Carson and Mindy Coatney had never worked at a bakery. But a visit to one in D.C., soon after the new millennium, switched on a light bulb: Their hometown, Boone, needed this. So the couple juggled humble resources with their jobs at a nonprofit to open Stick Boy in 2001. Then, the operation had two employees, in addition to the Coatneys. Now, between the original location and its sequel, Stick Boy Kitchen, the staff exceeds 70. At Stick Boy Kitchen, the bakery’s breads are dressed up as sandwiches, like a BLT with avocado and Sriracha mayo on sourdough. (Don’t forget a magic cookie, with chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, and marshmallows, for dessert.) Even with its expansion, “what has stayed the same is the sense of community,” says Abby Willis, longtime manager and Mindy’s sister. “We’ve seen the same people in here for the last 15 years.”
Stick Boy Bread Company
345 Hardin Street, Boone, NC 28607
(828) 268-9900 or stickboybread.com
Stick Boy has been so successful in Boone that owners Mindy and Carson Coatney partnered with a former employee to open a location in Fuquay-Varina.
127 South Main Street, Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526
(919) 557-2237 or stickboybread.com
In North Carolina, spring brings the scent of fresh-cut grass and memories of helping Dad mow the lawn.
Nostalgic burger joints are like time machines, delivering something extra special that keeps us coming back.
This tiny city block in downtown Greensboro once had a gigantic reputation. Not so much for its charbroiled beef patties — though they, too, were plentiful — but for its colorful characters and their wild shenanigans.
In the 1950s, as Americans hit freshly paved roads in shiny new cars during the postwar boom, a new kind of restaurant took shape: the drive-in. From those first thin patties to the elaborate gourmet hamburgers of today, North Carolina has spent the past 80 years making burger history.
