued plants back to good health and shaping them into abstract forms. He used any material he was given and worked to create different designs for his garden. Fryar said the designs he creates all come from his mind.

[BETTY MONTGOMERY PHOTOS]

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Pearl Fryar at work in his garden.

[JEAN GROSSER PHOTO]

WANT TO GO? Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden 145 Broad Acres Road, Bishopville, S.C. www.pearlfryar.com Hours: 10 a.m. — 4 p.m.

Tuesday through Saturday

of the reasons Fryar is so good with the students is that in a world where people are looking for instant gratification Fryar can teach them that some art takes time, planning and patience. Some of his designs take five years to become a beautiful sculpture, and his example teaches students that good things come to those who wait.

Fryar says his garden is a testament to his belief in positive thinking, patience, hard work, and persistence. He is dedicated to spreading the message of "Love, Peace and Goodwill," a saying he has carved into his garden.

Fryar has been honored with many awards. There is even a documentary featuring his story called "A Man Named Pearl."

It describes how he overcame hurdles and turned them into opportunities.

Fryar’s garden is open to the public. This past December, Fryar, and leaders from Florence hosted 50 Chinese visitors who wanted to see the garden. They were served a lobster

lunch and enjoyed strolling through his wondrous garden. The visitors were charmed by his creative ability and the different designs he was able to create.

When I travel to visit my sister in Wilmington, N.C., I know that as long as the garden is open and visitors are welcomed, I will take the detour. Fryar’s topiary garden is inspirational.

Seeing his garden makes me realize I should not be scared to prune my plants, which I am often afraid to do.

Betty Montgomery is a master gardener and author of “Hydrangeas: How To Grow, Cultivate & Enjoy” and “A Four-Season Southern Garden.” She can be reached at bmontgomery40@ gmail.com.

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DINING

Five must-eats at

BAR 1884 STORY BY ALYSSA MULLIGER | PHOTOS BY ALEX HICKS JR.

T

here’s no shortage of menu items in Spartanburg as the city continues to welcome new dining concepts and unique foodie experiences.

At Bar 1884, downtown Spartanburg’s newest restaurant and rooftop bar, classic dishes are presented with new twists and notso-familiar plates take center stage and are served alongside an extensive beer and wine list and at least a dozen specialty cocktails.

Owner Josh Lee, who’s also behind the popular downtown eatery Miyako Sushi Group, opened Bar 1884 in February.

Bar 1884 is located right next to Miyako’s at 118 Magnolia St. but features a completely different menu that can be enjoyed at rooftop tables. “What we have created here is more of an Asian-American cuisine. Between me and my head chef, we did all the brainstorming for the dishes together,” Lee said. “I am proud of every single menu item that we have, and I am confident that everybody’s going to like it.”

Fried green tomatoes.

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The menu has many appealing choices, but here are five must-try dishes: 1. Fried green tomatoes Everyday fried green tomatoes won’t be found here.

Lee serves his tomatoes lightly breaded on a bed of bacon and onion jam and topped with arugula, red onions, feta and a sweet dressing.

“Fried green tomatoes usually come with some cheese sauce, but we’re giving a twist to it with the bacon jam and balsamic vinegar sauce,” he said.

2. Pork belly and scallops Lee’s pork belly and scallops is a twist on the popular appetizer bacon-wrapped scallops.

The scallops rest on thick slices of pork belly and are topped with pineapple mango salsa, arugula, and a balsamic soy sauce.

“Pork belly has a bit heavier flavor to it, so we’re blending it with some fresh fruit salsa with cilantro,” Lee said.

The bison burger has a Japanese touch with tempura avocado and sriracha mayonnaise.

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3. Bison burger A ground bison patty, applewood bacon, pepper jack cheese, tempura avocado and sriracha mayonnaise are piled together on a brioche bun to create this one-of-a-kind burger with a Japanese touch.

With its Asian twist, it’s more than just hamburger flavored, Lee said.

The burger is served with a choice of a side, like Parmesan-dusted fries.

4. Jumbo shrimp and grits Diners might do a double take at Lee’s version of this Lowcountry favorite.

Instead of a scoop of creamy grits topped with shrimp, slices of grit cakes are surrounded by jumbo shrimp and covered with an andouille sausage cream sauce.

“Shrimp and grits are usually soupy, but that’s not something we’re trying to create here,” Lee said. “We want some crisp to it, so we do a grits cake that we deep fry and then pour the sauce on top so the grits aren’t soupy.”

5. Duck breast with mushroom sauce The restaurant prepares its duck breast with a touch of Chinese flair.

The dish features a five-spice mushroom sauce, which Lee said complements the duck.

Mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables like roasted Brussels sprouts round out this entrée.

.

Duck breast entree with a touch of Chinese flair.

Bar 1884 is open for lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays through Fridays. Dinner hours are 5:30-10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5:30-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

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Many breweries in Asheville, North Carolina offer beer flights, where drinkers can order small pours of several beers. At Biscuit Head, there is a gravy flight. This gravy flight includes fried chicken, mushrooms, pork sausage and gravy.

FLUFFY, FLAKY AND BIG AS A CAT’S HEAD Biscuit Head's Asheville and Greenville restaurants have gravy flights, jam bars STORY BY JASON GILMER | PHOTOS BY ALEX HICKS JR.

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Mimosa chicken biscuit includes sriracha slaw, sweet potato chai butter, and a poached egg.

The Cajun Biscuit is a buttermilk biscuit with andouille sausage, creole mustard, hollandaise and roasted red peppers.

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Biscuit Head got its idea for its jam bar from Mexican restaurants that offer salsa bars.

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he first morning Jason and Carolyn Roy opened their breakfast and brunch restaurant in West Asheville, North Carolina, they experienced something they never expected.

As hungry customers converged on the new Biscuit Head, a small eatery located next to Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, in the spring of 2013, hundreds of happy customers were devouring biscuits with house-made jam, gravy, and hot sauces.

“We knew it would start out busy because that’s how Asheville is when a new restaurant opens and people want to try it,” Carolyn said. “We were prepared to be busy. The first day we were open we ran out of food at, like, 10 in the morning. We were running to the stores buying up all of the buttermilk and other supplies.”

“We had a line out of the door on the first day and it hasn’t stopped,” Jason said. “We thought that eventually, it had to stop. We always wondered when the shoe was going to drop. It hasn’t.”

Biscuit Head quickly went from having a cult following, one where lines spilled onto the sidewalks of West Asheville’s Haywood Road, to a business with three locations, including the newest location in Greenville, and then last year’s cookbook, “Biscuit Head: New Southern Biscuits, Breakfasts, and Brunch.”

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This wasn’t what the couple expected either when they walked away from established jobs in Asheville’s up-and-coming restaurant scene to open a place that specialized in Southern cuisine, flavorful sides and local produce and products.

“Our thought was that we’d be this awesome little mom-and-pop biscuit shop … Our goal was to open our own little spot and do things the way we wanted to and then things exploded,” Carolyn said. “We’re so lucky to have had all of the good fortunes we’ve had.”

Jason and Carolyn moved to Asheville almost nine years ago from Boulder, Colorado. They met when they worked together in a restaurant there and wanted to move closer to family in the Athens, Georgia area. They knew that opening a restaurant together, which was their dream, in the Boulder area would be tough because the cost of living is high.

"We noticed there was this budding local food scene in Asheville,” Jason said. “It’s also a tourist destination, which for our industry is always a good rule of thumb. We moved here and learned it was a really cool place, a great place to raise kids and to put down roots and be part of something.”

Jason was the executive chef at the Lexington Avenue Brewery and Carolyn worked as a bartender and headed up the business’ special events. With one small child, they hoped to find a business model that would give them a chance to spend time as a family.

“We knew we wanted to do a breakfast and brunch restaurant because we love those meals and because the hours are great with a family,” said Carolyn, who noted that Biscuit Head’s hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the week and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends.

They know about long hours, finishing shifts at 3 a.m. and doing everything in the front and back of a restaurant. They’ve bartended, waited tables and ordered supplies. They’ve worked for different types of owners and managers in different types of restaurants. It’s this diversity that has helped Jason and Carolyn maneuver as owners.

They understand their employees, and no one can use the phrase “you’ve never done this” when complaining about a job.

Having three restaurants has changed the couple’s daily lives. When they first opened in West Asheville they were there every day. When the second restaurant opened they switched back and forth between the eateries. A third space, one in a different state, made that a bit tougher. Now, Carolyn said, she’s typically in an office doing paperwork while Jason is still in the kitchen and doing other odd jobs at the restaurants.

“ O U R T H O U G H T WA S T H AT W E ’ D B E T H I S AW E S O M E L I T T L E M O M -A N D POP BISCUIT SHOP … OUR GOAL WAS TO O P E N O U R OW N L I T T L E S P O T A N D D O T H I N G S T H E W AY W E WA N T E D TO A N D T H E N T H I N GS EXPLODED. WE’RE SO LUCKY TO H AV E H A D A L L O F T H E G O O D F O R T U N E S W E ’ V E H A D .”

CAROLYN ROY BISCUIT HEAD CO-OWNER

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BISCUIT HEAD LOCATIONS 733 Haywood Road Asheville, N.C. 28806 828-333-5145 417 Biltmore Ave. Ste 4F Asheville, N.C. 28801 828-505-3449 823 S. Church St. Ste C Greenville, S.C. 29601 864-248-0371 Hours: 7 a.m. — 2 p.m.

Monday through Friday 8 a.m. — 3 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday

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A line of customers waits to place an order at the Biscuit Head location in West Asheville, North Carolina. The restaurant, pictured below, features traditional indoor, as well as outdoor seating.

The restaurants average 500 biscuits a day with more being made during the weekend rush. These aren’t like the pre-made bread that comes from tubes found in your grocer’s cooler section. They are fluffy, flaky, made in the drop style and as big as a cat’s head.

“I think the perfect biscuit is a fresh biscuit and I don’t really care what style it is, as long as it’s hot and still crunchy from the oven,” Jason said. “Fortunately, that’s what we do all day long.

We’re constantly baking biscuits so you’re always going to get a fresh biscuit.”

Ideas for the eatery have come from other spots, but they have been given a biscuit lover’s touch. Many of the breweries in town offer beer flights, where drinkers can order small pours of several beers. At Biscuit Head, there is a gravy flight. Mexican restaurants in town have salsa bars where customers can taste multiple salsas for their chips and the couple was amazed when they first experienced this. Thus, the jam bar.

“That was a day-one idea,” Jason said. “It’s become iconic to our restaurant. It’s something you won’t see any other restaurants doing because it is such an extensive process.”

“And it’s high cost buying all of those fruits, but it’s worth it,” Carolyn said, finishing off her husband’s thought. “It’s everyone’s favorite part of the restaurant. It’s cool because you can get a biscuit for three dollars and try a million different things and people have a great experience just from that.”

Having three restaurants has helped the couple’s business grow from eight people on the first day of operation to almost 60 now.

More restaurants, Jason and Carolyn said, means the couple can pay better wages and they’ve turned jobs into careers for many employees who’ve gone from server or cook to management positions. After their quick growth, Biscuit Head hasn’t opened a new restaurant since Greenville’s opening last summer. That will soon change, as the couple announced earlier this year that a third location in Asheville, this one on Hendersonville Road in the booming South Asheville market, is set to open soon in an old tire shop.

“I didn’t know if (the concept) was something that could be duplicated and scaled up. I don’t think it is our goal to be McDonald’s or anything, but if you want to give someone a 401K, a living wage, and insurance, you can’t do that with one restaurant,” Jason said. “With more stores, there’s a greater ability to enrich employees’ lives, which is part of our goal with our growth, not regional domination.”

But emails continue to arrive from people who hope their town is the next place Biscuit Head opens a restaurant. “Our mindset is that if an opportunity presents itself, to go for it,” Carolyn said.

“We seem to have a problem stopping.”

“We took a year off,” Jason said, adding, “I’m not opposed to opening another restaurant.”

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Fatback is piled high on the buffet bar at The Junction restaurant, in Gowensville.

CHEWING THE

FATBACK A worldly food with a salty reputation

STORY BY STEVE WONG | PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY

A

s a child growing up in rural South Carolina, I happily ate fried fatback. The little fingerlong strips of opaque pork were salty, greasy and sort of meaty, and they had a crunchy strip along one side. It was like thick country ham bacon, but without the lean. The super strong flavor made it perfect for nibbling.

I never knew why Mama would cook only a few pieces at a time, so I figured it had to be special, like steak or lobster. Then, as a teenager, when I became aware of what was and was not cool, I stopped eating it. According to my high school friends, fatback was not cool, and it certainly wasn’t anything like steak or lobster.

Who knew that if I were French (charcuterie),

Italian (lardo) or Spanish (chicharron), I would still be eating fatback — and I’d be cool.

Fatback is pretty much just what it sounds like: a piece of fat that came from the hog’s back, along with a little bit of skin or rind. It’s cured/preserved with salt. In the South, it is normally fried to be a side dish or snack, or a chunk of it is tossed into the pot of greens or beans for flavoring — not necessarily eaten. It is cheap, and as you might suspect, not very healthy. To the culturally overly aware, fatback is often snubbed in favor of leaner, fresh and unsalted meat, like bacon.

For those on a grocery budget, fatback can be a substitute for higher cuts of meat. Elsewhere in the world, fatback and its American next of kin — “streak of lean, streak of fat” (aka, streak ‘o lean) — are found in good company with the likes of fashionable pork

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The Junction restaurant, in Gowensville, serves fatback at every meal. A plate with country fried steak, macaroni & cheese, creamed corn, strips of fried fatback, and a cornbread muffin from the buffet bar at the restaurant.

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belly, pancetta, and prosciutto.

“Most of our customers who purchase fatback have strong roots in traditional cooking methods, which incorporate fatback into boiled vegetables such as collard greens in order to enhance the flavor,” said Lance Brown, the owner of Brown’s Meat Market.

“Still, some — myself included — prefer to slice the fatback and fry it in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Fried fatback produces a crunchy outer layer with a brittle bottom layer and salty aftertaste. Truly delicious!”

Brown’s Meat Market opened in early 2018 on Union Street in a location that Brown said allows him to sell products from prime ribeye to fatback.

Fatback is made through simple salt curing: sodium chloride or table salt is the major compound needed to stabilize the meat, and no nitrates are needed. “The one complaint I hear regarding today’s fatback,” Brown said, “Is ‘it is too thin. Why is it so hard to find thick fatback today?’ The reason is simple. In today’s hog market, hogs are grown to 200 to 250 pounds and referred to at that point as ‘top hogs.’ The advantage to the packer is uniformity; the advantage to the hog farmer is money saved on feed. But the disadvantage to consumers is no thick fatback. Thick fatback, I mean 3-inch thick fatback,

must be harvested from a larger corn-fed hog — 400 to 700 pounds.

“However, once a hog reaches the 250-pound mark, their appetites demand much more feed and therefore it is no longer economical for a farmer to continue feeding them. Our fatback sales depend on the thickness. When we offer one-half-inch fatback, we keep a large inventory. When we offer 1- to 3-inch fatback, we sell out that same day. Thick fatback you can sell for $5.99 a pound all day long. Our fatback is locally sourced, and we are even experimenting with making our own.”

In and around Spartanburg, there aren’t many restaurants that sell fatback. The most famous would be Harold’s Restaurant in Gaffney, where every Wednesday you get “All You Can Eat Pintos” along with cornbread, fatback, onions and homemade chow-chow for $5.49. Harold’s sells large side dishes of fatback for $2.99 any day of the week. The popular Food Network television show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” with Guy Fieri visited Harold’s in 2007, giving Upstate South Carolina cuisine — including fatback — national exposure.

Fatback is also a daily big seller at The Junction in Gowensville, a country buffet restaurant located at a

Master butcher Jeremy Webb slices and packages fatback at Brown’s Meat Market on Union Street in Spartanburg.

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crossroads in northern Spartanburg County. “We serve fatback every meal, breakfast, lunch and supper time,” said Kim Pearson, spokesperson for the family-owned business. “When we opened almost 26 years ago, we started with our famous fried green tomatoes that we premiered on the Food Network and our fried chicken, two of our family recipes. Nanny Gert reminded us that in her kitchen she always fried up fatback for us to chew and eat along with our meal and that she used it to season her beans and other food.

“We use 15 cases of fatback a week,” she explained. “‘People love to chew the fat in the South,’ we say at The Junction.” She didn’t think fatback was a big deal until a few years back when The Junction ran out when Goodnight Brother, a major pork supplier in Boone, N.C., had a big snow and the restaurant didn’t get a shipment of fatback.

“Customers were so upset, and honestly said they came in for the fatback. I called Tony at Goodnight Brothers, and he had a driver personally bring me fatback. I actually have customers walking in for a box of fatback to-go. We don’t sell it by the pound because fatback only weighs before it is fried. After it is fried, it’s very lightweight, so it’s sold by the small box for $3.95 and $8.50 for a large box,” Pearson added.

Not far from The Junction is an entirely different culinary experience at Southside Smokehouse & Grille, the workplace of Sarah McClure, the Upstate’s South Carolina Chef Ambassador for 2018. Although she has quickly

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APPLE CIDER COLLARDS WITH PORK TWO WAYS RECIPE BY SARAH MCCLURE

(Makes 1 gallon) Several bunches (depending on size) of collards, de-stemmed and washed 1 bottle of dry hard apple cider, Crispin or something local like Windy Hill 2 apples, cored (not Red Delicious or Granny Smith, pretty much anything in the middle is fine) 1 large sweet yellow onion, sliced 3 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 tablespoon of brown sugar A couple dashes of hot sauce (I use Louisiana) 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar Enough chicken stock to cover the collards after the vinegar and cider have been added 1 ham hock 1/2 pound of fatback (Slice it and put it on a sheet tray and lightly crisp it in the oven. Add both the crisped fat and the rendered liquid fat to the pot.)

Fatback in a dish of collard greens at Southside Smokehouse & Grill, in Landrum.

gained a regional reputation as one of the best chefs in the state, her perspective on fatback is both personal and professional. “I love pretty much all parts of a pig, so fatback is great to me,” she revealed. “Ham hocks are my favorite piece of pork for flavoring, but depending on the usage, a good piece of salted and cured fatback, known as salt pork, can be a great all-in-one flavor enhancer. I wouldn’t necessarily eat a fatback sandwich, but I may take a tiny piece and fry it and nibble while I’m cooking with it.”

She uses fatback in her collard greens, primarily, and whenever she makes pinto beans and doesn’t have a ham hock. “Sometimes it’s nice to grill or fry it first, but usually you can just throw it right in, even frozen, and let it cook down with your beans or greens, in a stew or soup or anywhere you need a little extra depth to your flavors,” she explained.

“I think ‘waste’ cuts are actually pretty in vogue right now. The whole farm-to-table movement and the greater emphasis on trying to use more of the animal, along with the popularity of Southern and old-fashioned recipes right now, have made pork a much more acceptable center-of-the-plate protein. Pigs have an amazing variety of usable parts on them and their raising is more environmentally friendly than cows. I’ve seen fatback ‘lardons’ crisps on flatbreads with blue cheese and figs in fancy restaurants. I’ve seen fried pig ears and snouts used like bacon crumbles on salads, basically anywhere you want a bit of salt and fat, you can find a way to utilize fatback. We’ve all seen how trendy pork belly has been in the past few years, and though fatback is far more

Cook all day until tender or use a crockpot overnight or pressure cooker until done.

Add salt, pepper, additional sugar, vinegar or hot sauce to taste after cooking.

tough than belly fat, it still has many uses. Because of its tougher texture, it is ideal for slicing thin and wrapping, much like you would bacon-wrap something, only it is cheaper and stronger. If it is uncured, you can always just render it into lard and make some biscuits.”

McClure said that regardless of what the average consumer thinks about fatback, it will always be an important part of sausage making. And the Europeans have been eating it as a charcuterie delicacy called lardon (once cured and herbed) for centuries, so, she added, “It’s not going anywhere.”

Yet, for many people eating or not eating fatback is a health concern. “Fatback is basically pure animal fat, which is usually the least desirable kind of dietary fat, which as we all know contributes to heart disease and other compromising health conditions,” said Anna Apostolou, the registered dietitian at St. Luke’s Hospital in Columbus, N.C., noting that one slice of fatback can contain up to 200 calories and nearly 41 percent of the daily allotment of saturated fat for the average American.

But, Apostolu said, “As dietitians, we don’t just focus solely on the nutritional value of food, but also food sustainability and decreasing food waste. Oftentimes, these two things can contradict one another, such as is the case with fatback. While I wouldn’t recommend it as a nutritionally sound source of dietary fat like I would olive oil or an avocado, I also understand for some it has been a source of energy when resources were down. I also understand it to be a culturally important food, especially here in the South. But, as with everything, my overall recommendation for fatback would be ‘in moderation.’”

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H AT C O U T U R E TRYON BLOCK HOUSE RACES BRING OUT IMAGINATIVE HEADWEAR

PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY

F

lower, feather, and horse-adorned hats turned heads at the 72nd Annual Block House Races at the Green Creek Race Course in Tryon, N.C. on April 14.

The big colorful hats and imaginative accessories were a hit with people attending the Steeplechase horse racing event.

Along with five featured horse races, the historic Tryon Riding & Hunt Club event included the annual Parade of the Tryon Hounds and horse-themed tailgating.

Anne Willis, of Asheville, North Carolina participated in the hat contest.

Top: Flower, feather, and horse-adorned hats turned heads at the 72nd Annual Block House Races at the Green Creek Race Course in Tryon, N.C. on April 14.

Isabela Sumner, 11, of Landrum, was a firstplace winner in a hat contest.

Joy Davis holds her oneyear-old niece Reagan Alexander, who won an award in the hat contest.

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Spring-like colors were a hit at the Hat Parade at the 72nd Annual Block House Races at the Green Creek Race Course in Tryon, N.C. on April 14.

Linda Stenzel, of Tryon, North Carolina was a first-place winner in a hat contest.

Above: Alexis Bailey, 6, of Rutherfordton, North Carolina won second place in a hat contest.

Right: Linda Mazzie, of Shelby, North Carolina wore a chicken hat in the hat contest.

Far right: JJ Wilson with his six-year-old daughter Chloe.

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Organic Cat Cafe hosts yoga sessions on Tuesdays and Sundays.

ORGANIC CAT CAFE Lounge has coffee shop, music venue, cat rescue and yoga STORIES AND PHOTOS BY SAMANTHA SWANN

GREENVILLE — Cats, coffee and community collide at the most unique cafe in downtown Greenville.

The Organic Cat Cafe, located at 123 College St. in Greenville, in the former J.B. Lacher Jewelers store, is the brainchild of Jennifer Bronzel and Ernesto Cardenas. Bronzel, who came to South Carolina via the UK and Germany, spent three years developing a plan to introduce a cat cafe to the Upstate.

“So in 2011, I was living in England, and the first cat café in London opened there, so that’s when I first heard it,” Bronzel said. “And I thought, okay, if I ever have my own business, I will have a cat café.”

Once they made the decision to open their business in Greenville, the cat and culture loving couple then spent the better part of a year refurbishing the space themselves and finding and acclimating their cats before opening to the public in November 2017.

The cafe is truly an embodiment of the owners — relaxed, but ambitious. It is, of course, a coffee shop, but it’s also a music venue, a cat rescue, adoption agency and boarding house, art gallery and, twice a week, it’s a yoga studio. From cat advocacy and healthy eating to the environment and cultural education, the values of the cafe reflect those of Bronzel and Cardenas to a “T,” and the couple is committed to it continuing to do so.

“In the beginning, we put all our personal money into this business,” Bronzel said. “We had some offers from investors, but I thought, if someone else has their money in here, they’re going to want to make decisions, and we didn’t want anyone to disturb our vision, so we just did it ourselves.”

Don’t let the cafe’s multi-use status fool you into thinking the shop has gone off-track — these

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MEET THE CATS Name: Gouda Age: 1 year Breed: Calico shorthair Personality: Cuddly Fun fact: Gouda has three sisters (all calicos) who live with her at the cafe: Feta, Brie, and Queso.

Name: Sawyer Age: 11 months Breed: Brownand-white tabby shorthair Personality: Nosy Fun Fact: Sawyer is referred to as the second smartest cat in the cafe (his sister Sydney is the smartest).

Name: Toot Age: 1 year Breed: Tuxedo shorthair Personality: Sneaky Fun Fact: Toot is the cafe’s food thief, watch your waffles when she’s around!

Name: Puddle Age: 1 year Breed: Black shorthair Personality: Affectionate Fun Fact: Puddle, sister of Toot, loves to attend cat yoga and sit on visitors’ shoulders.

Organic Cat Cafe in downtown Greenville is home to nearly 30 rescue cats. The cafe offers organic, vegetarian food and drink in a loungelike environment.

Miriam (above), Pebbles (right) and Brie (below) are some of the cafe’s 28 resident cats.

Name: Guava Age: 9 months Breed: Maine Coon Personality: Playful, but moody Fun Fact: Guava is slightly cross-eyed cow and has a little cowlick on her nose.

CAFE HOURS Sunday — 3:03 p.m. - 9:09 p.m.

Monday — 11:11 a.m. - 9:09 p.m.

Tuesday - Saturday — 11:11 a.m. - 11:11 p.m.

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two know exactly what they’re after.

This is the mission of the cafe in a nutshell, according to Cardenas: “Through the education of cats, sound, art and health, we seek to elevate consciousness and unite the whole community.”

A CAT PARADISE Bronzel refers to the cafe as a “cat paradise,” and it certainly seems to be just that. The cafe, when I visited, had a moody but relaxed vibe — dimly-lit with green lights glowing from under the corner benches in the lounge area, cats walking along the low sitting furniture and climbing on cat trees and perches made from reclaimed wood from the renovation process and more cats dozing on the floors, tables and couches. However, if you visit, the ambiance may be different.

“We wanted to create a space where each time it’s a different environment,” Cardenas said. “We’ve had comments

where ‘Oh, it’s too chill there’ and then now their comment says ‘Oh, it’s too much, it’s too hyped in there.’ So that’s how it is, we want to be this morphing, dynamic space that’s always changing and having fun and being experimental.”

Luckily, the cafe’s 28 residents are not quite as changeable. I found the cats to be exactly how I’d imagined cat cafe cats would be – very sweet, playful and, of course, curious. The cats might be more accurately described as kittens since the average age is one year, though ages range from Nimbus, the newest, tiniest resident, at a few months old, to “grandad” Pippin, who celebrated his eighth birthday in May. Anyone with a cat or cats is probably wondering how the cafe functions with so many cats in one space – no matter how big. The answer, according to Bronzel and Cardenas, is simple: They’re family.

“They all grew up together,” Cardenas said. The initial group of 28 cats were brought in when most

Organic Cat Cafe in downtown Greenville is home to nearly 30 rescue cats. The cafe offers organic, vegetarian food and drink in a lounge-like environment.

Owners Jennifer Bronzel, left, and Ernesto Cardenas, right, renovated the former J.B. Lacher Jewelers store to create the cafe.

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were about three months old, many of them coming with littermates, and all cats since then were chosen for their ability to deal with not only the day-to-day of the cafe but with their 20 or so roommates.

The cats also have to be able to adjust to cats coming in temporarily, as the cafe often has up to six adoptable cats brought in from rescues, including Foster Paws Rescue, whose paperwork they use, and boarding cats who stay in the cafe’s office.

EVENTS Since opening, the cafe has become less of a cafe and more of a lounge-esque community education center, offering visitors the chance to sample different genres of music, such as jazz and bossanova, read about and discuss philosophy and science and join together in communal activities, all for a $10 entry fee which includes a drink and an hour and a half of playtime with the cats. As Cardenas explained it, “You come for the cats; you stay for the culture.”

The cafe features oversized games, like tic-tac-toe mats on the floor, dominoes and Jenga. Visitors can make new friends at the foosball or ping-pong tables or indulge in a little friendly competition at the 7 p.m. Wednesday pingpong tournaments. The cafe also hosts “wine and design” parties, where guests paint colorful portraits of the cats.

Cat yoga is one of the most popular activities. The twohour-long sessions are conducted by a professional yoga

instructor and are geared toward beginners. Mats are placed in front of the cafe, and the cats come in to observe or just to sleep on the mats. You have to watch out for the cat snacks that are scattered around the yoga floor in the middle of the session and for the cats that come running after them.

If you’re coming to see as many adorable cats as you can, the owners recommend dropping in during feeding times — at noon, 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. But be sure to make a reservation if you want to guarantee you’ll be in the cafe while the cats are eating. Otherwise, visit during the downtimes between feedings for a quiet time reading the many pamphlets and books on cats, eastern philosophies and religions and healthy lifestyles while petting the relaxed cats.

CATPURRCINO, ANYONE? While the main attraction of Organic is, of course, the cats, the menu contains a number of items that are as cute and surprising as the café’s residents.

Inside the serving area and kitchen, the only areas without cats per DHEC regulations, is a large menu chalkboard listing popular items — like the “PAWnini” and “Catpurrcino.” The “purrfect” puns don’t stop there though. Cat enthusiasts can also sample the “espawresso,” “amercato,” “catsadillas” or “avocado” smoothies.

All of the food and drink at the Organic Cat Cafe is, as you might expect, organic. Organic is also a vegetarian cafe, and all of the drinks can be made vegan, as the cafe boasts five

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Organic Cat Cafe in downtown Greenville is home to nearly 30 rescue cats. The cafe offers organic, vegetarian food and drink in a lounge-like environment.

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Organic Cat Cafe hosts yoga sessions on Tuesdays and Sundays.

dairy-free milk alternatives: almond, coconut, rice, soy and oat. Almost all of the cafe’s food choices are customizable, from the quesadillas to the waffles, which are available in vegan or (occasionally) gluten-free varieties.

“We try to accommodate all kinds of tastes,” Bronzel said. “A lot of people have turned vegetarian here, a lot more than before.”

The menu contains all of the modern cafe standards — drip coffee and cold brew, Earl Gray and green tea, chai lattes and hot chocolates, but there are also more unusual offerings such as seaweed snacks, mango lemonade, unique syrup options such as lavender and rose and specialty drinks that change daily.

“There are four employees in the kitchen and they come up every day with a specialty drink, and usually the content is catnip,” Bronzel said.

“Last week, we had catnip strawberry tea.”

WAIT, CATNIP? “It’s a really relaxing tea, similar to lavender. The catnip smell attracts all of the cats to you. So, when you drink catnip tea and you open the lid, the cats will smell it, and they will come to you,” Bronzel

explained. “When customers know that, and not everyone knows we have it, but if we do tell people (what the tea does), they usually go for the catnip tea.”

One thing that will likely strike you upon glancing at the menu is how healthy all of the options are. There are cookies, but there are also fresh and dried fruit cups, nuts, and smoothies made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Bronzel says this is all part of the purpose of the cafe.

“Vegan, vegetarian food is kind of rare here,” Bronzel said. “For me personally, I came from Europe about four years ago, and it was really shocking how much and cheap fast food is here, and you know it’s just so accessible for people. People just don’t know about healthy nutrition, and we hope that we can help on that route.”

PURRING INTO THE FUTURE The cafe hasn’t finished growing yet, according to the couple. From the litter of kittens that will soon come to live at the cafe to a new sound system and art shows, there are big things in store for Organic and even bigger plans.

“We might be able to become a cat behavioral research center one day,” Bronzel said of the ultimate goal for their education outreach. “I already looked up some

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universities who might be interested in doing some research here or studying our cats. I’m excited to go a more professional route in that regard, to see how universities would diagnose cats or just review them.”

They also plan to expand the cafe’s merchandise inventory, which currently includes mugs, ornaments, cat-themed wines for cat lovers, organic catnip, Nature’s Select cat food and holistic remedies for pets. However, there are no plans to franchise the business anytime soon, so you’ll have to visit the cats in Greenville for now.

“We are here all day, every day, to make sure this stays the experience we want people to have,” Bronzel explained. “We need to make sure this one is running well, and I think if we were opening another one, we would run it as well. We would make sure that this place is run by someone we trust and who’s here, and we would go to that next location.”

“We would have to make sure that the brand building was completely done,” Cardenas agreed.

“For you to franchise, you really need to build a very strong foundation, a very strong model, a very strong vision, and that takes time. People have asked us about it, but we know what we’re trying to do.”

Ultimately, the couple intends to continue enjoying and adding to the growing downtown scene in Greenville and helping the community, both human and feline.

Organic Cat Cafe in downtown Greenville is home to nearly 30 rescue cats. The cafe offers organic, vegetarian food and drink in a lounge-like environment.

The cafe invited artists to come paint murals to decorate the space prior to its November opening.

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Jump Little Children performed at The Spinning Jenny in Greer on May 10.

JUMP LITTLE CHILDREN POPULAR SOUTH CAROLINA BAND RETURNS TO UPSTATE IN REUNION TOUR

T

STORY BY JASON GILMER | PHOTOS BY WENDY SHOCKLEY MCCARTY

he last time Jump Little Children released an album’s worth of new music Tom from MySpace was friends with everyone.

Now, the band is back with new tunes. Well, almost.

The five-piece outfit, which performed March 10 at The Spinning Jenny in Greer, has been in the studio working on an upcoming album which they hope to release in the fall.

“Oh my gosh, it’s surreal in some ways.

It’s been such a journey,” said drummer Evan Bivins. “When we sat down in December after we had done some shows in Charleston, we had talked about the idea for a little while, we were enjoying just playing shows.

“We’ve been very cautious in how we’ve approached this. We haven’t wanted to take anything for granted. We didn’t want to assume that anyone would care if we played shows again or anything. We’ve taken it in small steps.

“By the end of 2017, we decided if we’re going to move forward let’s talk about writing some new material, otherwise if we keep doing what we’re doing we will become the Jump Little Children Tribute Band. It’s one thing if you’re U2 and have 30 years of No. 1 hits to draw from, you can do that. In our case, it just didn’t feel right."

Jump Little Children, which is made up of Bivins, his brother Matt (harmonica, accordion, mandolin), Jay Clifford (vocals, guitar), Ward Williams (cello) and Jonathan Gray (upright bass), toured from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. They released four full-length albums, two EPs, and a live recording while sharing the stage with several national acts.

A decade of inactivity was interrupted with several reunion shows over the past few years and a new desire to record together. The five went to Nashville, Tennessee a couple of weeks prior to their show at The Spinning Jenny to record for the first time together in almost 15 years.

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W E ’ R E B L E S S E D TO H AV E FA N S W H O A F T E R MORE THAN A DECADE OF US BEING GONE A R E E X C I T E D T O H E A R S O M E T H I N G N E W.

EVAN BIVINS DRUMMER

Ward Williams (cello and guitar player for Jump Little Children) poses with a group of fans after the Jump Little Children show on May 10.

To do so, Jump Little Children, which had a huge web following before social media was around, opened a PledgeMusic campaign. Fans responded and met the bands’ financial goal.

They’ve released videos on Facebook to show fans what they were doing and hosted Facebook Live events, too.

“We’re blessed to have fans who after more than a decade of us being gone are excited to hear something new,” Bivins said. “This process is new for us. For modern-day bands who are getting started now, it’s par for the course, we’ve never had this experience of ‘Hey, why don’t you give us money up front and then we’ll see what we come up with?’ It was absolutely possible that we’d get it funded and then come up

empty-handed with content. We were crossing our fingers it wouldn’t happen and it didn’t.”

During its heyday, the band played often in the Upstate, including many stops at Spartanburg’s now-defunct Magnolia Street Pub, which Bivins said was a “brutal and dangerous loadout” for equipment. The band played often, too, at Greenville’s famed venue The Handlebar. The music venue closed in 2014.

“We considered it one market,” Bivins said of the two cities. “It was some of our favorite places to play. When we came back in 2015 we were bummed that we weren’t able to go back to The Handlebar. When Vance (McNabb), our manager, told us about The Spinning Jenny and it was a possibility, we were psyched.”

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MATTHEW BIVINS

EVAN BIVINS

JAY CLIFFORD

JONATHAN GRAY

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SMALLS’

WORLD ACCLAIMED CHEF COMES HOME TO RELEASE COOKBOOK ‘BETWEEN HARLEM AND HEAVEN’

C

STORY BY JOSE FRANCO

hef Alexander Smalls’ visit to Spartanburg recently to promote his new cookbook “Between Harlem and Heaven” was truly a homecoming.

The chef/restaurateur, and Grammy-award winning opera singer and cookbook author was feted at a reception with the Spartanburg County Historical Association Community Weavers group prior to a question-and-answer session and book signing at the Spartanburg County Headquarters Library on April 10. Smalls is considered “the father of Southern Revival cooking,” and grew up on the south side of Spartanburg in the 1950s and ‘60s.

The following day, culinary arts students at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center prepared short

ribs, macaroni and cheese, and fried okra for him using recipes from his cookbook. Another one of the dishes the students prepared was Smalls’ Collard Green Salad with Coconut Dressing.

“I thought it was weird because you would never think to make (collards) into a salad,” said one of the students.

“What did you do about the Adzuki beans?” Smalls asked knowing they might not find them locally. “You can substitute. If you don’t have the Adzuki beans, you can use little red beans. You can use black-eyed peas.

Salads are about flavors but also about texture and also about making it really nutritious.”

Another dish on the menu was the Collard Green Salsa Verde which Smalls said would go well with roasted chicken and could also be tossed in pasta.

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Chef Alexander Smalls took time to work with culinary arts students at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center on April 11.

ALEX HICKS JR./SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

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Smalls looked over each dish and asked the culinary students to talk about any issues that arose while preparing their meal. He also shared stories with the aspiring chefs.

“When I was a young kid and would go to the movies, I hated popcorn so I talked my mom into frying okra for me and putting it into a brown bag and I would sneak it into the movies,” he said.

“That’s kind of where my obsession with fried okra started. I wanted fried okra and creamed corn every Sunday. I would make fried okra sandwiches with fresh tomatoes and Duke’s Mayonnaise on white bread. Every now and then I’d put on a slice of cheese. I loved it.”

Following the inspection of the meal, it was time to sit down to dinner.

“You guys did a terrific job,” he said. “I’d be proud to serve this food on your behalf.”

Before the class, Smalls paused to answer a few questions.

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Alexander Smalls, Spartanburg native, renowned chef and author, spoke about his life and new book “Between Harlem and Heaven” at the Spartanburg Library on April 10.

[LELAND A. OUTZ PHOTO]

WHAT WAS YOUR HOMECOMING LIKE AT THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY?

The homecoming was unexpected. A lot of faces I haven’t seen in years.

People with stories. People brought old letters that I had written to them years ago. I was in shock. One girl had borrowed sheet music from me 50-plus years ago and she said ‘I always return things.’ That was tremendous. It was really a homecoming.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST STARTING COOKING AND WHO DO YOU LEARN FROM?

I learned from my mom initially. She was the one who did most of the cooking in the house. In my mother’s home, if you liked something, you had to learn to make it and I loved everything that she didn’t want to make over and over again. She put me on a chair when I was 5 years old in front of the stove and the rest is history.

WHEN DID YOU LEARN YOU HAD A SINGING VOICE?

I think other people knew I had a voice before I did — at least one that should be heard on a regular basis and later paid for. I started my music lessons when I was 8. Around that same time, I started singing and I saw singing as a way to kind of express who I was, my individual quality and my artistic approach to being creative and then it was clear at a certain point that this was a profession that I could pursue.

DID YOU KNOW? Alexander Smalls is a graduate of Spartanburg High School Class of 1970.

The classically trained baritone toured professionally as an opera singer. As a member of the Houston Grand Opera, he performed in the George Gershwin opera “Porgy and Bess,” winning both a Grammy and Tony award.

In 1994, Smalls launched his first restaurant, Café Beulah, in New York City, specializing in Southern Revival cooking that combines Gullah and international cuisines.

In 1996, Smalls opened Sweet Ophelia’s, a casual dining venue featuring late-night, live entertainment in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. Later, he opened The Shoebox Café, an upscale Southern bistro in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. Currently, he is coowner of the Harlem jazz club Minton’s.

His previous memoir and cookbook, “Grace the Table,” features a forward by legendary jazz musician Wynton Marsalis.

Source: Hub City Bookshop

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YO U G U YS D I D A TERRIFIC JOB. I’D BE PROUD TO SERVE THIS FOOD O N Y O U R B E H A L F.

ALEXANDER SMALLS CHEF

Above: Chef Alexander Smalls took time to work with culinary arts students at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center on April 11. Chef Smalls points out the fine points of cooking to the students in class. [ALEX HICKS JR./SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

Right: Students eat the meal they prepared with chef Alexander Smalls.

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Chef Alexander Smalls took time to work with culinary arts students at the Daniel Morgan Technology Center on April 11. Here, students talk to Chef Smalls, center, about dishes cooked from his cookbook.

[ALEX HICKS JR./SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR NEW COOKBOOK.

“Between Harlem and Heaven” is more than a cookbook. It’s about a celebration of the people of the African diaspora. Africa changed the global culinary conversation. My first book “Grace The Table,” really spoke a lot about Lowcountry cooking. The food of the Gullah islands and the food I grew up on even in Spartanburg.

My father and my grandfather moved the family from Charleston to Spartanburg but it didn’t change the way we ate. That was powerful food for me. It represented generations of a way of life for people. And I introduced that to the New York audiences about 20 years ago. I took a 10-year hiatus from restaurants after my third restaurant and when I decided I was going to do another restaurant I really felt there was more of a culinary conversation to be had. So I started doing my research and while doing that I developed a concept that encompasses the food of forced migration of African slaves to five

continents. In the new book, I wanted to showcase that culinary expression. I had to create a culinary discipline and vocabulary that mirrored their experience.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF COOKING FOR YOU?

It’s how I realize my fullness of expression. It’s how I become alive and well in my passion which is cooking.

It’s something that I have to do. It’s not just a profession.

It’s a way of life. It’s how I breathe.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING CHEFS?

To feel that cooking was a gift that you give others.

Growing up, I learned quickly that the person that cooked the food had the power and the person who fed you, nurtured you. It’s not just a profession, but it’s a calling and it is a gift that you can give others. I would advise them to be purposeful and courageous and sincere and authentic.

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Collard green salad (above) and macaroni and cheese (right) prepared by students at Daniel Morgan Technology Center using Alexander Smalls’ cookbook “Between Harlem and Heaven” as inspiration.

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Hope Blackley, Alexander Smalls and Brenda Lee Pryce share a laugh at the reception before the event. [LELAND A. OUTZ PHOTO]

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR DINNER PARTY FEATURED ON AN EPISODE OF “THE CHEW” WHICH AIRED THIS SPRING.

“The Chew” wanted me to do a special dinner at my apartment in Harlem for that unique experience of being entertained at home with Alexander Smalls. Cicely Tyson has been a friend I’ve known for 30 years. She knew my family and my parents. She has been there like a rock for all of my achievements and accolades. It’s normal for her to come to my house for dinner. Having her was such a pleasure. It was an amazing menu — all from the book. We started with the Collard Green Salad. We then had the Piri Piri Shrimp. We did the fried okra and the curried cauliflower.

There was the Black Bass with Fonio. And Ms. Tyson brought a fantastic carrot cake that her niece had made.

Chef Smalls talks to Carolyn Ridlehuber of Broome High School about how she created one of his dishes.

[ALEX HICKS JR./SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

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T R AV E L

My first ‘passport’ trip of My life

Things learned on trip to Cancun, Mexico

I

STORY AND PHOTOS BY GABE WHISNANT

turned the Big 4-0 in March.

“You’re getting so old” jokes aside, the next notch on the calendar felt like it was a big deal as it approached — even beginning the summer before in 2017.

Friends and family kept asking, “What are you going to do for your 40th birthday?”

One July morning, last year, I finally had an answer. I was going to Mexico with some of my closest friends.

My favorite band, Widespread Panic, as they have for the past seven years in either Riviera Maya, Mexico or Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, announced a fournight concert run at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Resort in Quintana Roo near Cancun.

I told myself earlier last year, “If they announce another Panic En La Playa (the name of the event), I’m going.”

And of course, the trip would be about more than hearing a single band — even if they are my favorite. There was live music during the day and after Panic’s concert — featuring the likes of Greenville native, Marcus King, and Grammy-winning bass player, George Porter.

And it was also about more than music.

The ability to get away for a week in the dead of winter and experience a Caribbean vacation with some of my best friends was more than enough to pique my interest.

Top: The lagoons were a great way to cool off when the heat and humidity climbed during the afternoon hours.

Middle: The Mayan ruins of Tulum date back to the 13th century and are located at an archaeological site at Tulum National Park.

Left: Large iguanas could be seen in the grassy areas all over the resort.

Right: One afternoon, the group made a short drive from the resort to Rio Secreto, which features hiking and swimming excursions along a turquoise underground river with stalactites and stalagmites.

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Right: Gabe Whisnant, center, and a group of his friends decided to take an excursion off the resort one afternoon to visit the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum. The area near the ruins offer a picturesque view of the Caribbean Sea and coastline.

Below: A photo from the side of the stage where Widespread Panic headlined four concerts in the courtyard of the Hard

Rock resort.

So I began to plot my course for my first trip to Mexico as well as my first “passport trip” of my life.

Here are a few things I learned — from start to finish — that may help you plan a trip to Mexico or perhaps somewhere else on your bucket list.

Cabanas offered a beautiful escape from the heat and humidity.

PLAN IN ADVANCE. SPACE OUT PAYMENTS (IF YOU CAN) Fortunately, the full bill for the all-inclusive resort package, which included tickets to all four of the concerts, could be paid in monthly increments. I crunched my numbers, figured out how to make that work with my budget and set aside those monthly funds.

If your resort of choice doesn’t allow for monthly payments, start planning early, and set aside your funds in a travel savings account. To that point, perhaps always have a travel savings account. After this trip, I do!

With my trip set for January, a friend tipped me off that Labor Day weekend is a good time to look for flights at a discounted rate. My friend was correct. I found a flight from the GreenvilleSpartanburg International Airport for just under $200, round trip. There was a short layover in Dallas before departing for Cancun. Airline deals are out there so do your homework based on your departure date.

KNOW YOUR TRANSPORTATION You’re going to have to get from the airport to your resort, hotel or condo. Some resorts will offer a shuttle for an additional charge.

I could have gone that route, and I regret not taking the Hard Rock’s shuttle option. If you opt for a taxi service (there was no Uber in Cancun), the fare propositions by drivers or companies can be inconsistent. If you’re not careful, you’ll be so ready to get to your hotel you will make a quick judgment call and overpay for a taxi.

I can’t say I had a bad taxi experience — we also left the resort via cab to go to the Mayan ruins in Tulum and to a nearby underground river — I just felt uninformed about how many

dollars/pesos certain trips should cost. A few phone calls or web searches in advance would have helped.

ALL-INCLUSIVE IS GREAT — BUT GET OFF THE RESORT It is really tempting just to stay at a resort like Hard Rock.

Room service. Multiple restaurants and bars — indoor and outdoor – across the resort’s landscape. Lagoons. Pools. And in our case, music at various locations throughout the day.

My suggestion: Book your stay for enough days so you can mix in relaxation and adventure. Both options, of course, are more fun if you are traveling with a significant other, friend or group of friends, but especially when selecting an adventure or excursion. There is also a sense of security when you can go on a trip with friends who have experienced some of the same locations, previously.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed ordering room service every morning and lounging at poolside cabanas, but I would have been upset upon my return if I hadn’t made it to Rio Secreto, the underground river/cave, or out to the Mayan ruins.

I wouldn’t change much about my experience in Mexico, but when and if I make a return trip — or before my next international adventure — I’ll do more research and feel less like a rookie.

Gabe Whisnant is the assistant managing editor for digital for the Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com SPARTANBURG MAGAZINE | 79

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Spartanburg celebrates community with fundraisers and social events

Founders Day Dinner PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY USC Upstate held its annual Founders Day Dinner at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg, on Feb. 15.

Joshua Jones, Samantha Bauer, Michele Musgrove, Megan Force and Stephen Frey.

USC Upstate held its annual Founders Day Dinner at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg, on Feb. 15, 2018.

Sharan Ravishankar, Itzel Tello, and Gracie Adams.

USC Upstate held its annual Founders Day Dinner at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg on Feb. 15, 2018.

Walter and Betty Montgomery.

Johnny and Laurie Lee.

Kara Glennon and Al Atkins.

Charles and Susan Conrad.

Dione Willams and Timothy Smith.

Former Chancellor John Stockwell and his wife Diane Vecchio.

Benita and Charles Stavely.

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Hope Center for Children hosted Tinis and Tapas, the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year on Feb. 24 at the Spartanburg Marriott. Attendees were treated to sci-fi and fantasy movie themed martini samples from six local volunteer partners. Tapas were paired with signature drinks.

Tinis and Tapas PHOTOS BY WENDY SHOCKLEY MCCARTY Hope Center for Children hosted Tinis and Tapas, the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year, on Feb. 24 at the Spartanburg Marriott. Attendees were treated to sci-fi and fantasy movie-themed martini samples from six local volunteer partners.

Tapas were paired with signature drinks.

Cliff Bird, Angela Halstead, Chip Hurst and Hallie Hurst.

Shannon Schluder, Ashley Thrift, Jen Lancaster, Katie Thrift, Brandi Phillips and Casandra Tobias.

She’Ron Bates, Ashley Catom, Heather Porter and Grant Jones.

Jennifer Kerley, Mandy Phillips and Aimee Cheek enjoyed taking photos at Tinis and Tapas.

Mills Smith, Hannah Allchin, Meredith Lindsey and Wade Lindsey represented Wade’s Restaurant at Tinis and Tapas.

Ricky Wolfe, Camille Wolfe, Marshall McAbee and Wendy Kay.

Guests enjoyed music by Straight Fire at Tinis and Tapas.

Christy Parris, Scott Parris, Trey Pierce and Jamie Pierce.

Sterling Draper, Colleen Rice and Aundie Bishop.

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So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg!

PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY Ballet Spartanburg presented So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg! on March 29 at the Chapman Cultural Center. So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg! is a fund-raiser for 10 community groups who want to not only raise funds but awareness of their missions. The groups who danced this year were the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Upstate, Charles Lea Center, City of Spartanburg Police, Hub City Animal Project, Project Hope Foundation, Sidewalk Hope, Spartanburg School District 1, Spartanburg School District 7, and Spartanburg Parkinson’s.

Betsy Miller, Mary Frances Temples, and Marjorie Cannon.

Officers with the City of Spartanburg Police Department participated in the event.

Winnie Walsh and Kitta Cates.

Anna Hayes and Angela Hayes.

Vic and Ruthie Bailey.

Latasha Carter, Justin Fox, and Greg Tolbert.

A dance group performs during the annual So You Think You Can Dance, Spartanburg!

Carlos Agudelo, Jack McBride, Stacey McBride, Bridget Wolfe, and Leigh O’Shields.

Michael and Shevelle Porter with their son Brenden, left.

Lauren Anthony and Jamarcus Gaston.

Caitlin Russell, Miss South Carolina United States, and her mother Brenda Russell.

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Party at the Pavilion

PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ

Party at the Pavilion recognized donors, who received tours of the nearly finished Pavilion area at Spartanburg Medical Center on March 15.

Hal Connon and Lauren Jones.

Mark Aycock and Rob Flandry.

Jane Woods, Auburn Woods and Kristy Cardori.

Bill James, Dorothy Josey and Julian Josey.

Kathy Dunleavy and Ray Dunleavy.

Liza Miller and Byrd Miller.

Jane Woods, Auburn Woods and Kristy Cardori.

Rachel Musselwhite, Heather Abolfathi and Hallie Jacobs.

Sami Rishmawi and Rania Rishmawi.

Joe Mobley, Karen Mobley and Michael Eickman.

Laura Hodge and Jamie Hodge.

Audy Bate, Kristi Ward and Ashley Stewart.

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Oscars Red Carpet Party

PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ

AC Hotel Spartanburg and Spartanburg Social rolled out the red carpet on March 4 for 100 guests decked out in their finest attire who mingled, and posed for photographs in front of a champagne wall and watched as the Oscar winners were announced on a big-screen TV during their Oscars Red Carpet Party.

An Oscars Red Carpet Party was held at the AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on March 4. The event was hosted by Spartanburg Social.

Erin Emery, Susan Wilson and Anne Marie Brooks.

An Oscars Red Carpet Party was held at the AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on March 4. The event was hosted by Spartanburg Social.

Alyssa Gibson and April Gibson.

Angie Comer, Matt Graham and Bonita Bennett.

Joshua West and Breanna West.

Davia Bunch and Morgan Romano.

Mercy Ramey, Vaughn Pitts and Lizz Pitts.

Maddie Morgan, Bailey Sumner and Makenzi Cassidy.

Jordan Trolinger, Aimee Cheek and Annie Currin.

Arlene Fleming and Phillip Hudson.

Amy Zimmer and Blake Kirsch.

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Laugh for a Child

PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ

Healthy Smiles of Spartanburg hosted its annual Laugh for a Child fundraiser on Feb. 9 at the Marriott.

The ‘Laugh For A Child’ event was held at the Marriott Hotel in Spartanburg.

Beth Smoak, Susan Oldham and Glorian Hayes.

Michael Hammond, Helen Mitchell EdD, Jack Keith Bailey Leseter, Jordan Scruggs, Danielle Turney and MD and Phil Morrow DMD. Pat Foster.

Lacy Chapman, Jane Harrison Fisher and Rosemary Antosh.

Kim Keith and Camille Wolfe.

Ruthie Bailey and Vic Bailey.

Karyn Lemon and Dottie Brown.

Bill Powell and Cheryl Cox.

Bryant Boyd and Jeff Goshorn.

Kitta Cates, Kyle Stephenson and Paige Stephenson.

Kenneth Cribb and Sadie Jackson.

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Mobile Meals Land Cruise PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ The 14th Annual Mobile Meals Land Cruise set sail to Paris on March 16 at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. Guests enjoyed live music from the Back 9 Band, five food buffets, and three different auctions. All proceeds benefited Mobile Meals of Spartanburg County.

Mike Ravan and Patsy Ravan.

Jenifer Elliott and Andy Elliott.

Glen Barden and Em Barden.

The 14th Annual Mobile Meals Land Cruise set sail to Paris on March 16 at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. Guests enjoyed live music from the Back 9 Band, five food buffets, and three different auctions. All proceeds benefited Mobile Meals of Spartanburg County.

Janet Shaw, David Dempsey and Nan Dempsey.

Fred Nussel, Barbara Nussel and Richard Petty.

Quentin Broom, Deb Shelley and Jay Shelley.

Katherine Fulmer and Carter Graves.

Natalie Fehl and Atticus Fehl.

Kate Cummings and Blake Cummings.

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Souper Bowl Chili PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ Altrusa International of Spartanburg hosted its annual Souper Bowl Chili on Feb. 2 at Central United Methodist Church.

Valeree Mason and Annette Haynie.

Anje Parker Hawkins holds a big batch of banana pudding.

Altrusa International’s annual Souper Bowl Chili event was held at Central United Methodist Church on Feb. 2.

A bowl of vegetable soup.

A bowl of chili with all the fixings.

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Pink on Main Fashion Show

PHOTOS BY TIM KIMZEY

The new AC Hotel Spartanburg was the backdrop for the first Pink on Main Fashion Show, during ArtWalk in downtown Spartanburg on March 15. The fashion event, hosted by Lilly Pulitzer Pink on Main boutique and Spartanburg Social, showcased many spring trends.

Savannah Betsill.

The new AC Hotel Spartanburg was the backdrop for the first Pink on Main Fashion Show, during ArtWalk in downtown Spartanburg on March 15.

Miss Spartanburg Davia Bunch.

Cara Hodge and Donna Weld.

Jill Hyatt.

Aimee Cheek with AC Hotel, Blake Kirsch with Spartanburg Social, and Amy Zimmer, owner of Pink On Main.

Miss Spartanburg Davia Bunch.

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Spartanburg Ducks Unlimited PHOTOS BY LELAND A. OUTZ Spartanburg Ducks Unlimited held its annual banquet on March 16 at Indigo Hall in downtown Spartanburg.

Carol Story, Jim McKee and Betsy McKee.

Will Shirley, Katie Roath and Tim Manson.

Henry Grimball and Sean McGillicuddy.

Thomas Wharton, Tom Wharton, Kevin Drake and Jordan Drake.

Ericka Betler and Chris Suggs.

Katherine Bearden and Henry Grimball.

Spartanburg Ducks Unlimited held their annual banquet on March 16 at Indigo Hall in downtown Spartanburg.

Taylor Strickland and Lindy Strickland.

Mike Smith and Kenneth Walden.

Andy Pulliam and Norman Pulliam.

Seabrook Shisko and Skylar Lamb.

Brooks Woodlief, Ebbie Hodges, Tanner Quattlebaum.

Kevin Young and Connie Young.

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Broadway Backwards PHOTOS BY WENDY SHOCKLEY MCCARTY The Spartanburg Little Theatre presented Broadway Backwards on Feb. 8 for the second edition of their hit #SLTCARES concert benefitting Piedmont Care.

Charlie Hyatt, Scott Waddell, Randy Lawter, Ray Jones and Jay Coffman.

Randy Lawter, Scott Waddell, Ray Jones and Jay Coffman.

Charlie Hyatt and Cooper Wolfe.

Blair Dawkins and Melody McClellan.

Adam Sanders adn Jeffrey Nye.

Peter Lamson, Cindy McCrary, Cierra McCrary and Jack Lodmell.

Tracey Jackson, Linda Jackson, and Heather Jackson.

The Spartanburg Little Theatre presented Broadway Backwards on Feb. 8 for the second edition of their hit #SLTCARES concert benefitting Piedmont Care.

Jeff Lewis, Lynn Lewis, Stanley Hyman and Elaine Hyman.

Caroline Foster, Leslie Hendon and Mary Scarborough.

Tracy Regan, Tom Barnet, Phillip Hudson and Joe Willamson.

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Art Walk at AC Hotel

PHOTOS BY JOHN BYRUM

The AC Hotel Spartanburg is now a destination in the Spartanburg Art Walk held on the third Thursday of each month. In February, guests viewed artworks on loan from the Johnson Collection consisting of pieces made by faculty and students from Black Mountain College.

Sarah Tignor, Diane Jackson, Aimee Cheek.

Mandy Phillips, Jennifer Kerley, Mary and David Ensman, and Zach Kerley.

Sonja and Chris Widaver.

The AC Hotel Spartanburg has joined in participating in the Spartanburg Art Walk held on the third Thursday of each month.

Sylvia and Larry Johnson.

Tom Wood, Catherine Watson and Taylor Leaphart.

Marie Cryderman and Janine Allen.

Jennifer Evins and Jon McClure.

Alexis McMillian and Anna Toumans.

Hope Seo, Kyle Kemper and Mandy Cooper.

Guests enjoyed looking at the artworks on loan from the Johnson Collection consisting of pieces made by faculty and students from Black Mountain College.

Art Walk guests learned more about artworks on loan from the Johnson Collection consisting of pieces made by faculty and students from Black Mountain College.

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Delicious Reads

PHOTOS BY ALEX HICKS JR.

The Hub City Writers Project presented the 2018 Delicious Reads (an author-in-the round event) at the Marriott AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on March 18.

Chris Scalia, left, talks about the book covering the collection of work which his father Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia worked on during his life.

Brenda Lee Pryce listens to a conversation at Delicious Reads.

Guests at the 2018 Delicious Reads listen to an author talk about their craft at the Marriott AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on March 18.

Leesa Cross-Smith holds her book “Whiskey & Ribbons.”

Writer Ryan Graudin talks about her book “Invictus” to guests at the event.

Writer Peter Cooper talks about his book, “Johnny’s Cash and Charley’s Pride,” to guests.

The Hub City Writers Project presented the 2018 Delicious Reads (an author-inthe round event) at the Marriott AC Hotel in downtown Spartanburg on March 18.

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PA R T I N G S H OT

The Leader, one of Spartanburg’s most popular department stores. [HERALD-JOURNAL WILLIS COLLECTION, SPARTANBURG COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES]

The Leader

O

n Feb. 9, 1943, a substantial fire destroyed two small buildings on Morgan Square. Among them was The Leader, one of Spartanburg’s most popular department stores. Under the leadership of manager Oscar Fain, the business used the opportunity to expand into a much larger building, which took the place of both buildings and a small alley. The Leader would remain a fixture of downtown shopping for generations and is remembered by many for its pneumatic tube system, which circulated cash and receipts from the offices on the mezzanine level. After 68 years of operation, the business closed in 1996 and the building has hosted a number of businesses since then.

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