[piano intro] [upbeat guitar music] - [Heather] Nothing is finer than to be in North Carolina to sample all the delicious foodie options.

- [Kitchen Worker] One time.

- [Heather] Join us for a taste across the state from Carolina classics to amazing international fare.

It's all on "My Home," coming up next.

[pleasant bluegrass music] All across the state, we're uncovering the unique stories that make North Carolina my home.

♪ Come home, come home ♪ [pleasant bluesy music] - Rise and shine.

Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen.

Good morning!

Well, looking out the window and rolling the biscuits, this is great.

I love that, I love that.

- That's why you know the sun rises over there.

I've made plenty of biscuits there, but it was a long time ago.

[upbeat pleasant music] Biscuit kits have always been part of southern tradition and especially North Carolina tradition.

My name is David Allen.

My home is Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Originally from Aurora, North Carolina, but I made the transition to Chapel Hill after going to college here.

John Carmody, who's my original partner in Sunrise, and he approached me to start Sunrise Biscuit with him.

- I said, "I'll come help you open the restaurant, but I'm leaving in December," and that was 38 years ago.

[upbeat bluesy rock music] [people chatter indistinctly] - Hi, may take your order?

- Chapel Hill's a particularly unique restaurant because we were the first drive thru-only restaurant in North Carolina.

- Here's your food.

We're just waiting on your hot chocolate.

It'll be right one second.

[oil bubbles] - [Customer Over Speaker] Hey, have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit with an Arnold Palmer.

- [Heather] These guys have been here for quite a while.

- Probably got here about 4:30 in the morning.

I think it's now around 6:30, so a couple of hours for Randy the manager and Linda the biscuit maker.

Without her biscuits, Sunrise Biscuits is not in business.

- [Heather] You're kind of the face of Sunrise Biscuit.

- Yeah.

A lot of people wait when they come through.

Sometimes I'll wave at 'em, but no, and they have the animals with them, and I'll wave at the animals, too.

- [Heather] Linda, you must make biscuits in your sleep.

- I'm gonna.

I'm gonna.

Actually, I did dream of making biscuits a couple times.

[people laugh] - I dreamed about biscuits also.

[people laugh] [gentle pleasant guitar music] Well, my grandmother was one of the inspirations of how we make biscuits.

My mother is the youngest of 17 children, so as a really young child, I watched my grandmother make biscuits, and I'd stand there by her apron and get flour all over me, and she taught me the basics of how to make a good biscuit.

One of the keys to a great biscuit is not overworking the dough.

Takes 'em, picks 'em up gently, gotta keep flour on her hands to keep her hands from sticking to it.

It's about 15 biscuits on a pan, I believe, and then from there, they will go in the oven for about 15 minutes come out nice and golden, and we've taken those same basic properties and giving you lots of combinations.

Usually get a BLT biscuit.

You can get what is now known as a Bad Grampa.

[lively upbeat music] - Tell us how the Bad Grampa got his name.

- There was a movie that was filmed here that the character was an elderly grandpa, and he was maybe not as nice a grandpa as he should've been.

Didn't know what he wanted to order, and this is what my staff came up with, so that's our bag Grandpa special, one of our top sellers.

Chicken and cheese is our top seller.

Bad Grampa, which is the complete meal, is the next top seller.

[upbeat music] In special events, there's cars lined around the building and across the bridge.

They know we're fast.

They're amazed how quickly the order's ready.

- [Heather] What is it you love about their biscuits?

- I don't know.

Honestly, they're like so fresh, and it's almost like just having made one from home.

- [Heather] Do you come here a lot?

- Yeah, like yeah, probably.

- You do?

- Yeah, yeah.

- You seemed a little hesitant, like you don't wanna admit how much that you have a biscuit addiction.

- Yeah, I don't wanna like admit it.

It's kind of embarrassing, but yeah.

- Anything else?

- Breakfast, the great thing about it is people are loyal.

They're creatures of habit.

They don't wake up in the morning, go, "Hmm, where am I gonna have breakfast this morning?"

If they've got a spot that they know they're gonna get a hot coffee, fresh biscuit, good food, quick service, they're gonna be loyal to that place.

[bright upbeat music] - [Heather] In the foothills of our state in Morganton, there is a family creating an incredible community through food, sports, and friendship.

[upbeat Guatemalan music] [wings flap] [machine whirs] - We really wanted the community to want this place.

- Lots of people travel to Guatemala, spend money for an airplane ticket, but just right here in Morganton, North Carolina, you can come and experience Guatemalan culture, the real deal.

- We have soccer.

[whistle blows] [people shout indistinctly] We roast coffee.

[machine whirs] [beans clatter] We also have a coffee shop.

We do have a restaurant.

[meat sizzles] [spatula clangs] Arts and crafts and chocolate, so those are some of the things that we do.

[Christian speaks in foreign language] [Christian laughs] [easy mid-tempo guitar music] - I went to Guatemala for two years to work with a group called the International Justice Mission.

We had the whole two years that I was there in Guatemala to get to know one another.

I came back to the United States, and he came and proposed, and we got married in Antigua, Guatemala at the end of that year.

We got here end of 2009, and we knew that some Guatemalans lived here, but we did not know that 20% of the population of this town is Guatemalan.

[bright lively music] [person with microphone speaks in foreign language] I think we've counted at least seven different Mayan dialects spoken here in Morganton, and so that was really important to us starting Little Guatemala is making it a place where the community at large could come together so these friendships can start.

[people chatter indistinctly] [person sings in foreign language] [Christian speaks in foreign language] [lively music] We picked all those things, the coffee, chocolate, soccer, restaurant, and crafts because those were some of the top things that were mentioned.

Also, they're just iconic things from Guatemala.

If you think of Guatemala, those easily are some of the very first things that come to your mind.

[Christian speaks in foreign language] - A lot of people don't actually consider where their chocolate bar came from.

We source the cacao bean from Alta Verapaz in Guatemala.

Here we have dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate bars.

We make other specialty chocolate items here and there for the holidays, but yeah.

[people shout indistinctly] [Christian speaks in foreign language] [whistle blows] [people shout indistinctly] [Christian speaks in foreign language] [pleasant upbeat guitar music] - Sitting down off over a cup of coffee, playing a soccer game together, enjoying food, gathering around the table, there's just a really special relationship building aspect of all those things that we chose.

[Christian speaks in foreign language] [people chatter indistinctly] [group shouts in foreign language and claps] [can clanks] [soft bright music] [cap pops] - [Cliff] Well, being 100 years old, of course, my great-grandfather started the brand.

Have to think that he would be pleased with how we have grown business and the brand.

- [Joy] Cheerwine has become a part of North Carolina and southern culture, and it does reflect home to a lot of people, and so that's a really special thing to be a part of.

- [Cliff] My name is Cliff Ritchie.

- [Joy] And my name is Joy Ritchie Harper.

- [Customer Over Speaker] And our home is Salisbury, North Carolina.

[upbeat rock music] - So back in 1917, right here in Salisbury, North Carolina, my great-great-grandfather, LD Peeler, started Cheerwine, and every generation has been in the family business so far, and today, members of the fourth and fifth generation are part of the business.

- I love this shot 'cause it shows all the employees and their uniforms with their hat and their tie, and I grew up in the Cheerwine business and family, and now they're all gone, but I have my daughter and son in the business, and we look forward to continuing on.

[upbeat music] - In celebration of Cheerwine's 100th anniversary, the Rowan Museum did put together a special Cheerwine exhibit that does really showcase Cheerwine's past 100 years.

- This is the Cheerwine history room.

So this is the beginning of Cheerwine.

Tell me what we are seeing right now.

- Well this is the brand Mint Cola that my great-grandfather started with getting into the soft drink business with this wholesale goods store.

Then World War I started, and sugar became scarce and rationed.

It put the Mint Cola company in bankruptcy.

It was either reinvent yourself or get out of business.

He started experimenting with different flavors for sweetness as a substitute for sugar.

Through all the experimentation, they came up with a formula for Cheerwine, named it Cheerwine because of its burgundy red color like wine, and its effervescent, fizzy character that is cheerful, so.

- Soldiers remember getting Cheerwine in their care packages from home.

- Right, this is the story about Bob Morgan who was at the Battle of the Bulge.

They were the only two in their platoon that weren't either killed or wounded.

- Really?

- So he drinks a Cheerwine every day.

He says for the rest of his life, he's had a Cheerwine every day.

- And not many people know the recipe.

I don't know the recipe.

Only a few handful of people know it.

So it is a very guarded secret.

- [Heather] So you can't even know the recipe.

- No.

- One day she'll know the recipe.

- [Heather] One day.

[uplifting music] [bottles clink] - Salisbury is home for me.

I grew up here, but every summer, I and my husband and the children come back to visit my parents, and so Haps and Cheerwine is something that we always do.

- [Server] Those are your burgers.

- A lot of other towns have an athlete that's big in their town.

We can always say we got Cheerwine, and they can't take it away from us.

- It's amazing to hear how much Cheerwine means to other people.

You know, it's an important part of my family, but it's also an important part to a lot of other families in North Carolina.

- I am very confident that Cheerwine will be here for the 200th anniversary.

[slow dramatic orchestral music] - [Heather] Food can certainly be art, and when a passion for quality and sharing one's culture combine, there is a sweet result.

- [Djamila] Baking is, to me, is freedom.

I get to express how I feel.

- [Fadi] Watching Djamila being creative is honestly like watching artists doing their painting.

- Sometimes you might see colors that I use are very pastel colors, very light, and sometimes they're dark, and I try to pay attention to what's around me and bring it into baking.

I am the owner of La Recette Patisserie in Durham, North Carolina, and I am the baker.

- I'm the husband/financial accountant for La Recette Patisserie.

What we do here is French pastries with an Algerian twist.

[soft bright piano music] [soft gentle music] - So I am born and raised in Algeria.

Coming here, I couldn't really find that many options in terms of the Algerian cuisine.

We make coca.

Coca pretty much, it's a street pizza.

It has caramelized onions and caramelized tomatoes, puff pastry, and then you just place one olive on top.

It's packed with flavors.

- And if you go to Algeria, literally they sell it like in a street food vendors, and like it's everywhere in the street, you know?

So it's like you're hungry, you grab a piece of coca.

- We also make baklava and makrout.

Baklava, it's phyllo dough filled with almonds.

Makrout, it's very, very traditional.

It's always found in multiple occasions, whether it's a wedding or a birthday.

We call it like almost like a loyal cookie.

It's always there.

My mom actually makes that.

It's made out of semolina, and it's stuffed with date paste, and then we deep fry it, and it's drizzled with honey.

We started the business back in 2015.

It was right after I graduated from Central.

I always wanted to do something for myself.

I started a small catering business.

It was a Mediterranean catering business.

Back then, it was called Food by Mila.

After couple weeks, a friend of ours asked us to bake 130 cupcakes and a giant cupcake, and, of course, I said, "Yes, I'm definitely gonna do it."

So we started baking, and in 2017, it was was a year for me that I felt I was stuck.

I didn't feel like I had any deep connections with baking, so I decided to go overseas to my hometown and study under a French pastry chef.

That was the most fulfilling, rewarding, nerve-wracking experience.

It was very intense.

Thinking about it today, how we made a decision to just book a ticket, it's amazing, and I'm so grateful we took that step.

When I came back, I wanted to bring the Algerian roots and understand my heritage more into what I do day to day, and we started working with small businesses.

We have collaborated with Cocoa Cinnamon, the Durham Co-Op, and then slowly, we outgrew our tiny, tiny kitchen.

When we moved into the retail space, we've decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign.

It was- - It was a very nerve-wracking decision for sure.

- It was, it was, and just tell you a little bit about Kickstarter campaign.

It's all or nothing.

So even if you reach 99% of your funds, by the end of the month, if you don't have it, it's a zero, and honestly, the turnout, it was an amazing one-month experience.

- It was.

- I will remember that.

- Especially the last 24 hours.

- I will remember that forever.

I am forever grateful.

What makes our team special?

All of them.

They're all women, and it's just so beautiful how we all came together.

- [Speaker] Mama.

[baby coos] [mother coos] So Fadi is the only gentleman.

[laughs] [bright orchestral music] La Recette is a place for people to come together, a place to foster an atmosphere of kindness.

Good morning.

How are you today?

- [Customer] Good morning.

I'm good, thank you.

- [Djamila] Food is universal language.

I can't talk a lot without talking about my faith.

I am proud to say I am a Muslim woman, and there is a reason why I have a scarf.

- [Fadi] Opening the doors to the public, we wanna show them like that this is a true face of Islam.

- [Djamila] This is who I am.

[upbeat music] - People know the name Jonas in this area because my family moved here 250 years ago.

People outside of this area know the family named Jonas because my children have become well known.

They're the Jonas Brothers.

- "Rolling Stone" covers.

That was their first "Rolling Stone" cover, and it's funny, and then they did this next one, and the difference in how they look.

- Big difference.

- Yeah.

- [Kevin] It's four of them, actually, not just the three older ones.

It's Kevin, Joe, Nick, and Frankie.

- My boys, when we told them that we were gonna open Nellie's, the first thing they said was like- - "Are you crazy?"

[laughs] - Yeah.

You dunno how to do that, Dad, Dad.

- I think food and the heart go together.

- This is his hometown.

This is where Nellie was from and Nellie's Original Southern Kitchen was.

- [Kevin] I want you to come to Nellie's and feel like you're celebrating with family.

[gentle pleasant music] Well my name is Kevin Jonas, and I grew up in Belmont, North Carolina.

I left when I was about 19 years old and, about three years ago, decided to move back to Belmont and open up this restaurant in honor of my grandmother.

She was one of those special people that had a way of showing love through their cooking.

- [Cecilia] Yeah, a pretty quaint little town.

- It's gorgeous little town.

- I'm Denise Jonas.

This is my mother-in-love, Cecilia.

She's my mother-in-law.

She has a beautiful son that I got to marry 34 years ago.

Nellie's is really a tribute to the love that she had for her family.

- So these are all your mom's recipes?

All of Nellie's recipes?

- Yeah.

Well, now these are maybe some that she's copied, too, but this is her handwriting.

Anytime you come to Mom and Daddy's, we sat around the table, we ate, we laughed, we sang, and that's kinda what, in Kevin's mind, that's kind of the idea that he wanted for here.

[people chatter indistinctly] - We had looked around the area and were shocked to find there aren't really many places that do that down home Southern comfort food, the biscuits and gravy and fried chicken.

The food had to be right.

- Once in a while, I'll come back and just check on them, make sure that they're right.

Y'all should have some, too.

- Oh, they look good.

- [Cecilia] Ooh, it looks good.

Is it hot?

- [Speaker] Oh yeah.

Mm, so good.

Want some?

[upbeat pop rock music] - This is kind of the walk of fame.

- Yeah, it's our Hall of Fame.

- The Hall of Fame.

- We call it the Hall of Fame.

- But it's also a great proud mama hallway.

- This was like their first photo shoot, and, - Oh, when they became - you know, - the Jonas Brothers.

- they were on Columbia.

Look it, Joseph, Nicholas.

I don't know.

There's not a picture of my boys I don't like.

- People love my sons.

Their fans are rabid and have great passion for them, but I'm mostly proud that my sons are good young men.

[bright upbeat music] - They love when they get some time off.

I mean, they just love it here.

Opening day, Joe performed with his band.

It was nice to see their support of their dad.

I mean, they really have a great relationship with their father.

- They have been generous and encouraging, and they come through, and they're like, "This place is so special."

Even Priyanka was just here with Nick, and we had a time of just celebration for the people that couldn't go to their wedding, [laughs] and Priyanka was like, "This place is amazing."

- When you guys arrived back from India for the wedding, - Yes.

- this was- - So this was on the stands in the JFK.

- [Heather] So there were two ceremonies.

- Right.

We did a Christian ceremony that my husband performed, Nick's dad, and then we, on the next day, we did the Indian Hindu ceremony.

- [Kevin] I think there's something beautiful about southern hospitality, southern love and family, and as you see the world, we've been privileged to see the world, there's really nothing more wholesome and beautiful than the values that you learned when you were a child and the beauty of a small town and the chicken and dumplings that wait for you every time you come home.

- [Heather] Next time on "My Home," we explore inspiring and groundbreaking art across the state.

[flames hiss] [pleasant upbeat music] They say art is in the eye of the beholder, and we have so much for you to see.

Join us as we uncover the stories behind beautiful works and meet the artist who inspire us every day.

It's all on "My Home."

[pleasant bluegrass music] ♪ ♪