Liberty, NC

Artisan Hub

2018-05-05T19:31:00.001-04:00

You'd be in disbelief if I told you there was an avant-garde styled restaurant, serving up some of the best food I've ever had, in Liberty. Not just the best in town, or county, but what might be the best diner in the entire state, perhaps only rivaling La Farm of Cary.

And you would be right, because there isn't one. Even though we have some great places, nothing in Liberty comes close.

However, Artisan Hub is only twenty minutes away in Downtown Siler City.

Artisan Hub describes the atmosphere as a "Down home feel with a new age flair." And I can't agree more. The chefs were kind, and willing to go that extra mile. At no point did I feel embarrassed or imposing to ask a question or for help. It helps that there is a lack of a crowd; turning it into a quiet, relaxing hideaway, that many people don't know of.

Now onto the food.

Words alone cannot describe how good this meal was. Everything had been seasoned to work in a robust masterpiece. As it's name implies, dishes have been crafted thoughtfully, until they are perfect in every regard.

Not only does everything taste great alone, but they have been balanced to blend together marvelously.

This applies to every dish I had to opportunity to taste; chicken and waffles (which might just be better than Dame's in Greensboro), the "Morning Glory", French Toast, and pimento cheese grits.

I have a feeling, anything you order, will be amazing. I for one, am definitely heading back for brunch.

When you go, just be sure that they are open, as they only do breakfast and lunch, five days a week. The location might also be easy to miss; its right next to the barber on the same street.

This place is so good, it might just make the Top Ten Restaurants in Liberty list.

The Mystery of Big Hole Road in Chatham County

2018-01-18T01:13:00.003-05:00

Unbeknownst to many, only twenty minutes from the outskirts of Liberty, lies a government project shrouded in secrecy. It may sound like Stranger Things in real life, but hidden on Big Hole Road near Jordan Lake, AT&T Project Office NC-1 remains active. Before you start to speculate of aliens, gravity machines, and time travel, let's do some research first.

The Project Office itself was built in the mid-1960's; featuring shock-absorbing spring foundation, steel and concrete blast doors, rubber plumbing, and tropospheric scatter antennae, a technique to send radio signals slightly farther. For security, CCTV and steel crash barriers were also erected. More recently, a moat has been dug around the complex. The name "Big Hole" travailed from the amount of earth dug during construction, giving the project an estimated 13 underground storeys.

After completion, it is assumed that it functioned as a telephone switching center, possibly for the military AUTOVON system. More likely, it served as a continuity of government bunker. The primary mission of the office was and is still not public.

Strangely, of the other known project offices, there were a few that never featured this equipment; was this the primary objective? Similarly, the other project offices, feature strange accounts as well.

The center continued this way for many years, even after the abandonment of AUTOVON in replacement of better methods. In 2008, the facility appeared to be abandoned for a short time, before reopening, sans the tropospheric scatter antennae.

Many locals have stories of strange clouds, spotlights, UFOs, and even earthquakes at other project offices. Most of the people who have worked there have nothing to say including one of Pittsboro's mayors, Chuck Devinney, "I wiped it all out of my head, when I went out the door, I never looked back." Officials that will talk at all only deny that it was part of AUTOVON.

Don't forget that AT&T has had a deep alliance with the US government for a long time, including many NSA wiretapping projects that we know, such as Project X, Project Fairview and Hemisphere. These are only known thanks to government leaks. What other projects do they have?

Even if the center did once operate as a huge guarded switching center, the question remains, what does it do now? After searching the FCC ASR, there aren't any registered antennae; they are not using it for known radio communication. They probably have aliens.

Do you know something? Have you seen anything? Do you have the perfect theory? Let me know.

If anyone is more interested, I recommend checking out the following links.

Please feel free to contact me if you find anything.

Basil - Thai To Go

2017-09-27T00:40:00.003-04:00

Liberty, North Carolina: just the town you would expect to find small-town diners and drive-ins. Anything too foreign or unconventional would come as a surprise to anyone passing through, let alone anyone who lives here. Tucked away, however, is Basil's Thai To Go.

I drive along Old 421 every day to Siler City, passing by the little restaurant. For whatever reason, I had never given it much thought, until carpooling one day when a friend asked about it.

Later that night, I decided to try it. After searching for information online, I found the restaurant's Facebook page. I called and placed an order of KraProw Fettuccine, as well as some Coconut soup. After 20 minutes, I picked up my order. I was welcomed with great customer service and my warm food; I was even given free Spring Rolls.

Once home, I opened the package and was greeted with the delightful scent of the food. I quickly and thoroughly enjoyed my meal, savoring the nice balance between spice and sweet. I was more than full afterward.

I recommend Basil's to everyone who has not tried it yet; it is definitely my new local favorite. They serve a large selection of Asian food too, not just Thai. You can find their menu and phone number below. Although I picked my food up, they also have a nice area where you can dine in.

Phone Number - (336) 622-4691

For and By the Community

2017-05-19T21:49:00.001-04:00

Among many of the community's attractions, restaurants, and business's you're sure to find a free newspaper, centered around Liberty and it's surrounding towns. Simply named, The Liberty Leader offers an array of information; there are ads of local businesses littered throughout, with few articles in between.

Cluttered with basic grammatical and spelling errors, the first headline of this month's issue celebrates the 50th anniversary of Kidd's Drive In (although the restaurant itself has been around for 66 years). While I'm a fan of the restaurant, the article is hardly legible; it seems to be written by someone's grandmother, who just so happens to be suffering from dementia.

The beginning of the article - more than four errors in the first sentence.

Despite the first article being the worst written, you won't find anything more substantial, or better written. Still, I recommend you to take a look at the paper, here. I love the idea of there being a newspaper for Liberty, particularly if it's free. It's just so poorly executed. Embracing the personalistic nature of the paper is fine, writing the same three poorly written stories every month is not.

More importantly, the newspaper is a reflection of the town itself; the newspaper itself states, "...By The Community And For The Community." Accordingly, the material resonates living in the past, refusing to move forward, and refusing to be open-minded. This is the underlying philosophy plaguing the town.

Albert Einstein once said, "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."

Gregson Manufacturing Company | Retro Liberty

2017-04-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

Manufacturers of upholstered, wood office chairs and lounge seating.

Take a seat and jump back in time with this retro cool matchbook cover for Liberty's own Gregson Manufacturing Company featuring their XL Series office chairs. Founded in 1921 by Barnie J. Gregson, the matchbook cover could have been written by the President himself, "Most in Quality.... Most Reasonable Prices". However, this was back when the area code was still 919 and white shag carpet filled the living rooms.

Gregson chairs are designed and styled to add a warm, simple elegance to the architecture of the modern office. Each series is complete with a chair for every use. And there is a series exactly right forevery office - modest or luxurious. The most in Quality and Comfort at the most reasonable prices. [sic]

The Gregson family lived in Liberty for over five decades with Barnie's children, Joseph and Dwight joining the company. Joseph was known around town as a volunteer fire fighter and avid golfer who frequented the Sedgefield Country Club.

The company originally began as a manufacturing company for wagon parts but found a market for producing cane-bottom chairs. By 1928, the company was acquired and merged with the Standard School Equipment Company and quickly became known for institutional and office furniture.

A Stunning Look at the Depot in Liberty, NC

2017-03-22T16:44:00.002-04:00

It's not only the year that Doc Brown went back to the Old West but 1885 was the year that the Liberty Depot was built with its gabled roof and unique octagonal turret. The former Southern Railways depot (and prior, the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad) became dilapidated by 1992 when it was sold to Jim Wilson, a local lawyer who began restoring it. You can see its condition as of 2005:

Believe it or not, when operational, Liberty had it's own public transportation system and this depot served to bring people to and from the town via rail. Liberty's Womens' College at the time (now Liberty School), created such a demand for visiting the town that thousands of students passed through the depot for a better life through higher education.

Randolph County HB2: The most hateful county in North Carolina

2016-04-07T11:13:00.001-04:00

In ancient times, public toilets were just that, public, communal. Like a town square, large stone benches with holes in the latrine sat over running water that flowed beneath. Men and women sat side by side having conversations and taking care of business. These days it's all a private affair, so much so that I cannot recall the last time (in this country) I've been in a toilet without partitioned stalls and locking doors. So I'm confused as to why the Governor McCrory felt the need to pass HB2 and more to the point, why Randolph County felt it necessary to publically support the measure? The only answer is hate and fear.

Even more interesting is the Courier Tribune ran a non-scientific public opinion poll of Randolph County citizens showing that the respondents were against HB2. This means that Randolph County Government literally voted to support a measure that was entirely superfluous and did so against the opinion of its constituents. This despite there has never been a single instance of a need for this law in Randolph County, and the absolute silliness of all this as it's completely unenforceable and will be completely ignored.

If anything will come of this measure it's hostility. Hostility not towards LGBT people (though it definitely could) but hostility towards non-LGBT individuals, those who don't conform to traditional gender stereotypes. How long before ambiguity leads to confrontation? How long before someone takes HB2 into their own hands and it leads to violence? Violence against these same women and men that HB2 purports to protect.

If this law was aimed at other minorities we would call it racism. If it was aimed at foreigners we would call it xenophobic and it's important to remember that the words and expressions of local government who support HB2 is nothing short of hate speech. Unlike the U.S., hate speech is largely been criminalized in Europe thanks to a 2008 European Union decision. What's that got to do with little Randolph County? Why are companies pulling out of North Carolina? Because almost every multi-national corporation currently operating in this great state of ours, which also operates within countries that fall under the European Union framework are at risk of being in violation the 2008 decision should they be forced to implement HB2. The higher legal standard applies. Even with regard to U.S. law, the possibility for a lawsuit due to violence or a hostile workplace is enough to send companies running.

In all honesty, they should. Run away from this place until it's inclusive to people of all gender, race and religious beliefs. This is totalitarianism at its worst. It's hateful, wrong and morally repulsive.

Smokehouse Bistro

2016-03-31T13:13:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I had the keen idea of visiting the Smokehouse Bistro in downtown Liberty. If I'm to be completely honest with myself, Liberty is not a food mecca. That said, it's nice to be able to walk to downtown, grab a meal and enjoy the springtime weather.

The Courier Tribune wrote an excellent review of Smokehouse, so I had high hopes when I walked into the place. The owners have clearly spent a lot of time transforming this downtown café into something special. It's small and cozy with a little bar. It's completely out of place in a town that typically borders on functional rather than charming.

One look at the menu and you realize they're going in the right direction. Taking the bold effort to not offer the typical burgers and hotdogs which is common throughout the town takes gumption. That said, I found something lacking in the food. I ordered the taco salad and my date ordered the brisket. The salad was laden with more of a chili than Mexican flavors and the brisket, while good and definitely better than many local options, somehow missed the mark from my experiences with Texas and Tennessee briskets.

In the one meal I had, where they really hit it out of the park was the homemade croutons. The last time I've had croutons that good were at the Palms in Carpentaria, California. Perhaps my mistake was in my own ordering since they do make so much from scratch? I'm willing to go again if not just for the salad. I believe this is a restaurant that can evolve, but I must admit I did lose respect when I enquired if the chili has beans in it (it shouldn't). This is one of my non-negotiable pet-peeves in culinary cooking. Now take for granted I have several of these rules when it comes to deciding the skills of a chef and they're entirely from my narcistic perspectives.

It is worth noting that there is a bar and this looks like a very cool place to come and get a drink. In fact, if I had to sum up what was going on here, I'd say Liberty has neat downtown dive with typical pub based food. I'm seeking advice in to what to try next here as I really believe this place to have a promising future. Comment if you have a recommendation!

Why restaurants fail.

2015-11-11T11:01:00.000-05:00

The Dogwood Bistro closes it's doors according to the Liberty Leader on Facebook. The comments offer numerous reasons such as a socio-economic disparity among town residents, the restaurant's service or its location.

Interestingly, businesses must fail as they're a part of the engine of economic growth. People invest money, shut down and someone else comes in and repeats the process. The building that Dogwood resided in seems to be cursed with such a phenomenon. It doesn't help that the location is somewhat obscure. Which get's me to the core of the problem, why restaurants fail here in Liberty.

There's no single reason. Surely, a profitable restaurant that stays in business is ideally more preferred to the constant life-cycle of the restaurant entrepreneur. That said, a lot of people open restaurants who don't have the skills to do so. Now, I never visited Dogwood. In fact, I've been in Europe for the last year, so the food may have been brillant. But the honest to goodness truth is that a lot of people who open restaurants think they can cook but can't. It's okay, I'm just being honest.

Of all the reasons, this is the most common. Because reason number 2, is not knowing how to run a business (lack of marketing, common sense). I've seen restaurants with excellent food thrive even when its poorly managed. Most people have one skill or another, those with neither are doomed from the beginning.

I hold a master's in public relations and communications. I've worked with restaurants in building their brand and developing communication plans. Here in Liberty, if you're opening a new restaurant, hiring someone like me is probably your best bet at seeing success. No doubt the majority of people who open a restaurant here will continue to ignore this advise and blindly pursue a venture with which they're personally biased to fail at. In other words, you need the opinion and advise of others to determine if the product and your brand is viable. Just to clarify, this is not your cousin Willy.

So back to rule 1... you can't cook. If you think you can (which obviously you do because you're opening a restaurant), have a professional come in and look at your recipes. Do focus groups with customers (in exchange for the free food) and get some honest to goodness criticism from others before you open your doors. Just because your kids and uncle Joey love your cooking doesn't actually mean it's good.... it mean's your family hasn't tasted real food. Invite some local chefs over or more importantly, real people, like food bloggers.

So what could Dogwood have done different? Well, not inclusively, but here are somethings I would have recommended.

The business name should include what kind of food your selling. Are you a burger restaurant, Italian or something else. Dogwood's Hamburgers, while not as catchy tells exactly what you do. Someone driving by the restaurant would know instantly what you sell. If you're not focused on a single item, clearly you should rethink your business approach.
Considering the location, it should have been necessary to do a traffic study of vehicles passing the restaurant and if it could support the level of income necessary to keep it sustainable. The biggest mistake was not advertising the restaurant off 421. Purchasing a highway (this exit) sign may have literally made the difference in the survival of the business. Additionally, renting signs out downtown may have driven traffic meant for other restaurants.
Have a social media presence. There's absolutely no reason not to have a website (no Wix isn't very good), Facebook and Instagram account. Hire a high-school intern to run it but it's absolutely vital these days. Update it everyday. Make people drool for your food.
Finally, Dogwood could have offered something new. Find your unique niche. Offer drive-thru service or delivery. Offer the hottest jalapeno hamburger in all of Randolph county. Offer a food challenge. Build a brand that is thematic and makes customers want to have an experience, not just a meal.

I'm certain there's other things too. Furthermore, though I use Dogwood Bistro as an example it's only because they're closing. I'd like to see more businesses succeed in this town but unfortunately a good proportion will continue to fail because of hubris. Maybe this will help.

Do You Support the Mega-Site in Liberty?

2015-04-15T11:58:00.000-04:00

Interesting conversation going on Facebook over the megasite proposal. (Join in!)

Overall, the mega-site is a good idea. It brings jobs, it secures the future of the town and its youth. However, it must be something that adds to people's lives. This requires a strong incentive package to garner public support from the developers to the people of the area. These sweetners need to include public transport infrastructure (buses), guarantee of a minimum wage above ten dollars an hour for even the janitorial staff. Commitments to town infrastructure, like new libraries and parks. To simply accept the destruction of natural resources, without an investment in community is exploitation. However, I'm certain our local government is fighting for these key concerns with regards to this project.

One notable thing that was posted in the group was Liberty's academic profile. In Liberty, a mere 200 people have a college bachelor's degree, and only about 50 people have master's degrees. The lack of an educated base within our geography suggests that we've failed to invest in the future with our own children, or that our youth are not being retained for jobs in other areas. The future of the area will be decided by our ability to attract individuals with the skills and minds that will better the future of the area. While not ideal, this mega-site offers the opportunity to transform people's lives. If incentivized properly, this site could offer education and training to these individuals and give them a path to prosperity.

There are outspoken proponents of the site though. One website, northeastrandolphpropertyowners.com , suggests we stand up for rural America. One opponent chose to respond to the support for the site by saying:

"Liberty has always been, and always will be a small town! Period."

Which of course is untrue. Everything, always changes. Millennials don't want homes, they want apartments near their jobs. They're giving up cars for public transport. Even if we forget the numerous small towns that are now mere dust patches along Route 66 in the mid-west, towns that we're bypassed for prosperous interstates, towns that missed their opportunity, we must not reject the risks involved when shouting "period" to becoming antiquated. Churchill once said that to be perfect is to change often, and I agree.

But I don't fully support the mega-site without heavy incentives. I also believe it should be closer to the core of the town of Liberty. Perhaps partially built underground, reshaping our dilapidated infrastructure. It should be close enough for individuals to walk to, and for it to be integrated into the town. The companies that make up this megasite need to be a part of the social fabric of Liberty. It must be a socially responsible entity that sees the future of the town and its people prosper, just as it does. In fact, if I recall, I'm pretty sure that's the American dream.

What's your opinion?

Liberty's Employee of the Year

2015-02-17T14:05:00.002-05:00

Indeed, when I came home to Liberty at Christmas (I'm studying abroad right now), I found the TV issue had re-surfaced too. I'm not sure what's going on lately, but I find an entire street of knocked over trashcans unacceptable. Can you imagine what would happen if this was not a town employee, but a citizen knocking bins over with their car? You'd call the police.

Liberty, a little on the trashy side.

2014-08-30T17:31:00.003-04:00

You may remember the song by Jerry Walker called Trashy Women. The 1989 country hit gets stuck in my head every time we take the dog for a walk around the neighborhood. Littering seems to be a popular past-time in my neighborhood. While there are many bottles and wrappers from private citizens, the Town itself seems to be contributing to the problem.

Here's how I became interested in it. About a month ago I threw out my daughter's old television. A standard 19" television from several decades ago. I stuck it out by the street, even checking the town website to be sure it would be picked up quickly. To quote their website:

It is, and has been, a practice for your Public Works Department to pickup residential rubbish that will not fit into your Blue container [sic] when it is placed at the curb on Tuesdays.

Except that's not true. A few doors down from my property has sat two larger televisions on public domain (near the roadside) which have not been picked up in over six months. They sit here as of today. In fact, at one point there was three, till I took one home, replaced the capacitors, and gained a new flat-screen for my daughter.The two remaining CRT units sit broken, scavenged of their precious metals, like copper, by gleaners (something I respect). Our TV sat for several weeks before I found an alternative.

The truth is the entire trash system here in Liberty has become progressively more expensive and difficult for citizens. We used to have two pickups a week, and now we're down to one. I'm entirely a supportive of less waste, even though the effects of this change is resulting in more public littering. In fact, I'm posting rather moderate pictures. I could show you a wooded area at the end of Fairview Street where appliances, mattresses, and tires have wrecked an entire eco-system. Go walking near the adjacent lake and you find used toilets, and other discarded large items.

I cannot understand the failure of the town in this matter. I understand there may be some opinion as to personal responsibility, but knowing Tragedy of the Commons (If you don't, read it.), I'm inclined to suggest that this system, our government, to which we pay and contract for these services, and which has failed to do so, is in violation of their contract (in layman's terms, they're not doing their job). Even if we hold the opinion, that our trash service does not include this sort of waste, the municipality's failure to educate, and then fine those who disregard public health is really confusing.

We're living in a world of Ebola, Malaria, and other diseases spread by warmer weather and bugs, who lay their larvae in these hoards of trash. The entire concept of sanitation, and modern health, is derived from better human health through sewer and trash (thank you Romans). If the Town of Liberty is unwilling to do the job it's appointed to do, then where are citizens supposed to turn? Do we simply accept things as we always have and live in squalor, or do we say something?

Perhaps they (town officials) didn't know? (Now you do!) Not to be too serious about the whole matter, but in the big boy and big girl world of litigation, if someone would die or become injured from such ignorance, we'd call that criminal negligence. Yes, the town could be sued, and officials go to jail for a long, long time. :(

Look, in the end, I want what most of Liberty wants... to pay my outrageous monthly fee for trash, and for it to mysteriously disappear, magically, and safely removed out of my sight. You do your job and I'll pay my bill, it's as simple as that. Unfortunately that's never happened, and now Liberty is a little on the trashy side.

Update: After this article had been posted, the TVs have been removed, and the town is better for it. Thank you!

Liberty-NC.com

2014-08-13T11:55:00.000-04:00

So this website (yes, the one you're reading) has been around longer than the town's website by several years. When the town created the website under David Oles (former town manager) I assume they did so, because of this website. When that happened, I was excited to see that they joined the technological age (despite being a bit late), though I was confused why they would choose to copy and paste my work rather than simply ask me to help (I would have). Imitation is flattery, you know, right? That said, I don't really mind it, nor did I mind the recent Liberty newspaper which again copy and pasted all my work for publishing. This site has always been a service to the community, a conduit to motivate, influence, and inspire. I really couldn't care who gets credit for the idea, as long as people listen and change happens.

However, Liberty seems to get bitten and taken advantage of a lot. While I will say the new Liberty-NC.com website is several magnitudes of better than its previous incarnation, it's still a copy and pasted (for the most part) website. I'm not saying this to criticize, only to help out. The biggest mistake of all is the domain name. Considering the fact that the town is a legitimate town and government, my first suggestion would have been (if I came in as a consultant) would have been to secure a .gov domain. It's a rather simple process of merely authenticating your official status, and then setting up a 301 Redirect of the old domain to the new one. Both the old and new domains will continue to work (don't worry, you don't have to take down the signs), however, there are many benefits from a .gov website (e.g. preference in search engines), not to mention it gives the town a sense of officiality. A nice, www.libertync.gov, would make a whole lot more sense than a hyphenated capitulation.

My other suggestion is quite minor in comparison to my first. There's three things a person wants when the come to a municipal website. 1) to pay their bill, 2) access to contact information (e.g. a directory) for every government employee or department (including email). For instance where is the mayor@libertync.gov? How do I recommend that he install a sidewalk for the elderly? 3) Information on when things are happening. Unfortunately when you go to liberty-nc.com, the first page is some random information (borrowed from something I wrote almost a decade ago), which means nothing to current citizens, and it seems like a vacuous statement to anyone Googling the town out of interest. In essence, this new website is out of date even before it went live. While visually it's an improvement from the previous incarnation, I would recommend in the future, hiring a professional who know what they're doing (e.g. Tech Triad). Once the website is created, get someone to maintain it who has a background in writing, print, public relations, and communications. Most importantly, find out why people use the website, and build it so it serves those needs. That's what a government does... it serves.

Town not at fault when sewer backs up.

2014-07-01T19:44:00.000-04:00

On May 28th, Roy Lynch, the town manager, sent a letter out with the water statement explaining that customers are responsible for damages in the case of a sewer backing up into your home. It's vague, accusatory, and attempts to blame homeowners for their own lack of responsibility (likely due to budgetary concerns). I'll try to explain all this the best I can.

Liberty's sewer system dates back to the 1920's when Roy Reitzel drilled two wells to create the towns first water works. The system has remained largely unchanged for almost ninety years and is heavily composed of ceramic pipe material which is the most susceptible type for root damage. In addition, the towns budget issues have negatively impacted the replacement of sewer and water lines, and has resulted in a lack of preventative maintenance. The most common issues are when a tree's roots breach a sewer line and restrict the flow of sewage. During heavy downpours of rain, this limited flow may create a reversal of sewage into all homes attached to the line. There are both chemical and mechanical methods for municipalities in dealing with roots to prevent such disasters, but it appears neither are being applied in a adequate preventative sense here in Liberty. You might think that you could hold the town of Liberty responsible for damages, but this letter serves as legal notice that they are not liable. In other words, you would have to file a lawsuit in order to obtain any settlement. Considering that much of Liberty lives below the poverty line, it's safe to assume they feel it's a calculated risk, but who's really right?

Well, with utilities, the responsibility of the infrastructure starts and stops at something called the Point of Demarcation (POD). In layman terms this is generally the meter (e.g. power meter, water meter, etc.). So for example, the town is responsible for everything from your water meter (typically under a cover in your yard), to the water treatment plant. The homeowner on the other hand is responsible for everything from the meter to the house. What this letter from the town attempts to do, is blame the homeowner for the consequences of the negligent maintenance on their end of responsibility. They now require each resident to install back flow protection at the homeowner's cost. This is like someone crashing a car into your home and blaming you for not installing a cement barrier.

Most homes do not have sewer back flow prevention, a sort of one-way flap valve that closes in the case of reverse flow. The cost for installing this device could range from around $500 to $5000 if cement floors need to removed and re-installed, or your yard needs to be dug up to access the pipes. According to this letter, it is now a law that you have this device installed on your home. That's right, if you haven't installed this device, according to this new ordinance referred to in the letter, you're breaking the law.

The Liberty Antiques Festival (or the worlds largest garage sale)

2014-04-25T13:44:00.002-04:00

Another thing to ♥ about living in the Piedmont Triad is the Liberty Antiques Festival which is going on right now. Tickets are $7 a person, with children and parking free!

The Liberty Antiques Festival is a bi-annual celebration of buying and selling classic goods. It's like a giant recycling program for furniture, paintings, as well as: pottery, glass, clocks, dolls, toys, military items, jewelry, folk art, and much more! There's even food at this festival some call the World's Largest Garage Sale. For these few days, the population of Liberty grows by 10 times, with more than 10,000 antique lovers from twenty five states, descending upon the 100 acre fields of Pike Farm just outside Liberty, NC.

Started in 1991 by Vito Sico, Mary Ellen, and Janet Hill better known as JanMar Promotions developed the Liberty Antiques' Festival into a national event that was recently voted best antiques show in the mid-Atlantic region.

Liberty Antiques Festival offers treasures for novice and seasoned antique collectors

“We turned a hobby into a career,” says Mary Sico of Liberty, NC. The hobby is antique hunting and the career involves coordinating (along with her husband Vito and her business partner, Janet Hill ) the twice annual Liberty Antiques Festival. Each year a show is scheduled in the spring and in the fall. For 2006 the dates are April 28-29 and September 29-30.

As a young married couple still in college , Sico and her husband combed the “junk stores for furniture, then moved to antiques.” She says antique hunting is a “nice hobby for couples, single people and young people.” Even children can find an area of interest in antiques or the collectibles market. Sico says her son collected action figures as he was growing up.

The April show will host approximately 400 vendors from all over the country and will include early painted furniture, American pottery and country primitive. “Antiques are at least 25 years old,” says Sico.. Many of the merchants have participated in the festival since its inception in September of 1991.

For novice or seasoned antique/collectible hunters, come prepared to spend time visiting various vendors at the Liberty Antiques Festival. Sico suggests that folks listen to the local weather forecast and prepare accordingly. The festival goes on “rain or shine.” Also, dress in layers and do your homework by checking out some of the great antique and collectible books on the market.

Liberty, a Ten Minute Town?

2014-03-28T09:09:00.002-04:00

Traffic through the city is placed underground.

Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to visit and live in a small city in Belgium called Louvain La Neuve. There I witnessed a presentation by the visitors' bureau on the design and development of the town. It's truly a remarkable city, idyllic in many ways and likely a perfect example with which small towns with strong community connections should consider as they move forward with design.

The most remarkable part of Louvain La Neuve is their rejection of sprawl. In fact, the entire city was designed so that the core business area was within a ten minute walk from most residential areas. I loved this idea and felt a town like Liberty should consider such a vision. They explained that from the original design, most people are willing to walk instead of drive if its under ten minutes, so government visionaries designed the city around this idea.

When companies want to open a store in Louvain La Neuve, they are
asked to provide a piece of artwork for residents to enjoy.

In fact more interesting is that the business core is fire-walled from direct access by vehicles to encourage walking, a complete reversal to our Roman ideals. To reach the opposite side of the city drivers are encouraged to circle a peripheral road as there is no direct (line of sight) roads. Some Americans may see this as a nuisance, but I can assure you its a far easier approach to community, environment, and pedestrian safety than our current methodology in Liberty. The benefits are plenty, including increased commerce (because people actually walk by the businesses and enter them), a healthier life-styles for citizens, reduced environmental impact from cars, and reduced costs for government because there are less roads and intersections to maintain. A man-made lake was even placed at the center of town so residents could promenade (French term for Sunday Stroll). It's as though city leaders are attempting to simply create happiness among its citizens, rather than simply disappointment every time you need to go shopping.

Notice how major roads circle the city rather than breach it.

Clearly Liberty, considering it's an established town would be a hybrid of our current model and a Ten Minute Town if leaders so chose to move in this direction, but small changes could be made to move closer to this vision. The goal, in my opinion is to look at every road currently within our urban core and surrounding areas to see if its completely necessary. If it's not, converting it to foot traffic use is a perfect way of improving the city while reducing costs. A perfect example is Old US-421 and Route 49 approaching the town from the south. These two arteries could be reduced to a single main road. Furthermore the portion of Swannanoa Street that currently passes through downtown could be closed permanently to vehicles to create open social spaces, and room for outdoor dining a cafes. Returning the town-square / public market concept to the public (Liberty once had a town square) seems like a redeeming thing to do and Louvain La Neuve provides leaders with an excellent template moving forward for town growth as they ask themselves if future decisions fit into a Ten Minute Town?

Crossroads Grill - Siler City

2014-02-05T21:00:00.003-05:00

The problem with Siler City is that it's not much more than a glorified highway travel plaza. I'm not trying to diminish all the effort to better the city (e.g. the arts district, etc), but Highway-64 offers very little in the way of food outside of an airport food court. I must confess that this city which (oddly enough) is home to the world's best chili cheese burger (Johnson's) is already a unlikely place to find yourself in, and without this famous restaurant, likely, all would be lost.

This will fix that headache of yours.

That said, a few of us find ourselves in this purgatory of McDonalds and Burger Kings on a daily basis. For myself, it's to chariot my two children from the local Charter School, where on occasion I wish to eat something, quickly. For me there's very little reason to eat at anywhere in Siler City than Johnson's except when they're closed. Unfortunately they're closed a lot (they close at 2 PM daily). My children who exit their fine academic institution around three o'clock each day presents me with a gastronomic dilemma: do I ignore the hunger, or capitulate and buy something to eat which serves little purpose other than encouraging my own self-hatred from tasteless, overpriced food chains?

Bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

The real problem is when you've got to eat, when it's practically a medical emergency. When you wake up with a hangover, your head is pounding, and you've practically overdosed on Advil. You need something greasy, something gooey, something with a chili soaked bun that's going to make everything okay again. When you find yourself in this situation, and Johnson's is closed, thankfully Crossroads Grill is there to save you. It's not a place you want to make your daily lunch stop (you'd likely die if you did), but in those times of weakness and need, it'll be your savior.

Some really great seasoned fat fries.

Interestingly, there's very little on the web about this little single drive-thru, slapped on the side of a tiny tile and glass photomat building except for that they're known for their chili-dogs. They serve your typical southern style hamburgers and hot-dogs with good but plain chili, onions, mustard, and slaw. They also have other foods like BLTs, steak and cheese, and fried okra. It's not the best food I've ever had, and it's definitely not Johnson's, but compared to my other local options: it's phenomenal. It's cheap, greasy, and better than anything you'll find at Wendy's. In fact the best part of the whole place is that the tourists completely pass by the place for McDo's ten minute wait of a drive-thru, while locals nosh on the quiet outdoor patio of Crossroads, which is ran by real humans who actually care about customer service (yes I'm talking about you, you Wendy's mood-killers).

The Menu

So next time you're in Siler City, and want a huge chunk of cardiac plugging cheese and meat, I highly recommend a double bacon chili cheeseburger from Crosssroads Grill

Maria's Famous Pizza and Subs (and Greek food too)

2014-02-01T14:54:00.000-05:00

So I'm driving by Maria's yesterday and noticed a banner that read:

"$500 giveaway: www.mariasfamouspizza.com"

Oddly it wasn't the giveaway that sparked my interest, it was the website. "About time!" I thought. However there are several questions I have about the whole Maria's thing.

Questions like: what makes it so famous? Has anything in Liberty, EVER been famous? Are people driving from miles around for this specialty pizza? Has it been on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? Has Anthony Bourdain given it his seal of approval? Besides the obvious marketing gimmick, it's phenomenal that Maria's has managed to stay in business in such a small town, now with four pizza restaurants serving Liberty.

Greek salad, with real feta cheese.

As elated as I was to add their website to the site, I was disappointed when they missed the boat, and didn't add online ordering (it's fairly simple these days). Not only that, but the website, which is sort of rudimentary, evokes the dawn of the Internet. While I give a big cheer for trying, stock (or ~~stolen~~ borrowed) images of other restaurants on the internet are hardly going to entice me to order from Maria's (okay, yes they did, but really, you need a real web designer).

Greek Shwarma Gyro. Shan says she'd like to marry the person who makes the sauce.

Not to skew the enthusiasm, but they're on the right track. This should be their game-plan: First is to always have a better product than the competition. A "greasy pizza" as we called Maria's as children must now compete with competitors like Pizza Hut and Domino's who they themselves have had to change their core products to keep up with the times. Two, get a sign off 421 (like Subway did per my suggestions). Three, (and like most important) get online ordering. There's tons of options to implement it, and statistically (literal, I've looked at the numbers), you can't compete in the pizza world without this element (56% of pizza sales are online these days). Lastly, join a rewards network (like AA Dining), to draw in us point-savvy customers from out of town.

A fabulous steak and cheese. Tip: order with extra cheese!

That said, we dropped by Maria's after their internet debut, and found the same dated interior from my childhood. We also discovered great food and service. Shan was wanting something Greek, and I a steak and cheese. I said, let's check out the menu at Maria's, and what we found is the perfect Greek salad and shwarma gyro to satisfy our cravings. I also grabbed a large steak-and-cheese which was pretty darn good as well. It's apparent that their pizzas have improved from the greasy 80's I remember, to become truly delicious NY style pizza (though I could go for some butter and garlic on the crust). The bottom line is that if you want Greek food from an Italian restaurant, served by a southern waitress, then Maria's is the place. Shan about flipped for the homemade tzatziki sauce, and everything seemed spot-on for a really nice lunch out.

Vegetable Pizza + Pepperoni = Amazing

Who would have ever thought I could call up on the phone from my home in Liberty and have lamb gyros delivered to my house. Very cool my friends, very cool.

Asheboro's The Table Restaurant

2014-01-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

After no sleep on Wednesday, flying from Dallas to Raleigh on my birthday I curled up in my chair with a blanket and passed out and in of consciousness while my family delivered me birthday cake and take-out. The next day after I recovered, we celebrated and drove down to Asheboro for lunch at The Table Farmhouse Bakery.

The Table is completely out of place in Asheboro both in its style and quality of food. It is, however, a most welcomed anomaly in Randolph County's barren gastronomical diversity. The closest thing this place comes to is La Farm in Cary, but to suggest that this is a French cafe, would be a careless character assassination in a city of confederate flags, pimento cheese, and Freedom Fries. In fact, I'm not even sure where their clientele come from. Their customers look nothing like the typical Randolph County demographic with their fancy business attire and BMWs in the parking lot. Two miles down the road at Wal-Mart someone is buying canned ham to fry and Twinkies for dessert, dressed in neon yellow leggings and a tube top, but at The Table there are individuals drinking $6 lattes, and taking home fresh bread wrapped in paper and tied with strings (ok adhesive tape, but you get the point). How is this even possible?

While I will admit La Farm has my heart when it comes to quality, taste and atmosphere; The Table is absolutely amazing when you consider where it's located. It's in a renovated building with a funky, wild decor that's both classic and chic. The food is fresh, and very unique; though I found the menu choices lack a certain definitive focus. There are burgers, and Cubanos (Cuban sandwich), then there's ham and cheese. I was looking for a Croque Madam, but became overwhelmed and confused by what was notable and what was novelty. While everything was good that I had, the truth is, I couldn't find amazing on this visit. That's not a complaint, just a criticism. The truffle fries were perfect, and the bread was out of this world, but the pastries we tried lacked the flavor and texture of those I've had at La Farm or in Europe.

Would I go again? Hell yes! This place is wonderful! To be just a few miles from home makes it a fun place to go for a great meal. I think I need to keep searching this place for that perfect combination, with each visit. I immediately regretted not getting their ham and cheese, but what I'd really love to see is frite filled Croque Madams, or lamb and fry baguettes with Cafe Mochas; however, what you get is absolutely fantastic for Asheboro, NC.

Dog Laws and Tethering.

2013-11-23T12:16:00.004-05:00

This is an example of a dog being tethered outside permanently. The collar/chain, embedded itself into
the skin of the animal.

Let's talk about a sensitive subject: dogs. Especially as we approach the Christmas season and many children (and adults) may find a cute puppy under their tree. A lot of people consider pets disposable products, but they're not. In fact this mindset has caused an epidemic in Liberty. My entire street is filled with dogs, most of which are tethered permanently outside to trees, stakes, or other apparatuses. What is the purpose of owning a dog if you're going to leave it outside, chained to an eight foot circle its whole life? What possible benefit to your life, does owning this creature, if you're never in contact with it, except maybe to feed it? These dogs violate sound laws every night, barking constantly, they're forced to suffer through rain, ice, and snow, and many of them never see a veterinarian. The cost of owning a pet is incredibly expensive. It's been estimated the cost is $75 to several hundred dollars a month. If you're not spending this kind of money (on average), then likely, you're not properly caring for your pet, and should take some time to reflect on your own practices. They need grooming, good food, a warm, dry habitat, exercise and most of all LOVE.

To my knowledge, Liberty's laws include only the need for a four-sided shelter.

In addition, because so many citizens are guilty of violating sound ordinances with their pets, most of us choose not to report others to the police. In my case, I wish not to cause a row (an argument). However, it's a huge problem. The fecal matter alone from these pets, that they wallow in causes diseases in humans and pets. If the purpose of a government (e.g. the mayor, and counsel) is to protect, and serve its citizens, then on this matter they have failed (or simply chosen to ignore) to engage in protecting civil health.

The question is what will Liberty do about it?

What they should do is pass an anti-tethering law immediately. Many states and cities have done so:
http://www.unchainyourdog.org/Laws.htm

This would solve many problems immediately. Further more, greater enforcement of sound ordinances in the evening hours would benefit many, including my own ability to sleep. Leash law enforcement is absolutely necessary.

I would encourage laws aimed at cheap licenses, enforcing chipping (data embedded into animal) and other pro-active actions to encourage proper pet care and ownership.

Owning a pet is not a right, it's a privileged and should be treated as one. Ownership should be afforded and earned, and the privilege should be withdrawn by local authorities if owners are incapable of their responsibilities.

In addition we should encourage local restaurants to have outside seating, and encourage citizens to take dogs for walks to dinner and/or lunch. Add dog-parks to the local parks and expand the animal culture from the negative to the positive.

Pets are great, love them, cherish them, and they will give you everything back you give.

New Urbanism in Liberty

2013-08-24T16:51:00.002-04:00

My hopes for the future of Liberty is one which includes a concerted, and planned effort to improve the town for the better with better walk-ability, less roads (but more functional ones), and a more community center atmosphere for everyone. The New Urbanism approach fits so well here with available multi-use space and current infrastructure. However with the likes of the new Family Dollar, one must wonder if we're not headed in the wrong direction: sprawl.

This photo shows the heart of the Seaside, FL community located on the Florida panhandle. Notice the high-density nature of the development, with minimal spacing between the buildings and the narrow streets. The homes are located close to the street right-of-way and garages are located to the rear of the houses with access via alleyways. Sidewalks can also be used as parking for vehicles.

Seaside Florida is a perfect example of the utopian town we could achieve, if we so chose to make the effort:

Birkdale Village is a new urbanist village located near Huntersville in northern Mecklenburg County near Interstate 77. Notice the retail stores located below the upstairs residential units. Also notice the abundance of on-street parking, sidewalks and extensive landscaping.

Best Tacos in Asheboro: El Mil Taqueria.

2013-07-29T20:39:00.002-04:00

I top each taco with epic amounts of their awesome smokey hot salsa.

I'm still hoping that one day Liberty will have it's own little taco stand, but til then, when I'm in Asheboro, there's only one place worth eating: El Mil Taqueria.

There's something special about an order of $5 steak tacos with extra corn tortillas, making them into eight lovely red and green loaded salsa with cilantro and onions. This is real Mexican street food. For awhile I thought El Mil had closed, but they just moved to another part of the shopping center and expanded into the adjacent shop with a Mexican supermarket.

The menu is simple, delicious, and I can order my pineapple drink with the best darn tacos in Asheboro. I can only describe it as a roller-coaster of flavors that leave my taste-buds screaming for more. To be completely honest, considering the value, and quality of the food- I'd almost be willing to say this is not only the best taco stand in Asheboro, but the best restaurant in Asheboro.

Cross-Walks in Liberty are Needed.

2013-07-04T19:44:00.000-04:00

One of most needed locations for a crosswalk.

One of the things I keep on hoping for, for Liberty, is increased walkability. The ability to transverse the town without motor-transportation in safety and ease. The lack of sidewalks is huge problem for residents, especially those in the senior living housing near the town cemetery. Often you can catch one of our older residents walking down the center-lane of Swannonoa Avenue with their tennis ball styled walker trying to get to Food Lion followed by a long line of traffic unwilling to pass them.. With the increase in businesses in this corridor, and the additional traffic of the last few years, it gets rather scary for my family of four to cross the street, let-alone senior citizens who may have difficulties in mobility, sight, or hearing.

But something could be done. Even if budgetary measure prevent a new sidewalk on the south side of Swannanoa Avenue (or even better a center lane Greenway), we could add cross-walks at a minimum cost. Some paint on the street would provide the pedestrians with a clear right-of-way where once they're in it, and would allow them to cross despite traffic. Once a person is in the zebra-crossing, a car must stop.

For those who haven't lived in a big-city, crosswalks usual come in two types. Signaled ones (where the pedestrian has a button and/or a light) and standard zebra-crossings without a light. The signaled versions (which would inevitably may add cost to the project) gives automobile traffic the right-of-way till they're stopped by a traffic signal. These are most common in main roads, or congested areas. The other type, a simple painted cross-walk, gives the pedestrian the right-of-way the moment they step into the street, and cars are required to stop, giving full right-of-way to the pedestrian. The cost is likely a few dollars for the paint, and a few hundred dollars for the necessary signage, all well worth the investment in my opinion.

This is my wish for Liberty, though I wouldn't mind seeing the speed reduced in this area as well. I've seen animals ran-over and children who have come close. Currently there is no access from the Southern part of the town to newer businesses without crossing a heavily trafficked road. The current situation of Liberty's walkability actually encourages motor transportation, where as we as a community should support the opposite: a community of safe, open access for everyone to local businesses.

In addition these changes will help the environment, increase the health and well-being of citizens and allow better disabled access to merchants. Crosswalks are needed in Liberty, but that's a minimum.

Pick Your Own Blueberries (and Pineapple Cake too)

2013-06-09T12:27:00.000-04:00

Pick your own Blueberries in North Carolina? YES!

We've been picking our own strawberries for years at Greeson's, but recently we stumbled upon a place where you can pick your own blueberries. Not only can you pick them right off the vine, but they have several other home-made products that will blow your mind (ice-cream, cakes, squishees). Well worth a lazy-day's drive, thirty miles into the country in my opinion.

The place? Millstone Creek Orchards, near Ramseur, NC. It's a little farm in the middle of nowhere, that sells touristy style, farm-fresh foods, but are really darn good. My favorite? Organic real-juice raspberry and apple cider slushies. They're out of this world, and perfect for these hot-summer days. You will get brain freeze, but that's part of the fun! Check their facebook page for picking "forecasts", and enjoy the freshest fruits you've ever picked.

Most delicious pineapple cake I've ever eaten.

Millstone literally has the family grandma stashed in the back somewhere turning out cakes. These won't win any awards for looks, but they're home-made, full-fat, and completely delicious. The pineapple cake it out of this world. In a world of store-bought, factory made cakes, the concept of driving to a farm, buying a home-made cake from someones grandma is absolutely unheard of (and sort of cool).

So what are you waiting for? Hop in the car, and pop on down to Millstone Creek and pick some blueberries, grab a slushy, and take home a cake. It's a day-trip of fun that might become your secret hot-spot for farm-fresh fun.

Apple Cider Organic Squishees at Millstone Creek Orchards

2013-06-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Found my new summer hot-spot for cold drinks at the most unusual of places: Millstone Creek Orchards. It's a pick-your-own blueberry and apple orchard with swinging tires in the trees, honey on the shelves, and the best part of it all: organic, all-juice, no-sugar added squishees (also known as Icees or slushies).

These aren't your Kool-Aid version, they're made from the fruit on premise (we assume) and are considerably better tasting and healthy for you. If only we would have brought that airplane sized vodka with us, we would have been making mixed-iced-drinks on the way home.

Last time I popped in I grabbed a blue raspberry squishee and it was out of this world, and I wished I would have ordered two. However from time to time (like this Friday, Saturday and Sunday) they're whipping up some Apple Cider squishees which I highly recommend you grab, while you can.

Now they do sell other things too, and I'm certain they're awesome too, it's just that I'm a huge fan of their squishees. It's a rather unique road-side attraction which is just down the road from Liberty on Brown's Crossroads. They're priced right, and cold on these blistery summer days.