WRAL Out & About

Transfer Co. Food Hall occupies a 50,000 square-foot space at 500 E. Davie St. in downtown Raleigh. It is located in the historic Carolina Coach Garage and Shop, which used to be a bus transfer hub. The hall opened in late 2018/early 2019 and includes a variety of vendors including Burial Beer. This week, we talk with Transfer Co.'s Jason Queen about the building's history and what changes have be...

Chocolate Smiles is a chocolate lovers paradise in downtown Cary. Owner Melanie Williams talks about their Valentine's Day selection and how they are keeping their customers and employees safe during this pandemic. Chocolate Smiles - https://www.chocolatesmiles.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tobacco Wood Brewing is North Carolina's first female veteran-owned brewery. This week, founder Mara Shelton drops by to talk about their recent announcement of expanding to Durham. Their flagship location is in Oxford, NC. Tobacco Wood Brewing - http://tobaccowoodbrewing.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At one point, chef Doreen Colondres was hosting three cooking shows airing in 16 different countries. Doreen always wanted to open her own wine school. During a visit to Raleigh, Doreen said she fell in love with the city and in 2020 Vitis House Wine School opened. Learn more about reality cooking shows and what Doreen hopes to do next in the city on this week's podcast. Learn more about Vitis Hou...

Award-winning musician Rod Abernethy's storied career includes losing on "Star Search" and composing music for video games. Now he is going back to his acoustic roots with a new album. Find out what led this North Carolina musician back to his roots on this week's podcast. Learn more about Rod Abernethy - http://rodabernethyguitar.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell stops by the podcast to talk about what led her to WRAL, her adorable dog and her upcoming gig as co-host of the WRAL Voters' Choice Awards. Sign up to attend this year's virtual WRAL Voters' Choice Awards - WRAL.com/vcas Jazzy the Yorkie's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jazzy.yorkie/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WRAL's Mikaya Thurmond stops by the podcast to talk about her worst gift ever, her upcoming gig as WRAL Voters' Choice Award host and much more!  The WRAL Voters' Choice Awards will be held virtually on Jan. 14. Get details >> wral.com/vcas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WRAL's Ken Smith has been with the station for 22 years! And for many of those years he hosted the First Night Raleigh NYE celebration. On this episode we talk about some of his favorite moments from NYE's past, plus a ton of other stuff! You can catch Ken every weekday morning on WRAL News! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get ready to shop local this holiday season. Sarah Moody from Triangle Pop-Up drops by to talk about their monthly market and new pop-up shop in downtown Raleigh. Get more info - https://www.trianglepopup.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are getting into the holiday spirit with a visit from the City of Raleigh's Joey Voska and WRAL's Heather Gray who are sharing some secrets about Nights of Lights, a new holiday drive-through light show at Dix Park coming up Dec. 16-31. It is presented by the City of Raleigh and WRAL/Capitol Broadcasting Company. Get tickets and more info - http://wral.com/lights Learn more about you...

Mix 101.5 FM's Bryan Lord can be heard weekday mornings with his co-hosts Kyle and Sarah, but did you know he has his own web show? Lord drops by to talk about his show (which includes fun interviews with the likes of Ira David Wood III and WRAL's Elizabeth Gardner), his love of Snapple, musical theatre and becoming a dad! Want to see Bryan Lord's weekly web show? Check out the Mix 101.5 FM Facebo...

Prepare for Thanksgiving or just a random Tuesday night with these wine suggestions from our friends at the Wine and Dandy podcast! Wine and Dandy hosts MIX Morning’s Sarah King and Cornerstone’s Jami Caskey help us get ready for the holidays by talking about wine (we even taste a few!). Learn more about Wine and Dandy - https://www.wralfm.com/wine-dandy/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit me...

Frank Ruggiero of Grandfather Mountain fills us in on this North Carolina attraction, which is home to a mile-high swinging bridge and a variety of animals. Grandfather Mountain - https://grandfather.com/ Out and About's mountain adventure story - https://www.wral.com/socially-distancing-in-the-nc-mountains/19338066/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STIR Raleigh's Chris Brett talks about the restaurant's collaboration with local nonprofit Oak City Cares for the entire month of November and how you can get involved. Plus, we find out how STIR employees are helping each other through the coronavirus pandemic. More info on STIR Raleigh - https://stirraleigh.com/ Oak City Cares - https://oakcitycares.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...

A new movie series is sparking conversation and community at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The movie series Beats n Bars Festival partnered with Candid Yams Kickback to present the Candid Yams Kickback Movie Experience at DPAC. This curated Black Movie Experience, which is sponsored by Durham Bulls Baseball and PNC Bank, is designed to help create conversations around Black community and culture...

Childhood friends Lauryn Colatuno and Erin Riddick launched this Triangle-based charcuterie board company during the coronavirus pandemic. It has since become a hit. The boards, which are customizable, are available for delivery or pick-up. Plus, they have Halloween and State Fair-themed boards this month. Learn more about Grazin' Gals - https://www.grazingals.com/ Learn more about your ad choices...

The Ghost Guild has been investigating things that go bump in the night since 2017. This week, co-founder Nelson Nauss and member Jon Michael explain what the group has been up to during the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, they have some big plans for a Halloween live stream! Find out more about The Ghost Guild - https://theghostguild.weebly.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

David Menconi has been covering the music scene in North Carolina since the 1990s. His upcoming book, Step It Up and Go, covers everything from bluegrass to alternative rock. Menconi drops by the podcast to talk about his book and share some fun stories from his career as a music writer. Learn more about Step It Up and Go - https://loseringbook.wordpress.com/step-it-up-and-go/ Learn more about you...

Craving candy apples? Kandy Apples by K creates decadent apples year-round. Flavors include Tropical Punch (topped with Nerds candy) and Cake Batter. This week we talk with owner Kimberly Battle about how her business got started. Learn more about Kandy Apples by K - https://www.kandyapplesbyk.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John and Jeanne Luther opened Sola Coffee Cafe eight years ago. It won the 2019 WRAL Voters' Choice Award for best coffee shop and rightfully so. Have you ever had their hot mini doughnuts or their avocado toast? The shop is hosting its annual Hot Mini 5K virtually this year to support ALS research Sept. 14-21. Find out more about Sola Coffee - http://www.solacoffee.com/ Submit your picks for the...

A new local delivery service has launched to help area restaurants. Cara Rousseau, one of the founders, explains how Durham Delivers got started and how you can get involved. Get more information about Durham Delivers - https://www.durhamdelivers.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner does it all. This mother-of-two loves the outdoors and is even on a quest to bring a whitewater rafting park to the Triangle. This week, we talk with her about her 2019 WRAL Voters' Choice Award win for favorite WRAL personality and find out some of her hidden talents. Learn more about the WRAL Voters' Choice Awards - wral.com/vcas Learn more about your ad choi...

Artist Matthew Willey is traveling the globe on a mission to paint 50,000 individual honey bees. He recently stopped in downtown Wendell to paint a mural across from the Bearded Bee Brewing Company. Read more and see Willey's murals on WRAL.com - https://www.wral.com/wendell-bee-mural-is-part-of-larger-artist-mission/19224590/ Learn more about Matthew's organization The Good of the Hive - https://...

Rise was founded in 2012 in Durham and has expanded to include 16 locations in six states. The fast casual restaurant is known for its biscuits, which is why it is a three-time WRAL Voters' Choice Award winner for best biscuits. Today, we talk with founder Thomas Ferguson about how the business got started and what the future holds. Learn more about Rise - https://risebiscuitschicken.com/ Learn mo...

The hospitality group behind Kō•än and its sister restaurant So•ca has renamed itself hospitality•NOW. In addition to the name change, the businesses are also increasing their employees' wages to $15 minimum per hour and offering paid time off to encourage employees who feel ill to stay home. We find out about this new initiative from owner Sean Degnan and Koan chef Drew Smith. Find more about Soc...