Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
After over a year of construction, the "steak, sushi and social" restaurant at 330 N. Spence Ave. is expected to open in early July, owner Jay Shin said Friday.
Built in the former Texas Steakhouse building, the restaurant will bring an entirely new dining experience to Goldsboro, Shin said.
"I asked myself, and all my friends, what does Goldsboro need?" he said. "What are they looking for? And here, there is no social place here, besides clubs and things, with no family part."
Jay's Kitchen will provide the kind of social gathering spot that Goldsboro lacks, Shin said, while also providing a fine-dining opportunity and business meeting space at the same time.
The restaurant is split into three district areas -- the bar, the sushi bar and the main dining room, which features wall-to-wall glass windows which can open up to provide a patio-like atmosphere. Everything is designed to make sure that groups of all different kinds can coexist in the restaurant at once without interfering with the others.
"I want people to enjoy it every time, and not have to spend big money," Shin said. "That's why the bar is near the front. People come through and say 'just give me one beer' and then Goldsboro people know everybody, so they're talking over there."
The bar, to the left of the entrance, is lined with several tables for people to stand around and drink while socializing with one other.
The sushi bar is set in the interior of the restaurant, in a more closed-off, intimate setting which Shin said is perfect for business meetings and other more private occasions. Jay's Kitchen also features a private room at the rear of the restaurant for similar gatherings.
The restaurant features design elements from all over world.
Shin traveled to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Europe to gather both aesthetic ideas and recipes for Jay's Kitchen, a process which has taken the better part of four years, he said.
The walls are lined with Chinese bricks, Japanese samurai armor sits in a case in the dining room, and the roof is adorned with imported Korean fixtures.
Everything -- from the European chairs to the South African sushi bar -- is imported, a deliberate choice Shin made to mirror the eclectic menu he plans to offer.
"Everyone is living here, with Seymour Johnson base, people are from everywhere," he said. "So, I want some more variety here in, something not only steak, barbecue chicken and pork. I want to make it Japanese style, Chinese style, Korean style, and then the steak, Spanish tapas, tacos, pizza and wings."
Jay's Kitchen sits right across the street from another of Shin's properties, Sumo Japanese Steak and Sushi.
The staff from that restaurant will move over to Jay's Kitchen once it opens, and the new establishment will employ between 50 and 60 people, Shin said.
Wayne County has been awarded a $1,785,000 state grant to help develop infrastructure at a proposed new industrial park. The grant will go toward the $3,803,500 Goldsboro Industrial Campus project for road access and water and sewer to the 118-acre site on Patetown Road, just off of North William Street and about a half mile south of the U.S. 70 Bypass. The project represents a partnership between the city of Goldsboro, Wayne County and the Wayne County Development Alliance.
Lenoir County will receive a $789,500 grant to extend sewer service at an industrial park serving a number of businesses. More than 51 acres will be directly served by the project, which should support future developments.
Wayne County has a five-year option effective August 2017 on the Patetown Road property owned by Bryan Holdings.
"The plan to develop the Goldsboro Industrial Campus is a great example of how the county of Wayne, the city of Goldsboro and our Impact Wayne investors are working together to position Wayne County for growth of our industrial base," said Tiffany Creech, Wayne County Development Alliance interim president. "Whether it's attracting new industry or helping our existing industries grow and expand, having sites near our great transportation corridors is key to this effort."
Economic development requires partnerships, she said.
"We appreciate the leaders of our community working together with our private sector investors and with our utility allies to develop this new industrial park," Creech said. "Receiving this rural infrastructure grant also means the state believes in what we're doing here in Wayne County and wants to partner with us to help bring jobs and capital investment to our community. By working together, projects like this come together at a much faster rate."
The project includes installing 600 linear feet of a median-divided entrance road with a turn lane off Patetown Road and a sidewalk along each side of the entrance road. The road will be paralleled with gas and electric service.
The grant includes $320,000 for water; $435,000 for sewer; $722,000 for industrial access; $83,000 for electric; and $225,000 for engineering. The cost of developing the site will be split among the county, city and Development Alliance. The remaining $2,018,500 of the project will be for land acquisition.
"As we sell the land to clients, proceeds from those sales will go back to offset any and all costs for the development," Creech said. "All costs will be shared -- all revenue will be shared."
The Wayne and Lenoir county grants are two of 10 grants totaling more than $14 million statewide being funded through the Rural ReadySites program.
The Rural ReadySites program, run out of the N.C. Department of Commerce in partnership with the Rural Infrastructure Authority, helps rural communities prepare prospective sites for industrial development.
The program will invest more than $14 million in public infrastructure construction and improvements for sites that have a strong potential to attract employers, create jobs and strengthen the local, regional and state economy. The N.C. General Assembly appropriated $2 million for this purpose, and the Department of Commerce added the additional $12 million to fund these projects.
"Companies are looking for sites that have the infrastructure they need to get to work growing their business right away," said Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. "Our rural communities often need additional funding to prepare sites for development, and this program is a step toward meeting that need."
The participating projects in the Rural ReadySites Program must meet the following criteria:
The applicant must be a government entity in a Tier 1 or 2 county. Wayne County is a Tier 2 county.
The N.C. Department of Commerce annually ranks the state's 100 counties based on economic well-being and assigns each a Tier designation.
The 40 most distressed counties are designated as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2 and the 20 least distressed as Tier 3. The system is incorporated into various state programs to encourage economic activity in the less-prosperous areas of the state.
* The site must be publicly owned or controlled.
* The site must be a minimum of 50 contiguous acres.
* Funds must only be used to construct public infrastructure with priority given to water, sewer and industrial access improvements. Additional consideration will be given to sites located in counties with greatest economic distress.
The Goldsboro City Council approved the sale of $4.5 million in street bonds at its meeting Monday night, paving the way for continued street renovation projects throughout the city.
The bonds mark the remaining balance in the $10 million total in bonds approved by voters in 2016 for street renovation and recreation projects. The city sold $2.5 million in street improvement bonds and $3 million in recreation bonds on May 2 at a 2.79 percent interest rate and 20-year term, leaving the remaining $4.5 million to be sold this year. The council unanimously approved the sale Monday, at a rate yet to be disclosed.
The council also held a trio of public hearings Monday, two for proposed used car dealerships on the south side of U.S. 70 West between U.S. 117 and the Little River. Part of the property was previously owned by Deacon Jones Nissan and was operated as a new car dealership, while another area belonged to Performance East before both companies left the site. Bobby Reavis, one of the applicants, spoke to the council, but no one had any questions for him at the time.
The third hearing concerned the rezoning of a property on the east side of Patetown Road between North William Street and Stoney Creek. The Wayne County Development Alliance has applied to have the residential property there rezoned into an industrial area, in order to begin developing the property for business. Raymond Casey, who lives on Patetown Road, said that traffic in the area has already become dangerous without the addition of more industry in the area. Specifically, people coming from Industry Court and William Street clog Patetown Road during the morning and afternoon drive to work, making it near impossible to get on the road, Casey said.
"I cannot tell you how many times I've almost been involved in an accident because people get anxious, they sit at that intersection waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, and they just get frustrated and they'll pull out in front of traffic thinking traffic is going to stop," he said. "This industry is going to add more of it."
Casey asked if anyone could say what is being planned to be placed on the property if the rezoning request is approved. Mayor Chuck Allen said that nobody knew yet what kind of industry could move there.
Tiffany Creech, interim president of the Wayne County Development Alliance, spoke up in favor of the plan. She said that opening up the area, known as the Goldsboro Industrial Campus, would help set Wayne County above other surrounding counties in terms of industry.
"This is a very exciting endeavor, and one that will no doubt position Wayne County ahead of other communities in our ability to attract companies looking for available spots close to our great interstate corridors," she said.
Patetown Road has seen an uptick in industry requests recently. On June 7, the council approved the construction of a concrete plant at the Oldcastle Adams building on the north side of Patetown Road between Industry Court and North William Street.
The N.C. Pickle Festival will be held a little earlier than normal in 2019 -- two weeks earlier, to be exact.
It will be Friday and Saturday, April 12-13, to avoid a conflict with Seymour Johnson Air Force Base's 2019 Wings Over Wayne, which is set for Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27.
The University of Mount Olive also has a big weekend of activities scheduled on the festival's traditional date in 2019 when it hosts the Conference Carolinas men's and women's lacrosse championships, drawing eight college teams and their fans to town.
The date for the 2019 Wings Over Wayne was determined by the Air Force and the availability of the Air Force Thunderbirds. The popular open house and air show, held every two years, drew 230,000 people to the county in 2017.
The decision to change the festival date came in late June after conversations with Wings Over Wayne organizers, officials with Goldsboro Travel and Tourism, and festival vendors, suppliers, participating organizations, and key sponsors, including the town of Mount Olive, Mt. Olive Pickle and the University of Mount Olive.
"The air show and the N.C. Pickle Festival are the two largest public events in Wayne County, but the air show is by far the larger of the two," said festival co-chairman Julie Beck. "We discussed the logistics of drawing 200,000-plus people to Wayne County just for the air show, and the requirements for transportation, lodging and emergency services to support it. We decided it best, in this instance, to move our event to another weekend."
The festival's new date also alleviates conflict with availability of the university's resources for parking and transportation, helicopter rides, and more normally used during the Pickle Festival.
This marks only the second time in its 32-year history that the annual celebration of pickles in downtown Mount Olive has not happened on the last full weekend in April. In 2011 the traditional festival weekend fell on Easter, and organizers moved the date to the following Friday and Saturday. Next year also marks the second time the air show falls on the traditional Pickle Festival weekend. It happened in 2009, but both events were significantly smaller than they are now. Then, organizers from the base and the festival worked together to promote both events for a "Pickles and Planes" weekend in Wayne County.
"This time, it isn't as simple," Ms. Beck said. "We appreciate the base for all it brings to Wayne County, and the air show is a tremendous event. We chose to support the base by changing our date."
The N.C. Pickle Festival draws tens of thousands to downtown Mount Olive each April.
The 33nd N.C. Pickle Festival gets underway in downtown Mount Olive Friday evening, April 12, 2019, from 5 to 10 p.m. The festival's main day Saturday, April 13, 2019, will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A new ice cream shop has opened on the main street of Pikeville, arriving just in time to quench effects of the recent heat wave.
The move made perfect sense to owner Desiree Autrey, double dipping at the location she already operates her dance studio out of, in the space where she introduced a coffee shop in 2015.
Java Hut has been renamed Java Hut and Creamery. It is located at 109 Railroad St.
She enlisted the aid of longtime friend and business partner John Gerken, who had also been her business teacher at Southern Wayne High School.
Like Autrey, he is a veteran entrepreneur -- now teaching carpentry at Southern Wayne and operating his own construction business for years. So naturally, he put his talents to use converting the coffee shop to accommodate the new menu.
He "pretty much did everything," she said, from the remodeling and painting to new decor and work on outside seating area.
"We basically took an old warehouse building that was used for storage and turned it into a new store," he said. "We're just trying to revitalize the downtown."
That spirit was inbred from childhood, he said, recalling his father often encouraged him to pursue his dreams and goals.
"He used to tell me, the most successful people in this world are the ones who get out of bed early," he said. "Everywhere I go, I have that entrepreneur frame of mind -- what can I do? What can we do?"
He's usually on the road every morning at 5 a.m., prompting an observation as he travels through Goldsboro -- lines of cars wrapped around a popular national coffee chain. Why, he thought, some of those people could very well be from Pikeville.
"We want to be northern Wayne County's Starbucks," he said of his latest venture with Autrey. "We have coffee drinks, lattes, cappuccino. We're really going to push that in the fall and maybe have curbside drive-through. There's really nowhere on this side of the county like this."
The idea to add on the ice cream component came when Autrey and Gerken discovered Simply Natural Creamery ice cream.
"We saw this ice cream last year and wanted to go on a tour of the place (in Ayden)," Gerken said. "We loved the ice cream every time we had it."
It is considered a super premium ice cream, unique because it is made from Jersey milk that comes from Jersey cows. The nutrient-dense Jersey milk has greater nutritional value than milk.
"It's the Cadillac of milk," said Autrey.
The shop features a rotation of 10 flavors, including butter pecan, apple dapple, strawberry cheesecake, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream and chocolate chip cookie dough. Also on the menu are waffle cones, milkshakes -- Monday is "Milkshake Monday," offering $1 off each milkshake -- and options for indoor or outdoor seating, as well as cornhole played on the sidewalk out front.
"We're going to start having live entertainment and karaoke, too, very soon," Autrey said.
"We've got big plans for the future," Gerken added.
The business is open Monday through Wednesday and Saturday from noon until 7 p.m., Thursday noon until 8:30 p.m., and Friday from noon to 9 p.m.
"We stay open late on Friday to accommodate the auction (downtown) crowd and eventually the (Charles B. Aycock High) home football crowd in the fall," Gerken said.
Stephen Freeman, an Elvis tribute artist, will be in concert at the Paramount Theatre Aug. 24 to raise funds for United Way of Wayne County. With him will be his Echoes of a Legend show band.
"It's a great concert even if you're not an Elvis fan," said United Way community engagement director Patty Graham. "He puts on a great show. It's very entertaining and upbeat. And he's very interactive with the crowd. He throws out teddy bears and scarves, sweaty and all, and people love it."
This year marks the sixth time that Freeman has performed at the benefit concert in Goldsboro.
"The Goldsboro audience is terrific," he said at his 2016 performance at the Paramount. "I am so honored to see the same faces when we return each year and very blessed by the friendships we have created over the years since this event first started. The fans are very engaged in the shows and clearly have a good time. It's always a good feeling when the audience gives you really good, spontaneous feedback during your performance. That makes it fun for everyone."
Freeman said there is no better job in the world than what he does.
"I am incredibly blessed to have a job that I not only enjoy doing, but one that brings so much joy to others," he said. "When you combine that with raising money for a multitude of great causes, you have a recipe for happiness. I know that the Goldsboro community will turn out in force once again this year to support United Way, and we will do our very best to make sure they are entertained at the highest level."
Freeman changes up his show each time he comes, so it's not the same from year to year.
"Fortunately, Elvis recorded over 850 songs, so that gives us a wealth of material to work with," he said. "Additionally, I am very fortunate to have a band that is extremely talented. Many members of our band are fantastic tribute artists in their own right."
Graham said having Freeman do the benefit concert is a fun way to raise funds.
"It's just something that has worked for us in the past, and why change it if it works," she said. "The audience really anticipates it. They love the music. Some are just big fans and know the words to the songs. The audience members are there to have a good time, and they sure do. They're blowing kisses, dancing in the aisles."
Graham said the concert is for all ages, from the young to the old, whether they know Elvis' music or not.
Freeman is originally from Thomasville, and he and his wife still live in North Carolina. He was a police officer and private investigator for eight years before becoming an Elvis tribute artist, which he began doing professionally in 1998.
He has won numerous awards, including Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist in 2009 at Harrah's Cherokee Casino, a certificate of commendation by the secretary of state of West Virginia and Tribute Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association in 2011.
In 2012, Freeman was named one of the top 10 Elvis tribute artists in the world at the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest presented by Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc .in Memphis, Tenn.
Tickets to the concert are $20 general admission and $35 VIP, which includes a reception by Funky Fresh and a meet-and-greet and photo op with Freeman. They are available at the Paramount box office, by calling 919-583-8432 or online at Paramount Theatre – Just another WordPress site.
The VIP reception starts at 6 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m. and lasts about two hours with a short intermission.
For more information about the benefit concert, call United Way at 919-735-3591.
Sections of U.S. 117 will be closed on alternating nights later this month to allow a construction company to set concrete girders at the O'Berry Road bridge/overpass in Dudley that will go over the highway.
The northbound lanes between Country Club Road at Mount Olive and U.S. 117 Alternate, just south of Wayne Memorial Park, will be closed from 9 p.m. Monday, July 23, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, July 24.
The southbound lanes between Country Club Road and U.S. 117 Alternate will be closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 24, until 5 a.m. Wednesday, July 25.
On both nights, Wayne County sheriff's deputies will be onsite to direct traffic and to stop anyone who tries to drive on the closed portion of the highway. Detours will be in place on both nights.
On July 23, work crews from the S.T. Wooten Corp. will close northbound U.S. 117 to set the concrete girders that go over the northbound lanes only.
Drivers who want to continue north will need to take a right onto Country Club Road then turn left onto U.S. 117 Alternate. Motorists will follow U.S. 117 Alternate north to where it intersects with northbound U.S. 117, just south of Wayne Memorial Park. Drivers on northbound U.S. 117 also will be able to turn left onto Country Club Road.
On July 24, crews with the S.T. Wooten Corp. will close southbound U.S. 117 to set the concrete girders that go over the southbound lanes only.
Southbound traffic will have to turn left onto U.S. 117 Alternate and follow the road to Country Club Road. Traffic will turn right onto Country Club Road and then left back onto southbound U.S. 117.
Also on July 24, S.T. Wooten workers will take advantage of the closure and will lay some pipe across the closed portion of southbound U.S. 117.
Work has been underway since August 2017 on the new interchange at U.S. 117 and O'Berry Road. O'Berry Road was closed in October and could remain closed for up to a year for construction of an overpass to take the road over U.S. 117 South.
Work also has been underway since January on an interchange at U.S. 117 South and Country Club Road. When completed, U.S. 117 will pass over Country Club Road.
Both northbound and southbound U.S. 117 are down to one lane at Country Club Road, as work crews build up outside ramps. Once the ramps are completed, traffic in both directions will be shifted and traffic detoured onto them. That section of U.S. 117 at Country Club Road will then be closed so that the overhead bridges can be constructed.
Both interchanges are scheduled for completion by October 2019, with additional work, including vegetation and reforestation, possibly continuing through March 2020. The two projects will cost an estimated $20.6 million.
The interchanges are being built to enhance safety and in preparation for U.S. 117 to eventually become designated as an Interstate in the Wayne County area, state Department of Transportation officials said.
Both intersections already carry an average of 15,000 vehicles per day, a number that is expected to increase to more than 27,000 per day by 2037, according to DOT data. For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.
S&P Global Rating announced this week that it raised its rating to ‘AA’ from ‘AA-’ on Goldsboro’s existing general obligation debt. S&P, a division of Standard and Poor’s Financial Services, assigned an ‘AA’ rating on the City’s 2018 street improvement bonds.
“The rating upgrade from S&P is a confirmation that City leadership and management continue to operate the City with sound practices and a strong financial position,” said Kaye Scott, Goldsboro’s finance director. “The upgrade will help to broaden the investor base for the City’s debt and should help lower the City’s cost of borrowing.”
In addition to Goldsboro’s strong management and budgetary practices, S&P based its upgrade on the City’s strong budgetary flexibility, liquidity and debt and contingent liability position.
“I am delighted that S&P increased the City’s bond rating. It speaks well of the improving financial condition of the City,” said City Manager Scott Stevens. “I want to commend our Mayor and City Councilmembers on their willingness to make good financial decisions for the City and our finance department for monitoring and making sound financial recommendations.”
Moody’s Investors Service maintained its Aa2 rating on Goldsboro’s general obligation debt and assigned an Aa2 rating to the street improvement bonds.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
