[piano intro] - Next on "North Carolina Weekend," we'll show you some fun things to do after dark, like sample mocktails in Charlotte, check out live bluegrass in Fountain, and go stargazing in the mountains, coming up next.

- [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat music continues] - Welcome to "North Carolina Weekend."

I'm Deborah Holt Noel.

And this week we're highlighting fun things to do after dark, from restaurants, to music, to gazing at the stars, there's something for everyone.

Our first story takes us to the Pitt County town of Fountain.

Now Fountain may be a small town, but its old general store is big on music.

Producer Clay Johnson and videographer Cornell Campbell take us to hear its foot-tapping sounds and glimpse a window into the past.

♪ This train is going down a one-way track ♪ - [Clay] The music of the East Side Ramblers sneaks out onto the silent streets of Fountain.

It's coming from R.A.

Fountain General Store.

Alex Albright and his wife are the owners.

- Invariably people that perform in here think, whoa, this is just an incredible place for sound.

Plus people are very respectful of the musicians here.

It's not an environment where people are drinking and making noise, so everyone's listening, and it's just a really nice place for sound.

- [Clay] R.A.

Fountain opened the store in 1903.

- [Alex] This is the the fourth iteration of his business.

He outgrew two and then his third one was torched.

- [Clay] This one opened in 1918.

Fountain used to say he offered people everything they needed from cradle to grave, even coffins.

He supplied local farmers too.

- It was essential to have these general stores.

- [Clay] But the railroad left, and the highways came, and the world bypassed Fountain, the store closed.

In 2001, Albright and his family moved here from Greenville.

He and his wife purchased the store, and in 2004 reopened it as Fountain General Store and Internet Cafe.

Musicians played at the grand opening.

- It was a regional newsstand, but it was the wrong time for that.

That failed, it failed as a cheese shop, it failed as several different things.

- But the music carried on.

[lively bluegrass music] - [Alex] To get people back out, we said, "Okay, we'll have a concert."

And we started getting concerts, and people started showing up, and then when they would come in they would buy ice cream, and lemonade, and some other things.

- [Clay] Many also come to see the amazing mix of everything Albright has collected over the years.

- Some of it is vintage, some of it is junk.

Yeah, most of what you see in here is what we would call curious debris plus a lot of books.

I'm sort of next to the last stop before the dump for people, especially for books, 'cause really nobody wants books much anymore.

Lots of people come in and say, "Oh, I know somebody, my daddy, my granddaddy, my uncle.

We had this store in this town where I grew up."

You play a record player for kids, and turn a record over, and they're amazed 'cause they've never seen something that plays on the other side.

- [Clay] The curious debris extends to an adjacent store building that the Albrights also own.

On the second floor, they've created a rental apartment.

- You got a project you wanna work on, and you want to get somewhere and not be bothered, it's an artist retreat is really what it is.

If you're from New York, you might appreciate that.

It might be too quiet.

- [Clay] But it's sound that saved this store, sound like this.

[lively bluegrass music] - If you come here, I want you to feel like you've gotten a bit of American heritage.

I mean, we're not playing electronic.

We don't play people that have tracks behind them.

You gotta make the sound yourself.

- The intimate atmosphere gives you the chance to interact with the musicians in ways that you don't get in most settings.

- It's like someone came in your living room, and you feel like you're part of the whole thing.

- One of the things that I really liked about the idea of this place was that it attracts multiple generations, and that's not something that you see much in the world anymore.

This is not a bar, it's not a place where young people go to drink and hear music.

It's a place where young people sometimes bring their parents or their kids, and they have a lemonade, and they play checkers, and it's nice.

♪ Get into my room ♪ ♪ Who's that tapping at my window ♪ - The R.A.

Fountain General Store is at 6754 East Wilson Street in Fountain.

To find out who's playing, give them a call at [252] 749-3228, or visit their website at rafountain.com.

What's more fun after dark than an amazing pizza?

Oh, you don't understand.

We found a spot in Winston-Salem whose pizza napoletana is such the cut above, it's getting national recognition.

In fact, it's been ranked in the top 50 pizza USA list for four years in a row.

[flames crackling] - Once we launch the pizza in the oven, we have a very short window.

[clock ticking] There's so many things to be engaged in and so many elements: [ticking clock throbs] thermal conditions, the oven conditions, the wood, the fuel source, the pizza itself, how many toppings.

Slide the peel under, give it a little spin.

Be patient, wait, observe.

I have no margin for error.

Do I need to sort of bake it half in, half out of the mouth of the oven?

Do I need to dome the pizza, lift it up into the top of the oven a little bit?

Does it need to come up, bake a little more on the bottom?

Where's the dough at?

It's nonstop.

We have to do that in real time, in probably like a minute, 15 seconds maybe, or it's trash.

[rock music] [rock music continues] The real two passions in my life, predominantly, are soccer and food.

And a soccer career was kind of out of the question, so I leaned into food.

Started a small mobile pizza company with a pizza oven on a trailer, and I was doing private events in people's homes, an occasional festival or public event, and migrated into the brick and mortar in 2014.

- I've had pizza in Naples, and he's bringing that little bit of Naples to Winston-Salem and I don't have to go to New York, and I don't have to go to Naples, each week I can just come down here, come on Trade Street.

- The ambiance itself here is different than a lot of other restaurants within the triad and especially within Winston-Salem.

- Italian journalists have created a list of top 50 pizzerias in Italy.

There was an American list put together in the same way by the same group of people, and Mission Pizza Napoletana is the only North Carolina pizzeria on the top 50 in America list.

- The best way to experience Mission Pizza Napoletana is just to come in.

Neapolitan Pizza is meant to be fresh, bright.

It's really like meant to be eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven, within reason.

- His pizza is true to the format of Neapolitan-style pizza, as far as the hydration goes, and just the focus on the ingredients, of keeping it simplistic.

You're never gonna find a pineapple and ham pizza in this establishment.

- For the kind of person who would be attracted to coming to a place like Mission, they're willing to experience different things, different flavors, different people, different cultures.

- They have a lot more to offer than just pizza.

[rock music continues] - [Customer] I love his pasta as much as I love his pizza.

- [Voice On Radio] Olive oil, post baked.

- I don't know a place where they will offer a, quote unquote, a Pizzakase experience, that is uniquely Peyton.

- [Peyton] Pizzakase is inspired, the name comes from omakase, which is a Japanese tradition, you sit at the counter, the sushi chef makes you, frankly, whatever they wanna make you.

And so you're really basically saying to the chef, "I'll leave it up to you.

Do your thing.

This is what I'm here for."

Can come with a wine pairing if the guest elects.

- [Chef] If you went into trattoria in Naples or Rome, you would find these kinds of wines on their wine list.

- [Peyton] Pizza, frankly, has become sort of a daily practice and a daily purpose that's really meaningful to me.

I get to make a real thing with my hands and nourish other people with it.

- [Customer] There's a lot of great places in North Carolina today, but more Mission Pizzas would make me a very happy eater.

- Mission Pizza Napoletana is at 707 Trade Street Northwest in Winston-Salem, and they're open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday.

To find out more, give them a call at [336] 893-8217, or go online to mpnws.com.

If your after-dark experience includes a big juicy burger, producer Theresa Lisky discovered a spot in Morganton that not only has their meats cut right on site, they've got a pickleball court out back so you can burn off your calories.

[lively strings music] - I worked in a lot of meat packing places, learning how to be a butcher, and learning how to do old world butchery the correct way.

The guys started calling me Bones, and that's kind of how I ended up with the nickname.

- [Theresa] Tyler Bones Jones is the man, and this is his self-titled restaurant.

- We are at Bones Jones.

[laughs] - [Theresa] To begin with, Bones Jones Burgers and Butchery isn't your typical restaurant because Bones Jones isn't your average restaurateur.

In addition to being a butcher, he's a first generation farmer, which is pretty amazing.

- It is, I think a lot of farmers, I think they say the average farmer's like 58 years old.

It's a very multi-generational occupation.

You usually take over a farm, a lot of people.

There's not that many first generation farmers out there.

- [Theresa] For Bones, it was hogs that he chose to raise from his 126-acre farm.

- I don't really know what came over me, to be honest with you.

And I think like any farmer would tell you, I don't know what I was thinking.

[laughs] - [Theresa] Folks around here are awfully glad he brought his love and knowledge of all things fresh and delicious to the Burke County town of Morganton.

- We go here quite a bit, it's really good.

- I have a passion for good food.

I grew up with a Southern-fried grandmother, had a lot of education from that standpoint, I guess.

- [Theresa] But with the word butchery in the name, you know succulent meats are on the menu.

- Friday, Saturday nights, we'd start from smoked prime rib and ribs at 5:00, and then we run a nightly special during the week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, just whatever we come up with, we try to be creative.

But mainly we do ribeyes six days a week, sirloins, chicken sandwiches, hot-dip chicken sandwiches, all kinds of gourmet craft burgers.

- Like the Bones Burger.

- Which is a local burger with pepper jack, bacon, jalapenos, barbecue sauce, and onion rings on top.

- [Theresa] Poultry takes center stage on Wednesday with smoked and flash-fried wings, doused in your choice of several sauces.

- Usually I get them dry, but I'll do like barbecue sauce too.

- I actually like the habanero and the jerk.

They're really good.

- [Theresa] His appetizers are just as well received.

- [Tyler] It's like fried Brussels sprouts, onion rings, fried pickles.

- [Theresa] And everyone's favorite- - The cheese curds are wonderful.

- Most popular item for appetizers is the fried cheese curds, the local fried cheese curds.

- People tell us, and I agree, that they're the best that I've ever had, and I've been to Wisconsin.

- [Theresa] You'll notice Bones says the word local a lot.

30% to 40% of everything they prepare is purchased locally, which for him is what it's all about.

- There's nothing better than being able to market food that's raised in your community, right?

- [Theresa] Something else that makes Bones Jones stand out in the restaurant world are the pickleball courts right outside.

- We had old tennis courts in the back of the restaurant from when this place used to be a dry county, and in order to serve alcohol in a dry county, you had to be a sports club.

So they put tennis courts in the back.

I don't think they ever used 'em, but they had 'em there.

- So out of two tennis courts, you can make eight pickleball courts.

- [Theresa] Fortunately for these pickleball players, Burke County is no longer dry.

- We get people that'll come here and they'll time it out, 'cause the restaurant opens at 11:00, so they'll say, "Okay, let's go play at 9:00.

We'll play for a couple hours, and then we'll come in and grab a bite, and a beer, or a libation, or iced tea," whatever they want.

It's kind of a destination, which makes it a little bit more unique than most courts that you just go and play and go home.

- [Theresa] A distinctive destination for delicious foods, beverages, and pickleball?

It can only be- - Bones Jones.

[lively strings music] - Bones Jones Burgers and Butchery is at 3221 North Carolina Highway 126 in Morganton, and it's open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

For more information, give them a call at [828] 391-1210, or visit their website at bonesjones.com.

Here's something you can only do after dark, head to Burnsville, where we found a really cool place at Mayland Community College.

There you'll engage with a custom-built telescope that's sure to bring a sense of wonder.

[intriguing music] - I love astronomy because as a young girl, I was able to connect with my dad and grandfather over astronomy.

But astronomy is a universal language.

You might have a different set of stories that come with the stars that you know, but the stars that I know and the stars that you know, as long as we're in the same hemisphere, are the same set of stars.

- The Mayland Earth to Sky Park was founded in 2017 as part of Mayland Community College, and it's an environmental education park geared towards children all the way up to adults to learn about the world around them, everything from the Earth to the sky.

- A dark sky park is a place that's dedicated to keeping the lights pointed down or lights off.

With our dark skies out here, we're able to look at deep space objects through our telescopes and share the wonders of the natural world with other people.

- We received our International Dark Sky Association certification in 2016, and what that means is it's just really dark out here.

There's only two of us in the whole world that has both an observatory and a planetarium, and the other one is in South Korea.

And we remain the only higher education institute in the world to operate an International Dark Sky Park.

- We have a one-of-a-kind retractable roof observatory.

It gives you a 360-degree view of the sky.

Out here, we're able to look at things like the Milky Way and all the way out to nebulas, double stars, and deep, deep planets that are out in our vast solar system, such as Neptune and Pluto.

- The staff does an excellent job explaining it, showing you the night sky, telling you where everything's at, and I have no knowledge of any stars or constellations or anything, easily to understand, very entertaining, fantastic show.

- Yeah, Mayland Community College has a vision of trying to help the economy here in the local region as well as also build upon education component and giving local people more resources.

We have a couple big projects going on.

Earth to Sky Park is one of those projects.

The Three Peaks Enrichment Center and Blue Ridge Boutique are the other two parts of that.

Our hope is that we get a lot of people come and visit us, but also a lot of those visitors that decide they wanna stay here, and live here, and grow a family here.

- In the planetarium, we learn about ecosystems, looking at the Earth, the depths of our forest.

We can about our ocean, and then we can also talk about our astronomy and our deep space objects using imaging from the Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope.

[intriguing music continues] - Oh, the planetarium is just amazing, not only seeing things that are out there, hundreds of thousands of miles away, in a very controlled environment, so it could be raining and snowing outside, and we're still looking at the wonders, so it's great.

- I think people need to come and experience this because oftentimes we have a disconnect from what's above us.

It's a amazing opportunity to come out and see what really is overhead at a minimal light pollution place.

- In addition to the observatory and the planetarium, we have a lot of exciting things to do at the park.

We are extremely fortunate to have a "Good of the Hive" mural, which is part of a larger worldwide project by international artist Matthew Willey.

What's so unique about our mural is that it also incorporates nighttime pollinators because we operate mainly at night with the observatory.

There's a lot of pollination that still happens after the sun goes down, and so Matthew wanted to highlight the importance of 24-hour-a-day pollination by including the nighttime pollinators that we've got in our environment here at the park, besides the honeybees.

We've got an aquaponics lab where you can come and watch fish so you can learn about alternative farming practices with the aquaponics.

We have a gorgeous pollinator garden, filled with plants and butterflies and bees that you can walk through.

We have some hiking trails that you can come out, bring your dog, and just enjoy walking around and being outside.

- The Mayland Earth to Sky Park is at 66 Energy Exchange Drive in Burnsville.

The visitor center and planetarium hours are Friday through Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00.

For evening events and more information, give them a call at [828] 470-7584, or check out their website at mayland.edu.

These days mocktails are having a moment, and mixologists everywhere are getting seriously creative.

I checked out Charlotte's nightlife scene at a converted church and a 19th floor rooftop and discovered some very tasty options for mocktails in the city.

[relaxed music] I'm heading out to two destinations that are redefining what a night out can taste like.

Vanessa.

Hey sweetie.

- Hi, Aunt Debbie.

- I did not explore on my own.

I invited my niece, Vanessa Tyler, a Charlotte local, to join me for mocktails in the city, and the first place we're stopping is right here.

It's called Leluia Hall, and it's this gorgeous church inside.

They've got incredible mocktails.

Let's go check 'em out.

- Let's go.

- All right.

Leluia Hall is a historic gem that's been a part of the Dilworth neighborhood for more than 100 years.

- The name, as far as I understand, was chosen because if you take Leluia Hall, and you move hall to the beginning, it becomes hallelujah.

They wanted to keep parts of the historical nature of the building, so some of the hanging lights are from the original church.

They opened up the ceiling to show the rafters.

The vibe is very celebratory.

We get a lot of guests here who are celebrating special events in their life, which we really enjoy.

We created our cocktail program to pair up specifically with the tropical nature of the food that we serve here, as well as our delicious steak program.

I'm gonna be making the Chicha Morada, which is based on a traditional Peruvian drink that's made from purple corn.

- [Deborah] House-made syrups, infused herbs, and fresh citrus build drinks with depth, character, and just the right amount of flare.

[liquid sloshing] - [Rhea] The second one is called Passionately Yours, and this one was created for adults who want to have a cocktail without the alcoholic side effects or the taste.

- Rhea, these look like works of art.

- Thank you.

- [Deborah] Leluia's spirit-free cocktails are designed to enhance the menu.

- Our yellowtail crudo.

- Oo.

- And this pairs exceptionally well with the Passionately Yours cocktail right here.

- That looks lovely.

[diners chatting] - Cheers.

- Thank you.

- [Vanessa] Thank you.

These look amazing.

- We can still say cheers.

- Cheers.

- Even though there's no alcohol.

[laughs] - That's delicious.

- Isn't it?

I knew you were gonna like it.

[relaxed music] Just a short right away and much higher up, another spot is taking spirit-free cocktails to new heights, Merchant and Trade.

Isn't this pretty?

- It is.

- [Deborah] Got a great view of Charlotte.

Located at the top of the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, combines sweeping city views with modern mixology and a standout zero-proof menu.

- Currently we have three zero-proof cocktails on our menu.

Our two lead bartenders pretty much come up with all the ideas that we have.

Whatever their brainchild, whatever their mad scientist they have going on, they just come up with these things.

We have a lot of 'em that are pretty much health conscious, like the Bobcat Territory has like a lion's mane mushroom syrup.

Names are kind of reminiscent to things that are local around here.

You have the Gold line, which is our transit system, and then you have Endless Vacation.

- This first cocktail that we have right here will be called the Gold Line.

- Can I try it?

- Sure.

- [Deborah] The zero-proof drinks here are designed with food in mind.

Herbaceous forward cocktails brighten rich and savory bites.

- The Gold Line pairs well with the pork belly tacos because it has turmeric, and it has also in the pork belly tacos, a little bit of spices.

- It's got a little pineapple on there and some pickled onion.

In the same way you just drink a regular cocktail, this is so rich and delicious.

Charlotte's zero-proof scene is bursting with flavor, creativity, and possibility.

There's one called The Endless Vacation.

I tried the Gold Line.

- Okay.

- That one's good.

I'm gonna have the Bobcat Territory.

- [Server] Okay.

- [Deborah] It proves you do not need spirits to raise your spirits.

And with great company, it's even better.

- Awesome, thank you.

- Yeah, cheers, ladies.

- Ooh, that looks good.

- And we will cheers.

- Of course.

Cheers.

Leluia Hall is located at 1829 Cleveland Avenue in Charlotte.

For more information, give them a call at [704] 248-2512 or visit them online at leluiahall.com.

Merchant and Trade is located on the rooftop of the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel at 303 South Church Street.

For more information, call [704] 445-2550, or find them online at merchantandtrade.com.

Well, that's it for tonight's show.

We've had a wonderful time suggesting places for you to visit after dark.

And remember, if you've missed anything in tonight's show, you can always watch it again online at pbsnc.org, and you can find all of our stories on our YouTube channel.

Have a great North Carolina weekend, everyone.

[feel good music] [feel good music continues] [feel good music continues] - [Announcer] Funding for "North Carolina Weekend" is provided in part by Visit NC, dedicated to highlighting our state's natural scenic beauty, unique history, and diverse cultural attractions.

From the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Mountains across the Piedmont to 300 miles of barrier island beaches, you're invited to experience all the adventure and charm our state has to offer.

[light music]