Memoir-style cookbook debuts on the heels of On the Square’s 21st anniversary.
“If you build it they will come.” … So was the mentality of Inez and Stephen Ribustello when they took a chance on opening a restaurant in downtown Tarboro 21 years ago. Flash-forward to the present and the culinary- and community-inclined couple are looking back on a few decades of delicious memories via their memoir-style cookbook, On the Square, now available to purchase online or at the restaurant. In front of the release, we chatted with Inez about the stories and recipes she’s been cooking up. onthesquarenc.com
How did you select the stories? I started by diving into how different Tarboro’s landscape was 21 years ago and thinking back to when Stephen and I first came to Tarboro as a couple. I ruminated on the time we spent there—from just a couple to parents of two kids—and how we navigated running a business as a growing family, along with shedding light on the intricacies of running a business in a small town.
Why a memoir? On the Square is what brought me back to Tarboro permanently. [The restaurant] had every reason not to work… but it did. We want to honor the community who helped us learn and gave us so much grace. The memoir style made sense. It felt correct to share the story through my personal journey.
Any recipes stand out? The chicken scallopine is hands-down one of the most requested dishes; the wild mushroom ravioli is the reason I married Stephen (when he made it for me in Brooklyn in 2001); and the shrimp boil and BBQ pork ribs are great entertaining recipes that are simple and outstanding at the same time.
Why is On the Square a must-read? It’s vulnerable, personal and it talks about relationships you build with people you might never know otherwise. Our story is about revitalizing a place that was getting left behind—and I think most people enjoy a good comeback story.
Any last minute garnish to add? If you put a little love and TLC into your community, you can be a magnet for growth.Small towns in rural NC are beautiful gems whose biggest asset is the people who live there and want them to thrive—and I hope people find the story of On the Square moving enough that they will want to make the visit, the move or investment so that small-town economies can thrive and stay strong and vibrant.
*Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Are you bready for it? Rise to the occasion and flaunt your familiarity with the NC baking scene—from our state’s oldest bakery to local bread so good it’s earning national attention. Stop loafing around and get to it!
Let’s get baked. Established in 1807, Winston-Salem’s Winkler Bakery is likely the oldest bakery in the state—and maybe the country (!). Which OG cookie recipe is the beloved bakery still whipping up since its start ~200 years ago?
a. Chocolate chip
b. Oatmeal
c. Gingerbread
d. Snickerdoodle
Baking is a fine art. Which Raleigh higher education institution boasts a Baking & Pastry Arts program?
“Grown and ground in the South,” Western NC’s Carolina Ground Flour sources the majority of its grain from large-scale organic growers around the state and other regional locales such as Virginia and Georgia. But what country is the organization’s mill from?
a. Germany
b. Italy
c. Norway
d. Austria
Step into Hayes Barton Cafe & Dessertery for fine food and feel-good simplicity—NTM delish desserts! Which cake is the most popular (read: most sold) at the Five Points eatery?
a. Lemon blueberry
b. Coconut
c. Chocolate Heath bar
d. Red velvet
Local baker Andrew Ullom is now at the helm of his own uberpopular operation, Union Special, which first bowed in 2019. Under which celebrity chef did he previously amass experience as executive pastry chef?
What’s up, dog? Yellow Dog Bread Company creates delish culinary creations and, ahem, golden community. What farm animals did owners/husband-and-wife duo Tanya and Matthew Andrews once acquire to provide a certain dairy product for their recipes?
a. Goats
b. Cows
c. Chickens
d. Pigs
Bolt to Boulted Bread for a lineup of delish loaves and premier pastries at its recently relocated Boylan Heights locale. Earning national attention, the DTR bake shop once received a shoutout from which renowned publication?
Orange County-based farm Red Tail Grains specializes in growing heritage and modern grains for local bakeries, breweries and consumers. Two of its crops this year, NuEast Hard Red Winter Wheat and Appalachian White Wheat, are bred by which NC university?
New DTR brewery with cocktail bevs? Bet. Highly anticipated Winston-Salem-based brewing biz Incendiary Brewing Company recently opened its doors to the public at its new Bloc[83] locale—and beyond the lineup of 24 rotating draft beers and an array of wine selects, the sip spot also touts a mixed-beverage permit (!). Translation: Cocktails will also be on offer for your non-beer-drinking buds.
“We have a specific brand and have translated that from our original location to Raleigh,” says co-founder/operator Brandon Branscome. “We’re extremely excited about being here and the Bloc[83] area in particular. We’ve been exploring the Raleigh area for years and feel like we have definitely found a home where we fit.” Belly up to the Bloc for a sip-sational time and a slew of boozy bevs and spirits—complete with a private patio. …We’ll drink to that!
RDU recently broke ground on its new runway—and this is only the beginning of the airport’s plans to soar.
Picture it. You’re boarding an American Airlines redeye flight to London via RDU’s nonstop service that’s been zooming travelers across the pond with ease for the past ~20 years. After your plane launches off the nearly 40-year-old 10,000-footlong runway strip, airport employees get to work during an overnight processreplacing slabs of concrete showing wear and tear—one 625-square-foot strip at a time.
The 20-hourlong operation involves demolishing the old strip, pouring a new one and allowing the pavement enough time to dry before the returning European flight touches ground the following day. And while this upkeep method has maintained the circa-1986 runway for the past four years—replacing 275 slabs and churning up a cost to the tune of $30 million in the process (~$100,000 for each slab)—the seasoned runway is ready for an upgrade.
Dubbed 5L, 23R, the current primary runway serves as central NC’s gateway to the world: by connecting local passengers to places around the globe; bringing in renowned public officials (hey, Air Force One!); transporting local and nationally acclaimed professional athletes to and fro; and welcoming people from around the world to our community.
Plainly, this strip signifies more than a couple miles of concrete. Not only does it link the Triangle to the world—it boosts our ever-burgeoning city’s dynamic growth and economy.
“Do we have any 2 miles of highway that are nearly as important as these 2 miles here [on this runway]? I dare say we do not,” remarks NCDOT Secretary of Transportation Joey Hopkins at the groundbreaking. “The new runway will help the Triangle accommodate the explosive growth we are seeing and expand connections to markets all around the globe.”… The airports in our state contribute a mammoth economic impact, with RDU accounting for $17 billion of that sum.
Naturally, as Raleigh continues to expand and flourish, so too must our airport. This year alone, RDU has added 46 additional routes, 21 of which head to new international/domestic locations, and by summer 2024, the airport will offer nonstop international services to the UK, France, Iceland, Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas and, as of most recently, Germany. To wit, this summer marked big numbers for the transportation hub, with 1.4 million passengers making their way through RDU in July alone—the most to date.
After receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in late August, RDU began to quickly move forward with plans to seek final permits and implement an entirely new runway, a project that has been in the works since 2016 and is now estimated to complete in 2028.
“This critical infrastructure will allow RDU to keep up with the region’s increasing demand for air travel and help RDU recruit new airlines and more routes,” says Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.
But before you wonder how air travel will continue to thrive amid construction efforts over the following five to seven years, rest assured: The new runway is being built near Terminal 2 and parallel to the existing runway, which will remain operational during construction.
“If we were to lose that runway and take it down for an extended period of time, you wind up losing your London service, your Paris service, international service and your West Coast service. … Once you lose service like that, it is almost impossible to get it back,” elaborates Landguth.
However, the project is still seeking funding. The new runway comes alongside RDU’s slew of current and upcoming improvements and additions—from parking lot enhancements to added gates, baggage carousels and security checkpoints to uberpopular local food and beverage concepts recently bowing and coming soon. As RDU continues to fly high, the recent runway groundbreaking marks an exciting milestone for the airport and our city. Raleigh is growing and our airport’s incoming runway—amid other improvements—only further serves to showcase our city’s ability to soar.
20+ New gates coming
~$900 million Tax revenue RDU generates for state and local government
A first look at Lon Bounsanga’s highly anticipated Laotian restaurant
Imagine: It’s a crisp fall evening and you’re sprawled out on the lawn noshing on delish Far East street food—only you’re not in Asia, you’re in Downtown Cary Park. And that’s exactly what chef Lon Bounsanga had in mind when he dreamt up SAAP, one of the only authentic Laotian culinary concepts cropping up in the area—aside from DTR’s Bida Manda, where the culinary connoisseur worked as the longtime executive chef alongside Brewery Bhavana before leaving to open his own establishment.
The talented culinary artist and his wife, Annmarie, anticipate opening the concept—which translates to “delicious” in Laotian—Nov. 15, with a focus on a slew of classic dishes the chef grew up eating with his family.
Situated on the first floor of luxe apartment building The Walker, SAAP touts a primo locale on the edge of Downtown Cary Park, which will open a few days later—and is a position Bounsanga plans to lean into with his to-go menu of casual street food fare.
“There will be newer dishes I’m going to implement more geared toward the park itself and the foot traffic,” the chef/owner explains. “We are going to mainly focus on the street food concept of the cuisine—a lot of grilling and finger food.” Think ginger chicken satay marinated with coconut milk, palm sugar and herbs; and ginger prawn cooked with seasonal Asian greens and garlic sauce.
Nights in Vientiane
BBQ Pork Skewers
Garlic Chicken
The restaurant will also cater to sit-down diners, with an additional menu of shareable plates meant for in-house enjoyment, like soups and curries, along with a wok section for fried rice and noodle dishes. Essentially, a choose-your-own culinary adventure. “We are excited—we can’t wait to get started and we want to make sure we can please all,” Bounsanga shares.
To wit, SAAP’s beverage program promises to be quite robust while complementing the cuisine coming out of the kitchen—think handcrafted cocktails and mocktails flaunting tropical flavor notes such as ginger, palm sugar, Thai chile, lemongrass and pandan leaves. Nights in Vientiane, anyone?
As for the ambience, the spot will showcase a modern earthy vibe while representing Downtown Cary, Bounsanga explains, noting his wife is at the helm of the restaurant’s design process. The space touts 2,600 square feet with 70 seats, including 10 at the bar—plus a private dining room. Not to mention alfresco eaters will delight in a patio coming down the pipeline that will overlook the park’s water features and Skywalk, an elevated walkway among the trees. In essence, magical vibes. And keep your fingers crossed for an outdoor bar! Ultimately, SAAP will offer something to the area that it hasn’t seen before, a refreshing take on a type of cuisine that means so much to Bounsanga. “It’s unique, and Laotian cuisine is very new to the public,” he says. “With the cuisine and [what] we can offer to Downtown Cary, I think it will be a marriage made in heaven and a great fit.” … New *delicious* dining destination: found. saapcary.com
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