[bright music] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend", join us for a weekend in Lexington.

We'll sample some wines, go wakeboarding.

We'll also visit Conrad & Hinkle and The Candy Factory, and, of course, explore the barbecue scene.

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] ♪ - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend", everyone, I'm Deborah Holt Noel, and this week we are in Lexington.

Situated between Greensboro and Charlotte in the southeast corner of the Yadkin Valley, Lexington is the barbecue capital of the state.

But you're about to see so much more.

Here you can tour wineries, get outdoors, and satisfy your sweet tooth.

And that's just what we did on our weekend in Lexington.

[upbeat music] - Lexington is home to me.

I love Lexington.

- If you walk around town, you go in the little shops, they're going to greet you, "Hey, folks, how you doing?

Good to see ya."

- This town's gonna be booming.

I think it's gonna be one of the most happening small cities in North Carolina.

- Lexington is a pretty cool town.

We've got a lot of interesting history and it's really kind of a fun town to live in right now.

We've got a lot of things going on and we're still holding true to some of our older traditions including the barbecue.

- A little history, Lexington got its name from Lexington, Massachusetts, site of the very first battle of the American Revolutionary War.

And if you wanna know more of Lexington's fascinating history, be sure to stop here at the Old Davidson County Courthouse Museum.

When I hear the word Lexington, I immediately think barbecue, but if that word doesn't really come to mind for you when you're here, there are over a dozen of these painted fiberglass pigs all around the city to give you a hint.

You know, it's actually a really interesting story how Lexington got the title barbecue capital of the world.

- In 2014, City Hall went through a major renovation.

And when the walls started coming down, we discovered this.

The city manager immediately called someone from one of our Lexington barbecue restaurants.

They came out and he said, "Tell me what we have here."

He said, "You have discovered the first indoor pits for a barbecue restaurant," and probably established around 1916, and it was called Beck's Barbecue.

These pictures show the process of barbecue in Lexington.

This first picture from the early 1900s shows where the farmer comes up, makes a trough, cooks the shoulders and feeds the crowd when court adjourns for lunch.

Then we go into a barbecue stand, much like a stand that you would see at a county fair.

And then lastly to the inside barbecue restaurant, and this is where the first inside barbecue pits were.

- [Deb] Those humble barbecue beginnings have literally transformed Lexington.

Want proof?

Check out the massive crowds at the North Carolina Barbecue Festival, hosted by Lexington and scheduled to resume in 2022.

- City Hall actually houses the only complete selection of Lexington barbecue festival posters.

It brings about 150,000 people to town, so it's pretty significant for us.

[lively music] [upbeat music] - [Deb] If you're looking for someplace to take the kids, Lexington delivers.

- Opening last year during the pandemic was pretty good for us 'cause we were able to be open, we were fortunate enough to be open, which brought a lot of people out to come because we're an outside business and people wanted to get out and about.

You can start from day one, where you've never done it before and get up on the board by the end of the day or within the hour.

We offer lessons on our smaller cable, the 2.0 cable that gets you up on the board.

If you're more experienced, you can come out here and rip some turns.

We're super family friendly.

I think that's one of our biggest attributes is that we love when families come out here.

We added the Aqua Park, which has been really great for families and literally just people of all ages.

[light music] - Traveling the state for "North Carolina Weekend", I always find myself having to answer the great debate: which region makes the best barbecue?

But first let's find out the difference.

- Eastern style is usually whole hog, a little more spicy or peppery and a little more vinegar taste to it.

Piedmont or Lexington style is the shoulder, a little sweeter, ketchup-based on their sauce.

And we just work up the shoulder and you can have it chopped or sliced or coarse chopped.

And they're both great.

I love both, so.

We train our cooks about two years before we let them cook by themselves.

So if you notice we have no thermostat or anything in the pits, we go by feel.

- [Deb] And they're feeling it at Lexington Barbecue, which started back in 1962 out on Business I-85 and used to be called Honeymonk's.

Today, almost 60 years later, Honeymonk's or Monks, or Lexington Barbecue still serves a lot of 'cue.

- We normally use about probably 500 to 600 shoulders a week.

Somewhere in the neighborhood, we'll cook about 6500, 7500 pounds in a week.

We make 250 gallons of tea a day, 40 gallons of hush puppy mix a day.

So we use a big volume when it comes to it.

So it's kind of that word of mouth, like, "Hey, this is pretty good.

Let's go try."

- [Deb] The next day while visiting downtown Lexington, I followed the smoke to another great eatery, The Barbecue Center.

[upbeat music] - We started in 1955, as kind of the outlet for our local dairy serving ice cream.

And then it just kind of progressed into serving barbecue out of the back.

And then we moved two blocks down the street, built indoor pits and, well, became the Barbecue Center, and, I guess, the rest is history.

My mom's still here.

My brother's still here.

So we're still doing this as a family operation.

- [Deb] But the Center is also beloved for its ice cream and especially it's world famous banana split.

- [Cecil] The banana split goes back to our ice cream days and it's grown itself over the years.

So the last time I believe we weighed it on camera, it weighed between 3 1/2 and 4 pounds.

Usually every month we do at least a thousand.

[light music] - There really wasn't a donut scene other than Krispy Kreme out here.

I think that... Well, I thought the south ate biscuits and the west they ate donuts, and up north they ate donuts, which pretty much was true.

If you go around here, there's a big competition with biscuits.

I was trained in Arkansas, trained in Texas, trained in Iowa, then I trained in California and I came here.

Being from the south, I just tried to put everything together, and we came up with our own little bit recipe then made it better.

We signed the lease for the building and me and my brother said, "All right, this is real.

What's the name of it?"

We don't know.

So we was talking to our landlord and then he gave us the backstory about the building.

He was telling us it used to be called the Red Big, and back during the Prohibition days, that was the first barbecue restaurant that served alcohol.

We thought that was a pretty cool name, and we looked at each other, red was our favorite color.

So we said, "Red Donut Shop, that's our donut name."

The first day we chased 50 people away.

And I was like, "Wow, that's a lot of money."

I said, "Let me go ahead and change the hours."

And when I changed the hours, the regular elders like people in the donut world, they were like, "Those aren't donut hours."

I was like, "I know they ain't."

I said, "Over here in Lexington, over here in the south, I say people eat donuts all day."

[bouncy music] - I may have been in the barbecue capital of the world, but I found a young chef bringing her own special flavors to Lexington at Lou Lou's Seafood.

Oh, my goodness, Nailah, this looks incredible.

- Thank you.

- So how would you, overall, describe the cuisine here at Lou Lou's?

- We're definitely a low-country boil seafood restaurant.

We've got all different types of low-country seafood: shrimp, crab legs, lobster, mussels, even have salmon and stuff.

- And this is smelling super delicious.

Tell me about some of the seasonings in this.

- Currently on there is our Curry's Original.

So my married name is Curry, so we decided to make a sauce that, I guess, kind of represents us.

So it's a little spicy and it's got a lot of flavor and she's really, really good overall, yeah.

Well, I think so.

- Nailah, what brought you to Lexington?

- I went to North Carolina A&T, graduate chemistry degree and ended up moving to Myrtle Beach to get my culinary degree.

And while I was here in North Carolina in school, I met my husband.

And his whole family is pretty much here, so I just decided, since our family is here, we need to build our legacy and build something great for our hometown, our new home, you know?

- [Deb] Absolutely, because Lexington is known for barbecue.

- Right, right.

- So you wanted to bring something special, right?

- Yeah.

I mean, everyone else goes out of town to have seafood and really good seafood, so I wanted everyone to come on to Lexington, we've got good things too.

We've got stuff besides barbecue, so you can definitely get some good food here.

[chuckles] - The food scene here in Lexington is really taking off, but that's just part of the pleasures of a weekend in Lexington.

Let's indulge in a little fine wine at Childress Vineyards.

[gentle music] - Well, Lexington is where Napa was in the '60s from a wine point of view.

The goal was when they pulled into the property at Childress, what we initially said is they probably don't expect a lot because they, "Now, come on, North Carolina?

Wine, Childress, he's a NASCAR guy."

So they pull off the highway and then they come through the gates and there's one that's pretty nice so far.

And then they drive through part of the vineyard and then they see it and go, "Wow."

And now when you drive up the driveway, you just see the beauty of this, and you could be in Tuscany or you could be in Napa, but you're in Lexington.

- [Deb] NASCAR legend Richard Childress was the visionary who saw the potential for high quality wines in the region.

- His one question to me was, "Can we make world-class wines in North Carolina?"

- [Deb] A visit to the tasting room at Childress Vineyards definitely answers that question.

Your tasting guide will provide flights of Childress wine that will satisfy any wine lover's palette.

And the gift shop is a great place to stock up until your next visit.

Hungry?

Then be sure to visit the bistro for lunch, where the food is as divine as the surroundings.

[gentle music] Not all wineries are as grand as Childress, for more intimate experience, visit one of the small family farm wineries around Lexington like the award-winning Junius Lindsay winery.

[soft music] - The land's been in the family since Junius Lindsay Zimmerman, my grandfather, bought it in 1896.

So I'm third generation, grew up here, spent a lot of that time in France and fell in love with the Rhone Valley in Southern France and Rhone wines.

And that's the bulk of what we grow here, and everything that we do is native to the Rhone Valley.

The San Francisco Chronicle competition is the largest wine competition of American wines in the world that we collect several goals and a lot of other stuff.

And it's just, we don't enter a lot of things.

We enter what we think is the best.

- If your tastes run toward innovative craft beers and ciders, you've got to stop by the new Depot District in Lexington.

This was once the massive Lexington furniture factory, and today it's home to Bull City Ciders and Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse.

[upbeat music] - We've probably made 60, 75 ciders.

Now we don't have 65, 75 ciders available at all times, but we always have 12 to 14 ciders that we make ourselves.

And by doing that, we can offer things that have a little spice to it.

We can offer things to have hops in it, different fruits.

So I always believe if somebody comes in and even if their perspective is, or their perception previously is "Look, I don't like cider."

If they try a flight, they kind of dig in and they try some of these things.

"And what kind of fruits you like?

What kind of flavors you like?"

You like something a little dryer?

You like a little sweeter?

We have things that run that full spectrum."

We actually stop our fermentation early.

And when we do that, we just leave natural residual sugar from the apple.

So that's a very different and unique perspective about our process versus many others.

- We're sitting at Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse.

It used to be part of Lexington Home Brands until Lexington Home Brands moved out in 2002.

The city bought these buildings in 2007 and they sat empty for 10, 12 years.

We started leasing this building in February of 2017.

- The name came because my cousin and I used to wait on the school bus together when we were little and we would play games and sing songs.

And there was a song called "The Clapping Song" that we sang together.

And it says three, six, nine, the goose drank wine, the monkey chew tobacco on the street car line, and so Goose and the Monkey.

We love going to other cities and going to breweries and going to places like that, and we thought Lexington needs something like this.

So we thought, "Let's start a brewery."

The Fire Door Red is a tribute to the fire doors that saved our building during the fire that happened here.

And there were several businesses down here, and so they were doing everything they could do to stop the fire.

And the fire chief came down in the building and they closed the fire doors, and it stopped the fire from progressing and destroying this building.

So our first brew was Fire Door Red.

[upbeat music] - [Deb] The best way to plan your trip to Lexington is a visit to the Visitors Center at 2 North Main Street in Downtown Lexington.

They're open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at 336-236-4218 or go online to visitlexingtonnc.com.

Right now I'm standing in front of the Conrad & Hinkle Food Market.

It's been a fixture here in Lexington for more than a hundred years, inside you can find fresh meats and produce, but it's there Pimento Cheese that is to die for after all they'd been perfecting it for more than 70 years.

[light music] - Well, Conrad Hinkle was founded in 1919 by my grandfather Odell Hinkle and my great-grandfather Walter Conrad.

He was in the business until 1927, became ill and got out of the business and sold his share to my grandfather, Odell.

Story has it that granddaddy left the name Conrad Hinkle and didn't change it to just Hinkle's Groceries because he was known to be pretty thrift.

[chuckles] Didn't wanna change the sign.

It'd be too expensive - Back 1919 to now, so much has changed, but the store hasn't.

It's kind of like a time capsule almost.

- And back in those days, it wasn't uncommon to have a store like this on every corner.

Whereas now, we're the only one in Lexington and probably one of the few in the state.

I don't know the exact number, but we are a dying breed, which really kind of helps us out.

- [Deb] For over a century now, this small neighborhood grocery store has been serving the Lexington community with what locals refer to as good old home family service.

- I like these here.

They're locally grown right here in Davidson County.

This is the Covington.

We cook them up, there's nice red meat to them, like a- - [Deb] Folks have discovered over the years it's more than just a grocery store.

- It's a real experience.

You kinda go back in time, say I've got a little vintage in me.

I go back about 70 something years.

- One of the things that I hear from people is it takes them back in time.

I hear this often from different people from all over who say, "I remember when I was growing up, my dad or my grandparents took me to a store just like this," and I think it just gives them an old nostalgic feeling.

- Personal touch.

It feels like when you walk in a store, it's almost like you're home.

People talk to you, they greet you, they offer to help you, and that makes a big difference in shopping and feeling comfortable.

- We offer good products, good service, things you can't find everywhere.

So a lot of local produce that sort of thing.

- Stuff you can't find any big box stores anymore.

- [Deb] Along with their cut-to-order meat department, Conrad Hinkle is also known for its famous Pimento Cheese.

- [Lee] We make it every day.

We probably make on average about 300 pounds a day.

- Oh, it's so good, I hate to swallow it.

- The Pimento Cheese is just, you know, that's our bread and butter.

It's now all over the state.

We have a guy who comes from Ohio just to get it.

We have people want it shipped all the time.

- Now my wife would say the chicken salad is the best.

So therefore, when I came, I get the chicken salad, the chunky and the smooth, and the Pimento Cheese.

- [Deb] It's hard to pinpoint one thing that draws people from all over to visit this unique store.

Whatever it is, people seem to crave it in this fast-paced world we live in.

- [Lee] I hear a lot of people when they come in here, they see each other, they're like, "Wow, I haven't seen you in a long time."

And I got a little quote, I'd say, "Conrad & Hinkle's where old friends meet."

And a lot of people get together here like a reunion, "I haven't seen you in so long.

How are you doing?"

Yeah, it's a gathering place.

- Maybe that's what's always appealed about working here is, I guess, the historical nature to the store.

Again, when you think about everything that has passed over the last 100 years, it just seems shocking almost that something like this survived, all that.

[gentle music] - Conrad & Hinkle Food Market is at 6 North Main Street in Lexington, and they're open daily except Sunday and Wednesday.

For more information, give them a call at 336-248-2341, or go online to conrad-hinkle.com.

Another cornerstone of downtown Lexington will make you feel like a kid again.

The Candy Factory has all kinds of sweets from old-fashioned stick candy to bubble gum.

Let's check it out.

[upbeat jazz music] - One day in 2016, I happened in the candy store and Jeannie approached me, Jeannie happened to be my sixth grade teacher, and asked what we're going to do after when retired from the school system.

And I informed her that we didn't have plans.

And she said to me very emphatically, "Well, I'm not going to sell the business to just anyone.

I want you guys to buy this business.

- I sort of blew it off and got to thinking about it.

I was nearing retirement, and so I came up here and talked to her.

- And I said, "Where have you been?"

He said, "I've been at The Candy Factory and we're gonna buy that business."

- And here we are.

This was originally built in 1890s; it was Lexington Hardware.

They'd love the old store.

They love the creaky floors.

They love all the nostalgia, all the antique boxes that we've kept.

And the signage, people try to buy all the signs that we've got.

There's just this like old atmosphere.

- We have a tremendous following, obviously in Lexington and Davidson County, but people from all over the United States visit here.

We've had folks in here from Switzerland and Germany, and it's just very interesting, the stories that that people have to share.

And that's part of the reason we have our traveling candy bag.

It travels the world and we're excited when we get pictures back where our candy bag has traveled.

[upbeat music] - [Wynn] Redbird Candy's is one of our big items.

It's very hard to keep in the store.

Our fudge sells very well that we make here in the store.

A lot of the nostalgic candy that we're still able to get like the Pick & Mix stuff, it goes pretty fast.

- Probably the top three sellers in this store would be Redbird puffs or sticks, double dip peanuts, and orange slices.

Folks come here specifically to find those things, and they're shipped all over the world.

One of the things that we always grew up having at Christmas time was an orange with a peppermint stick stuck in a hole in the orange.

Get the orange juice flowing there, cut the hole and stick the stick in there and use it as a straw to suck the orange juice out.

You get the full effect of the juice and the peppermint all at one time.

- The Christmas season is one of our busy season.

It's unbelievable, the amount of patrons that we have in today's time.

[festive music] It's Barbecue Festival, there's over 300,000 people.

I'd say half of them come in here on that day.

- [Annette] Lexington has grown tremendously and I attribute the success of that to the dedication of our downtown leaders.

All those folks are just bought in, all the merchants really want downtown Lexington to be successful.

- [Wynn] It's neat little town.

You could spend a day here just cruising the main street.

[light music] - The Candy Factory is at 15 North Main Street in Lexington, and they're open every day except Sunday.

For more information, you can call them at 336-249-6770 or check them out online at lexingtoncandyfactory.com.

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

We'd like to thank the folks in Lexington for hosting us.

And if you love barbecue history and timeless traditions, this is the place to visit.

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

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

Goodnight.

[light 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.

[gentle music] [bright music]