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/665701
4 APRIL 13-19, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM For more years than I can remember, Friday morning 7 a.m. breakfast at the Haymont Grill and Steak House was pretty routine for me. After all, 40-year-old habits are hard to break. Hundreds, no thousands, of people are feeling the sadness at the loss of a business that became a stellar Fayetteville institution over the past 60 years. Now, it's gone. The history, the tradition, the haven that became a beloved gathering place, political stronghold and neighborhood sanctuary providing a warm sense of home in a proud and unpretentious Greek-American tradition is no more. Pete Skenteris, now 79, has been the owner of the Haymont Grill since he purchased it from Steve Fermanides in the 1950s. Skenteris' success is the epitome of the American dream. Pete, with his wife, Frederika, by his side, built his business and reputation on honesty, integrity and lots of hard work. To me the loss of the Haymont Grill is personal - very personal. My first Fayetteville home was only blocks away. My best friend, Leonard McLeod, and I had breakfast at the grill almost every Sunday for nearly 25 years until his death in 2000. My son, Grady, and I also shared the tradition. Now living in New Jersey and working in New York, his visits home always included a visit to the grill. No doubt, fond memories are the ties that bind and I have hundreds of them. Matter of fact, when you entered the grill from the Morganton Road side, the second booth on the left against the wall is where I actually conceived and started Up & Coming Magazine (now Up & Coming Weekly) in November 1995. I actually ran the newspaper out of that booth for nearly four months until I could afford a real office. Through the years, I have had countless business meetings with clients, brainstorming sessions with staff members and impromptu meetings with local leaders, business owners and educators in that booth. After we celebrated our 20th anniversary, Pete authorized a plaque designating that booth as the birthplace of Up & Coming Weekly, Fayetteville's community newspaper. Unfortunately, we never got around to it. However, we did physically place that white Up & Coming Weekly newspaper box in front of his business 20 years ago. Today I picked up that very same box. While everything on the inside of this iconic restaurant may have been destroyed by the fire, I am happy to have one surviving memento that will serve as a reminder of the man, family and business that served this community loyally for nearly six decades. The Haymont Grill was unique and endearing to our community. It may be rebuilt but it will never be replaced. Thanks for reading Up & Coming Weekly. PUBLISHER'S PEN My Last Breakfast at the Haymont Grill by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast Call 910-354-1679 for more info. April 14 Partly Cloudy April 15 Partly Cloudy April 16 Showers April 17 AM Showers April 18 Mostly Sunny April 19 Partly Cloudy THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 67 HIGH 67 HIGH 71 HIGH 76 HIGH 79 HIGH 81 LOW 46 LOW 48 LOW 51 LOW 54 LOW 57 LOW 57 STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Janice Burton editor@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Stephanie Crider stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com ART DIRECTOR & GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sara Smith art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Keri Dickson keri@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com Beverly Pone beverlypone@upandcomingweekly.com Melissa Zalaznik womensview@gmail.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" publica- tion with local features, news and information 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 publi - cation consideration, but assumes no responsibil- ity 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 person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited.