Black Mountain Chocolate makes the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies in North Carolina!

 Cosmopolitan.com and Yelp report local business is the best

"In an online article dated August 18, 2016, Cosmopolitan columnist Helin Jung explained the process used in determining the winners:

“Cosmopolitan.com partnered with Yelp to pick the standout chocolate chip cookies in every state.  The Yelp data team looked at the number of reviews plus the star rating for every business on Yelp, along with reviews and photos of chocolate chip cookies to determine who had the best cookies.”

Yelp reviewers were quoted in the article: 

Chris W.: “The best chocolate chip cookies in town…”

Meghan R.: “Did I mention their chocolate chip cookies are heavenly… Every bite oozes with their very own dark chocolate.” 

Our "Chocolate Chunk Cookies" are loaded with both our Dominican 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate and our Mountain Milk 53% Dark Milk Chocolate.  They are sold only at the factory at 732 N Trade Street and at Cobblestone Farmers Market in Old Salem on Saturday mornings.  To ensure freshness, we bake them in small batches, so customers wanting more than a few should contact the store to place a special order. Orders placed in the morning are usually ready by the afternoon.  We are experimenting with shipping the cookies to see if we can add them to our online store.

Background information:  

Black Mountain Chocolate started in Black Mountain, NC in 2008 and moved operations to Winston-Salem in 2014.  We were the FIRST company in North Carolina and one of the first TEN chocolatiers to make bean-to-bar chocolate.

We use organic, fair trade certified Criollo (cree-O-yo) beans from a single source in the Dominican Republic.  Only about 5% of the world’s chocolate is made with Criollo beans.  (Criollo beans are to chocolate what fine Arabica beans are to coffee.)

Our recognitions include: 

The International Chocolate Salon and Taste TV awarded us "Four Stars, Superior Chocolatier" status in their 2016 ratings of Best Chocolatiers and Confectioners in America, Artisan Chocolate Awards.  

http://www.internationalchocolatesalon.com/best-of-the-year/

Our Mountain Milk Dark Milk Chocolate won a Good Food Award 2015.  

http://www.goodfoodawards.org/2015-winners/

We are a visible factory so our guests can watch production through the windows or take a behind the scenes tour.  So that you can see us in action, here is a link to a short video that aired on UNCTV's program, NC Weekend:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngzr5Ju63So"

- A Press Release

Eric Darius to perform at Downtown Jazz Presented by the Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union this Friday night

Eric Darius

"Winston-Salem, N.C. – The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership (DWSP) has united with Post Entertainment to present the 2016 Downtown Summer Jazz Series. The featured artist will be smooth jazz Saxophonist Eric Darius.

Eric Darius is one of the true rising stars of Smooth/Urban Jazz. Adored and treasured by his growing legion of fans. Eric tours constantly with such superstars as Maxwell, Joe, Mary J. Blige, and many others. Additionally Eric is a mainstay of Smooth Jazz radio, having already had 8 Top 10 hits in his young career.

Eric s first single from Retro Forward, a remake of Pharrell’s Happy is already climbing up the Smooth Jazz radio charts, and promises to be Top 5 at the time of the album s release.

Superstar producers Tony Dixon(Babyface, Beyonce) and Bluetooth (Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks) ensure that Retro Forward is brimming with today s hit sounds while still retaining a firm footing in the world of Jazz. Highlights include Eric s hit single Happy, the heartfelt ballad Never, the funky title track Retro Forward, and much more.

The opening act will be Sandra Crenshaw. The concert will be held on Friday July 8, 2016 at Corpening Plaza.  Start time is 6:00pm.  This is a free event. The Triad is welcome to come out and enjoy this national smooth jazz act. For more information about the concert series go to www.postjazz.com or www.downtownws.org/music/ "

- A Press Release

Fight breaks out on Burke Street in Winston-Salem

"On Dec. 6, just after 2am, Officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department responded to 1110 Burke St. (Burke Street Pub) on a reported Fight in Progress involving approximately ten people.

Upon arrival, Officers engaged two subjects that were actively fighting.  One Officer deployed their issued OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) spray and dispersed the fight.  The investigating Officer determined that Mr.  William Wade Roseboro, 25, and Mr.  Bruce Wesley Spraggins, 36, were inside the Burke Street Pub creating a disturbance.  The two individuals were asked to leave the business and both refused. Roseboro and Spraggins were forcibly removed from the business by staff . Once outside, Roseboro and Spraggins were assaulted by Joseph Kyle Spring, 29, and Matthew Trenton Davis, 30.

Roseboro, of 128-3 Westdale Ave., Winston-Salem, was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken jaw.  Spraggins, of 1642 Village Place, Winston-Salem, sustained a laceration to his face.

Approximately nine Officers were dispatched to the scene and remained there for slightly over an hour.

Spring was charged with Assault Inflicting Serious Injury and put under a $1,000.00 Secured Bond

Davis was charged with Assault and Battery / $1,000.00 Secured Bond

Roseboro was charged with 2^nd Degree Trespassing / Disorderly Conduct  - Cited to Court

Spraggins was charged with 2nd Degree Trespassing / Disorderly Conduct – Cited to Court

           

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Winston-Salem Police Department at 773-7700 or their local law enforcement agency."

- A Police Report

Soccer Unlimited Raises the Pitch and Establishes New Turf in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem’s new upscale retail soccer store

with indoor turf field is one of a kind

               

"Soccer Unlimited has moved to a new, fully renovated building at 3033 Trenwest Drive in Winston-Salem featuring a 15x30 foot indoor turf soccer field and 3000 square feet of retail space.  The upscale store is just two doors down from the old location where customers have been shopping for 30 years, and just across the Stratford Road intersection from the new HanesTowne shopping center.  Owner Brian Fitzgerald says, “There is not another soccer store like it anywhere in the region.  The turf field allows players to try out their cleats and other soccer gear before purchasing, to ensure the best possible fit.  We have always offered our customers excellent, personalized service, but now we’re taking the experience of shopping for soccer gear to a whole new level.”

                Shoppers frequently stay to watch games on the two large televisions that are always tuned to soccer games and to talk about the latest soccer news with other fans.  Fitzgerald says, “We’re more than just a store.  We’re a part of the community.  In our new space, parents are able to enjoy a relaxed shopping experience while their children play in the enclosed turf field, taking shots on goal or juggling a soccer ball.” 

 In addition to the retail customer, Soccer Unlimited furnishes uniforms, goals and other equipment to local high schools, clubs and colleges including, among others, Twin City Youth Soccer Association, Wake Forest University, Guilford College, and Kernersville Soccer Association.   The store carries a large selection of major soccer brands like Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Brine, Kwik Goal, and Select.  A fixture in the soccer community for 33 years, future plans for Soccer Unlimited include bringing services in-house that are currently outsourced, including embroidery, screen printing and transfer fabrication.   Fitzgerald says, “For some schools, like Westchester Country Day, we provide uniforms for all the school’s sports.  Our goal is to be a one stop shop for all your soccer and uniform needs.”

With an industrial feel, exposed brick walls and an open ceiling, the new Soccer Unlimited showcases the design vision of its owners, who were assisted with initial plans by local talent, Gibbons Architecture and Lisa Wade at Design Solutionz.  Fixtures were designed and manufactured by the locally owned design team at RyanScott Displays.   Eldridge Construction handled the transformation from gutting the old Hilde’s Interiors building to its finish as a contemporary retail venue."

- A Press Release

Second Sundays on 4th features Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba on Aug.9

"On Aug. 9, 4th Street in downtown Winston-Salem will host another monthly Second Sundays on 4^th event. This FREE family-friendly outdoor event series, every second Sunday of the month from May to October from 3-6 pm, is presented by Flow Automotive and supported by a number of other local sponsors. Each event includes two free bands, as well as a kids’ zone (sponsored by Summit School) with free bounce houses, crafts and games. We also feature different local non-profits at each event. The events are on 4^th Street between Cherry and Marshall Streets, and thanks to First Presbyterian Church there will be free parking during each of the SSO4 events in any of the nearby First Presbyterian parking lots. In conjunction with Second Sundays, a/perture cinemas will be showing a special series of vintage cartoons at 2pm on those dates (movies $5).   

On stage, our Aug. 9 SSO4 opens at 3pm with Laila Nur, a self-taught singer-songwriter who is one of North Carolina’s most exciting emerging artists, with her inventive approach to folk, funk, soul, and blues.

 Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba, our August headliner, is a Senegalese singer who combines the centuries-old musical culture of his “griot” ancestors with elements of blues and rock & roll. Diali’s electrifying voice and serpentine guitar work propel songs old and new about timeless themes of mythology, migration and universal love. 

Our Non-Profit of the Month is The Olio, an arts program featuring the first glassblowing studio in Winston-Salem and an apprentice program for local youth.

For more information, check out our website, www.sso4.com, or find us on Facebook under Second Sundays on Fourth."

- A Press Release

Winston-Salem Chamber Announces Presenters for the 13th Annual Tech Briefing

"The Tech Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce ten presenters for the 13^th Annual Tech Briefing, which will open the Chamber’s Business & Innovation Expo on September 18, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. in the Benton Convention Center.

The 2014 presenters are: 2ndLifeTech, The Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability at Wake Forest University; Champion Industries; Cook Medical; Elemance; Human Analogue Applications; N2 Medical Solutions; Piedmont Craftsmen; Rock Tenn; and Tereo.  

“After 13 years, we continue to be amazed at the new and variety of innovations being developed right here in Winston-Salem, said Gayle Anderson, President and CEO of the Chamber. “The Tech Briefing always leaves me excited about Winston-Salem’s future and the talented people who have chosen our community as a place to develop their ideas. We encourage business leaders, students, and any members of the public to attend and learn about our transforming economy.”

“Innovations are increasingly interdisciplinary,” said Bret Marchant, the Chamber’s Director of Strategic Economic Development and Research. “More and more, we see local inventors, researchers, and companies collaborating across industries to make their creations better and more marketable. That exchange of knowledge is positive for our local economy and is a trend reflected in this year’s lineup.”

The Tech Briefing is an entertaining, informative, and fast-moving event open to the public and appealing to a broad audience. It features ten presenters who each speak for just five minutes about their innovative technologies, designs, and products. These presenters include a diverse range of local companies and organizations, from new start-up ventures to long-established existing companies. The Tech Briefing is free to attend and open to the public, though registration is required at www.winstonsalem.com/techbriefing.aspx"

A Press Release

Downtown Winston-Salem business owners prepare for Business 40 closure

Business 40 between Liberty and Cherry streets in downtown Winston-Salem

Project leaders with the NC Department of Transportation and a private consulting firm showed up at A/perture Cinema today to answer questions from downtown business people, some of whom are concerned that plans to temporarily close a section of Business 40 will prevent their customers from finding them.

The department will award a design-build contract for the project in 2016, and then immediately begin work on a new interchange at Peters Creek Parkway near BB&T Ballpark at the southwestern corner of downtown. Improvements to Peters Creek Parkway will be completed before the downtown section of Business 40 closes. The highway is expected to remain closed for two years and then reopen by 2020. In the meantime, the department must determine what to do with the 70,000 cars per day that regularly traverse Business 40 and figure out how to direct visitors into downtown Winston-Salem.

"With all the investment going on downtown, we don't want this to be a hindrance," said Pat Ivey, Division 9 engineer with the NC Department of Transportation. "We want visitors from both directions to know how to get to downtown and how to get back out."

Vivian Joiner, owner of Sweet Potatoes restaurant on Trade Street, expressed concern that if her staff has to give out-of-town customers directions that are too complicated during the temporary closure, they will stop coming. She found herself dissatisfied with the lack of clarity on that point.

Ivey told Joiner that the department is conducting complex traffic studies to get a sense of where people are going and where they're trying to get to, and is working with Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership to develop signage that will help people locate destinations such as the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, governmental buildings, restaurants and theaters. 

"We're not trying to be politically correct," he said. "The problem is we don't know."

After the meeting, Ivey gave a general sense of visitors will be able to get downtown while Business 40 is closed: Visitors traveling from the west will be able to exit on Peters Creek Parkway while those coming from the east will be able to take the Martin Luther King Jr. exit. In both cases, they'll be able to travel north and turn onto 4th and 5th streets to reach restaurants, governmental buildings, theaters and other destinations. 

Ivey said the project leaders are trying to determine how to shift as much through-traffic as possible onto Interstate 40 to the south. Responding to a question from the audience, he said there is no way that 4th and 5th streets will be converted to one-way streets.

"I can guarantee that doesn't happen; Gayle Anderson will make sure that doesn't happen," Ivey said, referring to the president and CEO of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. "We cannot clog up 4th and 5th streets with a lot of commuter traffic. That's not what they're designed for anymore."

One major decision remains to be made between now and the start of construction. Based on public input, the department will mothball either the Liberty (southbound)/Main (northbound) Marshall (southbound)/Cherry (northbound) interchange. The Liberty/Main interchange is located closest to the government district, which includes City Hall, the Forsyth County Hall of Justice, the Forsyth County Government Center and the Hiram Ward Federal Building, while the Marshall/Cherry interchange provides more direct access to the Milton Rhodes Arts Center and the 4th Street restaurant row. 

Ivey said either scenario would work, and the department isn't leaning one way or another.

No matter which interchange is selected, all four bridges will remain open, providing north-south connectivity, but the roadways will be narrowed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle paths. Project leaders are also looking into the feasibility of adding a separate bicycle route along Business 40.

"This is an extremely compressed time frame for what we have to do," Ivey said.

Learn more: Visit the NC Department of Transportation's website for the Business 40 improvement project.

Get involved: The bridge and design working group meets at the Mountcastle Forum at the Milton Rhodes Arts Center, located at 251 N. Spruce St., on Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.