Issue 3: Winter's Bone
Seizing the beauty of a new year
I’VE ALWAYS HAD A JANUARY ROMANCE, a long-burning love for the first month of the year. It’s prime for contemplation and recalibration. The bareness of nature mirrors our internal hibernation. The cold revitalizes and refreshens, and reminds us that shelter is our necessity and great fortune.
The year ahead remains a blank canvas. For now, let’s revel in the possibilities and leave the details for another day.—BK
ON VIEW »
Greenville’s Metropolitan Arts Council presents the work of Ginger Cebe, Mimi Wyche, and Jim Harris
COLOR AND FORM take the spotlight in the work of Ginger Cebe and Mimi Wyche. Their art simmers with quiet energy.
From the Metropolitan Arts Council:
Ginger looks for scenes that speak to her with their inherent and often accidental beauty, painting to simplify and enhance the center of interest and mood of the day. Mimi paints primarily from her imagination, seeking to express an inner world in an outward form that is both accessible and mysterious. They invite the viewer to share in these discoveries, exploring their own memories and imagination.
Journeys: Works by Ginger Cebe & Mimi Wyche is on view through Feb 20 at the Metropolitan Arts Council, 16 Augusta St, Greenville.
THE ABSTRACT WORKS of Jim Harris are visual dictations of an inner dialogue.
From the artist:
I started painting because I needed a way to find the father I lost as a kid—to search and reveal the emotions surrounding his death and the end of our family. This is how I communicate with an emptiness, where little to no memory or explanation exists, a way to air the quiet grief of childhood that has become too loud in adulthood. I paint to move the inexpressible into an outer place, as a visible reflection and relief.
Jim Harris: Death of a Normal Man at the MAC Gallery at Centre Stage, 501 River St, through Feb 19. Artist reception tonight, Jan 13, from 6–8pm.
DRINK »
Asheville’s Chemist Gin adds nuance to your afternoon G&T
IT’S NO SECRET that I’m attracted to the past, and cocktails are a time machine—a gustatory touchpoint to days long gone.
I’m also drawn to craft and materials and to those who dedicate their days to creating refined products.
In this case, distilling is the craft, and the makers are Danielle Donaldson and Deb Word of Chemist Spirits, based in Asheville, North Carolina. Kim and I ventured up for a day right before the New Year, and we stopped in Chemist’s next-door lounge, Antidote, for cocktails. Antidote’s handsome interior would satisfy any old soul.
I ordered a gin and tonic featuring Chemist’s Barrel Rested Gin, with hints of oak and caramel that appeal to my bourbon-loving palate. Kim enjoyed a gimlet, and we decided to add a bottle of Chemist to our home bar. After a tasting, we opted for the award-winning Navy Strength Gin.
If cocktails are a vehicle to yesterday, I remain a willing passenger.—BK
Chemist Spirits, 151 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC. On Jan 28, 4–6pm, Chemist will host New York Times journalist Robert Simonson on his book tour.
SPOTLIGHT »
Table 301’s Katie Thompson talks The Jones Oyster Co. and extra dry martinis
THE JONES OYSTER CO. recently opened in downtown Greenville, the latest in Table 301’s growing family of restaurants and food concepts.
Katie Thompson is the company’s creative mastermind, a powerhouse combination of artist and businesswoman. To open Jones, she combined her design sensibilities and life experience to deliver a modern take on the New England seafood shacks and diners of her childhood.
Since Jones’s conception, Katie has steered the creative ship. We dive into her process, her role at Table 301, and her current favorite palate pleasers.
BK: You just opened a new restaurant. Give us a high-level glimpse of your process.
Katie Thompson: It’s always easier to create a restaurant when it has a very clear vision. The details weren’t specifically hard to conceive. CAMP was harder because it was so open-ended. With Jones, we ran into challenges based on timeline. Carl [Sobocinski, owner of Table 301] came to us at the beginning of 2020 saying that he wanted to open a seafood concept based on his New England roots. I immediately felt pulled to that because I’m from New England. I grew up eating lobster rolls and stopping at wayside seafood shacks. Carl offered a scratch of a menu—and most of that early menu is now Jones’s menu.
BK: So, it was the menu that brought out the vibe of the space.
KT: A lot of the influence began with the design of the menu.
For this project, Carl was the driving force. Both of us grew up in New England, so we were immediately thinking alike. We defined the vision early, and once we did, I became very protective of it.
We quickly figured the name, as we wanted it to be historic to the building. It used to be The Jones Furniture Company that operated during the early to mid-1900s. The family was making furniture and selling it where Soby’s is now. I love the beginning of these processes because we throw out the most harebrained ideas. That kind of stuff is always fun. The business cards for Jones are compressed sponges. The check presenter is a retro-inspired oyster can with saltwater taffy at the end of the meal, another childhood memory.
When people react to something I’ve created, that’s rewarding. It’s vulnerable too because I’m personally tied to it.
This is the grown-up version of my seafood shack. Certain design choices I made were based on my personal memories. We went for high-quality countertops and bar stools and wall coverings—but I wanted a balance of high and low. The plates and silverware evoke a diner. I wanted the restaurant to feel established and worn in. It is a place for all people. You can walk in with a dress and heels and get oysters and Champagne before a Broadway show, or come in casually for a cocktail and hush puppies.
BK: What has been the most rewarding aspect of opening Jones?
KT: Walking into a restaurant that you’ve had a say in every aspect of. When people react to something I’ve created, that’s rewarding. It’s vulnerable too because I’m personally tied to it. In my eyes, it’s still unfinished because we have decor to hang and other interior details to finish. To me, a large part of it is still undone.
BK: So you would say of the restaurants, this is the most personal.
KT: Yes, Jones is tied to who I am, my life experience.
BK: Besides designing and opening new restaurants, describe your role at Table 301.
KT: We are kind of an anomaly within the restaurant industry. I don’t know of many other creative directors within a restaurant group. Each of the restaurants is like an individual client. I compare the experience to having eight different children.
I work within the marketing department, so checking in with each restaurant about their design and photography needs is key. Restaurant Week is coming up, for example. I also manage a lot for euphoria and special events like our 25th anniversary party last year.
BK: What is your favorite current dish at any of your restaurants? Your go-to cocktail?
KT: I like a lot of things at Jones, but CAMP currently has a Calamari Thai Tom Kha Shrimp (calamari, sweet & sour coconut broth, ginger, peanuts, lemongrass). There’s a brightness that I really like. It’s not a resolution dish, but it’s a comforting one.
My current go-to cocktail is a dirty Tanqueray martini, extra dry, shaken very cold so that it has ice crystals on top. I once had a bartender ask, ‘Do you want to skate on it?’
BK: Any 2023 developments you can share with us?
KT: There’s always something coming. We have a lot of irons in the fire.
Check out Katie’s work at The Jones Oyster Co., 22A E Court St, Greenville. Open Tues–Thurs, 11am–9pm; Fri & Sat, 11am–10pm.
ALBUM »
Photo collage from a recent hike at Jones Gap State Park
DATEBOOK »
Upcoming January events on our radar
Jan 18, 6:30–8pm. Wine tasting with Mission Grape. The Community Tap, 217 Wade Hampton Blvd, Greenville.
Jan 22, 2–4pm. The Great Greenville Baking Class. M. Judson Booksellers, 130 S Main St, Greenville.
Jan 24–29. Come From Away. Peace Center, 300 S Main St, Greenville.
Jan 27–Feb 12. Kill Corp. The Warehouse Theatre, 37 Augusta St, Greenville.
Jan 28. Join New York Times journalist Robert Simonson on his book tour. Chemist Spirits, 151 Coxe Ave, Asheville, NC.
Jan 31, 6–7pm. Mill Village Ministries’ Volunteer Orientation. Village Wrench, 1186 Pendleton St, Greenville.
TOP POT »
Darin Gehrke’s pottery evokes elegant simplicity
It’s only fitting that Vessel include actual vessels every now and then. Introducing Top Pot, a semi-regular department that will highlight the work of regional vessel makers (in clay, wood, glass, or other media).
We selected Darin Gehrke to begin the series. Find his Village of West Greenville studio, featuring Gehrke’s ceramics and other home goods by regional makers, amid the eclectic storefronts of Pendleton Street.
May this Japanese-style tea cup, called yunomi, elevate your winter days.
Thank you Blair for including my work in your publication, your words are always a source of inspiration and contemplation.