The Green Chair Project’s new and expanded Chairity 2022 Celebrating Home event
WHEN YOU GO TO “pick your path to chairity,” settle on The Green Chair Project— and specifically its bolstered Chairity 2022 Celebrating Home annual fundraising event. Since its launch in 2010, The Green Chair Project has helped 22,300+ locals begin anew in the face of homelessness, crisis and disaster.
With an MO of “furnishing homes, changing lives,” the local nonprofit reuses essential community-donated furnishings to nurture and sustain those in need via well-equipped homes.
Now back—and bigger and better than ever—this year’s 10th iteration is a two-day “chairity” event that auctions reimagined chairs by such top local designers as Colorful Concepts Interior Design and Design by Tula, plus designer showrooms by 40+ top NC designers, including the likes of Design Lines and La Maison Raleigh. A real draw, the room and furniture displays will also spotlight new and reimagined pieces (all for sale) from premier manufacturers (think wallpaper, fabrics, rugs, lighting—and furniture, natch).
“Our community is only as good as all of the people who live in it,” says Southern Studio Interior Design founder Vicky Serany, “and I think we have an obligation to give back and help others.”
All ticket and furnishing sales benefit Green Chair to help provide children with a bed of their own, as well as essential furnishings for families like dressers, lamps and artwork to, in essence, help make a house a home. “The most meaningful part of home is not just the roof over our heads,” says Executive Director Jackie Craig. “It’s about the things that we fill it with that meet our basic human needs, feed our souls and nourish our lives.”
Beyond high-end designer showcases, upping the feel-good fun factor are a host of on-site home furnishing experts, local chefs, book authors and more. Sept. 16 & 17, thegreenchair.org
A tone-on-tone color palette visually expands the volume—sans harsh lines—in this stylish Brier Creek Country Club sophisticated-modern open kitchen, where the existing footprint is maximized by reworking the dimensions and scale of the room’s main attraction: the island. Taking center stage, the designated gathering place is intentionally designed to at once downplay the fridge/hood and draw the eyes in as the wow factor in this simply edited and elegant open kitchen to an inviting refined-chic effect. We chat up interior designer Anita Bhattacharya, NCIDQ, of Otrada Design LLC for tricks of the trade on how to mimic the refresh. otradadesign.com
Vertical Vibes Don’t harsh the vibe. Extend the backsplash tile vertically up the wall to bring the viewer’s eye up toward the ceiling and expand the overall volume of the room. Benefit—a taller appearing ceiling. Better still? No horizontal lines!
Go Tone-on-Tone For a larger, more cohesive and refined look, keep the wall, tile and cabinetry palette simple via a tone-on-tone palette with color transitions to minimize lightness to darkness (aka sharp value) contrasts. This helps to reduce any one item grabbing your eye so you and your guests see the overall composition of the space.
Zero In To emulate this modern, inviting look, select a similarly sophisticated neutral wall hue, designate your island footprint and choose a contrasting-yet-timeless countertop color (white, black, taupe). Pop in some black sculptural pendant lights—and, well, good luck getting the guests to go home.
It’s no secret that the Raleigh restaurant industry has been rocked in recent years. And while we all desperately try to put the pandemic in the rearview, “we’re still dead in the middle of it,” says Nofo owner Jean Martin. Hence the sometimes slow or seemingly subpar service—and the empty tables that come with a wait (insider tip: tables can’t be seated if a restaurant is short-staffed, or if a server would be double-sat). Add to that supply chain issues—NTM the residual loss of forced closures—and, well, you’d pretty much want to be anybody but a restaurant owner. While these restaurateurs have endless empathy for their customers, they are also understandably beyond frustrated. To cover the gap, they and their staff members are working ungodly hours to feed and entertain us—and, yet, the public remains peeved. Now, add in soaring prices, and “customers feel like they are getting less for more—less service and less food on the plate for more money,” says Martin. “And we want to do everything we can to cater to the customer.” So, as lovers of the hospitality industry (NTM of hardworking people and truth), we wanted to dedicate space in our Best Restaurants Issue to some of our area’s top hospitality vets in the hopes diners will allow time and grace to these industry vets as they get back on their feet.
Why is staffing so hard?
“The biggest thing is lack of employees. It hurts everything about our business. Guests expect a certain level of service, but there simply are not enough servers working. People need to start understanding that things are not back to normal, and they will most likely never get back to where they once were. Not only are we having difficulties getting qualified people to work, but everything has gone up in price since COVID. We have specials on a regular basis to help ease the pinch on everyone’s wallets. … We are doing our part to help as much as possible, but we still have to feed our families, so we have to charge accordingly.”
–Marilyn Peraza, co-owner, 13 Tacos & Taps
“No one wants to work since COVID. Those who say they do are looking for ridiculous pay without earning it. People know businesses are hurting right now—not just restaurants—and they come in and do whatever they want because they know you need them. Many were handed so much money from the government for doing nothing and now expect it from employers. I don’t think it has to do with sudden closures because it wasn’t just restaurants—many businesses closed suddenly. It’s about getting something for nothing. Our servers make very good money—$20 to $30/hour in tips, plus a small hourly wage—but that doesn’t seem to be enough.”
–Anonymous restaurant owner
“To be honest, I have no idea where all the people are. I know a good amount switched professions, but that is definitely not all. I think it is a combination of a lot of things: laziness, switching professions, taking ‘under-the-table’ jobs and collecting unemployment, tired of the industry, etc.”
–Anonymous restaurant owner
“Not enough people are looking for jobs in this industry. Pay is at an all-time high, up 30 to 40% in some positions, but openings remain. The industry has overworked and underpaid a good portion of their staff for years and that, combined with so many other opportunities for work that may be less stressful both physically and mentally, are the main source of the labor problem. We are lucky enough to have a more understanding customer base than some when it comes to limiting our hours of operation. We are trying to take care of our customers, and—just as importantly—our loyal employees who have stuck with us through these difficult times.”
–Chef Dan Gray, Nofo Cafe
“Staffing is beyond ridiculous. I have never in any city and any restaurant had such issues with staffing. It is crazy—and it isn’t just restaurants. Almost all businesses are dealing with the same thing. It’s like Thanos snapped a finger or something.”
–Michael Lee, chef/owner, M Restaurants
“For one thing, we are still feeling the ripple effects of COVID. In a span of a few days time, our entire industry was shut down. Unfortunately, while many other industries have pivoted, there’s no ability to work remotely when you’re running the floor of a food & beverage establishment. During the pandemic, many people figured out other ways they could make a living or other things they were passionate about and simply have not returned to hospitality.”
The end of an era. After 80 years rolling tape in Raleigh, the Rialto Theatre will be temporarily suspending operations with a final marquee change on Aug. 28 due to owner Bill Peeble’s retirement and current market conditions. According to Peeble, the historic theater “will resume operations in the near future, specializing in art/independent and special events.” Nothing but best wishes for Bill on his retirement. You—and the historic Rialto—will clearly be dearly missed, as indicated by these comments by our Insta followers. 🎥❤
Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson discusses the challenges and achievements of her first year at the helm.
Aug. 12, 2022, marked Chief Estella D. Patterson’s one-year anniversary as Raleigh’s 30th police chief. She came here with a vision of making “Raleigh the safest city in America.” In a year marked by a waning pandemic and rapid return to “real life,” rising local gun violence and a concentrated focus on police pay, much has happened since Chief Patterson’s swearing in. In her sit-down with Raleigh Magazine, we talked about violent crime, police pay, the officer shortage—plus bringing nobility back to the police profession.
“Everything we’re doing as a department falls into one of these three buckets, And we’ve made advancements in all three, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
—Chief Estella D. Patterson
Violent Crime
“We are still striving toward Raleigh being the safest city,” says Patterson. While she acknowledges the uptick in violent crime, she clarifies that in her Q2 media rounds she publicly updated that “we’ve seen violent crime go up, but we’re seeing it go back down.” In January this year, we were up 13% in violent crime over last year. We are now still up slightly, but trending down at 4%. “Which is awesome,” she says, “and I credit that to the intentionality of really focusing on our violent crime and then also to the partnerships that we have created, like with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.” Clearly federal cases don’t resolve quickly, so “that partnership is huge,” she says, adding to that RPD’s close work with the District Attorney’s office via a frequent roundtable to review the city’s most violent crime offenders and ensuring those cases stick and get the most significant charges.
Salary, Recruitment + Retention
“I think a fair compensation for where we live would be to start our officers at least at $60,000,” says Patterson. “I truly believe the capital city should be higher than anybody else.”
However, she’s grateful Raleigh City Council approved police raises, effective July 30, 2022, bumping new officers from an abysmal $42,300 to $50,301—a jump that, at first sight, may look impressive. But much is at play here. While a ~19% raise is nothing to balk at—and makes major strides in helping to fill the roughly 125 vacancies (~15% of the police force—down from 21% in April)—that salary remains outpaced by other agencies in Wake County and across North Carolina.
While there’s still a gap, the chief is keen on highlighting opportunities RPD has to offer that aren’t afforded elsewhere—think take-home cars, serving as canine and motorcycle officers, or on SWAT or crash investigation teams. But Pattersonisn’t resting on her laurels. “We’ll keep fighting to get more,” she says. “We have to be more competitive than what we are now.”
Raleigh Police Foundation
One of Patterson’s proudest accomplishments has been achieving her goal to start a police foundation in Raleigh. Modeled after Charlotte’s foundation, the Raleigh Police Department Foundation (RPDF, raleighpolicefoundation.org) is comprised of a set of stakeholders who provide financial support and advocacy. After a premiere board meeting in early July, led by board chair and “huge PD supporter” Brenda Gibson, “our foundation is full steam ahead,” says Patterson. Beyond connecting NC’s two major metropolises, the foundation provides extraordinary support for our officers by making high-dollar purchases and equipment needs RPD wouldn’t be able to make within its current budget, she explains.
Noble Calling
As we approach 9/11, emotions and images flood to mind—including the now ubiquitous photo of first responders raising a flag from the rubble. And while we continue to say “never forget”… have we forgotten? Have we forgotten the gratitude, veneration and admiration we felt for the heroes who ran toward known peril, destruction, debris and devastation? In our sit-down with Chief Estella Patterson, we asked her what she thinks it will take to return to a time when police were trusted and respected. “We have to put the nobility back in,” she says. “I think that has been lost. We have to reinstill the ideal that any profession where you’re serving your community or country is noble.” Patterson points out the disparity in media coverage, implying it is part of the problem. “We had that big incident in April where our officers were shot at in the middle of the day, and that didn’t get a lot of media attention because they’d rather talk about us shooting somebody and killing somebody rather than us being shot at,” says Patterson candidly. “But those are the kinds of things our officers are facing on a daily basis. I just ask the public to continue to support the men and women that do this work. It’s a tough job. It’s going to get tougher every single day. We can’t fix it by ourselves,” she says. “We’re gonna need community support in order to do that.”
