Carolina Alumni Review - September/October 2011

AROUND TOWN

A Southern Season
Sold, Looks to
Expand to More
Cities

Seasons change — even Chapel Hill’s renowned A Southern Season. A mecca for gourmets for 35 years, the store that serves up specialty foods and related accessories was sold Aug. 1 to an investment group headed by Clay Hamner, a professor and director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Kenan-Flagler Business School. Former owner Michael Barefoot ’ 73 plans to stay on as a consultant for five years.

Barefoot said that the relentless recession got him thinking about retirement and the offers that Hamner had made over the years to buy the business. Hamner envisions expanding A Southern Season to open stores in more areas, including Charlotte, Atlanta and Birmingham.

Barefoot opened A Southern Season in 1975 as a coffee roastery in Eastgate Shopping Center. Three years later, having added other specialty foods to his inventory, he moved the business across the parking lot to space now inhabited by Trader Joe’s and added a restaurant, Weathervane. Later, he opened a mail-order business in Hillsborough for the store’s specialty products. In 2003, he expanded again, moving to the former Belk’s location at University Mall and using some of the larger space to add cooking classes.

Barefoot has said that the store would always belong to its customers; Hamner has been a loyal customer for 30 years.

A Southern Season, University Mall, 201 S. Estes Drive, Chapel Hill, (919) 929-7133

recipes or, like the Sabrett hot dogs, imported from New York. Chopped liver with a slice of onion; brisket or corned beef; grilled Reuben or the “Mother Load” that layers corned beef, brisket, pastrami, Swiss, coleslaw and Russian dressing, all come with a large pickle. Bring a friend to finish the $8 to

$10 sandwiches; feed the whole family with the $17 mile-high version.

Patrons can eat in or take out, starting at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday. Sunday brunch, served 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., features mimosas and what some say is the best French toast on either side of the Mason-Dixon line.

Look for the hot dog cart on the sidewalk along Raleigh Road.

Streets Deli, East 54, 1118 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, (919) 537-8414

grilled noodles, thick or thin; pad thai (rice noodles); curry; and sushi (raw fish with rice) and sashimi (without rice).

Meals may be complemented by a selection of beer, wine and hot or cold sake. Open 11 a.m. to 9: 30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Hibachi Sushi, 103 Meadowmont Circle, Chapel Hill, (919) 265-0282

Years before the word “foodie” became part of our culinary vocabulary, A Southern Season carved an unusual retail niche. The business, with new owners, now looks to grow beyond Chapel Hill.

SARAH MCCARTY ARNESON ’ 96

Deli Serves Up
Tastes of New York

Homesick for a bialy or knish, or a pastrami on rye you need both hands to eat? If escaping to New York for a quick nosh is impractical, taking a seat at Streets Deli at East 54 might work.

The menu items at the family-owned restaurant, which bills itself as Chapel Hill’s first Jewish deli, are made from family

Hibachi Sushi Arrives in Meadowmont

Hibachi Sushi has extended its reach into Chapel Hill. In July, the Japanese and Thai bistro that has served modestly priced delicacies in Raleigh and Garner opened its fourth location, setting out umbrella-shaded patio tables with a view of the fountain in Meadowmont Circle.

Favorite dishes come from the categories of hibachi (the Japanese version of a George Foreman grill); teriyaki (broiled in a soy-based sauce); tempura (breaded and fried);

Jewelry Maker Opens School to Teach the Craft

Jewelry maker James Carter shows how to put the petal to the metal in his school of jewelry arts.

Carter, who has been making jewelry for about 30 years and teaching the art for at least half that time, opened a studio and jewelry fabrication school in July in the back of Carr Mill Mall, near DSI Comedy Club. He teaches traditional metalsmithing, jewelry techniques and his specialty, Cloisonné enameling, to experienced artists and beginners.

Accepting no more than six students per class, Carter emphasizes craftsmanship and technique while bringing out individual creativity. Students learn to cut and solder silver and other metals and embellish pieces using a variety of jewelry tools.