by Christa Gala | May 31, 2016 | Buzz, June 2016
As a platoon leader in Iraq, Jim Freeze used to meet with tribal elders in an effort to quell violence against his men. What he learned, often over sharing a meal, surprised him.
“They said, ‘Help us get jobs, and we can take care of the security,’” says Freeze. “It dawned on me that the local economy was why people were engaging in violence. They were desperate and being offered money to shoot at us.”
Freeze helped the village
re-establish businesses — restaurants, convenience stores and farms — and stability increased dramatically. Now back home, Freeze is partnering with a former restaurant owner Vicky Ismail to launch Carroll’s Kitchen, which will employ the same principle to help homeless women, offering them jobs, housing, counseling and other resources
It’s a restaurant with a social mission, patterned after similar non-profits in other cities, including The King’s Kitchen in Charlotte and Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. A magazine article about King’s in Charlotte inspired Ismail.
“When my church put out a challenge to pitch ways to love Raleigh, I pitched my idea to run a non-profit restaurant with living quarters close by for homeless folks. The business part would eventually generate dollars to sustain itself,” she says. “They loved the idea, and Jim asked if I knew about a location next door that could work. He walked me through the space that day, and the dream began to take shape.”
Carroll’s Kitchen officially launched at the end of April with plans to open this summer in the old Square Rabbit space downtown. The grab-n-go location will offer fresh soups, salads and sandwiches. The lack of seating doesn’t bother Freeze.
“Startup costs are lower, the ongoing costs are lower, and it allows us to do a higher volume to get our name out there, ” says Freeze, who is working on the venture full-time as executive director. “If we can’t get the restaurant thing right, we can’t do the rest of it. What I love about Vicky’s background is that not only has she had four successful restaurants, she hasn’t had a failed restaurant.”
Ismail, board president of Carroll’s Kitchen, owned and operated The Cary Café for 18 years. Now she’s CEO of Highgrove Estate, a wedding venue in Fuquay-Varina that hosts about 90 weddings a year.
“I envision fresh, locally sourced produce, dairy, meats and condiments to create well-made accessible food,” she says. “We want to react to seasonal items; we have so many great sources to choose from and keep things exciting and comforting for our customers. We have a couple of surprises as well.”
Carroll’s will employ a general manager and head chef, as well as trainers to work with the women on life skills. The women will be referred by partnering agencies. Payment will be in the form of a stipend equal to between $10 and $15 an hour and will compensate the women for both work and building life skills.
“One week employees may spend 25 hours in the restaurant and 15 hours going through classes,” says Freeze. “There might be other times they’re 40 hours in the restaurant and doing a one-hour bible study. It’s not just handing somebody a dollar on the street or buying them a sandwich. We’re part of a job training curriculum.”
For more information, visit carrollskitchen.org.
by Christa Gala | Apr 29, 2016 | May 2016, Retreat, Stuff
With 312 cases of Zika now in the U.S., the virus, devastating for some pregnant women and their babies, is keeping local pest control businesses busy.
The outbreak originated in Brazil and spread to the U.S. in January. It’s been shown to cause birth defects in the babies of some infected pregnant women as well as flu-like symptoms (joint pain, fever and fatigue) in others. Consumers are scrambling to protect themselves.
“We are in mid-June numbers of what we normally do in pre-season sales,” says Art Church, owner of Mosquito Wizard. “Our phones started ringing in January.”
Haze Lancaster, a partner with The Mosquito Authority, another local spraying business, says he’s seeing customers who’d let contracts lapse decide to renew.
“The Zika scare has had a tremendous impact on our business,” says Lancaster. “I’d estimate that we’re up 50 percent over last year.”
The U.S. government has diverted $589 million earmarked for Ebola to fight the Zika virus, for which there is no vaccine. And in April, Gov. Pat McCrory proposed a $750,000 state budget allotment for mosquito control.
Alexandra Lefebvre, Press Assistant for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said the governor’s budget preview announcement allocates funding for two entomologists, mosquito surveillance, a Zika response plan and a testing lab, one of the first in the nation.
There are now eight Zika cases in North Carolina, according to the most recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control. So far, all have been carried over the border from other countries, but with warm, humid weather on the way, it likely won’t stay that way.
“The infected mosquitos are going to start showing up here,” says Church, who recently attended a webinar hosted by the CDC and the World Health Organization.
Lancaster says he’s already fielding calls: “We’ve been in touch with several municipalities and some states about helping them execute a barrier treatment strategy with the expected federal dollars that are coming.”
Find a pro
N.C. State Extension Entomologist Dr. Michael Waldvogel says many spraying companies use bifenthrin and deltamethrin to kill mosquitos.
“Some companies have used the term ‘natural’ for these chemicals because they are chemically similar to a chemical derived from chrysanthemums,” he says. “They are considered to have low toxicity to mammals, which includes pets and kids.”
But the chemicals kill more than just mosquitos.
“They’ll kill most insects, including lady beetles and honey bees,” says Waldvogel, of the beneficial insects lost to spraying.
How to choose a pest company?
• Ask if the company is licensed by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. They should be able to present a license.
• Contact the NC Department of Agriculture to check for violations.
• Ask for customer references.
What you can do
• Wear long sleeves and long pants.
• Use a repellent containing DEET.
• Avoid the outdoors in the early morning and at dusk when mosquitos are most active.
• Eliminate standing water from pots and outdoor containers.
• Do-it-yourself spray treatments are available in local home improvement stores.
by Christa Gala | Mar 31, 2016 | April 2016, Do
Editor’s note: Linda Formichelli was tired of the media telling women they couldn’t do it all. She decided she could and would—and wrote a book about it. “How to Do It All: The Revolutionary Plan to Create a Full, Meaningful Life — While Only Occasionally Wanting to Poke Your Eyes Out with a Sharpie (Renegade Writer Press)” publishes April 18. She gives RM readers a few tips if you want to do it all, too.
On New Year’s Eve 2015, I was journaling about the year and decided to make a list of everything I had done, seen and accomplished in the previous 12 months.
When I looked at the list, I couldn’t believe how much I had done—from traveling to five foreign countries with my family, to running two businesses and hosting three exchange students. There were over 40 items. And even weirder, we’re an average middle-class family…my husband and I both work, we have a young child, and we’re not rich.
Once I saw the list written out, I had the brainstorm to write a book detailing the process.
I especially wanted to address the cultural narrative that women are trying to do it all and burning themselves out in the process, and that they need to just relax and stop trying to be superwoman. The women’s media, especially, are always saying, “You poor woman, you’re so busy! Stop trying to do it all!”
My thought was, “I like doing it all!” And yes, at times I’m stressed out, but is that really such a bad thing? Is it better to lead a full, meaningful, creative life where you grow every year and you experience some stress or to lead a stress-free life but don’t do much of anything else? When you’re on your deathbed, which would you rather look back on? Which would make you feel prouder and more satisfied?
Create a Do-it-All plan
The book includes the most common “Do’s and Wants,” including traveling, writing, starting a business, volunteering and crossing a finish line. Here’s how to get started:
What did you do last year?
Make a list. You’ll be surprised at how much you accomplished, and it will give you the courage and desire to do more.
What do you really want to do this year?
Nix the shoulds. What would make your life rich, meaningful and happy? Think about it, and write it down.
Find your excuses.
Are you too tired? Don’t have enough money? Where is your time and money going? What can you divert? Maybe it’s the money from a Starbucks coffee every morning or the added cost of an upgraded cable package. Doing without frees up resources so you can do what you want.
On the “Do’s & Wants” list for 2016
“I’ve wanted to go to Alaska since I was 20 years old. I’ve been planning my trip for several months now, part of a milestone birthday celebration. We’re going fishing and flightseeing in Talkeetna. I can’t imagine anything better than landing on a glacier in Denali. And we’re spending time in Seward–cruising through the fjiords, kayaking and riding fat tire bikes. Traveling is a passion I try to find time for because getting away and having a different cultural experience is good for the body and the soul.”
— Mary-Ann Baldwin, Raleigh City Council Member
“I’ve always wanted to run a full marathon and decided the time was never right. I have run about two dozen half marathons since becoming a mother, but I always felt like the time to train for a marathon was never realistic in the midst of my chaotic schedule. So, this year is the year. I have a milestone birthday, and I plan to run my first full marathon in November!”
— Amanda Lamb, WRAL TV reporter, author
by Christa Gala | Mar 31, 2016 | April 2016, Eat
Bourbon is having a revival.
If Hali Haught hadn’t moved to Raleigh, the bourbon bar at the Oak, kitchen & bourbon bar on Lake Boone wouldn’t exist.
“We knew we wanted the Oak to have a great cocktail bar, but Hali convinced me and my partner and brother Justin that bourbon wasn’t just trendy,” says JMR Kitchens owner Ryan Riek.
Today, Haught is the general manager, and time is proving her right. Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys have outsold all liquors, even vodka, for the last two years, making it a $3 billion business. In an age of wanting the newest, most improved version of everything, why is our go-to drink over 225 years old?
Haught believes bourbon drinkers like the taste and flavor of bourbon but says it’s more than that.
“It’s all about the story, and every bourbon has a story with real history.”
The birth of bourbon is a deliciously ironic tale of an inventor who was a Baptist minister by day and distiller by night—Elijah Craig. He is credited with inventing bourbon in 1789, but what he really invented was the process of aging corn whiskey in charred oak barrels. The result was a somewhat sweeter and smokier tasting alcohol.
Bourbon is nowhere near as complex as wine, or even scotch, but there are a few things you should know.
All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. By law, for a whiskey to be bourbon it must be made from at least 51 percent corn and aged in new charred oak barrels. It must be made in the U.S. and bottled at 80 proof (40 percent alcohol by volume) or higher. It can be made anywhere, but 95 percent of the world’s bourbon is made in Kentucky.
Ordering bourbon can be intimidating for a newcomer. Eric Gregory, president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association shared this advice.
“Ask the bartender to suggest a small-batch, low-proof bourbon… such as Basil Hayden or Four Roses,” says Gregory. He suggests working your way up to a single-barrel bourbon that’s a bit higher in proof such as Knob Creek and Blanton’s. “Then you’ll be ready to try a barrel-strength bourbon with 120 to 130 or more proof like Booker’s by Jim Beam or Stagg Jr.”
When ordering, be careful not to throw around cocktail terms like “neat” unless you know what they mean. You could end up with a drink you don’t want. For a bourbon without ice or mixer, order it “neat;” for water and ice, order it “on the rocks.”
Experiencing Bourbon
The Oak’s bourbon experience goes beyond its selection of 60 to 70 bottles.
• Adopt-a-Barrel Program. Offers bourbon drinkers the chance to re-age
bourbon in a 2-liter barrel in the restaurant for a fee. It’s so successful, there’s a long waiting list; it seems no one wants to give up their barrel.
• Bourbon Dinners. Intimate, four-course meal paired with unique bourbons.
• Bourbon & Bites. Tastings on select Saturday afternoons include a house-aged bourbon Old Fashioned, a tasting of select bourbons and chef-paired bites.
The Jargon:
Single Barrel Bourbon Whiskey: Bottled from one barrel only. They are entirely unique, meaning each barrel has its own temperature and character.
Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey: Bourbons made from a few select barrels married together for consistency.
Straight Bourbon Whiskey: Whiskey aged for at least 2 years in brand-new charred barrel – that means barrels can be used only once for bourbon. After that they’re shipped to Mexico for aging tequila or to Scotland for aging Scotch.
In the 50 Best Bars issue, RM readers Voted on the 5 Best Whiskey/Lounge Bars
Visit raleighmag.com/best-bars for the complete list.
by Christa Gala | Mar 31, 2016 | April 2016, Events
There are hundreds of events in Raleigh every month. In March alone, we hosted for three nights a legendary musician resurrected from retirement, two #1 seeds in the first and second rounds of March Madness and a world premiere of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and TEDxRaleigh.
But Raleigh’s most coveted, must-have tickets are for those events that you can kick up your heels—with the city’s greatest chefs, musicians, speakers and designers—while giving to a greater cause. Here, your ticket makes a real difference.
