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Area Restaurants Tease Palates for Charity...
EATING SO OTHERS MAY
It was a culinary adventure for charity. A palate tease pleasing an overflow crowd of tented tasters sampling flavors from Edenton, Elizabeth City and Hertford eateries joining together to raise funds and awareness of food insecurities.
The line-up of restaurants offering samples of their specialties pleased the crowd of close to 200 people enjoying samples of She Crab Soup, BLT’s in a cup, BBQ pulled pork and along with delightful cream puffs.
While guests enjoyed a variety of flavors and mingling conversations, the chefs and staffs of the participating restaurants deserve a round of applause for leaving their home bases on a Saturday night to donate time, staff and ingredients.
The Broad St. Diner’s She Crab Soup was a huge. Steve and Mary Pat Gaffney have become known for their signature Broad St. Diner dish. The soup will be available beginning Saturday at the Edenton Farmers Market. Ronnie Bates took time out from the recent opening of The Capital Pizza Tavern to support the event with new menu samplings.
A Taste of the Inner Banks, regional restaurants and community members gathered under a rain pattered tent on Edenton’s Courthouse Green to benefit the Food Bank of the Albemarle.
The gathering had a mission that reaches well beyond the tasting tables: helping neighbors across northeastern North Carolina put food on their own tables.
Inspired by the former Taste of Edenton, the event revived a local tradition with a regional focus. Organizers announced that sponsorship support would allow all ticket proceeds to go directly to the Food Bank of the Albemarle.
Helping make the evening a success were Timmy Turner of Main Street Edenton; Leslie Hogan, CAC Board member, along with James Beard Award winning chef and event judge Ricky Moore; Denise Barnes, owner of The Venue; and Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce President Susan Creed, bartender for the evening. Sponsor Kellogg Supply’s employees enjoyed VIP table service, while “Island Gerry” Maddox provided the music.
The evening also brought Hogan, former director of College of the Albemarle’s culinary program, together with two former students: Marsharel Moore now chef and owner of the Electric Garden, and Ashley Tedrow, a COA graduate and former lab assistant who now teaches cooking to area high school students through COA. For those hungry for another local offering, Broad Street Diner will feature she-crab soup at the Edenton Farmers Market beginning Saturday, with the soup also available at the diner.
Participating kitchens included Bistro Tropical, Blake’s Bistro, Broad Street Diner, Capital Pizza Tavern and Carolina Moon Bakery. College of the Albemarle, Cypress Creek Grill, Currituck BBQ, Downtown Roots, Electric Garden and Waterman’s Grill also joined the culinary lineup.
Together, the participants offered a chance to discover different kitchens in one setting while supporting a shared community cause. Beneath the trees on the historic green, tents and tables provided an informal backdrop for an evening centered on food and fellowship.
Chef and cookbook author Ricky Moore was also on hand, with copies of his SALTBOX Seafood Joint cookbooks displayed at his table. The James Beard Award-winning chef, whose Durham restaurant celebrates North Carolina seafood, was announced as the event’s guest judge for the Outstanding Dish Award and presenter of the People’s Choice Awards.
While the tasting highlighted the pleasures of sharing a meal, its beneficiary works year-round to make nutritious food available to people facing hunger. Based in Elizabeth City, the Food Bank of the Albemarle partners with more than 100 nonprofit and community organizations across 15 northeastern North Carolina counties, including Chowan, Bertie, Martin and Perquimans. These local partnerships help bring food assistance closer to the people who need it.
Among those partners is the Edenton-Chowan Food Pantry, a member agency of the Food Bank. The pantry also participates in its network of backpack programs, which provide children with food for weekends when school meals are unavailable. Other backpack partners include Good Shepherd Food Pantry, Ahoskie Food Pantry, Camden Food Pantry, Eagles Wings Food Pantry, Food for Thought and Currituck Extension Foundation. Through these organizations, support for the Food Bank helps reach families and children throughout the region.
For the restaurants, volunteers and guests gathered on Courthouse Green,was a celebration of local food with a special ingredient, an act of generosity—helping make the next meal possible for a neighbor.
Enjoy the Food, Spill the Tea, Coming to Edenton
SHRIMP BY THE BAY RETURNS
Shrimp by the Bay Returns Oct. 16
Pumpkins on the tables, lights strung through the trees and friends gathering as daylight fades — last year’s Shrimp by the Bay photographs capture the spirit of an Edenton autumn evening.
The Edenton-Chowan Chamber of Commerce will bring the community together again Friday, Oct. 16, for this year’s Shrimp by the Bay, offering another occasion to enjoy one of the town’s seasonal social gatherings.
Last year’s celebration combined a relaxed outdoor setting with plenty of opportunities to catch up with neighbors. Sweaters and light jackets fit the autumn setting, with fallen leaves scattered across the lawn.
That welcoming atmosphere is part of the appeal of a community event such as Shrimp by the Bay. Along with the seafood suggested by its name, the gathering provides time to reconnect with familiar faces and meet someone new during Edenton’s busy fall season.
Edenton Tea Party musical to open new performing arts center at John A. Holmes HS
The women of the Edenton Tea Party will take center stage in their hometown when Spill the Tea! becomes the inaugural production at the new John A. Holmes Performing Arts Center.
Performances are scheduled for Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. The final performance falls 252 years to the day after the Edenton Tea Party. Admission is free, but tickets must be reserved at www.spilltheteamusical.com.
Created by Edenton native Laurie Edwards, the musical draws inspiration from the 51 women who signed a declaration on Oct. 25, 1774, pledging their support for a boycott of British goods. Their actions provide the foundation for an original story and score that combine history, humor and the relationships of a town caught up in revolution.
Led by Penelope Barker, the women took a public stand at a time when they could neither vote nor hold public office. Their declaration attracted attention far beyond Edenton, with news of their protest reaching London.
For Edwards, bringing the musical home gives the production special meaning.
“There’s something pretty magical about watching this story unfold where these women actually lived and made history,” Edwards said.
Spill the Tea! portrays its characters as friends, spouses and neighbors navigating both everyday tensions and revolutionary change. The story brings Revolutionary-era Edenton to life, with part of the action extending to London.
The score blends pop, orchestral and traditional Broadway styles. According to the production announcement, the show takes a humorous and sometimes irreverent approach while recognizing the significance of the women’s decision to make their voices heard.
The hometown production marks a new chapter for local performing arts, opening the John A. Holmes Performing Arts Center with a story rooted in Edenton’s history. It also joins the celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Spill the Tea! is funded in part by a grant from America 250 NC, a program of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Sponsors include Colony Tire & Service, Regulator Marine, Dr. and Mrs. Alex Kehayes, and Willful Entertainment
Edenton Welcomes 850 Tired, Hungry Cyclists
Edenton’s waterfront became a colorful village of tents and bicycles Thursday, Oct. 8, as 850 cyclists stopped overnight during Cycle North Carolina’s Mountains to Coast Ride.
Orange, yellow, green and gray tents dotted the grass beneath waterfront trees, while rows of bicycles filled temporary racks nearby. Folding chairs, duffel bags and towels draped over railings added the familiar touches of camp life to the historic setting.
For one evening, Edenton was home to a traveling community making its way across North Carolina, one day’s ride at a time.
The cyclists’ average age was 62, and the oldest participant was an 89-year-old man making the journey on a traditional bicycle. Some riders chose motor-assisted bicycles to help them along the route, but all shared the experience of exploring the state on two wheels.
The 2026 tour, the event’s 27th annual ride, followed a seven-day route from Mount Airy to Hatteras Island, Oct. 4–10. Overnight host communities included Eden, Hillsborough, Henderson, Weldon, Edenton and Manteo, giving participants a succession of places to discover along the way.
Eirenne Mizell, director of the Tourism Development Authority, coordinated Edenton’s stop with Cycle North Carolina. Timmy Turner of Main Street Edenton assisted Mizell with the day’s activities.
Along the waterfront, the practical business of settling in unfolded as cyclists arranged their gear, tended to bicycles and prepared their tents. Some bikes rested upside down beside campsites, their wheels pointing skyward. Others hung neatly from long racks near bicycle service tents.
Behind the scenes, an equipment team helped keep the traveling community rolling. At each evening’s stop, the crew repaired and maintained participants’ bicycles, working through the night to have them ready for the next day’s ride.
Two large semitrailers equipped with showers were parked in the waterfront park parking lot, giving riders a welcome opportunity to wash away a day on the road. Nearby, cyclists gathered on a deck overlooking the encampment, while tents and camp chairs occupied grassy stretches against a backdrop of historic brick buildings.
The scene illustrated how much travels with a bicycle tour of this size: equipment, support services and the temporary households riders establish at each overnight stop.
Although the daily distances require stamina, Mountains to Coast is a recreational trek rather than a race. The event follows scenic back roads, with an emphasis on experiencing North Carolina while promoting physical fitness and good health.
Fully stocked rest stops, support vehicles and mechanical assistance help keep participants moving. Turn-by-turn directions, Ride with GPS navigation, road markings and signs guide cyclists through the changing landscape.
The ride began in 1999 with a two-week journey from Murphy to Manteo. Since then, its changing routes have brought overnight visits to more than 110 North Carolina towns and carried cyclists through more than 800 communities.
That approach makes the host towns part of the experience. In Edenton, riders could step away from their bicycles and find themselves beside the water, within walking distance of downtown and surrounded by the town’s history.
Friday’s route led onward to Manteo, with Hatteras Island the final destination Saturday. Another cycling group is expected to visit Edenton for a three-day event in April 2027, bringing another opportunity to welcome riders to town.
For Thursday night, however, the journey paused in Edenton, where two wheels and a tent were enough to make a temporary home along the waterfront.
SPOKE FOLKS' PICTURES
The BACKBAR ONCE SHELVED MEDICINALS OF OTHER BRANDS
Edenton Welcomes Baron’s Pub with a full-house evening
Baron’s Pub called it a soft opening. Edenton town folk offered a full-house welcome as the new staff, with experienced trainers from their other VA. locations, worked the dining room, oyster bar and front bar with the ease of professionals enjoying every step. Owners Tyler McMillen and Mike Williams were on hand solving opening night challenges every knowledgeable restaurateur expects.
Stepping through the front door, guests could see the transformation of Scottie Harrell’s original showroom, later home to the Oyster Bar. Flying pigs, model airplanes and assorted props gave the new pub a comfortably familiar feel, as though it had been there for years.
Mitchener’s Drug Store shelves, dating back to the late 1800’s where they once framed other branded medicinals now serve a similar purpose , while becoming a major focal point and prime conversation piece.
Residents packed the restaurant early Wednesday evening, welcoming the owners and getting their first taste of the town’s newest dining spot.
The opening brought fresh activity to a familiar gathering place, with patrons settling into wooden booths, taking seats along the bar and gathering around tables for dinner and drinks. Families with young children joined the crowd, while other guests stood chatting between tables.
Behind them, a large chalkboard offered a simple greeting: “Baron’s Pub Welcomes You!”
The name may already be familiar to residents who dine across the Virginia line. Baron’s Pub has established locations in Olde Towne Portsmouth and historic downtown Suffolk. Its website describes the Portsmouth restaurant as a neighborhood fixture dating to 1988.
The Virginia restaurants feature casual American dining, with a signature Baron’s Burger, seafood and craft beer among their offerings. The Suffolk restaurant’s description emphasizes the personal welcome of a neighborhood pub—a place where staff get to know their customers.
In Edenton, it’s a setting with plenty of character. Blue-green walls, the color of the famed teapot patina frame wooden booths and tables, aside from the front bar and dining room, the oyster bar off the patio has been redone and now offers a comfortable space to gather and watch the shuckers. Along with the model airplanes, a dinghy hangs high next to American and North Carolina flags overhead and televisions positioned around the room.
Staff wearing black Baron’s Pub shirts attended to customers as the first evening unfolded. Plates of food and drinks filled tables, and the mix of seated diners and guests stopping to talk gave the room the appearance of a neighborhood gathering.
For residents familiar with the former Oyster Bar, the evening offered an opportunity to return to the marina space and meet its new operators. For Baron’s Pub, it provided an immediate introduction to Edenton’s enthusiasm for a new place to eat and socialize.
A soft opening gives a restaurant an opportunity to put its kitchen and service through their first paces. Wednesday’s turnout gave Baron’s Pub a busy start—and a warm welcome from its new hometown.
EDENTON'S NEWEST EATERY ATTRACTS A CROWD
Framing the Aces’ legacy
Simple request becomes a major woodworking project for Lucas Belton
When Lucas Belton received a call from John A. Holmes High School asking whether he could build a frame for some sports memorabilia, the request sounded straightforward.
Then came the jerseys, awards and trophies — enough to require a box truck to transport the multi framed collection to his studio.
For Belton, the owner and artist behind Rustic to Reclaimed, the assignment grew into a massive woodworking project using 1,000 feet of cypress. The result is a collection of substantial wooden frames designed to protect and bring order to the school’s athletic history.
These are frames within frames. Individually framed jerseys and awards slide into larger protective wooden surrounds, with the collection divided into sections by category. The design brings pieces of different sizes and styles together within a consistent framework while retaining their individual presentations.
Spread across Belton’s studio, the finished sections reveal the scale of the undertaking. Long rows of awards sit alongside broad displays holding several jerseys. Stacks of completed frames rise beside piles of lumber, their warm brown finish highlighting the sweeping grain of the cypress.
The wood provides a striking border for the Aces’ blue and gold, the white jerseys of East-West All-Star participants, and college and professional uniforms represented in the collection.
Among the pieces is a red Atlanta Falcons jersey bearing the name Chesson and the number 81. Its accompanying plate identifies Wes Chesson and his years as a wide receiver from 1971 to 1974. Nearby are framed Aces football jerseys, each with its own identifying plaque.
The collection also reaches beyond the football field. A swimming display includes blue racing shorts, a yellow cap, a medal and a photograph honoring James “Ches” Chesson’s 2008 state championship in the 100-yard freestyle. Other sections hold rows of conference awards recognizing team achievements.
Together, the pieces tell a story of individual accomplishment and shared school pride. Names, numbers, photographs and awards connect the athletes who wore the uniforms with the teams and community they represented.
Accommodating that variety required more than repeating a single frame design. Belton’s wooden surrounds had to fit everything from large jersey displays to smaller award plaques, creating sections suited to the contents while giving the overall collection a unified appearance.
What began with a phone call about a frame became a project measured in a truckload of memorabilia and 1,000 feet of cypress.
For Belton, the finished work puts his craftsmanship around another kind of handiwork: the athletic legacy built by generations of Edenton Aces.
ADACHI REVIEWS VERITY
You may consider leaving Mother at home...
By Darryl Adachi
If you are an Anne Hathaway fan, 2026 is turning out to be a bonanza year for you. You may have read my reviews of The Devil Wears Prada, The Odyssey, and The End of Oak Street. In one, Anne plays a charmingly efficient problem solver for a major fashion magazine. In another, she is the long-suffering wife of a Trojan War hero trying to find his way home. And in yet another, she goes head-to-head with dinosaurs in an effort to save her family after their neighborhood is catapulted 100 million years into the past.
These are remarkably diverse roles for one actor to tackle in a single year. What else could she possibly do, I wondered? Apparently, quite a lot more.
Verity, now playing at the Taylor, tells the story of Verity Crawford, a best-selling novelist who has suffered a devastating car accident that has left her catatonic and unresponsive. Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer who is offered a lucrative opportunity to serve as a ghostwriter, completing the remaining books in Verity’s popular series. She accepts the assignment and moves into the Vermont home of Verity and her husband, Jeremy Crawford, where she begins sorting through Verity’s mountain of notes, drafts and ideas.
While staying at the Crawford home, Lowen grows close to Jeremy and the couple’s young son, Crew. Before long, she and Jeremy develop a mutual attraction and begin an affair. Then, while working through Verity’s papers, Lowen discovers a hidden, unpublished autobiographical manuscript written by Verity herself.
The manuscript contains disturbing confessions, including passages describing Verity’s deep resentment toward her children, one of whom had previously drowned in a boating accident. Horrified by what she has read, Lowen shares the manuscript with Jeremy. It is at this point that the movie shifts from a slow-burning examination of the Crawford family dynamic and Lowen’s developing relationship with Jeremy into a bona fide mystery thriller.
That said, for the benefit of those reading this review, I should probably be more precise: Verity is an erotic mystery thriller.
Yes, dear readers. While the Taylor has entertained us this year with superheroes, characters from classical literature, and the bond between a man and his dog, our movie-going community has apparently ventured into the realm of — dare I say it? — s-e-x in films.
I will say that there is no shortage of seduction, skin and sheets in this movie, an observation that is, of course, relative depending on one’s views on the subject. I tend to draw the line on films like this by asking myself, “Would I be comfortable watching this movie with my teenage son or daughter sitting next to me — or, worse yet, my mother-in-law?”
You be the judge.
The film quickly evolves into a series of surprising revelations, an ill-advised attempt to resolve an emerging problem, and, ultimately, a denouement that leaves you questioning just about everything that came before it. The movie runs two hours, but it sometimes feels as though everything that really needs to be seen happens in the final 20 minutes.
I won’t deny that parts of the film are left unresolved and open to interpretation. In fact, as I sit here writing this review, I find myself wondering what really happened.
For those who enjoy heading out after a movie and discussing it over a cup of coffee, that can be a good thing. Some movies are meant simply to entertain us. Others are more ambiguous and multi-layered, forcing us to debate what actually happened and what it all means.
Verity falls into that latter category.
For those who gravitate toward this type of film, it may certainly be worth a visit to the Taylor this week. However, you might want to consider leaving Mother at home.
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