[piano intro] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend", join us in Oxford as we celebrate Downtown Fun.

We'll go on a shopping trip in downtown Greensboro, explore the Priddy General Store, and visit a bakery in La Grange.

Coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat music continues] - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend", everyone.

I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week, we are celebrating Downtown Fun.

Right now, I'm in downtown Oxford, a charming little town in Granville County that's a lot of fun to explore.

This town has a surprising mix of old and new.

There are classic old homes and businesses, and there's everything from a family-owned hardware store to a high end steakhouse.

You can buy some classic vinyl, or practice Yoga for Good, and so much more.

We'll explore Oxford more throughout the show, but first, what could be more fun to do downtown than go shopping?

A few weeks ago, I caught up with my friend Elizabeth Hudson, the editor of Our State Magazine for a girls' day trip along State Street and Greensboro.

[soft music] It is a beautiful day in Greensboro, perfect for exploring the hidden gems along State Street with a dear friend.

Elizabeth, hey!

- Hey!

It's so good to see you!

I love it here, because it's like a little town within the city.

It's certainly this hidden treasure of Greensboro, to me.

What I know about the area is that it really sprung up at the turn of the 20th century, like around the 1920s or so.

A fella named Walter McAdoo, who was a developer in Greensboro, started this area as kind of this residential and commercial district that was intended to serve the surrounding mill communities.

There's some of my favorite shops in Greensboro that we're gonna go to.

I can't wait to show you those.

One of my favorite places here is called Vida Pour Tea Shop.

It is just a respite from the world.

You walk in, the owner, Sarah Chapman, she's amazing.

We call her the Tea Whisperer.

- She was bringing a friend, and I would love to show you around.

So we are a place to come and relax, and get a cup of tea.

What we do is we try to match people with what they need for the day.

I studied abroad in Thailand, so I wanted to bring in this aspect of fair trade through tea, which does not grow easily here.

Tea is as old as time, and it comes from special family farms, so the sourcing side of that is really special, as well.

- Next, we walked up the block to another of Elizabeth's favorite shops, at 500 State Street.

Elizabeth, I know you've been to boutiques before.

What's special about Lillo Bella?

- The owner is there every time I've ever walked in the door.

She has got a big smile on her face, her name's Emem.

And you really do get this amazing personal experience when you go to her shop.

- I've always known I wanted to do this for a living, 'cause I grew up in a family that is obsessed with fashion.

[laughing] And my mom and my aunts were very fashionable women, and I kinda looked up to them, and I knew, I just knew, as a little girl that this is what I wanted to do.

It's about making people happy, and seeing people walk out, and feel good in what they wear, and be able to stand up straight, because they feel good.

- [Deborah] Elizabeth was right.

I loved the beautiful fabrics at Lillo Bella, the options for crafting a personal style, and Emem's energy was everything.

For a relaxing lunch spot, we chose Cafe Pasta several doors back at 305 State Street.

- It's just a really great place for lunch, one of those places that I feel like only the locals know about.

If you were to come to Greensboro, and you were looking for restaurants, I'm not sure that one might pop up on your radar, so I'm excited for you to experience that one with me.

- Elizabeth, what are you gonna get?

- Well, we're in an Italian restaurant, so I have to go lasagna.

- Oh, yes.

[Elizabeth chuckles] Well you talked so well about that chicken piccata.

I'm going for that.

- It's great.

- Here's to girls afternoon.

- Cheers.

[glasses clink] - [Server] All right, ladies, here we go.

I've got one lemon chicken piccata for you.

- [Deborah] Oh, that looks fabulous.

- [Server] Good, good!

And a lasagna.

- [Deborah] After lunch, we did what any self-respecting women on a day of leisure would do.

We stepped a few doors down for handcrafted chocolates at Rhyme and Reason, naturally.

- Hi, welcome.

- Hey, how are you?

- I'm doing well.

How are y'all doing this afternoon?

- Great.

- Just fine, thank you.

- Excellent.

Here at Rhyme and Reason Chocolate Company, we are bean to bar chocolate makers, so we import cocoa beans from different places around the world.

They come to us like that, and then here in the shop, we roast them, kinda like you roast coffee beans, and then we grind 'em up and mix them with our different ingredients, and turn them into all of our different flavors.

We've got kind of different flavors that we'll rotate around, so if you come in the shop, there might be something different in the case every day.

- Oh, I love that orange spice.

- You're right about that coffee toffee chocolate.

I'm gonna call that the breakfast chocolate.

- [Elizabeth] Oh, it's really good.

- It's gonna go with breakfast- - Yes.

- For us, coffee.

- As well it should.

- Right.

- The visit to State Street was so worth it.

Easy to park and walk, and even more shops and restaurants to explore.

I think you'll like this hidden gem in Greensboro, too.

All four places that Elizabeth and I visited are on State Street in Greensboro within walking distance.

Vida Pour Tea, Cafe Pasta and Grille, Lilla Bella Boutique, and Rhyme and Reason Chocolate Company.

Visit their websites for more information.

This is The Hub on Main Street and downtown Oxford.

It's a market and incubator for small businesses in town, and it has everything, from original art and handcrafted items, even a cool design studio.

You know, in the 19th century, there were no large box stores.

The go-to was the local general store, and that was the case for the small community of Danbury 100 years ago, and it still is, thanks to the Priddy family.

[gentle guitar music] - The community came here for everything.

All right, purple sweet potato.

So anything that you would need at your home, whether it be to clean, to eat, to work with, you found it all here.

- [Teresa] And at Priddy's General Store, you still can.

- They do shirts, pottery, canned goods, candy, like old school candies, and you can still get, like, pop in the glass.

- Like I came in today, I needed some onion shoots sets to put out, just about time for that.

- She had these good apple pies, you know?

And the cheese, hoop cheese.

See, you don't hardly ever see this hoop cheese anymore.

- They have a little bit of everything, so I mean, if you need chocolate covered peanuts, or you need overalls, you're covered here, right, so.

- Pretty much anything that your grandmother had, Jane has it.

I mean, it's just everything's in here.

- [Teresa] It's a life and livelihood the Priddy family started back in the 1920s.

Now passed down to the third generation with Jane Priddy Charleville.

- You know, we just try to carry on the traditions here of how it was back in the day, so to speak.

- Well, I love it.

It is like stepping back in time.

- Just the amount of character in here is crazy, and just the way that it looks, you can feel all the history here when you're just walking through it.

- Because it's old.

Because it was something of yesteryear, and it's been here since 1888.

- Yeah, I like this.

See, I'm the old-timey.

I guess old stuff, you know what I mean?

- [Teresa] And that includes everything from toys to boots, candles, automotive supplies, and occasionally music.

- [Jane] We do an event here called Pickin' at Priddy's.

- [Teresa] It happens out back every Saturday in October.

The rest of the year, you can find crafts from nearby artisans.

- Since she started the Pickin' at Priddy's, it was an idea to do the painting of the store.

I've done others where people have parked their cars out in front, and want paintings of the store with their cars, so we've done those.

- Well, we sell a lot of carvings over here.

Jane's just, everything that you kinda see everywhere in the neighborhood, bears, foxes, owls.

All kinds of stuff.

Just all chainsaw, and local wood.

- That's what people want when they come out here, is something they can't find at those big box stores.

That's handmade and local made, and knowing that they're helping to put food on the table for somebody else.

It means something.

- [Teresa] Some are also looking for a place they can connect with people.

- I think it's important because it is an area where people can come together and talk, and talk about the local stuff, what's going on.

- It's an opportunity to slow down, and to be real, and to have a conversation with someone, because not only do I have a story, but they have a story, and I wanna hear their stories.

They've told me years ago, we just don't come in here to buy stuff, we come in here to share and to talk, and the fellowship.

So that's part of it.

- [Teresa] And for that, Priddy's has become much more than a general store.

- It's the heart of the community, it really is.

- Well, if you wanna get lifted up, you come to see Jane.

She'll talk to you and lift you up.

- Just the warm smile that she greets you with, yeah, you don't find that everywhere.

- [Teresa] Something sure to make all the Priddies who came before awfully proud.

- I do this for them, because they're good people, and they did a lot to serve this community, especially my grandparents during the Depression, and how how my dad helped people, and didn't charge a high price, and just really went out to help people, and that's just what we wanna do here, is we help people.

And if we get to put a little money in the cash register from helping somebody, and serving somebody, that's what it's all about.

- [Deborah] Priddy's General Store is at 2121, Shepherd Mill Road in Danbury, and they're open Monday through Saturday.

To find out more, give them a call at 336-593-8786, or find them on Facebook.

Here at Oxford Music, you can find all kinds of classic and new vinyl.

It's a really neat place to visit if you're ever in downtown Oxford.

Lake Lure was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, but a lot of businesses have reopened for the spring season.

One of them is the popular Lured Market and Grill, which producer Clay Johnson discovered offers everything, from farm to table meals, to live music.

[band playing lively bluegrass music] - [Clay] The music of the band called Small Town Gossip wafts around the ridges surrounding the small town of Lake Lure.

- [Paul] The band playing today, the early band, is a local bunch of musicians that met at our open mic that we had, and formed a band, and they are fantastic.

- [Clay] And that's the spirit of Lured Market and Grill.

- Rural people, from the time they walk in to the time they leave, to be able to talk to people, to be able to ask questions, to be able to engage in conversation and meet other people.

- [Clay] Paul and Cara Brock live in nearby Bat Cave.

When an old gas station building went up for sale down the road in 2019, they saw an opportunity.

- [Paul] So we took a look at the little gas station and said, "Let's open up a little market," and eventually a restaurant.

So that's what we did.

- Our vision was to be able to have a place where we had delicious food, live music, craft beer, a place for our community to hang out and congregate.

- [Clay] A few years later, they took over a vacant building across the street, added a coffee shop, and expanded the market.

- [Cara] Lots of specialty goods, from made in the southeast, particular North Carolina, so anytime I can find something from this area, we try to snag that and add it to our product line.

It continues to evolve.

- [Clay] Including everything from souvenirs to camping supplies.

- If you're here at the lake visiting, we got something for you.

- Classic chicken.

- [Clay] The grill is farm to table, sourcing local suppliers as much as possible.

- It was our desire to do something that was a little less touristy, a little elevated, but still really casual.

- [Clay] There's a wide variety of salads, sandwiches, and burgers.

- [Paul] We have really creative people, and we try to use really good ingredients.

- [Clay] A signature sandwich is the Kicking Mule.

- [Cara] Everyone says it's their favorite sandwich.

It's a huge fried chicken sandwich with a little kickin' sauce.

- [Clay] Helene delivered a different kind of kick to this community.

- We were lucky, this little cove back here was somewhat protected, so it surged all the way down the lake, but it only got up to the bottom of this deck here.

The next thing you know, we're handing out generators, Starlinks, water, clothing.

We had volunteers that treated this like a job.

They would come down here and serve the people that had been lost their housing, lost their electricity.

One of them is our bartender now.

I remember her asking me, "Hey Paul, is it okay if I go to the doctor?"

I'm like, "You're volunteering."

It was just amazing how people connected, and those connections have continued.

- Everybody's opening back up.

We're all working together as a community to get back open, but we've been able to really become the hub.

A lot of people are very emotional when they come back to visit for the first time, and often they come in, and they're looking for something to eat, or something, they just want somebody to talk to.

It feels good to be able to provide some kind of shelter, whatever people are looking for.

- We just love the addition of Lured Market to our community, everything that they've done for our community during the hurricane, we just really support them, and wanna see them succeed, and keep them here.

- It's really a getaway.

It's lowers the blood pressure a little bit for a lot of people, and you can tell, you can feel the energy and the vibe.

- [Paul] We've connected with folks, and we love them, they love us, and I think we're gonna be okay because of that.

[gentle music] - Lured Market and Grill is at 2655 Memorial Highway in Lake Lure, and they're open Wednesday through Sunday.

To find out more, give them a call at 828-844-4339.

Or go online to LuredMarketandGrill.com.

Here in downtown Oxford, you can shop several really charming boutiques that are located all along College Street.

Now, if you've ever driven the interstate between Burlington and Greensboro, surely you have seen the signs pointing to Replacements.

You might even know that it is a massive five million square foot building that is filled to the rafters with dinnerware, glassware, flatware, jewelry, and collectibles, too.

But as Rick Sullivan discovered, unless you've stopped by to check it out personally, you are missing out on an adventure.

- We have items very budget friendly all the way up to luxurious items, but there is something for everybody.

We have more than 475,000 different tableware and silver and collectible patterns.

- [Rick] Tableware and silverware are the most popular merchandise items at Replacements.

After all, you can likely find a replacement for your grandma's broken cup and saucer just as easily as a current design.

But this massive showroom, and the warehouse the size of eight football fields, has a lot more going on.

- We have more than 350 employees here now.

Some of us have been here for more than 20 years.

I think there are about 80 of us now.

- [Rick] The average tenure for employees is more than 17 years, and they come from more than 40 different countries.

You can see them at work when you request a free tour.

- We're very proud of that diverse workforce that we have here.

We offer tours of the facility every day of the week beginning at 10 a.m.

They're about a 30 minute walking tour throughout the warehouse.

In our museum, you'll find all sorts of patterns.

Two that we feature here are by the brand Royal Copenhagen, and they happen to be two of our oldest patterns.

They're more than 200 years old, and they're both still active patterns.

This is what we refer to as our Great Wall of China here at Replacements, and this cabinet holds 500 of our best selling patterns arranged alphabetically first by brand, and then by pattern.

We're in what we refer to as Bob's Vintage Attic.

It's our newest endeavor.

Art, home decor, furniture, antiques, and so much more.

This is our shipping area, where we process around 2,000 orders every day.

That number doubles during the holidays to around 4,000 orders.

In our inventory area, we process approximately 7,000 pieces every day.

- [Rick] From assessing the incoming products to repairing and inventorying them, employees keep busy moving the process along.

How long have you been here, Maddy?

- Um, about five months.

- [Rick] How do you like it in here?

- I absolutely love it.

- [Rick] You know it's a happy, healthy workplace when employees can bring their furry friends to work.

[dog barks] What's her name?

- Baby.

- Reesie.

- Reesie Pig.

- [Pet Owner] She goes by Reesie, she goes by Pig, whatever.

- [Rick] Reesie!

Hello, baby.

How are you?

Pets are welcome here.

The owner, Bob Page, who was on a buying trip when I visited, loves animals as much as the people he employs, and even the people he hasn't met who might need a leg up.

- We're in Bob's Closet.

Basically, in Bob's Closet, we provide a week's worth of clothing to anyone in need in the community, and last year, we served over 3,000 people with over 67,000 items of clothing.

- [Rick] One more very important part of the warehouse tour, the repair shops.

This one's for silver.

You might want to fix rather than replace your piece.

- We can help with every aspect of silver repair or polishing here.

We have a very talented team.

- [Rick] You came for the china, but decided to take the tour, and before you go, you might want to stay a while at the jewelry boutique.

- We started jewelry in 2017, watches in 2018.

We've had pieces ranging in price from 150 to $40,000.

Our selection of jewelry is very unique, but the estate jewelry focuses from 249 up to, we've got a necklace that's 55,000, everything in between.

The emerald down at the bottom I think is over nine karats alone, and the cabochon here on top, 33 or 43 carats, yeah.

It's just the diamonds are unbelievable, really.

You don't see those too often.

- Replacements is at 1089 Knox Road in McLeansville, and they're open Monday through Saturday from nine a.m. to five p.m. For more information, give them a call at 800-737-5223, or visit them online at Replacements.com.

This is Strong Arm Bakery in downtown Oxford, and they have everything from bread and pastry, even sandwiches, and everything on the menu is absolutely yummy.

Another bakery that's in the eastern part of our state is getting a lot of attention, so we sent "North Carolina Weekend"'s own baker, Seraphim Smith to tell the story of Grounded and Baked.

[upbeat music] [train whistle blowing] - [Seraphim] I'm an artist, and not too long ago, I was in La Grange painting a mural for Recovery Together ENC.

It's an organization helping those with substance use disorder.

When I'm not painting, I love to bake and teach others how to make artisan bread.

So when I saw a bakery across the tracks from my mural, I just knew I have to check it out.

This family run sweet spot makes cookies, cheese biscuits, pies, and more, crafted the old-fashioned way.

And it's these donuts that have gotten me out of bed at three a.m.

The bakery is going to teach me how to make their classic pastry in trade for my cinnamon roll recipe and technique.

- It all started in my grandma's kitchen.

When I was growing up at Christmas, one of my favorite memories was going to her house.

She had a little backroom that was full of goodies that she had prepared for Christmas, and I fell in love with making sweets with my grandmother.

Then she was afraid that as she got older, that no one would carry on the tradition of the recipes she had worked so hard on, so she taught me how to make her cakes in her kitchen, and it just kind of blossomed from there.

Her favorite is the Hershey Bar cake.

She tells me exactly how she wants it, and it's exactly how she made it, so I get the joy of bringing back what she gave to me.

- [Seraphim] Now, about those donuts.

Grounded and Baked makes nearly 300 a day.

Once the dough is made, it is portioned, rolled, docked, and cut with a specialized rolling pin.

How did you learn how to make donuts?

- So, funny story.

Brad and I met when we were running together, and so during those long runs, you talk about everything and anything.

And one of the things was I had always said I wanted to own a donut shop, and mind you, I had never made a donut in my life.

So I called my friend, Gary Sasser, and said, "Would you teach me how to make donuts?"

So I became co-owner with Brad of the bakery, and here we are a year later, and never in a million years would I have thought that I would actually have a donut shop and a bakery.

- [Seraphim] The donuts are given a final rise in a steamy proofer.

They're then fried.

And that light-colored band?

It naturally occurs from floating on the surface of the oil.

Once out of the fryer, the donuts get coated in glistening white confectionary glaze.

Customers are eager to try the new cinnamon rolls slathered with real butter and cream cheese icing.

- Cinnabon good.

- Mm-hmm.

- Oh my god.

- That's good.

I can't wait to get to the heart of it.

- [Seraphim] I'm honored that my cinnamon rolls are now part of this bakery's story.

I know you, too, will savor the love and tradition baked into every treat at Grounded and Baked.

- Grounded and Baked is at 106, Railroad Street in La Grange, and they're open Tuesday through Saturday.

To grab your cookie, muffin, or pie, give them a call at 252-582-3500, or go online to GroundedAndBaked.com.

This is one of Oxford's newest hot spots, the Oxford Oaks Distillery and Verdigris restaurant, and it is a state of the art distillery and restaurant all in one.

Be sure to stop by when you visit Oxford.

We have had such a wonderful time in this small town, and if you've missed anything in tonight's show, remember you can always watch us again online, at PBSNC.org, or you can find us on our YouTube channel.

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

[bright upbeat music] [bright upbeat music continues] [bright upbeat music continues] [bright upbeat music continues] [bright upbeat music continues] [music fades] [soft music] - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of Barrier Island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[bright music]