Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
A lot went down at the end of last week right before the July Fourth holiday slow-down. Here’s to catching up:
-Word on the street: is that Karen Donatelli is planning to open a restaurant beneath her bakery at 57 Haywood St in downtown Asheville.
–An Asheville Police Department officer shot and killed a man following a short chase on Saturday, according to reports. The chase started in the Pisgah View public housing complex and ended outside the Deaverview public housing complex. Police said the officer fired after the suspect “displayed” a weapon later identified as an AR-15 rifle.
-A bill in the N.C. General Assembly to change the way members of Asheville City Council are elected went down in flames on the final day of the legislature’s session. The bill, sponsored by N.C. Sen. Tom Apodoca, would have installed district elections for City Council. WCQS has had excellent coverage.
-Longtime Mountain Xpress movie reviewer Ken Hanke died. He was 61. Here’s a remembrance by Xpress publisher Jeff Fobes.
-Former Asheville Citizen-Times reporter Jon Ostendorff, who joined WLOS about a year ago as an investigative reporter, announced he was leaving the TV job and going to work for Mission Hospital as a local government relations/PR man.
–Aubrie Shramko, a familiar face for the past several years at 5 Walnut wine bar and more recently Smoky Park Supper Club where she worked as beverage director, has moved on to become director of membership and partnership for the Asheville Independent Restaurant association.
–Southern Season last week announced that its smaller format Taste of Southern Season store at4 Swan Street in Biltmore Village opened on Thursday. The 2,000-square-foot shop has onsite parking. The Chapel Hill-based Southern Season also recently filed for bankruptcy, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. From the story:
Once the company reorganizes, hopefully by December, it plans to revamp its website to compete more as an online retailer and shift to opening smaller A Taste of Southern Season stores, like the ones at Raleigh’s Cameron Village, as well as in Charleston and Asheville. It also plans to open two smaller stores in Southern Pines and Wilmington in the next few months.
–The Asheville High has some really cool Asheville-centric designs/products. Check it.
-The North Carolina gas tax rate has changed. It has been lowered, but will likely go up in January 2017. Here’s the summary of North Carolina gas tax changes from taxfoundation.org.
-Here’s a quick Grocery Beat update from loyal reader Tiger:
Ingle’s Store 23, 201 Barber Boulevard, Waynesville, North Carolina 28786-3686: Store 23 Mark II has closed and was razed this week. Store 23 Mark III, now open, should be completed with the pharmacy and the beer cooler by November.
Store 77, 625 Spartanburg Highway, Hendersonville, North Carolina 28792-5762: Store 77 Mark I closed in May. I do not know if it has been razed yet for construction of store 77 Mark II to begin soon.
Store 78, 722 Sullivan Road, Statesville, North Carolina 28677-3440: Ingle’s new Statesville store will be store 78 Mark II, the replacement of the existing store 78 Mark I at Westpark Shopping Center, 3219 Taylorsville Highway, Statesville, North Carolina 28625-2966.
–City Bakery has completed the sale of its Waynesville store to Trailhead Cafe and Bakery, according to a press release. Here’s more:
June 29 was the last day of operation for City Bakery. Opening the end of July, Trailhead Cafe and Bakery will continue the tradition of serving Waynesville and surrounding communities with freshly baked goods delicious breakfast and lunch menu and our newly expanded coffee bar.
Pat and Brian Dennehy wanted the people of Waynesville to know that “It’s been an honor to serve this amazing community and be a part of a wonderful group of businesses on Main Street.”
City Bakery breads will still be available at Ingles Market at 201 Barber Blvd, Waynesville, NC 28786.
“The bill…would have installed district elections”
There’s always next year. The bill is already drafted and the maps drawn.
carolinapublicpress.org/25117/asheville-districts-may-not-be-dead
Authoritarians gonna authoritarian.
I hear the Asheville version of Black Lives Matter is protesting the shooting.
Cop responds to reports of random gunfire, finds a man shooting a rifle in an apartment complex, and already there’s a protest about him getting shot? We quite literally have no details that would make this shooting controversial…
I think they might need to pick their battles better.