by Tracy Jones | Mar 1, 2019 | Eat, March 2019
In Raleigh and the state, neighborhood bottle shops are having a moment.
It’s long been said that American cities were built around taverns, gathering places for locals and travelers to discuss everything from government policy to the price of eggs. Raleigh is no exception; in 1788, North Carolina’s constitutional convention declared that the capital city be no more than 10 miles away from Isaac Hunter’s Tavern.
The 18th century has come and gone, but the concept of gathering around a pint remains unchanged. Taverns of yore pedaling Hunter’s Cherry Bounce whiskey and clean beds have since morphed into the bottle shops that dot our landscape now, evolving our traditional understanding of what a neighborhood bar looks like and creating a hometown atmosphere of friends, family and a rotating tap.
“There’s a joke that there are more laws written here than at the legislature,” says Zack Medford, co-owner of Paddy O’Beers on Fayetteville Street, which is nestled across from the State Capitol building. (Medford also happens to co-own the new iteration of Isaac Hunter’s Tavern, recapturing the heart of Hunter’s original inn.) At Medford’s bottle shop, at any time of day, you’ll find people working, reading or mingling with friends.
“The pressure is off because you can talk to the person you’re with, you can talk to the person next to you or you can talk to the bartender,” says Medford. “We called it Paddy O’Beers on purpose. We want it to be approachable. There are 16 beers on tap at any given minute and that immediately sparks a conversation. During the summer, the patio is always filled with people. Sit outside with your friends, have a beer and people-watch.”
Medford, like other local bottle shop owners, explains that it’s not just about beer, but also about community. On the cooler stashed behind the bar, there’s a picture of Angus, an older man with a friendly smile. Recently, Paddy O’Beers held a going-away party for him. “The regulars came together to wish him farewell, because he’s moving to Durham,” Medford says. “You don’t find that in a nightclub. We had 50 people in here and a potluck. We’re like Central Perk in ‘Friends.’”
While relocating to Durham isn’t exactly like moving to California, or even South Carolina, the fact that Angus was considered to be “going away” shows just how local bottle shops have become.
“Right now, it seems like the bottle shop culture of Raleigh is more of a neighborhood vibe,” says Matt Allen, owner of Pelagic Beer and Wine on Pace Street. “When we opened our shop, we wanted to be a place where people in our neighborhood could come with their dogs and their kids and enjoy a good craft beer in the absence of a brewery. It seems like a lot of the newer spots that have opened have ended up turning into a place that locals identify and frequent. People don’t drive across town, but go and hang out at a place they can walk to, and talk with their neighbors.”
A Symbiotic Relationship
Raleigh has figured out a way to create meeting places within its bottle shops, strategically positioning themselves next to really good restaurants, shops and places friendly to children and pets. Think of Bottle Rev 3 next to Two Roosters Ice Cream, North Street Beer Station across from Sushi Blues and State of Beer next-door to Runologie.
“It’s a symbiotic relationship with Runologie,” says State of Beer co-founder Chris Powers. “A lot of folks will think about the purchase of a pair of shoes with a beer and a sandwich.” There are also events and a Runologie run club every Thursday, where “they’ll finish their day with us,” Powers says.
Unlike many other bottle shops in the area, State of Beer offers food as well. Considering it comes from the team behind Trophy Brewing Company and the now-shuttered Busy Bee Café, food pairing is no surprise.
“We saw a need for a curated bottle shop,” Powers says. “We have beers we think are the best examples of a style. We wanted to offer an opportunity where you can come in, have a great beer and have something to eat while you’re there hanging out.”
Powers says choosing the beer for the bottle shop is no light task.
“We take our beer list very very seriously, similar to what would go into curating a wine list,” he says. “You have to be excited about it and you have to want to share it with people.”
A bottle shop’s flavor ultimately comes from the buyers. With so many options available, and the perpetual public demand for rotating taps, it’s up to the shops themselves to figure out their own bottle identities.
“Each bottle shop, much like a good wine shop, will service a specific style or flavor profile,” says Max Trujillo, cohost of NC Food & Beverage podcast. “You can go to certain wine shops and you know they’ll like old world, subtle, understated, muted tones. Conversely, I go to beer shops where I know the person purchasing the beer has similar flavors to my style, almost like a boutique clothing store. That’s the unique part of bottle shops, getting to know the buyer, because that becomes more stylized to your flavor profile. There’s a human element, too. You like beer in a certain place because you like that person’s palate.”
Whereas “beer burnout” can become an issue with breweries, for bottle shops, variety and abundance is a benefit. The flavor of the day with customers these days tends to be “new.”
“Craft beer burnout might be stressful for brewers, but it’s great for us,” says Paddy O’Beers’ Medford. “It’s a great time to be in the beer business, especially for a bottle shop. It’s an arms race to make the greatest of all styles of beer now.”
Medford adds that, while beer is the highlight at Paddy O’Beers, it’s not the only drink in the shop.
“We’re moving more non-alcoholics than ever these days,” Medford says. “[Customers] get kombucha and hang out. You don’t necessarily need alcohol to have a fun and friendly environment.” Medford’s cooler is also full of cold brew coffee, hard cider, boozy sparkling water and soda.
A Growing Market
Raleigh recently ranked No. 6 in drinks media company Vinepair’s list of the World’s Top 10 Beer Destinations for 2019, beating out major cities like Paris, Seattle and Tokyo. After the state’s “Pop the Cap” movement raised alcohol by volume (ABV) limits more than 13 years ago, Raleigh’s local craft beer scene exploded. It’s no surprise that, as Vinepair puts it, “Raleigh is having a moment.”
The state added 57 new brewery permittees during 2018, reaching a total of 387 by the year’s end according to Tim Kent, the executive director of the North Carolina Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association. Since 2015, North Carolina had the fourth highest growth in the number of breweries since 2015. Three of the largest craft brewers in the U.S. have opened east coast locations in our state: Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Oskar Blues.
“In terms of beer, North Carolina has the most progressive regulatory framework of any state in the Southeast,” Kent says.
It’s a distinction to which we’ll happily raise a pint or two. ■
by Tracy Jones | Feb 4, 2019 | February 2019, Stuff
Tori Miller has moved nine times, covering more than 1,000 miles. At 28 years old, online dating has helped her meet new people and create a social life in new cities. Even when traveling, she opens up a dating app and tries to meet someone new if she has a night free.
“Most of the time, it doesn’t go much past getting a pleasant drink with a stranger, but sometimes you keep in touch,” Miller says. “Now, I have a network of friends across the country, many of whom started as matches from a dating app.”
Miller, who currently lives in downtown Raleigh, is figuring out the local dating scene, which she calls frustrating.
“I’ve never lived anywhere that had expectations that varied more—it’s crazy!” Miller says. “Some people want to take things ultra slow and seem afraid to even flirt, while other people lose interest if you won’t agree to go over to their place after talking for five minutes online. It seems to just be all over the map. That’s compounded by people assuming that I was kidding or just saying what people wanted to hear when I wrote out my expectations on my profile.”
Miller, whose career and exercise regimen keep her extremely busy, considers herself a causal dater. While she admits that things could change if the right person came along, she doesn’t have the time or energy to devote to building a serious relationship.
Miller is a perfect example of the idea that, in relationships, one size doesn’t fit all. We all come together for different reasons. Some, like Miller, date to meet new people. Some only want sex. Some date as a means to build a family. And some just want companionship, to avoid going through life alone. Whatever the reason, the same basic blocks build the foundation of becoming and remaining a couple.
“Similar definitions of love, relationship, commitment and faithfulness lead to a successful relationship,” says Whitney Johnson, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a marriage counselor based in Raleigh. “When those definitions line up, couples tend to succeed more in relationships. Self-awareness, humility and an ability to see another’s perspective contribute greatly to successful relationships as well.”
Johnson says, from her observations, that couples are less present with one another today. As a result, they don’t know, and aren’t motivated to hear, each other and adapt as needed. Couples are spending time relating to their phones, she says, and not doing the work of relating to their partners.
In an age when being constantly digitally connected is basically a requirement, we, as a society, are less connected in person than ever before. We’re up an additional half hour more per day spending time on technological devices, and we’re more single. According to the dating website eHarmony, 48 percent of Americans were single in 2011, while 50 percent of Americans were single by 2015.
“I think times have changed in ways that have made it more challenging for people to meet people,” says Dr. Kate Freiman-Fox, a Triangle matchmaker and owner of the matchmaking business Authentic Connections. “A lot of people work from home and aren’t getting out to meet people. As a society, I think we’re losing some social skills. The electronic box in front of us is more interesting than the person in front of us.”
While technology has played a part in the age of distraction and instant gratification, we have to acknowledge that, as a whole, we as a society are not the same as we were half a century ago.
“My view is that our self-focused, quick fix society, as well as the rise of technology, have impacted the trend of giving up on relationships too soon,” Johnson says. “We trade in or up on cars, houses, computers, phones and all sorts of other things, so why wouldn’t this line of thinking apply to our relationships? When it’s no longer serving me, when I’m no longer getting out of it what I once was, when I want something that looks better or does more for me, I trade in my relationship. If we were to focus instead on how we could love another, how we could serve one another, how we could grow and deepen and become better ourselves, then our relationships would stick and last, and our society would surely be kinder and stronger for it.”
One aspect of relationships that has grown better over time, however, is partner equality. Gone is the standard of specific, traditional spousal roles, creating the more desirable atmosphere and expectation of shared domestic duties.
In a recent study from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Texas at Austin, the majority of single men and women between the ages of 18 and 32 stated that they would like an equal home environment, sharing responsibilities with their partner.
“I think gender roles, specifically, and the modernization of domestication has really changed the way spousal roles are implicated and influenced in society,” says the Rev. Jenny Shultz-Thomas of Community United Church of Christ, a progressive church located in west Raleigh that focuses on nurturing spiritual growth and working for social justice. “There’s more neutrality. It’s an egalitarian value versus a traditional default. I think that will continue to change and evolve.”
Shultz-Thomas says that, today, we have a different language for what we see as marriage and what we determine as an ethos of being bound together. There is a larger understanding and shared language for relationships and the quality of relationships.
“Because we, as a society, are evolving in the ways we understand our own selves, we have opened up a larger ability within ourselves to be more authentic and more affirming of each individual,” Shultz-Thomas says. “There is more happiness and more joy when more authenticity becomes the definition of life and how we are to live.”
Being authentic to herself is what keeps Tori Miller happy and successful in today’s world of dating. She has had fun meeting new people, building friendships and just experiencing the craziness that can come along with going on a date with a stranger.
“I went on a date with a guy once where everything I said about my career or my interests he’d just respond with a gushing description of how attractive it was as a quality,” Miller says. “It was to the point that I struggled to get him to contribute anything else to the conversation, until he started going off about how his ex-wife was ‘the death of fun.’”
For Miller, casual dating will continue to work for her, as she swipes left and right and explores her many options. This is in line with her millennial peers, who are, on the whole, delaying marriage or putting it off altogether, choosing instead to cohabitate, remain single or wait until they’re financially stable to make a long-term commitment.
“If I find the right person, I might re-evaluate, but I’m very happy being single and just going on fun dates and meeting interesting people,” Miller says. “Even if it doesn’t go very far.”
Tori Miller’s Digital Dating Do’s and Don’ts
• Do put together an interesting dating profile that gives potential dates something to start a conversation! On the flip side, comment on something in a potential date’s profile instead of just asking something generic like “How’s it going?”
• Don’t tell your date how attractive you find them every five minutes! It can totally derail the conversation, and while once might be nice, it starts to get uncomfortable when it’s the only thing coming out of your mouth. I want to have a conversation like a human being.
• Obviously, don’t catfish people. Everyone uses photos of themselves that are flattering, but if you’ve gained or lost a lot of weight, made big changes to your style, or basically done anything that makes your photos not representative, you should probably let your date know before you meet up. Blatant lies are also frowned upon.
Making Marriage Work
Tips on building a successful marriage from wedding planner Megan Gillikan, owner and lead consultant at the wedding planning service, A Southern Soiree, and “Weddings for Real” podcast host:
• Marry the person that makes you feel special and puts you first. If you’re early into a relationship and this person is already disappointing you or not showing up for you in a way you deserve, for goodness sake, don’t assume they will get better.
• Don’t be too proud or stubborn to apologize when you screw up.
• When it comes to planning a wedding, sit down with your partner and talk about the two or three things that are most important to each of you, and then work together to make those things happen.
• Remember, you’re a team and it’s you two against the world, so any problems that pop up in your relationship or marriage, you need to work together to figure them out.
• Once you get married, still remember to try and date your partner and find little ways to make them feel special. Being married doesn’t mean you get to stop trying to woo your partner.
• Remember to look in the mirror, too, at ways that YOU can be a better spouse/partner instead of always thinking about what your partner is not doing for you.
by Tracy Jones | Dec 1, 2018 | December 2018 / January 2019, Do
As it does every year in early December, Raleigh’s Boylan Heights neighborhood will transform into a bustling, sprawling artists’ showcase. More than 100 local artists and craftspeople will sell their wares on porches and sidewalks, and in front yards during the 26th Annual Boylan Heights ArtWalk, an all-volunteer event that has become a neighborhood tradition.
“One of the key elements of the event is homeowners willing to open their homes and lawns to artists,” says Lyman Collins, the Boylan Heights ArtWalk chair. “It’s known for having an eclectic and high-quality feel. There are artists who live in the neighborhood as well, so it’s a nice mix.”
For some homeowners and artists, their pairing is more than a onetime event.
“I moved into this neighborhood in 1988, and about that same time, someone gave me a piece of Nancy Redman pottery as a gift,” says Cheryl Proctor, who later asked to be paired with Redman for the ArtWalk because she loved her work. “My house is full of Nancy Redman pottery and I admire her a great deal.”
Their pairing has lasted almost 20 years and has since developed into a close friendship. Proctor even invites Redman and her daughter, Kathleen, whom Redman says was “raised in clay,” into her home for dinner every year after the event ends.
Redman is usually the only artist Proctor hosts, setting up her work on her front porch and driveway. For Proctor, she doesn’t even need a phone call from Redman to know that she’s going to show up.
“It’s sort of a given that we’re going to do this,” says Proctor. “It’s part of the fabric of our neighborhood. It is such a part of the community of Boylan Heights, and of Raleigh itself.”
Redman, whose interest in clay began in 1965, loves the ambiance of the Boylan Heights neighborhood, the festive nature of the day, and the laid back vibe of only selling for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon.
“It’s close to home, it’s only a half day, and it takes place before Christmas,” says Redman. “It’s not like setting up for a three day event.”
This year’s event has generated the highest number of applications since the ArtWalk began, transforming the task of placing the participating artists into a sort of puzzle.
“We look at the kind of space the homeowners have, such as a porch or yard, and match the artists,” says Collins. “If the artist has been at a particular location before, it’s easiest to match them. Some homeowners are incredibly gracious and go out of their way to make the artists feel welcome.”
Approximately 40 houses in the neighborhood will host artists this year, including Montfort Hall, the 1858 mansion that sits at the peak of Boylan Heights. A young couple, who want to turn it into a boutique hotel, recently purchased Montfort Hall for $1.1 million. Six artists will exhibit their works on its grounds.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling how much the event has grown,” says Redman, who has developed a following of art lovers who come every year to see her. “It advertises the neighborhood in a nice way and allows people to appreciate the historic area. It’s a lot of fun and I think people really celebrate.”
Check out the 26th Annual Boylan Heights ArtWalk on December 2 from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
by Tracy Jones | Dec 1, 2018 | Buzz, December 2018 / January 2019
The days of running down to your neighborhood convenience store for a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked are over. In Raleigh, now, there’s an app for that.
With a mission of creating more time for their customers, goPuff stocks more than 2,000 products in its centrally located Raleigh warehouses, ready to be delivered at the push of a button.
“We like to say we deliver in the moments that matter most,” says Liz Romaine, goPuff’s director of communications. Think of those moments when you are at the end of your last roll of toilet paper, or you forget to buy dog food on your way home from work. Now these items can come to you with a flat-rate delivery fee of $1.29.
goPuff’s site is divided into eight categories, with “munchies” and “pints on pints” (ice cream and frozen snacks) taking the lead in popularity. From noon until 4 a.m., customers can have their convenience store order delivered to them wherever they are.
“We usually deliver to people when they are at home, with 9 p.m. to midnight being our highest ordering time,” says Romaine. “Though we do get a lot of orders from people at work during that 3 p.m. slump.”
With a recent successful opening in Durham, Philadelphia-based goPuff has high hopes for Raleigh, delivering to 13 zip codes around the city.
“We’ve been really expanding a lot going southward,” says Romaine, adding that Raleigh will be the company’s 50th market since its pivot to a full-service convenience store delivery model in 2014. “We hear from customers who travel and experience our app and want the market at home. It really made sense to go here.”
To have goPuff deliver to you, download the mobile app on your iOS or Android or visit the website at goPuff.com.
by Tracy Jones | Nov 7, 2018 | Buzz, November 2018
Oscar Gomez is on the road a lot. The owner of a residential home development company, Gomez recently invested in a Prius due to the amount of time he spends driving back and forth for work. But one annoyance still remained—his fuel tank. When his gas light came on at the end of a long day and he didn’t feel like stopping to fill up, Gomez knew it was time for Yoshi.
Yoshi, a gas delivery company that arrived in the Triangle this summer, has changed the way locals fuel and service their cars.
“We do everything right on site,” says Yoshi co-founder Bryan Frist. “We can wash your car, change your oil, inflate your right front tire and fill your tank with gas. We now see ourselves as a complete car care provider.”
Frist and co-founders Dan Hunter and Nick Alexander started Yoshi, which has its origins in Silicon Valley, in 2015 after taking a long, hard look at a big industry that hadn’t been touched by innovation in quite some time.
“In 1910, the modern-day gas pump was invented,” says Frist. “And, really, the gas stations looked no different than they do today. If anything, the experience has probably gotten worse as cities have become more congested.”
Yoshi, which now operates in 20 cities and 14 states, has found a way to eliminate the hassle of pulling up to a pump with a simple app. So how does it work?
Although the gas delivery service has been called “Uber for gas,” Frist says that, operationally, the two companies don’t actually have all that much in common. Yoshi customers sign up for the service for $20 per month, a fee that includes gas delivery among other options. If you sign up for additional services, such as an oil change, then you get per gallon price discounts on fuel. Most customers schedule fuel service once a week through their app. Customers then get a delivery window and a notification from their field technician when their service is complete.
“Ninety-nine percent of our users are not hitting a button and requesting a service for one time,” says Frist. “It’s very much not an Uber for gasoline. It’s pretty much schedule and then you never have to think about it again.”
Since its launch this summer, the Triangle has become the fastest growing of Yoshi’s 20 markets, eclipsing the formerly leading city of Nashville.
“We’re putting new trucks on the road and new mechanics on the field on an almost a daily basis,” says Frist. “You have tons of commuters in the RTP. There are a lot of big companies. There are a lot of dynamics there that have gone really well.”
Yoshi partners with auto industry mainstays ExxonMobil and General Motors, an arrangement that Frist says is partly responsible for the company’s quickly realized success. Yoshi pumps top tier Synergy™ fuel from ExxonMobil, so customers always know what will fill their gas tanks. With GM, Yoshi has linked its technology into GM’s Connected Car, which streams data at all times.
“We can predict when you need to fill up,” says Frist. “We know your exact latitude and longitude. You would link your OnStar account through our app. We’ve fully integrated with GM, but we’re working with Ford and some others to do some more things down the line.”
While Yoshi doesn’t eliminate the need for any and all car services—the company can’t repair your engine or rotate your tires, for instance—it does make daily living easier for those who don’t have the time or patience for gas stations.
“For most people, your car is just sitting there in the parking lot all day at work,” says Gabriel Iocco, an office manager for a local logistics company. “Why not have someone come fuel it up for you and take care of it and save yourself a trip to the gas station after work?”
