This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. Last Friday morning, the folks at Swiftwater Cafe were already hard at work on lunch. The long metal prep table in the restaurant’s new catering kitchen was filled with fruit, sandwich…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Thursday, March 20, 2014. Carrie Kirk was acting angry. In a pivotal scene in the Kanawha Players’ production of “Extremities,” Kirk’s character Terry is in the middle of a heated argument with her roommates when…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Blink, and you might miss Kin Ship Goods’ new headquarters on Lee Street. The company recently relocated from Louisville, Ky., to a tiny two-story building sandwiched between the former Stone &…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Friday, April 4, 2014 to mark teh newspaper’s 100th birthday. One hundred years ago this Sunday, a former Alaskan governor purchased a small bankrupt newspaper in Charleston, W.Va. The publication, known at the time as…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Friday, June 27, 2014. LEON — Retired Washington Post photo editor Joseph Elbert didn’t have to go looking for inspiration when he decided to start building furniture. It nearly fell on him. When a derecho swept…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday, June 11, 2014. The Scott Depot home of Gene and Janis Bennett doesn’t really look like a farm, not at first glance. Approaching from the street, the suburban property just looks like it is…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday, February 19, 2014. In the last few weeks, chef Paco Aceves has auditioned for a new job, landed that job, packed up his wife and children and all their earthly possessions, moved everything across the…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on Wednesday, February 12, 2014. The cronut has landed. More than six months after the flaky, deep-fried confection took New York City by storm, Charleston residents can now get a little piece of the action. Sarah’s…
This story originally appeared in the November/December 2015 issue of West Virginia Focus magazine. Imagine your great-great-great-grandpa rambling down some cobblestone street, out on the town with his buddies. They bust through swinging doors into a dark saloon, step past the tables and brass spittoons, and belly up to the…
This story originally appeared in the November/December 2015 issue of WV Focus. The butcher block in Ralph Richmond’s shop is warped from years of use. The block was already old when Ralph inherited it from the original owner 38 years ago, and years of blood and…