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Articles by Tim Bass
Carolina Beach’s Longtime General Store | Our State
Wes Barbour calls out hurricane names like he’s listing relatives: Bertha. Fran. Bonnie. Floyd. Florence. Ian. Stormy weather is a fact of life on the coast, but the Barbour family makes it standard practice not to evacuate. Instead, they keep their store, Island True Value Tackle & Hardware, open as long as possible, even as the winds kick up and the rains arrive, giving Carolina Beach locals a last chance for generator plugs, nails, batteries, sandbags — anything they’ll need to shelter in place.
Game for Fun in Wilmington
Related: Check out other toys we treasured during the holiday season. Heath Newton is on the move, bouncing through his 10,000-square-foot maze of a store, Cape Fear Games in Wilmington. Newton ran track in high school, and it seems as though this man in suede sneakers is still trying to break records. He passes by industrial racks holding towers of board games, a row of employees handling online orders, and a back room filled with orders awaiting shipment.
The Cream of Calabash
They arrive in Calabash from all over — locals and tourists trolling for seafood dinners, deep-fried and heaped high. They find plenty of it, too. The “Calabash style” has earned a devoted following in this shaded village tucked against the marsh grass and tidal river waters of southeastern Brunswick County. After their sizzling, salty shrimp, oysters, and flounder, diners ease over to Calabash Creamery for a chilled, sugary finish.
Shelton Herb Farm in Leland
Steer wrestling, a practice credited to legendary cowboy and rodeo star Bill Pickett, usually involves leaping onto a steer from the back of a specially trained horse. At the Madison Put ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until puffed and golden. Remove from oven, and let stand for 5 minutes.
Marriage Material
February Men's Room column By Tim Bass | Illustration by Mark Weber The first time it happened, I felt crushed and emotionally drained, unsure of how to handle the unnatural order of an unraveled romance. We’d dated for a couple of years, this young woman and I, both in our early twenties, each of us new to the serious business of a serious relationship – meaning, we were finally adult enough that our primary concerns didn’t involve plans for the prom. We got along great.
Casey’s Soul Food Restaurant in Wilmington
There’s a picture of a pig on the menu. There’s a pig on the business card. There’s a pig on the sign out front. It’s easy to get the message at this soul food restaurant in Wilmington: If you want to pig out, come on in. As soon as you hit the checkerboard floor in the foyer, one of a platoon of waitresses approaches — she probably calls you darlin’ or baby doll or sweetie — and in no time flat you join scores of other hungry folks at the tables and booths.
The Country Squire in Kenansville
Late one night, Country Squire Assistant Manager Jenny Bratcher heard voices echoing from deep in the cavernous restaurant. “I kept hearing people talking and laughing,” she recalls, “like they were having a good time.” The restaurant had closed, however, the good times over for the night. Bratcher went to investigate, but before she could track down the ruckus, she says, “the sound faded away.” She found no late-night revelers. She heard no more noise. Strange?
Runway Judges - Wilma - September 2018 - Wilmington, NC
The trouble with style is that it’s subjective and constantly changing. It’s nearly impossible to get right and too easy to come off looking like a phony or a B-list pop singer. People notice style only when it’s glamorous or disastrous. And we have so many styles: classic, trendy, elegant, preppy, street, artsy, sporty, exotic, retro, bohemian, punk, grunge, business, casual, and business casual. If none of those fit, just call it eclectic. I struggle to find a term that describes my own style.
Fire in the Sky - Wilma - July 2018 - Wilmington, NC
If we pay attention to the clock, we’ll leave by 8:45 p.m. on the Fourth of July and drive to the other side of my little hometown, Clinton. If we’re on time, we’ll snag a choice parking spot behind the tractor-supply store, and I’ll back in close to the chain-link fence where they keep the drainage pipe. If I’m careful, I’ll park at an angle that avoids the buzzing night light hanging from the corner of the building and emitting a blinding day-glow beam. If we’re lucky, we’ll sit in darkness.
Lucky Email, Lucky Me
I haven’t been feeling lucky, but my email inbox says my fortunes are changing. Turns out I’m one of the elite few selected to complete an easy online survey for a department store. All I have to do is answer seven questions, and a $50 gift card is mine. That’s better than $7 a question! First, though, I want to snag an offer on life insurance—$250,000 worth for just $15 a month, with no exam required.
Next Door - Wilma - March 2018 - Wilmington, NC
I’d heard about my new next-door neighbors from the previous owner of my house – mainly that he didn’t know them well because they stuck to themselves, and to his endless irritation, they let their dog roam into his (now my) yard every morning to do dirty business in the shrubs. Over time, though, I’ve learned that he was a curmudgeon who never bothered to get to know them. The neighbors, meanwhile, are wonderfully gracious and social, upbeat and funny, wry, kind, always welcoming.
The Brass Beacon of Dunn – Our State Magazine
Billy Tart sees his Brass Lantern Steak House as a family business in the broadest sense. He and his wife, Vickie, opened the restaurant in 1992 to bring fine dining to Dunn’s east side. They built their home a half-mile away, and their daughters, Ashley and Amanda, grew up working at the Brass Lantern. “It was our normal,” Amanda says.
Alfredo’s Serves Classic Italian Food in Clinton – Our State Magazine
Alfredo DiPinto came south to play basketball in the 1980s. Decades later, he’s still in the game — now scoring points with customers at his polished Alfredo’s Ristorante Italiano in a refurbished landmark building in downtown Clinton. DiPinto has spent more than seven years bringing lobster ravioli, chicken margherita, and veal saltimbocca to this small town in Sampson County, and he’s winning fans. “It’s unbelievable,” DiPinto says. “The town has been amazing. People were saying, ‘This is legit.
Saltwater Grill Serves Seafood by the Water
Way up a wide, sea-blue staircase, diners at the Saltwater Grill get something extra with their shrimp pasta, fire-grilled rib eye steaks, and crab-encrusted grouper. On the balcony, they take in broad views of the White Oak River and the Intracoastal Waterway, both of which cradle the village of Swansboro on the eastern edge of Onslow County. Sandbars and islets dot the water, and shrimp boats rest in their moorings on the far side of the river.
Retail Optimization Drives Benefits Beyond Transportation
The topic of retail optimization for food businesses is important because retailers have an incredibly high standard for peak supply chain performance. Suppliers that don’t provide on-time, accurate deliveries can face costly penalties and other repercussions. Of course, when you’re dealing with food, which is often perishable and may need to be shipped at a certain temperature, there are added layers of complexity since you risk the product going bad.
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