Pittsboro Journal

Artsy Pittsboro cafe closes

BY ANNE BLYTHE - ablythe@newsobserver.com

PITTSBORO -- Vance Remick sat in the Pittsboro General Store Cafe on Thursday when the last of the lunch crowd typically might be lingering over a cup of coffee, iced tea or an afternoon conversation.

No customers were inside the restaurant that for much of the past decade offered a taste of a new Chatham County in the heart of the old. In the middle of the historic and traditional Southern town, the cafe catered to people who favored organic food, live music and progressive politics.

The business ground to a halt the night before when Remick, a co-owner, and other investors had to make a difficult financial decision.

In the throes of bankruptcy proceedings and unable to raise $30,000 to help get them through January and February, slow months in the restaurant business, Remick and the nearly two dozen investors decided to shutter a place that had been a hub of all things Pittsboro.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/27/1810003/artsy-pittsboro-cafe-closes.html#storylink=cpy

Photo Gallery: General Store Cafe Closes | 01.26.12

A dozen pictures by N&O photographer Corey Lowenstein at
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/26/1809497/general-store-cafe-closes-012612.html


Joyce Remick


Vance Remick

I received this from the mayor.  As he is not allowed to post here, I thought some might like to see it.

Dear Concerned Citizen/Friend of Pittsboro:

Thank you for your input and/or concern(s).

The Pittsboro Town Board strives to serve the community by making decisions that comply with law and set a course that will be positive for current and future residents of Pittsboro.

In the current matter please consider the following for clarification:
1) No one is inherently against the school per se or any school or similar use for that matter in the town. The request for a special use permit relates specifically to the use as requested at the property in question. The process is neither a commentary nor referendum on the applicant nor the use of the property. The Town Board is charged with considering a specific request for a specific property.
 
2) Pittsboro operates under a Town Board/Town Manager form of government and the Mayor DOES NOT vote, unless a Town Board member is absent and there is a tie. The Town Board has not voted definitively on the permit in question for the school. After considerable discussion on January 9th, the Town Board voted (3-1) not to approve the request and instead voted to refer the matter back to the planning board for more input and review.

Subsequently, the Town Board voted on Monday, January 23rd to reopen the public hearing -- a quasi-judicial process -- in order to allow for more input to the official record. The Town Board has consistently advocated for more input not less. (The public hearing will be announced in the paper, at Town Hall, and online.) And please note that three members of the Town Board were sworn in on December 12, 2011 and were not even voting members of the board when the process began in August and the initial hearings were held. It is quite reasonable to expect new Town Board members, who want to be fair and thorough in the process, to become familiar with a proposal before voting on it.

The legislative body (town board) is charged by law in this type of process with determining whether a) an application is complete and complies with the regulations, and b) whether the proposed use meets the four (4) findings of fact. It is a quasi-judicial process. Even if the Town Board finds that the application complies with all of the provisions of the ordinance, it may still deny the permit if it concludes, based on the information submitted at the public hearing, that if completed as proposed the development more probably than not will materially endanger the public health or safety, or will substantially injure the value of adjoining or abutting property, or will not be in harmony with the area in which it is located, or will not be in general conformity with the land development plan or other plans officially adopted by the Board of Commissioners. The burden of persuasion on the issue of whether the development, if completed as proposed, will comply with the requirements of the ordinance remains at all times upon the applicant. The burden of persuasion on the issue of whether the application should be turned down for any of the reasons set forth in subsection 5 (d3) rests on the party or parties urging that the request be denied.

3) A petition containing the support of approximately 23 businesses around Pittsboro -- and not 70 as advertised on Mr. Goodwin's flyer -- was officially submitted to the Town record for the board's consideration. (A fact that has been reported in this week's Chatham Record dated January 26th.) And the board cannot consider "ex-parte" communications nor anything said or written about the request OUTSIDE of the quasi-judicial process in their decision-making.

Unfortunately, some folks in the community seem to be ignoring the inconvenient fact that the neighboring property owners also have property rights, as well as the right to due process. These protections are guaranteed and these owners potentially possess rights that should/could be of greater concern than non-adjacent property owners and the general public at-large.
We are a land of due process and guaranteed rights; not a chaotic land governed by "warlords" and "incensed mobs". Those troubled days exist in our historic tomes, yet occasionally reanimate in cyber space and in our communities. I believe we are better than that in Pittsboro.

As for the the issue of "due process" the following is information on the process itself.
A SPECIAL (SUP) OR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (CUP) allows a city or county to consider special uses which may be essential or desirable to a particular community, but which are not allowed as a matter of right within a zoning district, through a public hearing process. A special use permit can provide flexibility within a zoning ordinance. Another traditional purpose of the conditional use permit is to enable a municipality to control certain uses which could have detrimental effects on the community.
Consideration of a SUP is a discretionary act of a local board.  However, due its discretionary nature the decision on a conditional use is quasi-judicial, and thus subject to the procedural due process requirements of the federal and North Carolina constitutions, as well as state statutes (G.S. 153A-340(c)).
The reason this is governed by the procedural due process requirements of the 14th Amendment of the United States constitution and the �law of the land� provisions of the North Carolina Constitution (Article 1, Section 19) is because property rights of the owners of the petitioning property and those of adjacent properties are implicated, as well in the fact that each request in treated differently in terms of conditions imposed. 
Best Regards,
R. Voller

We Thank You For The Memories!
 
The GSC has to close its doors Thursday, January 26th.
 
We will always remember the wonderful friends we have made, all the great musicians (Tommy Edwards, we love you!) on stage with their melodious tunes and footstomping music, Tony Galiani, Justin Johnson & Jeff Elliott with their fabulous jazz nights, Eck McCanless who headed up our Open Mic and then there are the artists who displayed their amazing artwork here at the GSC, especially Shannon Bueker with her horse and blackbird art, Jorgie, who was with us from the beginning, Steph, our #1 manager, Becky, our favorite deli person, Ginny Gregory who transformed the front of the cafe into a magical flower garden, our kitchen staff who worked endless hours to bring you GSC's favorite dishes, Alicia, Magnolia, Antonio, Soledad, Victor, Stephen, Armando, Zeke, Maria, Matt, Andy...and then there are the phenomenal desserts that Amy created -French Silk Pie with Almond-Graham Crust, Lemon Chess Pie, Chocolate Cake... And our GSC family, Phil, George, Leslie, Fiva, Janell, Nancy, Bridget, Jorgie, Eli, Alexis, Jenn, Almetta, Burke, Matthew, Erasamus, Logan, Sabra, Eric, Megan, Julia, Maia, Angela, Becky, Nate, our favorite bartender Andrew, they were always there with a smile to serve you.  We are so grateful for their amazing fortitude and for believing in us.  But most of all, we will remember you, our customers, who helped make the General Store Cafe a special place in our heart. We will miss you!
 

We posted this little story in our newsletter a few months back in the hopes we could stay here in Pittsboro and continue to serve you, our beloved community. Unfortunately, time has run out for us and we have to close our doors.


You can�t miss the GSC with its vintage red bike leaning against the front window, and flower boxes overflowing with colorful blossoms cascading over the edge of each box. As one enters the caf�, local art and shelves overflowing with one-of-a-kind treasures offer eye candy, and even the butterflies hanging above the door seem to welcome you in. The General Store is part restaurant, part art gallery, and part town hall.It's one of the few places where developers, artists and local politicians dine under one roof. Folks come in to experience food made with local, organic ingredients. Audiences enjoy the intimate concerts and our artists love the quiet, attentive crowd that always seems to �get it." The sense of community at the heart of the GSC is thick in the room, and that community is the main reason we have survived. When musicians play, we become an intimate listening experience that�s part of a community. The bucket is passed and by the time it makes it back to the stage, it�s filled with enough crumpled bills to keep the band�s costs down, everything from gas to living expenses. The heart of Pittsboro continues to beat within the walls of this old Buick dealership, the General Store caf�. Thanks for your patronage, we have lived  �a wonderful life� here at the General Store Caf�!

Warmest regards,              

Vance & Joyce

I am new to this forum and certainly being entertained with all the posts I've seen as of late.
But my question of interest is regarding a report I just heard about an arson in town Tuesday night/Wednesday early AM at the old warehouse down behind the fire department where the Shot of Spro van sits during the day.  Someone apparently set the portable potty on fire and some of the building was even damaged.  It is not known if the goal was to burn the building down as well, but obviously with the fire department right there, the arsonists efforts were squashed thankfully. Has this been an issue in town before or was this just a random act of stupidity?  I know it's being investigated and there are possible suspects at this point.  Just sad that people would stoop to this kind of violence and I only hope that this was just a one-time thing and not something that happens here often.

Does anyone know what the plans are for the current "Courthouse Annex" when the new Judicial Center is up and running?

From the Chatham Chatlist:

Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:38:14 -0500
From: Kathy Zinn
Subject: Haw River Christian Academy

I am writing in support of the Haw River Christian Academy's  being allowed to lease and occupy the empty building on Salisbury Street in Pittsboro. It is true, I am prejudiced in this case:  my granddaughter attends the 3rd grade at the present school, and has benefited greatly from her first year there.   It is also true that I have not,  in the past,  been an advocate for private or religious schools.  I have experienced both, as have many of my siblings, and I have preferred to send my own children, including Ellie's father, to public schools.

However,  I have witnessed how this caring and committed group of parents and teachers have met my dear  grandchild where she is, taught her Latin, which she loves, and introduced her to both scientific concepts,  and  the Greek gods and goddesses,  all in a religious and spiritual context,  with very small classes.  .

I think the school is a "good fit " for downtown Pittsboro, and apparently at least 70 businesses agree!  I am puzzled and disturbed at the the  inconsistencies that I have heard from Mayor Voller (for whom I voted) and some commissioners, in their objections to HRCA coming into town.  I ask that they be clearer about their objections, all of which seem to have been discounted by the pertinent approving agencies, such as the fire department.  What are people afraid of?  People who may believe differently  from others?  3rd graders speaking Latin?  I have always considered myself a "Liberal Progressive".  A large part of that political stance is a belief in equal opportunity, as well as tolerance of others who only want to pursue their own path.  I cannot believe the town will not also benefit, economically , from the presence of the school.

Please, Mr. Mayor and others who object to Haw River Christian Academy's  occupying  an in-town building left vacant after repeated business failures:  Be clearer with us.

Be honest.  Be fair.

From this morning's Chatham Chatlist:

Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:45:21 -0800 (PST)
From: Sherry Beck
Subject: Don't be afraid of change!

I have been a reader of the Chatlist for about eight years. I also own a small business here in Pittsboro. I don't understand why some people are so afraid of anything changing in town. When the Piggly Wiggly opened after Lowe's Foods left, many people seemed to believe that life was coming to an end. Life didn't end, and I love the Piggly Wiggly and the friendly staff there. When the McDonald's opened, some folks predicted that the entire population of Pittsboro was going to die of massive heart attacks and obesity.  We can't force people to make the same food choices we might make, and I don't believe there has been an increase in cheeseburger-related illnesses.  Now people are fearful of having the empty former Thrift Shop building being filled by the Haw River Christian Academy.  The personal attacks are becoming vicious.

It would seem to make more sense to have that empty building filled with a positive activity and children learning. Has there been a line of other businesses waiting to lease that building?  I haven't heard of any businesses trying to get into Pittsboro in that location. Why not have a private school occupy the building and bring more people into town once or twice a day? It might be good for the local businesses!  Don't be afraid!

In any case, please stop with the personal attacks. If you want Pittsboro to be a nice little town, let's stop being so mean and vindictive.  Can't we all just get along?

Sherry Beck

Just heard a rumor that the General Store Caf� closed for good tonight.

If this is true it is sad to see it go. 

Anyone have any definitive news tonight?