Tag Archives: Durham

What is a Locopop?

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Enjoying my first Locopop outide of Fullsteam in Durham

Locopops are special frozen treats known as “paletas” (Mexican popsicles) made right here in the Triangle by a local business started in Durham by Summer Bicknell back in June 2005.  The frozen pops come in both traditional Mexican flavors, such as mango-chile and tamarind, and quirky ones like honeydew-lavender and chocolate-rosemary. Locopops can be broken down into two groups: dairy based or non-dairy based. In addition to their regular flavors they are constantly introducing weekly “guest stars” (like blueberry buttermilk) available for a limited time only based on the availability of their seasnonal ingredients.

I had my first Locopop last year while attending the a street festival in Durham. I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Locopop street cart set up along Rigsbee Avenue outside of the Fullsteam Brewery. The first pop I had was one of their more traditional falvors (Pomegranate Tangerine). More recently I had a strawberry coconut flovred locopop which was equally fantastic. Locopops are typically sold for around $2 each and the number of places you can buy them continues to grow.

What started out as one small storefront in Durham seven years ago has now grown to three Locopops locations throughout the Triangle. Locopops are also now sold by over two dozen area merchants in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and can even be found in Pittsboro, Cary, & Greensboro! (full list here)

Locopops Locations:

2604A Hillsborough Road
Durham, NC 27705
Open daily from 1-7

231 S. Elliott Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Open daily from 1-7

1908 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC 27607
Open daily from M-Th 3-7; Fr-Su 1-7

Locopos Websitehttp://www.ilovelocopops.com/

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Pomegranate Tangerine Locopop

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Do you like Coffee and Chocolate? Help Cocoa Cinnamon Become A Reality in Durham!

The founders of the mobile business bikeCOFFEE are looking to raise money to help them launch a brick-and-mortar shop in Durham called Cocoa Cinnamon.  This wouln’t be your run of the mill coffee place. Cocoa Cinnamon will be a community space  built around coffee, chocolate, spices and teas.

The husband-and-wife team behind the business, Leon Grodski de Barrera and Areli Barrera de Grodski, have launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $20,000. This money will be put towards purchasing equipment and plumbing & electrical work needed for their planned location at 420 Gear Street in downtown Durham around the corner from Fullsteam and Motorco.

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420 Geer Street Durham,NC ~ Future home of Cocoa Cinnamon

Cocoa Cinnamon will feature espresso drinks, drinking chocolates, and handmade chocolates in addition to the hot chocolate and coffees from local roasters that they currently offer through their mobile business bikeCOFFEE. Remember, while you  they work on opening their brick and mortart location you can still find bikeCOFFEE set up each Saturday at the Durham Farmers’ Market and Sundays at Motorco’s “Bloody Brunch”. They are also regular participants in food truck events and rodeos like the one happening this Sunday, March 10th at Durham Central Park.

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bikeCoffee at Durham Farmers' Market

To contribute to their Kickstarter campaing to make Cocoa Cinnamon a reality GO HERE. Be sure to check out the awesome rewards they are offering as a way to say “thank you” for helping them reach their goal.

More Information:

Cocoa Cinnamon Website: http://cocoacinnamon.com/

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/cocoacinnamon

Twitter: @cocoacinnamon

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Free Burgers for a Year! Anniversary Golden Bull Search at Bull City Burger & Brewery in Durham

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Flight of Beer Samples ~ From left to right: Parrish Street Pale Ale, Pratt Pilsner, Bull's IPA, & Youngen Horny Barley Wine.

Bull City Burger & Brewery in Durham is celebrating its one year anniverary this month. To help them celebrate they are holding another “find the golden bull” contest like the one they did to mark their grand opening back in March 2011. The owner has hidden 5 small golden bull figures around Durham. Each day they post a clue about where they are hidden. If you find one of the golden bulls you win a free burger a week for the next year! You read the contest clues and rules here.

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The Bar at Bull Coty Burger & Brewery

Sadly, I have yet to eat one of their burgers but I hear they are fantastic. They use locally sourced meat that is hormone and antibiotic free. They also brew their own beer onsite and serve up some incredible “dirty” fries. I stopped in Bull City to sample some of their beers (pictured above). You can sample 3 or more of their beers for just $1 each and full pints are only $4.22.

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Seating at Bull City Burger & Brewery

Seasting consists of chairs at the bar and large community tables on the main floor where groups can sit together. You place your order at the counter and are given a number to display on your table and a server will bring you your food. Bull City Burger has been well received by the burger loving crowd and plays a strong role in the ongoing revitalization of downtown Durham. To learn more about the menu and beer offerings check out their website and facebook page. Check back here soon for a full review of their burgers as I plan to eat there early next month and get some additional photos!

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Picture of the Week: The Geer Street Garden in Durham!

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The Geer Street Garden in Durham (formerly Fletcher's Gulf Station)

I snapped this week’s photo on Sunday on a drive through Durham.  Pictured above is the soon to be opened Geer Street Garden.  It is a new restaurant and bar located in the former Fletcher’s Gulf Station on the corner of Foster and Geer Streets in downtown Durham. They are slated to open their doors for the very first time tomorrow (Thursday May 5, 2011). Their website is still under construction, but a statement on their landing page boasts “a large outdoor patio that’s a perfect place to meet you friends and neighbors for a pint of beer and a local pasture raised burger”. To learn more about the unique history and see some cool old photos of this building in its former life check out this great post on the Endangered Durham Blog.  You can learn more about Geer Street Garden by following them on their facebook fanpage.  I hope to share additional pictures of this latest addition to downtown Durham once I have had the opportunity to enjoy a visit.

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A Visit to The Scrap Exchange in Durham

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The Scrap Exchange ~ 548 Foster Street in Durham

A while back I was visiting the Durham Farmer’s Market and came across a cool store just up Foster Street called The Scrap Exchange.  The store is a nonprofit creative reuse center who’s mission is to “promote creativity, environmental awareness, and community through reuse”.  They collect industrial discards, craft materials, art supplies, vintage material, and other unique items and sell these reclaimed materials back to the public.  The store serves the dual role of providing community members with access to hard-to-find, affordable materials for creative projects while at the same time recycling usable materials and preventing them  from entering the waste stream.  It is the perfect place to visit if you are working on a creative project and need materials or simply a dose of inspiration. 

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Tons of material to repurpose!

Inside you will find a wide variety of objects and materials for sale. They receive new items daily from  individuals, businesses, industries, and municipal sources and sell them at 50-75% off their original retail price.  Their stock is constantly changing, but a here is a short list of some of the things they usually have: boxes; bubble wrap and packing supplies; CDs and CD jewel case; cards and envelopes; cardboard cones and tubes; fabric; foam core board; glass and plastic bottles; labels; envelopes; and mailing supplies; laboratory equipment; stone and marble scraps; mylar; notebooks; folders; and office supplies; paper; picture frames and matboard; stickers; tile; wood and metal scraps. 

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View of the Scrap Exchange

They typically store most of the loose bulk items in large blue drums throughout the store and sell the items by the bag full.  I found one drum filled with cardboard crowns from burger kings and another with thousands of buttons from the 2005 Raleigh Wide Open festival. There is also area of the store dedicated to specific kinds of items like old elctronics parts, and swatches of fabric.  There is no telling what you will find on any given visit.

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Wall-E created from repurposed materials

If you are looking for inspiration to get your creative juices flowing, check out The Scrap Exchange Artists’ Marketplace. It islocated at the front of the store and features products from local artists who are using reclaimed materials in their work.  When I was there I saw a cool version of the Wall-E Disney movie character made out of recycled material (pictured above).

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Everything from Polar Bears to recycled paper!

The Scrap Exchange also offers a variety of classes taught by local local artists. New classes are offered seasonally and cover topics like bookmaking, quilting, sewing, collage, and mosaics. For more inforamtion about the Scrap Exhange and their Spring 2011 class schedule you can visit their website or facebook fanpage.

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