Durham Magazine August 2019

#Motivation

Penado

Now that we have relocated, we are thrilled to be involved with both the Durham & Chapel Hill communities. From this, we have also partnered with Meals on Wheels. We were able to donate the New 2019 Kia Soul to the program and we even had it custom vinyl wrapped so that it would stand out when people see it on the street. We are hoping that this raises awareness for the good that Meals on Wheels is doing for the Chapel Hill and Carrboro communities.”

- Aric Swanger

Come see us at our new location!

AUGUST 2019 VOL 12 NO 5

durhammag.com

EXECUTIVE MANAGING EDITOR

Amanda MacLaren amanda@durhammag.com

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR/BUSINESS EDITOR

Michael McElroy

EDITOR, CHAPEL HILL MAGAZINE

Jessica Stringer

EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CHATHAM MAGAZINE

Matt White

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Hannah Lee

EVENTS & COMMUNITY EDITOR

Dana Lange

EDITORIAL INTERNS

Adam Phan, CC Kallam, Elizabeth Holmes, Jamey Cross, Jennings Dixon, Natalie Schuster, Robert Eigenrauch and Shanae Perry

CONTRIBUTORS

Amber Watson, Carl Kenney II, David Pisetsky, Jessie Ammons Rumbley, Mick Schulte and Morgan Cartier Weston

ART

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Kevin Brown

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Keith Warther

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Hunter McCumber

PHOTOGRAPHER

Beth Mann

Advertising

For advertising inquiries, email advertising@durhammag.com

Kem Johnson kem@durhammag.com

Melissa Crane melissa@durhammag.com

Lauren Phillips lauren@durhammag.com

Chris Elkins

chris@chathammagazinenc.com

AD TRAFFICKER & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Lizzie Jones

Corporate COO

Rory Kelly Gillis rory@durhammag.com

FOUNDER

Dan Shannon danshannon@durhammag.com

VICE PRESIDENT OF PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Ellen Shannon

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Amy Bell

MARKETING MANAGER

Charlotte White

PROJECT & EVENTS COORDINATOR

McKenzie Reinhold

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Brittany Judy

DISTRIBUTION/EVENTS DELIVERY DRIVER

Scott Schopler

Durham Magazine is published by Shannon Media Inc. Subscriptions, $38 for two years, are available at durhammag.com. To purchase copies, call 919.933.1551.

EXPRESS Yourself

I Stay Crafty, My Friends

‘m just going to be honest here and share my crafting confession – I started a cross-stitch design of a cactus way back in February, and all I have to show for it are two sad, off-green blobs.

As a longtime Pinterest failure, I am in awe of every single person we’ve highlighted in both our wellness and arts features this month. It’s amazing to me, too, just how much overlap there is between these two topics. Murals are mingled with activity in our stories on the new Hillside Park basketball courts (page 54) and the Mural Durham bike tours (page 60). Elsewhere in the issue, a documentary filmmaker helped bring a community together through a storytelling series on specific pillars of health (page 48); and a group of five men with a dream to start a business built one on the healing power of laughter (page 56).

Being creative requires you to take a risk, whether you’re posting your journey on Instagram like our fitness influencers on page 34, or winning national acclaim like blues singer-songwriter Jon Shain (page 63); it requires you to bare a piece of your soul to the world, and that can be a scary thing. Because what if no one likes what you’ve made? But after you put it out there, don’t you feel fulfilled knowing that this is you at your best, and who cares how anyone else responds to it?

Lucky for us, Durham lifts up people who put themselves out there in innovative ways.

It’s so easy in our day-to-day lives to get wrapped up in the routine and not take time to be artistic or to be active – trust me, binging “Stranger Things” postponed me from writing this letter. But if we allow ourselves just a bit of time each week, if not every day, to do one thing that’s healthy – whether that means we go to the gym or work in our garden or make something that is an expression of ourselves – then we all might feel a little better for it. Maybe one day I’ll finish that cactus, and you’ll find it on Pinterest.

 @amanda_maclaren |  amanda@durhammag.com

THE COVER Photo by Mick Schulte

august contents

THE WELLNESS ISSUE

34 Power of the Post

What it’s like to be a young fitness influencer in the Bull City

40 Rooted in Faith Farm Church cultivates both food and fellowship

48 Making It Personal

‘Health and Happiness’ is a monthly storytelling series that focuses on the different pillars of health

50 Strength in Numbers

Women lift each other up in a weekly strength training class

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

54 Can’t-miss events, plus a closer look at creative endeavors around our city, including beautiful basketball courts, a comedic bus tour, a farewell to The Carrack and more

DURHAM INC.

78 Shop Talk

Roger Perry, who has helped develop much of Chapel Hill and Durham, speaks about the difference between the two

82 Biz Briefs

84 The Productivity of Perks

Many business leaders say a commitment to work-life balance is crucial to getting the most out of their employees

SPONSORED CONTENT

28 Healthy Durham: 17 years focused on the health of Durham

52 Adopt a Pet

DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS

8 Go. See. Do.

August’s hottest events

24 Noted

What we’ve heard around town

30 A Tale of Two Nicknames

Duke’s Dr. David S. Pisetsky discusses Durham’s commitment to health care and wellness

32 A Golden Era Bites of Bull City’s Amber Watson reflects on the innovative projects and progress happening at Golden Belt Campus

64 What We Love About Living in Rockwood

A small family begins a new chapter in this historic neighborhood

94 Taste

Discover our city’s best restaurants

103 Engagement & Wedding Tying the knot, Bull City-style

CITY PICS

12 TASTE the Event

14 Durham Blues and Brews Festival

16 Beth El Synagogue and Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church march together

18 Women of Achievement Luncheon

20 Animal Protection Society

of Durham’s Walk for the Animals

22 Charity Fashion Show

Extravaganza 2019 benefiting The SISI Inc.

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Gladys Knight

AUGUST 21

Known as the “empress of soul,” seventime Grammy award winner Gladys Knight brings her electrifying energy to the DPAC stage. A portion of the proceeds from her performance will benefit the Hayti Heritage Center

Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now

AUGUST 29 - JANUARY 12

The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University presents the first exhibition to chart the development of contemporary indigenous art in the United States and Canada. Featuring approximately 60 works of art by Native American artists from many nations and regions, “Native Voices” hopes to help remedy the division between Native American artists and mainstream art institutions.

do see go

NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

AUGUST 15-18

Audio Under the Stars

AUGUST 23

Hosted in the garden at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, this summer-long audio festival features various stories surrounding specific themes, and each month, guests are invited to lean back and listen. The August show will explore how physical and emotional needs both unite and divide us through stories about food, hunger, ambition and passion.

AUGUST’S HOTTEST EVENTS

Back for its 24th year, this film festival features a diverse array of LGBTQIA+ cinema that celebrates today’s gay, lesbian and transgender life, and includes shorts, documentaries and feature films. Hosted by The Carolina Theatre, the festival is the second largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the Southeast, attracting thousands of guests each year.

Brazilian Day NC Festival

SEPTEMBER 7

Oxente Brazilian Arts presents the only Brazilian Day festival of its kind in Durham Central Park. Celebrating Brazilian life, the event includes musical acts, dance workshops and performances, capoeira demonstrations and workshops, and food and craft vendors.

Harvest & Hornworm Festival

AUGUST 24

Celebrating North Carolina’s farming culture and history, this event at Duke Homestead allows guests to explore the world of tobacco. Join costumed interpreters as they harvest, loop and cure tobacco in the historical area. In the afternoon, experience the last tobacco auction in Durham, with seasoned veterans of the industry that was once the lifeblood of Durham.

The Point 262

AUGUST 24

Returning for its sixth year, this original one one-hundredth marathon is a race for everyone. The event includes a competitive race and a fun run. This year, the short run will include easydrinking, low-alcohol beers from North Carolina independent breweries for participants 21 and older to enjoy after the race.

WellFest

SEPTEMBER 7-8

Enjoy a weekend of rejuvenation of the mind and body. Saturday offers a dinner that focuses on sustainable food practices and a silent disco to promote movement at 21c Museum Hotel

On Sunday, WellFest will take over American Tobacco Campus, offering a market featuring healthy artisans and vendors. Then, choose your own experience by selecting from a speaker series, innovative fitness classes for all levels, a tranquility room to rest, hands-on crafting classes, nutritious food and drink, and activities designed to help you discover your inner child.

Hops & Blues Festival

AUGUST 17

This inaugural festival, hosted by The Glass Jug Beer Lab, incorporates beer, live music and food trucks in its celebration of blues music. The festival will feature 10 local and regional breweries, including Brewery Bhavana, Trophy Brewing Co., Ancillary Fermentation, Bond Brothers, Commonwealth Brewing, Heist Brewery, Barrel Culture, HopFly Brewing Co. and Fullsteam, in addition to The Glass Jug. Through a partnership with Music Maker Relief Foundation, local blues musicians including Big Ron Hunter and Harvey Dalton Arnold will perform.

Bull City Rumble

AUGUST 30 –

SEPTEMBER 1

The state’s largest vintage motorcycle and scooter show, hosted by Ton Up NC – a small, nonprofit group that promotes the riding, restoration and racing of vintage motorcycles – is back for its 15th year downtown. Free to the public, come see the sights and sounds of vintage scooters and motorcycles with other bike enthusiasts.

PAGE 8 (clockwise from top left) Gladys Knight photo courtesy of DPAC; Audio photo courtesy of Audio Under the Stars; NCGLFF photo by HuthPhoto; Art for a New Understanding photo courtesy of Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.

PAGE 9 (clockwise from top left) Brazilian Day photo by Night Edge Photography; WellFest photo by Joshua Steadman; Bull City Rumble photo by Stephen Sellars; Hops and Blues photo by Richard Mitchell; The Point 262 photo by Joe Cohn Photography; Harvest & Hornworm Festival photo courtesy of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

city pics

1 2 3

A Celebration of Food and Drink

The sixth annual TASTE event – produced by Durham Magazine, Chapel Hill Magazine and Chatham Magazine – featured five events across as many days at the end of June. This year featured two consecutive nights of Grand Taste Experiences at the Durham Armory with dishes by 30+ of the area’s best chefs and food artisans, plus a beer garden and wine garden. Other events included a speakeasy-themed evening at The Carolina Theatre, a seven-course Southern feast at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club and a celebratory Sunday brunch at Clouds Brewing. A portion of the proceeds benefited Meals on Wheels of Durham

TASTE would not be possible without our sponsors: Johnson Lexus, Northwood Ravin, US Foods, Tanqueray US, Ketel One, Don Julio, Downtown Durham Inc., Whole Foods Market, Ninth Street Flowers, Counter Culture Coffee, City of Durham, 21c Museum Hotel, Durham Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and Great Big Canvas.

1 Elisabeth Harper Wiener, Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club’s Danielle Kaspar, Katina Rogers and Durham Magazine’s Lauren Phillips.

2 Maggi Bradsher, City of Durham Public Affairs Director Beverly B. Thompson, Durham Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis and Terry Davis.

3 Durham Magazine’s Rory Gillis, Elizabeth Dickson, Johnson Automotive’s Erick Kirks and Heather Kirks.

4 Johnny and Catherine Wehmann enjoy a Bedlam Distillery cocktail.

5 The ShaLeigh Dance Works company kept guests at Saturday’s Southern feast entertained throughout seven courses.

6 Choreographer Mark Dendy created a routine for Sunday’s brunch as a part of American Dance Festival’s pop-up performances this season.

7 Alley Twenty Six’s Rob Mariani and Shannon Healy doled out drinks from behind the bar at the Friday night speakeasy.

8 Tony Fisher, owner of University Ford Kia, Susan Fisher and Chatham Magazine’s Chris Elkins.

9 Kelli and Billy Cotter of Dashi and Toast.

10 Whole Foods Market’s Sana Hadley and Meaghan Paradise (center) with their husbands, Thomas Hadley and Dan Paradise.

11 Scott Satterwhite, Shane Neiman and Jesse Gordon of Counter Culture Coffee.

12 Pat Amey, enjoying a cocktail with her friend, Pat Swanson.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN AND HUNTER MCCUMBER

Hitting a High Note

PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMANDA MACLAREN

More than 1,000 people rocked out to live music at the fifth annual Durham Blues and Brews Festival on May 18 at Durham Central Park . Acts included Oxente , Chicken Shack, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Castro Coleman aka Mr. Sipp. Guests sampled beer, wine and cider from 20 North Carolinabased breweries, vineyards and cideries, and enjoyed with eats from eight food trucks including Bulkogi Korean BBQ , Qspresso and more. Hosted by The Exchange Club of Greater Durham , the event raised more than $40,000 to benefit local Durham charities and programs. Mark your calendar for next year’s festival: May 16, 2020.

1 Alex Brandon, Juyoung Shin, Jiyoung Shin, Seth Hourn and Christian Peterson.

2 Patrick Milligan and Gaby D’Astoli.

3 Durham Magazine’s Hannah Lee, Parker Loflin and Caleb Adcock.

4 Tim Schwarzauer, founder of Dingo Dog Brewing Company, Tim Harper, co-founder of Starpoint Brewery, and Nikko Carlson.

5 Tyler Lucas, Tricia Bartley, Megan Lucas, Lauren Long and Robert Long Jr., representing Posh the Salon, one of the event’s sponsors.

6 Staff and volunteers Leslie Brock, Paul Andrews, Vonni Couch and Betsy Hamilton.

Honoring Lion

Col. George D. Stephens

Morgan Stanley - The Orchid Group

Brookwood Construction | MHAworks Architecture | Cherry Bekart LLP

Robins & Morton | Comfort Mechanical Contractors, Inc.

Measurement Incorporated | BridgePoint General Contracting | RGG Architects

Graystar | Morningstar Law Group | Riggs-Harrod Builders

3 Guys Brewing | Accent Hardwood Flooring

Accurate Tax | Arges Law Firm, P.C. | Avison Young Brown Brothers Plumbing Co., Inc. | Civil Consultants

Croasdaile Village | Duke Eye Center | First Citizens Bank

Gary Rental, LLC | Herring & Bickers Incurance Agency

Knox Incurance Agency, LLC-Erie Insurance Lee 3 Team | N. Raleigh Business Center

Proctor Flooring & Acoustical, Inc.

Sharon Stone | Southern Elevator

Thrifty Office Furniture | TriClean, Inc.

Vaughan Electric Company, Inc.

Weichert Realtors, Mark Thomas Properties

Passing the Torah

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

Beth El Synagogue and Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church (TAPC) marched together on May 19 to return Torahs (sacred scrolls) to Beth El after a year of interfaith fellowship and cooperation. For the past 15 months, the two congregations have shared several programs, including a Taste of Trinity Fall Festival supporting those in need in the community; a lunch and learn about the history and causes of housing segregation and racial inequities in neighborhoods and housing in Durham as part of a Bull City 150 initiative; and most recently, Beth El members welcomed TAPC members into their homes to experience their first Passover Seder.

“During a year of polarization and violent attacks against the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, churches in Sri Lanka and a mosque in New Zealand, sharing space with Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church has been a beacon of hope, reminding us that a better world is possible,” says

Daniel Greyber, Beth El’s rabbi since 2011. The synagogue renovation and expansion was made possible by the Our Story, Our Time Capital Campaign that raised more than $6 million with the help of local fundraising consultants moss+ross, local architect Ellen Weinstein and local contractor CT Wilson Construction. “This renovation is about the future,” Daniel says. “[It’s about] building a home for our growing congregation so we can continue to be a vibrant part of the Durham story.”

1 Scott Schwartz, Sally LaLiberte, Sheila Goldstein, Jonathan Katz, Itzik Lebovich and Averyl Edwards all help carry sacred objects under a chuppah from TAPC to Beth El.

2 Aided by the City of Durham Police Department, the long line of congregants from both houses of worship makes its way through the Trinity Park neighborhood.

3 The parade passes George Watts Elementary School as they make their way toward Beth El Synagogue.

CHAPEL HILL

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Leading Ladies

Durham Magazine, Chatham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine honored the publications’ Women of Achievement –incredible women with inspiring stories who we profile every spring – in May at The Carolina Inn. The event included preceremony cocktails from Durham Distillery, lunch and an hour of networking. Our COO Rory Gillis and Vice President Ellen Shannon emceed the program; Heidi Werner Dawson of The Carolina Inn and Sunny Johnson of Johnson Lexus welcomed the guests; and speakers Katie Loovis of the Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce and Jesica Averhart of Leadership Triangle shared personal anecdotes. Katie spoke about how “riding waves” of focus and confidence had earned her a position at the White House and beyond, while Jesica discussed the value of “crucible moments” in shaping her life. The event was sponsored by Johnson Lexus, The Carolina Inn, Wake Radiology, Aesthetic Solutions, Bull City Smiles, US Foods, Trinity Partners, Merrill Lynch and Great Big Canvas.

1 Katie Loovis, Sunny Johnson, Jes Averhart, Rory Gillis and Ellen Shannon.

2 Rhonda Stevens and Catherine Williamson-Hardy from the Durham County Department of Social Services.

3 Dana Lange with Jeanne Murray, Susan Ross and Mary Moss of moss+ross.

4 Afreen Allam of SiNON Therapeutics holds up her feature from the 2019 Women’s Issue.

5 Amy Mayer, Suzie Havens and Chelsea Garner of Trinity Partners with Durham Magazine’s Kem Johnson.

6 Kim Lan Grout, who was on the cover of our 2016 Women’s issue, and her daughter, Kim-An, 8.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

You don’t have to dig too deep to find ways in which North Carolinians are tied to each other and our communities. Explore connections that can be both complicated and celebrated as the new series Family Pictures USA comes to PBS with its premiere episode focusing on North Carolina.

Host Thomas Allen Harris shares first-person stories of people, places and pictures—including those representing the diversity of Durham and beyond—when Family Pictures USA premieres Monday, August 12, at 9 PM. Immediately following, at 10 PM, watch UNC-TV’s new Family Pictures North Carolina, in which Thomas returns to Durham to learn how lives have changed since his original visit last fall.

Monday, August 12, 9 pm

Tune in or watch online unctv.org/familypicturesusa

SERIES PREMIERES

Walk With Me

Pups of every size and their owners came out to Duke University’s East Campus in May for the annual Walk for the Animals, a fundraiser for the Animal Protection Society of Durham (APS). Dogs competed for prizes in various categories, including Best Trick, Best Kisser and more. The Durham Police Department held K9 demonstrations, and attendees visited various pet-related and animal-supportive vendors, from vets to doggy day cares. Attendees raised more than the fundraising goal set by APS – a total of nearly $84,000!

1 The Bahama Road Veterinary Hospital crew: Kim Anderle; Desirea Clay; Chris York; Clara York, 4; Lyla York, 10; Tammy Riddle; Trinity Konvalinka, 14, holding Twilight; Chris Konvalinka; Kim Thompson; Katie Acker and Austin Acker with Oakley.

2 APS staff Tod Severance, Darlene Fiscus, Annika Hugosson and Lindsay Carr.

3 Cat Borrero, Theo and Ashley Hippensteel of Camp Bow Wow – North Durham.

4 Laryssa and Paul Thompson with Zach.

5 Natasha DeLong with adoptable Buster and Robin Karas of Wag N’ Roll Dog Training.

6 Durham Magazine’s Amanda MacLaren and Ellen Shannon.

Fashion for a Cause

Couture, emerging and celebrity fashion designers showcased their styles at the annual Charity Fashion Show Extravaganza 2019 at the Durham Armory. The event – produced by Iris Olivera, presented by Gorgeous Faces – Image Makeup Artistry & Beauty Consultation and hosted by WRAL-TV News Anchor Renee Chou – featured the designs of Tineka C (Tineka Richardson), Figure8 (Shavonne Henao), Family1st

PHOTOGRAPHY

(Justin Henao), Ashley Stewart, Evita Loca (Evita Mensah), Rasoul Butler (Rasoul Amir Butler) and celebrity designer Stevie Boi. Proceeds totaling $800 were donated to The Sisters Inspiring Sisters Incorporated, a charity founded by Terry Spicer that provides transportation assistance to cancer patients to get to medical appointments, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. To date they have helped cancer patients in 90 of the 100 counties across North Carolina as well as patients in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio and Maryland.

A Tuscan villa filled with over 7,500 sq. ft. of fine antiques a treasure trove of unique items for your

1

2 3

1 Makeup Artist Rae Black and Supermodel Chelsea Kithcart.

2 Renee Chou and Iris Olivera.

3 Model Centhla Washington.

noted.

WHAT WE’VE HEARD AROUND TOWN …

IN MEMORIAM

Phil Freelon, a renowned local architect known for his Durham projects including the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham Station Transportation Center and the Durham County Health and Human Services complex as well as numerous national projects, like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., died July 9 after a battle with ALS, with which he was diagnosed in 2016. He was 66. In lieu of flowers, Phil asked that those who want to honor his legacy make donations to NorthStar Church of the Arts. The Freelon family plans a memorial service in the fall.

GIVING BACK

BY

BRIANA BROUGH

GRADUATION DAY

The Choice Performance Center raised $7,000 at the fourth annual Bull City Squat Challenge in May for the Duke Cancer Institute and Erika’s Lighthouse, a teenage depression awareness nonprofit. Eight Triangle residents and approximately 50 virtual participants took part in three on-site events, which involved barbell weights, ranging from 95 pounds to 250 pounds.

Durham Habitat for Humanity partnered with local builders BuildSense and Durham Building Company (DBC) for its annual Home Builders Blitz. From June 14-21, volunteers built affordable homes for two local families that had been chosen by Durham Habitat, on Barton Street. The annual event, which started in 2002, allows families, builders and neighbors to bond

and deepen ties in the community. Pictured are first-time homeowner Tameka Evans and BuildSense partner Randall Lanou

Twenty-nine 5-year-olds crossed the stage at the W.G. Pearson Center in their orange caps and gowns on June 8. The graduation ceremony honored their completion of Book Harvest’s Book Babies program, which starts at birth and continues for five years, providing a child and their family an abundance of literacy resources, including more than 100 new books and literacy coaching home visits, in order to prepare the children for kindergarten. “This celebration is about how much we have learned together as a community in these children’s five years in the program,” says Meytal

Barak, the Book Babies team leader. “It’s just as much about launching them into their future, starting with kindergarten, excited and ready to continue learning.” After graduation, the young graduates were gifted with more books to add to their libraries.

WHAT AN HONOR

Research Triangle

High School graduate

Durham Habitat for Humanity also hosted its 2019 Durham Habitat Foundation Breakfast in April at Bay 7 in the American Tobacco Campus. About 330 Durham community members attended, including Mayor Steve Schewel, City Council members, Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, business leaders and neighborhood organizers. The event raised almost $700,000 for affordable housing in Durham.

Bram Lovelace has been selected as one of two delegates from North Carolina for the National Youth Science Camp. Held in West Virginia, the fourweek summer program brings together students from across the U.S. to participate in STEM-focused lectures and workshops, while also doing outdoor activities like kayaking and rock climbing. Bram, a four-year member of the robotics team, graduated in June.

PHOTO

PHOTO COURTESY BOOK HARVEST/ JUST SHOOT ME PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTO COURTESY BUILDSENSE

PHOTO BY JONATHAN DANFORTH

In May, Duke Athletics took home two championship titles. Duke Rowing received its first gold medal in the ACC Rowing Championship and Duke’s Women’s Golf team won the 2019 NCAA National Women’s Golf Championship. This is the golf team’s seventh national title under Head Coach Dan Brooks

“ignite the limitless potential” of students and the school district. Michael was recognized for his efforts with Durham County’s Bionomic Educational Training Center, which supports STEM literacy and engages students in waterquality projects.

In June, Resonance 2019 Best Cities Index ranked Durham the No. 15 Best Small City in the U.S.

hours every day, and up to five hours on the weekends. “It’s cool to actually have made the finals this year and join the ranks of the elite spellers,” Jason says.

Actress Lauren E. Banks stars as Siobhan Quay in the new Showtime series, “City on a Hill” alongside Kevin Bacon and opposite Aldis Hodge. Born and raised in Durham – she graduated from Hillside High School – Lauren has had a number of minor roles in various shows, such as Netflix’s “Maniac.” Lauren’s role as Siobhan is her first recurring role, and will be her first major breakout performance.

In June, the N.C. Highway Historical Marker Program honored the late Louis Austin, the former publisher of The Carolina Times, with a N.C. Highway Historical marker at 122 S.E. Railroad St., Enfield. The marker memorializes Louis, the co-founder of the Durham Committee of Negro Affairs, as a key leader for the state’s fight for desegregation and equality.

Will Parham, a 2009 Durham Academy graduate and Naval officer, is in Advanced Flight Training in Corpus Christi, Texas, the final stage of Navy pilot training. Will is assigned to the “Stingrays” of Training Squadron VT-35, flying the T-44 Pegasus trainer. After earning his “wings of gold” at graduation, Will could be assigned to fly ship- and submarine-hunting P-8 Poseidans, troop-carrying CMV-22 Ospreys or other large military aircraft.

On June 27, Michael Dupree received a Spark Advocate Pin for his work with Durham Public Schools to help improve student achievement. The Spark Pin Initiative is a program that recognizes individuals who have worked to

Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) had a record-breaking 2018/19 season, with a new attendance high of 536,710 guests and 163 sellout shows. DPAC hosted events such as the musical “Hamilton,” and performances by Bob Dylan and Carol Burnett. It garnered an average of 2,249 attendees in its 2,712-seat venue. DPAC ranked fourth among theaters nationwide and was also named the North Carolina Visitor Attraction of the Year by the North Carolina Travel Industry Association.

“Durham in Continuum,” the Durham smART Corcoran Garage Art Banner Wrap, was included in the Americans for the Arts 2019 Public Arts Network Year in Review on June 14. The banner is one of 50 works of public art included in the nationwide review, and the first public piece made for the Durham smART Vision Plan. The piece includes scenes and imagery of Durham’s past and present, which artist Olalekan Jeyifous says “reflects the city’s unique history and ongoing evolution.”

Triangle Day School seventh grader Jason Sorin placed 30th in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. Jason was one of 500 spellers to qualify for the bee in Washington, D.C., and one of just 50 to make the final round, broadcast on ESPN. In preparation for the event, Jason would study on average one-and-a-half

In January, the National Register of Historic Places added College Heights Historic District to its national list of “buildings, structures, objects, sites and districts worthy of preservation for their significance in American history, architecture, archaeology and culture.”

AND THE AWARD GOES TO …

In May, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded more than $1.3 million to 16 North Carolina arts organizations, including three based in Durham. The mission of the awards are to “promote opportunities for people in communities … to experience the arts and exercise their creativity.” Selected organizations include Durham Arts Council, North Carolina Folklife Institute and Southern Documentary Fund, which will receive $40,000, $25,000 and $15,000, respectively.

On May 22, DPAC hosted the ninth annual Triangle Rising Stars Showcase and Awards, an event that “brings together area high school musical theater students to perform together and compete for educational scholarships.” The event included the participation of 38 area high schools, and specially recognized the efforts of 22 high schools, including three in Durham County. Those special recognitions include: Jordan High School’s production of “Into the Woods” for Outstanding Set

PHOTO BY TIM COWIE

PHOTO BY DAVID FINLEY

AW NORTH CAROLINA

Design, Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Costume Design and Outstanding Student Orchestration; Hillside High School’s “The Color Purple” for Outstanding Student Orchestration and Outstanding Choreography; and Durham Academy’s “Merrily We Roll Along” for Outstanding Student Orchestration.

Immaculata Catholic School was selected as an honoree for the 2019 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School for “its innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and ensure effective sustainability education.” It is one of 10 non-public schools across 28 states granted the award.

United Way of the Greater Triangle donated a $3.5 million grant to fund 59 nonprofits that strive to help “eradicate poverty and increase social mobility in the Triangle.” Durham organizations selected to receive funding include East Durham Children’s Initiative, Book Harvest, Student U and Durham Habitat for Humanity

N.C. Central University School of Education received a $100,000 gift from the Rehab Therapy Foundation Inc. to further assist graduate students enrolled in its Communication Disorders program. The , Ph.D., former director

, a fitness studio that offers unique mini-trampoline strength and cardio workouts as well as classes and small group training on the Bodhi 4-Point Suspension System®, classical Pilates, Barre and the original 233 N. Gregson St. The studio also offers a Commit. Eat. Move. program that fosters motivation to make fitness and nutritional changes through a subscription service as well as a personal

clothing and accessories are now sold , including new brands such as the ethically sourced and sewn Kenyan brand, Zuri. Song of Sixpence’s retail space closed at the end of July to move into Indio’s space, where the two businesses will expand their

LGBTQ Youth Center, which will be the second center of its kind in the state, after Greensboro.

LGBTQ Center of , although it will have its own space. The center received $113,301 of a $447 million budget benefiting an array of public services and

On June 13, e-scooters hit the streets of downtown thanks to a new permit passed by the city’s Transportation Department. Four e-scooter companies were permitted to release up to 200 e-scooters each (800 total) initially, which can be used by anyone 16 years old or older.

ON THE MOVE

Dr. Ingrid Luo-Tseng moved her physical rehabilitation practice to 6208 Old Fayetteville Rd., Ste. 106. She specializes in lidocaine trigger point injections for pain management and is accepting new patients and select insurances.

Coldwell Banker Howard Perry and Watson has moved its office to 3917 University Dr. The office will be led by Gina Crouse, who has worked in Triangle real estate for 14 years.

Home decor e-commerce site Wayfair will launch the Wayfair Decor & Inspiration Shop at The Streets at Southpoint on Aug. 1. Through Oct. 31, customers will be able to shop hundreds of products and walk away with items same-day.

IN OUR SCHOOLS

The Emily Krzyzewski Center hosted its annual May March event May 22 to celebrate students from the Center’s K to College programs. It honored 230 students from first through 12th grade, including 34 graduating seniors – the Center’s largest-ever graduating class – who collectively received 192 acceptances to 70 colleges and earned more than $2.3 million in award money. The keynote address was given by the Center’s founder and Duke Men’s Basketball Coach, Mike Krzyzewski

Carolina Friends School’s Director of Extended Learning

Anthony L. Clay visited schools in Zhuhai, China, in May. Anthony’s visits to Huafa Education Group schools in Zhuhai are a part of a growing partnership for CFS with the south China schools.

PHOTO BY ERIC ATKINSON

17 YEARS FOCUSED ON THE HEALTH OF DURHAM

Since its inception in October 2002, the goal of the Durham Health Summit has remained the same: to continue a dialogue among members of the Durham community regarding health-related issues.

“The summits convene stakeholders from across Durham County to prioritize county-specific health issues, identify resources and develop strategies that could be utilized to continue improving the health of our community,” says Kimberly Monroe, program manager in the Duke Health System Office of Community Relations.

The Durham Health Summit serves as an opportunity to gather input from residents about issues that impact their health and wellbeing, as well as an opportunity to curate and launch new initiatives in the community, such as Healthy Durham 20/20, which was presented at the 2017 summit.

people were invited to participate in the dialogue, and guests included leaders from Lincoln Community Health Center, Durham City and County Government, representatives from the faith community and representatives from the Duke University Health System. At the second summit, additional nonprofits and school system representatives were invited to attend.

Each year, the summit incorporates more succinct, focused goals. The 2019 summit will take a deeper dive into racial equity and explore opportunities for implementation.

A RETROSPECTIVE

Approximately 375 people attend the summit each year, Kimberly says. In the past, topics of discussion have included specialty care for the uninsured, substance use, mental health, medical respite for the homeless, the Affordable Care Act, social determinants of health and racial equity.

“Since its inception, local summits have expanded into regional summits to address the uninsured, cancer care and the changing demographics in the Triangle,” Kimberly added.

For the first summit, attendees were chosen and admitted by invitation only. Durham leaders and national figures joined together to discuss prominent health-related topics and their effect on the Durham community. Seventy-five

Three subcommittees were formed at the outcome of the first summit to address some of the health issues facing Durham: access to health care, prospective medicine and faith group medicine.

By the third summit, participation expanded to the broader community, which has improved community engagement in developing solutions. Health Summit topics reflect issues identified by the community so that community partners can come together to develop community-informed solutions.

For the first few summits, health-related issues were identified; exercise and nutrition education were promoted; and development began on pilot programs within two Durham Public Schools – Lakewood Elementary and Lowe’s Grove Middle – which promoted fitness and good nutrition among students.

In 2005, the goals shifted slightly, with that year’s summit focusing on substance abuse. That year, the Partnership for a Healthy Durham, which was established in 2004, became involved with the summit. The summit ended with Partnership for a Healthy Durham establishing a substance abuse committee and incorporating summit recommendations into their annual work plan. The subcommittee merged with the mental health committee, and together they coordinated the annual recovery

Dr. Eugene Washington, Mayor Steve Schewel, MaryAnn Black, Gayle B. Harris and Farad Ali at last year’s Durham Health Summit.

celebration, produced a service directory and provided input for the implementation of pro-bono mental health services in Durham County.

The 2006 summit broadened its discussion to include health disparities across the state, rather than just Durham. Following summits focused on the uninsured and underserved populations, the health care system, poverty and homelessness, and education. Project Access of Durham was established in 2008. Collaborating organizations used the information gathered from the community at the 2007 summit as a guide to better organize Specialty Project Access and other potential programs for uninsured and underserved Durham County residents. As of 2018, Project Access provided quality health care to 10,800 residents, volunteered more than 30,000 specialty consults, dispensed more than 50,000 medications, donated $60 million in health care, reduced emergency room visits by 18% and reduced preventable hospitalizations by 33%.

Medical respite was also an issue discussed at the health summit. What started as assisting individuals with medical respite needs at the health summit has grown into Durham Homeless Care Transitions (DHCT) with case consultation, case management, medical respite and housing specialists. This initiative helps homeless people who are discharged from hospitals to connect with health care, benefits, housing and other supports. From 2016 to 2018, this program under Project Access of Durham provided care management to 88 homeless residents, supported medical respite (short-term housing) for 49 clients and improved housing for 53 clients, including 23 signed leases.

Healthy Durham 20/20 was also introduced to the Durham community at the 2017 summit. The vision of Healthy Durham 20/20 is to make Durham County one of the healthiest communities in the nation by bringing together people and organizations from across the county to work on issues that cause health inequality, creating systemic change that benefits the entire community.

The summits continue to bring the community together to share in the responsibility for improving and impacting the health and well-being of where people live, work and play.

LOOKING AHEAD

This year’s summit is slated for October 2019 and will focus on “Advancing Racial Equity: Roles and Opportunities.” It will be led by the Government Alliance on Race and Equity. Opportunities for community-wide racial equity training have been offered in Durham County over the past few years, a response based on a previous health summit. This year’s summit hopes to add to the knowledge already in place and introduce the roles, responsibilities and opportunities for institutions, organizations and members of the community to advance racial equity.

“We have spent time learning about what racial equity is; now we will learn how to implement and operationalize it in our community,” Kimberly says.

A NEW VISION …

Healthy Durham 20/20 serves as a catalyst and amplifier for a thriving and coordinated culture of health throughout Durham County bringing together a broad coalition of government, education, faith, healthcare, community, philanthropy and business organizations.

BY BETH MANN

PHOTO

/HEALTHYDURHAM2020

A Tale of Two Nicknames

THE AUTHOR IS A DUKE PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND IMMUNOLOGY WHO HAS LIVED IN DURHAM SINCE THE LATE ’70 S .

BY DAVID S. PISETSKY, M.D., PH.D.

MANY CITIES HAVE A nickname, but Durham is in a class all its own with two nicknames that couldn’t be more different.

The Bull City derives from Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco – manufactured by W.T. Blackwell and Company – which was once the most successful brands of its kind. Reprising the bull from the British Colman’s Mustard products, two entrepreneurs named William Thomas Blackwell and John Ruffin Green used a bovine symbol as a logo for a brilliant marketing campaign for their loose-leaf tobacco. The company surged, and Durham became known as a huge tobacco capital of the country.

On the other hand, the City of Medicine reflects a much different civic economy. The name is apt, given the size of the Duke University Health System and the large number of pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the area. One in three people living in Durham works in a health-related field. Durham got its start in the drug business in 1906 when two local pharmacists named Germain Bernard and C.T. Council created BC Headache Powder.

Though I am in a medical field, I prefer the Bull City name. Bulls are large, strong and charging –attributes that capture the spirt of Durham today. Bulls also make great mascots for our baseball

team. The City of Medicine moniker does not lend itself to such uses. Can you imagine a team called the Durham Health Care Providers competing in the Triple AAA International League against the RailRiders, IronPigs and Stripers?

While the City of Medicine may not have all the virtues of a punchy nickname, a city committed to health care is pursuing an eminently worthwhile goal.

The scope of medicine is forever changing, however, and, while the original goal was to prevent or treat illness, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 defined health as “not merely the absence of disease or infirmity but a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing.”

The definition from WHO is expansive, aspirational and even utopian, and has given rise to the term wellness. Wellness has many dimensions –financial, intellectual, environmental, social and spiritual. Achieving goals within those realms involves programs that can go beyond those of a conventional health care system.

Reflecting this more encompassing view, Duke has a wonderful Student Wellness Center – a gleaming, open structure filled with natural light to provide a place for students to “relax, reenergize and recharge” through programs that include tai chi, yoga and paint nights. There is also a beautiful garden for meditation. For employees, Duke has LIVE FOR LIFE, a wellness initiative that includes a farmers market and fitness club as well as programs for nutrition, tobacco cessation, health coaching and stress management.

For its part, the City of Durham right now has many activities and venues that contribute to emotional aspects of wellness. Food, naturally, is important for wellness, not just for sustenance, but also for enjoyment – gustatory pleasure is its own form of nourishment. Durham has scores of top restaurants. New ones are forever opening, and Nana’s is making its return. For me, the macaroni au gratin (aka mac ’n’ cheese) at Vin Rouge is great comfort food that sends a signal of well-being from stomach to the brain.

Being from New York, I believe that baked goods can contribute to wellness – even if high in butter and sugar – and I go in search of delicacies from bagels to crullers to croissants. Hey, man does not live by kale alone. My choices within walking distance from Hermitage Court are impressive: Guglhupf, Bruegger’s, Biscuitville, Monuts, Rise, Ninth Street Bakery, Foster’s Market, Rose’s Noodles, Dumplings & Sweets, Dunkin’ and Loaf. Scratch Bakery is back at the farmers market, and Harris Teeter now sells rugelach – both chocolate and raspberry – from Zaro’s. Zaro’s is a famous New York bakery that began in the Bronx, my hometown.

DPAC is another source of well-being. Musical comedy is a wonderful art form that imaginatively combines humor with superb singing and dancing. It is always a treat. I just saw Betty Buckley in “Hello, Dolly,” who is still a captivating presence on stage at 71 years old.

On the weekend, in my own version of mindfulness, I take a long walk untethered from any electronic device. No discussion of wellness would be complete without a consideration of exercise. Exercise has enormous health benefits and can build strength, improve sleep, reduce pain and help maintain a healthy weight. The American College of Sports Medicine has a program called Exercise is Medicine®, which is offered at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center

As readers of this column may know, I am a fan of exercise, and I am happy to report that I once again qualified for the State Senior Championships. This year, the competition was intense as there were four runners in the 70- to 74-year-old age group, and only the top three finishers could qualify for the state finals.

Although I tried valiantly, I was last in the 50-meter and 100-meter sprints. The 200-meter was my only chance for a medal. Fortunately, there were only three competitors, meaning I had a spot in the state finals as long as I finished. Finishing is not guaranteed, as falls and pulled muscles are a hazard for people in my age group. Feeling giddy, I set my sights on a second place finish. I ran hard. I pushed myself. Chugging down the final straightaway, legs burning, stabbing pains in my side, my heart pounded at top speed, but I could not catch the eventual silver medal winner. Amidst this avalanche of physical misery, I crossed the finish line, 20 meters behind.

Still breathing hard, I fist bumped the other runners, and we laughed and smiled,

the competition over and all of us intact. At that moment I felt wonderful, remarkably well spiritually and emotionally, better than I had in years.

The road to wellness takes many directions. Making the people of your community feel good is no small feat, and Durham now has its own brand of medicine to show how it can make its citizens feel their best.

Trust me, that’s no bull.

THE AUTHOR IS THE CREATOR AND WRITER OF THE LOCAL DURHAM FOOD AND RESTAURANT NEWS BLOG, BITES OF BULL CITY (BITESOFBULLCITY.COM).

A Golden Era

BY AMBER WATSON

GOLDEN BELT HAS CHANGED a lot over the years. Once home to a successful cotton mill and bag mill tied to the textile and tobacco industry, the campus sat vacant for many years after the industry’s downturn. It was donated to the Durham Housing Authority in 1996.

Since then, innovative steps have been taken as different entrepreneurs and property owners took hold: Renovating one of the buildings as a business incubator; creating affordable space for the arts; and adding studios, apartments, retail and office space.

In 2016, New York-based LRC Properties utilized historic tax credits to embark on a complete renovation of the northern portion of the campus, including the 118-year-old cotton mill and power plant, uniting the final pieces of the complex. The mission now is to transform Golden Belt into something resembling a town square for East Durham, and it’s well on its way, providing creative space, large venues and exciting events for all ages.

The unique architecture of the mill lends itself beautifully to creative uses, whether that’s mixed-media arts, brewing beer, teaching yoga, designing a multi-acre solar farm or hosting events. Its creative vibe cannot be denied. The new Mill No. 1 development includes new, affordable artists’ workshops as well as a classroom and gallery programmed by Golden Belt artists. In addition to the individual studios, Golden Belt is home to a new gallery and workshop space for the Durham Art Guild

Golden Belt is also home to Strata Solar , a solar power provider; WillowTree , an app development company; Moshi Moshi salon; Dogstar Tattoo ; and Bikram Yoga . There is also about 200,000 square feet of office space, and building No. 6 is home to 37 residential loft spaces.

One of the most recent additions is Asheville-based brewery HiWire ; outside their doors sits SummerStage , specifically designed to showcase music and performing arts, most of which is free and open to the public.

The campus is committed to providing a community resource through no-cost, diverse and enriched fine arts and performing arts with the help of Cicely Mitchell , artistic director of SummerStage and co-founder of the Art of Cool Project . With Cicely’s help, SummerStage creates events for everyone: artists, young professionals, local families and health gurus.

On Wednesdays, Steven Munoz hosts SuperJam Sessions – free, open jam sessions for musicians of all ages and skill sets.

Every Sunday, you can grab a seat on the lawn and enjoy good vibes, food trucks and a cold brew from Hi-Wire during Brunches

Brew, a weekly jazz jam brunch featuring sounds from Zoocrü ’s Alan Thompson and friends.

Free fitness programming is offered on the lawn once a month from some of the area’s best instructors.

Golden Belt also takes part in the Third Friday Art Walk (another free program) where people can visit the warehouse studios and see the resident artists’ work on display. There is also simultaneously an outdoor concert, food and fun on the SummerStage.

Come out to see a movie on the SummerStage lawn every fourth Friday. Each free film is part of a selection curated by Lana Garland , artistic director for the annual Hayti Heritage Film Festival

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Cicely Mitchell will share her journey to discovering a sense of purpose Sunday, Sept. 8, at the Full Frame Theater during WellFest. Find more info at wellfestnc.com.

As for family-friendly fun, one Saturday each month is dedicated to the Family Fun series, where kids and parents can enjoy free activities, such as drum circles, dance and science demonstrations.

For those interested in learning more about the latest happenings, the campus holds community informational sessions every two to three months to update the neighborhood on construction progress and the status of these initiatives. Neighbors are invited to join these sessions or come out for a personal tour of the development.

And for all you foodies, there are restaurant-related plans in the works. Ultimately, there is space for about four to five food and beverage operators, and the first restaurant on the south side of the campus is currently completing the leasing process. Golden Belt is

intentionally seeking a wide representation of cuisines and price points to serve tenants and the community. “These restaurants are going to take the Golden Belt SummerStage to the next level,” Cicely says.

PHOTO BY RYAN MOELLER PHOTO

Power Post

of the

What it’s like to be a young fitness influencer in the Bull City

AND

IF DURHAM HAD ITS OWN AVENGERS, these three would definitely be part of the crew. Strong, honest and superhumanly inspiring, Ally Born, Desmond Scott and Ruth Penado share their workout journeys with thousands of fans in Durham and beyond through Instagram. And just like any true superhero, each influencer uses his or her power by focusing on a specific niche and appealing to a particular audience. They shared with us a bit about their motivations while taking to the streets of Durham to showcase some bionic moves.

PHOTOGRAPHY

WORDS BY MICK SCHULTE

Ally Born, 3o

@allykborn

“Idon’t always consider myself an influencer, but then I’ll have these moments,” Ally, a Durham-based yoga teacher and triathlete, says. “Like when a woman from my apartment complex noticed me and said I was the first Instagram celebrity she’d ever met.”

With more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, Ally’s celebrity status is becoming a reality as she posts about her journey. “I don’t take it lightly,” Ally says. “I try to share positivity while still being real. There’s so much negativity portrayed on media already that it just feels right to share a lighter message.”

She attributes the growth of her account to when she started doing yoga challenges and connecting more with her followers. Many yogis use the hashtag #yogachallenge to share advanced poses. Thanks to Ally’s bendy body, her posts gained attention.

“Through my triathlon endeavors and yoga practices I’ve learned a lot by coming to my mat every day,” Ally says. “I’m happy to share what I’ve learned so others don’t have to spend years and years learning the same.”

Outside of fitness advice, Ally believes it’s important to share her authentic personality. “It would be misleading if I shared a glamorous life,” she says. “I try to be clear. I was recently unemployed and not getting responses from jobs that I applied to. I shared that process and how long it took to finally get an offer.”

Ally admits she feels a sense of obligation to her followers. “It’s like I was put in this influencer role without knowing the direction to take,”

she says. “Sometimes I don’t feel like I show enough of my life or respond to major current events enough. Having 30,000 followers feels like a big responsibility sometimes.”

Even so, Ally finds connecting with people rewarding, and she’s had some surprising opportunities come her way through her Instagram presence.

Inner Fire, an eco-friendly, female-owned yoga clothing company, reached out to Ally because of her following. They invited her to do a photo shoot at the Wanderlust Festival in Whistler, British Columbia. “I promoted their leggings that are made out of recycled water bottles. It was wonderful to be able to share something that I believe in,” Ally says.

Other companies have sent athletic wear and tools that Ally can use while teaching yoga privately and training for triathlons around Durham, where she lives with her fiance, Nick Noel. 

Desmond Scott, 28

@desmondlscott

“Instagram is a lot like people’s favorite TV shows,” says Desmond Scott, the owner of PRIME Athletic Training & Fitness Institute. “They expect to see certain shows that offer certain things. So I feel like I need to post consistently, as if I am a person’s TV show they keep coming back to.” And there are plenty who tune in – he has more than 18,600 followers on Instagram. His follower count grew during his football career at Hillside High School and then again when he was both a running back and a wide receiver for Duke University. Desmond, who was on the team from 2009-2012, gained more than 1,000 yards rushing, receiving and in kick returns in 2010.

When he’d train for football, Desmond would often show off some daredevil moves, like doing pullups while hanging off a high bridge, and post them on Instagram, which drew attention on social media. But once he graduated with a double major in history and African American studies, and a minor in education, Desmond had to find a way to keep his followers interested as he moved on to the next phase. “Retelling my story was hard,” Desmond says. “A lot of my followers came from my football days, so I had to rebrand myself as a fitness influencer. It was like I was asking them to watch the same channel, but with a different show on.”

Through that process, he decided to stick to three core values for his account. “I show faith, family and fitness, which are what my gym is based on, too,” Desmond says. Many of his posts have inspirational messages like, “You can’t walk with purpose in the world if you’re tip-toeing. Walk with purpose even on rainy days!”

For Desmond, some of that motivation is found through lifting others up. “Being someone that influences others doesn’t necessarily mean something positive,” Desmond says. “I’m always making sure my message is one that encourages people to do better with their lives.”

None of it is a façade either. “Honestly, the way I live my life on Instagram is the way I live my life every day,” Desmond says. “I’m being my true self.” 

Ruth Penado, 27

@ruthlesslystrong

“Istarted my Instagram account because I wanted to hold myself accountable,” says Ruth Penado, who began exercising seriously in April 2016 because she felt out of shape.

Three months into her journey, Ruth, who has lost some 80 pounds, posted a picture that showed how her body was changing, and a popular transformation account asked if they could share her story. “My account went from 300 to more than 10,000 in a month,” Ruth says. “And every time I’d get further into my transformation, an account like that would post my picture, and I’d get a lot of traffic that way.”

Now Ruth has nearly 70,000 followers, and she wakes up to more each day. She believes her transparency is what makes people feel so connected to her story. “I show as much of real life as I can,” Ruth says. “I live with my parents and work in retail. And when I have a moment of weakness,

I make sure to share that, too. Changing to a healthy lifestyle is not a linear journey, and people need to know that.”

She appreciates the opportunity to inspire people, but Ruth does share that she struggles with the pressure of feeling the need to post. “I think you should share but not overshare. You’ve got to keep some of your life to yourself,” Ruth says. “But I get conflicted, and sometimes post even when I don’t want to. Sometimes I just want to be in the moment.”

Ruth also uses the Instagram stories feature to share moments of her day. In one slide, she’ll show a Fitbit that tracked eight miles, and then she’ll admit to eating 25 Oreo cookies in the next. This sharing of successes and personal truths transcends the virtual relationship with her fans, and many reach out to her asking for personal advice.

“I wish I could respond to every DM [direct message] and meet each of them in person,” Ruth says. “But the reality is that I still have to work and live my life. This is not a business I’m trying to profit from.”

Ruth says she is not in this for the money, but she has received some offers from companies wanting to capitalize on her large following. She recently became an ambassador for her favorite makeup brand, ColourPop.

She doesn’t take this influential power lightly. “I have high standards for myself,” she says, “and I try to keep those when I consider companies to partner with.”

Ruth was raised in Durham but moved to Charlotte in 2012. She came back to a rejuvenated Bull City in 2018 and found people viewed her birthplace in a completely different light. “My journey came full circle to where I live in Durham again, and I have a real sense of pride about living here now,” Ruth says. “I kind of feel like Durham has transformed like I have. I feel like people might look at my account and believe if Durham and Ruth can do it, anybody can.”

rooted in

faith

Farm Church cultivates both food and fellowship

“Church should be like ‘Cheers,’” Rev. Allen Brimer says. “It should be a place where you feel known, loved and cared for in all seasons of life.” This is one of the principles that guides Allen and his fellow pastors, Rev. Ben Johnston-Krase and Rev. Brandon Wert, in their service with Farm Church.

“It is exactly what it sounds like: a church that meets on

Nico Johnson works in the garden with his children, Caleb, 7, and Joshua, 5.

BY MORGAN CARTIER WESTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

a farm,” Allen says. “But it’s also so much more. It represents a dream and a mission that have been a long time in the making.”

Allen’s first career was in farming, but he left to attend McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. While at school, it quickly became clear that he didn’t want to go into traditional congregational ministry. “For years, I kept trying to figure out how to combine farming with service to build an intentional, mission-driven community,” Allen says.

Allen did work in traditional churches for 15 years, first in Indiana and then in Kentucky. Then, in 2014, he, Ben and

LEFT Rob Womack, center, turns over soil in preparation for a new crop.

BELOW Casey Collins and Fleming Talton play music during the church service.

Brandon got together with their families for a vacation. The three had attended seminary together and stayed in touch over the years. “We started talking about what it would be like to move to the same place and have our children grow up together.”

Two weeks later, Ben had a dream that he took a job at a new church, sight unseen. Ben called Allen the next morning with an outpouring of ideas for feeding people – both literally and spiritually – through an alternate kind of worship. “He said [that, in his dream,] he got there, and there was no building, just a farm,” Allen recalls. “He was talking about Sunday school in a chicken coop, having the kids collect eggs.”

Allen was sold, but knew it would be hard to find a role for three Presbyterian pastors at the same time and place. With Ben’s dream as the inspiration, the three friends decided to

Pastor Brandon Wert greets fellow churchgoers at the start of the service.

build their own church instead, and turned their focus to finding the ideal location.

“Durham was sort of a dark horse candidate,” Allen says. “We didn’t know anyone here or have any network at all.” But, Durham floated to the surface for a number of reasons: “We wanted an urban center, but one near open land, which we have north and east of here almost immediately.”

The polarity of the food culture here also stood out. “When we visited on a Saturday, the Durham Farmers Market was booming,” Allen says. “Then we found out Durham has a [nearly] 18% food insecurity rate. That was something we thought we could plug into and help address.”

Allen, Ben and their families moved here in August 2015. After months of networking and creating a partnership with SEEDS, a nonprofit garden school, Farm Church opened May 1, 2016.

“SEEDS has given us free space to meet, and we have done a lot of work for them on their grounds and to help promote them and their mission,” Allen says, adding that they are working on expanding their partnership. “We also have gardens around the city where we have small plots of vegetables.”

Farm Church’s congregation has grown to about 100 in its first three years, with regular attendance ranging from 50 to 70 on Sundays. “Our first hour of worship begins with our hands in the soil,” Allen says. “No matter what the message of the day is, that’s how we begin.”

The church gives away all of its produce. “We really strive to get it into the hands of those who would not have access to it otherwise,” Allen says. “We are especially bridging the gap for those who can afford some groceries, but can’t justify spending their limited budget on low-calorie items like fresh vegetables.”

Jakelynn Wert sows new seeds in the garden. Sarah Connette talks with Mark McIntyre out in the field at SEEDS.

By harvesting on Sundays and Wednesdays, when other churches meet, they can immediately bring food to adjacent pantries. “Giving it directly to the clients means folks get it when it is the freshest, and therefore has the most nutrients,” Allen says. It also skips the need for refrigeration, which keeps costs down. The second hour of Sunday worship is held inside the SEEDS building, and includes song, prayer and scripture. “Folks who come to Farm Church are largely people who have church backgrounds of some kind, or are spiritually hungry,” Allen says.

“After high school, I took a long hiatus from church attendance because I was hoping to find one that placed its top priority in serving people outside the group, and I feel that I finally found it in Farm Church,” says Fleming Talton, who has been a part of Farm Church since the beginning. “Newcomers frequently relate to us that they feel affirmatively welcomed and greeted without feeling overwhelmed or pressured.”

Mark McIntyre, who plays keyboard in the church band, has been attending for almost a year. “I was aware of the community and kept up from a distance before deciding to visit,” he says. “Once I did, I knew almost immediately that I’d found my place.”

Fleming, also a regular in the church band, says the best thing about it is the outward-facing focus: “We dedicate concentrated, dynamic energy to improving

Betsy Johnson sings along with son Silas, 2, during the service.

Pastor Brandon shares a laugh with fellow Farm Church congregants.

the land around us, grow truly nourishing food from it, and then find ways to get it to the people who need it the most. It’s a radically simple and energizing concept to me.”

By contrast, in his experience as a pastor in traditional churches, Allen felt the work was “a mile wide and an inch deep,” with disparate projects and funding that had little sustained effect. “This congregation does one thing: We address food insecurity in Durham, and with that focus, make a real measurable impact,” he says. “Folks literally go home with the dirt under their fingernails as evidence of their participation in something meaningful. And it’s feeding their soul at the same time.”

Sarah Connette, who has been a member of Farm Church since mid-2018, says, “caring for the Earth resounds as a theme throughout biblical narratives, bringing together relationships around food, community, hospitality, economy, poverty and more. To be in a place that is grounded in these relationships, and questioning how to better seek justice in all its many forms, continues to provide meaning in refreshing ways.”

What makes the community special, Mark says, is that it places meeting physical human needs on the same footing as meeting spiritual and emotional needs. “Christ wasn’t only known for his teaching,” he says. “He fed the hungry and healed the sick. I wanted a community that recognized the importance of this duality, and I found it in Farm Church.”

On its mission to provide fresh produce to those who need it, Farm Church works to engage with many different sides of Durham. Members have participated in the Pride Parade, taken part in Habitat for Humanity builds in their neighborhood and even started a tool-sharing library. Looking to the future, Allen says their goals include reinforcing their partnerships, finding new ways to measure their impact and expanding to other projects. One such project is the Edible Bus

Stop. Sarah is part of this team, which is working with SEEDS and sustainable landscaping company Bountiful Backyards to plan an edible landscape at the bus stop at Holloway and North Elizabeth streets. “The hope is that folks waiting for the bus might also enjoy picking and learning more about various flowers, herbs, fruits and veggies in this lush little spot of Earth,” she says. “A garden can offer so much – refuge, community, nourishment, knowledge, humility, strength, healing – and I’m excited to be a part of the story.”

www.TriangleMobileDentistry.com

“My personal mission is to help people take control over their health and happiness by sharing inspirational stories of change,” Rain Bennett says.

making it personal

‘Health

and Happiness’ is a monthly storytelling series that focuses on the different pillars of health

BY AMANDA MACLAREN | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA NORWOOD

When Rain Bennett moved to Durham about a year and a half ago, he was met with something he says he hadn’t felt in a long time – a deep sense of community, one that has embraced him. “Part of that is the culture that’s inherently here,” he says, “the people who are here, and it’s reflected in the conversations that we’re having.”

Rain, a filmmaker, founded the video and digital media production company Six Second Stories in 2018. He’s also a personal trainer and Lululemon brand ambassador, and when he was approached by a Lululemon assistant manager to create a speaker series, he knew that it needed to be different – it needed to have heart. “Instead of, ‘I’m going to present about this topic and show you a PowerPoint,’” Rain says, “I’m going to open up and be vulnerable and tell you a personal

story of my journey or someone who I’ve worked with on this journey on mental health, on financial health and physical health, whatever the topic might be, in order to create this safe space for people in the audience to then feel comfortable asking a question or sharing about themselves something that may have stigma attached or be hard for them to talk about, to create this kind of community conversation that’s almost like a therapy session.”

So, through a partnership with Lululemon and WeWork, Six Second Stories launched “Health and Happiness: A Storytelling Series on Living Your Potential,” which focuses on a different pillar of health every month. In May, the series started on the topic of mental health for Mental Health Awareness Month.

“As you can imagine, it got pretty heavy at times,” Rain says of their first event. “There was a point where Dr. Nicole Cranley – she’s a behavioral scientist and blogger – was like, ‘I’m just going to be open and honest and tell a story I’ve never told in public before.’ And she came from a very personal perspective where she told a story of abuse that she had dealt with and what the stress and anxiety did to her mental health.

“You could hear a pin drop,” Rain continues. “I get emotional thinking about it right now.” Earlier in the evening, Tom Ferguson, the CEO of Rise Southern Biscuits and Righteous Chicken, hit a similar note of honesty when he spoke about how his new hobby, birding, helped him recover from addiction, depression and anxiety. His message is simple, but profound: “First would be to never give up trying to get better,” Tom says, “don’t settle with feeling sad. Second is to find your hobby. It was the most important piece of advice I’ve ever received, and I think it saved my life.”

The experience can be powerful, Rain says.

“To see these strong people be completely vulnerable and open up in front of everybody, it has an immediate impact on every person in that room,” he says.

“For me, it served as a stark reminder of the importance of mental health and wellness,” Manisha Dass, a research public health analyst for RTI International and an attendee at the mental health event, shared after the event. “The stories all resonated with me on one level or another. I felt like the stories were either about me or ones I have heard from those who are close to me. Which goes to show that at one point or another, mental health will come up. More than anything, I felt comfortable. In a room full of (mostly) strangers, it helped tremendously to know I’m not alone.”

The final Health and Happiness series topics will cover relationship health on Aug. 14, environmental health on Sept. 12 and community health on Oct. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at WeWork at One City Center. “Our mission of this series was to start the conversation,” Rain says. “When I see the impact here, it gives me hope that we can do it all in a larger capacity. I would love to see it continue to grow and for other people to see it and start to do the same themselves.”

LEFT Mental Health Night Storytellers Shelda Asker, Dr. Nicole Cranley, Rain Bennett, Dr. C. Nicole Swiner and Tom Ferguson at WeWork at One City Center.

Joy Black smiles as she deadlifts 55-pound kettlebells. Actually, she smiles when she does pushups, too. And symmetric single arm rows, squats, overhead presses – the list goes on. She is all smiles every Wednesday when she teaches Women’s Strength Training at ActivEdge Fitness & Sports Performance.

“I started this class [in April] because I felt like there was a need for a space that was only women, where they could find some positive support as far as weight training goes,” Joy says. “And an inclusive environment for them to just try things out and where everybody is learning together and feeling supported, because sometimes there’s a lot of intimidation that goes into weight training for women.”

That was the case for Priscilla Layne, a single mother without a lot of time, who

strength in numbers

Women lift each other up in a weekly strength training class

BY HANNAH LEE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

Erin Jobe, Emily Sutton, Lily Anderson and Sara Stephens lift kettlebells in front of ActivEdge’s new mural as instructor Joy Black gives directions.

came to the class with five other women in June.

“I got older and had a kid, [and] it gets harder to stay in shape,” Priscilla says. “I like that it’s all women because at the gym I’m usually intimidated to go lift any weights, like the free weights, because you know, when there’s always really big guys in there, I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing, so it’s nice to get the guidance.”

And when Priscilla had to bring her son, Liam Layne-Kopf, 5, because she wasn’t able to secure childcare for that evening, the other women in the group were supportive. She says she was grateful to Joy and her classmates.

Even Liam seemed to enjoy the class. After a series of kettlebell deadlifts, pushups and single arm rows, Joy announced it was time for another lap around the building. Liam raced to the door in his crocs with a big grin across his face: “Yay!”

As the women approached the end of the one-hour session, they finished with 10 minutes of kettlebell swings and planks. Everyone laughed together through the final push – 100 kettlebell swings is no easy feat.

Then Joy rounded up everyone into a circle: “Let’s go around and say one positive thing that happened in our day today,” she said. Joy went first and shared something very personal about her son. And six more encouraging sentiments followed.

“It just does a lot for other people when you can congratulate them and support them in whatever positive thing that happened in their day,” Joy says.

“Or when we hear someone else say, ‘Oh, I saw Lily do 15 pushups, and I thought that was really awesome. It inspired me.’ It keeps inclusivity and positivity going for everybody in the session.”

On the surface, a total body workout is what brings these women together each week. But the intentions run deeper – it’s about lifting up one another, building confidence and connecting to fellow women through sweat, sore muscles and determination.

The classes take place Wednesdays at 7 p.m., and are $12. For more info, call or email Joy at 919-493-1204 or jblack@activedgefit.com.

ABOVE Erin and Joy demonstrate a strict pushup. BELOW Priscilla learns how to do an alternative to strict pushups. BOTTOM Joy grabs Nikita Dalal to show how to do a correct overhead press with dumbbells.

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Fall Arts for the

Can’t-miss events, plus a closer look at creative endeavors around our city

CenterFest

Sept. 21–22; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Put on by the Durham Arts Council, this festival, which features a variety of local artists and musicians, has been a staple in the community since 1974. Enjoy shopping for local art, listening to music on multiple stages, eating from many mobile food vendors, and watching performers from magicians to jugglers. The event is great for families; kids will have a blast at the Creative Kids Zone. Free, with a suggested $5 donation; centerfest.durhamarts.org

‘The Roommate’

Sept. 26 – Oct. 13, Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.

Bulldog Ensemble Theater opens its second season in Durham with Jen Silverman’s play ‘The Roommate.’ In this dark comedy, two women from very different backgrounds transform each other’s lives in unexpected ways. The Fruit, 305 S. Dillard St.; $10-$20; durhamfruit.com

Gaspard & Dancers

Friday – Saturday, Sept. 27-28, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate the 10-year anniversary of modern dance choreographer Gaspard Louis’ diverse, dynamic dance company, Gaspard & Dancers. The performances will feature two new works inspired by current United States policy on political asylum seekers. There will be a reception and a dance after the Saturday production, and a free matinee performance for Durham Public Schools Reynolds Industries Theater; $15-$27; gasparddancers.org

Art of Cool Festival

Friday – Sunday, Sept. 27-29

AOCFEST celebrates its sixth annual festival, hosted at six venues around downtown. Art of Cool Festival brings together R&B, hip-hop, jazz, neo-soul and spoken-word artists, including headliners Jill Scott and Run DMC, Ari Lennox, Whodini and Big Daddy Kane feat. The Symphony, among others – for an immersive weekend of great music. $100-$350; aocfestival.com

IN THE PAINT

Three refurbished basketball courts were unveiled at Hillside Park in April, a project subsidized by FILA and The Tamia & Grant Hill Foundation, in partnership with the Durham Parks Foundation The updates included court resurfacing, new backboards and improved fencing and landscaping. The inspiration of the design comes from the City of Durham flag itself, with a Grant Hill Foundation logo at center court and FILA branding surrounding the courts. In the middle court, artist Sarahlaine Calva created a custom, vibrant mural (at left). Grant Hill, the Duke and NBA star and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, was on hand for the big reveal and received a key to the city. “Durham has played a vital role in my life, and it is truly special to launch this program here and give back to a community that has meant so much to me,” Grant said in a press release. “I have always been passionate about setting the right example and motivating youth. I have so many fond memories from my time at Duke, and I am thankful to the City of Durham and FILA for the opportunity to offer these kids a place to grow, excel, stay active and enjoy the game.”

– Amanda MacLaren 

PHOTO BY ESTLIN HAISS

Jokes on the Bus Go Round and Round

The five founders of Bull City Laughs are all standing in a packed barber shop off of Fayetteville Street. This is where it all started for them. And one of them just wrapped up with a customer.

“Who’s next?” Akili Hester, Bull City Laughs president, aka “the Bull,” calls out to the small waiting area of Black Wall Street Barber Shop

“Do you cut everyone’s hair?” I ask Akili about this group –Brandon Wright, Omar Helms, Q Randle and Terrell Wilder –standing around us.

The five founders of Bull City Laughs: Terrell Wilder, financial officer; Omar Helms, chief technician; Brandon Wright, “laugh engineer;” Akili Hester, president; and Q Randle, business ambassador.

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. But that’s only half the story of how this quintet came to own Durham’s only comedy tour bus business. “We did a North Carolina hip-hop documentary –that was me, Omar and Q,” Akili says. “Before that, I used to do battle rap events, and Terrell did my security. Before that, I was doing film, and I was doing work with Brandon.”

Brandon, who worked for the Funny Bus in Charlotte, a similar concept, was driving there every weekend. Akili encouraged him to think about starting one here. Once Brandon was convinced it was viable, Akili asked if he was ready to pull the trigger. “I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he said, ‘Cool, cause I’ve told a few guys who are interested to hear what you have to say,’” Brandon says. “We met here one evening, and we were all like, ‘Let’s do this.’”

Akili says, “Everybody I pulled in, I had worked with before. I knew they had a good work ethic, and good character. And they all had the urge to do something different. Everybody’s conversation was, ‘Man, I want to start a business.’ Sometimes it wasn’t exactly specific, but everybody had the urge to do something special. [We wanted to] do something for the city that nobody’s ever done before. So when I put the word out, it was like gasoline was already on it. Everything moved pretty quickly after that.”

That conversation happened just a year-and-a-half ago. The Bull City Laughs bus went on its first tour March 15 – Omar’s late mother’s birthday – after months of hard work, and a little help. They bought the bus from a woman Akili knew through cutting her husband’s hair. “It’s the haircut network,” he says. The material and labor to build and install the seats was essentially donated by a man who had been in Brandon’s military unit in the Air Force (Omar and Terrell are also veterans of the Army and Air Force, respectively). Some of the audio equipment was donated by audio-visual company

PHOTO BY JOSHUA STEADMAN

Just the FAQs

• Tours are Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 3 p.m. (They are looking to expand to Fridays.

• Meet the bus at Beer Durham to stock up on drinks; the tour takes a 15-minute break at Louella for restrooms and to stock up on beverages

• Max capacity is 30

• “We can cater a package to you, your company, your team, your wedding,” Q says. “We can handle any type of big parties.”

• The guys warn that the tours are R-rated – “Things get a little crazy on the bus sometimes,” Brandon says. “You’ve got to be good with that.”

• For more frequently asked questions, visit bullcitylaughs.com/faqs

Maestro Productions. “We definitely had a lot of help, people who believed in the business,” Omar says. “And who believed in us,” Terrell adds.

The bus has been making tours for a few months now, and based on the reviews they’re receiving, Brandon says, most people didn’t know quite what to expect, but nearly always end up having a great time.

Q says he feels a sense of pride that the group committed to making this dream happen. “I’m sure we all start something and drop it,” he says. “This time, we stuck it through. That was the cherry on the cake for me – the fact that we just did it.”

Akili adds, “I feel like when it comes to black-owned businesses, we have to continue to push and continue to create because that was like, that’s the heart of the history of Durham, that is Black Wall Street

“And I’ll just say, I’m just excited to see where my brothers go from here. ‘Cause I feel like 10 years from now, based on this success –”

Q chimes in, “We could be anywhere.”

– Amanda MacLaren

DID YOU KNOW?

An outdoor space and sculpture garden that connects the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and the Rubenstein Arts Center is slated to open Sept. 28. The unveiling will feature a performance at 2 p.m. of “Composition 21” by Brooklyn-based, Israeli-born artist Naama Tsabar that brings together 21 local musicians who identify as women and/or gender nonconforming. After the performance, head to the Nasher’s Great Hall for a cash bar and light refreshments to celebrate the opening of “Cosmic Rhythm Vibrations,” an exhibition highlighting works from the Nasher Museum collection that engage visual and musical rhythm.

Phoenix Fest

Saturday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

A street festival and parade that celebrates African American heritage and the cultural legacy of Durham’s Hayti community, the parade takes off in the morning and the festival will have all-day live music, food and vendors. Fayetteville Street; free; phoenixfestdurham.com

Criminal Podcast Live Show

Saturday, Oct. 5, 8 p.m.

The award-winning podcast, Criminal, is brought to the stage with this performance. Presented by co-creators Phoebe Judge and Lauren Spohrer, the multimedia production brings to life the mysteries and horrors of crime, steeped in the psychology and intellect behind the machinations of criminals. The Carolina Theatre; $29.50+; carolinatheatre.org

Latinos in Durham: A Short Story of an Invisible but Vibrant Force

Thursday, Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m.

This project “seeks to position the Latino identity as part of the soul of Durham.” It focuses on the journey of the Latino community in Durham, and their role and contribution in the past, present and future of the city in a presentation by Miguel Chirinos. El Centro Hispano; free; durham150.org/events

Andrew Tyson

Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.

The Durham native, whose piano skills have been penned as “a real poet of the piano,” performs for a home crowd. He brings

PHOTO BY JOSHUA STEADMAN

Saba Taj stands in front of several works in the ‘Sticky Note Show.’ The Carrack will host its final exhibit, a community show organized by The Carrack’s founding team members, Aug. 30 –Sept. 20. All artists are invited to bring their work.

THE FINAL NOTE

The Carrack says goodbye with a ‘Sticky Notes Show,’ bringing its community together on its walls

Ablack-and-white photo of a crying baby, an annoyed Frida Kahlo blowing a bubble, a collage of kissing faces, poetic calligraphy – the list goes on. This is what Durhamites feel, what they see, what they hope. This is The Carrack.

In June, the art gallery encouraged the community to submit sticky notes with drawings of anything they wanted for its fundraiser, “Sticky Note Show.” The result? A show by the people, for the people.

“It’s a nice way to have a fundraiser that’s grounded in art, grounded in art contributions, but we’re not asking artists to give us their masterpieces,” Saba Taj, director of The Carrack, says. “It’s also [providing] super affordable price points for the audience. It makes it a lot more accessible for both the artist and the patrons.”

This has been The Carrack’s mission for its eight years of existence. Profits were never its goal – instead, it sought to empower artists, whoever they might be. But a few days before the fundraiser, The Carrack announced it would close in September. The gallery, which has been funded almost exclusively through donations, said that it could no longer afford to remain focused on its “core mission.” The show raised more than $2,000, and the gallery will use the money to help with closing expenses.

The news saddened and surprised many. The memories and the opportunities the gallery provided were numerous and treasured in Durham’s arts community. Even Saba, who took on the director role just last year, has had some of her most important work exhibited within The Carrack’s walls, whether that was when the studio was above Loaf on Parrish Street, or during its days in Golden Belt, or now at its location on East Main Street. She met her partner at one those shows. “It’s hard to say legacy,” Saba says. “It feels so past tense. But I think this was a really ideal space in so many ways, and the mission of centering artists is something that is deeply felt by your community.”

The gallery’s no-fee application process opened a lot of possibilities. It gave artists free rein to develop their own voice and dictate how they share their work without being inhibited by finances. “The Carrack really offered something that let artists stretch themselves, and they didn’t have to come through a master’s program to be able to do that,” Saba says.

That weekend in June, hundreds of sticky notes colored The Carrack’s white walls in vertical lines, while dozens of other sticky notes intersected these lines, like waves on a heart rate monitor. For now, at least, The Carrack’s impact beats on. – Hannah Lee

PHOTOGRAPHY

together a mix of baroque with turn-of-the-20th-century French impressionist – featuring the works of Chaminade and Ravel. Baldwin Auditorium; $10-$25; dukeperformances.duke.edu

NC Dance Festival

Saturday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.

NCDF celebrates its 29th season with shows in traditional and non-traditional venues across the state. The NC Dance Festival brings together professional modern dance choreographers from across the state – including Kira Blazek-Ziaii, Vania Claiborne, Megan Ross, Megan Yankee and Clarice Young in this particular performance – to share innovative and moving dance works. Fierce, honest, reflective and playful, this concert presents a wide variety of North Carolina dance. The Fruit, 305 S. Dillard St.; $15-$25; danceproject.org/festival

Durham 150 Closing Ceremony

Saturday, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.

The grand finale of the sesquicentennial celebration of the City of Durham. Details on the ceremony will be released closer

DID YOU KNOW?

to the date. DPAC; durham150. org/events

Rafiq Bhatia

Thursday, Nov. 7, 8 p.m.

“Breaking English” is a musical experience led by Rafiq Bhatia, a Raleigh native and son of Muslim immigrants. The newest work is a “visceral common ground between ecstatic avant-jazz, mournful soul, tangled strings and building-shaking electronics.” Passionate and transcendent of any category, this concert is “a thoroughly engaging experimental enterprise.”

Rubenstein Art Center, von der Heyden Studio Theater; $10-$25; dukeperformances.duke.edu

NC Comicon: Bull City Nov. 8 – 10; Friday, 3 – 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Back and bigger than ever –featuring more vendors and new exhibits, panels and workshops – Comicon will still have a giant cosplay contest, as well as a dance party on Saturday night. Durham Convention Center; $20-$50; nccomicon.com/bull-city 

For the first time, the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle (COT) will host a residency with a string ensemble, the Boston-based Verona Quartet.

“They have already performed around the globe and are considered one of the best young string quartets out there,” says Niccoló Muti, executive director for the COT. “Coming from four different countries (Singapore, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom) and with their innate ability to communicate both through their music and in person, we are really excited to see the impact the group will have on the community.”

The quartet will take part in more than 40 community and educational events, which will range from working with kids at Durham School of the Arts, Kidznotes and students at UNC to popping up at the farmers market and performing at retirement communities, hospitals and other spots. One of their recitals, called “Beer-thoven,” will be an all-Beethoven concert at Bay 7 featuring the pairing of beer and pie on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Other upcoming concerts with the quartet include their debut recital at Durham Arts Council’s PSI Theatre Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. featuring a program of Janacek, Gilbertson and Dvorak.

Lewis Black

Friday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m.

In his new stand-up show, “The Joke’s on US,” the critically acclaimed comedian, actor and “King of Rant” continues to berate the world for its absurdity. DPAC; $39.50+; dpacnc.com

“Durham: A Self-Portrait”

Saturday, Nov. 16, 6 – 8 p.m.

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of this film as it returns to the silver screen with updates. Documenting the rise and development of the Bull City, as well as its struggles with gentrification and poverty, the new edition of the film will include the progress from the last decade, as well as a new “Ten Years After” epilogue. The film delves into the duality of the city, and ultimately asks, “Does Durham’s history still matter?” The Carolina Theatre; $10-$20; portraitofdurham.com

The Durham Art Walk Holiday Market

Tentatively set for early December

A celebration of visual arts and fine crafts, featuring the work of 100+ talented artists in multiple locations, including the Durham Arts Council and Durham Armory. The event also features live musical performances and food trucks. Free; durhamartwalk.com

DID YOU KNOW?

Horse & Buggy Press on Broad Street keeps a rotating schedule of installments by artists on its walls, punctuated by receptions and events in its Salon. Nashville artist Noah Saterstrom’s “Faces: Musicians, Writers, Artists, Activists and Educators” is featured on the main exhibition wall through Sept. 30. In the exhibit, Noah created 12-inch, square portraits of notable public figures who have passed away, often painting the work on the day he learns of their death.

“I first met Noah when he [taught] at Warren Wilson [College],” says Horse & Buggy owner Dave Wofford. “I’ve long admired his ability to create compelling emotional portraits, which celebrate both deep looking and the visceral power of paint.” A reception for the exhibit will be held Sept. 7.

Horse & Buggy Salon Events during ‘Faces’ Saturday, Aug. 17, 4 p.m.

Poet Dasan Ahanu will tell stories through poetry. Folklorist and musician Sara Bell will share insights from studying with Italian singer Matteo Salvatore and will explore the concept of cultural worldview. $3

Wednesday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m.

2019 Piedmont Laureate and music critic David Menconi will read a selection from his upcoming history of North Carolina music, “Tobacco Rogue,” to be published in 2020. Scott Huler will read from “A Delicious Country,” with musical guest Kenny Roby. $3

After Noah’s show closes, photographers Lori Vrba and Dawn Surratt’s installation “Encompass,” an exhibition of storytelling that is evocative, sensitive and feminine, opens Oct. 3 and runs through Dec. 30 with receptions Saturdays, Oct. 19 and Nov. 16, 5–7 p.m.

BY

COLOR WHEEL

Murals in Durham are ubiquitous these days – even our new restaurants and bars are getting in on the game (we’re looking at you Spanglish, Bull City Mini and the rest). But if you want the full scoop on some of the Bull City’s most recognizable – or sometimes, completely concealed – artwork, one of the best ways to get it is by bike.

“The idea for the mural tours started with the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and morphed into a collaboration among Preservation Durham, Museum of Durham History and the Nasher,” says Diane Amato, the office manager for Preservation Durham who also coordinates the tours. “Murals are public art, and the program was designed to bring awareness of the numerous murals around the city in order to make this art accessible to the community.”

The first tour took off May 21, 2016, and they’ve been rolling out from Durham Central Park on the first Saturday of the month, May through November, ever since. The group meets at 10 a.m. across from the entrance to the farmers market, and the ride can last anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours, Diane says.

“When we started the tours, we had 10 murals in the mix,” Diane says. “This year we have 16. These tours, along with collaborations with Mural Durham, have brought to light the astounding number of murals that are in and around the city – more than 30 – and [that number] continues to grow.”

Some of the most well-known murals are of civil rights activist Pauli Murray. “[Riders] are less likely to know the subtle differences between those murals, and the backstory of both her remarkable life and how these murals came to be,” says Don Ball, the bike tour’s lead docent. “It’s a lot of fun to point out hidden gems like the depiction of ‘The Secret Game’ in 1944 between NCCU and Duke, the bees in Durham’s ‘hive’ and the footprints of former Mayor Bill Bell

“We’ve recently added a stop at Satellite Park in the Burch Avenue neighborhood, and it’s quickly become a crowd pleaser – and very Instagramworthy.”

Don suggests arriving before the departure time “so that you can stroll the Durham Farmers Market for a fantastic nosh or two. It’s an action-packed tour with lots of art, so bring your water bottle and a snack, and we will keep the tour rolling.” – Amanda MacLaren

Tour guide Kelly Witter educates riders on the Mural Durham bike tour about “Here Comes the Sun,” a 1975 mural by Karen Perkins.

PHOTO

BETH MANN

5 Things You Didn’t Know About The Artisan Market at 305

The Artisan Market at 305 displays and sells the work of more than 40 local artists, from glass art to jewelry, photography to pottery, fiber art to candles and everything in between. Coowner Karen Casey shares a few things that makes the business unique:

1

The pieces of art for sale are handmade by artists and specific to North Carolina and Durham. Custom pieces are also a possibility from some of the artists represented.

2

It’s a womenowned business that provides artists a retail home. “Art is the full-time job of a good number of our artists,” Karen says, “and we happily support these entrepreneurs in doing what they love.”

3

Co-owners Karen, a fused-glass artist, and Kris Remlinger, a photographer and jewelry maker, are in the store often, and the rest of the employees are knowledgeable about the other artists represented in the shop. “The store has a personal feel to it,” Karen says.

4

They just celebrated their two-year anniversary. Specific artists are highlighted and offer demonstrations and trunk shows on Shop Second Saturdays and Third Friday Art Walks

5 The shop is the recipient of a Durham 150 grant in collaboration with Cecy’s Gallery & Studios, Durham Craft Market and Cricket Forge to throw a “Foster Street Festival for Arts Entrepreneurship,” which will be focused

on highlighting arts entrepreneurship and opportunities for artists in Durham. An all-day celebratory event will be held Saturday, Sept. 14. Visitors will be able to meet the artists, play games, view and/or purchase arts and crafts pieces, and learn about the history of artist and community collaborations at the locations mentioned above, as well as CCB Plaza. – Jamey Cross 

Kris Remlinger.

Karen Casey.

MAJOR PERSPECTIVE

It’s been a decade and a half since Major, the familiar bronze bull sculpture, arrived in CCB Plaza. “Major has watched the city transform around him,” says Leah Foushee Waller, who designed, fabricated and installed the piece along with her husband, Mike Waller. “We wanted the bull to be that image of Durham,” Mike says. Most would say it has become just that.

“When I was asked to do the bull [in 1999], I was working at Vega Metals, and there was nothing happening in Durham,” Mike says. “Durham still smelled like curing tobacco. Durham Central Park was just weeds and shrubs and old abandoned bricks from the old tobacco warehouse.”

One year later, Mike met Leah, who was finishing her degree at ECU, the couple’s shared alma mater. They fell in love, she graduated, and together they dedicated 60 to 70 hours a week for more than a year to make Major happen. The bull was their first large-scale creative project, and through it, they found community. “Friends helped us make molds and assemble it and pick it up with cranes,” Mike says. “All of it was volunteer hours by artists downtown.”

Leah adds, “Relationships that formed during that time and the memories we made are unparalleled.”

Today, the couple have two children, Neva, 6, and Herbert, 5, and still make art both independently and as a duo. “We’ve done over a dozen public art projects speckled around the Piedmont,” Leah says. They still visit Major regularly – Neva and Herbert “associate it with going to get ice cream,” Mike laughs. Major is “our gift to the city,” Mike says, and they’ve relished watching the sculpture’s identity develop.

“We love when we see or are tagged in pictures of people, festivals, seasonal pictures of and with the bull,” Leah says. “It’s a gift that keeps on giving.” – Jessie Ammons Rumbley

PHOTO BY HARRY LYNCH

PHOTO BY CITY OF DURHAM

BLUES TRAVELER

Jon Shain was named the winner of the 2019 International Blues Challenge (IBC) in the solo/duo category. A Massachusetts native, Jon came to Durham to attend Duke University in 1986 and – after a nine-year stint living in Chapel Hill – bought a house off Hope Valley Road with his wife, Maria Bilinski Shain. He has called Durham home ever since. We caught up with him on tour:

When did you realize you wanted to make music? I first got a guitar in seventh grade, and I knew I wanted to play guitar. I started to write songs my senior year of high school and had a big concert in front of the whole school. It was the first time that I said to myself, “Huh, I wonder if I could make a living doing this,” you know? When I got out of [college], I pretty much went straight into it.

Now you’ve won the IBC. What did it mean to you to reach that kind of milestone? It’s a huge – what would the word be? – almost like a vindication. To be recognized at that level feels like, “OK, I made the right choice with my life,” you know? It also has opened quite a lot of doors. Part of the prize package was playing on a bunch of festivals and getting a lot of different gigs.

When is the next time you’re playing near Durham? We’re headlining at The Cary Theater, me and FJ Ventre, the bass player who I just released my new record [“Tomorrow Will Be Yesterday Soon”] with. We will be playing Aug. 9 with Rissi Palmer, who will be opening the show.

And how about the Picknbow Camp, Aug. 23-25? That’s a guitar camp, but it’s also for all sorts of folk instruments. I’ll be teaching there and then getting on a plane to Alaska the next day and teaching at a camp [there]. From Alaska I fly to Las Vegas to play this five-day festival, Big Blues Bender. We’re also playing on [the Legendary Rhythm & Blues] Cruise [in October], so we have to fly to San Diego and then go to Mexico and back, and on that cruise is going to be Los Lobos, Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal. The whole thing is quite amazing.

Gaspard&Dancers Celebrates 10 years

From Durham and NC to Bermuda, NY, Russia, and back! Come help us mark our first decade with Exit/NoEntry, a choric engagement with the US border crisis!

Fri. and Sat. 9/27-28, 7:30 pm, Reynolds Theater, Duke $27 general, $15 students, $20 groups of 10+, $15 youth Fête following Sa performance, 10 pm, The Durham Fruit gasparddancers.org Photography by Robin

19/2O

THE TONY AWARDWINNING STAR OF HAMILTON ! Leslie Odom, Jr.

FRI/SAT, OCT 18-19 | 8PM

Concert Sponsor: Causey Aviation –Private Jet Management Holiday Pops FRI, DEC 13 | 8PM

VALENTINE’S WEEKEND Swing is the Thing FRI, FEB 14 | 8PM SAT, FEB 15 | 3PM & 8PM A Rodgers & Hammerstein Celebration FRI, MAR 6 | 8PM SAT, MAR 7 | 3PM & 8PM

The Music of Elton John Featuring Michael Cavanaugh FRI/SAT, JAN 17-18 | 8PM

Concert Sponsor: BlueCross BlueShield of NC

AN UNFORGETTABLE CINEMATIC CONCERT EXPERIENCE!

“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” in Concert FRI/SAT, APR 24-25 | 8PM

MEYMANDI CONCERT HALL, RALEIGH, WOOLNER STAGE

PHOTO BY FRAN DWIGHT

home

John Hykes, Craven Miller and their daughter, Evelyn, enjoy spending time together in the sunroom.

What We Love About Living In … rockwood

A

small family begins a new chapter in this historic neighborhood

BY MORGAN CARTIER WESTON PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

Imagine growing up in a charming 1920s home, each room warm with handcrafted details and natural light. A cozy kitchen is the heart of the first floor, and outside, a lush playground of trees invites you to wander through it. Upon reaching the other side, you have your pick of fresh vegetables growing in the garden.

This is the idyllic environment that Burlington natives Craven Miller and John Hykes are

ABOVE The home’s grand entrance and symmetrical windows are representative of neoclassical architecture. BELOW Throughout the home, family heirlooms mingle with pieces Craven and John have curated, lending a personal touch wherever you look.

crafting for daughter Evelyn, 4, in Rockwood. The couple purchased their Georgian Revival home on University Drive in June 2017 and have been working to make it their own ever since.

They met in high school, and, separately, each made his way to the University of California, Berkeley to pursue graduate degrees. Craven got his in interior design, and John in landscape architecture. They reconnected in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001 and got married in 2007. Along the way, their experience in their respective fields grew, as did their family; they adopted Evelyn in 2014.

In 2017, John received a job offer in North Carolina, and

the house search began. “When this one popped up, we had almost stopped looking,” says Craven, who knew the home long before he ever considered living in it. “I couldn’t believe it. When I lived here in the ’90s, I lived in Old North Durham and worked here on University Drive,” he says. “I was around this neighborhood a lot and knew this house well.”

After viewing photos online, John agreed it was worth a closer look. Realtor Chloë Seymore of RED Collective coordinated a walk-through for John’s Burlington-based parents, who shared the tour with them via video call. “We decided to visit ourselves, and after that, we put an offer in right away,” John says.

Raising their daughter closer to family was a large part of their decision to move to

ABOVE A swing set, Evelyn would agree, is one of the backyard’s finer features. Another would be the vegetable garden John installed, where she is quick to spot tomatoes that are ready to be eaten. RIGHT A collection of antique combs from Africa frames the doorway to the breakfast nook. BELOW The master bedroom is centered by an original fireplace and decorated with a mix of vintage finds.

Dr. Gavin Heymann

Dr. Dempsey Smith

ROCKWOOD STATS

BOUNDARIES DurhamChapel Hill Boulevard to the north, Cornwallis Road to the west, Roxboro Street to the south and east.

POPULATION About 800

HOME STYLES A variety, including Colonial Revivals, Cape Cods, Mid-Century Moderns and Ranches

MEDIAN SALE PRICE

$490,000

North Carolina, but Craven and John were also excited about taking on a big project together. “There was no air conditioning, for starters,” John says. “That was the first thing we tackled.”

The home was part of the original Rockwood development that began almost 100 years ago and was built in 1928 for Dr. James Shuler, a physician. Dr. Shuler’s office was on the second floor of 402 S. Driver St., above what is now East Durham Bake Shop. Across the street from the bakery, Craven and John now work together at their firm, Design Bank. “It’s really cool how it’s come full circle,” John says.

Most of the home renovation projects they have undertaken have been on the practical side, including replacing the leaking roof and dated interior floors. But with those projects, as well as the air conditioning, out of the way, John and Craven have set their sights on making the home more functional. “We definitely want to move laundry upstairs into a mudroom, and turn the carport into a screened porch,” John says. “We haven’t knocked any walls down, though – we very much like the house the way it is.” Originally, the couple planned to expand the kitchen as well. “But we love the dining room so much, we’ve abandoned those ideas.”

The dining room features hand-painted custom wallpaper, lending a traditional element to the house without feeling stuffy. That feel carries throughout the home; updated light fixtures balance old and new,

John, a landscape architect, enjoys perfecting – and then taking pleasure in – the home’s outdoor spaces.

Some of the home’s unique furnishings, including this pair of barrel-back club chairs, were purchased from its previous owner and reupholstered to fit Craven’s vision.

and bold colors harmonize with soft fabrics in a way that invites visitors to come in and stay a while.

Craven says they are especially partial to their art collection, including pieces they purchased at a gallery called Creativity Explored in San Francisco, which supports art programs for those with mental disabilities. “Another particular piece that I love is a collage my mother did in the ’60s showing a city street,” he adds.

But the biggest changes have happened outside. “We fenced in the property for Evelyn’s safety, and then John designed the landscaping and worked to put it in,” Craven says. “We changed quite a lot.”

Originally, the property consisted of a flat green front lawn and a large, aging hedge. The driveway wound through a grove of trees to the back of the house. “It was dangerous with all of the trees, so we shifted it over to allow more parking and fluidity,” John says. “Now, it has a grand feeling. It creates this pleasant surprise as you drive in – it keeps revealing itself.”

Though it was a big shift to relocate from a large city, the family has settled into life in Durham. “Being North Carolinians, we knew what we were getting into,” Craven says, “but the range of activities and food options that have appeared in downtown Durham since I lived here, especially those like Dashi, made us feel even more excited about coming back.”

And Rockwood has proven a perfect fit. “We love that Rockwood is so central to most of Durham,” Craven says. Guglhupf, Foster’s Market and Nana’s are favorite dining spots, and they like shopping for furniture at Patina

“We especially enjoy having access to commercial centers and restaurants,” Craven says (the Rockwood, Hope Valley and Lakewood shopping centers are all within a two-mile radius). The couple also frequents Rockwood Park, and, on nice days, bikes Evelyn to her preschool at Lakewood Avenue Children’s School.

“We are really looking forward to the pedestrian and bike paths planned for Cornwallis [Road] to improve access to these spaces even more.”

SHOP TALK

Roger

Perry, who has helped develop much of Chapel Hill and Durham, speaks about the difference between the two

BY MICHAEL M C ELROY | PHOTO BY BETH MANN

ROGER PERRY, the founder of East West Partners, is practically etched into Chapel Hill’s landscape. Meadowmont, East 54, Village Plaza – each offers the town a place to live, shop and relax, the staples of the mixed-use developments for which Perry is known. But, his sights over the years have moved to Durham as well, including The Bartlett, Davis Park and Liberty Warehouse. The locations in both the town and the city have similar features, whether single family homes or luxury condos, but we wondered if the development process between the two locales might have been different. It made us curious. Can development in Chapel Hill and Durham be fairly compared? Or are they apples and oranges? And if so, which is which? Perry spoke with us about his experience in developing both places, and how listening to both the community and the marketplace is one of the most important parts of a successful negotiation. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Chapel Hill has a reputation for having a Byzantine approval process for new development. Is that reputation earned?

There is nothing new in all of that. I’ve been here for 36 years now, and that is kind of the way it has always been in Chapel Hill. The approval process is very long, expensive and unpredictable. But if you work with the [town] and work with the elected officials, you may not get what you want, but you can work to a resolution.

Process is a big component of Chapel Hill. There are a lot of people in Chapel Hill who would rather not see the town grow, who have used the process in order to retard growth, which makes it more difficult yet. But, we’re used to it, so we kind of understand it, and we try not to get too frustrated.

How is Durham?

It’s not necessarily easy in Durham either, but it is not nearly so subtle. It’s much easier to figure out what you are or are not going to be able to do in Durham in a much shorter time. I don’t always agree with their

decisions either, but you don’t have to go through so much analysis and process. Durham is more certain about what it will allow and will not allow than Chapel Hill is. And Durham knows what it wants and where it wants it.

Is the craft of development universal, or do you always have to take a community’s particular idiosyncrasies into account?

There is no point in trying to get approval for something the community doesn’t want, because you won’t succeed. Now, you modify to their

desires, you try to convince them of the things you can do and can’t do, you try to show them, perhaps, how doing it a different way than they might think might be an acceptable and perhaps better way. So it’s kind of a communication process and a good-faith process as you go through the approval.

Meadowmont and some of your other developments have a neo-Urbanism vibe to them – homes with front porches and other elements that enable community. Was that

intentional? Can it be replicated in Durham?

It was very intentional. I don’t think you can replicate it even in Chapel Hill anymore because there are no more parcels available in Chapel Hill big enough to accommodate a Meadowmont or a Southern Village. Chapel Hill has an urban growth boundary around it, and it is pretty much impossible to redo that unless you completely redevelop an existing area, and I don’t think the economics of that are viable yet.

In Durham, there are places you can do that, and Durham is willing to grow geographically as well. Chapel Hill is not willing to grow geographically. It is happening in Chatham County. You look at Briar Chapel, which is the evolution of Southern

Village and Meadowmont, and there is capacity in Chatham, and there is in Durham, and there is in Alamance County, but not in Chapel Hill.

You made your start in sales and marketing. How did that experience prepare you for being in charge?

You learn interpersonal skills, and you learn how to communicate. You learn to listen. The most important trait a person can have is the ability to listen to other people and to the marketplace. If you don’t, you won’t succeed. Learning how to listen and communicate and how to solve people’s needs is part of what sales and marketing is all about. When you learn how to do that, it translates into other areas. And

when you listen, you have to learn to respond in such a way that a consensus can coalesce around a particular idea. That is what takes so long in Chapel Hill, getting all the disparate interests to come together in a solution that everyone can embrace, even if they’re not totally satisfied. And then you have to dovetail that solution to make sure it is acceptable to the marketplace. Durham is a little easier in that regard.

How much work goes into a project before building actually begins?

We don’t buy land speculatively. We only buy a parcel when it has been fully entitled, and we are fully comfortable with its market viability. With Meadowmont,

that whole process from the time we started working to the time we put the first shovel in the ground was nine-and-a-half years. We built Meadowmont out in about five years. It took longer to start than it took to finish construction once we started.

What is the secret to maintaining patience over those years?

Well, in my case, I was too dumb to move on.

Has development in Durham peaked, or is it still wide open?

I don’t think we’ve approached the ceiling yet. I don’t even know where the ceiling is. I think there’s going to be significant additional growth in Durham.

BIZ BRIEFS

TALENT POOL

The biopharmaceutical company Chimerix made some leadership changes in April, naming Michael A. Sherman, right, the former CEO of Endocyte Inc., as its CEO, and Michael T. Andriole, Endocyte’s former chief financial officer, as its chief business officer.

CLOSINGS

Blue Point Yoga Company closed its Geer Street location in May. Blue Point will continue to offer classes, massages, workshops and more at its Erwin Road studio.

Jim and Norvell Kennedy plan to close their Brightleaf Square shop, James Kennedy Antiques/ Galleries, by the end of August. They have been at Brightleaf for 37 years and in the Triangle area for 44. The Kennedys will hold a sale through August to clear out inventory and store fixtures.

NEW ON THE SCENE

After receiving North Carolina tax incentives in May, Parexel, a Boston-based clinical research organization, is expanding and creating a second headquarters in Durham that will add more than 260 jobs to the county. Parexel will invest $1.7 million in the facility, which will be the

base for much of the company’s operations and support functions.

Independent bookstore Golden Fig Books opened in May on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard The store focuses mostly on used and children’s books.

Pearson, an education publishing and assessment service company, opened a technology hub in Research Triangle Park in May. The office, a 31,000-square-foot space off Page Road, has about 150 employees in the Durham office and plans to add 75 to 100 more in the next two years.

Page Point Animal Hospital & Pet Resort, a full-service veterinary practice, also opened in May on 115 Page Point Cir.

In April, Align Technology Inc., the California-based orthodontics company and creator of Invisalign teeth aligners, purchased an office building in Morrisville for $58.1 million. The company is hiring for various positions, including sales, marketing, research and development, human resources and other functions.

The remodeling company CQC Home opened a new showroom in June at 5102 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Ste. 100

Over Memorial Day weekend, Triangle Rock Club opened on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway It’s the biggest climbing gym in North Carolina and the largest

indoor space in the Southeast for bouldering – short climbs without ropes or harnesses.

„In late June, Gineen Cargo, an adjunct professor in public relations at North Carolina Central University, opened Gavin Christianson Bridal at 125 E. Parrish St.

Casper Sleep Shop, the awardwinning mattress company, and Soft Surroundings, a national women’s beauty and home store, opened their first area locations in May at The Streets at Southpoint

In July, WeWork opened its newest coworking space, Durham.ID, at 300 Morris St. The downtown office space includes living room-styled common areas, tech-ready conference rooms, on-site support and other amenities.

Rumors Boutique opened its third location June 1 on University Drive. It was also the thrift store’s 12th anniversary.

The First Citizens Bank branch at 22 Park Dr. relocated in June to a two-story, 10,000-squarefoot space at 5714 Page Rd.

MOVEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

In May, 410 Medical, a medical device company, launched a new version of LifeFlow, an infuser that can immediately deliver life-saving fluids to critical sepsis patients. The updated features include systems that increase flow and functionality, and that can stop the fluid flow if air is detected in the apparatus.

In April, HemoSonics, a Virginiabased business with research, development and manufacturing operations at two locations in Durham, passed a key FDA approval benchmark for its Quantra Hemostasis, a small blood analyzer intended to help operating rooms, trauma centers and intensive care units identify sources of bleeding. The initial U.S. Food and Drug

Administration approval clears the product for use during cardiac and major orthopedic surgeries.

Boon, an app that helps connect licensed health care professionals to contract work opportunities, launched on June 3. The company, which is based out of WeWork, plans to bring dental professionals into area offices by August and will move into veterinary and medical offices by 2020.

The Durham-based global orthobiologic company Bioventus and the Edison, New Jersey-based nonprofit MTF Biologics – the largest human tissue bank in the world – are collaborating to develop new methods of using placental tissue to treat knee osteoarthritis.

Sense Photonics, a Durhambased company focused on building LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and 3D sensor solutions for autonomous vehicles, industrial equipment and other applications, completed a stealth mode stage on June 12. It announced that it had raised $26 million in venture capital during the period.

In June, Tergus Pharma, a pharmaceutical company providing research, analytics and drug development services, purchased a 97,000-square-foot building at 4018 Stirrup Creek Dr. Tergus plans to make the facility – which it bought from the New Jersey-based Lifestar Pharma for $8.5 million – its new headquarters. An investment from Great Point Partners, a Connecticut-based health care investment firm, will help Tergus convert the building to a manufacturing facility for semisolids, aerosols and solutions.

BOOKIN’ IT

In March, Thomas Gasparoli, a columnist for The Durham Herald Sun, published “Leading By Example: The Henry Scherich Story,” a nonfiction book on the life and legacy of Henry Scherich, founder and CEO of Measurement Inc.

ACQUISITIONS

West & Woodall Real Estate acquired South East Real Estate Management Company in June. With the purchase, West & Woodall will assume oversight of South East’s former homeowner associations, and residential and commercial properties. The acquisition almost doubles the size of its portfolio.

LOSSES

In May, Lenovo, one of the Triangle’s largest tech employers, laid off about 500 employees globally, including about 20% of its Data Center Group at the company’s office in Morrisville. The company now has about 3,000 employees in the Triangle area.

Crystal Transportation Services of NC, a Durham trucking and storage company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in June.

Organic Transit, a Durham firm that created solar-powered carbike hybrids, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in June. The filing, signed by company president Rob Cotter, lists more than $2.6 million in liabilities.

AWARDS AND HONORS

In May, two students from North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics won awards at the 2019 Intel International Science

and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition. In the Biomedical Engineering category, Jason Li won fourth for his project, “A Novel Multimodal Wearable Sensor System for Continuous Monitoring of Chronic Diseases.” In the Transfusion Medicine category, Ishaan Maitra won fourth for his project, “Battling Blindness in Premature Babies: An Image Processing and Machine

Learning Based Application for Early Detection and Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity.” The awards came with $500 prizes.

IN OTHER NEWS

Residential rents in Durham rose 3.7% over the past year, according to Apartment List, and rose 1.5% in June, the third straight month of increases. Since 2014, rents in Durham have grown by 17.1%, outpacing the national average of 12.7%.

The median rent for a twobedroom apartment in Durham is currently $1,130 compared to the national average of $1,190.

Duke University ranks No. 10 on RENTCafé and No. 8 in U.S. News for colleges with the most affordable rent prices within one mile of campus.

Jason Li

Ishaan Maitra

THE PRODUCTIVITY OF PERKS

Many business leaders say a commitment to work-life balance is crucial to getting the most out of their employees

BY MICHAEL M C ELROY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BETH MANN

ROBBIE ALLEN and his team at Infinia ML, who spend their days teaching machines how to learn, are pioneers of the “future of work” – the widely accepted idea that workforce paradigms are shifting and that businesses will have to adapt to stay relevant.

Artificial intelligence is certainly one of the disruptors driving these shifts, Allen said. But he thinks Infinia, a data science company that helps businesses incorporate AI technology, is aiding the transition in another crucial way – one that is quintessentially human.

Allen, the company’s CEO, said that Infinia offers its 38 employees a convivial atmosphere. It provides a purpose and free coffee. And it insists its workers take time off to recharge. The future of work is also the future of perks.

The 2016 National Study of Employers, a nearly 20year study of the “practices, policies, programs and benefits provided by U.S. employers,” found that employees measure an effective workplace across several categories, including learning opportunities, job autonomy and flexibility. The final category is among the most popular, especially with working parents with a sick kid at home. It is also fundamental to a younger generation who sees work-life balance as less of a perk, and more of an entitlement.

The findings, however, also suggest a national workforce caught between the future and business as usual.

From 2012 to 2016, the study showed, the percentage of companies allowing employees to work from home on a regular basis rose from 33% to 40%. But, the percentage of employers allowing workers to take time during the day to attend to family needs fell from 87% to 81%.

Most notably, the percentage of companies showing “support for flexible work arrangements,” fell from

31% in 2005 to 14% in 2016, a “surprising finding” the researchers wrote, “given how much talk [there has been in the media over the last decade] about the need to increase flexibility.”

But these are national numbers across disparate industries, some of which are far less receptive to change. In Durham, the momentum is well on its way.

A ready pool of highly skilled talent here is a chief reason why Durham was largely spared the worst parts of the 2008 recession, which the

Drew Schiller, right, co-founder and CEO of the health care software company Validic, shares a beer with staff at their office in The Chesterfield downtown.

study says likely dampened the work-life balance momentum nationwide. That pool is deep, and it’s young.

As unemployment rates stay low and many potential workers can afford to wait for the right offer, businesses both in Durham and nationwide are having to show more interest in providing better work-life balance.

Pam Higdon, the co-owner and president of the Durham/ Raleigh franchises of Express Employment Professionals, a national employment agency, said that “On any given day,” in Raleigh and Durham, “we have several hundred people

out working in different companies.” Several of those companies, she added, often rely on her clients to fill fulltime positions. A lot of workers “come to us with flexibility in mind,” she said, and the employers know it.

“Almost every company has to be thinking of these things to stay competitive,” she said.

But the drive toward balance is about more than supplying worker demand, Allen and many other business leaders here say. It’s good for the bottom line.

“Earlier in my career,” Allen said, “I was more of a bruteforce, put-in-whatever-hours-

it-took-to-be-successful kind of person. Now, with two kids and a family, I try to be more efficient with my time.”

For that reason, Infinia has a strict time-off policy.

“Our PTO policy is 25 days a year, but we enforce and track that everybody uses every day throughout the year,” Allen said.

Some employees “are so conscious about their work,” he said, “that their time away is not something they prioritize, and they may take only five days off the whole year.”

It is the company’s responsibility, he said, “to make sure people are taking the

necessary time to recharge their batteries.”

If that sounds like altruism, think again.

“It’s not altruistic at all,” Allen said. “It’s actually what creates the best situation. You become better if you spend some time away.”

Studies support his thesis.

The numbers also show many workers are still not taking all the vacation afforded to them.

According to a 2017 study by the U.S. Travel Association, “each year, more than half of Americans leave vacation time on the table, accumulating to 705 million days in 2017.” Of those surveyed who did not take all their days, 61% cited a fear of looking replaceable, and 56% cited workloads too heavy to leave to colleagues.

The solution then, local leaders say, starts with the work culture.

Validic, a software company in The Chesterfield building, helps corral data from wearable devices and other health monitoring sources so that health care providers can have complete access to a patient’s health information. The mission is clear, and all on board see that their work helps make people’s lives better.

Drew Schiller, the CEO and co-founder of Validic, still wants them to take care of themselves.

“None of us have a work life and a personal life,” Schiller said, “all of us have one life.”

“It is important to talk about things like rest, getting sleep, putting the phone down on the weekends, concentrating on dinner and the kids,” he said. “We don’t want the expectation to be that if you get an email from your boss at 7 p.m. you have to respond in 25 minutes.” „

Schiller said Validic, which streamlines vital health data, provides a sense of mission for its workers, including Matt Dougherty and Emily Hales, at right. It’s important, he said, for managers to “treat them like adults” and help them avoid burnout.

He added: “Motivation is not usually the issue. It’s about finding a sustainable pace.”

This thinking extends from the pace of the work to how the work is done, and, in another shift from historical models, is about seeing employees as more than just replaceable cogs.

These are not the lonely whisperings of small startups in isolated markets. Even financial behemoths have taken note.

Andrea Hough is the head of talent management for Fidelity, which is based in Boston but has a large, state-of-the-art, pingpong-table-and-openworkspace-filled headquarters in Research Triangle Park Her chief job, she said, is “understanding the hopes and the dreams and the aspirations of our associates.” By doing so, she adds, she can help them devise work environments that let them “be the best version of themselves so that they can deliver [that version] to our customers.”

Fidelity has more than 40,000 employees worldwide, and 3,600 in Durham. It serves 30 million clients, and has $2.6 trillion in managed assets. And yet, she said, the company has had to adapt.

Fidelity aims to “be there for the moments that matter in our customers’ lives,” she said, “but we deliver that through our associates.” So, she added, “that has really caused us to rethink the employee experience, making sure that we help them thrive inside and outside” the office.

As part of that effort, Fidelity tries to create choice for its employees, including options for working from home, collaborative work spaces and quiet spaces.

“So if I’m working on something where I need to be heads down, then maybe I’m at home. If I need to be really creative and innovative, maybe I go to one of our collaborative spaces because I get energy from the people around me,” she said.

They also offer family care, short-term leave, longterm leave and emergency child care. All of it, Hough said, feeds into the idea that workers have a work-provided safety net when life, as it is known to do, gets more complicated.

EACH YEAR, MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS LEAVE VACATION TIME ON THE

TABLE, ACCUMULATING TO 705 MILLION DAYS IN 2017.

– U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION

Companies have spent time and money thinking about these things, she said, but there are some challenges.

“It is not a one-size-fits-all balance,” Allen said. “People

like to think of productivity as a flat line, a linear relationship, and you need to be at the same level or you should be fired. But, in my experience [productivity] is more of a sine curve (a continuous wave). There are times when people are going through tough periods, they have personal issues or they are overworked, and does that mean you should fire them because they are going through a valley? If you appreciate them when they are at their peak, then you have to work with them when they are going through the troughs, too.”

Even the word balance is unhelpful, Hough said, and can cause frustration when goodintentioned initiatives fall short of the target.

“Balance suggests you’ve nailed it perfectly,” Hough said. “‘Nobody move, everything’s going fine, nothing is falling at work, nothing is falling at home, finances are good, health is good.’ It implies some level of perfection. It’s

unrealistic to think we’ll ever obtain a perfect balance.”

However, it is reasonable, she said, to assume that employer and employee can find a sustainable rhythm built on mutual trust, hard work and rising to the occasion.

“The work is changing, the way we work is changing, the workforce is changing,” she said. “And it is prudent and responsible to be pivoting with those changes.”

Even with these life-friendly work policies, Schiller said,

the grind is still hard, and companies still expect a lot from their employees. A worklife balance has nothing to do with coddling. “Not everyone can work in this culture,” he said.

“There is more than enough work to do,” Schiller said. “You could work 24-7, and there would just be more. And it’s partially because we have 72 people and a grand vision and world-class health care organizations as clients. There’s just a lot there. And

so for individuals who are achievement oriented, highly motivated, it is really easy to pour everything into the company, and that does lead to burnout.”

He continued: “The last thing we want is burnout. It’s awful for everyone. Nobody functions like they want to, they are not as creative as they want to be. And that creativity loss is huge. And they are going to start feeling resentful, they are going to get chippy with fellow employees. It’s really important that the managers recognize when that happens.”

Just as important, he said, is to get out of the way.

“We have a ‘get stuff done’ policy,” Schiller said, and “don’t want to be a company that micromanages how and when people get things done.

“If you can get your stuff done and meet the commitment you said you’d meet, and you want to work remotely part time to do that, that is perfectly fine. That was something that was important to us – treating our employees like adults, trusting them to make the right decisions.”

Hough agrees.

“We are all very clear about our roles and responsibilities, and how I get my job done is up to me. I choose where I work. And if I need to take my child to the doctor, I do that. But, I still get my job done. It’s prudent that we recognize that we are hiring adults.”

She added: “Now, if workers don’t get their work done? Well, that’s a performance issue. And that’s a different conversation.”

Companies offering flexible workspaces like The Frontier in Research Triangle Park, above, help their workers release stress and build autonomy, business leaders say.

SEPTEMBER 8 @ AMERICAN TOBACCO CAMPUS

In a world of countless distractions, temptations and responsibilities, WellFest offers a reset to take a vacation from your life and refill your cup with rejuvenation of your mind and body!

Curate your wellness experience by picking from 25+ classes focused on innovative fitness, hands-on workshops, speaker series, a tranquility room, community playground, and a work/life balance classroom!

u A swag bag

u Your choice of 3 classes taught by over 25 of the best local health and wellness coaches

u Access to the Community Playground

u The Happiest of Hours cocktail hour

u Mindful Market where you can meet, sample and experience the best of our region’s 30+ wellness experts!

SEPTEMBER 7 @ 21c DINNER WITH ROOTS

Choose 1 Speakeasy & 2 classes of your choice

8

Bloom Where You Were Planted

Pierce Freelon BLACKSPACE

Mindless Eating, How External Cues affect our Eating Habits

Christine B. Tenekjian, MPH, RDN, LDN DUKE UNIVERSITY DIET AND FITNESS CENTER

CLASSROOM

Speakeasy

PRESENTED BY GREATER DURHAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Quieting the Mind Meditation

Tom Spector, PhD HATHA HOUSE

#DecideA Sense of Purpose

Cicely Mitchell SO WHEN DO I CLAP?

Stress Relief

Carol Krucoff, C-IAYT, E-RYT DUKE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

Bridget Pemberton Smith

Dr.

Selfcare Workshop

Start with Your Core: Intention 101

Jocelyn

Fun

Happiest of Hours

The Playground

The Y’s Red Rover Quick Fit

Fall Into the Rhythm of a Dynamic Morning Routine

Karla Johnston-Krase, M.Div, RYT

Sacred Sound Meditation

Garth Robertson

SONG OF THE SACRED

Fitness Strategies

Creighton Blackwell

Traquility Room

Heal Yourself and Others with Spring Forest Qigong

Rachel Pollard + Jenny Parker

RACHEL POLLARD OT/ SPRING FOREST QIGONG AT SPLIT ROCK

Mindfulness: Our Greatest Superpower

Jocelyn Weiss, PhD, MPH, NBC-HWC DUKE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

Resiliency in the Workplace

Patrick Jeffs, PhD

CENTER FOR RESILIENCY

Bringing Mindfulness Home

Maggie McDowell GROWGA

POUND

Boot Camp

Terri Clark

The Y’s Fit Space

Drumming Class

Katrina Dooda

THE MINDFUL MARKETPLACE

Salon del Sol

Homebucha

YMCA of the Triangle

Bouncing Bulldogs

American Dance Festival

Hatha House Yoga and Meditation Studio

doTerra - Shannon Bronik

Lo and Behold

Busy Bees Maid Service

Peloton

Krave Kava

Growga

Duke Health & Wellbeing

Clean Juice

United Thai Boxing

Hungry Harvest

Bespoke Body

My Brain Doctor

Triangle Pranic Healing / Arbonne

Susan Peich

Amy Rossi

YMCA TRIANGLE Yoga For Bad People

taste

NORTHERN DURHAM / NEAR INTERSTATE 85

GUESS ROAD

Northgate Mall Food court cuisine offerings cover American, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Japanese and Mexican cuisines, plus full-service restaurants C&H Cafeteria, Green Paradise, Randy's Pizza and Ruby Tuesday. 1058 W. Club Blvd.

Earth To Us Latin and American vegan dishes including cauliflower wings, garlic tostones, arepas and more. 1720 Guess Rd., Ste. 18; 919-908-1000

Gocciolina Upscale Italian fare in a cozy atmosphere. This wildly popular restaurant has graced our Best Of list again and again. 3314 Guess Rd.; 919-973-4089; gocciolina.com

Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q Homestyle Eastern barbecue, fried chicken and seafood. Enjoy with a giant glass of iced tea. 2419 Guess Rd.; 919-286-7447; hogheavenbarbecue.com

Jimmy’s Famous Hot Dogs Old-fashioned burgers, fries and a mean Carolina-style dog. 2728 Guess Rd.; 919-471-0005; jimmysfamoushotdogs.com

La Cacerola Cafe & Restaurant Honduran specialties such as pupusas and chorizo asado. 2016 Guess Rd.; 919-294-6578

Thai Spoon All the trappings for a delicious experience: pad thai, drunken noodles and curries. 3808 Guess Rd.; 919-908-7539

HILLSBOROUGH ROAD

Bennett Pointe Grill & Bar There’s something to please all palates on the large menu of this multiregional American restaurant. 4625 Hillsborough Rd.; 919-382-9431; bpgrill.com

Shanghai Restaurant Established in the 1980s, this Cantonese restaurant offers both Americanized and authentic dishes. 3433 Hillsborough Rd.; 919-383-7581; shanghaidurham.com

HILLANDALE ROAD

Bleu Olive

Melo Trattoria & Tapas Classic Italian - think spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmigiana - meets tapas. 1821 Hillandale Rd., Ste. 3; 919-384-9080; melotrattoria.com

Pomodoro Italian Kitchen Homemade sauces on fresh-made pizzas, pastas and other Italian favorites. 1811 Hillandale Rd.; 919-382-2915; pomodoroitaliankitchen.info

NORTH POINTE DRIVE

The French Corner Bakery Artisan breads, beautifully crafted tarts and pastries, plus lunch. Baking classes taught by French-trained master baker chef Benjamin Messaoui. 2005 North Pointe Dr., Ste. B; 919-698-9836

MORE NORTHERN DURHAM DINING

Alpaca Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Need we say more? 302 Davidson Ave.; 919-220-9028; alpacachicken.com

Bullock’s Bar-B-Cue A staple in the community since 1952, serving up soul in Eastern-style barbecue, Brunswick stew and fried chicken. 3330 Quebec Dr.; 919-383-3211; bullocks-bbq.com

Dogwood Bar & Grill American fare including burgers, sandwiches, soups and salads, plus larger entrees like baby back ribs, shepherd’s pie and penne alle vodka. Try the House Nachos (chips are made in-house) and the spinach salad. 5110 N. Roxboro St.; 919-973-2342

Goodberry’s Frozen Custard All-natural frozen custard with a variety of topping options. 3906 N. Roxboro St.; 919-477-2552; goodberrys.com

Picnic Order the pulled pork, of course, but also the fried chicken, mac and cheese, and hushpuppies. 1647 Cole Mill Rd.; 919-908-9128; picnicdurham.com BR

Silver Spoon Restaurant A large menu of breakfast favorites like strawberry waffles and omelettes, plus sandwiches, pastas, salads and kids plates. 5230 N. Roxboro St.; 919-479-7172; silverspoonnc.com

The Palace International African cuisine including curry goat, dovi chicken and samosas. 1104-A Broad St.; 919-416-4922; thepalaceinternational.com

Wellspring Cafe Salad and hot bar in the Whole Foods Market, plus sandwiches, pizza and sushi. 621 Broad St.; 919-286-2290

BULL CITY MARKET

The Mad Hatter’s Café & Bakeshop Artisan café and bakery celebrating the sweet things in life. Scratch made cakes, cupcakes and pastries, organic salads, sandwiches and wraps, with breakfast all day and delicious brunch every weekend. Espresso, juice and organic smoothie bar as well as local beer and wine selection. Dine-in, carry-out, or order online. 1802 W. Main St.; 919-286-1987; madhatterbakeshop.com BR

ERWIN ROAD

High-quality comfort food incorporating local ingredients and Mediterranean flair. Family operated and chef-driven. 1821 Hillandale Rd.; 919 383-8502; bleuolivebistro. com BR

El Corral Mexican Restaurant Authentic Mexican faijitas, tacos, enchiladas and a great chorizo queso dip. 1821 Hillandale Rd., Ste. 8; 919-309-4543; elcorralnc.com

Skrimp Shack Fast casual seafood restaurant serving addictive shrimp, fish and a variety of other fried and grilled seafood. 3600 N. Duke St., Ste. 28B; 919-477-0776; theskrimpshack.com

NEAR DOWNTOWN

BROAD STREET

DeeLuxe Chicken Fried chicken with dark and light quarters, plus a sauce bar with almost a dozen options. Other offerings include seafood platters and Velveeta mac and cheese. 1116 Broad St.; 919-294-8128; deeluxechicken.com

Joe Van Gogh Cozy and full of natural light, this local coffee shop sources quality beans for a superior coffee. 1104-B Broad St.; 919-286-4800; joevangogh.com.

Another Broken Egg Cafe Unique breakfast and lunch menu including cinnamon roll french toast and a scrambled skillet. 2608 Erwin Rd., Ste. 120; 919-381-5172; anotherbrokenegg.com BR

Early Bird Donuts Doughnuts, biscuits, croissant breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Try the cinnamon sugar donut. 2816 Erwin Rd., Ste. 101; 984-888-0417

Itaewon Grill Build-your-own Korean barbecue bowls with a variety of meats and meat substitutes, toppings and sauces. 2608 Erwin Rd., Ste. 132; 919-864-9742; itaewongrillkbbq.com

MediTerra Grill Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisine, offering gyros, kabobs and curry. 2608 Erwin Rd., Ste. 136; 919-383-0066; mediterranc.com

Naan Stop Indian Cuisine Authentic Indian cuisine with dishes like daal makhani, paneer tikka masala and biryani. 2812 Erwin Rd., Ste. 103; 919-891-3488; naanstopduke.com

The Northern Spy Restaurant, bar and bottle shop with dishes like a fried bologna sandwich, a “not-so classic” wedge salad and a cider float made with Stem’s Real Dry Apple Cider. 2812 Erwin Rd.; 919-321-0203; northernspync.com

NOSH “Eclectic foodstuffs” like “Mike’s Breakfast Pizza,” “Coach’s Queso" sandwich and the brown derby chopper salad. 2812 Erwin Rd., Ste. 101; 919-383-4747; noshfood.com

Saladelia Cafe @ Hock Plaza Simple and honest food prepared with authentic, local and seasonal ingredients. Espresso, juice and organic smoothie bar, yum-on-the run pastries, gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups. Dine-in or carry out. 2424 Erwin Rd.; 919-416 1400; saladelia.com

Smashburger Unique burgers smashed on the grill, chicken and salads. 2608 Erwin Rd., Ste. 116; 919-237-1070; smashburger.com

Burger Bach Signature New Zealand grass-fed burgers and fresh-cut fries. 737 Ninth St., Ste. 220; 919-973-4416; theburgerbach.com

Cocoa Cinnamon Signature handbrewed coffees and lattes such as the “Dr. Durham” with maca root powder and black lava salt. 2627 Hillsborough Rd.; cocoacinnamon.com

NEWS BITES

Sushi Love Specialty sushi rolls such as the “Honey Love” roll topped with mango and kiwi, as well as other Asian cuisine favorites. 2812 Erwin Rd., Ste. 204; 919-309-2401

Tamale Factory and Tequila Bar Authentic Mexican food and drinks, including tamales made daily, scratch-made salsas and sauces and margaritas made using fresh ingredients. 2816 Erwin Rd., Ste. 205, 919-237-1116; tamalefactorync.com

ERWIN SQUARE

Guasaca Arepas, salads and rice bowls with South American flavor. 2200 W. Main St., Ste. A100; 919-294-8939; guasaca.com

Local 22 Kitchen & Bar Upscale Southern-inspired cuisine, with emphasis on food sourced within a 30-mile radius and local brews. 2200 W. Main St.; 919-286-9755; local22durham.com BR

Parizade Sophisticated Mediterranean food like grilled bronzino, Australian lamb chops and pan-fried Roman dumplings. 2200 W. Main St.; 919-286-9712; parizadedurham.com

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar Seafood restaurant serving up shrimp, oysters, fish-n-chips, surf-n-turf dinners and more. 2200 W. Main St.; 984-219-7337; theshuckinshack.com

NINTH STREET DISTRICT

Cosmic Cantina Authentic Mexican cuisine with vegan options. House-made mole and corn tortillas. Pair with a margarita pitcher. 1920 Perry St.; 919-286-1875;

Dain’s Place Pub fare centered around award-winning “thick and juicy and juicy and thick burgers.” 754 Ninth St.; 919-416-8800

Del Rancho Mexican Grill

Authentic Mexican lunch and dinner menu with a full-service bar. 730 Ninth St.

Elmo’s Diner Homemade Southern classics with breakfast favorites like cinnamon apple waffles and biscuits and gravy served all day in a casual, familyfriendly setting. 776 Ninth St.; 919-416-3823; elmosdiner.com

BR

Happy + Hale Healthy salads, bowls, breakfast, smoothies, cocktails and cold-pressed juice. 703B Ninth St.; 984-439-1790; happyandhale.com BR

Heavenly Buffaloes Chicken wings (bone-in and boneless) as well as vegan wings in more than 25 rubs and sauces, including peri peri and Jamaican jerk. Plus waffle fries! 1807 W. Markham Ave.; 919-237-2358; heavenlybuffaloes.com

Juju Asian fusion tapas including selections like steamed barbecue Kurobuta pork belly and chicken fried oysters. Try the crispy Brussels sprouts! 737 Ninth St., Ste. 210; 919-286-3555; jujudurham.com BR

Lime & Lemon Indian Grill

WIN THERE, DONE THAT

In June, The Shrimp Truck won first place at the 2019 North Carolina State Food Truck Competition in Randleman, North Carolina. The food truck, owned by Kenny Wade, served up a variety of shrimp dishes, including a tamale, which won him the competition.

Greybeard Distillery’s Bedlam Vodka has continued to dominate competitions, adding a gold medal at the 2019 Singapore World Spirits Competition in June to their collection.

Durham eateries Zweli’s Kitchen, Saltbox Seafood Joint (its second location), Cucciolo Osteria, COPA and M Tempura were named among the 10 Hottest New Restaurants in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill by Eater in June.

THAT NEW NEWS

Jersey Mike’s celebrated its opening of a new location at 1835 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy. by giving back to the community. Patrons who donated to TROSA were given a coupon redeemable for a free sub.

In June, Chef Michael Lee opened his fourth restaurant, M Pocha, which serves tapasstyle Korean dishes in the former The Cupcake Bar location.

Metro 8 Steakhouse Classic American steakhouse with an Argentinian flair. Pair empanadas with a filet mignon or crab-stuffed shrimp with a churrasco steak. 746 Ninth St.; 919-416-1700; metro8steakhouse.com

Monuts Donuts Scratch-made doughnuts, pastries, English muffins, bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Try the bagel and lox. 1002 Ninth St.; 919-286-2642; monutsdonuts.com BR

Pincho Loco Latin-flavored ice cream, milkshakes, popsicles and more, featuring flavors like tequila, Tiger Tail (vanilla, mexican Vanilla and chocolate), guava, tamarind and more. 1918 Perry St.; 919-286-5111

Snow Factory Rolled ice cream treats, including flavors like peanut butter ’n pretzel, Oreo wonderland, Uji matcha and many more, with choice of multiple sweet toppings. 760 Ninth St., 919-294-4111; snowfactorystl.com

Triangle Coffee House Coffee and pastries with selections like vegan blueberry muffins. 714 Ninth St.; 919-748-3634

Vin Rouge French bistro-style dinner with regular oyster specials and Sunday brunch. Get the hanger steak and frites! 2010 Hillsborough Rd.; 919-416-0466; vinrougerestaurant.com BR

ZenFish Poké Bar A healthy, fast-casual restaurant serving poké (raw fish) in made-to-order bowls containing rice, quinoa or salad, and toppings of your choice. 810 Ninth St.; 919-937-9966; zenfishpokebar.com

NEAR DUKE

Alpaca Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Need we say more? 703-A Ninth St.; 919-908-1597; alpacachicken.com

Banh’s Cuisine Vietnamese and Chinese dishes with great vegetarian specials. Cash only! 750 Ninth St.; 919-286-5073

Blue Corn Cafe Authentic Latin-American fare with fresh, organic ingredients. 716 Ninth St.; 919-286-9600; bluecorncafedurham.com

Northern and southern Indian specialties including Gobi Manchurian, Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka and Hariyali Murg Kebab. 811 Ninth St.; 919-748-3456; limenlemonnc.com BR

Locopops Gourmet frozen pops in a variety of rotating flavors like lavender cream, strawberry lemonade and malted milk ball. 2618 Hillsborough Rd.; 919-2863500; ilovelocopops.com

The Oak House – a cafe featuring Caballo Rojo Coffee, Jeddah’s Tea, fine wines and craft beer – and Juicekeys, an organic juice and smoothie bar, both opened at One City Center in June.

Spring Rolls, an Asian fusion restaurant with locations in Raleigh, opened a third location at 701 W. Main St. in the Chesterfield Building in July.

Fairview Dining Room

Seasonally inspired contemporary cuisine with selections like coffeerubbed duck breast and seared NC flounder. Located inside the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club. 3001 Cameron Blvd.; 919-493-6699; washingtondukeinn.com

MarketPlace

JB DukeHotel’s main restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 230 Science Dr.; 919-660-6400; jbdukehotel.com

DOWNTOWN

CENTRAL PARK & WAREHOUSE DISTRICTS

The Blue Note Grill Fantastic barbecue, ribs and live music. 709 Washington St.; 919-401-1979; thebluenotegrill.com

Boxcar Bar + Arcade Offers more than 70 arcade games, a full bar including 24 craft American drafts (and a wide variety of local beer, liquor and wine), private event space and a Neapolitan-style pizza kitchen. 621 Foster St.; 984-377-2791; theboxcarbar. com/durham

Cocoa Cinnamon Signature hand-brewed coffees and lattes such as the “Tower of Babel” with honey and date sugar. 420 W. Geer St.; cocoacinnamon.com

Cucciolo Osteria Italian fare like pastas with housemade noodles, antipasti and porchetta. 601 W. Main St.; 984-243-8744; cucciolodurham.com

Dame’s Chicken & Waffles Chicken, waffles, shmears. ’Nuff said. 530 Foster St.; 919-682-9235; dameschickenwaffles.com BR

Foster Street Coffee Coffee house on the ground floor of Liberty Warehouse Apartments that uses carefully curated coffee beans from around the world for its classic concoctions as well as local produce for housemade smoothies. 530 Foster St., Ste. 2; 919-797-9555; fosterstreetcoffee.com

Fullsteam In addition to their well-known “plowto-pint” beers, Fullsteam now serves bar snacks, sandwiches, small plates and kombucha. Try the Eastern Carolina-Style Pork Meatballs and the Spicy Carolina Dip Chicken with a side of deviled eggs. 726 Rigsbee Ave.; 919-682-2337; fullsteam.ag

Geer Street Garden

Simple, down-home fare in a cozy atmosphere. They make a mean “Dark and Stormy,” and be sure to order “The Pile” to split with friends! 644 Foster St.; 919-688-2900; geerstreetgarden.com

Gonza Tacos y Tequila Columbian-Mexican restaurant with traditional dishes like chilaquiles, enchiladas and sopa in addition to a variety of tacos. 604 Fernway Ave.; 919-907-2656; durham.gonzatacosytequila.com

Hutchins Garage Full-service bar serving Grandmastyle pizza, salads and sandwiches. 402 W. Geer St.; 984-219-6578 BR

LouElla Neighborhood bottle shop, bar and event space. 316 W. Geer St., Ste. A; 919-973-2001; louelladurham.com

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken Daily-changing menu of doughnuts and biscuits. For vegetarians, the fried green tomato biscuit is hard to beat. 401 Foster St.; 984-439-2220; risebiscuitsdonuts.com BR

Parts & Labor Dishes meeting many dietary needs, including veggie samosas, “Hipster Poutine” and falafel. 723 Rigsbee Ave.; motorcomusic.com/eats BR

The Accordion Club Late-night bar serving beer, hot dogs and green chile stew. 316 W. Geer St.

The Pit Fried pimento cheese, whole-hog Eastern barbecue and Lexington-style barbecue. 321 W. Geer St.; 919-282-3748; thepitdurham.com

Piedmont Seasonal cooking inspired by local ingredients. Broccoli beignet, pickled shrimp and peach or Mills Farm’s beef coulotte. 401 Foster St.; 919-683-1213; piedmontrestaurant.com BR

BRIGHTLEAF DISTRICT

NEWS BITES

THAT NEW NEWS

As of June, Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken now offers delivery. Customers can order biscuits, chicken, Counter Culture Coffee and sweet treats from their website.

Italian restaurant CONVIVIO opened at City Hall Plaza Owners Paolo Gavazza and Giuseppe Cagnoni focus on local ingredients and wine pairings.

Successful food truck and restaurant Spanglish opened a location at City Hall Plaza in July. Their first location in Durham, they serve a variety of Puerto Rican-inspired dishes, bowls and empanadas for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Watts Grocery closed in June after filing for bankruptcy in February. Owner Amy Tornquist will transition the restaurant into an event space and reopen as The Sage for the company’s Sage & Swift catering operation.

Maverick’s Smokehouse and Taproom Range of barbecue and smokehouse fare as well as Chef Brian Stinnett’s signature fried chicken and Memphis barbecue spaghetti. 900 W. Main St.; 919-6828978; maverickssmokehouse.com

Mount Fuji Asian Bistro Sushi & Bar Thai, Japanese, Chinese and sushi. Try the duck wrap. 905 W. Main St.; 919-680-4968; mtfujinc.com

Parker and Otis A gift shop, coffee shop and restaurant all in one. First-timers should dedicate a good chunk of time to this delight. Try the No. 26. 112 S. Duke St.; 919-6833200; parkerandotis.com BR

Rose’s Noodles, Dumplings & Sweets Sandwiches, pastries - rhubarb galette, anyone?and daily dinner specials. 121 N. Gregson St.; 919-797-2233; rosesdurham.com BR

Spring Rolls Asian-fusion dishes including crispy Szechuan chicken, Cantonese chow mein and seafood pho. 701 W. Main St.; 919-7838180; springrollsrestaurant.com

CITY CENTER DISTRICT

Clouds Brewing American favorites with a German flair. Featuring an amazing craft beer selection, brunch on the weekends and the NFL ticket. 905 W. Main St.; 919-251-8096; cloudsbrewing.com BR

FAREWELL,

OLD FRIEND

After 32 years in business, Wimpy’s Grill closed in May. Owner Larry Mishoe announced on May 22 that he planned to close two days later, and so many customers flocked to the beloved restaurant, that it ran out of food before that time.

Alley Twenty Six Originally a craft cocktail bar, the addition of a kitchen and dining room now offers plates like pan-seared duck breast, cornmeal-crusted fried oysters and pimento cheese. 320 E. Chapel Hill St.; 984-439-2278; alleytwentysix. com

El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant Authentic Mexican cuisine like quesadillas, tacos and huevos con chorizo. 905 W. Main St.; 919-6832417; elrodeonc.com

The Federal Pub fare with bistro panache. Try the “Fed Burger au Poivre.” 914 W. Main St.; 919-6808611; thefederal.net BR

Goorsha Ethiopian restaurant featuring dishes like shiro chickpea stew and tibs (sauteed meat in spices). 910 W. Main St.; 919-588-4660; goorshadurham.com

It’s a Southern Thing Kitchen and bar that serves up traditional Southern dishes with a twist, like jalapeno-brined fried chicken; a half-beef, half-bacon meatloaf; and both traditional and vegan barbecue. 605 W. Main St.; 919-294-9632; itsasouthernthingdurham.com

BR

James Joyce Irish Pub and Restaurant Traditional pub food and snacks like brisket cheese steak and Reuben sandwiches. 912 W. Main St.; 919-683-3022; jamesjoyceirishpub.com

BR

BREWS NEWS

The Rocky Mount Mills Beer Garden @ American Tobacco opened in the space previously occupied by Tyler’s Taproom in June. The beer garden features four North Carolina breweries.

As of June, Ponysaurus Brewing Co. now offers its pilsner in a 12-ounce can.

In July, Ponysaurus also announced a partnership with Charleston, South Carolinabased brewery Edmund’s Oast, in which the two companies created collaborative beers in celebration of each brewery’s expansion into the other’s home state. You can get the beer in Ponysaurus’ taproom now, and its South Carolina launch begins in September. – Compiled by Robert Eigenrauch

B. Good Farm-to-table dishes like create-your-own burgers, kale & grain bowls, salads and sides like sweet potato fries and avocado toast. 110 N. Corcoran St.; 919-797-9599; bgood.com

Bar Brunello Featuring 25 wines by the glass and 60 by the bottle, as well as draft beers and ciders, the bar’s food menu includes charcuterie and cheese boards. 117 E. Main St.; 919-294-4825; barbrunello.com

Bar Virgile Artfully crafted beverages paired with an everchanging dinner and small plates menu including selections like tandoori chicken and flat iron steak. 105 S. Magnum St.; 919-973-3000; barvirgile.com

Beyu Caffè Coffee shop, restaurant, bar and live jazz club. Beignets, buffalo wings and mushroom burgers. 341 W. Main St.; 919-683-1058; beyucaffe.com 0BR

Bull City Burger & Brewery Local beef burgers with all components from bun to barbecue sauce made in-house. 107 E. Parrish St.; 919-680-2333; bullcityburgerandbrewery.com

M Sushi Quality sushi from seasonal seafood, daily menu changes and creative rolls like “Unagi Maki” with barbecue eel and fried garlic. 311 Holland St.; 919-908-9266; msushidurham.com

Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub Pub food and bar snacks like nachos, burgers and wings. 427 W. Main St.; 919-682-3061; bullmccabesirishpub.com

CONVIVIO Italian restaurant and wine bar serving locally sourced meat butchered in-house. 104 City Hall Plaza, Ste. 100; 919-306-2343; convivio.wine

COPA Cuban-inspired tapas and cocktails restaurant. Try the Butifaras a lo cubano, Cuban-style sausages and the Paella del verano, “summer rice,” with a mojito or daiquiri. 107 W. Main St.; 919-973-0111; copadurham.com

Counting House Upscale restaurant featuring locally sourced entrees, as well as small plates featuring oysters, shellfish, and meats and cheeses. 111 Corcoran St.; 919-956-6760; countinghousenc.com

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Dashi Traditional ramen shop and izakaya with saké options. 415 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-251-9335; dashiramen.com

Dos Perros Sophisticated Mexican cuisine; plates include carnitas, flautas veganas and pollo relleno. Don’t skip on the guac! 200 N. Mangum St.; 919-956-2750; dosperrosrestaurant.com

N Corcoran Street 919 956 6700 | 21cDurham com

Jack Tar and the Colonel’s Daughter Diner fare with a twist. Classic diner menu, served all day long, plus smaller dinner menu. Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday mornings. 202 Corcoran St.; 919-682-5225; jacktar-durham.com BR

Juicekeys Organic juice and smoothie bar. 110 N. Corcoran St.; 919-695-3027; juicekeys.com

Littler Look for latkes Benedict, pan-roasted striped bass with sungold tomato and blueberry panna cotta at this small restaurant with big tastes. 110 E. Parrish St.; 919-374-1118; littlerdurham.com

Loaf Oven breads and pastries. Counter Culture Coffee, pain au chocolat and cumin gruyere loaf. 111 W. Parrish St.; 919-797-1254

Lucky’s Delicatessen Deli that serves seasonal soups and sandwiches like the garbanzo with chickpea fritters and the super Reuben. 105 W. Chapel Hill St.; 919-864-8841; luckysdelinc.com

Luna Rotisserie & Empanadas South American cuisine meets the American South. Woodfired rotisserie meats, Andean-inspired braises, empanadas. 112 W. Main St.; 984-439-8702; lunarotisserie.com

M Kokko Casual chicken entrees including the fried chicken sandwich, ramen and “KFC” wings. 311 Holland St., Ste. B; 919-908-9332

M Pocha Korean tapas including Kimchi “Army Stew,” Malaysian fried rice, steamed spicy pork belly buns and more. 101 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-294-9177; m-restaurants.com

M Tempura Traditional tempura omakase-styled food, featuring select seafood and seasonal vegetables, as well as rich meats like Iberico pork from Spain. 111 Orange St.; 919-748-3874; m-restaurants.com/ m-tempura

Mateo Acclaimed menu of tapas and small plates by chef Matthew Kelly. Great for date night or night out with friends. Order a pitcher of “Cheerwine Sangria,” pollo frito, gambas and queso frito y huevo. 109 W. Chapel Hill St.; 919-530-8700; mateotapas.com

Mothers & Sons Trattoria Italian restaurant by partners Matthew Kelly and chef Josh “Skinny” DeCarolis. Handmade pasta, bruschetta and antipasti dishes. 107 W. Chapel Hill St.; 919-294-8247; mothersandsonsnc.com

Neomonde Authentic Mediterranean food like man’ousheh and kabobs, including a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. 202 Corcoran St.; 919-680-1886; neomonde.com

Ninth Street Bakery Organic breads, pastries and lunch. Grab a “Wheel of Steel” (peanut butter, raisins and oats). 136 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-688-5606; ninthstbakery.com BR

The Restaurant at The Durham Locally sourced Southern cuisine crafted by chef Andrea Reusing. Selections include beef tartare and spring pie with asparagus and mushrooms. The Roof focuses on shared plates. 315 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-768-8831; thedurham.com/dining

Rue Cler French bistro-style cuisine with lunch, brunch and dinner showcasing fresh ingredients. 401 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-682-8844; ruecler-durham.com BR

Saltbox Seafood Joint

Local seafood that is delivered fresh from the Carolina coast and served griddled or fried in a straightforward manner.

608 N. Mangum St.; 919-908-8970; saltboxseafoodjoint.com

Spanglish Latin-inspired dishes, bowls and empanadas for lunch and dinner, as well as a full breakfast menu. 104 City Hall Plaza, Ste. 101; eatspanglish.com

Taberna Tapas Paella, flatbreads, bacon-wrapped dates, gambas. 325 W. Main St.; 919-797-1457; tabernatapas.com

The Oak House Cafe featuring Caballo Rojo coffee, Jeddah’s Tea, fine wines and craft beer. 126 W. Main St.; 919-339-1383; oakhousedurham.com

The Parlour Handmade ice cream in rotating flavors like cookies and cream, salted butter caramel and sweet potato. 117 Market St.; 919-564-7999; theparlour.co

The Patio Unscripted Hotel’s poolside bar featuring a range of cocktails and gourmet bites including salads and burgers. 202 N. Corcoran St.; 984-329-9500; unscriptedhotels.com BR

Pizzeria Toro Wood-fired pizza with selections like spicy lamb meatball with kale, fried eggplant ricotta and soft eggs on white pizza. Also, ricotta dumplings! 105 E. Chapel Hill St.; 919-908-6936; pizzeriatoro.com

Pie Pushers Grab a slice of staples like the cheese or pepperoni, or try out one of the specials, like the "Pace Car." 117A W. Main St.; 919-294-8408; piepushers.com BR

Pokéworks Hawaiian-inspired poké with a menu featuring signature “works” like the Spicy Ahi bowl, or Poké Your Way, an option for creating a customized poké burrito, bowl or salad made with your choice of protein, mix-ins, toppings and sauces. 122 W. Main St.; 919-973-3372; pokeworks.com

Pompieri Pizza Neapolitan pizza joint with a family-friendly approach. Try the “Drunken Horse” pizza with beer crust dough and house-made sausage. 102 City Hall Plaza; 919-973-1589; pompieripizza.com

Pour Taproom Pay-by-the-ounce beer, wine and cider taps, plus tasting board, sandwich and kids’ options, and specials from Littler and Pizzeria Toro. 202 N. Corcoran St., Ste. 200; 919-251-8985; durham.pourtaproom.com

Table South Kitchen and Bar Breakfast, lunch and dinner, located in the Durham Marriott City Center. 201 Foster St.; 919-768-6000

Thai @Main Street Classic Thai dishes including tom yum soup, curry, pad Thai, drunken noodles and more. 317 W. Main St.; 984-219-7444; thaiatmainstnc.com

Toast Italian paninis and soups. The warm goat cheese with honey and peppercorn crostini is our favorite. 345 W. Main St.; 919-683-2183; toast-fivepoints.com

Viceroy Fusion restaurant featuring dishes like jeera wings as well as traditional butter chicken. 335 W. Main St.; 919-797-0413; viceroydurham.com

AMERICAN TOBACCO DISTRICT

Boricua Soul Puerto Rican-meets-Southern soul-food dishes like chopped barbecue-filled empanadas, arroz con gandules, maduros and mac-and-cheese “just the way Grandma makes it.” 318 Blackwell St.; boricuasoulnc.com

Mellow Mushroom Pizza, hoagies, calzones and salads made using fresh ingredients. 410 Blackwell St.; 919-680-8500; mellowmushroom.com/store /durham

NanaSteak Offers various cuts of beef and steaks, plus other meats like salmon and tuna steaks and pastas like beef short rib ravioli. 345 Blackwell St.; 919-282-1183; nanasteak.com BR

OnlyBurger Build-your-own burger options and sides like bacon-wrapped mac and cheese squares. 359 Blackwell St.; 919-237-2431; onlyburger.com

Rocky Mount Mills Beer Garden Craft beer sourced from breweries at Rocky Mount Mills, including HopFly, Tarboro, Koi Pond and BDD brewing companies. 705 Willard St.

919-286-1987 MADHATTERBAKESHOP.COM

Saladelia Cafe @ ATC

Simple and honest food prepared with authentic, local and seasonal ingredients. Espresso, juice and organic smoothie bar, yum-on-the-run pastries, gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups. Dine-in or carry-out. 406 Blackwell St.; 919-687-4600; saladelia.com

Tobacco Road Sports Cafe American dishes like “Country Frizzled & Drizzled Chicken” made with local ingredients; overlooks the Bulls’ stadium. 280 S. Mangum St.; 919-937-9909; tobaccoroadsportscafe.com

EAST DURHAM

East Durham Bake Shop Handcrafted sweet and savory pies, baked goods, salads, coffee and more –all made with local ingredients. 406 S. Driver St.; 919-957-1090; eastdurhambakeshop.com

Pierre ToGo Haitian- and Jamaican-inspired cuisine. 2100 Angier Ave.; 919-808-7447; pierrofoods.com

Sofia’s Pizza Neighborhood pizza shop. 2201 Angier Ave.; 984-219-3656; sofiaspizzadurham.com

WEST-CENTRAL DURHAM

DURHAM-CHAPEL HILL BOULEVARD (15-501) Blaze Pizza Pizzas with made-from-scratch dough and healthful ingredients. 5320 McFarland Dr.; 919-251-6095; blazepizza.com

Duck Donuts Warm, made-to-order doughnuts and coffee. Watch your donut being hand dipped and topped right in front of you. 5320 McFarland Dr., Ste. 140; 919-973 1305; duckdonuts.com

Foster’s Market Fresh breakfast selections, sandwiches and salads. Also pick up specialty food items. 2694 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-489-3944; fostersmarket.com BR

The Refectory Cafe Dal, chili, salads and soups. 2726 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-908-6798; therefectorycafe.com BR

Saltbox Seafood Joint

A new, second location for the popular local seafood place. Fish delivered fresh from the Carolina coast and served griddled or fried in a straightforward manner. 2637 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-237-3499; saltboxseafoodjoint.com

Sister Liu’s Kitchen Homestyle Northeastern Chinese food made by hand like dumplings and Chinese hamburgers. 5504 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. Ste. 103; 984-244-3973; sisterliuskitchen.com

Saladelia Cafe + Catering

Simple and honest food prepared with authentic, local and seasonal ingredients. Gourmet sandwiches, soups and salads, speciality entrees, and mezza platters, made from scratch with Mediterranean flare. Espresso, juice and organic smoothie bar as well as local beer and wine selection. Catering all of life’s occasions. Dine-in, carry out, or order online. 4201 University Dr.; 919-489 5776; saladelia.com BR

Thai Cafe Authentic Thai cuisine: drunken noodles, curries and stir-fries. Don’t miss the coconut cake! 2501 University Dr.; 919-493-9794; thaicafenc.com

Sitar Indian Cuisine Homemade Indian dishes at affordable prices, with daily lunch buffets and a weekend dinner buffet. 3630 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-490-1326; sitar-indiancuisine.com BR

Souly Vegan Cafe Vegan takes on favorites like mac ‘n’ cheese and jerk chicken, along with sides like candied yams, plantains and lentils and spinach soup. 4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 984-219-6050

Zweli’s Traditional Zimbabwean food and family recipes from owner Zweli herself with a number of options for vegans and vegetarians. 4600 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd., Ste. 26; 984-219-7555; zwelis.com BR

UNIVERSITY DRIVE

Barley Labs Choose from 16 different beers and ciders on tap while enjoying the company of your four-legged friends. Food from nearby restaurants welcome. 4015 University Dr.; 919-432-4597; barleylabs.com

Capital Seafood Market & Grill Fried catfish, porkchop sandwiches and collard greens. Raw seafood for sale. 1304 University Dr.; 919-402-0777

WEST END & LAKEWOOD

Cocoa Cinnamon Local coffee shop with signature hand-brewed coffees and lattes, hot chocolate and churros. 2013 Chapel Hill Rd.; cocoacinnamon.com

GRUB Durham Serves up comfort food favorites with a twist like brioche donuts and beer-battered mushroom sandwiches. 1200 W. Chapel Hill St.; 919-973-3636; grubdurham.com

Local Yogurt Frozen yogurt treats. 1114 W. Chapel Hill St.; 919-489-5900; localyogurtdurham.com

MORE WEST-CENTRAL DURHAM

Bull and Bean Fresh salads, breakfast and sandwiches like pulled pork-loaded hashbrowns and the turkey and Brie sandwich. 3710 Shannon Rd.; 919-237-2398; bullandbeancafe.com BR

Guglhupf Bakery, Cafe and Biergarten Germaninspired cuisine and artisanal bakery. Restaurant dishes include house-cut noodles, weiner schnitzel and pan-roasted duck. 2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-401-2600; guglhupf.com BR

Kanki Steak, chicken and seafood cooked on hibachi grills, plus an extensive sushi menu. Come for a show! 3504 Mt. Moriah Rd.; 919-401-6908; kanki.com

Mariscos Los Cabos Bar & Grill Mexican fare plus a variety of seafood options like fish and shrimp tacos, ceviches and more. 4020 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-748-4290

Don Gallo Taqueria Tacos, pupusas, tortas and horchata. 3411 University Dr.; 919-267-8226

Mi Peru Peruvian fare like ceviche mixto, asado and leche de tigre. 4015 University Dr., Ste. A1; 919-401-6432; miperupci.com

Nana’s Restaurant Upscale seasonal dishes influenced by Southern, French and Italian cuisine. Of course, the risotto is a must-try! 2514 University Dr.; 919-493-8545; nanasofdurham.com

DURHAM, NC • 919-286-1987

NuvoTaco Inventive taqueria that features locally produced meats and veggies. Enjoy with margarita in hand. 2512 University Dr.; 919-489-8226; nuvotaco.com

Core Cafe & Catering Locally sourced, with a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Breakfast, lunch, gourmet coffee. 3211 Shannon Rd., Ste. 106, 919-525-6202; corecater.com

Eastcut Sandwich Bar East Coast sandwich fare and salads, small plates, soups and sweets. Mainstays include Chicken Parm, BLTs and Roast Beef sandwiches. 3211 Old Chapel Hill Rd.; 984-439-1852; eastcutsandwich.com BR

Hope Valley Diner Diner food and breakfast all day with selections like chicken and dumplings, fried pickle chips, biscuits and gravy. 3710 Shannon Rd.; 919-419-0907; hopevalleydiner.com BR

The Original Q Shack “BBQ tender as a mother’s love,” includes signature chile-rubbed beef brisket and Carolina pork shoulder. 2510 University Dr.; 919-402-4227; theqshackoriginal.com

Namu Restaurant and Coffee Bar Bulkogi Truck and Bo’s Kitchen food trucks combine to bring casual Korean eats, local beer, wine and specialty coffee. 5420 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.; 919-251-9794

La Vaquita Taqueria Authentic Mexican restaurant serving tacos on homemade corn tortillas with traditional fillings like lengua (braised tongue) and carnitas. 2700 Chapel Hill Rd.; 919-402-0209; lavaquitataqueria.com

Sake Bomb Asian Bistro Asian bistro and sake bar; specialty rolls like the “Green Monster” with spicy yellow tail and tuna. 4215 University Dr.; 919-401-4488; sakebombdurham.com

New Tokyo Quick-service Japanese restaurant where everything on the menu – including hibachistyle dishes, sushi, udon and more – comes in under $10. 3822 S. Roxboro St.; 919-224-8811

OnlyBurger The food truck’s brick-and-mortar offers all the same build-your-own burger options and sides. 3710 Shannon Rd., Ste. 118; 919-937-9377; onlyburger.com

Pop’s Backdoor South Fresh pizza and Italian cuisine, including calzones with homemade ricotta-mozzarella filling. 3710 Shannon Rd.; 919-493-0169; popsbackdoorsouth.com BR

Randy’s Pizza Pizzas, garlic knots and stromboli. 1813 Martin Luther King Jr. Pkwy.; 919-490-6850; randys-pizza.com

Roots Bakery, Bistro and Bar Southern meets Central American at this breakfast, lunch and dinner spot with “from the sea,” “from the ranch” and “from the garden” options. 4810 Hope Valley Rd.; rootsbistroandbar.com BR

Steel Spatula Burger Company Burgers, sandwiches and sweet tea. 3219 Old Chapel Hill Rd.; 919-489-2481

Urel’s Jamaica House Traditional Jamaican dishes like goat curry, jerk chicken, oxtails and ackee and saltfish. 3825 S. Roxboro St., Ste. 123; 919-251-8104

SOUTHERN DURHAM / NEAR I-40

WOODCROFT SHOPPING CENTER

Chubby’s Tacos Fresh Mexican favorites like burritos, nachos and salads, as well as the “Chubbychanga.” 4711 Hope Valley Rd.; 919-489-4636

Joe Van Gogh Cozy and full of natural light, this local coffee shop sources quality beans for a superior coffee. 4711-5A Hope Valley Rd.; 919-973-3950; joevangogh.com

Pulcinella’s Italian Restaurant Southern Italian dishes. Antipasto classico, baked ziti and tortellini alla panna. 4711 Hope Valley Rd.; 919-490-1172; pulcinellasitalianrestaurant.com

Randy’s Pizza Pizzas, garlic knots and stromboli. 4810 Hope Valley Rd., Ste. 112; 919-403-6850; randys-pizza.com

Smallcakes Twelve signature cupcake flavors, as well as seasonal specials. 4711 Hope Valley Rd.; 919-937-2922; smallcakesnc.com

West 94th St. Pub Traditional pub fare: loaded fries, chili cheese tots and fish & chips. 4711 Hope Valley Rd.; 919-403-0025; west94thstpub.com

Yamazushi Japanese fine dining, kaiseki-style, with seasonal menu changes and a multi-course menu, as well as sake. 4711 Hope Valley Rd., Ste. 6-A; 919-493-7748; yamazushirestaurant.com

SUTTON STATION

Bocci Trattoria & Pizzeria Traditional Italian pastas, pizzas, crostinis and salads. 5850 Fayetteville Rd.; 919-206-4067; bocciitalian.com

Bua Thai Cuisine Thai classics: Pad Thai, hot and sour soup, curries, Krapow lamb. Get your meal “Thai hot,” if you’re up to it! 5850 Fayetteville Rd., Ste. 101; 984-219-7357; buathaidurham.com

Dulce Cafe Espresso, gelato and sandwiches. Smoked salmon bagel, dulce Reuben and the “B-L-A-T.” 5826 Fayetteville Rd.; 919-797-0497; dulcecafedurham.com BR

Nantucket Grill & Bar New England-style cuisine known for their desserts like the “Unbirthday” and coconut cake. 5826 Fayetteville Rd.; 919-246-5785; nantucketgrill.com

LINCOLN PARK WEST

Danny’s Bar-B-Que Hickory-smoked barbecue, ribs, fried catfish. 2945 S. Miami Blvd., Ste. 118; 919-806-1965; dannysbarbque.com

Gussy’s Place Greek street food like gyro pita, Greek fries and baklava. 2945 S. Miami Blvd.; 984-439-8455; gussys.com

Piper’s In The Park Soups, salads, hoagies and burgers with selections like curried couscous and “South of Here” turkey sandwich. 2945 S. Miami Blvd.; 919-572-9767; pipersinthepark.com

Spicy Green Gourmet Cafe & Catering Sandwiches, soups, salads with specialities like Cuban flatbread. 2945 S. Miami Blvd., Ste. 126; 919-220-6040; spicygreengourmet.net

HOPE VALLEY COMMONS

Mattie B’s Public House Housemade burgers, N.Y.style pizza, wings and potato chips. 1125 W. N.C. 54, Ste. 301; 919-401-8600; mattiebs.com

Denny’s Diner fare serving breakfast anytime, lunch and dinner. 7021 N.C. 751, Ste. 901; 919-908-1006; dennys.com BR

Makus Empanadas A variety of meat, veggie and cheese empanadas, with vegetarian and vegan options. 1125 W. N.C. 54, Ste. 304; 919-390-7525; makusempanadas.com

Sweet Charlie’s Thai-inspired hand-rolled ice cream and frozen yogurt. 1125 W. N.C. 54; 984-888-5101; sweetcharlies.com

Treforni Wood-fired pizza and sandwiches including traditional options like Margherita, as well as more inspired options like the prosciutto arugula pizza. 1125 W. N.C. 54; 919-973-0922; treforni.com

NEAR SOUTHPOINT

HOMESTEAD MARKET

Bean Traders Coffee Coffee specialties and local pastries. 105 W. N.C. 54, Ste. 249; 919-484-2499; beantraderscoffee.com

The Mad Popper A gourmet popcorn shop with flavors both sweet and savory. 105 W. N.C. 54, Ste. 259; 919-484-7677; themadpopper.com

City Barbeque Smoked meats, peach cobbler and hushpuppies. 208 W. N.C. 54; 919-237-9509; citybbq.com

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream Hand-crafted ice creams, sorbets and sherbets in ever-changing flavors. 8200 Renaissance Pwy., Ste. 1002; 919-237-3537; brusters.com

People’s Coffee Specialty coffee, pastries and coldpressed juice. 7830 N.C. 751, Ste. 100; 919-924-0240; pplscoffee.com

RTP

N.C. 55

Backyard BBQ Pit Barbecue and other Southern comfort foods: mac and cheese, Brunswick Stew and pit-cooked barbecue. 5122 N.C. 55; 919-544-9911; sweetribs.com

Harvest 18 Local, seasonal eats. Try the pimento cheese dip and a Bloody Mary for brunch. 8128 Renaissance Pkwy., Ste. 114; 919-316-1818; 18restaurantgroup.com/harvest-18 BR

Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken Daily-changing menu of doughnuts and biscuits. For vegetarians, the “Fried Green Tomato” biscuit is hard to beat. 8200 Renaissance Pkwy.; 919-248-2992; risebiscuitsdonuts.com BR

Town Hall Burger and Beer Offerings like the “Carolina Burger” with pork belly and pimento cheese, barbecue salmon burger and fries poutine. 7830 N.C. 751; 919-973-0506; townhallburgerandbeer.com

Shiki Sushi Sushi and pan-Asian choices like “Bang Bang Shrimp,” gyoza dumplings and beef pho soup. 207 W. N.C. 54; 919-484-4108; shikitasu.com

THE STREETS AT SOUTHPOINT AREA

American Meltdown Gourmet melts, sides and desserts. Southpoint; 919-473-6358; americanmeltdown.org

N.C. 54

Akashi Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar Hibachi, sushi and noodle dishes like bento boxes, yakisoba and spicy scallop roll. 2223 N.C. 54, Ste. RS; 919-572-9444; akashisushi54.com

Na’Mean Asian fusion, Korean barbecue sandwich shop. A KoKyu joint. 4823 Meadow Dr., Ste. 108; 919-699-4667; kokyubbq.com/nmean

Basera Modern, fine-dining Indian restaurant featuring a lunch buffet and tandoor grill. 4818 N.C. 55; 919-205-5050; baseraindiancuisine.com

Big C Waffles Gourmet waffles. 2110 Allendown Dr.; 919-797-7576; bigcwaffles.com BR

Brigs at the Park Breakfast selections and sandwiches. 4900 N.C. 55; 919-544-7473; brigs.com BR

Cafe Meridian Made-to-order salads and sandwiches. 2500 Meridian Pkwy., Ste. 130; 919-361-9333; cafemeridian.com

Jamaica Jamaica Caribbean food favorites like jerk chicken, yellow rice and brown stew chicken. 4853 N.C. 55; 919-544-1532

Sansui Sushi Bar & Grill Hibachi dishes and sushi rolls like “Spider Man” with crab and crawfish. 4325 N.C. 55; 919-361-8078; sansuisushi.com

Sushiōki Sushi burritos in traditional flavors, plus rolls with a Southern twist, like double-fried chicken. 4900 N.C. 55, Ste. 510; 919-405-7121; sushiokirtp.com

Vit Goal Tofu Restaurant Korean dishes like fried dumplings and tofu soups. 2107 Allendown Dr.; 919-361-9100

GREENWOOD COMMONS

Benetis Restaurant Classic breakfast with a Mediterranean lunch buffet. 5410 N.C. 55; 919-806-0313; benetisrtp.com BR

Sarah’s Empanadas Homemade empanadas. 5410 N.C. 55; 919-544-2441; sarahsempanadas.com

Tandoor Indian Restaurant Traditional Indian like veggie samosas, kababs and naan. 5410 N.C. 55; 919-484-2102; tandoorinrtp.com BR

Thai Lanna Restaurant Authentic Thai cuisine like red curry, pad Thai and larb. 5410 N.C. 55; 919-484-0808; thailannarestaurant.com

True Flavors Diner Upscale Southern diner. Try the “Howling Moon” French toast made with Howling Moon moonshine sauce. 5410 N.C. 55; 919-316-7978; trueflavorsnc.com BR

IMPERIAL CENTER

MEZ Contemporary Mexican Creative Mexican dishes, based on traditional recipes with a fresh, healthy twist. 5410 Page Rd.; 919-941-1630; mezdurham.com

Page Road Grill

Traditional American dishes, from house-made soup and bread to burgers to vegetarian options. 5416 Page Rd.; 919-908-8900; pageroadgrill.com

Societa Sicilian-American comfort and street food with land, sea, vegetarian and gluten-free offerings. Large bar serving 22 rotating craft beers, bourbon, cocktails and wine. Welcomes single diners or large groups. 5311 S. Miami Blvd. 919-941-6380; societainfo.com

MORRISVILLE

G58 Modern Chinese Cuisine Traditional Sichuan and Cantonese flavors abound in sautéed flounder, fried grouper and steamed scallop entrees; a Western influence can be seen in dishes such as Chilean Sea Bass with brandy sauce and Cumin-Dusted New Zealand Lamb Chops. 10958 Chapel Hill Rd., Morrisville; 919-466-8858; g58cuisine.com

ALSO CHECK OUT THESE AREA

RESTAURANTS …

411 West Pasta, seafood and pizzas inspired by Italian and Mediterranean flavors, with a Californian twist. 411 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; 411west.com

501 Pharmacy Maple View Farm ice cream, plus malts and shakes. 98 Chapelton Ct., Ste. 300, Chapel Hill; 501rx.com

Acme Soups, salads, seafood and entrees with a Southern touch. 110 E. Main St., Carrboro; acmecarrboro.com

Al's Burger Shack Gourmet burgers and fries with local ingredients. 516 W. Franklin St.; 708 Market St. and 50050 Governors Dr., Chapel Hill; alsburgershack.com

The Belted Goat Coffee/wine shop with paninis, cheeses and pastries. Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro; fearrington.com/belted-goat

Blue Dogwood Public Market Food hall with individually owned food stalls. Choices include traditional Persian, Southern soul food, Latin-inspired vegan, North Carolina barbecue, gluten-free Italian desserts, homemade ice cream, local beer and cider on draft. 306 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; bluedogwood.com

Breadmen’s Variety of sandwiches, burgers and salads. 324 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill; breadmens.com

Carolina Brewery Pub-style fare made with local ingredients from places like Boxcarr Handmade Cheese and Lilly Den Farm. 120 Lowes Dr., Ste. 100, Pittsboro; carolinabrewery.com/pittsboro

CholaNad Restaurant & Bar Contemporary and traditional South Indian cuisine. Catering available. 308 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; cholanad.com

Elizabeth’s Pizza Pizzas, calzones, sandwiches, salads and pastas. 160 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro; 919-545-9292; elizabethspizzapittsboro.com

The Fearrington House Restaurant Contemporary fine-dining with seasonal, farm-to-fork cuisine. Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro; fearrington.com/house

Mediterranean-inspired food and wine; outdoor dining; all ABC permits. 106 S. Greensboro St., Carrboro; glasshalfull.net

Hickory Tavern Burgers, sandwiches and buildyour-own salads. 370-110 E. Main St., Carrboro; thehickorytavern.com

Hillsborough BBQ Company Barbecue plates and sandwiches, sides and desserts. 236 S. Nash St., Hillsborough; hillsboroughbbq.com

House of Hops Relaxed bar and bottle shop with a large craft beer selection on tap. 112 Russet Run, Ste. 110, Pittsboro; houseofhopsnc.com

Italian Pizzeria III Pizza, calzones and subs. 508 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; italianpizzeria3.com

Kitchen Bistro-style dining with a seasonal menu. 764 MLK Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill; kitchenchapelhill.com

La Dolce Vita Pizzeria Salads, specialty pizza, focaccia sandwiches and desserts, with an outdoor patio. 226 Carthage St., Sanford; ldvpizzeria.com

Lula's “Simple food made the hard way,” like fried chicken, homemade biscuits, farm-to-table veggies and more. 101 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; lulaschapelhill.com

Mama Dip’s Kitchen Traditional Southern specialties. 408 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill; mamadips.com

Squid’s Seafood options like live Maine lobster, fried oysters, plus soups and steaks. 1201 Fordham Blvd., Chapel Hill; squidsrestaurant.com ALSO

Mel's Commissary & Luncheonette Open for lunch, Mel’s serves up a changing menu of comfort food. 109 W. Main St., Carrboro; melscarrboro.com

The Mod Wood-fired, artisan-style pizza, salads, small plates, full bar. 46 Sanford Rd., Pittsboro; themodernlifedeli.com

Oasis Fresh Market & Deli Local and organic soups, sandwiches and Mediterranean specialties. 117 S. Chatham Ave., Siler City; oasisfreshmarket.com

Pazzo! Italian cuisine, takeout pizza. 700 Market St., Chapel Hill; pazzo-restaurant.com

Peño Mediterranean Grill Signature dishes like gyrö sandwiches, gyrö bowls, sandwiches and salads prepared fresh daily. 105 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; penogrill.com

Pho Happiness Pho noodle soup, rice plates, vermicelli plates and vegetarian/gluten-free options. 508A W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill; phohappiness.com

Pittsboro Roadhouse Hearty American entrees, burgers and salads. 39 West St., Pittsboro; pittsbororoadhouse.com

Postal Fish Company Fresh seafood from North Carolina’s coast prepared thoughtfully by chefs James

The Root Cellar Sandwiches, prepared salads, desserts and more. 750 MLK Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill and 35 Suttles Rd., Pittsboro; rootcellarchapelhill.com

TRU Deli & Wine Sandwiches and wine. 114 Henderson St., Chapel Hill; trudeli.com

It’s a Match!

Wedding Date March 28, 2020

BY HANNAH LEE

PHOTO BY ARIEL KAITLIN PHOTOGRAPHY, ARIELKAITLIN.COM

Occupations Alex is an enterprise account executive for Adwerx, and Brittany is an assistant marketing manager at the Oxford University Press in Cary.

Crossed Paths Brittany was always hesitant to use dating apps, but decided to take a chance on it. She met Alex on Tinder, and in February 2017, the pair had their first date at Sam’s Bottle Shop. It went so well that they went on a second date to Alley Twenty Six, and then a third to Sarah P. Duke Gardens, a fourth to DPAC, and, well, you get it. “You can definitely say that Durham was where our relationship started,” Brittany says. The Proposal In October, Alex told Brittany they had dinner plans with his mom in Durham, and that they might take pictures for his family’s Christmas cards, so Brittany dressed up. But on the way to dinner, Alex made an uncharacteristic stop at Duke Gardens. “Usually he would have included me on that plan and not encouraged me to wear heels,” Brittany says. As the two walked toward the Bartter Family Terrace House, Alex stopped and got down on one knee. Brittany can’t remember a word of his speech – she was in shock. But, of course, she said yes. The couple celebrated with Champagne on the rooftop of The Durham Hotel at sunset followed by drinks at Alley Twenty Six. Now, “I Do” The couple will say their vows at Highgrove Estate in Fuquay-Varina.

wedding

Making Moves

BY ELIZABETH HOLMES PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH ASHLEY & CO., ELIZABETHASHLEYCO.COM

Date March 30, 2019

Occupations Lora is a clinical child psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Jerrod works in finance for PRA Health Sciences in Charlottesville, Virginia. Crossed Paths The two met when Lora relocated to Charlottesville for grad school in 2013. One of Lora’s friends from Durham, Lance Sanders, shared the number of a man he knew in the area, Rhison Anderson, in case Lora needed help moving in. Lora had no intention of calling someone she had never met, but her parents insisted she reach out. Rhison brought Jerrod, whose initial reluctance to help move in someone he’d never met quickly disappeared when he saw Lora. He left his phone number for her “in case of an emergency.” No emergency came up, and Jerrod eventually invited Lora to attend a UVA football game with him. The couple started dating in 2014.

The Proposal On Jan. 19, 2018, Lora was just kicking off a weekend-long birthday celebration in Washington, D.C. That Friday night, Lora, Jerrod, and her closest friends and family were at the MGM Casino when someone suggested that everyone go outside for a group picture. After taking the photo, everyone moved away as Jerrod dropped down on one knee to propose. Lora cried tears of joy, in disbelief that Jerrod pulled off such a big surprise.

The Big Day The ceremony was held at the bride’s home church, Covenant Presbyterian. A brunch reception followed at The Cotton Room, with flowers provided by Ninth Street Flowers Maggie Lewis, Durham native and owner of The Lather Lounge, styled hair for Lora, her maid of honor and two bridesmaids. Adrienne Barnes of Beyond Imagination Wedding & Event Planning helped plan the day.

Her Favorite Detail Lora says that their decision to have a brunch reception meant their wedding day started before dawn, with the first bridesmaid getting her makeup applied at 4:30 a.m. Despite the very early start, she and Jerrod spent all afternoon dancing to DJ Double J’s beats alongside their friends and family.

Do you live in Durham and want your wedding or engagement featured in our magazine? Email weddings@durhammag.com

LORA HENDERSON & JERROD SMITH

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• Pediatric Functional Medicine

Consultations

• Psychotherapy & Emotional Wellness

• Integrative Nutrition

• Acupuncture

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• Massage Therapy