[piano intro] - [Deborah] Next on "North Carolina Weekend," join us from Weaver Street Market in Carrboro as we come together at community driven places and spaces.

We'll visit Little Guatemala in Morganton, Dirtbag Ales in Hope Mills, and Melanated Wine in Durham.

Coming up next.

- [Commentator] 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] ♪ - Hi, everyone.

Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend."

I'm Deborah Holt Noel and this week we are highlighting community spaces and places from Weaver Street Market in downtown Carrboro.

Open since June, 1988, Weaver Street Market, a grocery co-op, is now a tried and true Carrboro staple.

For over 30 years, Weaver Street Market has offered a welcoming, relaxing atmosphere where people of all ages gather.

It's kind of like the living room of Carrboro.

Now let's head out west to Morganton where you'll find a coffee shop and an indoor soccer field all in one.

Let's join Rebecca Ward at Little Guatemala.

[upbeat music] - We really wanted the community to want this place.

- Lots of people travel to Guatemala, spend money for an airplane ticket, but just right here in Morganton, North Carolina, you can come and experience Guatemala culture, the real deal.

- We have a soccer.

We roast coffee.

We also have a coffee shop.

We do have a restaurant.

Arts and crafts.

And chocolate.

So ,those are some of the things that we do.

[speaking foreign language] - I went to Guatemala for two years to work with a group called the International Justice Mission.

We had the whole two years that I was there in Guatemala to get to know one another.

I came back to the United States and he came and proposed and we got married in Antigua, Guatemala at the end of that year.

We got here end of 2009 and we knew that some Guatemalans lived here, but we did not know that 20% of the population of this town is Guatemalan.

[speaking foreign language] I think we've counted at least seven different Mayan dialects spoken here, in Morganton, and so that was really important to us, starting Little Guatemala is making it a place where the community at large could come together so these friendships can start.

[singing in foreign language] [speaking foreign language] [upbeat music] - We picked all those things, the coffee, chocolate, soccer, restaurant, and crafts because those are some of the top things that were mentioned.

Also, they're just iconic things from Guatemala.

If you think of Guatemala, those easily are some of the very first things that come to your mind.

[speaking foreign language] - A lot of people don't actually consider where their chocolate bar came from.

We source the cacao bean from Alta Verapaz in Guatemala.

Here we have dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate bars.

We make other specialty chocolate items here and there for the holidays.

But yeah.

[speaking foreign language] - Sitting down off over a cup of coffee, playing a soccer game together, enjoying food, gathering around the table.

There's just a really special relationship building aspect of all of those things that that we chose.

[speaking foreign language] - [Group] Little Guatemala.

[upbeat music] - Little Guatemala is at 810 East Union Street in Morganton and they're open Monday through Saturday beginning at 7:00 America.

Their closing hours vary so to find out more, give them a call at 828-475-6593 or go online to littleguatemala.com.

Now another popular gathering space can be found in the little town of Hope Mills where a local brewer has become a catalyst for a weekly market that brings the entire community together.

Let's join Seraphim Smith at Dirtbag Ales.

- [Seraphim] I'm a culinary artist and anything visual with food excites me.

Not too long ago, I met the lovely people from Dirtbag Ales who host a huge farmer's market on Sundays just south of Fayetteville.

But this isn't your average farmer's market.

It sounded far more intriguing and I had to check it out.

I found Dirtbag's creator, Tito, working beneath his portrait.

- We've got a six-acre facility with a dog park, kid park, craft cocktail lounge, two resident food sources.

So, we've got Napkins on one side and Redneck BBQ on the other and we have a covered pavilion.

And then just a ton of green space for folks to be able to really come out and enjoy the local area and what we have to offer.

- [Seraphim] At lunchtime, get in line for a hand-pattied burger from Napkins.

They're incredible.

And the brussels sprouts?

They're ridiculous.

- The name itself actually comes from a coworker overhearing me at work and somebody said a 30-pound ale and she misheard Dirtbag Ale.

I said, "That's a great name for a company" and it just stuck.

When you come out, you can literally spend the day, you shop the market, pick up something that's locally grown and go home and cook dinner for the family on Sunday night.

And it's always a blast 'cause I mean, everyone's here, your family's here, your friends are here and then all the money stays here because they're all local vendors that come from within a hundred miles.

[upbeat music] ♪ - We have so much fun here.

It's so cool to be a part of something so big for our community.

- [Seraphim] There's a playground for the kids, but the grownups can also stretch out their legs.

Whether you are into fantastic food, local produce, yoga, beer, or live music, your thirst will be quenched at Dirtbag Ales.

- Dirtbag Ales Brewery and Tap Room is at 5435 Corporation Drive in Hope Mills and you can visit them every day except Monday.

Don't forget their huge farmer's market every Sunday.

For more information, visit their website at @dirtbagales.com.

What do you get when you cross an old newspaper press with a record store and a coffee shop?

Citizen Vinyl.

Let's head to Asheville to check out this amazing community space.

[upbeat music] - My name is Gar Ragland.

I am the founder and CEO of Citizen Vinyl here in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

So, Citizen Vinyl is a vinyl record pressing plant, a music and art store.

We have a farm-to-table cafe called Session.

And then in the third floor we have Citizen Studios which is the historic WWNC radio station studio.

Well, Citizen Vinyl is located in the historic Citizen-Times newspaper building.

It is a incredible example of art modern architecture designed by Anthony Lord, a local yet famous architect.

And what we loved about it was that original to the building in the basement, the newspaper was actually printed on presses on site.

So, we loved the idea of bringing back manufacturing to this historic building, albeit we're pressing records now and not newspapers.

We call this building our silent partner.

It has inspired and informed everything that we do here, including our brand and the ethos of the company.

So, we're continually learning about the rich history of this space.

In fact, in this very room in 1939, Bill Monroe, the father of Bluegrass music, had his radio premiere and it was from this room that that new bluegrass sound was first introduced to a North American audience.

So, we very much appreciate and celebrate and are inspired by the deep, rich history of not only this building, but of Asheville's music scene.

Calling ourself Citizen Vinyl was an opportunity to help shape what it means to be a citizen.

What does it mean to in a very positive way belong to a community?

It's all really intended to be very communal and inclusive in nature and to celebrate many of the great things that Asheville is known for.

Here at Citizen Vinyl we have three record presses.

We press about over 2,000 records per day for the vinyl music industry.

And our clients range everywhere from local musicians getting their first ever recording pressed to vinyl, all the way up to we press for a lot of record labels and distributors as well.

So, Session is our farm-to-table cafe.

So, the intention of Session is to really celebrate Asheville's local food and beverage community and culture here.

One of the unique things about Session is that we have curated vinyl playlists that we play every day during our hours of operation.

Asheville attracts millions of tourists every year many of whom are here looking for creative experiences.

So, we really wanted to celebrate Asheville's longstanding history of music and craft and it's proven to be a really perfect marriage.

So, Vinyl Key is a new product that we have developed here at Citizen Vinyl.

We call it next-level collectible vinyl.

We are the only pressing facility anywhere in the world that creates these super collectible versions of vinyl records that incorporate a technology that connects the physical record to an NFT.

Innovation is a really big part of what we do here at Citizen Vinyl.

So, while we're using an 80-year old technology to press vinyl records, we are constantly trying to innovate and create here and Vinyl Key is one of many examples.

It was always our vision to invite people to learn about how records are made.

The space just invites community and one of the things that we love to do here at Citizen Vinyl is to host private events and wedding receptions.

Our downstairs space is very communal and open and civic in nature and it has just a very distinctive energy that we find incredibly inspiring.

We have a team of very talented and hardworking creatives and we have a lot of fun exploring the intersection of the different segments of our business and all of the programming that we can create surrounding food and beverage and our love of music.

- Citizen Vinyl is at 14 O'Henry Avenue in Asheville and they're open Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, check them out online at citizenvinyl.com.

Having a sense of community is important for everyone and it's essential for those transitioning from challenging life circumstances.

Across our state and Charlotte, there's a cafe that employs graduates of the Charlotte Rescue Missions Recovery Program.

Let's head to Community Matters Cafe for coffee, food, and a cause.

- There's very few organizations where you could walk in and see transformation taking place.

The mission behind what's taking place here is the reason why I attend often.

- [Speaker] Community Matters Cafe is a transition for folks that are going through recovery at Charlotte Rescue Mission.

- [Speaker] This is a place that men and women who graduate from the mission after their four month program can come and spend an additional six months in a life skills program.

- The students all work in each different department.

So, say they'll start off in the coffee shop making drinks for everybody then they'll maybe move into the front of house area where they are serving, hosting, busing.

And then in the kitchen they're doing everything from washing dishes, to prepping food, to making salads.

Our goals here are to really just kind of show them how to be a professional and how to have a career and work in a sober environment.

- I look forward to coming to work at the cafe every day, even though some days may seem bad, it's never really a bad day when I come here and once I get the day going it's always turns out to be a good day.

It's taught me integrity.

It's taught me how to be of service to other people, how to not be about myself, how to get up and go to work every day.

It's given me hope in my future and it's something I haven't felt in a very long time.

- We're taking men and women and we're creating a profit to pour back into their lives.

We work with them to overcome barriers like alimony and child support that hasn't been paid and banks that won't let them open an account because they've bounced so many checks and credit that's instable.

So, that additional money that we earn helps to support them and get them back on their feet in a better capacity.

We didn't wanna give residents who become students here an average experience.

We wanted them to be a part of something that they were so proud of and they were eager to become involved in.

- We come maybe once a month or so, just when, you know, when we need a really special breakfast or lunch, it is kind of a hidden gem because I think a lot of people in Charlotte know about the mission that they fulfill here.

But maybe people who are coming from outside wouldn't necessarily know about it, but they should.

They should come and visit and enjoy the food and support the community at the same time.

- [Jenny] And we're right behind the stadium, we're in uptown, but we have an amazing parking lot.

We have plenty of spaces.

We have a lot of customers that come in and they're just blown away by the food 'cause they don't expect it to be what it is.

Our chef Kyle is amazing and he's got some really beautiful dishes that are unique to Charlotte that you're not gonna see in other places.

- We get our eggs from two different farms, all within like a 50-mile radius.

And yeah, then we like in terms of like even down to our honey and our syrups all these like locally sourced, great connection with those people.

And that goes into like our namesake, like community matters, like building a community with them and supporting in that way.

And you know, it's hands feeding each other.

It says 37, take two.

Follow him, please.

- Coming into this process has opened up a lot of possibilities in my mind and working for this community cafe has showed me that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to.

For every goal that our company's working here I wanna go for another goal and a bigger goal.

And it's limitless and I'm reaching for the stars, I am.

- [Ed] Whether it's a one time experience or you become a regular customer, you will have an experience that will restore hope in you and others.

- Community Matters Cafe is at 821 West First Street in Charlotte and they're open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

To find out more, give them a call at 980-237-2147 or go online to communitymatterscafe.com.

I met the owner of this next business at a wine event and must say LaShonda Modest is as bright and lovely as her wines.

Come with me to Melanated Wine in Durham, a sophisticated yet casual gathering space.

Off the beaten path in Durham is a new gathering space that's quickly become an old favorite for friends, music, and wine.

- Melanated Wine is an urban winery dedicated to uncorking the culture.

Our urban winery, it's a really nice intimate feel.

It is just a space to come and really relax and enjoy and have delicious wine, enjoy a charcuterie experience and just allow people to come and be themselves and just enjoy.

- [Deborah] And there's so many ways to enjoy.

Owner LaShonda Modest's creative side makes sure of it, from her delicious mango and strawberry wine slushies to special events.

- Tonight's event, we have saxophonist, JaShaun Peele.

He has a very good following.

We've heard his music on social media and we'll have a food truck out this evening so that people can enjoy that.

It's really just creating that experience, creating that ambiance that people would like to do and just relax.

- [Deborah] As many ways as there are to experience the Melanated Wine space, the motivating spirit is this collection of arrivals crafted from grapes grown at the world class Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina.

- So, I myself am not a winemaker.

I am considered a wine negociant.

So, I work directly with the winemaker, one specifically, and he's the mad scientist is what I call him behind the scene.

So, everything I want to bring to fruition, he and I work directly together.

- [Deborah] That mad scientist is the award-winning winemaker, Mark Friszolowski, who's expanded the wine industry tremendously and champions newcomers like Melanated Wine by providing mentoring and support from his own team.

- LaShonda and Mark just immediately bonded.

They had a good vibe going on.

When you're starting a new venture like LaShonda, you definitely wanna have somebody who has all this experience, knowledge, training, so he can guide you and lead you to be the most successful person you can be at your business.

- [Deborah] At Melanated Wine in Durham, guests sample the wines with a gorgeous flight.

For me, LaShonda arranged a special tasting in the wine cave at Childress Vineyards.

- So, with our tasting we always go from dry, off dry, to sweet.

So, we're gonna start with our red blend.

This is our Cabernet Franc and Syrah blend.

Not super tannic, it's a medium bodied red, so it's not super bold.

Okay, so then next we're going to our dry white wine.

So, this one is a Chardonnay Resling blend.

- Ooh, I like the fragrance.

- Chardonnays tend to be dry and oaky, but that Resling really comes in just enough to give it just a little bit.

It softens it up just a little bit.

So, this is our white blend.

Then next, we have our newest wine.

We're super excited about this one, this is our blackberry.

This blackberry is a very fun and fragrant wine as well.

Believe it or not, I know the color can be misleading, but that is indeed a white wine.

That is a white wine.

It gets its color from the blackberries used to create it.

- Oh, I like that.

- And then last, and never the least, is our white sangria.

This one, tons of mango and tropical fruit.

It's fun.

It's like a party in a glass.

- I like that.

It's sweet and very delicious.

I can imagine just sipping this one by itself.

And what's it like to be back here in this space as the owner of a series of wines yourself?

- Oh my God, it is just breathtaking.

When I first came into this room it was gorgeous, it was beautiful.

It was something beyond my imagination.

But now coming back it just feels like my goals and aspirations are so much, they are reachable.

Everyone is always curious and wondering, so what is this melanated wine?

It was just something I knew we wanted to have something that was very inclusive, but that spoke to my culture.

Melanated wine, the melanated is a play on the term melanin, which is the pigment in our skins.

When you put our original collection together, it really is a sun rising and setting.

So, it's very fun to see them all together.

You'll see the sun at different increments and then it sets and it's the evening time.

- [Deborah] LaShonda's playful spirit shines through in the name of the wine.

And the design of Melanated's labels is a nod to its grape roots, the source of this casually elegant gathering space in Durham.

Melanated Wine is at 4608 Industry Lane, Suite F in Durham.

And they're open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at 919-695-3303 or check them out online at melanatedwine.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We've had the best time out here at Weaver Street Market in Carrboro.

It's truly a relaxing place to just gather with community.

And if you've missed anything in today's show, remember you can always watch us again online at pbsnc.org.

Have a great North Carolina weekend everyone.

[upbeat music] ♪ - [Commentator] 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.