A Southern Season, the Chapel Hill gourmet and kitchenwares store, has been sold, according to a press release issued late Tuesday evening.

Longtime owner Michael Barefoot, who opened the store in an 800-square-foot space in 1975, has sold the company to TC Capital Fund, a joint venture between two Chapel Hill investment funds. Those include Carrboro Capital Corporation and Tryon Capital Ventures. The founders of Carrboro Capital are Clay Hamner, Betty Kenan and Phil Phillips and the founders of Tryon Capital are Pete Coker and Peter Reichard.

Tuesday's announcement was not surprising given that there had been rumblings that the store was struggling financially and a couple employees were recently laid off.

Barefoot will remain involved the store's operations, along with business partners Tim Manale and Briggs Wesche. The store includes the Weathervane restaurant, a prepared food deli and cheese counter, kitchenwares, gourmet foods and a cooking school.

“A core part of our mission has always been ‘local ownership and operation,'" said founder Michael Barefoot in the press release. “That will not change; ownership remains local in this new corporate structure … we will now be positioned to grow to the next level.”

Hamner, a longtime fan and shopper at Southern Season, said in the press release: "We are pleased to join forces with the A Southern Season team ... We will re-invest significantly to grow the business, including enhancing the retail shopping experience, expanding existing product lines and bringing in new products to surprise and delight our customers, as well as expanding and enhancing our online shopping experience.”

Hamner is the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Joining the management team will be Larry Shaw, who has worked at the Vermont Country Store and Nordstrom.

If you would like to see the press release, I have attached it below.

Documents:

Weathervane, the restaurant at A Southern Season, is hosting a beer dinner featuring the brews by LoneRider Brewing Company. It is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15.

The five-course meal with beer pairings costs $45.

To make a reservation, call 929-9466.

Here a few interesting upcoming wine tastings:

Chapel Hill's 3Cups is hosting a holiday wine and food tasting at 7 p.m. Dec. 16. At the least, the menu may include ham, seasonal root vegetables and the loads of carbs that grace the holiday table. The tasting costs $25 ahead of time or $30 on the day of the event.
For more information or to register, call 968-8993 or go HERE.

A Southern Season, the gourmet food and kitchenwares store at University Mall in Chapel Hill, has two upcoming wine tasting events that sound like fun:

• 5 p.m. Dec. 17, a tasting of French champagne. It costs $17.
• 5 p.m. Dec. 31, the wine department will start the New Year's Eve festivities early with a champagne and caviar tasting. It costs $17.

To sign up, call 929-9133 or go HERE.
 

Every year Andrea and I gather the dinnerware and cookware for our holiday shoots.  It can be downright stressful to rush around to the stores to find the right combination of colors in dinnerware and napkins and to search out just the right turkey platter. 

This year we borrowed items from A Southern Season in Chapel Hill and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I thought I would share a little bit about the pieces here in case anyone might be searching out their own new combination this season.

The Spode Woodland 10-inch plate, $33.50, and spaniel 8-inch plate, $23.50, are available at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, as well as the matching oval platter, $175.

We also used a Juliska pewter stoneware 10-inch serving bowl, $65, and Juliska berry and thread small serving bowl, $56, both available from A Southern Season.

We used a 10-inch tapered natural square plate from Pacific Merchants Acaciaware which is carried by Bed, Bath & Beyond online, www.bedbathandbeyond.com.

To see the complete photo gallery from our Thanksgiving shoot, go HERE.

Weathervane at A Southern Season is serving up a five-course dinner at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27 featuring beers from Duck-Rabbit brewery.

The beers include amber ale, milk stout, barleywine ale, rabid duck Russian imperial stout and porter. The brewery is based in Farmville, N.C.

Tickets cost $45 without tax or tip. For a reservation, call 929-9466.

A Southern Season in Chapel Hill is hosting its food and wine festival thoroughout the month of October. Here are just a few of the events:

• 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, Meet author Elizabeth Wiegand, who wrote "The New Blue Ridge Cookbook."
• Tuesday, Oct. 12, the store will be featuring Celebrity Dairy Goat Cheeses of Siler City.
• 5-8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 15, either attend a class or book signing featuring author Alexia Jones Helsley, who wrote, "A History of N.C. Wine from Scuppernong to Syrah."
• Saturday, Oct. 16, Terri McClernon, aka The Food Fairy, will be demonstrating her cooking video, "Cook Once, Eat for Weeks."
• Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, cookbook author Jean Anderson will be signing copies of her James Beard-award winning "A Love Affair with Southern Cooking."

For more specific information or to see the entire list of events, go HERE.

REMINDER: Television chef and cookbook author Sara Moulton is coming to the Triangle to promote her new book, "Everyday Family Dinners."

She has two book signings in the area in early May. 

•  7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 4 at Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Ave, Raleigh

• Noon, Wednesday, May 5 at A Southern Season, University Mall, Chapel Hill

Next Tuesday, Counter Culture Coffee is hosting renowned coffee farmer Javier Recinos, co-owner and operator of Finca Nueva Armenia in Guatemala. They have a series of events for coffee connoisseurs in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, April 27.

• 11 a.m. - Noon, Coffee School at A Southern Season
.

• 6 p.m. an "Evening of Coffee Knowledge & Competition" at 3Cups, a talk about coffee farming and sustainability followed by a latte art competition hosted by South East Regional Barista Champion Lem Butler. 
The event is free to the public.

Counter Culture hopes to have a small sample of the much-anticipated new harvest from Finca Nueva Armenia at each event. 

Television chef and cookbook author Sara Moulton is coming to the Triangle to promote her new book, "Everyday Family Dinners."

She has two book signings in the area in early May. 

•  7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 4 at Quail Ridge Books, 3522 Wade Ave, Raleigh

• Noon, Wednesday, May 5 at A Southern Season, University Mall, Chapel Hill (UPDATE: as is typical, you have to buy the book at the store to get it signed.)

Here's a reminder that renowned pastry chef and cookbook author Nick Malgieri returns to a Southern Season’s cooking school this month. The schedule is:

•  1 p.m. April 10, Chocolate Cakes: Plain to Fancy. The menu includes an Chocolate Raspberry Devil’s Food Cake, Maida’s Chocolate Bourbon Cake and Chocolate Pecan Cake With Dark And White Chocolate Glaze. The class costs $50.

• 2 p.m. April 11, a class that will preview Malgieri’s new cookbook on sweet and savory baking. The menu includes Turkish Sesame Flatbreads with Easy Chickpea Hummus, Spinach and Bacon Tart and Double Ginger Bars with Lemon Icing. The cost is $50.

To reserve your spot in class, call 929-7133 or visit https://www.southernseason.com/