43 minute read
well + wise
Radical acceptance
LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE WHAT WE CAN AND CANNOT CONTROL
by Juliet Lam Kuehnle
It is what it is. I have always hated that phrase because it often feels dismissive and passive. What I do appreciate, though, is the sentiment. In psychology, we refer to this attitude as radical acceptance. This is an active skill and a practice of receiving reality without fighting it. This mindset of acceptance is seeing the present moment for what it is, from an objective lens. It requires us to remove emotionality and stop yearning for something to be different. We don’t have to approve of or want an experience; we can learn what is in our control so we can relinquish that which is not.
Take the pandemic, for example. We could remain stuck in a mental space of anger that we’re still navigating mask discussions, quarantining and significant illness. This can cause us to ruminate on negativity and can drive apathy or irritability. Alternatively, we can acknowledge the frustration of this reality and our desire for things to be different and home in on what we can control. This might include taking our own precautionary measures, practicing self-care or finding ways to connect with people. Coupling this with a “letting go” of the greater angst can help us feel more hopeful and present. There’s a lot of freedom in surrendering in this way. It can take the pressure and judgement off our own actions. It doesn’t mean we give up, but quite the opposite.
Myque Harris, an integrative psychotherapist at Myqueology, shares how this philosophy encourages mindful living. “Paying attention, without judgment, to what we genuinely feel moment to moment and having acceptance of those feelings without pushing them away, especially if they are negative, can be challenging,” she says. “Yet, research shows that mindfulness positively enhances our quality of life. Radical acceptance gives us the opportunity to truly tap into our feelings so that we can embrace both positive and negative aspects of an experience enough to make intentional decisions for our lives in the present moment.” Harris cites Thich Nhat Hanh, a global spiritual teacher and author, who discusses how radical acceptance eliminates duality — the tendency to view things as good or bad, positive or negative, this or that. “We must embrace both as we cannot have one without the other. Sometimes we must experience pain and suffering to know happiness and joy.”
Kuehnle spoke with Sam Diminich, personal chef (including that of Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey) and owner of Your Farms Your Table gourmet meal delivery service. Below are excerpts from their interview, lightly edited.
Talk to us a little bit about your mental health journey.
I was taught to numb. I had so many things going on as a young person, with no skill set and no one to go to to say, “I’m
When you were in it, were you aware that what you were doing was numbing and avoiding?
I just knew I was different. I felt othered and less than. I would pretend like I could solve the problem until I eventually realized I couldn’t outrun it. ... It requires humility to admit the truth. It finally came down to whether or not I could do the work from the inside out.
There’s nothing more vulnerable than surrender. Getting to that point can be terrifying.
It requires absolute surrender and saying. “I’m going to get out of the way.” The fear is the unknown: What if I do have to change? What will that look like? Dysfunction is all I knew, so for a long time, it was much safer to marinate in that than to take a chance on something that was a healthy alternative.
Can you imagine yourself in your 20s having these insights?
No, I spoke in a completely different language back then. Now, I recognize that I have set an example for my kids that it’s OK to fail and make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with seeking excellence, but when perfection is part of your vocabulary, it can be very dangerous. There’s such a lesson in falling apart and putting things back together.
What do you do to keep your mind right?
We tend to make mountains out of molehills with the issues between our ears. I try to get out of “self” and into service. When I’m invested in someone else’s life — in their ups or downs — I have an opportunity for perspective, and it helps me look internally and right-size the issues I may have going on at the time. Also, you never know when you’re going to hear exactly what you need to hear. I have tangible evidence in my life to back that up. SP
Juliet Kuehnle is the owner and a therapist at Sun Counseling and Wellness. The full version of Kuehnle’s “Who You Callin’ Crazy?!” interview featuring Sam Diminich can be found on Instagram @yepigototherapy or wherever you stream podcasts.
1013 Union Rd. | Gastonia www.tallyhoclothier.com 704.861.1990
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Spirits that sparkle
THE NEW SPEAKEASY AT SUPPERLAND PROVIDES SPACE FOR HEAD MIXOLOGIST COLLEEN HUGHES TO PUSH THE COCKTAIL EXPERIENCE TO A NEW LEVEL.
by Cathy Martin • photographs by Justin Driscoll
It takes about six man hours a day just to open the bar at Supperland, according to head mixologist Colleen Hughes, and even longer on weekends. Hughes, the 2021 North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association’s Mixologist of the Year, is known for original, inventive cocktails made with complex, housemade ingredients you won’t find at ABC stores or local markets. But Hughes wanted somewhere she and her staff could create a more intimate, immersive experience, with cocktails too technically difficult to serve in volume.
Bars with cocktail tasting menus are a rarity outside of large metros such as New York, Los Angeles and London, Hughes says. “So, I had the boss build me this space to do something that nobody does in minor markets.”
Already one of the hottest reservations in town, Supperland debuted its exclusive speakeasy in late September. The reservation-only, prepaid and prix-
Reservations for the speakeasy at Supperland are limited to 10 people, with seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Follow @sppr.lnd on Instagram for announcements about ticket releases, then go online to reserve a spot at supper.land.
fixe “spirit experience” is available Thursday-Saturday, but you have to move fast to snag a spot once reservations open up for each seating — the tiny basement bar beneath the cocktail bar at Supperland seats only 10. For $115 (about $150 including tax and tip), guests will be treated to four cocktails accompanied by four small plates from Supperland Chef Chris Rogienski, along with detailed explanations from Hughes, who sounds as much like a chemist as a bartender as she describes the elaborate recipes and the science behind the complex libations she creates.
Take for example, the Science is for Girls dessert cocktail, currently on the speakeasy menu (though Hughes says it could make its way to the bar upstairs in the near future). To make the clarified milk punch, Hughes and her team employ a sous vide method to create a chocolate milk with cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg. The punch is made with the Colleen Hughesbranded single-barrel Maker’s Mark (Hughes and Bar Manager Rhea Buck recently blended their own barrels for sale in North Carolina ABC stores), “which is a chocolate-toffee bomb in and of itself,” she says, and a toasted hazelnut orgeat. “You need to have acid to break a milk punch, but I didn’t want to add lemon or lime because I didn’t want to add a bunch of astringency. So I made fresh squeezed orange juice, and I acidified that to the same acidity as lemon juice.” The ice cube is a cold brew coffee “lightly sweetened to control the melt point” with a hint of gold glitter for a little sparkle.
At press time, the speakeasy experience was centered around bourbons, including a few limited releases no longer available in stores. Later this month, Hughes says the speakeasy will pivot to a holiday-themed experience. SP
All That Glitters is a clarified milk punch combining absinthe, passion fruit and lime, with a hint of tangerine glitter. The paper butterflies adorning cocktails at Supperland are handmade by a local artisan. “We wanted to have a real commitment to not having any single-use plastic in any of our drinks,” Hughes says. “I really wanted to make sure that anything we used as a single-use garnish was something that the Earth reasonably knew what to do with — so paper and wood, and all our straws are reusable.”
Almost too pretty to drink, Science is for Girls, currently on Supperland’s speakeasy menu, is a dessert cocktail with notes of chocolate, coffee and hazelnut.
You don’t need a reservation at the speakeasy to sample these classic and seasonal sips at Supperland’s main cocktail bar.
The Golden Onion is Supperland’s take on the Gibson, made with Sipsmith London Dry Gin, Dolin dry vermouth and amontillado sherry. “I wanted to [offer] a lot of steakhouse classics, but done differently,” Hughes says. The sherry gives the drink “a little richness, a little yeastiness, but a really nice mouth feel and a little bit more complexity.” Cocktail onions are cured in-house with saffron and other herbs and spices.
“Why make a three-ingredient cocktail when you can make it five?” Hughes says. The Midwood Manhattan exemplifies Hughes’ “more is more” philosophy: “Where a Manhattan is typically a combination of sweet vermouth and rye whiskey, this one is actually a split base — half rye whiskey, half bourbon whiskey.” The vermouth is a three-part house-made blend of Carpano Antica, Dolin rouge and Cocchi di Torino (a “very punchy” Italian vermouth).
West side story
INTERIOR DESIGNER HADLEY QUISENBERRY BLENDS OLD AND NEW — WITH A FEW BOLD SURPRISES — IN HER WEST CHARLOTTE HOME.
by Cathy Martin • photographs by Erin Comerford Miller • styling by Kendra Surface
The homeowners added cabinets on either side of the fireplace for convenient toy storage in the family room, where an eclectic mix of furnishings includes Mr. Brown club chairs and a vintage cowhide-upholstered coffee table.
Quisenberry commissioned Virginia artist Liz Lindstrom to paint oil portraits of her children that are a little “rougher and bolder” than traditional portraits. The dining table and chairs are vintage. 88 | SOUTHPARK
Hadley Quisenberry has fond memories of growing up in south Charlotte. But after five years living in New York City, when she and her husband, Bryan, decided to move back to the Queen City, the couple craved a more eclectic, urban environment.
When the Quisenberrys returned in 2014, they zeroed in on Biddleville, a historic community in west Charlotte near Johnson C. Smith University where Hadley already had another family connection.
“I grew up in south Charlotte, but I wanted to raise my kids near my brother’s kids. And since he was already here, we were looking for lots to build our family home in this area,” says Quisenberry, owner and principal designer at West Trade Interiors.
But lots in the area were scarce, and existing homes for sale needed too many repairs. The couple were about to give up the search when their real-estate agent, Michael Doney with Five Points Realty, offered to show them his own home, an Arts and Crafts style house built in 2008 that was about to go on the market. The home was built by MBH Construction, the company led by Michael Hopkins specializing in period-correct homes that reflect the character of the historic neighborhoods in which they are built.
“They were extremely thoughtful about building it to fit the [pre-WWII] period of other homes in the neighborhood,” Quisenberry says. “We loved the framework of the house. It checked 90% of our boxes for what we wanted,” she adds. “And we were really excited to find a place that felt like it had that eclectic culture of New York to raise our kids in.”
In the family room, the only update the couple made was adding built-ins on either side of the fireplace, which are used for storing toys belonging to the couple’s two children, ages 6 and 8. The kitchen also fit the family’s needs, with little updating required. “We enjoyed it as is for several years,” Quisenberry says. “It has a great flow, and [the previous owners had installed] top-of-the-line appliances,” including a 48-inch Wolf range and Sub-Zero commercial refrigerator. Recently, to give the space a brighter, more open feel, Quisenberry had the upper cabinets painted white to match the trim, leaving the lower cabinets a dark wood stain. Café curtains with a vine-cutwork design add a soft, decorative touch, and vintage counter stools from Slate Interiors are covered in a durable, handwoven striped fabric from Schumacher.
In the dining room, Quisenberry decided to go a little bolder. For the wall behind the built-in sideboard, she chose a classic Schumacher “Bird and Butterflies” design, which is repeated in the fabric for the roman shade. Next, she painted the dark-stained cabinet a bright shade of green that matched the wallpaper to “create a little drama.”
“I love to mix old and new,” Quisenberry says, and in the dining room she was also able to incorporate a vintage chandelier from her childhood home.
Quisenberry says she often encourages her clients to make bolder design choices when it comes to the powder room. At home, the designer followed her own advice, covering the walls of her own powder room with a washable Pierre Frey wallpaper (“Arty”) in a bold, multicolored design. The vintage sink was installed by the original homeowners.
But the oldest piece in the home sits in the entry — a wooden bench that belonged to Quisenberry’s great-grandparents. The designer gave it an update by having the seat covered with a new cut velvet fabric. The Philip Jeffries grasscloth wallcovering captures the blue and green tones throughout the home, Quisenberry says. “It sets the tone walking in.”
While West Trade Interiors’ typical style is transitional, Quisenberry, who spent several years working in the fashion industry before switching to interior design, says her personal style is a bit bolder. “I’m eclectic and a little more daring with color.”
But the best part about her home has been living close to family. “It’s been this really sweet thing of cousin play,” she says, with the kids — her two and her brother’s three sons — constantly running back and forth between houses. About five years ago, Quisenberry’s mother and business partner, Lisa Britt, decided to leave her longtime home in south Charlotte and move to the neighborhood as well.
“We’re all within a block,” Quisenberry says. “That doesn’t happen anymore.”
“I think a lot of [design] is innate, in terms of seeing a space, being able to visualize, pattern and color mixing,” says Hadley Quisenberry, who worked in the fashion industry before joining her mother’s interior design firm. “It’s in mom’s blood, and she passed it on to me.” The two have worked together for eight years.
“I love mixing high and low,” Quisenberry says, pointing to the high-end Phillip Jeffries grass cloth wallcovering and the Ballard Designs scalloped mirror in the entry. The small mirror hanging on the wall behind the bench belonged to her mother and business partner, Lisa Britt, who Quisenberry says loves to scour antique markets for vintage finds. The herringbone throw and double candle are from Isabella. SP
The beauty of change
PAINTER DAMIAN STAMER FINDS INSPIRATION IN FORGOTTEN SPACES.
by Courtney Napier • photographs by Taylor McDonald
Damian Stamer was born and raised in northern Durham County, right near a century-old Italianate-style brick building that once contained a prison camp, then a sanitorium for tuberculosis patients, and finally a local television station. Now on the National Historic Registry, this complicated structure is just the sort of thing that bemuses Stamer — and led him to explore its meaning through his paintings.
Stamer was introduced to the world of art in the 1990s as a student at Durham’s Riverside High School. Artist Helen Griffin, Riverside’s art teacher, taught with a contagious passion that transferred to Stamer. “It’s the first time I ever wanted to stay after school to work on projects,” he says. “The piece that I really remember impacting me was the famous Robert Rauschenberg piece with the JFK lithograph. A notion of realist ‘popular’ photographic imagery with his beautiful abstract marks was, to me, a poetic combination. I think I’ve been interested in that dynamic between abstraction and realism and combining them ever since.”
Even as a teenager, he showed potential for being an artist professionally, according to his former teacher. “Early on, Damian understood the work commitment and risk taking required in art making,” Griffin says. “Some people do the bare minimum, but the minimum was never an option for him.”
After graduating from the UNC School of the Arts high-school program in Winston-Salem in 2001, art became both a form of self-expression and a form of self-exploration for Stamer. He traveled to Germany for a study abroad program at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, then went on to study fine art in Arizona and Hungary before moving to New York City, where he split his time with North Carolina, working toward a master’s in fine arts at UNC Chapel Hill, before settling back here in 2018.
It was in New York City, among the frenetic yet isolating energy of the city, that Stamer began to reflect deeply on his roots. “Coming home for the holidays, I started taking pictures of the weathered buildings around town,” he says. The distance allowed him to see his home with more appreciative and curious eyes. He began to imagine the stories within the walls and beneath the vines of decaying structures. When he returned to the city, he began painting pictures of the scenes he captured. This study of the magic of time upon environments and buildings became a common thread through Stamer’s work.
“Damian’s ability as a painter is profound in multiple ways,” says Jen Sudul Edwards, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at The Mint Museum. “His skill with paint and his confounding treatment of the surface brings a complexity and curiosity to the works, and his haunting subject matter — these abandoned spaces, hovels where nature assumes and consumes spaces once attended to by humans — compounds that disruption, all the while luring you in deeper because they are such stunningly beautiful, complicated compositions.”
In a 2016 profile on PBS NC’s “My Home, NC,” Stamer shares pieces from his Altered Land exhibition, a collection heavily influenced by his memories of the green and aging spaces in and around Hillsborough, near where he grew up. There’s a scene in which he and his twin brother, Dylan, drive to a nearby barn, which resembles a towering triangular bush with the overgrowth of vines that have swallowed the structure. “What’s so exciting about this place,” Stamer muses to his brother, “is that there is a whole unknown world inside. It’s like a treasure chest or a time capsule.”
Stamer’s latest exhibition, and then it wasn’t, which will open at SOCO Gallery this month, is also a time capsule of sorts. Created over the course of the last year — against a background of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Movement for Black Lives following the murder of George Floyd and the pregnancy of his wife with their first child — the collection explores the destructive and transformative nature of time.
“The big changes that happened in 2020 made me reflect on the Buddhist principle of impermanence and equanimity in change,” Stamer says. “There’s a fear of change, but there’s also a beauty and potentiality in it.” He explored the idea that sometimes the dismantling or degrading of old structures and realities can be good — even if it’s challenging and uncomfortable.
“While I love his work for all of these art historical reasons, it has a particular poignancy in the South, where history remains present, a site to reckon and reconcile,” Sudul Edwards says. “Even if we didn’t build the original structure, it is ours to tend.”
Stamer’s studio, which he completed in 2016, is connected to the home where he grew up, nestled in lush woodlands. Here, soaring windows along the north-facing wall erase any sense of containment and frame the tall oaks outside. The other three walls are filled with his pictures on hanging canvases, windows into his artistic world. Near the entrance, the door to a storage room is a collage of postcards and small prints by artists who inspired him, including Robert Rauschenberg, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Neo Rauch and Cy Twombly.
For and then it wasn’t, Stamer pushed himself to a new level of
vulnerability through more abstract expression than ever before, offering paintings that are markedly more vibrant and nonrepresentational than his former works. “Horry County 25,” which Stamer started in 2018 and finished last year, shows what appears to be a darkly painted interior room in the center of the panel. Then, in a visceral shift, Stamer adds beautiful and bold markings with a panoply of rich warm hues, textures and shapes. The result is a powerful interplay of the fixed and the fluid.
“I thought to myself, this is the time to just be bold,” Stamer says. “I’ve tightened up some of the realism, but I’ve focused on pushing myself to that anxious, uneasy place beyond normal.” That process consists of Stamer revisiting paintings over months and years with new mindsets and states of being and translating these fresh perspectives onto the canvas. In the end, the pieces are more like novels, showing layers of stories and emotional experiences that even Stamer will never fully understand. But he has surrendered to that mystery, which leaves space for the viewer to connect and seek out their own experiences and stories in his work.
“Damian constantly amazes us for his ability to challenge himself and dive deeper into the manipulation of paint and form,” says Chandra Johnson, founder and owner of SOCO Gallery. “In his new exhibition, he’s pushing the boundaries of abstraction in his work even further. The paint and marks seem to explode from the canvas into the viewer’s physical space.”
Amid all the global and personal change, Stamer maintains a grounded and content demeanor that, he says, is the product of his spiritual practice, therapy, a loving family and a supportive creative community. “I feel very lucky to have a wife who wants to go on this journey with me,” he shares. “She is able to go to places and talk about things in such an understanding way.” He also speaks of the “wonderful community of artists” that have encouraged him throughout his career, including celebrated Durham-based painter Beverly McIver and Larry Wheeler, the former director of the North Carolina Museum of Art.
“When I was director of NCMA, Damian politely persisted that I come to see his paintings. When I finally did, it stopped me in my tracks,” Wheeler says. “Damian’s work, mature and beautifully articulated, communicated an uncanny spiritually of place. I was moved to immediately call the curators at NCMA and insist that the museum buy what I considered the best one. And I continue to find joy in Damian’s growing success — and a broader appreciation of his work.”
Stamer is a man full of gratitude — for his family and home — but also for his professional achievement, he says. “Success, in a way, is just being able to paint every day, make your work, put it out there and then try to let go.” SP
and then it wasn’t, a solo exhibition of works by Damian Stamer, runs Nov. 10 – Dec. 22 at SOCO Gallery. An opening reception with the artist will take place Nov. 10 from 6-8 p.m. 421 Providence Rd., socogallery.com
One love
BEFORE THE PENINSULA, RIVER RUN AND TRUMP NATIONAL, THERE WAS LAKEVIEW COUNTRY CLUB. ALL WERE WELCOME.
by Page Leggett • illustration by Harry Blair
Lake Norman wasn’t always populated by NASCAR drivers, waterfront mansions and the Trump National Golf Club. It used to be a decidedly unfancy weekend retreat. Lots of families who lived in 28207 and 28211 had getaways on the lake. Some of them were little more than trailers and a dock. Heck, some of them were actual trailers.
In the 1980s and prior, there was nothing upscale about the man-made (by Duke Energy) lake. It was a getaway — a place you’d retreat for a shorts-and-T-shirt-and-flip-flops weekend. My parents had a lovable lakefront shack they shared with two other families. (True story: Through a series of unfortunate renovations that predated their acquisition of the home, the foyer was also a bathroom.)
Driving up Interstate 77 to the lake, we’d stop at an independent video store attached to a gas station at Exit 33 and stock up on VHS tapes for the weekend. There wasn’t much else to do.
There certainly weren’t any country clubs.
Well … there was one. But it was a “country club” in name only. There wasn’t a vetting process to become a member. In fact, there wasn’t even a membership fee. Just a small cover charge when a reggae band — Awareness Art Ensemble, Burning Spear, Moja Nya or Rolly Gray and Sunfire — performed. Lakeview Country Club, accessed by car from Exit 28 off I-77, was a circa-1972 cinder-block building originally known as the Connor Family Recreation Center, or Connors’ Place. The building and the land were owned by the late John Connor, a prominent Black businessman in Cornelius. (John Connor Road, off Jetton Road near The Peninsula Yacht Club, is named for him.) The club became legendary — and not just around Lake Norman — because of the reggae concerts held there.
“It started with local bands like City Survivors,” recalls Carolyn Barber, owner of Reggae Central, which has been a Plaza Midwood mainstay for 25 years, and a concert promoter in the 1980s and ’90s. “And then, we started doing international reggae artists.” The oldest concert poster she still has dates to March 29, 1986.
Bentley James, who owned the Caribbean Records store in Latta Arcade, got the whole thing started, Barber says. Barber took over as promoter after James returned to his native Jamaica in the 1990s.
Svend Deal, a lawyer now living in Tuxedo in the North Carolina mountains, grew up as the youngest of five boys in Myers Park. His memories of Lakeview are a little hazy, given the passage of time and his beer consumption each time he made the trip up I-77 to where The Peninsula — an actual country club — now stands.
But his memories from high-school days seem remarkably clear.
“It looked like a typical VFW Post,” Deal says. “They always had jerk chicken or curried goat, rice and peas. It was served on a paper plate, and you ate it with a plastic fork. You could get a Red Stripe for maybe $1.50 — but you had to have cash money.” I ask Deal if it was a little like Belle Acres Golf & Country Club, the legendary South Boulevard spot famous for its french fries, putt-putt course and a waiting list that never ends. “Oh, this was nowhere near as nice as Belle Acres,” Deal says.
Nevertheless, Deal and his crew would take his dad’s ski boat, a 1989 Malibu Euro F3, to the Lakeview cove, pull up on the beach (if there was room) and pay the nominal cover charge. In Deal’s mind — and maybe in actuality — there were sometimes hundreds of boats. Not everyone got to park on the beach.
“Oh, there were so many boats,” Barber recalls. “When you got out of your boat, you might have to swim the rest of the way. We collected a lot of wet money.”
The club was just beyond Hunters Chapel United Methodist Church — the Connors’ place of worship, Barber recalls — on what it is now John Connor Road. It’s so legendary that even Google Maps shows the area as “Reggae Cove” and lists it as a tourist attraction. (It’s not … anymore.)
In addition to the music, there was reggae merch. “We had vendors set up,” Barber says. “You could sell whatever you made. And people came from everywhere. You wouldn’t believe. People came from D.C. People came from Virginia. People came from
DJ Billy Dread, second from left, was the emcee at most events at Lakeview Country Club, Carolyn Barber recalls. Photo courtesy Carolyn Barber.
Charleston. Everywhere.”
By all accounts, the outdoor concerts could be massive, festival-style gatherings. No one can recall exactly how many people might turn out. “Five hundred,” Deal says. “That’s my drunk estimate, anyway.”
There were the Connors and their friends. “[John Connor] used to drive his golf cart around while everything was going on,” Barber says. And there were the kids from East Mecklenburg, Myers Park and West Charlotte high schools, who came in droves.
“It was totally safe,” Deal recalls. “There were never any fights. No one gave us the stink eye. We were all there to have a good time, dance and listen to the music. It was always super chill.”
Dave Rickard, now vice president at Carolina Made Inc., a wholesale sportswear distributor based in Indian Trail, was a student at East Mecklenburg High School in the mid-1980s when a friend’s older brother told him about Lakeview. He and Deal never met (not that they recall), but chances are, they visited the club at the same time.
“Everybody got along,” Rickard says. His love for Bob Marley and Peter Tosh grew into a love of all reggae. The music at Lakeview was the draw, but even as a teenager, Rickard appreciated the club’s vibe.
“There were people from all walks of life,” he continues. “You had white people, Black people, old people, young people, lots of people that were obviously into the whole reggae scene with dreadlocks and tie-dyes. But then there [were] also lots of yuppie kids there. It was a little bit of everything — everyone getting along and grooving, just having fun.”
So how did Deal, Rickard and others get away with going to a bar and concert venue when they were underage?
“Some people would tell their parents they were going to a friend’s parents’ country club,” Rickard says. (It wasn’t a total lie.) “And the parents would think, ‘Oh, good. Junior’s finally getting some class.’”
Rickard and his wife, Jodi, who was his best friend during their East Meck days, recall bringing their own coolers to the concerts. Deal remembers buying beer at the club. Maybe there was a little of both. People brought their own blankets and lawn chairs — there was a stage but no seating.
“People would bring a tent and camp out all night long,” Barber recalls. “There was no fighting — there was just peace and love. That’s what it was all about.” SP
Old-World wine
IN NORTH CAROLINA’S YADKIN VALLEY, EUROPEAN-STYLE GRAPES THRIVE.
by Finn Cohen • photographs by Mark Wagoner
Elkin Creek Vineyard
You wouldn’t notice it from the highway, but less than two hours north of Charlotte, the soil is something special. And it’s not just the soil: It’s the slope of the land — lush, verdant hills at the foot of the Appalachians — and the quality of the air, still slightly humid but more temperate than most counties to the east. Even the way the sun hits is different.
You’ve entered North Carolina’s wine country. The Yadkin Valley, which for oenophiles is centered around the town of Elkin, is one of 258 American Viticultural Areas in the United States (for context: California has 142 AVAs, and only 25 other states have them). The area’s status as an AVA — meaning that the climate and terrain have been certified by the U.S. government for their wine-making properties — became official in 2003. There are currently more than 50 wineries operating in the region. And they produce a much different grape than the super-sweet muscadines found in much of eastern North Carolina.
“The Yadkin Valley is a direct analog of Old-World Europe, dropped right here into North Carolina,” says Louis Jeroslow, one of the owners and operators of Elkin Creek Vineyard. As he explains, the specific combination of latitude (on the same line as Monterey County in California), humidity (similar to Bordeaux, France), and red clay (akin to Tuscany, Italy) creates ideal conditions for European varieties of wine. “These vines don’t know they’re in North Carolina,” he says. “Their feet are in Italy, and they think they’re growing in France.”
Jeroslow and his wife, Carrie, first laid eyes on their vineyard as guests: In 2008, their good friends Jennifer and Nick White got married at Elkin Creek. The two couples quickly became friends with the owner, Mark Greene. Louis had been dabbling in winemaking, so there was a mutual interest. A year later, Greene contacted them and wanted to sell; he knew they’d be interested since they’d all hit it off so well. The Whites and the Jeroslows didn’t have
a business background in wine — all four of them were working for the Blue Man Group in Las Vegas — but everyone was ready for a change.
“We had been in the arts for a really long time, and we all wanted to come back east,” says Carrie, who had worked for Blue Man Group in New York City in the 1990s. “Our visions were very much based on this place — it had everything that we really loved.”
There are 4 acres of grapes on the Elkin Creek property, and they produce about 1,200 cases a year. In their cozy tasting room, a high-ceilinged lodge directly above the fermentation area, they offer brick-oven pizzas every weekend to go with their wines. Highlights by the glass include the viognier, a light white crafted in the Rhone style, and their take on cabernet sauvignon, a rich nod to France. Their “Adequate Red” is a deceptively named blend of merlot and syrah, highly recommended by the bottle with a winter meal.
Math and logistics prevent a Yadkin Valley wine from being widely available to consumers around the state, so it’s hard to get a taste of these grapes without making the trip yourself. Unlike craft beer — which uses ingredients that can be bought online, fermented relatively quickly, canned and shipped — wine-making is a laborious process that can be affected drastically by numerous factors during a growing season: hurricanes, late-spring frosts, pests and drought.
Once the grapes are picked, crushed and put in a tank, they need ample time to be turned into wine. If there are only a few people involved in the process, then it’s a lot harder to drive around the state looking for distributors while also running a tasting room and a grape farm.
“If you’ve bought a million dollars’ worth of stemmers and crushing pans and tanks and oak barrels and everything else, you’re going to maybe sell a guy like
Midnight Magdalena Vineyards
me a few cases here and there, but you can’t afford a giant wholesale,” says Jeremy Stamps, the owner of The Wisdom Table, a wine bar located in an old Belk’s department store in downtown Elkin. “Most brewers are buying hops from Oregon and Washington, barley from the Dakotas — industrial-grade ingredients. They can produce beer on scale and send it to anybody and it’ll still be good.”
“It’s a pretty steep learning curve,” says Jim Zimmer, who with his wife, Tauny, owns Midnight Magdalena Vineyards several miles outside of Elkin. They quit their jobs in the energy industry and moved from Atlanta after buying 40 acres of land in 2010, opening the vineyard in 2012. Today, they’ve got 6 acres of vines planted, producing jammy reds (the 2018 malbec is a standout) and crisp whites (try the riesling). When they landed in the area, it was still relatively under the radar, which allowed them to adjust to the rigor of the growing process. While Jim got his hands into the soil, Tauny learned her craft through the viticulture program at Surry Community College in nearby Dobson.
“It gives you a lot of guidance of how you can start up a vineyard and start up the overall business, even to the point of teaching you the winemaking techniques that you would need, or the grapes that you’re growing,” Jim says. “She would come back from school, we would talk about it.”
Stamps and his wife, Krystle, moved to Elkin in 2017 from Orlando, where they both worked at Disney World (there seems to be a bit of a theme with entertainment and wine here). They’d fallen in love with the area when they got married there, but on visit after visit they saw a need for a gathering spot since many wineries stop offering tastings at 5 or 6 p.m. Now, The Wisdom Table sells wines by the bottle — about half the shop’s stock is from North Carolina — and Jeremy serves as ambassador for the region, offering curated flights that combine Old-World, New-World, and Yadkinworld wines. Even when he’s pouring a glass of a deep red, he’s offering a story about it — like Grassy Creek’s 2017 “To the Max” blend, named for the winemaker’s late dog who saved his owner’s life by blocking him from going out in the vineyard one day before a lightning storm. Or McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks’ 2014 “Ring of Fire,” a dazzling Italian red that benefited from that year’s lack of hurricanes, rain and early frost. Or the Vermentino Superiore, a luscious white from Raffaldini Vineyards, one of the region’s most scenic vineyards — there’s a Tuscan-style villa situated over rolling hills, where they grow the grapes that produce some of the region’s most powerful reds. (The Montepulciano Riserva, a deep, earthy red, would pass as an Italian import at a blind taste test.)
The elephant in the room for winemakers around the world is climate change; as certain areas known for production get hotter and less accommodating for growing, regions less known for their grapes will inevitably get more attention. The Yadkin Valley stands to gain from this shift, which, according to Louis Jeroslow, would be a bit of a full circle for the whole state.
“Somewhat lost in history is that the winemaking history of North Carolina goes all the way back to the colonies — North Carolina was the wine region of the United States before the western expansion, up until Prohibition. You have Old-World Europe dropped right here in the foothills of North Carolina, and we’re starting to finally, slowly, see more attention among the public, among the consumers,” Jeroslow says.
“It feels very much like Sonoma in the 1960s, when the locals just didn’t get it, and people had not really heard about it: Why are you growing grapes, isn’t this where you guys grow almonds and citrus?” he says. “People could say the same thing here: Why are you growing grapes? Isn’t this where people grow corn and tobacco and soybeans?”
But sitting on Midnight Magdalena’s porch looking into the Virginia mountains with a glass of malbec, or wandering through the sun-dappled vines at Raffaldini between sips of the Riserva, the answer is clear. SP
The Wisdom Table
Pretty. Unexpected.
TAKING A UNIVERSITY TOUR WITH YOUR TEEN? TALLAHASSEE’S DIVERSE ARRAY OF RESTAURANTS, HISTORY AND OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES MAKE THE FLORIDA CAPITAL MUCH MORE THAN JUST A COLLEGE TOWN.
by Taylor Wanbaugh
Friendly chatter and music fill the air as I take a sip of “The Charlie,” Charlie Park’s signature gin cocktail with fragrant notes of coconut, lavender and pineapple. Located on the eighth floor of the newly opened AC Hotel in Tallahassee, Fla., the open-air bar boasts sky-high views of the Cascades Park District, a renovated 24-acre tract filled with landscaped waterfalls, 2.3 miles of biking and walking trails, and an outdoor amphitheater.
It’s the story of Tallahassee as a whole — a place where old meets new. The capital city, which has a population of nearly 198,000, is home to Florida State University, with enrollment topping 43,000, and Florida A&M University, one of the top-ranked public historically Black colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. But, as locals note, the once sleepy Southern town, a 1.5-hour direct flight (or about an eight-hour drive) from Charlotte, is now an up-andcoming metropolis of activity, with a diverse offering of restaurants, shopping, history and outdoor activities.
FOOD & DRINK
At the 150-room, four-suite AC Hotel Tallahassee, which opened in May, guests are treated to modern amenities with sleek decor and lots of natural light. A few steps from the front entrance of the hotel and
Cocktails at Charlie Park
AC Hotel Tallahassee Charlie Park at AC Hotel Tallahassee
Il Lusso
down a brightly lit, wood-paneled hallway lies a separate entrance for Charlie Park, the AC’s rooftop cocktail bar named for local police officers’ codename for the area. It’s a lively and sophisticated meeting hub boasting unique fruity cocktails and small plates to share. It’s also an Instagram influencer’s dream, adorned with a funky live moss wall, velvet lounges and sofas, bright crystal chandeliers and plenty of indoor and balcony seating. The newcomer has already become a hot spot for tourists and locals alike, so be sure to call ahead to reserve a table.
A short stroll from the hotel, Cascades Park offers a green scene tucked into an urban landscape, with ponds, fountains, gardens and plenty of trails. Its 3,500-seat Capital City Amphitheater has hosted a variety of acts, including blues artist JJ Grey & Mofro, with an upcoming show by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson. The Edison Restaurant, which overlooks the stage, still has remnants of its former life as a power plant, with high ceilings, industrial steel beams and exposed brick walls. A nod to its electrifying past, Edison bulbs serve as a theme in its decor. Order a lobster guacamole to share, and get a taste of the Gulf with the classic Panhandle Po Boy.
If you’re looking for something more casual, Proof Brewing is a five-minute walk through the park. Founded in 2012, the craft brewery features a 20-barrel brew house, modern tasting room and outdoor beer garden, where you can usually find live music or catch a game on one of many big-screen TVs. The brewery offers a twist on bar bites — the pimento cheese fritters topped with a local jam glaze are heavenly — plus a long list of beers and a full bar. For a nonalcoholic option, Proof recently launched a line of low-calorie, CBD-infused seltzers called JoyFace Collective, available in flavors such as peach and lemon-lime.
Close to campus, be sure to check out College Town, just steps from FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium, Donald L. Tucker Civic Center and Dick Howser Baseball Stadium. Established in 2013, the entertainment district is home to dozens of restaurants, bars and shops. Stop by family-friendly eatery Madison Social and order the BLT dip and tangy Korean cauliflower to share, and sip on a lavender lemonade while cheering on the Seminoles. Fun fact: College Town is just minutes away from the FSU Flying High Circus, a 60-yearold student-run aerial and stage show with its own Big Top tent.
For an upscale option, make a dinner reservation at downtown’s Il Lusso. Known for steaks and Italian fare, it’s worth a visit. Start with the insalata burrata with arugula, heirloom tomatoes and white balsamic vinaigrette, and you can’t go wrong with any of the homemade pasta dishes — Il Lusso has an excellent seafood mezzaluna, with spiny lobster, crab, grouper, carrot butter, fennel and lobster espuma. Don’t skip out on dessert — the Italian Cream Cake Baked Alaska is to die for.
OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
Tallahassee has a little bit of something for everyone, whether you are a thrill seeker or prefer something more laid-back. The 52-acre outdoor Tallahassee Museum is a great option for kids, boasting more than two dozen native animals such as red wolves, otters, bobcats and bald eagles. Step back in time with the museum’s historic buildings, including the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, the first regularly organized Black church in Florida established in 1851, and The Concord School, a late 1870s schoolhouse that served the children of formerly enslaved people. Authentic 1880s farm buildings house cows, sheep, goats, and a garden filled with corn, sweet potatoes and other crops. If you’re feeling more adventurous, the museum offers Tree-To-Tree Adventures, a high ropes/zipline course that allows you to see the exhibits from new heights.
Tallahassee is also home to more than 700 miles of trails for biking, hiking, horseback riding and running. I rented a bike from The Great Bicycle Shop, which offers one-day rentals starting at $30, and headed to the Munson Hills Trail with Jimmy Card, who is a member of the Tallahassee Mountain Biking Association. It’s a great trail for beginners and families and offers beautiful forest views. If you’re feeling ambitious, the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail, the oldest rail trail in Florida, runs 16 miles from Tallahassee to the historic town of St. Marks, which is home to a wildlife refuge on the Gulf of Mexico.
Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park offers a quiet retreat from the bustling city, featuring a picturesque brick walkway framed by
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willows draped with Spanish moss, lush gardens and beautiful water features. Bike, hike or kayak, take a garden tour, or plan ahead for special events such as yoga on the historic Maclay House lawn. If you’re willing to venture about 15 miles south, the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park, home to the world’s largest and deepest freshwater spring, is a 6,000-acre sanctuary that boasts diverse wildlife such as manatees, alligators and dozens of bird species.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
To experience a taste of Tallahassee’s eclectic arts scene, head over to the Railroad Square Art District. Centrally located near downtown, FSU and FAMU, the district is home to more than 70 shops, art galleries and small businesses, including several thrift, antique and vintage boutiques, a specialty kayak shop, a nonprofit theater, a pinball arcade and a cat cafe/bookshop. Chill out with a cool libation and live music at Railroad Square Craft House in the newly renovated Art Garden.
If you want a local, authentic, hole-in-the-wall live music experience, head on over to Bradfordville Blues Club, a 50-year-old jazz joint about 30 minutes outside of downtown. Follow the bumpy dirt road, and you’ll know you’re in the right spot when you hear the instruments strumming and the lively crowd through the night air. The smell of deep-fried catfish made by Miss Ernestine greets visitors almost every night. Strings of Christmas lights illuminate painted portraits of musicians Pinetop Perkins, “Honeyboy” Edwards, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and others lining the walls of the one-room cinderblock club.
Historically, the juke joint served as a safe venue for Black performers during the days of segregation and is part of The Mississippi Blues Trail that runs from the Magnolia state to Florida. Now, much like the rest of Tallahassee, the crowd is a mix of young locals, longtime regulars who greet bartenders and guests alike with bright smiles and jovial hugs, and curious travelers led off the beaten path by the lure of good company, good music and a little bit of good old Southern hospitality. SP
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