Morning Minute: Friday, May 10, 2019

News About Town: At 5:30 this Monday, prior to the regular town council meeting, Town Manager Hazen Blodgett will present his recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2019/20. Creating a municipal budget is a lengthy process that typically starts in February when individual town departments generate a budget to meet their needs. Those budgets are then submitted to the Assistant Town Manager and the Finance Director, who advise the Manager. The Town Manager, as Budget Director, creates a recommended budget to present to the Town Council. As of November 30, 2018, the town has had a vacancy in the Finance Director position.  

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News Around Town: Speaking of budgets, County Manager Dena Diorio presented her recommended budget yesterday. We haven't studied the budget in depth (at all), but the graphic (seen above, click on the image to see it in full) explaining the budget is a great introduction. Of note, the budget doesn't fulfill all of the budget requests made by CMS, but does increase salaries for locally funded employees.

One Fun Thing:  Saturday, May 11, 2019 (That's tomorrow) the Matthews Community Farmers’ Market (8:00 AM -12:00 PM) is having herb day! The Charlotte Herb Guild and bringing their Herbal A-Game with plants, crafts, and all around planterly fun. Herbs not up your alley? The regular vendors will be there, too, providing the high-quality, super-local goodies you expect.  

Morning Minute: Thursday, May 9, 2019

News About Town: During Monday's (May 13) Board of Commissioner's meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing for three properties the Planning Department noted as "may not be appropriate from either a current or future land use perspective." These three properties under consideration include the Stronghaven warehouse on East John (I-1), the AMF Bowling Alley on Brigman Road, and a vacant parcel adjacent to the Woodspring Suites on Matthews-Mint Hill Road. The parcels are currently Industrial and Highway Business. The motion would downzone the properties to R-12 and R-15. Two properties are within the ENT zone, which calls for higher density residential than R-12 and R-15.

News Around Town: Atrium Health and the Greater Charlotte YMCA have partnered to create the Wellness on Wheels program (@WOWCLT). WOWCLT covers territory all over the greater Charlotte area and “provides health screenings, nutrition education and lifestyle management to prevent high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases” for free. The unit will stop at Mount Moriah Church (381 Crestdale Rd., Matthews) from 3 to 6 p.m. on May 16 (and the third Thursday of every month at that same time). No appointment is necessary.

One Fun Thing:  Tomorrow (evening we’re partnering up with Good Cup Coffee and The Loyalist for a Mother's Day Twilight Artisan Pop Up Market. Stop by the Loyalist for dinner, enjoy a Good Cup coffee, find a gift for a mom or yourself, then head on up the road to enjoy some beach music at Beach Fest. We’ll have all your favorite Matthews gear, other artists will have an assortment of handcrafted wearables, hand-poured candles, and more. Consider your Friday night planned!

Morning Minute: December 28, 2018

News About Town: Republic Services will not pick up trash on New Year’s Day and pick up will operate on a one-day delay. Yard waste pick up is behind schedule as well.

News Around Town:  If you’re getting to know the Town website, but have a tough time navigating and searching, Protect Matthews has a Google search set up for the site. With options for the type of document, exact search, or keyword search it makes finding documents on MatthewsNC.gov a great deal easier.

One Good Thing: The Arts and Science Council is holding a workshop to explain the application for the McColl Award, a $25,000 grant.  This grant is open to Mecklenburg County-based nonprofits and creative individuals and ASC staff will be on hand to answer questions. This workshop is Tuesday, January 8, 2019 from 5:30, until 7 p.m. in the Van Every Auditorium at the Mint Museum on Randolph (2730 Randolph Road, Charlotte).

Matthews Meets the European Food Scene

Two transplants to Matthews are forging their way into the food scene and are bringing a slice of their heritage and roots with them.

Both Marci Dagenhardt’s Marci’s European Sweets and StrudelTeig, a food truck bakery owed by Marvin and Cora Adcock, are using recipes and recipe books provided by their grandparents. They represent the latest wave of ethnic food-vendors who are changing the palette and cultural landscape in and around Matthews. Both have been in business for approximately one year.  

Marci, originally from the Czech Republic, started baking when she was very young – especially Christmas cookies – a time-worn annual family tradition. Originally schooled in hospitality, Marci moved to the US to be a nanny.  After marrying, she turned to baking as a way to remain connected to her homeland. It also brought her enormous comfort.

When Marci’s beloved 93-year-old grandmother sent her 1947 recipe book last Christmas, she took it as a “sign” and began baking in earnest for others. She and her husband recently built their 4800 square foot home in Matthews, complete with a separate kitchen intended for her growing business. Not only does she now bake for a living, but the actual preparation and being in the separate kitchen space provide a way to relieve stress daily.

She fondly speaks of using marzipan as an ingredient, has baked many new European-style goods to find the perfect fit for her business, and constantly searches for new Czech recipes to add to her growing offerings. Recently, her cousin in the Czech Republic sent her a new fudge recipe – it’s all a way to remain connected to her family. Of her grandmother’s feelings?  “She loves it,” Marci said. “She’s so proud.”

And, now, it’s a new way to connect with others.

“I try to bring (food) to people to open their mind,” said Marci, noting that many people stop in to tell her about their grandparents who come from Europe. “I (sometimes) say, ‘Wow, I’m not here by myself!’ “

Moravian gingerbread, Linzer cookies, honey cake, poppy seed cookies, Bohemian and Moravian kolache, rugelach, and marshmallow fondant cake are just a few of her specialties. This is not just about business, she insists, but about “bringing people joy. …and experience something new… Sweet can be sweet, but not sugary-sweet (like in America). I want to help American people know the culture.  I want people to experience that there are (foods) different than what’s here." To get an authentic flavor, she imports some ingredients from the Czech Republic. She also ships her baked goods across the US.

Marvin Adcock brought together his desire to work for himself with the culture and cuisine of his Austrian-born wife, Cora (with a nod to some German and Swiss-cuisine specialties, and incorporating the cuisine of other  European/Eastern European countries). “My passion was to cook for people and use the recipes from her background,” he said. Last year, they purchased a food truck. “There are no European food trucks” around here, said Cora, who has drawn from country-favorites and used some recipes from her grandfather’s restaurant in Austria.

The couple takes pride in their all-natural, locally-sourced ingredients.

Their truck offers a way to be mobile and cater to many different crowds. They use their food truck for “foods that take less time to prepare” which include pretzels, Viennese Apple strudel, and Bavarian pretzel melt (grilled cheese), to name a few. They’ve also started a separate catering business which is quickly growing to include things like Speckknödel, Schweinebraten, Viennese Gulasch, Hungarian Krautstrudel, and Käsespätzle.

They, too, say that international travelers and fellow Austrians/Europeans come up to the truck in search of authentic foods they can’t find elsewhere.

While both companies have a strong online presence (for ordering), in the future, both groups would like to own small European cafés. For Marvin, that would be intended to serve breakfast foods; Marci would like a European coffee shop (adding on her husband’s passion for coffee) with two separate areas – one for people who wish to have quiet and the other side for “moms with kids.” “Every woman from my family goes to the coffee shop on Thursday…we talk….and the kids can play together. They serve small sandwiches, sweet stuff and have peace,” she said with a smile, noting that she is now the mother of a newborn.

For both entities, the opportunity to share their respective cultures here is not lost, nor taken for granted. “It’s not just food,” said Cora, adding that she also posts photos of Austria, on their site, to give a broader overview of the beauty of the country. “I think that the greatest part of America is the ability to live your culture (freely) here,” said Marvin.

Yarn Crafters: a Tightly Knit Group

Two years ago, Evy Ellis approached the Matthews Public Library about hosting a weekly knitting group – “a place open to everyone, (where) I didn’t need to worry about parking and setting up,” said Ellis. Having knitted since she was 10 years old, she envisioned that the comfort this group might provide – to each other and to others, together with the final product to be donated to others, might serve a worthy purpose in the community.

Through word of mouth, notices around Town Hall, online information and the library calendar, more than one dozen people signed up. Today, they meet twice each month, due to popular demand.

“We have given up on knowledge of how to do natural things, use our resources. I’m trying to recapture those as much as possible and I think these ladies are doing the same thing.”

— Sandy Davis

The “they” includes (older) women who moved to the Charlotte area to be near children, people already residing in the area and the youngest member – the “resident dessert maker,” who is known for her blue hair.

In addition, they are sometimes joined by a gentleman from Africa who rounds out the group.

“This is a welcoming group,” said Ellis. “It’s an eclectic bunch…very interesting (people). We have a great time talking. Since we meet in the library, the majority of people are prolific readers, and knitters. We discuss books, movies, art, recipes…It reminds me of (a time) when women had quilting gatherings.”

Although conversation is often at a premium, it’s the by-product of the group that takes center stage: scarves, hats, baby blankets, NICU hats, lap blankets (for seniors) at the rate of more than 100 per year. All the knitted creations go to local churches, Room at the Inn, homeless shelters, Meals on Wheels, missions and NICU units (one member transports them to Nashville, when she visits relatives).

In addition to camaraderie, the members get to ogle the great craftwork being created right before their eyes. “I’m astounded by the work – the craftsmanship which the women do,” said Ellis. “They use intricate patterns; some make beautiful things.”

It is a sentiment also reflected in the thank-you cards they receive from the recipients who receive the knitted work.

Do any of the women stand out? “A couple of them are like an assembly line,” laughs Ellis. “I just met some great ladies. We all reach out to each other. I’m (also) glad we can get together and chat.”

Said Sandy Davis, of Weddington, a knitter since her teenage years, “(The group) is totally welcoming.  There is no pressure or social biases. We’re there to share our yarn and be together. I’m glad that these ladies are keeping up with (this craftwork)……We have given up on knowledge of how to do natural things, use our resources. I’m trying to recapture those as much as possible and I think these ladies are doing the same thing.”  

“We’re yarn crafters specifically,” said Davis. “We go there and play with our yarn!”  

Rolande Sowers, of Matthews, is one of the newest members.  A creative person with many artistic interests, in the past, she made dozens of blankets for wheelchair-bound people but had a hard time finding a place for them.  Now, she sees exactly where the fruits of her labor land. “I have only been with the group since the summer. I have enjoyed every bit of it - I’ve even brought my best friend. I have made 25 scarves so far…. We just go at it. I want all my efforts to go to the right people.”

Yarn Crafters meets the first and third Thursday of each month from 2:15 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Matthews Public Library Activity Room.

Photo by Cyma Shapiro

Courtney Buckley and the Drive Behind Your Mom's Donuts

If you’re looking for the 55+ Meetup article, please click here. We’re so sorry for the early morning confusion.

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“I would like people to think of us as an ethical business…A big part of having the business for me is being a part of the community - to give other people jobs.”

This October, Courtney Buckley will celebrate the 5th anniversary of her business, Your Mom’s Donuts. The idea was to run a (family) business…support her family and pay her employees a living wage. “I originally just wanted a family-friendly donut shop,” she said.

Back then, she was a brand new mom who delivered her donuts to people. Now, she owns three locations (Matthews, Charlotte and Monroe, NC) and is scouting around for more (looking at Davidson and South Charlotte). “I’m getting to the point where I’d like to grow this to a much larger brand, regionally,” she said. Courtney employees four full-time and three part-time employees. “I’m always looking for an opportunity (for another shop),” she said. Her Matthews kitchen, at her flagship store, is used to bake donuts for the other locations. Nearly 2,100 donuts were made on a recent Saturday, alone.

Her donuts remain square, not round; her flavors are all natural and are sometimes found right at the Farmer’s Market: carrot-thyme; strawberry fennel jam; snow pea glaze with yogurt drizzle; sliced beets; cucumber-mint; and basil when it’s available. “I didn’t want anything here that I wouldn’t find in my own kitchen,” she said. Her one caveat? The recent addition of sprinkles on her donuts. Everyone wanted sprinkles, she said, which she “fought and fought and fought,” but recently agreed to add them on top.

Nothing is premade; everything possible is found locally; and she supports local businesses, too (Pure Intentions Coffee, for example).

While donuts are her main staple, any leftovers at the end of the day are turned into donut bread pudding at night – a fan favorite.

It is not lost on Courtney that she remains one of the few women entrepreneurs in the Charlotte food-service industry. “I’m constantly trying to find other women as mentors,” she said. “Most of the mentors I go to are men.” She added that she sometimes encounters sexism in the workplace to which she responds by “put(ting) my head down and just go. It’s like white noise. We get used to it as women,” she said.

It is her wish that she can serve as a mentor to younger women entering the food service industry, and as a role model to her children. “I think I’m an entrepreneur first; I think that’s what makes me the mother I am. I WANT my girls to see their mom do something,” she said.

She would also like to continue giving back to her employees and the community at large. “I would like people to think of us as an ethical business, a business which not only treats their employees fairly but puts out a good product without thinking about the bottom dollar,” said Courtney. “A big part of having the business for me is being a part of the community - to give other people jobs.”

“There are people that I delivered to their doors (and) they had two kids, now they have four. I have watched their families grow, and I LOVE that. It’s an amazing thing to feel part of something so much bigger,” she said.

Ultimately, it’s the joy – of baking, being a mom and an entrepreneur, supporting her family, living within a tight-knit community, giving back whenever possible, and satisfying her customers which drives Courtney on. “Donuts make people happy,” she said. “Nobody walks into a donut shop in a bad mood.”

Photo courtesy Your Mom’s Donuts

Your Mom’s Donuts: 11025 Monroe Rd, Matthews

Mon – Fri 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Sat 7:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.

Sun Closed