durham inc. 8 p.m. on most days. “The busier a bookstore gets, the better it feels, and the more fun it is for the people working there,” Arnold said. Letters Bookshop celebrates its 10th anniversary this year in the downtown district and hopes more retail businesses will fill nearby empty storefronts. “I think we need to support not just startup tech entrepreneurship; we need retail,” he said. Over on Ninth Street, shop owner Barbara Stover is re-configuring the layout of Hometown Apparel because the 1,800-square-foot store is packed with merchandise and seasonal inventory. “I tell people when they come in the store, ‘You need to take a couple laps around just to take it all in,’” she said, and added that it is now open seven days a week to feature products made by 40 different vendors based in Durham and other locations across North Carolina. And, every item is also available online through their website. “We’re very proud of getting everything cataloged,” Stover said. “I mean, it was exhausting, but we are so thankful because now we’re seeing people are ordering from everywhere, not only the United States, but globally. People come to Durham, and it makes an impact on them. And they want to bring it home with them, but they don’t necessarily have room in their luggage, or they forgot an item, or they want to send it to a loved one.” Stover said she trains her seasonal employees – she plans to hire three part-time staff who she hopes will stay on after the holidays – about every product’s backstory. “We really find that helps the customer,” she said, adding that she encourages her workers to actively connect with visitors. “That way when they leave, they’re wanting to come back.”
NOW SERVING The hospitality industry is growing across the state, said Lynn Minges, president of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. “We’re only just now surpassing 2019 employment numbers,”
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ABOVE Tables fill up quickly for New Orleans-inspired meals at Seraphine, the newest restaurant to open at the American Tobacco Campus. BELOW “We breathe deeply and do our best to go with the flow,” said Hamilton Hill co-owner Sarah Hill. “Perspective is key. Even when shipping disruptions or technological issues wear on us, we remember how fortunate we are to work with beautiful goods and gracious people.”
Minges said. “But that’s not the whole story – North Carolina is growing, and that means more people, more businesses and ultimately more competition. The whole hospitality industry is feeling this shift and the need for more workers.” Minges said a new statewide marketing recruitment campaign, Serving Careers, promotes the opportunities that exist within the industry to help attract and retain employees in restaurants, bars, hotels and motels across
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the state. Funded by a $5 million grant from North Carolina’s portion of the American Rescue Plan, the plan highlights the valuable skills that can be learned working in the hospitality industry and the diverse career paths available. According to the NCRLA job board, there are nearly 2,000 hospitality-related positions open in Durham. NanaSteak co-owner Brad Weddington likened launching his new restaurant – Seraphine – to having a baby. “We’re still in
the phase when you say ‘weeks,’” he said. Brad and his brother, Graham Weddington, own both restaurants. “For Seraphine, we’re still figuring out our day-to-day, so thinking about stuff in the future, we’ve got some ideas, especially being in American Tobacco Campus – it’s so pretty, [and] they do the tower lighting and all [during the holidays].” Brad said this is the busiest time of the year for the restaurant industry in general and added that NanaSteak is typically booked for holiday parties five or six months in advance. He said his restaurants are typically always hiring due to the need to maintain a high level of staffing, but that most employees brought on during this lively season end up staying on board. “I think what’s going to be cool is being [part] of the [downtown] social district … especially when they do the tower lighting,” Brad adds. “[The city] invests a lot in the holiday season down here. We feel very fortunate always to be a part of these things. This really shows how special it is for us to be so close to Durham Performing Arts Center and to create that kind of experience for people. It’s something that we really try not to take for granted. It really just means a lot for people to want to celebrate with us.”