Bob Sutton - Randolph Record

02 Feb

Asheboro ABC Board seeks additional site

Bob SuttonBusinessABC stores, Asheboro

ASHEBORO – The Asheboro ABC Board is looking to open another location in Asheboro, board general manager Rodney Johnson said. Business has been on the uptick for Asheboro’s only ABC store and keeping enough inventory in stock has been troublesome at times. The best-case scenario would be to secure a second venue in north Asheboro. “We’re trying to do everything we can to help north Asheboro,” Johnson said. Johnson said traffic studies and addresses of building permits have gone into determining where another store should be located. He said it’s clear that’s a part of the city and county that…

26 Jan

Asheboro Mall staple to close

Bob SuttonNewsAsheboro, asheboro mall, cookie jar, small business

ASHEBORO – Dallas Brooks is proud of what her family has meant to Asheboro Mall. So as the lone oven is turned off this weekend at Cookie Jar, she senses a bit of sadness. Her treats through the years brought happiness. “I hope I will forever be known as the ‘Cookie Lady,’” Brooks said. Cookie Jar is set to close Sunday. That will end nearly 40 years in business for one of the mall’s original tenants. Brooks is the daughter of Cookie Jar founder Wesley Vestal, who opened the store in September 1982 at what was then called Randolph Mall.…

26 Jan

New restaurant hopes to pass Asheboro taste test

Bob SuttonEventsAsheboro, Gather on MLK

ASHEBORO – Jasmine Mohamed had a plan for a restaurant in Asheboro, but she tested it somewhere else first. Now she’s up and running with Gather on MLK, an establishment that specializes in sushi and soul food. “Sushi is the reason we’re here,” Mohamed said. “But we want to pay homage to where we are.” The test run was in Denton, and it went so well that Mohamed went ahead and opened restaurants in Salisbury and Asheboro. The Denton restaurant was called Peacock Café. “About 75 percent of our customers were from Asheboro and they begged us to come to…

19 Jan

Asheboro girls work through growing pains

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro High School, girls' basketball, prep sports

ASHEBORO – It’s a learning season for the Asheboro girls’ basketball team. Last year at about this time, the team was embarking on a shortened season that resulted on a spot in the Class 3-A state championship game. Now the Blue Comets are in a different situation. “We’re working on things and we’re improving and getting better,” coach Don Corry said. It’s not a huge surprise to Corry that there are growing pains this season. The Blue Comets lost personnel that accounted for about 85 percent of the offensive production off last season’s team. This Asheboro team has four freshmen…

12 Jan

Asheboro music, jewelry store to close

Bob SuttonBusiness, FeaturesAsheboro, Monroe's Music and Jewelry, Sunset Avenue

ASHEBORO – Monroe’s Music & Jewelry is closing later this month after more than six decades in business in Asheboro. Business owner Tony Hoover said he wants an opportunity to experience different things. “I feel like it’s time,” Hoover said. “It has been my life. When you’re on your dying bed, you don’t ask God for more money, you ask for more time.” The store on Sunset Avenue will close Jan. 29. Hoover owns the building, but he said he’s not sure what’s next for the site. At one time, there were five employees. Now, it’s just Hoover, 63. The…

07 Jan

Asheboro blacksmith wins competition on reality show

Bob SuttonBusiness, Entertainment, NewsChris Mos

ASHEBORO – Chris Moss kept his secret since last spring. When the answer was revealed, it was rewarding for the Asheboro man. Moss was the winner of an episode of “Forged in Fire,” which aired Wednesday night on the History Channel. “I’ve been sitting on it for nine months,” Moss said. “I kind of wish I could have told people. It was a great thing.” In the final challenge for the show, Moss made a two-handed battle sword that was a replica from Southeast Asia. “I had four days to make it,” Moss said of the sword, which was 4…

05 Jan

Asheboro man cuts through on reality show

Bob SuttonEntertainmentAsheboro, Chris Moss, Forged in Fire, TV

ASHEBORO – This is the week for Chris Moss of Asheboro to be on the air as part of a television reality show. Moss had an appearance slated as part of “Forged in Fire” on the History Channel. The episode was to air Wednesday night. “It was just an absolute blast,” Moss said. In each episode, four bladesmiths compete in a three-round elimination contest to forge bladed weapons, with the overall winner receiving $10,000 and the show's championship title “Forged in Fire Champion.” The episode with Moss, 34, was filmed in the spring in Connecticut. “It’s going to be a…

05 Jan

Recreation center hopping with activities

Bob SuttonNewsAHS, Asheboro High School, basketball, high school sports, recreation center, wrestling

High school’s use of gym works well for all parties ASHEBORO — Use of the Asheboro Recreation Center is almost nonstop and that’s expected to continue through the winter. The boost in activity comes for various reasons, largely with Asheboro High School using the venue for basketball and wrestling as the gym on campus is part of a renovation project. “The relationship we have with Parks and Rec and what they’ve really done for us has been great,” Asheboro High School athletics director Steve Luck said. “They’ve just reached out tremendously. The behind-the-scenes things they’ve done have been great.” The…

29 Dec

Holiday tourneys take new twists for area teams

Bob SuttonSportsAsheboro, basketball, Eastern Randolph, high school athletics, prep sports, Providence Grove, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph

Area basketball teams will be in holiday tournament action next week, but the format will look different from past years. Teams will be headed to two sites, with a Davidson County vs. Randolph County flavor. “They agreed to do that this year,” Asheboro athletics director Steve Luck said. “It kind of worked out. We thought this would be neat.” The changes stem from sponsorship changes and the renovations at Asheboro’s gym, which had been used for what were basically Randolph County tournaments on back-to-back weeks. That venue is unavailable this year. This is called the Davidson-Randolph Christmas Classic. Now, the…