Sunday Column, Sept. 23

In case you missed it, or used the business section to line your cat litter box, here is my column from Sunday, Sept. 23, along with a couple of tips that did not fit this week and will go in next week's section.

Dairy Bar up for sale?
Several people have asked me what I will be writing about this week, now that the Wal-Mart is finally open and the Waffle House is set to open on Sept. 24. I was a little worried that there would be a lull in business news, but I was wrong.
I think it says something about the shape of Sanford's economy that I really don't have to work too hard on this column these days. I can remember a time, just a few short years ago, when all the newsroom pitched in on these tidbits just so we would have enough to fill it.
Now, though, business in Sanford is booming, from what I can tell, at least. We have a true Superstore now, and several top notch restaurants to go along with a great mix of small businesses. But I would still like to see that bookstore.
Then a juicy tip came in this week. While at the grand opening of the new Wal-Mart, celebrating Sanford's leap into the 21st century of retail shopping, someone told me that the Fairview Dairy Bar, a local institution that is usually full at all hours of any given day, from when it opens to closing time, is on the market for an asking price of a cool $1 million. That was shocking, although I can see where it may be worth a lot of money, being such a well-known local brand.
Being the inquisitive journalist that I am, and having a hankering for a little barbecued chicken, I decided to take my lunch Thursday at the Dairy Bar just to see if the rumor was true. I ran up with owner Paul Freedle, who was hard at work on another busy lunch crowd, before I sat down and asked him flat out about it.
He laughed, then said there was absolutely no truth to the rumor — for now at least.
"I hear that all the time," he said of the rumor. "But it's not true. This is a family business, and it would break my heart to drive by and see someone else running it. Someday my grandkids might want to run it."
Freedle said, in fact, that quite the opposite was true. He actually has plans to invest in a computerized ordering system by the end of the year to make running the business more efficient.
The Dairy Bar is probably the busiest restaurant in town at lunch, and I couldn't see anyone walking away from that kind of gold mine. Like an unnamed customer said as I talked to Freedle, "I would just like to have the money they make off desserts."

Cuban sandwiches coming to courthouse area

Maybe you can't travel to Cuba, but that's no reason not enjoy a delicious Cuban sandwich.
Emeterio and Julia Garcia recently moved down to Sanford from New York and plan to open Julia's Sandwich Shop at 1415 S. Horner Blvd., across from the courthouse.
Julia worked in restaurants in New York City, but after her husband suffered a heart attack and couldn't bear the cold winters up north because of the medication he was taking, the couple began looking southward for a warmer climate to set up shop in.
"We must have put 2,500 miles on the car driving through towns in the South," said Emeterio Garcia. "But as soon as we came to Sanford, we fell in love. We love it here."
When the restaurant opens on Oct. 1, the Garcias will offer the classic Cuban sandwich — carved pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard — as well as other pork sandwiches, fresh salads made daily and dessert favorites like creme brulee and bread pudding.
The shop will be open for breakfast and lunch daily.

C.O.W. coming to local feed store

Local feed and seed dealer Carolina Town & Country, in conjunction with Purina Mills, will host a Cow Owners Workshop seminar at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
At the seminar, Purina will teach local farmers how to increase their profit potential. Open to all cattle producers, the workshop will feature industry experts speaking on topics such as cattle management techniques, nutrition and herd health. Information will also be available on Purina's Accuration feeding programs.
The seminar is free and steaks and drinks will be served to attendees. Producers can also register to win one of 38 prizes available with an estimated total value of more than $43,000, including a John Deere Gator Utility vehicle and a John Deere riding lawn mower.
Kind of makes me wish I owned a cow.

Moonbeams and Fairiedust Enchanted Metaphysical Shop
Barbara Hart, owner of local mystical emporium Moonbeams and Fairiedust, dropped by my desk this week to tell me that the store will relocate from its current location in the Steele Street Mall to 709 Carthage St., the former home of Priss Pots boutique, on Oct. 1.
For those not familiar with the store, Hart sells everything from incense to dragons (not real dragons — I asked) to potions in the store.
"It's a magic shop," she said. "But we don't sell magic tricks, though we do sell potions."
She said she offers consignment area in her store for people to sell their potions, and one of her vendors offers a real "Love Potion No. 9," which she said has been very popular.
"Well, we have only sold one bottle," she said. "But three others have been stolen."

Coffee coming to Spring Lake
Java Jo’z Coffee & More, a drive-up coffee shop, will open towards the end of October at 1139 N. Bragg Blvd. in the Southwinds Plaza parking lot directly behind PD Qwix and near Big Lots in Spring Lake.
Mike and Sara De Rosa of Cameron own and operate the 240-square-foot, dual-lane drive-up coffee shop, which offers a variety of coffees and smoothies, and a limited selection of snacks such as biscotti, muffins, danish and cinnamon rolls.
Mike DeRosa said that each lane of the drive-up can accommodate four cars at a time. The lanes will run in opposite directions and access from and to Bragg Boulevard is only a stones throw away.
The coffee shop will soon have outdoor seating and parking will be available for walk-up customers, however, the shop’s emphasis will be on drive-up because seating will be limited.
When it opens, the store will operate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, check out the store's website at www.javajoznc.com. The DeRosas can be reached at mike@javajoznc.com or at 910-960-JAVA.

I likes dat new Wal-Mart

I've come a long way since college. As the son of a small retailer, there was a time when I would have rallied against the opening of another "big box" Wal-Mart coming in and killing the little guy, raping the town's wallet and sending all the money to Bentonville, Ark.
But times have changed. Now, being broke most of the time, I can appreciate a good deal just as much as the next guy.
Now, falling prices are just alright with me.
That's why I've been pretty siked out about this new Wal-Mart. So much so, in fact, that everyone in th newsroom has picked on me about the excitement with which I speak of the 100-foot TV wall. But come on, man. Who doesn't love a 100-foot-TV wall?
It's so much nicer than any big box store I've ever been to. I've always been a Target fan because the stores are always so much cleaner and the products are "more fancy." But the new Wal-Mart here is better than any Target I've been to yet.
I grew up near Asheboro, which supposedly had the largest Wal-Mart east of the Mississippi when their store opened. So I'm used to a Supercenter. But the one here in Sanford is much nicer. More modern. More hip. More interactive.
I'll probably be dropping a few bones in there this week.
I may move in there. That seems like the only way I'm going to be able to afford one of those plasma TVs. They're open 24 hours. They'll never know.

Five bands you should be listening to, but aren't

I'm not as plugged into the independent music scene as others at the Herald are, but there are some great nearly mainstream bands out there that are not getting airplay. Each one of these I can put in a CD, push play and not skip a track. That is my measure of a great band.

1. Drive By Truckers
Simply put, my favorite band out there. Twangy country mixed with blues and punk rock equal one of the best sounds out there right now. Plus their shows rock. Three of the five best concerts I have ever been to are Truckers shows. I recommend you just go to the store and buy Decoration Day, listen to it all the way through, then go back and buy Southern Rock Opera, then The Dirty South.
Favorite lyric: "Ya momma's as good a wife and momma as she can be/and your sister's putting that sweet stuff on everybody in town but me./ You're brother was the first born, got ten fingers and ten toes/ and it's a damn good thing 'cause he needs all 20 to keep the closet door closed."

2. Jason Isbell
The former guitarist for the Truckers recently released his own album, and though parts of it sound nothing like DBT, it is still great. A native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., Isbell's songs have more of a blues influence than DBT's, and it is a lot more mellow
Favorite lyric: "You can't make a woman sleep alone/ and you can't maker stay her ass at home/ and you can't give her loving on the phone/ But you try, don't you?"

3. Drag the River
Gordon turned me on to this one, and I haven't taken out the CD since. A former punk band turns country. Great stuff. The song "Get Drunk" is the unofficial anthem of the Center for Indecent Living, where I reside.
Favorite Lyric: "I love to get drunk/ I love the movies/ I love my TV, my couch and my VCR/ Love the way the neon signs light up the walls/ but I don't love you any more."

4. Dr. Powerful
A local band who is tearing up the charts! No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 Latino dance list last week. OK, so that's not true, and Dr. Powerful is my roommate since the band practices in my basement. But Gordon and friends still turn out some kick ass jams. I'm not much on punk rock, but I love their shows.
Favorite lyric: "There's a guinea snowman where my footprint used to be."

5. Glossary
Another Gordon band. This one is the owner of his label's - Grand Palace Records in Murfreesboro, Tenn. It's a little more rocking than DBT and Drag the River, but has the same vibe.
Favorite Lyric: "The worst mistakes take the longest to kill us."

Movies you may have missed

In an attempt to save a little money, I haven't been going out too much lately. Instead, I've been watching a lot of movies. Here are a few recommendations of movies you may have missed in the theater, if they came out around here, but should check out when you get a chance.

Romantic Comedy
The Tao of Steve
Every man must suffer through them on date night. You know, the movies where there are no explosions. But this is one romantic comedy that even dudes can like. It stars Donal Logue as an overweight pothead womanizer - three words that usually don't go together - that falls in love with a blonde set designer visiting his desert town. The fat guy gets the girl in the end, which is always encouraging. It's not great, but it is worth seeing, especially for the Steve McQueen references.
Favorite line: "I'm a fatist. And I'm the worst kind of fatist. I'm a fat fatist."

Big-time Hollywood Thriller
Zodiac
About the Zodiac killings in the San Francisco area in the 1960's and 1970's, along with the press hysteria that surrounded the case. It's not great either. It's a little to long. But I enjoyed it, especially trying to figure out the killer, even though I knew the case had never been solved going in. Plus, the cops reporter for the San Francisco Examiner (Robert Downey Jr.) looks a lot like Herald Cops Reporter Gordon Anderson.
Favorite Line: I can't really think of one, but the sign above the coffee machine in the newsroom said "Coffee - Delicious as hell." That made me laugh.

Sports Movie
Tin Cup
Anyone who knows me knew I would pick this one. It's great. A down-on-his-luck driving range pro goes out in search of glory, finding it at the U.S. Open. Only it's not a trophy, but a trophy wife in Rene Russo (when she was hot.) Excellent on so many levels, but never got the respect it deserved.
Favorite line (There are so many): "You can't get advise about the lady you are trying to hose from the lady you are trying to hose." So true.

Sophomoric Comedy
Booty Call
Hey, it's got an Oscar-winning cast! OK, so Jamie Foxx isn't exactly playing Ray Charles in it, but he is much more funny. I think he should have stuck to the comedy, like on In Living Color. Virtually everything he says in Booty Call is hilarious. Yeah, you probably shouldn't rent this one unless you are under 30.
Favorite Line: "I'm tired of looking at these ladies under muted light. I take a girl home from the club, wake up the next morning and a Sea Donkey is laying next to me."

I'll try to add to this list periodically. I love movies.

Sleeping in your dress blues

So this past weekend I reconnected with a bunch of old friends on my best-friend-since-Kindergarten's porch in Seven Lakes for a post-wedding party/guitar-playing/sing-along. It was great. It was just like high school, except there was beer there and girls that actually like us - somewhat, at least.

Anyway, For a small taste of what it was like, watch this video. I swear, Sanford. One day, you'll all be Drive-By Truckers/Jason Isbell fans: