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For decades, Chapel Hill had a “must-see” destination: a foodie emporium called A Southern Season.

There were coffee beans, loose-leaf tea, ice cream, and gift baskets. There were dozens of chocolate varieties, toffee, and jelly beans, and 500 kinds of jams and jellies.

The store sold flowers, small kitchen appliances, linens and candles, almost 10,000 different wines, and 4,000 beers from all over the world. You could buy a glass and “sip and shop,” or you could take cooking classes upstairs.

Then, after 45 years in business, the foodie fever dream was gone. What happened, Bill Arthur writes, is a complicated story that includes increased competition, overexpansion, perhaps a little hubris, and claims of financial deception. 

How Southern Season, a Chapel Hill Foodie Dream, Met Its End

It’s been nearly five years since the demise of the beloved food emporium. Many who loved it still wonder what went wrong.

I’ve Had the Time of My Life

Outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper notched significant victories in eight years leading the state. He signed laws that repealed the controversial “bathroom bill” and put North Carolina’s utilities on a path toward carbon neutrality.

Last year, Republican lawmakers agreed to expand Medicaid to 600,000 low-income residents, a goal Cooper pursued from his first days in office.

“These last eight years have been the best of my life,” Cooper told The Assembly’s Jeffrey Billman last week.

But for all his accomplishments, his governorship might be remembered as much for what he tried to stop. Since taking office in 2017, Cooper has vetoed 104 bills—almost three times the total of all other governors combined since North Carolina created the veto in 1997. Republicans have overridden 52 of his vetoes, another record. 

What Roy Cooper Leaves Behind

No other North Carolina governor has seen his role so often reduced to trying to thwart his legislative adversaries. But that’s not Cooper’s only legacy.

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

What We’re Reading

While We’re on the Subject: North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion has reached its enrollment goal in about half the time that was originally projected, the Associated Press writes.

Zoom Zoom Zoom: Mysterious drone sightings causing concerns in the Northeast have also popped up in the Triangle, WRAL reports. The FBI said there’s no national security or public safety threat connected to the sightings.

Rest in Peace: Orrin Pilkey, a coastal geologist whose arguments against sea walls won him reverence from environmentalists and condemnation from developers and politicians, died at his home in Durham, per The NYT.

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