Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

Year in Review—Shelter Business Spotlight

Story by Sam Calhoun

The High Country—or any community for that matter—is defined by its local business people. Whether born and raised here or from out of town, these entrepreneurial spirits believe in the area so much that they have decided to meld, share and align their business passions with the everyday goings-on of the region.

Over time, these businesses become the community. They are the community landmarks that visitors and locals could not imagine Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, Seven Devils, Foscoe, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain without.

Throughout 2007, High Country Press continued a celebration of these local businesses in the weekly Business Spotlight feature.

From learning about the dreams that led to iconic restaurants to the compelling back stories behind a local pottery shop, from getting to know the owners of many downtown businesses to unearthing the secrets that help them survive, it was a pleasure to hear their stories and hopefully was a helpful insight for our readers.

The Business Spotlight will continue in 2008 but here’s a look back at who we visited in 2007.

Blue Ridge Birds & Gardens

Everything But The Bird For Three Years

Published January 11, 2007

North Carolina has one of the longest lists of resident bird species compared to other states according to the National Audubon Society, with several of them nesting in and living throughout the High Country. Considering this fact, you might think the High Country has a host of bird-related stores, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

There is only one exclusively-bird-related store—Blue Ridge Birds and Gardens—but bird enthusiasts could argue that it is all they need.

Fully stocked doesn’t begin to describe the selection at Blue Ridge Birds and Gardens. Owner George Martin—known as Marty—describes his store as the “High Country’s best source for wild bird feeding supplies,” offering “a complete selection of feeders, seed, squirrel baffles, baths, garden accessories and gift ideas.”

But that’s just the short list.

In the shop at 195 New Market Center in Boone, Martin sells binoculars, birdbaths, birdhouses (some locally made), caged and selective entry feeders. feeder accessories, bird and nature art by local artists Curt Hiller and Carla Rae, hummingbird feeders, Identifyers (audio contraptions that produce bird calls so that people hiking or out in their yard can learn about different species of birds), peanut feeders, platform feeders, pole systems, bafflers, seed, suet, squirrel-proof feeders, suet cages, sunflower feeders, wood feeders, window feeders, tree faces, wind chimes and decorative spinners. Oh, and he also sells gift certificates and jewelry boxes that he makes when he’s not at the store.

For more information, click to www.blueridgebirds.com or call 828-265-0408.
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Boone Meat Center

Meat, Cheese, Sauces and Spices for 21 Years

Published January 18, 2007

France has the boucher and the boucherie, Spain has the carnicero and the carniceria, Italy has the macellaio and the macelleria and Boone has Mike Hedrick and the Boone Meat Center.

For 21 years, Hedrick has supplied the High Country with more meat, cheese, spices and sauces than you can shake a spatula at and he’s done it all from his cozy confines at 282 Highway 105 Extension in Boone. Since the article ran in January 2007, Boone Meat Center relocated to the Gateway Shopping Center on Highway 421 in Boone.

Hedrick can get customers any kind of meat imaginable. Aside from his usual stock of steaks, ribeyes, pork, poultry and hambones, he can order buffalo, elk, ostrich and boar, to name a few. And he’s got seafood too. From mahi-mahi to tuna steaks, from salmon to tilapia, from shrimp to snapper, Hedrick’s got the sea covered almost as well as he’s got the land.

In addition, dozens of hot sauces from all over the world line one wall of the center, accompanied by a handy key that measures the degree of spiciness with a scale from 1 to 10+++.

Not into spice? Hedrick also carries a host of barbecue sauces from all over the country to satisfy any preference, as well as multiple marinades made for specific meats he sells in his store.

For more information, call 828-264-3416 or email boonemeatcenter@bellsouth.net.
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Appalachian Enterprise Center

A New Chapter for Small Business in the High Country Unfolds

Published January 25, 2007

Ninety-seven percent of businesses in America are small businesses, according to Bill Parrish of the regional Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), and 85 percent of the small businesses in Watauga County have fewer than 20 employees.

“We are a nation of small businesses, especially in Watauga County,” Parrish said, and to help local small businesses the Appalachian Enterprise Center (AEC) was brought back to life as a business incubator in spring 2007 in the Human Services Center off the Poplar Grove Connector in Boone.

The AEC is a one-stop resource for people wishing to open or people who have already opened a small business in Watauga County and will eventually expand to help others in the northwest North Carolina region, according to Jason Triplett, chair of the Committee of 100, member of the Watauga County Economic Development Commission and vice president of Wachovia Bank.

For more information about the AEC, call the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce at 828-264-2225.
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The Peddler Steak House

Often Imitated, Never Duplicated for 39 Years

Published February 1, 2007

Beef—it’s what’s for dinner.

Check that.

Individually chosen, precisely aged steak from specially selected heavy western beef cooked over glowing Tennessee hickory charcoal is what’s for dinner and has been for dinner for the past 39 years at The Peddler Steak House.

There’s a difference.

And that difference has been the driving force behind the restaurant located at 1972 Blowing Rock Road in Boone since 1968.

It’s an experience like none other. A Peddler server—often owner Murray Broome or his right hand man and manager Mark Scruggs—wheels a cart over to your table bearing a slab of the finest beef available and cuts it to your specifications—it’s within an ounce of your request or it’s recut. While it cooks, you help yourself to the salad bar. But it shouldn’t just be called a salad bar—that doesn’t give it justice. Filled with more than 40 garden-fresh vegetables, caviar, smoked oysters, heart of palm, fruits, cheeses, even hot French onion soup, the salad bar alone is worth the trip. But that’s not why you came—well, not the entire reason—and you remember after you bite into the meat in front of you. The charcoal taste is unmistakable; the texture irresistible.

But maybe you didn’t want steak. No problem. What began as a restaurant that strictly sold ribeyes, now serves an array of meat and seafood including filet mignon, prime rib, New York strip, beef kabob, shrimp, Alaskan crab legs, lobster tails, swordfish, salmon, yellowfin tuna and marinated chicken. There’s even a host of appetizers—as if you needed any before hitting the salad bar—from fried mozzarella to sautéed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail to spinach artichoke dip.

For more information, call 828-264-4433.
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Feather Your Nest

Casual Mountain Elegance Spreads Its Wings

Published February 8, 2007

Feather Your Nest—which Dennis Burgette opened in October 2006—is the High Country’s headquarters for the casual mountain lifestyle.

The concept makes sense. It’s only natural that in a region where nature is in the forefront of almost everyone’s mind, a store would open to serve the lifestyle of the mountain-loving resident.

And Burgette has done just that.

From floor to ceiling, Burgette’s store, located in the Winkler’s Creek Crossing shopping center, is filled with more than 100 styles of lamps, 60 styles of mirrors, artwork, pottery, mantel clocks, greenery and unique accessories you can’t find anywhere else, all reflecting one distinct style.

“It’s casual mountain elegance,” said Burgette. “We don’t try to be everything for everybody. Casual mountain elegance is appropriate for this area—for people who enjoy this lifestyle.”

Burgette selects every product in the store to fit his mountain lifestyle vision and travels to buying markets, such as the High Point Furniture Market and the Atlanta Gift and Accessories Market, four times each year—or every 90 days—to select new merchandise.

“I buy everything you need to furnish a home,” said Burgette. “It’s all practical, functional and decorative—the things that make your home livable.”

Yes, Feather Your Nest has everything—except furniture. The products appeal to customers looking for something unique, yet practical, that defines their lifestyle with good design.

For more information, call 828-262-0895.
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Moody’s Furniture

Furniture With History, A History of Making Furniture

Published February 15, 2007

Blowing Rock has changed dramatically over the past 80 years. Businesses have come and gone, home development has increased, and many generations of people and their families have left, stayed and come.

But there has been one constant. Located at the top of Sunset Drive just before the intersection with Main Street, Moody’s Furniture has hugged both sides of the road for 85 years.

For almost a century, four generations of Moodys have manufactured and sold high-quality solid wood furniture in the heart of Blowing Rock and current owners Larry Moody, 65, and his mother Jewel, 86, know more about Blowing Rock and its times than practically anyone in the town.

Moody’s Furniture consists of a showroom and a workshop. Over the years, thousands of pieces of solid, handmade wood furniture have been constructed at the workshop at 125 Sunset Drive. From end tables to chairs, from beds to coffee tables, from hat racks to display cases, Moody’s has crafted all types of furniture, using local woods such as oak, maple, walnut, cherry, mahogany and wormy chestnut.

Across the street in a two-story showroom at 140 Sunset Drive, customers from all over the country and world have purchased the handcrafted early American style pieces of furniture of such quality that the pieces soon become family heirlooms and centerpieces of people’s homes. In addition to its handcrafted furniture, Moody’s also sells other solid wood furniture that is made primarily in America. Only 5 percent comes from overseas.

For more information, call 828-295-3275.
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The Decorative Collection

The Most Comfortable Chairs in the World

Published March 1, 2007

They might possibly be the most comfortable chairs in the world. And when customers walk into The Decorative Collection, 4501 Tynecastle Highway, Suite 14, they’ll meet Betty McClure who is perhaps one of the most knowledgeable people in the world about the top-quality chairs that come from Norway.

“The chair is phenomenal,” said McClure, who has operated the store that sells the Stressless Ekornes chairs, sofas, ottomans, tables, loveseats, sectionals and coffee tables for 10 years. “It makes your back do what it’s supposed to do—there’s only one true Ekornes with lumbar support.”

As the only chair in the world to be endorsed by the American Chiropractic Association—partly because orthopedic doctors designed it—each Stressless Ekornes chair is made in Norway, tailored to the highest standards. The leather chair—no vinyl—is dyed all the way through so that if it gets scratched, customers won’t see any rawhide. The leather comes in four grades—the highest being Poloma that features a soft and buttery texture. Each chair’s base is made of several hundred layers of beech wood that is dyed to any color of the customer’s choosing.

For more information, call 828-898-7844.
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Terrapins

Boone’s New Inspiration Station and Clothing Celebration

Published March 8, 2007
In 2007, Boone got a new clothing store—a station, if you will—that sells a wide selection of 1970s gears and gifts and specializes in women’s skirts and tops. The store is called Terrapins, and it closed at its former location a few months ago. The store is now open again at a kiosk in the Boone Mall and plans are in the works to open a new storefront in Boone in early 2008.

Taking its name from the popular Grateful Dead tune “Terrapin Station,” Terrapins is owned by Gary “Hippie Gary” Star—a meteorologist turned clothing purveyor who relocated to the High Country in early 2007.

“I love Boone. I found home. It’s my type of people. It’s a good mix of the college kids and locals,” said Star. “I want to build a community-oriented store here.”

Terrapins is all about quality with kindness, not being greedy and being kind. Star’s state of mind—charming, welcoming, accepting—is as much a part of the store as the merchandise itself.

“I am a hippie, but I’m also a smart businessman,” said Star, who followed the Grateful Dead around the country for ten years and met Jerry Garcia on two occasions. Garcia actually died on Star’s birthday.

Star’s main focus is women’s skirts—he’s got eleven different styles—but he also sells hoodies (hooded sweatshirts) of all shapes and sizes, tank tops, long-sleeve and short-sleeve tops, purses, tapestries, patchwork bags, tobacco products, incense, license plate covers, hats, gloves, scarves, candles, picture frames, specialty lamps, exclusive Grateful Dead merchandise, knives and an extensive collection of rock band shirts, including rare finds from the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Government Mule, Santana, Johnny Cash, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan.

For more information, call 843-902-5616 or email randomactsm1@yahoo.com.

Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture

Reclaiming Wood and Family in Fleetwood

Published March 15, 2007

“That’s my favorite piece.”

That’s the running joke at Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture, 2385 Big Flatts Church Road in Fleetwood, because it’s what co-owner Ken Sevensky says after completing every piece of flooring or custom furniture.

It may be a joke, but it’s not a lie.

For seven years, Sevensky and his wife of ten years, Kristen, have operated Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture, a two-building workshop where Sevensky makes custom-designed furniture and flooring using repurposed wood from mills, barns and homes. They live on the property, across the field from the workshop—a commute the couple’s children often make to visit their father at work or bring him lunch.

Piles of reclaimed wormy chestnut, hemlock, oak, yellow pine, heart pine, poplar, cherry, locust and other native hardwoods are stacked all around the workshops, ready to be chosen by Sevensky for a special product—a product custom-designed for a client.

Part of the allure of the work that Sevensky and his two employees, Matt Simpson and Joel Winbush, produce is that each piece is made individually for each client based on a slew of questions that Sevensky asks prior to picking up a saw, router or planer.

After this story was published, Gum Ridge Mill and Flying Pig Furniture was chosen to design and build pieces for the HandMade House at the Ramble in Asheville—a show home that will be completed in fall 2008 that will provide a guide for developers and builders interested in integrating regional art with regional design and construction.

For more information, call 336-877-8888 or click to www.gumridgemill.com.

Haircut 101 Body Workx

Caring For Hair Since 1989

Published March 22, 2007

We care for hair.

That’s the slogan for Haircut 101 Body Workx, 174 South Depot Street in Boone, and although it is true in every sense, it’s only half the truth—the shop also cares for the body with massage services and will soon bring that care to a higher level.

The man behind Haircut 101 Body Workx is John Mena, and High Country Press visited with him in March 2007.

You know who he is. He’s the guy running every morning down King Street with his two massive Alaskan Malamutes. But if you aren’t up that early, chances are you’ve passed his neon lit shop near the ASU campus or perhaps sat in one of his eight chairs getting your hair cut—he and his 16 employees serve 30 to 50 customers every day.

For the past 18 years, Mena and his employees have been making the High Country look better, one head of hair at a time.

“I love what I do,” said Mena, 48, who still cuts hair five days per week. “I always wanted to be a hairstylist since I was 7 years old and visited my uncle’s shop in California.”

For more information, call 828-262-3324.

Total Vein Care, PLLC

Boone’s Answer to Varicose Veins and Spider Veins

Published March 29, 2007

Twenty-five percent of the American population has varicose disease. For every male affected, twenty women suffer the same fate.

Varicose disease affects people of every age, but especially middle-aged women after pregnancy and people who stand or sit for long periods of their day. Varicose veins are bad valves in the superficial veins of the legs that fail over time. Blood deep within the leg backflow into these faulty veins and cause pressure that causes pain. It is more common for both legs to be affected rather than just one.

Before 2005, relief was hard to find in the High Country.

In March 2007, High Country Press readers learned that that’s all changed.

Thanks to Total Vein Care, PLLC, 141 Doctors Drive in Boone, state-of-the-art treatment for varicose veins and spider veins arrived in the High Country in June 2005 via Dr. Joseph Ty Bell, member of the American College of Plebology.

Plebologists (“Pleb” = vessel, and “-ology” = study of) such as Bell are a growing group of physicians who use the relatively new procedure of EVLT, Endo Venous Laser Treatment, to rid patients of varicose veins.

For more information, call 828-265-1345 or click to www.tvcboone.com.
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The Bistro

The Best Kept Secret in Boone

Published April 5, 2007

We all have our real jobs and we all have our dream jobs, but many of us never take the leap to follow our true passions.

Not Pattie Newsome.

When she moved to the High Country from New Bern in 1996, she fell in love with a local restaurant that was somewhat hidden in the New Market Center shopping complex in Boone. At the time, the restaurant had been open for two years and was called Sam & Stews. One year later, the name changed to The Bistro, but the menu kept the same themes—French and Italian food—and Newsome’s love affair continued.

Fast forward to 2002. Having just retired from nursing, Newsome set her sights on owning The Bistro—now a possibility because the restaurant was for sale.

“I was a women obsessed,” said Newsome. “I’ve always had an interest in food and wine and it was my favorite spot to eat. I thought if I was passionate and worked hard enough, I could make it work.”

Newsome took the leap and bought the restaurant from William Horton in 2002.

Four successful years followed, and that success continues in 2008.

For more information about The Bistro, call 828-265-0500 or click to www.thebistrorestaurant.com.

Foscoe Fishing Company & Outfitters

Tying It On Since the ‘80s

Published April 12, 2007

Three hundred miles of creeks and streams exist around Boone—even more if you count the entire High Country—and Foscoe Fishing Company can take you to every one of them, teaching you the craft of fly-fishing and sharing enough trawling tips for a lifetime along the way.

Foscoe Fishing Company & Outfitters is the oldest exclusive fly shop in the High Country, started in the mid-1980s by local angler Al Hines. The shop was originally named High Country Fly-Fishing and was located two doors down from its current location at 9400 Highway 105 in Foscoe. Then the shop relocated for more than a decade to the Shoppes at Tynecastle in Banner Elk. Scott W. Farfone arranged for the move back to Foscoe when he bought the shop from Carl Freeman and Matt Fussell two years ago.

It’s been a busy two years.

“We’ve had a phenomenal past two years. We’ve seen record revenue, added new products and increased our guide trips,” said Farfone, who brought in new clothing and equipment lines when he took over the operation. “We’ve opened our doors to all types of fisherman. We really wanted to embrace the community—locals and second home owners.”

Foscoe Fishing Company is the only Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing guide service in North Carolina.

Just because it is winter doesn’t mean that the fly-fishing trips have gone into hibernation—the shop is open and ready for business.

In the winter, the outfitters and guide shop is open from Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 828-963-6556 or click to www.foscoefishing.com.

Joe’s Italian Kitchen

Fine Foods and Joe’s Moods for Six Years

Published April 19, 2007

If you were to walk into Joe Cafaro’s mother’s home around dinnertime, chances are you would find the same food on the table that Joe serves in his restaurant, Joe’s Italian Kitchen, at 190 Boone Heights Drive.

And that’s saying something. Cafaro’s mother Helen follows 100-year-old recipes from her family’s birthplaces of Calabria, Italy, and Sicily.

“It’s the same meals my mom and dad make. My mother hates when I say this, but I do peasant food, family food,” said Cafaro, owner of Joe’s Italian Kitchen. “It’s no different than my mother’s food. It’s the same thing you’ll find on my mother’s table.”

Everything about Joe’s Italian Kitchen is authentic. From Cafaro’s ever-changing mood to his thick accent, from the Frank Sinatra music that echoes through his restaurant to his bulging cannolis, from his recipes to his finished products, Cafaro brings a slice of Italy to the High Country.

Cafaro explained that Italians, in general, don’t skimp on ingredients. Even if an ingredient is expensive, it must be bought and used—there is no cheaper substitute. That tenet of Italian cooking is alive and well at Joe’s Italian Kitchen where hardly anything in the restaurant is premade.

For more information, call 828-263-9200 or click to www.joesitaliankitchen.com.

Melanie’s Food Fantasy

The Breakfast Queen of King Street Celebrates 16 Years

Published April 26, 2007

“I think—no, I know—I’m doing what I’m supposed to do,” said Melanie Patterson, co-owner of Melanie’s Food Fantasy, 664 West King Street in downtown Boone.

What Patterson “does” came to her during a car trip through Pennsylvania in 1991. For five years prior, she had jumped around the country, taking odd jobs and making do. After her husband Michael Patterson died in 1986, she left Boone for Maine, hitting all points in between.

“I don’t remember a single moment from that car trip through Pennsylvania,” said Patterson. “I was dreaming about a restaurant—specifically dreaming about a restaurant.”

From the number of seats to the number of plates, from the equipment needed in the kitchen to the condiments on the tables, from the napkins and colors of the walls to the number of spoons, forks and knives, Melanie’s Food Fantasy was born in Patterson’s mind while tracing the highway through Pennsylvania.

Within 31 days, her dream became a reality.

Using $23,000 of her late husband’s $25,000 life insurance policy, Patterson was able to open her restaurant on Blowing Rock Road in Boone in 1991 in the space that is now occupied by Subway.

Today, Melanie’s Food Fantasy is located at 664 West King Street in downtown Boone, serving its famous vegetarian fare and new selections such as organic burgers and Canadian bacon.

“We are health food, comfort food. We’re not ever going to cook bad foods,” said Patterson. “The reason we are a ‘food fantasy’ is because the food tastes so good you think you’re getting all the fat and the calories but you’re not.”

For more information, call 828-263-0300 or click to www.melaniesfoodfantasy.com.

Bouquet Florist

Delivering Smiles and Beaucoup de Bouquets for 30 Years

Published May 3, 2007

For 30 years, a local company has made Mother’s Day just a little more special by delivering smiles in the form of flowers. But it’s not just Mother’s Day memories that Bouquet Florist, 240 Shadowline Drive, Suite 12AA, helps create—the all-purpose florist brings flowers from all over the world to Boone year-round, designing arrangements for weddings, parties, memorials, anniversaries, births and special events.

“We can help with any occasion that you can imagine,” said Jack Raby, co-owner of Bouquet Florist. “Even if you just want to say ‘I love you.’”

Raby and his wife Dee bought Bouquet Florist 15 years ago from the original owners who began the high-end floral and gift store in 1977. The store was located on Boone Heights Drive from 1977 to 2002 in the current location of Joe’s Italian Kitchen before moving to Shadowline. The Rabys now have seven employees helping to run their business, a cornerstone of the Boone floral industry and a member of the Society of American Florists.

For more information, call 828-264-3313 or click to www.bouquetfloristandgiftshop.com.
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Scott’s Pizza Place

Pizza Made With Love in Avery County

Published May 10, 2007

One of Scott Stanley’s regular customers routinely calls Stanley’s pies, “pizzas made with love.”

That’s a fitting description for the two-employee operation, Scott’s Pizza Place, located in the Sugarfoot Shops across from Sugar Mountain Resort, because it’s a business based around a love for cooking, a love for the region, a love for great ingredients, a love for pizza and wings, a love for customers and a love for Stanley’s children.

Scott’s Pizza Place originally opened its doors on April 20, 1999, as a joint venture between Stanley and a financial partner, but after parting ways with his partner, Stanley took over the business on February 17, 2001.

Today, Scott’s Pizza Place is the spot for pizza, pasta, calzones, salads, subs, bread sticks and wings in Avery County.

Stanley has a horde of regulars from the surrounding area. Most take advantage of his delivery if they live within four miles of his restaurant, and a good portion join him for one of the fastest lunches in town. But he also has regulars from as far south as Charlotte and as far north as Roanoke, Va. and has won over the hearts of many second homeowners who call Stanley as soon as they arrive in town. To put the popularity of Stanley’s pizza in perspective, hungry customers in Hickory sometimes ask him to overnight his white pies to them—and he does it.

For more information, call 828-898-4646 or click to www.askavery.com and search for Scott’s Pizza Place.
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Miters Touch Woodworking

Custom Designing and Building High-End Hardwood Furniture and Cabinetry for 25 Years

Published May 17, 2007

For 25 years, Denise Grohs, president and owner of Miters Touch Woodworking, has designed and built heirloom-quality hardwood furniture and custom cabinetry.

On the quarter-century anniversary of her business in May 2007, Grohs expanded the scope of her furniture and cabinet products to include green options. The new line of products incorporates reclaimed woods purchased locally, woods harvested using low-impact methods, formaldehyde-free plywood and bamboo, hardware made from recycled materials and countertop options such as concrete, recycled glass or paper composites.

In addition to green options for lumber, cabinetry and countertops, Miters Touch is also offering the option of water-based finishes that have ultra-low VOC, volatile organic compounds, and zero HAP, hazardous air pollutants.

“We realize the importance of environmental and health issues,” said Grohs. “That is why we want to offer alternatives to our customers who are just as concerned as we are.”

Understanding what customers want is a tradition at Miters Touch Woodworking. Customers often come to the shop—a 160-year-old log cabin off Highway 105 in Boone with a 3,000 square foot woodworking shop nestled behind it—looking for a piece of furniture that needs to fit a specific space and sometimes needs to serve a specific purpose as well. Such a piece of furniture generally can’t be found in the general furniture market and that’s where Grohs’s expertise comes in.

Grohs—who honed her woodworking and design skills through an apprenticeship in New York and gained more knowledge with a master’s degree from ASU in industrial education and technology—works with each customer one on one, custom designing the piece.

For more information, call 828-963-4445 or click to www.miterstouchinc.com.

Ichabods Restaurant

Blowing Rock’s Taste of Sicily for 25 Years

Published May 24, 2007

For the first 16 years of his life, Joe Papa, owner of Ichabods Restaurant in Blowing Rock, lived in Brooklyn and Queens where he took his first job in the restaurant business and absorbed Italian cooking and traditions from his grandmothers. Today, Papa still has a job in the restaurant business and attributes much of his success to the recipes he inherited from his elders.

Papa is perhaps best known for his robust personality, but he’ll tell you he’s better known for the robust taste of his authentic entrées.

Pegged as Italian-American cuisine, Ichabods’ offerings run the gamut from sandwiches to pizza to veal to manicotti.

“There’s something for everyone,” said Papa, “and a lot of the dishes use my old family recipes.”

When Papa first opened his doors in 1982, he only served sandwiches, such as his club, BLT, chicken Philly, chicken parmesan, turkey melt, chive turkey and Italian hoagie—all of which he still serves today. But after about 4 years, Papa added a dining room and “I went more in the Italian direction,” he said. “I added pastas, lasagnas and marsalas.”

Today, Papa’s menu features appetizers such as jalapeno poppers, fried mushrooms, oysters, shrimp and chicken; a wide array of salads; homemade soup; pizza; specialty sandwiches like the ones featured when he first opened; Papa’s famous burgers; pastas such as fettuccine alfredo, ravioli, baked ziti, manicotti and lasagna; and fine meats such as the charbroiled ribeye, chopped sirloin, blackened chicken and veal or chicken franchisee, marsala or parmesan.

For more information, call 828-295-3239.
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Serenity Day Spa

The Station for Relaxation Celebrates 7 Years

Published May 31, 2007

Most visitors to the mountains come to relax, to indulge, even to renew—and Serenity Day Spa, 72 Arnett Road, took those feelings to a whole new level for visitors and locals in 2007.

Cari Ashbaugh, owner of Serenity Day Spa, has offered therapeutic massage—relaxation and deep tissue—regular facials, European facials, microdermabrasion, glycolic peels, waxing, all-natural manicures and pedicures, sea salt body glows, mud treatments, couples’ massages and spa lunches for the past seven years in the High Country and now she is doing it all in a building she owns and helped build.

After leasing space at The Shoppes at Tynecastle for 6.5 years, Ashbaugh built her own 2,000-square-foot building over the 2006-07 winter.

On May 31, 2007, Ashbaugh celebrated 7 years in business in the High Country.

Ashbaugh has worked as a licensed massage therapist for 25 years and as a skin care specialist for 15 years.

“After 25 years, I can say that I’m still passionate about what I do,” said Ashbaugh.

Ashbaugh attributes her success to word of mouth, marketing and her approach to business. She believes that she gives customers a better product and a better atmosphere.

For more information, call 828-898-3550 or click to www.relaxatserenity.com.
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Mountain Tile and Stone

A Dozen Years of Fine Tile and Family Ties

Published June 7, 2007

In 1991, Gail Spicola’s husband passed away in Florida and she made the decision to move to the High Country—a place she describes as “truly God’s country,” and the place her brother Bob Keller called home—with her two sons, Joey and Jason.

In 1995, Keller began Mountain Tile and Stone, operating out of Heritage Court on Highway 105. The business eventually expanded to Banner Elk.

Fast-forward eight years. In 2002, Joey and Jason had grown into adults and began looking for a career path. After talking to Keller, Jason decided to buy Mountain Tile and Stone from his uncle and hire his brother Joey and mother Gail as the sole employees.

The family who came to the mountains to live a life together were now working together as well.

By the end of 2003, Jason owned the business, Joey was the warehouse manager and Gail was the store manager.

Now in a larger showroom at 1852 Highway 105 South in Boone in 2003—the Banner Elk location closed in 2003—Mountain Tile and Stone is the largest tile showroom in Boone. The store and showroom contain a wide array of ceramic tile, porcelain, marble and granite for new homes and remodeling needs. Tile, porcelain, marble and granite in the showroom come from Italy, Spain, Mexico, Turkey and across the nation.

The store gives free estimates, will order special products from practically anywhere in the world and provides a list of recommended subcontractors for installing the products.

For more information, call 828-265-0472 or click to www.mountaintileandstone.com.
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Greater Foscoe Mining Company and Facets of Foscoe

Three Decades of Custom One-of-a-Kind Jewelry and Old-Time Memories

Published June 14, 2007

Would a piece of jewelry mean more to you if you found the stone yourself? Would you cherish an engagement or wedding ring, gemstone bracelet or necklace more if you sifted through a bucket of dirt to find the stones that sparkled in the gold, platinum or silver setting?

According to the dozens of customers who daily visit the Greater Foscoe Mining Company and Facets of Foscoe Custom Jewelry Design Center, 8998 Highway 105 in Banner Elk, the resounding answer is yes.

For more than 30 years, Kenneth D. Pickett, owner of the Greater Foscoe Mining Company and Facets of Foscoe, has accentuated the relationship people have with their jewelry by offering mining for real gemstones and by custom designing jewelry around those gemstones. Pickett runs a one-stop shop for fun and beauty. In one day, customers can buy a bucket of dirt, sift through the soil for precious gemstones and design jewelry around their personal finds that can be made within 24 hours.

But that’s not all Pickett offers.

Because of his talent for making custom one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, Pickett receives orders from all over the world for his work.

“I can handle just about any jewelry order people can give,” said Pickett, who has cut gemstones for close to 40 years and has worked with gold for more than 25 years.

When customers come to the Greater Foscoe Mining Company—a large Wild West-looking structure on Highway 105 in Foscoe—they have the choice of six bucket sizes, ranging in price from $5 to $212. Every day, Pickett and his employees seed the dirt in the buckets with precious gemstones that come from North Carolina, Brazil, Mexico and Australia.

“The bigger the bucket, the better the gems,” said Pickett, “but even the kids with the smaller buckets are going to find something special.”

For more information, click to www.foscoeminingco.com, call 828-963-5928 or email facetsoffoscoe@gmail.com.
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Canyons of the Blue Ridge

The Culmination of Bart Conway’s Talents

Published June 21, 2007

After starting eight different businesses, including being the co-owner of P.B. Scott’s Music Hall and owner of the Tumbleweed Restaurant and Cottonwood Brewery, Bart Conway settled down in Blowing Rock six years ago and opened Canyons of the Blue Ridge—a well-kept roadhouse-type restaurant and bar that is known for its eclectic menu that features Southwestern and Mexican fare, weekly live music and the most honest drinks in town.

In the summer of 2001, Conway acquired The Emporium Restaurant in Blowing Rock, the former Holly’s Tavern, to continue what has become a High Country tradition—casual fine dining in a unique atmosphere with a seemingly endless selection of cuisine. Six years later, Canyons is known just as much for its food, music and green practices—Conway recently introduced environmentally-friendly to-go ware and uses biodiesel to heat his restaurant—as it is known for the view of the canyons below Blowing Rock from which it takes its name.

For more information, call 828-295-7661, click to www.canyonsbr.com or email info@canyonsbr.com.
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Dewoolfson

25 Years of Innovation in the International Business World

Published June 28, 2007

Natural. Comfortable. Home. What Richard Schaffer, president and co-owner of Dewoolfson, has done over the last 25 years with his business is so immense that it perhaps can best be summed up by outlining his four secrets to success.

One secret, or rather an innovation, is that he took the German tradition of exceptional quality bed linens—namely goose down—and he adapted them to the American lifestyle, offering them at an affordable price.

The second secret is that he has always serviced whatever he sells. With a seamstress always on duty and a wide stock of down and other fine stuffings, Schaffer and his business have always had the ability to custom manufacturer anything that has anything to do with bed linens.

The third secret is that Dewoolfson doesn’t manufacture anything for stock—they only manufacture for orders. The company can customize anything—pillow, comforter or featherbed—and it’s all done in the High Country, even though there are four retail stores, a booming online marketplace and an immense number of private labels that the company handles.

And the fourth secret is that Dewoolfson, under the direction of Schaffer, is constantly reinventing themselves. They put everything back into the business—a prime reason why the company has flourished and expanded rapidly over the last quarter century, never needing to introduce investors.

For more information on the Banner Elk location, call 828-963-4144. For more information on the Blowing Rock location, call 828-295-0504. For more information on the retail division of Dewoolfson, click to www.dewoolfsonlinens.com. For more information on the manufacturing division of Dewoolfson, click to www.dewoolfson.com
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Tanner Outlet

Fabulous Fashion, Fantastic Prices, Local People For 25 Years

Published July 5, 2007

It took Bobo Tanner, founder of the Doncaster label and Tanner Outlet stores, 50 years to open a retail division that sold his products to the general public, but when he did he picked Blowing Rock as one of the first locations. More than 25 years later, Tanner’s business decision about Blowing Rock proved successful, and that success is only continuing to grow with the store’s move to Boone in April 2007.

The shop formerly located on Highway 321 in Blowing Rock moved to the Shops at Shadowline on April 26. The Shadowline Tanner Outlet is joined in its service to women of all ages in the High Country by a sister store in Banner Elk located at 4004 Highway 105. Both stores, although independent of each other, offer cutting-edge garments and accessories that are high quality and trend driven at discount prices.

“We have a little something for everyone,” said Mandy Poplin, two-year Tanner Outlet store manager, “no matter what their age or their size.”

For more information, call 828-268-2140.
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Doe Ridge Pottery

Thrown Into A Life of Pottery

Published July 12, 2007

Watching Bob Meier, owner of Doe Ridge Pottery, throw clay on a wheel is a soothing and cathartic experience. As he gently molds and directs the clay in a purposeful but loose fashion—chatting all the while—the stress of the day slowly slips away. By the time he finishes, you are in a meditative state, gazing at the near-perfect art form that ten minutes ago was a rough lump of earth.

Observing this process is what turned Meier on to the art in the first place and after watching someone throw clay the way Meier does, it makes perfect sense why someone would choose to take up the art for life.

Meier got thrown into a life of pottery after taking a pottery class at ASU—a class he only took to meet credit requirements.

“I had no experience in art or clay or nothing,” said Meier. But his first day in pottery class was a revelation. “When [the teacher] started throwing on that wheel—that was fascinating. It was like a sleight of hand trick or something, and I thought, ‘I get to do that?!”

That first class—taken almost by accident—was the start of what we have today: a 29-year-old retail and commission pottery business specializing in functional and decorative stoneware, dinnerware, commissions and interior décor.

In 2008, Meier will have to move his business because of the widening of Highway 421, but he has plans to relocate within Boone.

For more information, call 828-264-1127, click to www.doeridgepottery.com or email meier@doeridgepottery.com.
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Casa Rustica

26 Years of Family and Food

Published July 19, 2007

“It all began with my father’s vision, Peter Pedroni,” said Rick Pedroni, owner of Casa Rustica.

Peter’s vision was a restaurant based upon consistency, value and great service—a solid foundation that has kept diners coming back to the “Rustic House” on Highway 105 in Boone for 26 years.

In 2000, after working in hotels and restaurants across the country, Pedroni approached his father about buying the restaurant, and the two reached a mutually agreeable business deal. With the restaurant’s future his responsibility alone, Pedroni immersed himself in its operation. He fostered consistency by hiring only three chefs and he opened the door to creativity by taking them from diverse backgrounds.

Although Pedroni continues his father’s focus on consistency, value and great service, some aspects of the restaurant have changed since the days of Peter Pedroni. “We’ve updated; we’ve changed with the times,” Pedroni said.

While keeping the popular pastas, cold and hot appetizers, desserts, veal, chicken and steak dishes, Pedroni added new wines and introduced wine features. The days of offering only Chianti and Merlot are long gone, and unique varieties from all over the globe have found a new home at Casa Rustica. Pedroni’s wine features change every 30 days, reflecting his favorites and interesting vintages from the new age of organics. Pedroni still uses only the finest ingredients, making sure his fish and meats are always fresh by having them delivered multiple times per week.

For more information or to make reservations, call 828-262-5128 or click to www.casarustica1981.com.
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Blowing Rock Market

America’s Nicest Gas Station

Published July 26, 2007

It’s not often that you can walk into a gas station and find a selection of 1,000 wines—including multiple bottles of Dom Perignon—and more than 100 varieties of bottled beer, but then again, Blowing Rock Market, 990 Main Street in Blowing Rock, is not your average gas station.

“We’re a gourmet market that happens to sell gasoline,” laughed David Wray, owner of Blowing Rock Market.

But it’s not just all alcohol and gas—the market is home to a wide selection of hot sauces, an immense display of cheeses, a variety of coffees from around the world, teas, an excess of groceries and a large Boar’s Head delicatessen. “And, keeping with history, we still sell Exxon gas,” said Wray.

Yes, the quaint, upscale mountain town of Blowing Rock is home to a gas station that is as majestic as the views of the valley it rises above. Blowing Rock’s 1,500 residents can find all they need for their home or second home within its walls—and fill their cars with gas while they shop.

For more information, call 828-295-7373 or click to www.blowingrockmarket.com.
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Sugar Mountain Clubhouse

The Village’s New Home for Golf and Tennis

Published August 2, 2007

“Tennis skirts now brush golf slacks through the door,” said Tom McAuliffe, golf director at the Sugar Mountain Golf Club. “It’s a new synergy at Sugar Mountain.”

Welcome to the new Sugar Mountain.

In May 2007, the Village of Sugar Mountain Tourism Development Authority (SMTDA) completed the largest capital improvement project ever attempted within the village limits when it opened the Sugar Mountain Clubhouse—a 5,000-square-foot golf and tennis shop, snack bar and golf cart garage, complete with a half-covered 2,000-square-foot deck overlooking the surrounding mountains.

The building replaced the metal shack where the golf club office used to be and the childcare center where the tennis office used to be. The tennis shop and the golf shop now share the same space on the same level as the new snack bar—serving everything from biscuits to club sandwiches from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. Below the entry level, a new garage holds the club’s 60 golf carts and chargers, and just off the snack bar, a wooden deck—complete with chairs and tables—offers valley views.

“The building exploits any view that the site possess,” said McAuliffe. “I think the building was long overdue. I think the Village of Sugar Mountain deserved this building—the region screamed for it.”

For more information, click to www.seesugar.com or call the golf shop at 828-898-6464 or the tennis shop at 828-898-6746.
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Shoppes at Farmer’s Hardware

Four Floors, 100 Shops, 83 Years of History

Published August 9, 2007

At least once every day, brothers Jason and Brandon Langdon—owners of the Shoppes at Farmer’s Hardware, 611 West King Street in Boone—get to reminisce with a customer about the old days when their four-story, 100-shop emporium was the iconic Farmer’s Hardware—Boone’s most famous hardware store that closed in 2004.

Farmer’s Hardware occupied the space for 72 years. The hardware store opened in 1924 where Boone Bagelry is today and then moved to the current location of the Shoppes in 1932 when the Langdon family—then the Greene family—bought Boone Hardware.

Jason and Brandon are the fourth generation to operate a business at the location, and with two years of business under their belt and the fifth generation already alive and kicking, it looks like the corner of King and Depot Streets will continue to be dominated by the Langdon family.

With three employees—two of whom are cousins—Jason and Brandon’s business is to provide retail space for vendors, selling everything from jewelry to furniture, from home décor to clothes, from handbags to collectibles, from pottery to arts and crafts. When the Shoppes opened in 2005, many missed the hardware store that was a cornerstone of downtown Boone, but the family hardware store couldn’t compete with the prices at Lowe’s Home Improvement and Wal-Mart.

So, to survive in the 21st century business climate and to maintain the building that has been in their family since the 1930s, the Shoppes at Farmer’s Hardware was born.

For more information, call 828-264-8801.
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Sunrise Grill

New Owners, Same Menu, New Atmosphere

Published August 16, 2007

You wouldn’t think that Ethan Anderson and Casey Pond would need anything else on their plate. They already operate a dynamic realty business, MAP Realty; the region’s largest zero-waste initiative, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore; and Boone’s answer to food delivery, Boone Take Out. But on May 17, 2007, the partners added another notch on their Boone business belt—Sunrise Grill.

The two men have years of restaurant experience and a love for the people of the High Country, so the acquisition of Sunrise Grill wasn’t just another notch on their belt. They love the High Country landmark and want to make it better.

For 10 years, Sunrise Grill has been a hotspot for the breakfast and lunch crowd—a place where everyone knows your name and both breakfast and lunch are served all day, every day. Originally opened by Floridian Andy Viola, the restaurant changed hands to longtime owner Kim Pryor. But with new duties that came with marriage and children, Pryor lacked the time necessary to run the restaurant and put it on the market.

Pond and Anderson jumped at the chance to own their favorite lunch spot and went to work adding their personal touches—short of changing the menu, of course.

“We never closed a day,” said Anderson.

As part of the takeover, the 64-seat restaurant on Highway 105 in Boone became non-smoking, opening up the establishment to more families and residents.

Without changing the menu—a menu that many in the High Country have come to know and love—Pond and Anderson tweaked other parts of the restaurant. They hired new staff and now employ 26 High Country residents, changed the lighting and added a sports-picture motif that features High Country residents practicing adventure sports around the region.

For more information, call 828-262-5400.
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Purveyors of Art & Design and Wildflowers Fine Art Publishing

Helping High Country Artists Make a Living

Published August 23, 2007

When Mike Hill—co-owner of Purveyors of Art & Design Materials Inc., 699 King Street in Boone, and Wildflowers Fine Art Publishing, 58 High Country Square in Banner Elk—graduated from ASU in 1988 with a degree in commercial arts, he wasn’t worrying about becoming a starving artist. He was worrying about how to help other artists from starving.

“I’ve always thought and always worked thinking, ‘How can I help artists make a living?’” said Hill.

A year after Hill graduated, he turned that thinking into a reality by opening Purveyors of Art & Design Materials Inc., the Boone-based art supply store and framing shop. Four years ago, he took the thinking a step further by purchasing Wildflowers Fine Art Publishing, the Banner Elk-based mini-frame shop, mini-art supply store and one-stop shop for giclée prints and artists’ publishing needs.

Today, Hill spends most of his time at Purveyors where his only employee is his dog Mazie. Hill’s fiancée Becky Serine—whom Hill describes as “the very best” giclée technician around—is a co-owner of the company and runs Wildflowers in Banner Elk where her only employee is her dog Sully.

“In a town with art stores on every corner, we really are a little different,” said Hill. “It’s more than just a product to us.”

For more information about Purveyors of Art & Design, call 828-265-0209 or click to www.artpurveyors.com. For more information about Wildflowers Fine Art Publishing, call 828-898-3423, 1-888-275-1660 or click to www.wildflowerspublishing.com.
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University Nissan of Boone

New Owner, New Employees, Same Great Product

Published August 30, 2007

Chris Welborne, owner and president of University Nissan of Boone, grew up driving Nissans and was admittedly “branded Nissan” from the time he was able to drive.

But it wasn’t until recently that he began selling Nissans—a job he loves and a job he describes with passion. Welborne came to Boone in 2007 from Taylorsville where he owned a Chrysler Dodge dealership for six years.

“I always wanted to be here. I always loved the High Country,” said Welborne, who often visited Boone when he lived in Taylorsville. “I enjoy the climate.”

Welborne is at his business every day and prides himself on being hands-on with every facet of his business. The first step he took after buying the dealership was to staff it with the right people. Now he has 23 dedicated employees who know the product, relate well to customers and treat people the way they want to be treated.

Business is booming.

For more information, click to www.boonenissan.com or call 828-264-7726 or 1-800-798-9826.

Boone Florist

Leah Rudell Looks Back at a Fragrantly Floral Five Years

Published September 6, 2007

“Ma, live your life. It’s been waiting for you.”

Leah Rudell’s son Ben scribbled that note on a piece of brown paper and left it on her desk at Boone Florist when she arrived for her first day at work after buying the store five years ago. Even today, when she looks at the note—framed on the wall above her desk—she gets teary eyed.

“That’s what I’m doing,” said Rudell. “I’m living my life now.”

A Fredrick, Wis. native, Rudell moved to Boone 17 years ago from Elizabeth City after going through a divorce. She had never been to Boone—she had only heard of the area through friends. Her son Ben, now 32, and her daughter Erin, now 40, came with her. The family started a new life in the High Country.

“Life changes,” said Rudell.

Upon her move, Rudell took a job at a local deli and then moved on to become an employee at the now-defunct Heaven’s Sent Florist in Boone—all the while honing her skills as a jeweler for a hobby. Soon after, Rudell took a job at Boone Florist, then owned by Dreama Slaney.

On October 3, 2002, Rudell purchased Boone Florist from Slaney who had owned the 20-year-old business for 6.5 years. Sans knick-knacks and silk flowers, today’s Boone Florist is much as it was in 2002, except that a large selection of Rudell’s jewelry is on display. Boone Florist is a full-service florist selling everything from individual flowers to large arrangements.

Rudell hand makes arrangements for “weddings, funerals, anniversaries, birthdays, special occasions and just because,” she said. Rudell delivers the flowers, with the help of her one employee Lauren Mahaffy, all over the High Country, offering free delivery to the ASU campus, funeral homes and hospitals. Her prices are inexpensive—flower wraps start at $10—and her designs are one of a kind—just ask the dozens and dozens of students, seniors, second homeowners, locals and business owners who frequent her shop.

For more information, call 828-265-0000.

Appalachian Electric

Keeping the High Country’s Lights On for 30 Years

Published September 13, 2007

Superior customer service and quality workmanship—these two attributes of Appalachian Electric are the reason why the “mom and pop” business celebrated its 30th anniversary on Friday, September 14, 2007.

Owned by Quinn and Debbie Hineman, Appalachian Electric handles hundreds of individual homeowners’ needs in addition to the needs of many high-profile clients, such as Tweetsie Railroad, Hound Ears Country Club and Appalachian Management.

“We wire anything from sheds and dog houses to multi-million dollar homes,” said Quinn Hineman, one of the first licensed electrical contractors in the High Country who achieved his state board certification in 1977—the same year he started Appalachian Electric. “To make it here for 30 years, you’ve got to do something right.”

After 30 years in Boone, Quinn has figured out how to do it all right. From the time customers of Appalachian Electric need a job done, their needs are met in full.

Debbie answers every phone call in person—if not, she will call you back as soon as she gets back. In fact, Appalachian Electric doesn’t even have hours of operation—you can call them anytime and chances are, Debbie will be the person on the other line.

“We have the smallest ad in the phone book but the best customer service,” said Debbie.

“She lives in the house [answering the phone] and I live in the truck [traveling to jobs],” added Quinn.

When Debbie sets up an appointment, Quinn makes sure that he or one of his workers is there when they say they will be there.

“When we say 8:00 a.m., we mean 8:00 a.m.,” said Quinn.

Quinn—who works 70 hours a week—has made a living off being prompt, dependable and courteous. “We pride ourselves on that,” said Quinn.

For more information, call 828-963-4281, email appele@skybest.com, info@appalachianelectric.com or click to www.appalachianelectricboone.com.

M-Prints Incorporated

Covering the High Country Community with Support and Apparel for 17 Years

Published September 27, 2007

When it comes to priorities, M-Prints Incorporated owner Stuart Mangum has just two—customer service and community service.

Mangum’s story is a perfect example of how a business can help define a community and a community can help define a business. Entering its 17th year of business as a screen-printing and embroidery shop, Mangum’s M-Prints not only makes sure that each order—whether it’s for one shirt or 10,000—is done right, completed on time and is exactly what the customer wants, but he also makes sure to share the profits of his business with community organizations.

In 1991, Mangum—an ASU grad who became tired of working for someone else in the screen printing business—borrowed $8,000 from a friend and moved into half a garage at the base of Howard’s Creek Road with a screen-printing press and a dream. In those first years, business was lean and Mangum worked mostly by himself. By 1997, Mangum expanded his business to include embroidery. The addition of an embroidery machine necessitated more space and Mangum moved into the second bay of the garage—the one without running water—expanding his business to 2,000 square feet. In January 2000, Mangum moved his business to its current location on King Street after buying out one of his competitors, Joe Robinson and Boone Sports Center.

Mangum sums up his success in one business secret—stand behind what you do.

“People around here like to know that they are dealing with someone who is going to do the right thing,” said Mangum. “I’ve always made a job right.”

No matter the cost or the time, Mangum always fixes orders for customers until they are completely satisfied—even if customers asked for the order incorrectly in the first place. This personal connection is what Mangum has strived for since the beginning and is also the reason why he hasn’t expanded his business outside of Boone.

For more information, call 828-265-4929 or 1-800-982-6865 or click to www.mprintsinc.com.

Blue Ridge Vision

Keeping an Eye on Fashion and Customer Service for 8 Years

Published October 4, 2007

According to Blue Ridge Vision’s tagline, Your glasses are talking about you…Do you know what they are saying?

Optometrist Daniel Sullivan does—and chances are, he probably made them talk in the first place, because the 8-year owner of Blue Ridge Vision has a passion for eye care and eyewear. After spending five minutes with Sullivan—surrounded by his high-tech toys, immense selection of frames, happy employees and even happier customers—even the most content person is likely to question if s/he has this much fun at work.

But to Sullivan, fun is what it’s all about. In fact, fun is what got him into the business of optometry in the first place. “We get the coolest toys—just look at this stuff! We’ve got the coolest instrumentation in the world.”

After graduating as a licensed optometrist—or a primary care eye physician—in 1999, Sullivan and his wife Heidi decided to travel to Boone to check out a 12-year-old optometry practice that was for sale.

“Boone is just gorgeous. We made the mistake of driving here on the Parkway, and you know, you don’t leave when you do that,” said Sullivan, who bought Blue Ridge Vision in 1999.

Sullivan’s business is three pronged. Blue Ridge Vision offers eye examinations using the latest in optometry technology, or optical coherence tomography to those in the know. Basically, Sullivan can study pictures of the eye down to nanometers—not just to millimeters as with older technology. Blue Ridge Vision also outfits customers with the “coolest frames outside of New York City,” according to Sullivan. Blue Ridge Vision also manufacturers frames in house.

“No one’s got the style we’ve got,” said Sullivan, who runs the business with his wife of 23 years and optician Heidi.

For more information, call 828-264-2020 or click to www.blueridgevision.com.
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Mountain Construction Enterprises Inc. Custom Builders and Timber Framing and Hearthstone Homes of Western North Carolina

Published October 11, 2007

A bronze keychain sits on Mark Kirkpatrick’s computer keyboard that is inscribed with the words of Winston Churchill, “Never, Never, Never Quit.”

Kirkpatrick lives by that phrase—his two businesses are the greatest example.

As the co-owner of Mountain Construction Enterprises Inc. Custom Builders and Timber Framing and Hearthstone Homes of Western North Carolina, Kirkpatrick, who shares ownership of his companies with his wife Debbie Arnold, looks at himself more as an artist than a builder—an artist that never gives up on his dream.

Kirkpatrick’s dream was to own a timber frame construction business. Not only has he achieved his dream, but he is also at the top of his field after 25 years.

Kirkpatrick runs two businesses that are under one management roof.

Mountain Construction Enterprises Inc. is a full-service residential construction company that specializes in the use of heavy timbers, but will take on jobs that require any kind of custom construction. From new homes to remodeling existing homes, the focus of Mountain Construction is to uniquely replicate a client’s vision while enhancing the unique character of the mountain community. Mountain Construction builds anywhere, but has finished notable projects in Grandfather Golf and Country Club, Tynecastle, Sugar Mountain, Blowing Rock and Linville.

For more information, call 828-963-8090 or click to www.mountainconstruction.com.
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Paint Your Wings

Be Artistic Without Pressure

Published October 18, 2007

An August 2007 ASU graduate opened her own business in downtown Boone just 15 days after receiving her diploma.

Heather Reaves, 21, signed a lease on the building at 362 West King Street at the end of July 2007, one month before graduating with a recreation management degree, and now her business is flourishing.

Welcome to Paint Your Wings, an art studio where the artistic and nonartistic are on an even playing field, and the sky’s the limit for creativity and fun with pottery painting.

“Paint Your Wings is a place where people can come of all artistic abilities and pick a piece of quality Italian pottery and get creative,” said Reaves.

Customers entering Paint Your Wings see a dozen worktables set up much like a welcoming kindergarten classroom. Each seat has its own placemat, brush holders and neon-colored sponges. Along the wall are shelves filled with an array of plates, pots, bowls, mugs, kitchen and home items, serving dishes, décor and “a whole bunch of cool stuff,” said Reaves.

Customers select the item they wish to paint and pay the price of the item—ranging from $8 to $42—and a studio fee of $6. Then, customers have free reign in the studio and can work on personalizing their item for as long as they wish—even for multiple days. Reaves and her three employees provide paints and brushes, and they also take care of the cleanup.

For more information, call 828-262-9919.
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Libba’s of Blowing Rock

Thirty Years of High Taste and High Fashion in the High Country and Beyond

Published October 25, 2007

High taste. High fashion. Personable service. Relationships with customers. Constantly evolving selection of merchandise. Great staff.

Benjamin Belton, owner of Libba’s of Blowing Rock and the Libba’s and Benjamin’s stores in Morganton and Hickory, loves fashion and loves people, and he has built his 30 years of service to the customers of western North Carolina on the points listed above.

Belton’s three stores feature men’s and women’s shoes, gifts and apparel—Benjamin’s caters to men and Libba’s caters to women. The store in Blowing Rock is located at 1077 Main Street and primarily features women’s items—80 percent of the merchandise is apparel—with a few men’s items mixed in.

“This is our 30th year and the best is yet to come,” said Belton, who named the women’s portion of his business after his wife.

Belton is still—and has always been—the sole buyer for his three stores. He regularly travels to Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Dallas and Las Vegas on buying trips.

Belton’s success depends on the relationships that he and his staff form with their many customers. Belton takes prides in his stores, not only for their merchandise and better branding, but also for the great staff of 23 who develop lasting relationships with the clientele of the three locations.

“We have a better store because we provide the best possible service,” said Belton.

For more information on the Blowing Rock location, call 828-295-7781 or click to www.benjaminslibbas.com.
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Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc.

Helping Newcomers and Locals Find a Perfect Housing Fit for 26 Years

Published November 1, 2007

Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. handles residential and vacation rentals—85, to be exact—as well as real estate sales, including time shares, in Sugar Mountain, Seven Devils, Banner Elk, Newland, Land Harbor, Jonas Ridge and Linville Falls.

“We are a very healthy real estate sales company and I think we have stayed strong in the sales area because of the leads generated from our vacation and residential rental program,” said Hope Harvey, senior sales broker.

Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. turned 26 in 2007.

Diane Martin’s expertise as the owner of Mountain Retreats Realty, Inc. stems from her more than two decades of service and experience in the rental industry. Martin’s company began in 1981 when she took over the management of three rental properties in the present-day Inverlea neighborhood, and became licensed to be a real estate broker. By 1991, Martin left Inverlea and started out on her own. By 1993, she had accumulated enough referrals from happy customers that her rental base was growing and she moved into her current location at 4840 Highway 105, Suite 3, in Banner Elk.

Today, the referrals and accolades keep coming in and Martin is excited to keep watching her business grow, especially after the addition of a third broker.

For more information, call 828-963-6325, 1-800-819-7647 or click to www.ncmountainretreats.com.
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Idol’s Tire & Auto Service

Taking Care of You Like Family for 17 Years

Published November 8, 2007

It’s hard to find a place like Idol’s Tire & Auto Service these days. The days of talking to the boss of a company face to face when you, the customer, have a problem are fading. The days of bosses taking care of employees outside of work when life gets tough have almost gone the way of the dodo. And the days of customer satisfaction—satisfaction in terms of service through the life of a purchased product—have also taken a hit, with more products being purchased on the Internet.

But not at Idol’s Tire & Auto Service. There the good ol’ days are intact and if it’s up to Jerry, he isn’t changing a thing.

“We can’t suit everybody, but we try our hardest,” said Idol, who celebrated his 17th year in business in 2007. “We do whatever it takes to make people happy.”

Idol’s Tire & Auto Service is a full-service tire, muffler and auto repair shop located at 1032 East King Street in Boone. Idol is the owner and just recently stopped getting his hands dirty in the shop.

“The customers are always number one and I take care of them, but these days I do my best to keep my crew happy and pay the bills,” said Idol, 45, who can most often be found in his office these days. “If you keep good and happy employees, you get good and happy customers.”

For more information, call 828-264-5414.
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Clover

Blowing Rock’s New Upscale Clothing Boutique and More

Fresh. Pretty. Lucky.

Published November 15, 2007

Clover,located at 110 Sunset Drive, Suite 1 in Blowing Rock, may seem like a random name for Blowing Rock’s newest upscale clothing and accessory boutique, but not if you ask its owner Jessie Dale—there are actually many reasons behind the name. One of those reasons refers to Dale’s luck in opening her own business at such a young age.

“I feel just so lucky to have what I have and do what do,” said Dale, 31.

Dale opened Clover on June 25, 2007, following many months of preparation.

Dale describes her stock as “boutique originals at one-of-a-kind prices.” Clover carries clothing by Rebecca Taylor, Trina Turk, Rachel Pally, C & C California, Splendid, Christopher Deane, Cary Lynn Calter and French Connection, as well as six lines of jewelry—including items from two local artists—all sorts of shoes, handbags from four designer lines and gift items.

For more information, call 828-295-0552 or click to www.shopatclover.com.
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The Daisy Chain

The High Country’s Professional Personal Shopper

Published November 22, 2007

Kirby Doolittle was born to run boutique thrift stores.

When she came to ASU in 1974 to pursue a teaching degree, she didn’t hit the books right off the bat—she hit a dumpster located behind the Crossnore thrift store.

Having inside information from a friend that the Crossnore thrift store liquidated its merchandise every year in the fall—heaving it into a dumpster located behind the building—Doolittle was there waiting…waiting to grab the best of the best. Fur hats and coats, pea coats, dresses, blouses and jewelry all awaited her in that alley dumpster, kick starting a successful career that has spanned three decades.

With her alley finds, Doolittle opened her first boutique thrift shop—called Liza’s—in the small space on King Street where Split Endz is located today.

There was no turning back. Doolittle’s eye for fashion, along with her keen ability to roam yard sales and thrift stores and to separate the mediocre and normal merchandise from the rare finds has enabled her to open 25 different boutique thrift stores across the state over the past 33 years.

Her newest venture is The Daisy Chain that is located in Carriage Square #11, 324 Highway 105 Extension in Boone The store opened on July 7, 2007.

“[The Daisy Chain] is different than any thrift shop because of Kirby and her taste and the way she puts all the displays together,” a customer said. “When I come here, I don’t think of going to a thrift shop—I’m going to Kirby’s. Her taste is so neat.”

For more information, call 828-262-3283.

Watauga Insurance Agency, Inc.

90 Years of Service to the High Country

Published November 29, 2007

Ben Smith is the proud co-owner of Watauga Insurance Agency, Inc.—a business that has served the High Country and North Carolina since 1917. After buying shares from his father and from his mother Marie, Smith now shares ownership of the business with his sister, Jennifer Krause. The siblings took control of the business in 1997—80 years after it originally opened.

Watauga Insurance primarily offers general insurance policies on commercial and personal lines, and since 2000 when Smith acquired his securities license, the agency has also offered retirement planning, life insurance and annuities.

“Our service is what makes it worth it to go with us,” said Smith. “We go the extra mile for people. We feel like people are well taken care of here.”

As an independent agency, Watauga Insurance has access to the products and rates offered by 11 insurance companies.

“That’s one of the strong points of independent agencies,” said Smith. “That’s very positive for our clients because we can shop around for the best deal.”

For more information, call 828-264-8291 or 828-264-8566.
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Bayou Smokehouse and Grill and General Store

Southern Louisiana and Southern Texas Cooking Meets The Mountains

Published December 6, 2007

“Like most places in Louisiana, we are a restaurant that serves drinks—not a bar that serves food,” said Winston Ammann, co-owner of Bayou Smokehouse and Grill and General Store, 130 Main Street in Banner Elk.

“In southern Texas and southern Louisiana, everything is done around food and drink. Everyone who has a business has a kitchen in the business,” said Winston’s husband and co-owner Dave, who was born in southern Texas and raised in southern Louisiana. “You just grow up around food; everything’s centered around food.”

So it seemed only fitting that when Dave left Louisiana and his job in the oil industry in 1986 that he started a life in the food and beverage industry. In 1986 he actually moved to Charlotte and opened Bayou Kitchen—a restaurant and catering service that for 18 years made a name for itself in the Queen City as the place to eat real Cajun food. A little more than four years ago, the Ammann clan packed their belongings and made a permanent move to the High Country, settling in the Village of Sugar Mountain. Within a few months, the Bayou Smokehouse and Grill opened its doors.

Bayou Smokehouse and Grill is a New Orleans style restaurant, said Dave, serving primarily Cajun food reminiscent of the varieties found in southern Texas and southern Louisiana. The Louisiana-style recipes come from Dave’s mother and the famous barbecue recipes come from Dave’s father. The other tastes come from recipes picked up from friends along the way.

More than a year ago, the Ammanns opened the General Store directly behind the Bayou that offers a wide variety of merchandise including one of the most robust beer and wine selections in the region. The store is also filled with many local products, artwork and furniture, as well as knickknacks for the holidays, sundry items and fine food products.

For more information, call the Smokehouse and Grill at 828-898-8952 or the General Store at 828-898-8953 or click to www.bayousmokehouse.com.
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The Incredible Toy Company, Inc.

High Quality Toys Promoting Imagination, Creativity and Fun for 15 Years

Published December 13, 2007

Fifteen years ago, the Internet had not fully entered all of our lives and questions still existed such as, “Where can I find quality toys?”

Kathleen Rowell asked that question too many times in 1993, and she was sick of going out of her way to answer it.

“If you wanted quality toys back then, you had to order them through a magazine or go off the mountain,” said Rowell. “There was nowhere you could go.”

So Rowell changed all that. In 1993, Rowell left a job at the Mast General Store after 11 years and started The Incredible Toy Company, Inc.

Everywhere you look, The Incredible Toy Company is stacked with dolls, science experiment games, jigsaw puzzles, board games, Playmobil toy sets, Brio train sets, Thomas the Tank Engine products, infant toys, dollhouses, sleds, wooden toys, remote-control cars and music and art supplies.

“It’s a toy store,” said Rowell, “but we go for very high-quality toys, not the cheap plastic stuff.”

For more information, call 828-264-1422 or click to www.incredibletoycompany.com.
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Santa and Mrs. Claus’ Toy Shop

Celebrating Hundreds of Years of Making Toys For All The Good Girls and Boys

Published December 20, 2007

For the last Business Spotlight in 2007, High Country Press pulled out all the stops and took a trip to the frosty North Pole to catch up on the toy business with Santa Claus and his elves. Reporter Sam Calhoun learned about Santa’s business secrets, quality control practices, how the toy operation works, how the delivery system is implemented and how Santa has stayed ahead of the ever-changing toy market.