| Moderated by: Steve Adkins | Topic closed | |
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ff12 Member 
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Over the course of the last few years I have heard people complain about there not being enough business' in town. How many of you go to Car Quest for your parts,Stokesdale service Center or Mike's Tire and Automotive for repairs,Bi-Rite for groceries,Gas-Town or Citgo for gas,Southern Hardware for a variety of items or any of our other business. Or do you go to Greensboro , W.S., High Point, Oak Ridge,Summerfield,Kernerville or Madison. (I do not have a stake of any kind in any business anywhere0 |
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bama80 Member 
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I understand your point here but would like to know what your long term goals for stokesdale are. [see also Progressive Stokedale thread] At this point in time I am still undecided but as a new resident have nothing in my past to go by. Thanks. Oh and despite those barners giving us a rout this weekend~ RTR! |
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thepanther Member
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The business climate here is much better now then just a few years a go, Much of this can be credited to the revitalization and rebuilding of the downtown area by Ted Southern and Mark Richardson. After the death of the doctor some years back, Summerfield Family Practice tried keeping his office as a branch office but lack of patronage forced them to close. About the same time a drug store opened but had to close for lack of business if we want business went must give them our support. I know everybody can't support evey business ,but we can support the ones we can and help keep jobs in Stokesdale. I support the ones I can. Thepanther |
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ff12 Member
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feelings hurt everyone ignored my topic. oh well at least we apparently have a need for more gas stations, maybe they will put a Panera Bread there also. just wanted to ramble to make my topic look important |
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Steve Adkins Member 
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OK, You Rambled, I gave you some mana. Good Trade Off !!! |
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macca Member 
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That's very nice of you, Steve!  |
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zippitydoodah Member
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ff12 - Sorry everyone has ignored your topic, because I think it is a good one. Ted Southern and Mark Richardson have done a good job in the downtown area. I don't know if Stokesdale has a "town core" plan, but it seems like new businesses are opening elsewhere in the town. There's the car wash and other businesses along 158, and there will be stuff soon down at Haw River Road. I think you have to plan ahead if you want development in certain areas, and I'm not sure that the town council has done this. I think Stokesdale is unique because it does have the "downtown" area. But those businesses won't thrive and new ones won't locate there if people don't patronize them. |
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macca Member
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I've heard some folks talk about how that whole downtown area would lend itself well to "cottage" industries --- small businesses such as art galleries, craft shops, coffess shops, etc. Ted and Mark have done a nice job of restoring some of the buildings, but they don't own them all and some of the other owners can't or won't invest in the process -- not even to the point of repairing the sidewalk in front of them! There was also some talk at one time of establishing a walking trail along the old train track route, but no one has followed thru with that... |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Hello, macca, and Happy New Year! Hope everybody who traveled over the holidays has made it back home safely.  Where is the old train track? I think it runs in front of the fire department, but other than that, I don't know. Would it be up to the town to make this happen or individual property owners? I can see what you're saying about some property owners not wanting to do anything. What's up with that burned out building? It sure is ugly. |
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macca Member
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The train track ran parallel with 158, across from where all the buildings are. The front lawn of the fire station actually uses some of the track bed. At one point the town was trying to get permission from folks to use that strip that had been the trackbed, but that project got sidetracked, I guess. I've heard varying stories about the burned out building. I think an older woman owns it and it would cost a fortune to do anything with it because there is an abandoned fuel tank underground??? I think I heard something about that from Town Council members at some point..... |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Can't the town make somebody do something with that property? On second thought, probably not... I've been reading in the NWO about that ugly house in Oak Ridge that belongs to the fire chief and they can't make him do anything to clean it up either. What about that business next door (I think) I think it used to be a canoe place or something, but now it looks like it's just used for storage. |
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macca Member
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Yep, that's my understanding here too. There are several businesses at that end of the of the strip that just seem to keep deteriorating.... |
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ff12 Member
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i can feel the love,thanks. i may cry. I have been told that there is a large amount of bat guano(spelled correctly?) in the walls in the old canoe and kayak building. Can the property that the burned out building is on be bought out and used for parking? |
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macca Member
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Oh, yeah. I've heard Ted talk about filling in holes/knocking stuff out of walls or something in other buildings downtown. Again, I think the problem with that property with the burned out station is that it can't be used for ANYTHING without taking care of the underground contamination first. Too bad.... |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Bat guano? What the heck is that (showing my ignorance)? Is it a scientific name for poop or something? It sounds downright scary. 'Cuz where there's smoke, there's fire. And where there's bat guano, there's ... bats, I guess. Does Ted own that section, too? If not, anybody know who does? If there are underground tanks, doesn't the state come in and clean up contamination or damage like that? |
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zippitydoodah Member
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macca, I saw that you had swept the topics over on that crazy summerfield forum MAAN. I am impressed! Do you know what bat guano is? I think I'll go over there and ask Cracker, Steve, Skiddles and some of those other smart people about it. |
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bama80 Member
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bat guano is bat droppings. It was used in the civil war, dug out from caves to make salt petre, which in turn could be used to make something very important back then- gunpowder. ^off the top of my head. look it up if you think I may be mistaken (not likely) |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Thank you Bama. Your knowledge of both restaurants/culinary topics and animal droppings is astounding! |
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bama80 Member
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I try. Actually I visited Lost Sea Caverns in Tennessee (like 12 years ago) and there are things in the caves used for making gunpowder. The Rebs holed up in there I think during the War of the Northern Aggression. The tour guides tell you all about it- including guano. Also in one of the Young Guns movies, Billy the Kid and his gang come upon a "guano town" and Billy the Kid also asks what is guano and the old man running the place says bat droppings. |
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yoleader Member
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zippitydoodah: I agree that SouthRich (Ted/Mark/Garfield) have done a great job improving "downtown" . There is a Town Core designated in the Long Range Plan, and SouthRich has concentrated their efforts in Stokesdale in this area. It was suggested some months ago at TC that Stokesdale develop some type of "downtown" grant/matching funds program to aid business in the Town Core in improving & renovating the existing buildings. Maybe a Downtown committee could be created to recommend standards & procedures to TC to "get the ball rolling" again downtown. I know, for instance, that lack of interest of property owners along 158 from the hardware west toward the burned out building has delayed installation of the brick sidewalk & lights along the fronts of these buildings. These improvements would benefit the entire town. Last edited on Jan 2nd, 2006 01:00 am by yoleader |
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Skiddles Member 
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yep, it's poop talk again |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Yo - These are some great ideas. Anybody out there on the council who's listening? Or anybody who would be willing to bring this up to the council again (of course, generally the person who brings it up is the one who ends up heading the effort, so I guess what I'm asking is would anybody be willing to be in charge of this)? |
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Steve Adkins Member
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I nominate Zippy |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Thanks for your confidence, Steve. However, unfortunately I must decline the nomination since I don't actually live in Stokesdale. How about yoleader? Shem sounds like shem knows about stuff going on in the town. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member 
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The Stokesdale Town Council will have a planning session one Saturday (likely a morning) this month. Zippy is right -- some good ideas have been raised on this forum.... Maybe someone could at least bring them to the attention of Council as suggestions to consider! |
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ff12 Member
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we could have a moonshine still museum in the guano building. since we have a still in our town seal it would just make sense. Last edited on Jan 4th, 2006 06:06 pm by ff12 |
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zippitydoodah Member
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I have always wondered about that. Summerfield has the bugler boy ... Oak Ridge has the old mill and the academy ... and Stokesdale has, yes, that is a moonshine still right there on the town seal. All proud icons of our local towns' histories!  |
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macca Member
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I like that our town seal includes a still. After all, it is part of our heritage.... Why deny it? It certainly makes us unique! |
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bama80 Member
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Awesome! so where can one get the shine? |
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bama80 Member
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bama80 Member
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-Oh and does that say love conquers all? weird slogan for a town. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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At some point after the town incorporated in 1989, a decision was made to adopt a town seal. The call went out for people to submit their renderings of a seal. There was then a blind viewing of them and this one was selected. It was designed by Clifton Matthews, who has lived in Stokesdale all his life except while he was in college and in the military. He is now in his 80s and has a veritable wealth of knowledge about the town. |
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bama80 Member
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So I am sometimes a little out of connection with things and also not in Stokesdale that much except in my own house. Therefore I would like to see what the businesses are and what they do. I know I can just go down there and see but I am sure others might also want to know. So if anyone has more info on these businesses, I would like to know some info about them and what they do/ who they are. Please share. Thanks. |
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ff12 Member
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Hey Bama, do you want personal experience or the business owners themselves to inform you |
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bama80 Member
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I just want an overview of waht the businesses are and what they specialize in. Either account will do. |
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ff12 Member
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okay Bama , I will do my best to help out.Sorry it took so long to get back, i visited the OR forum and guess i went to sleep. Starting on main street the downtown area you will find a nice antique store called Hutchins Trading Post. They have some nice things , not open all day though. Southern Hardware is next and they carry general merchandise, Stihl power equipment ,garden supplies pet supplies, and hardware. You can also get hunting licencse there. Thats enough for now , still getting awake. |
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bama80 Member
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thanks. I will look forward to more. |
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ff12 Member
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As we continue our tour of downtown there is Coleman Ins.(the one with the fish on the car) and Cronin Chiropracter.These are located just beyond the town hall. Sadie's would be next and they carry your homemade scented soaps and things like that.Okay i really don't know whats in there. On the end is a accounting service,beside the funeral home. The guano building is beside the burned out building. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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Bama and ff12, Sometime when you have time, (although it may have to be pretty much during daytime business hours, I'm not sure) it would be worth your time to "explore" the building where Cronin Chiropractic is and Coleman Insurance used to be. (I heard it is gone, as of December.  ) Ted Southern (who owns Southern Hardware) and Mark Rich own SouthRich Partners, which owns much of the property downtown. They refurbished that whole building (I forget what it's called) and did a great job on it. They also have some interesting pictures hanging in the common areas. FYI -- They own properties in that strip of buildings from the hardware store down to the corner going towards Hwy 68 (I think it's called Shilling Street). The building where the accounting business is now used to be a bank (Stokesdale Bank, then bought out by CCB and moved where what is now SunTrust is). Mark's dad ran it. Anyway, if you get the opportunity to go in there when they have time to show you around, it's got the old walk-in vault still there and other nice features. SouthRich also owns Stokesdale Business Center, which is at the corner of Ellisboro and Shilling (directly behind Brooke Funeral Home). It's where the Stokesdale Business Expo is held one or two times a year. It used to be a manufacturing plant, but they have divided it up into various spaces for rental. There are some offices in there, but also Summerfield's, which is some kind of floral business, and "Inches Away," a fitness center. They also donate a small space there for Good Samaritan Ministries to use as their pantry to store food donations. You might even enjoy visiting Sadie's! She's got quite a collection of things and has taken over several of those connecting spaces downtown now. It's a nice place to go if you're looking for a unique gift, and the people who work there seem very knowledgeable about their products, and are very helpful. Good luck exploring! |
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bama80 Member
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cool. thanks. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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One of our Stokesdale residents caught an error in my previous posting and I want to correct it. I said that Ted Southern and Mark Rich are partners in SouthRich.... Mark's last name is Richardson! I do know that! I guess I'll just chalk it up to not being quite awake yesterday morning! (Thanks, Jean!) |
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ff12 Member
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thanks for helping out Vickie. I may be a lifer in Stokesdale but things are changing so fast i can't keep up. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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ff12, Hope you don't think I was horning in on your turf. I have written some stories about some of those buildings and have talked with folks about them as well. Even though I didn't grow up here, I just love learning more about the area. In fact, I'd love to learn even more from folks like you. |
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ff12 Member
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No Vickie, I don't mind at all. Me thinks that when you have a topic such as this the more the merrier. After all you saw what happened when the talk turned to guano. Last edited on Jan 12th, 2006 04:13 am by ff12 |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Some might argue that the talk often turns to guano around here! Anybody know any good stories about the funeral home? Talk about an underutilized business -- people only need it once! (I think some of the Oak Ridge people might need it now!) |
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ff12 Member
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bama80 go to oak ridge / progress I told about another business in town. |
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ff12 Member
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As the talk progressed on OR progress it made me remember. Parkers rest., The Family Diner( not Starbucks but they serve lots of coffee, biscuits are good),BJ's , Stokeys pizza(they also serve good subs and deliver). So OR is only in front of us by 2. |
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zippitydoodah Member
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You're right. Parkers serves some mean onion rings. Don't forget Subway. |
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ff12 Member
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does anyone know what is kind of business CDS is ? it's located beside the tanning place which is beside SUBWAY. Vickie are you listening, your help is muchappreciated. |
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Vicki White-Lawrence Member
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I don't know, but will find out and let you know! Thanks for calling on me! |
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zippitydoodah Member
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You can also buy a car right there on the main drag in Stokesdale at Bill's -- another thing Stokesdale has on OR and S'field. Looks like they have some decent vehicles. |
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DToney Member 
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I've often wondered the same about CDs.... I never see anyone there! Does anyone have any clue? Last edited on Jan 24th, 2006 02:24 pm by DToney |
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ervinjo Member
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ff12 wrote: does anyone know what is kind of business CDS is ? it's located beside the tanning place which is beside SUBWAY. Vickie are you listening, your help is muchappreciated.I can't remember exactly, but CDS is "Something" Diagnostic Services. They specialize is servicing a certian component used in manufacturing processes. I was told by a highly reliable source. It is a viable business, but you would never need to visit if they didn't fix your components. |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Thanks for finding out what CDS is. Never know when somebody might need their components fixed.... |
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Alicia C. Member 
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I for one would like to see a bookstore in this area. Not a honking big chain store, but perhaps an independently owned store that dealt in new and used books. I'm a bibliophile, and one of the two things I miss about living in Charlotte is the variety of bookstores around. (The other thing is the awesome dim sum, but that's another discussion entirely.) |
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Alicia C. Member
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zippitydoodah wrote: You're right. Parkers serves some mean onion rings. Parker's onion rings...with ranch dressing--MMMM! Jerry (the owner of Parkers) never disappoints me with those things! Sadly, Subway frequently does disappoint me, since I always seem to choose the day when the most vapid employees are working. :-( The sandwiches are okay but getting them can be an exercise in frustration. |
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DToney Member
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We are hooked on BJs for their wings.... I must admit one of our friends comes up here from the other side of town to join us for their wings.... We have called in and ate there several times and have not had a bad plate of food yet... Last edited on Mar 29th, 2006 01:44 am by DToney |
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zippitydoodah Member
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Alicia C. wrote: I for one would like to see a bookstore in this area. Not a honking big chain store, but perhaps an independently owned store that dealt in new and used books.Bookstore -- great idea. Even something like Ed MacKays might be good. You could turn in the books you've already read and get others. |
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macca Member
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Ooooh! I like it!!! ♥♥♥ A nice cozy place, with lots of books, some tables, chairs, maybe have coffee and some kind of breads/snacks..... Okay, who's going to open up this place???? Where? When!!??!! ♥♥♥ |
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bama80 Member
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I plan to utilize the winery. too bad I missed the grand opening. I do however probably plan to under utilize it as opposed to over utilizing it. haha. |
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DToney Member
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I reckon now is as good a time as any other to plug the new Dry Cleaners behind the florist in the center behind the funeral home... everyone around should utilize this new business... I'd hate to see us loose these folks... they are a nice young couple from Walnut Cove... and they have an alterations lady too! Ya'll don't drive to Oak Ridge and carry your stuff down there when there's someone up here in Stokesdale that can clean those Easter outfits for ya'! |
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ff12 Member
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the transformation that has gone on in the former gastown/b&s curb market that is now Countryside market has been welcome and enjoyable. now if they could just get pay at the pump technology. |
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DToney Member
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ain't it funny how quickly we get addicted to using our cards at the pumps! I'm bad... I won't usually stop at a station where I cannot use my card.... keeps me from buying stuff I don't really NEED! |
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ff12 Member
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Crossroads Auto. is open and located behind Bills Truck Sales. Stokesdale probably has more mechanics per citizen than our neighbors.Stokesdal has always had lots of businesses like this. Thats the entrepeneur spirit that is alive here, lets try not to snuff it out with to many regulations that would cause a business not to be profitable. Of course there are some businesses that we do need to keep out ie: adult establishments(i think everyone knowws what I mean) |
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Kate Member 
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I'm a latecomer to this thread, and a newcomer to Stokesdale, but Go-o-o-leee.. there is so much I love about it! Allow me to shamelessly plug my two favorite businessess --- which I have no affiliation with. The Stokesdale service station. Remember the ding..ding ding.. of a full service gas station as you drove in? I don't have to get out of my car, or buy things I don't need. Heck, they're busy pumping gas, and cleaning my windows, and running my debit card for me. I LOVE this place! I also love Sadies. Fabulous soaps and other great stuff at wonderful prices. Their cracked heel stick is the BOMB! Oh, I almost forgot the CPA'S on the corner who did my taxes at a fraction of what I would have paid in my previous state. I'm a native Tarheel- recently returned to NC .. although I've never lived in this part of the state. Danged glad we landed here in rural-vania.. where life is simple, the people are great, and where honestly folks, you have no idea what "real" traffic is. ( I just had to chuckle at the thread about traffic on another forum) Try spending two hours in bumper to bumper gridlock just to go 30 miles. Twice a day. Each way. For years. Then you'll know what real road rage is :-) Anyway, it's nice to meet y'all and good to be home! Kate |
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DToney Member
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Welcome to Stokesdale, Kate! I got here last year and like you, we love it here! If you read my previous post, I plugged the new dry cleaners and the Bi-Rite. Folks are so nice there! We've yet to meet anyone that has not been very hospitable. As for the traffic, I'm afraid that if we don't upgrade our roads soon, we may face the "gridlock" that plagues other areas. Like Barney said on Andy Griffith... "Nip it in the bud"!! |
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Kate Member
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DToney wrote: Welcome to Stokesdale, Kate! Thanks for the welcome D. Toney! DToney wrote: I'm glad you plugged the dry cleaners because I didn't know that Stokesdale had one. The folks at the Bi-Rite are really nice too. D.Toney wrote: Gotta agree with you there. I watched it get completely out of control in our previous state, and it will cost multi-billions which that state doesn't have to even begin to try to improve it, by which time those improvements will be obsolete because the development continues at such a fast rate. There just wasn't any long term planning for the growth impact (schools and services) or the roads, IMO. I'm so happy to see that people in these forums stay abreast of the issues, attend Town Council and Boards of Supervisors meetings, make their voices known, and use their voting power. Regards, Kate |
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