Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/266593
4 FEB. 26 - MARCH 4, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM A long-time advocate for the Fayetteville area, Bill Bowman yields this space to guest writer Jennifer White Gradnigo this week. Allen's selection for an Air Force ROTC detachment command allowed us to choose our next assignment. We chose Fayetteville primarily because of Allen's expected impact at Fayetteville State University. However, we also chose Fayetteville due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., where I lived for 20 years, and also because it is central to so many wonderful cities we want to explore. Because of its beauty and access to both the ocean and the mountains, North Carolina is in the top four states for our possible retirement home so we thought we'd give it a test run. Unfortunately, a lot of what I read and heard prior to moving to Fayetteville was negative. I had deployed from Fort Bragg in 2004 but hadn't seen much of the area and only remembered the "strip," which wasn't a lot to remember. As recently as last month, when asked how I like the area I replied that we really like it. I was told, "Oh come on, you can be honest." No, I'm not a fan of strip malls, but downtown Hay Street reminds me of Old Town Alexandria. Cute shops, plenty of outside dining, and unlike the DC area, free and plentiful parking. Allen and I are definitely ready for more date days and nights. We've already been to numerous restaurants downtown with great food and service, and many are also kid-friendly which is a plus for us since we have a 3-year-old daughter. We stumbled onto some of these restaurants because of location. We were looking for outdoor dining on a fall-like day, and decided to give them a try. Our waiter at a local Italian restaurant was incredibly friendly and told us what a great place Fayetteville is to raise a family. Many of the other restaurants we've enjoyed were noted by fellow Fayetteville Regional Chamber members. One of the top items on my agenda when we moved here six months ago was to join the local chamber. From my very first networking breakfast to being accepted into Leadership Fayetteville, I've had fruitful experiences. As Woody Allen said, "Eighty percent of success is just showing up." After one event, I decided to make copies of my company's fact sheets. Not finding a Kinkos online, I pulled out the business card of a person who I had just met at the Chamber breakfast. I walked in the door of the copy store where he works and was approached by one of the friendliest people I've encountered since we arrived, and what great customer service! He sat next to me through the entire process to ensure I received what I expected. I found out later that he owns the store. Because of the warm and friendly people I've met through the Chamber and elsewhere, my community feels smaller, in a good way. Allen and I were becoming tired of the congestion and noise of the big city. We were excited about spending the next two or three years at a slower pace with our daughter. We wanted to feel a better sense of community and family and we've found it in Fayetteville. From bumping into a Leadership Fayetteville teammate at a Hay Street restaurant to one-on-one business planning sessions at a local business development center, I already feel like I can reach out to my neighbors for assistance or lunch. With lovely people like the woman at the weigh station who told me my husband was just there when she recognized the photo of our daughter on my credit card, and the caring staff at an upscale day spa, we definitely live in Fayette-FAM, a place with some big city luxuries along with a warm embrace. Fayette-NAM or Fayette-FAM? by JENNIFER WHITE GRADNIGO STAFF Calendar............................................ 12 Concert.Connection......................... 16 TV...................................................... 17 Movie................................................ 17. Free.Wheelin'.Feelin'........................ 18 Horoscopes/Advice.Goddess.......... 19 Classifieds......................................... 20. Games............................................... 22 INSIDE PUBLISHER'S PEN PUBLISHER Bill Bowman bbowman@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS OFFICER Jerred Sanders accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR Alicia Miller art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/ OFFICE COORDINATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Cynthia Spears cynthia@upandcomingweekly.com Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Kristy Sykes kristy@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per per- son. Subscriptions can be purchased for $30 for six months or $60 for 12 months, delivered weekly by first class mail. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. High 48° Low 26° Partly Cloudy 7 Forecast available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Monday March 3 Tuesday March 4 High 42° Low 26° Partly Cloudy 24 / Thursday February 27 High 41° Low 23° Mostly Sunny High 51° Low 35° Mostly Sunny High 55º Low 34º Partly Cloudy Friday February 28 Saturday March 1 Sunday March 2 Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910.354.1679 High 52º Low 33º Partly Cloudy JENNIFER WHITE GRADNIGO, Con- tributing Writer, Up & Coming Weekly. COMMENTS?bbowman@upandcomin- gweekly.com. For years Fayetteville was known as Fayette-nam, but that is no longer the case. Once a trouble spot, Hay Street is now a family-friendly place to visit.