North Carolina

A pay-what-you-can café in North Carolina is thriving

Published

2 years ago

June 12, 2023

Press Room

A pay-what-you-can café in North Carolina is thriving

Story at a glance

A Place at the Table in downtown Raleigh, N.C. has been a thriving cafe for five and a half years.

The cafe lets people pay what they can.

The cafe has given away tens of thousands of free meals to those in need.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — It’s probably not something they teach at the nation’s elite business schools: open a cafe, let people pay what they can, and give away tens of thousands of meals each year. But it’s working for Maggie Kane.

“We’ve been here for 5-and-a-half years, which is wild,” says Kane about her cafe, A Place at the Table, on Hargett Street in downtown Raleigh. “Am I surprised? I’m surprised, every single day, by just how beautiful this place is. I’m surprised that it’s worked, that it’s continued to work and I’m grateful.”

A large percentage of restaurants close, each year, even in relatively good times so, when the pandemic came and closed everything in North Carolina under government order, Maggie didn’t know what they’d do, at first.

“We actually became a serving line out here, so we just passed out meals, everything was free, we had a line upwards of 450 people, every single day,” she says. And when asked how they could afford that, she replies, “Whew! A lot of amazing people in this community.”

That’s referring to people who donate, generally, but you can also donate each time you eat there.

“We run like any normal restaurant would,” says Maggie. “You walk in and, you’ll see in a minute, it looks and feels like a normal restaurant. You wouldn’t know until you walk up to the register and you see suggested pricing, you see some folks with volunteer name tags.”

Nexstar’s WGHP visited Maggie’s project soon after it opened on Jan. 28, 2018.

“When y’all first came, we were a small café. We had maybe 100 people coming in here, every single day, right?” she says. “So, pandemic happens, we go to 400, 450 people every single day. We actually hired a security guard to come in here and really just do crowd control. With that many people, you need someone to manage it.”

They then hired a de-escalation expert to handle the crowds because so many of the people who find their only sustenance here can make it, in Maggie’s words, “A beautifully chaotic place,” at times. But to Nate Blackmon, it’s home. Nate was homeless for 5 years but found affirmation here and is doing well, now, and A Place at the Table has been key to that.

“One reason is, everyone here loves you and you can feel the love,” says Nate. “I feel good whenever I leave here. I come here just about every day – like, I woke up late this morning, had a lot of stuff to do, said well, I’m going to go by Place at the Table and still go by because I feel good the rest of the day.”

Source link

North Carolina

Tropical Storm Helene destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in NC, FEMA maps show

Published

44 minutes ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Tropical Storm Helene destroyed nearly 1,000 homes in NC, FEMA maps show

Tropical Storm Helene destroyed nearly 1,000 homes when it tore through Western North Carolina Sept. 27, maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency show.

The maps, which show verified damage to homes as of Jan. 7, were presented to the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners at its Jan. 16 budget retreat.

In Buncombe County, Helene destroyed 340 homes, according to the maps. More than 170 were owner-occupied, while the remaining were rental properties.

The maps also show how many homes across the state sustained major damage and how many require repairs so residents can move back in.

According to the maps, 2,360 homes suffered major damage. Nearly one-third were rentals. Additionally, nearly 30,000 homes require habitability repairs, according to the maps. More than 6,000 of those homes were occupied by renters.

The number of damaged homes verified by FEMA is significantly lower than initial estimates from the state. According to a Dec. 13 damage needs assessment compiled by the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management, more than 73,000 homes were projected to be damaged, the majority of which were expected to be single-family and manufactured homes, and duplexes. In total, the state is estimating nearly $13 billion in residential damage alone.

The Citizen Times requested updated damage maps from FEMA on Jan. 17.

How did homes in Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, Madison and Yancey counties fare?

Destroyed homes:

Buncombe: 340

Henderson: 89

McDowell: 92

Yancey: 100

Madison:11+

Major damage:

Buncombe: 640

Henderson: 354

McDowell: 128

Yancey: 166

Madison: 56

Homes requiring habitability repairs:

Buncombe: 8,920

Henderson: 3,988

McDowell: 1,442

Yancey: 1,767

Madison: 302

Jacob Biba is the county watchdog reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jbiba@citizentimes.com.

Source link

North Carolina

Vote: Who Should Be the North Carolina Boys High School Basketball Player of the Week? (1/20/2025)

Published

8 hours ago

January 21, 2025

Press Room

Vote: Who Should Be the North Carolina Boys High School Basketball Player of the Week? (1/20/2025)

Who was the North Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Week last week?

Each week, High School On SI scours the state of North Carolina and compiles the top performances from the previous week.

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Jalin Sutton of Greene Central.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

The 6-foot-5 junior guard scored 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in the Sabres’ 71-63 win over Myers Park. Houpt also had 15 points in a 65-56 win over White Oak.

Kerr, a top 100 national recruit, scored 24 points as the Cougars toppled nationally ranked and previously undefeated Christ School 73-66. The 6-foot-4 junior guard has 10 college offers.

Charles scored 27 points and got 8 rebounds in a 56-42 win over Southside. The 6-foot-4 senior also had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in an 84-38 rout of Pamlico County.

Blow scored 17 points and got 6 rebounds in a 67-59 victory over Ayden-Grifton.

Barron scored 19 points while getting 7 steals and 5 assists in a 77-57 victory over Northwest Halifax.

Edwards posted 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in an 89-39 romp over Wayne Christian. He also had 17 points in an 84-57 win over First Flight.

Brewer dominated with 34 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals in a 66-48 win over Pisgah.

Parkins erupted for 39 points, tying a career high, in a 90-66 win over Asheville. The 6-foot-7 senior also had 17 rebounds. He had 27 points and 13 rebounds in an 81-65 win over Erwin.

Brown scored 30 points and had 5 rebounds in an 84-80 overtime win over Tuscola. In addition, he had 21 points in a 59-45 loss to East Henderson.

Fannon scored 31 points, including 9-of-14 from 3-point range, as the Mustangs beat St. Stephens 93-70.

Source link

North Carolina

North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker resigns after terminal cancer diagnosis

Published

16 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

North Carolina Democratic state lawmaker resigns after terminal cancer diagnosis

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A longtime Wake County Democratic state representative announced his resignation from the North Carolina General Assembly on Sunday.

Rep. Joe John, who represented northwestern Wake County, shared news of his resignation in a letter posted to his Facebook page, after he said he received a terminal diagnosis for throat cancer from his doctors. John, 85, first stated publicly that he was diagnosed with throat cancer in early December.

“I hope my legacy will be one of dedication to the common good — working to build bridges, advocate for the voiceless, and fight for justice,” he said.

John was first elected as a state representative in 2016 and served four consecutive terms. His upcoming term would have been his fifth. Before serving in the legislature, John spent a large portion of his life in the judicial field — as a state appeals judge, superior court judge and district judge. He also served as the State of North Carolina Crime Laboratory’s director.

The Wake County Democratic Party will be in charge of choosing someone to fill John’s vacant seat.

John said in his letter that he plans to focus on his health and spend time with his family after resigning.

“If my time in office has made even a small difference in your lives, then I will leave this world knowing I’ve done my part,” John said.

Source link