When Getting Your Grocery Essentials, Please Thank the Essential Employees
These essential workers help us get our essentials.
If you had told us three months ago that the hottest spot in the Queen City would be our neighborhood grocery stores, we would’ve chuckled as we called our uber to the Charlotte Beer Garden.
But, that statement is true. With stores, restaurants and breweries all closed to the public, grocery stores are one of the few places deemed essential during this crisis. They are busier than ever and they are handling it with grace (even though we are sure some of the customers aren’t).
Between keeping the shelves stocked, making sure stores are sanitary, and doing their best to keep employees and customers safe by following social distancing and patron capacity limits, the Queen City’s grocery stores have more than risen to the occasion. And, we want to say thank you.
For this week’s challenge, we want you to create a sketch of a graphic thanking the grocery store workers who have been essential in keeping us fed since day one of the stay-at-home orders. We need your help to thank them for going above and beyond during this time to keep our stomachs full and our toilet paper supply stocked.
If we like your sketch, we’ll commission you to complete the graphic and give you a $50 honorarium. To be considered, please send a sketch of your idea to us by 11pm this Sunday, May 17. It doesn’t have to be complete. Just an idea. We’ll pick from there and work with you on a final graphic. For more guidelines and information about how to submit your idea, click here.
All good things,
Tim Miner, Matt Olin & Porter Metzler (Social Media Scoundrel)
Charlotte Is Creative
This QC Creative Challenge is supported by Charlotte Center City Partners and Charlotte SHOUT.
 VIDEO CREDIT: Charlotte Star Room Creating More Rhythm in the City Through Artwork
Charlotte artist Georgie Nakima applies vibrant color, thought and community to all of her work, whether it’s collaborative projects on Charlotte’s East Side or new work at the Link Apartments in South Charlotte. In this short video created by Charlotte Star Room, Georgie shares her thoughts on the explosion of new murals in the Queen City.
Watch Georgie’s 1-minute video by Star Room here.
WFAE Wins Three Regional Murrow Awards
All of us at The Biscuit congratulate our media partner, WFAE, on winning three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for outstanding achievement in electronic journalism. As regional winners, the station is now in contention for National Murrow Awards.
WFAE’s “The List” by Sarah Deliah ranked first in both the Investigative Reporting and Podcast categories. “The List” explores the importance and impact of the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte’s release of a list of clergy who are credibly accused of sexual abuse involving minors.
“The Shooting of Danquirs Franklin” was also recognized. This is a collection of stories by the WFAE Newsroom from March to November 2019 about a fatal police shooting at a Burger King in Charlotte and the policy changes made in its wake.
Charlotte Music Moves Us. We Need to Move to Help Music.
For decades, John Tosco has been a mainstay of the Queen City creative community. From starting intimate music gatherings at his house in the 80s to organizing open mic nights and sing-alongs at Evening Muse and Tosco Music Parties with Blumenthal Performing Arts, John has demonstrated his belief that music moves a community. Not one to sit on his laurels, John and his team at his nonprofit, Tosco Music, partnered with Charlotte Center City’s Partners’ Music Everywhere and the Fair Play Music Initiative to launch an hour-long virtual Tosco Music Party this past weekend.
To date, the free event has raised more than $18,000 in needed funds for the Charlotte Music Community COVID-19 Relief Fund. To talk about how the event came together and music’s role during the COVID-19 outbreak, John spoke with Tim Miner for a batch of the Biscuit Blitz.
Watch John’s interview and the hour-long Tosco Music Party.
The “Khaleesi of Southern Ramen” Speaks!
Land on Courtney Estes‘ LinkedIn page, and you’ll immediately see that she is the “First of Her Name, Queen of Lincoln’s Haberdashery, Khaleesi of Southern Ramen, Breaker of Server Chains, and Mother of Design Dragons.” Scroll down a bit more, and you’ll see that she’s deeply involved in all of the creative magic coming out of Charlotte’s beloved Lincoln’s Haberdashery and Futo Buta.
On today’s Biscuit Blitz, she chats with Matt Olin about running a restaurant in the time of COVID, dancing on Instagram, and creating coffee cups that feel soooo gooood to hold.
SHOUTing from the Rooftops!
Bruce Hazel is Taking These Times in Stride
In anticipation of Charlotte SHOUT! later this year, we’re asking Charlotte musicians to film themselves performing songs within earshot of the neighbors. In this edition of “SHOUTing from the Rooftops,” Charlotte’s own Bruze Hazel performs “Take It In Stride” from the newly-released Temperance League album, Dust Parade, in front of Alex Delarge’s Jerry Garcia mural on Cosmic Tattoos.
“It was my wife’s idea to shoot me on our street corner during sunset,” shares Bruce. “She actually set up the shoot, front lighting and filmed me. Some of our neighbors looked on from their front porches. And actually, a couple went jogging quieting by during the recording. You can see me give them a nod.” – Bruce Hazel
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Showing Mom Love with “City Love”
A few weeks ago, we shared some glimpses of how photographer Andy Weber is staying creative during COVID-19 … by recreating scenes from The Office.
This week, he revealed that his mother has been battling breast cancer during this outbreak. He reports she is well, but — to show his support and raise funds in her honor — he has created a book of his photographs of Charlotte called City Love. He intends to donate all sales from this 50-page book to National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Click the image above to watch Andy’s video about this project. Order the $15 book here.
“Feeding the Knead” with Grandma Barbie’s Bread
“Food is so special and was never a struggle in my household. This fed my passion to give back to the community and share my family’s secret bread recipe to help feed others!”
After losing her job, Charlottean Jessica Webb Losselyong started making bread using her grandmother’s secret recipe to raise funds for Feeding America. To date, she has raised more than $1000. Next, she is releasing a “Barbie’s Starter Kit” for sale, so you can make your own bread at home while supporting those who need a hand.
Cows have returned to the streets of Charlotte. See? Nature is healing.
Happy National Hummus Day!
National Hummus Day is May 13. What better way to celebrate than with a nice creamy bowl of chickpea heaven? This recipe comes from a friend’s mother-in-law named Amal Swade. We eat a lot of hummus in this house and, while it’s great to buy or order from your favorite restaurant, Amal’s recipe it’s super easy to make. It just takes a few ingredients and a little time to whip up a bowl of hummus. And you get the satisfaction of making something delicious yourself!
This recipe was shared by Charlotte Is Creative’s project manager, Melissa Dorsch.
What are we doing this afternoon? As Martha and the Vandellas (and later David Bowie & Mick Jagger) say, we’ll be dancing in the street! Literally!
The City of Charlotte started its “Shared Streets” initiative last weekend in an effort to give everyone a little more space during a time of social distancing. For their program, Charlotte has closed five streets to through traffic and temporarily designated them as a space for walking and physical exercise.
On the program’s webpage, the city says “Shared Streets is intended to support outdoor exercise; create a safer environment for people walking, wheelchair rolling, biking, skateboarding, and rollerblading; and promote physical distancing of at least 6 feet by identifying low-speed neighborhood streets as ‘Shared Streets.’”
The program is currently in Phase One with the possibility of adding more streets in the future if things go well at the current locations. The five streets of Phase One are:
- McClintock Rd from The Plaza to Morningside Dr
- Romany Rd (Bike Route 11) from Myrtle Ave to Kenilworth Ave
- Jameston Dr/Irby Dr/Westfield Rd from Freedom Park to Brandywine Rd
So, if you need us … we’ll be dancing in the street! And remember, this isn’t a pass to congregate with friends and family, you should still practice social distancing.
This Queen City exploration is powered by OrthoCarolina.
Directions: 3027 Westfield Road, Charlotte, NC 28209
Explore other “Where Are We in CLT?” destinations here.
Don’t go around hungry. If you missed the last batch of The Biscuit, don’t worry. We’ve kept it warm for you. Our last batch features:
- A memorial for Charlotte creative, Paige Johnston Thomas
- A photo essay from Alvin C. Jacobs, Jr.
- An editorial on the need for responsible social distancing to help local businesses
Click here to dig in, y’all.
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