By Jenny Callison, posted Mar 5, 2021
Wearing a mask, Jacquelin Meade listens to presentations from fellow students in her organic chemistry senior seminar class taught by Wendy Strangman, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UNCW. (Photo by Michael Cline Spencer) In addition to anything else that it has wrought, a year of COVID-19 has forced officials, business owners and just about everyone else to use their greatest creative powers and to remain flexible.
In some cases, pandemic restrictions have spurred innovation. In other cases, entities are simply hoping that, as the virus becomes less of a threat, they can return to pre-COVID operations. But no one knows when that will be.
By Jessica Maurer, posted Feb 10, 2021
A promotion for Tama Sparkling Tea involves a cash giveaway for online orders. (Photo courtesy of Tama Sparkling Tea) Following the closure of Tama Cafe in late December, owners Rocco Quaranto and Wells and Kelly Struble began selling off equipment, furniture and fixtures they no longer needed, much of it for cash. They decided that the money would be reinvested in their remaining business, Tama Sparkling Tea.
Quaranto said as the cash was coming in, he was reminded of his early days with The Fuzzy Peach, where they would participate in the UNCW Beach Blast, an annual gathering held at the beach to welcome incoming freshmen.
dgraham@tamatoledonews.com
Thomas DesForges preps a pair of lunch plates at the newly opened Tama Cafe on the corner of W 3rd Street and Highway 63 in Tama, next door to the Tama Laundromat. Darvin Graham/News Chronicle
Thomas DesForges has been at home in the kitchen since he can remember.
“When I was five years old I remember learning how to make a roux with my mom and grandmother at home in North Carolina,” DesForges said. “Everything in our house was really based around the kitchen.”
A passion for cooking has come full circle for DesForges who is now at the helm of the recently opened Tama Cafe in downtown Tama on W 3rd Street.