We Are Lake Norman

If you've tried to grab a cookie at Crave in downtown Mooresville, you already know. The line's out the door. I sat down with Nekolle Eddy, one of the owners, to figure out how they pulled that off so fast. Turns out she's not just a cookie shop owner. She's a serial entrepreneur, an investor, a nonprofit founder, and a mom who somehow does all of it at once. We get into how they picked the locati...

MaryAshley didn't set out to start a business. She went sugar free. Tried every syrup on the market. Hated all of them. So she started making her own at home — better flavor, less sugar, actually tasted like something. Then people started asking about them. Controlled Chaos Coffee was born out of a simple idea: coffee should be fun, it should taste good, and you shouldn't have to choose between fl...

Anna Stowe just got back from Design Week in Milan. Not a vacation. Research. She goes every year to stay ahead of every trend, every material, every direction that interior design is heading — so her clients in Lake Norman don't have to guess what's next. They just get it. Anna started Great Design 4 U in 2008. The worst possible time to start an interior design business. Nobody was buying houses...

Sarah opened her first Clean Eatz in Cornelius in 2017. It was the 17th location in the entire franchise. No corporate playbook. No opening structure. Everyone was just figuring it out together. Two years in, she finally had a system. Operations were dialed. Meals were consistent. Things were good. So naturally, she bought 2 more restaurants and opened another in sixty days. One in Mooresville. Tw...

Matt Santos spent 25 years climbing the corporate ladder at places like Bain Capital and TIAA. He managed budgets. He managed people. He flew to India to offshore the jobs of his own coworkers. Then he sat across from a burned-out executive at a fancy restaurant and thought: I don't want to be that guy. So he walked away. His first idea? A running store. It failed before it even opened. Nobody at...

Cindy spent 17 years building Good Wellness from a 400 sq ft studio into a fully booked practice. Then COVID hit. She retired. Her husband retired. They sold everything, moved to Lake Norman, and thought they were done. They weren't. After driving around Denver, NC and talking to people, Cindy realized something: nobody around here was doing massage the right way. Not the therapeutic, customized,...

Michelle didn't plan on pivoting. She planned on selling furniture. Then 2008 happened. One day the store was busy and booming. The next day? People got their pink slips and stopped buying sofas. When you're trying to hold onto your home, the last thing you want to do is decorate it. So Michelle did what survivors do. She pivoted. Fast. Gifts. Because no matter what's happening in the economy, peo...

Jim Gordon has spent 20 years buying and selling food manufacturing businesses. He knows what people are eating before they know they're eating it. So when he bought Peninsula Prime Seafood and Steakhouse in 2021, you'd think it would've been smooth sailing. It wasn't. He handed it to partners, came home on weekends disappointed, and finally said enough. In November 2025, Jim took full operational...

Jeff Long didn't plan on owning a golf shop. He just knew corporate life wasn't for him. So in 1999, a friend had a spare space in Huntersville, and Jeff took a shot. Literally. He opened All Star Golf with component clubs, a passion for the game, and a dad who loved refinishing clubs. That was 25+ years ago. Since then, he's survived the 2008 recession, watched golf almost die, then watched COVID...

Gabby Reising didn't grow up dreaming about pie. She was a childhood education teacher. Her sister was a nurse practitioner. Their husbands work in NASCAR at Joe Gibbs Racing. And somehow... they ended up owning one of the most beloved pie shops in the Lake Norman area. That's the thing about entrepreneurship. It doesn't always look like you planned. In this episode, Gabby shares the full story be...

Most people around here think they know coffee. They don't. And Valentina is very politely about to prove it. Valentina is the founder of Caffeto Specialty Coffee — a Colombian-rooted coffee brand now living inside The Outpost LKN in Cornelius. Her family owns the farm in the Andes. The beans ship every two weeks. And the coffee you're drinking at her shop is about as far from a drive-through wind...

What do you get when a former UNC Charlotte event planner sees a "For Lease" sign on an old mattress store and just... goes for it? You get The Outpost LKN. Amy joins us this episode to talk about how she built one of Cornelius's coolest new spots from scratch. We're talking a community space, a curated gift shop, and a specialty coffee partnership she landed with a cold reach out to a Colombian c...

Trey and Brent from 760 Craft Works share the story behind their Huntersville brewery—from a 10-year journey to opening day, the meaning behind the name, creating their diverse beer menu, and building a warm, community-focused tap room that's become a local gathering spot. Plus, hear about their upcoming three-year anniversary celebration and what's next for this Lake Norman brewery. Hosted on Aca...

A lot of people don't know where we are or what we do," says Jessica Dehart, and that's exactly why we're having this conversation. As Executive Director of Mooresville Arts, Jessica gives us the full tour—without leaving our seats. From the historic train depot location (corner from Epic Chophouse) to the gallery that changes every 6 weeks, the shop with $3-$1,000 handmade NC art, and classes tha...

Matt Gahrmann is the founder of Carolina Cruising Charters, and he's basically the friend with the boat—except you don't have to pretend to like him to get on the water. Matt moved to Lake Norman and realized there was no easy, turnkey way to get on the lake without owning a boat, joining a boat club, or dealing with sketchy rental situations. So he built the solution: all-inclusive chartered boat...

Sara Rubens is a kitchen garden designer, installer, and coach who helps busy professionals grow their own food without adding another full-time job to their plate. And her story of how she got here? Absolutely wild. Sara was in corporate America for years, carrying the medical insurance for her family while her husband ran his businesses. The plan was simple: work until 65, then retire. But at 63...

Karen Schmidt is back on We Are Lake Norman, and this time she's talking about her newest venture—Freshwater Shoppe, a curated home decor store in Mooresville that's an extension of her award-winning design and build studio. We dive into how Karen went from designing multimillion-dollar custom homes to opening a retail shop where anyone can buy the same high-end pieces she uses in her full-service...

In this episode of We Are Lake Norman, host Ryan Webber sits down with Daniel Whitener, co-owner of Pie in the Sky Pizza, a Mooresville institution for over 36 years. Daniel shares how his father—a Davidson College chemistry grad—ditched his degree to open a pizza shop after working summers in Hilton Head. What started as a tiny hole-in-the-wall became a community staple that people literally coul...

In this episode of We Are Lake Norman, host Ryan Webber sits down with Jack Salzman, owner of The Serve Pickleball & Kitchen, a massive 50,000 square foot indoor entertainment facility that's quickly becoming a Lake Norman staple. Jack shares his incredible journey from running Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram for 20 years—growing it into a top-10 dealership in the country—to selling the bu...

What happens when a mortgage broker from Syracuse takes a sailing trip to Grenada and tastes real chocolate for the first time? For Tyler Cagwin, it sparked a complete life transformation. In this episode of We Are Lake Norman, host Ryan Webber sits down with Tyler, the founder of Nostalgia Chocolates in Huntersville. Tyler shares his incredible journey from working 15 years in his family's mortga...

Annie Hanson of The Closet Niche shares her journey from working for other custom closet companies to launching her own successful home organization business. In this episode, Annie discusses how she built her company from her garage to a thriving operation with seven employees, offering custom solutions for closets, garages, pantries, laundry rooms, and more—everything except kitchens and baths....

In this episode of We Are Lake Norman, host Ryan Webber sits down with Justin Orders, founder of Queens Orders Honey, to explore the fascinating world of beekeeping and how it became a thriving business. Justin shares his journey from his first experience in a beehive seven years ago to creating multiple revenue streams including his innovative Hive Host Program, where he sets up and maintains bee...

Join host Ryan Webber as he sits down with Martin Cagle, owner of Ride Wake and Surf, one of Lake Norman's premier wake surfing and wakeboarding businesses. In this engaging conversation, Martin shares his incredible journey from attempting to launch a cable wakeboard park to building a thriving water sports company that has taught over 10,000 people to wake surf and wakeboard. In this episode, yo...

Join host Ryan Webber as he sits down with Jaspen Gray, owner of Lake Norman Athletic Club, to discuss his exciting transition from CrossFit gym manager to independent business owner. After CrossFit 77 closed when the owner moved away, Jaspen took matters into his own hands and opened his own fitness facility, creating something uniquely his own. In this engaging conversation, Jaspen shares his jo...

Join host Ryan Webber as he sits down with Andrew McMillan, partner and fractional CFO at REH CPAs, for an essential year-end tax planning conversation every business owner needs to hear. With tax season approaching, Andrew shares practical strategies to minimize your tax burden before it's too late. In this episode, you'll discover actionable year-end tax tips including equipment purchases, vehic...