MetLife's big move means 2,600 and some jobs moving to Charlotte and Cary. I wondered where they are coming from. Some of them are apparently coming from Lowell, Mass. So history repeats itself.
Lowell in the early years of our nation was a center of manufacturing innovation, and the textile industry flourished there throughout the 19th century. There were jobs in Lowell for hard-working immigrants flooding to our shores.
One of the people who was drawn to Lowell was my great-grandfather, Elias, who came to this country in the late 1800s, a young tailor.
He lived a few blocks from where the MetLife building now sits in Lowell. He made suspenders.
Things were tough in the early years. The Overseer of the Poor files in Lowell show that Elias applied for financial assistance. But he provided for his family the best he could, and his descendants did better and better, largely because of educational opportunities that Elias never had, and now are spread out from coast to coast and north to south.
Maybe some of the employees in Lowell will follow their jobs here. Maybe some of their great-grandparents worked in the mills of Lowell with Elias, and someday soon I will be sitting in a restaurant one booth over from a person whose ancestor worked on the factory floor next to Elias.
One of the economic truths that we have come to understand is that capital is mobile. Lowell lost its textile jobs when they came south in search of cheap labor, which North Carolina had as Tar Heels were leaving the farm.
In recent decades, many of the South's textile jobs left for lower-cost locations overseas, because there is always cheaper labor somewhere. Now, in an effort to consolidate and reduce its costs, MetLife is doing what the textile manufacturers did a century ago, and that's one big reason jobs are coming to Cary and Charlotte.
We also have a well-educated technology workforce here in the Triangle, which MetLife needs.
It is important in our celebration of the MetLife announcement to remember that we are all residents of Lowell, living in a global economy, and most companies are not sentimental about location. So we'll keep these new jobs in North Carolina so long as MetLife thinks it makes business sense. Companies that get the hang of moving in search of efficiencies don't forget how to do it.

This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

The original Café 121 in Sanford has been a popular dining destination for locals since 2008. So popular, in fact, that owner/chef Gregg Hamm is taking his show on the road. The Johnson & Wales-trained chef opened a second Café 121 (140 E. Chatham St.; 919-468-9884; chefhamm.com) in downtown Cary on Valentine's Day.

"We tried to keep the opening quiet," says Hamm. "We're still hanging pictures on the walls, and the exterior renovations to the building aren't finished." Even so, those who remember the last incarnation of the space as EJ's Soul Food will be astonished at its transformation into an inviting, casually romantic spot with fresh flowers and white linens on the tables.

Café 121 serves lunch Tuesday-Friday, brunch Saturday and Sunday, and - at least for now - dinner Friday and Saturday nights only.

The chef's signature Jala-Ribeye (grilled to order and topped with jalapeño-spiked pimento cheese) highlights a mostly traditional offering of steaks, seafood and pasta dishes. An extensive selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads and homemade soups should attract a lunchtime following in short order.

And with eggs Benedict, jumbo pancakes, and Southern fried chicken with gravy and eggs your way among the brunch options on weekends from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Café 121 just might succeed in bringing people into downtown Cary on weekends.

Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.

The James Beard Foundation's list of restaurant and chef award semifinalists was just released and there was a strong showing from the Triangle and the entire state.

• Durham's Mateo Tapas is a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant.
• Phoebe Lawless of Scratch Bakery in Durham is a semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
• Lantern Restaurant in Chapel Hill is a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. (Owner and chef Andrea Reusing won a James Beard award for Best Chef Southeast in 2011.)
• Angus Barn in Raleigh is a semifinalist for Outstanding Wine Program.
• Sean Lilly Wilson of Durham's Fullsteam brewery and Eric Solomon of European Cellars in Charlotte are semifinalists for outstanding wine, spirits or beer professional.
• Katie Button of Curate in Asheville is a semifinalist for Rising Star Chef of the Year.
• The semifinalists for Best Chef Southeast are Ashley Christensen of Raleigh's Poole's Diner among other restaurants; Scott Crawford of Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary; Vivian Howard of Chef & the Farmer in Kinston; Scott Howell of Nana's in Durham, Elliot Moss of The Admiral in Asheville; and Aaron Vandemark of Panciuto in Hillsborough.

To see the list of all the semifinalist nominees, go to jamesbeard.org/awards

The semifinalist nominees will be narrowed to finalists and those will be announced March 18 at a press conference in Charleston, S.C. The winner will be announced May 6 at a gala reception in New York City.

This how the awards work: The foundation puts out a call for nominations in the fall and this year more than 44,000 entries were received. A committee narrows the entrees to a list of semifinalists in each category. Then more than 600 judges across the country -- regional restaurant critics, food and wine editors, culinary educators and past James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award winners -- vote for the five finalists and then choose a winner in each category.

The James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit that recognizes excellence in the culinary field from chefs and restaurants to journalists and cookbook authors. James Beard was a television personality and food writer who championed regional American cuisine. The foundation was created by his friends after his death in 1985.

Sbarro pizza places in malls across the country are giving away free bags of cookies for Valentine's Day.

The freebie is good at the Sbarro locations at Cary Town Center and at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh.

The offer is posted on the Sbarro Facebook page.

Redeem the offer in one of three ways: Print it out, show the post on your smartphone or simply mention it to the cashier and the cookies are yours free.

Go HERE to read the review.

Rex Hospital and Sweet Tomatoes have teamed up this month to offer folks a free lunch or dinner when they complete an online assessment for heart disease risks.

This post was written by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:

Bella Mia has reopened under new ownership, just a few weeks after the original owners closed the restaurant in late December. The interim was an intensive training period for new owner Dan Morrison and his staff, who were learning the ropes from former owner Rick Guerra and his family.

A key area of focus was the coal-fired pizza oven, whose 900 degree heat can turn out a pizza in 90 seconds and leaves little room for error. Prior to the restaurant's closing, Guerra's sons Anthony and Louis had mastered the technique so well that Bella Mia earned my selection as Restaurant of the Year in 2011.

Judging by the two pies I've sampled so far since the restaurant's reopening, it looks like the new pizzaiolo crew are fast learners. It probably doesn't hurt that Morrison , a native of Long Island, is a friend of the Guerras and has been one of the restaurant's biggest fans since its inception.

"I know that the pizzas are the heart of the business," Morrison says. "There's no way I'm messing with them."

But he does plan to expand the menu a bit to include a few panini and pasta dishes. And he hopes to add lunch service, possibly as early as February 15. Naturally, that depends on how quickly he's able to train a new pizza baker for the lunch shift.

The restaurant is still located at The Arboretum, 2025 Renaissance Park Pl., Cary.

Greg Cox can be reached at ggcox@bellsouth.net.

Dean's Seafood Grill & Bar opens this week in Cary, replacing Rockwell's American Grill.

The new restaurant is the work of Dean Ogan, owner of Rocky Top Hospitality, a local restaurant group that got its start with the beloved Michael Dean's restaurant in North Raleigh. Ogan envisions his new restaurant as similar to Michael Dean's, which was known for its fresh seafood.

The menu at the new Dean's Seafood Grill & Bar includes a shrimp and scallop risotto, pistachio-encrusted salmon, pink peppercorn and coriander-encrusted tuna and pan-seared crab cakes. A portion of the menu will change each week to reflect the seasonal availability of fish and seafood. To see a menu, go HERE.

The restaurant is located at 1080 Darrington Dr., Cary. It is open 5-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and 4-9 p.m. Sundays.

To read my story last month about Ogan and his business partner, Jeff Schneck, going their separate ways, go HERE.

Mark your calendar: Bobby Deen, star of "Not My Mama's Meals" on the Cooking Channel, will be signing copies of his latest cookbook at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Barnes & Noble store in Cary.

Deen, whose latest book is "From Mama's Table to Mine," takes his mother's indulgent dishes into healthier fare. His mother, Paula Deen, is a Savannah restaurateur, Food Network star and cookbook author who revealed last year that she has diabetes.

The bookstore is located 760 SE Maynard Road, Cary.

An astute reader pointed out that we had two different amounts of salt and pepper in last month’s Speciality of the House recipe for the Guiness Chicken Stew from the Hibernian Pub. Thanks to Marilyn Flannigan for pointing out our error.

For the corrected recipe, go HERE.