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With temperatures topping 80 degrees yesterday, it was a fun-filled St. Patrick’s Day in Baxter Village. The festivities lasted all day with vendors lining Market St, corned beef sandwiches and green beer, fun activities for kids, dance demos by Miller ST Dance Academy, a parade sponsored by Six Pence Pub, and live music sponsored by The Playroom Academy of Music.
Miller St Dance Academy
Crowd in front of Six-Pence Pub
Eddie Z (owner of Playroom Academy of Music) on guitar
The Giordana Velodrome is set to have its grand opening tomorrow starting at 10:30. The grand opening will feature a tour of the Velodrome and track-riding demonstrations. Due to limited parking, it is advised that attendees arrive early and carpool if at all possible.
The Giordana Velodrome will be open to the public soon, but all riders must take a course before being allowed to use the course. Riding a bike in the Velodrome is very unlike riding a bike on a road and special track bikes must be used that have no brakes and use a single rear-mounted gear. If you bring your own bike it must be inspected prior to riding. Loaner bikes will be available for a fee of $5/2 hrs. They are available on a first come/ first serve basis.
All cyclists must take an 8-hour $20 course called “Track Basics” in order to gain access to the Velodrome. There will also be several programs geared toward kids and beginning cyclists. “Kids on Track” , for ages 6-14, is a free class that will teach kids the basics of riding in the infield. Advanced riders have the opportunity to move to the banked track. “Giordana try the Track” is a class for the beginning cyclist and is a free class, but is limited to 2 people per day.
Times for certification classes have not yet been set, but information should be available the week of March 26th.
Yearly membership packages are available as follows:
The Velodrome hours will be 9am-9pm Monday- Saturday and 1pm-7pm Sundays.
Interested in the Velodrome, but not sure you’re ready to try it out yourself? Look for a weekly race series this summer. The Giordana Velodrome is also host for the 2012 USA Cyling International Omnium Track National Championship August 17-18.
More information can be found at The City of Rock Hill Website.
I was so excited to learn that one of my favorite restaurants in the area, Carlos Cafe, is moving from Rock Hill to the Fort Mill/Tega Cay area. Carlos Cafe is a Cuban Restaurant owned by Joe and Flor Strollo and after 4 years they have outgrown their current space in Love’s Plaza which has only 44 seats. The new location will be on Highway 160 near Walmart and will give them much more space for seating as well as live music. They will also have outdoor seating. (Eating outside is one of my favorite things so I’m really excited about this).
If you haven’t tried Carlos Cafe, you are in for a treat when they join the Fort Mill dining scene. The food is excellent as is the service. I love the beef hash and they have the best Cuban sandwiches, not to mention the Cuban Coffee. Fridays and Saturdays they are offering a Cuban-style Shrimp + Grits Special for only $10.99 served with salad and choice of plantains. I don’t know if I can wait until they open in Fort Mill to try it!
If all goes as planned, the Grand Opening will be at the end of April. Stay up to date by checking Carlos Cafe Facebook Page.
You can read Fort Mill SC Living’s review of Carlos Cafe here.
Crumbling Facade of PTL Tower
It seems like the county and Morningstar Ministries have been endlessly debating the fate of the former PTL Tower. Morningstar Ministries owns the 21 story building along with the surrounding buildings and land. They currently operate a church and religious conference center on the former PTL site. At a meeting Monday night, Morningstar Ministries asked for 5 more years to transform the vacant and deteriorating building into a retirement community. The county first proposed demolition of the building in 2007. Not wanting the building demolished, Morningstar presented a plan to renovate the building. The county agreed to the plan provided that Morningstar Ministries showed proof of funds to complete the project, but deadlines for providing the information have come and gone.
After a year of closed-door negotiations between the county and Morningstar Ministries, Morningstar has apparently decided to go on the full offensive, threatening at Monday night’s meeting to sue the county if the county does not accept their plan.
What is it Morningstar Ministries wants?
Morningstar has agreed to begin cosmetic repairs to the exterior of the building within 30 days of acceptance of their plan. The county has until March 19 to accept Morningstar’s Plan. Ironically the fate of Jim Bakker’s PTL Tower will be decided by another Jim Baker, the York County Manager.
Meanwhile, a flurry of building is taking place virtually in the shadow of the 21-story blighted building. Because the building is so tall, it is visible from many streets of the surrounding neighborhoods. No doubt many home buyers are deterred by the vacant building that most consider to be an eyesore and a blight on the community. Many people purchased homes years ago expecting the building to be either torn down or renovated long before now and they are losing patience.
What are your thoughts? Should the county give Morningstar Ministries more time?
I made a serious commitment to myself yesterday to dedicate myself to an excercise program and I got started with my first ever aqua aerobics class last night at Leroy Springs. Boy am I glad I did after reading the paper this morning and learning that new Krispy Kreme stores are coming to the area. Since the Woodlawn Store closed in Charlotte, I haven’t had anywhere to go to get my Krispy Kreme fix. I believe the closest store to us now is in Gastonia and I hardly ever get over that way.
If you haven’t had a “hot” Krispy Kreme doughnut, it really should be on the list of top 10 things to eat before you die. They taste nothing like the one’s at the grocery store. You can microwave the grocery store Krispy Kremes to make them taste better, but they are still nothing like the “hots”.
Plus it’s just so much fun to watch them being made. They float through a river of oil in groups of three, getting flipped halfway through and then they are doused in a waterfall of sugary glaze. Put one in your mouth and it just melts away.
Did you know that you can download an app for your phone that will notify you when the stores in your area have “hot” doughnuts? I’m thinking I’m better off not having that app.
The Rock Hill store will be located at 1525 Celanese Rd near the intersection of I-77 in a new 3 space building to be built by Warren Norman. Construction is planned to begin this spring, hopefully allowing Krispy Kreme to open in fall 2012. The Indian Land store will be located at 10092 Charlotte Highway (US 521). Two Charlotte locations are also in the works, one in Cotswold and one on South Blvd.
Going to add a couple more aqua aerobics classes to my weekly schedule to get ready for opening day.
And just in case you need a Krispy Kreme fix in the meantime, did you know that Savannah Red Restaurant in Charlotte makes a Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Caramel-Bourbon Sauce? I haven’t tried it, but it’s supposed to be fabulous.
There is a public meeting scheduled for tomorrow night to discuss preliminary plans for a new bridge to connect Northern Rock Hill to Fort Mill. Currently there are only two bridges spanning the Catawba River that connect the 2 towns, I-77 and US-21. The planned new bridge is an attempt to relieve traffic congestion at the Celanese/Cherry Rd exit off of I-77. The meeting will take place Tuesday (Feb 7) at Riverview Elementary School in Fort Mill. There will be a formal presentation followed by a public review of maps.
Preliminary plans for the bridge have it spanning from the Rock Hill area of Mount Gallant, Twin Lakes, and India Hook Roads to Fort Mill near either Sutton Road or Harris Road.
Four Proposals for Location of Bridge
Fort Mill side – Sutton Rd near I-77 truck stop
Projected cost – $53 million
27 properties impacted
2. Intersection of Twin Lakes and India Hook Roads – along Harris Rd- connecting to I-77
Projected cost -$94 million
55 properties and 1 recreation facility impacted
3. Intersection of Twin Lakes and India Hooks Rd to Sutton Rd across from Truck Stop
Projected cost- $51 million
11 properties and 1 recreation facility impacted
4. From Mount Gallant Rd near Dalehart Rd – along Harris Rd- connecting to I-77
Projected cost- $91 million
68 properties impacted
Truck Stop Area of Sutton Rd
Harris Rd currently goes under I-77, but would tie into 77 under 2 of the proposals.
Undoubtably, any of the proposed routes will have a major impact on traffic patterns in the Fort Mill area.
What thoughts or concerns do you have about the proposed routes?
The Nation Ford Band will be one of only 8 high school bands marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow. Fort Mill High School’s Band marched in the parade back in 1986. The NaFo Band will be doing a piece of music arranged especially for them by renowned composer Jay Kennedy from the Berkley School of Music. It is entitled Carolina Medley and is a compilation of “Nothing Could be Finer”, James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”, “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, and “Carolina on my Mind” by James Taylor. The on-air coverage will be sometime between 10 and 12am. Apparently they will need to be awake and fully dressed before 1:45 am.
In addition, if you are up bright and early cooking that bird, WCNC will be airing a special on the Nation Ford Band on their morning show sometime between 5 and 7am.
With the most wings sold at the Carolina Wing Festival that took place September 17th at the Metrolina Expo, Moosehead Grill was awarded top honors today and will represent the Carolinas in the National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY Labor Day weekend of 2012. In my opinion, Moosehead had not only the best tasting wings at the festival, but the most original as well. Their Wasabi- Honey Mustard wings as well as their Pastrami on a bone and Thai Peanut Butter and Jelly wings really put a fresh, unique spin on the chicken wing. Stop in at the Moosehead Grill (1807 Montford Dr. Charlotte, NC 28209) anytime between 11 am and 2 am to give their award- winning wings a try.
Chris Neilsen- Moosehead Owner
Uncle Donnie’s Blackened Wings
The festival was deemed a success with over 5,000 in attendance despite the unseasonably cold weather. Hopefully the festival will become an annual event in Charlotte.
A new event venue named Brakefield is under construction in the River Walk community along the Catawba River. Riverwalk is a 1,000 acre live, work, and play community currently under construction in Rock Hill, SC. From the looks of the architectural drawings, it will be nothing short of spectacular. Carol Goodwin is the mastermind behind Brakefield, which is named after her mother-in-law. The building, European in architecture, will be 6,500 square feet with a 3,000 square foot Great Hall lined by 5 sets of 8 foot tall french doors on one side opening onto a 1,200 square foot covered loggia. I would imagine there will be some pretty incredible views of the Catawba River from the loggia.
Other architectural features will be a 12 foot wide stone fireplace and a turret that will house a bridal parlor.
Brakefield will be available for weddings, corporate retreats, reunions, and receptions. They are already booking weddings for 2012. Building is scheduled to be completed in February 2012.
For more info, contact Carol Goodwin at 803-324-3400.
Well, I couldn’t resist. After watching Heather McDonnell win Cupcake Wars on Sunday night and finding out that they would be serving all 4 Cupcake War flavors at Cupcrazed Cakery this week, I just had to go and get my hands on one of the Gumbo cupcakes which they have named Shrimp Creole Cupcakes. My curiosity got the best of me. I couldn’t stretch my imagination far enough to even fathom what a gumbo cupcake might taste like.
I split the cupcake and gave half to my son. I fully expected that most of it would end up in the garbage can. But – I was surprised to find that it was actually very good and really tasted like shrimp creole. I was really impressed. The cupcake part was dense, but not dry and both spicy and sweet at the same time. Kind of like cornbread, but not really. Totally unlike anything I have ever eaten before. There’s just a slight taste of shrimp and my favorite part is the kernels of sweet corn.
The cream cheese frosting I didn’t care for as much. It seemed to be lacking a little something. I didn’t get to try the infamous fried okra (that almost burnt the building down) on top – I let my son have it. But now I have an excuse to go back and get another one
They were sold out of the Sweet Tea cupcakes and Cookis and Cream. I’m not a big fan of the mixture of ingredients in Hummningbird – so I passed on those. So if you are looking to be a little adventurous this week, go try the Shrimp Creole Cupcake and support a totally awesome local business.
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