King's Sandwich Shop featured in nice ABC 11 vignette
March 21, 2011
King's Sandwich Shop owner TJ McDermott left me a voice mail on Friday letting me know that WTVD ABC 11 was running a package on Saturday morning focused on the renovation of the Geer and Foster landmark, which re-opened last year.
Endangered Durham's Gary Kueber (who provides some background and context on historic renovation in the segment) featured this video up at his place, and I wanted to share it here, even as I imagine our blog readerships largely overlap. Still, this is too good a watch to miss.
I had seen the videographer at one of King's early opening dates, and understood then that the station was tracking the rehab of the eatery over time. The result is a nice, three and a half minute look at the return of a special place in our Bull City.
The decadent pleasure that I get every time I indulge in a King's creation is always enhanced by the enthusiasm that TJ has when he takes my order.
He and his employees are what Durham is all about.
Posted by: Doug Roach | March 21, 2011 at 08:44 AM
So happy for them, they seem like a great group of people. Love those black bean burgers!
Posted by: jonn | March 21, 2011 at 09:34 AM
Really well done.
Posted by: Phil Bost | March 21, 2011 at 09:50 AM
Nice!
Posted by: Jim | March 21, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Awesome!
Posted by: Rob | March 21, 2011 at 11:27 AM
Amber LOVES King's!!! YEY for TJ!
Posted by: Chunky | March 21, 2011 at 01:54 PM
Oh, king, eh, very nice. And 'ow'd you get that, eh?
By exploiting the workers! By 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.
Posted by: El Sup | March 21, 2011 at 02:25 PM
You're pretty funny.
Posted by: Sherry | March 21, 2011 at 02:54 PM
Another middle-class, neoliberal capitalist coming into our neighborhood and exploiting our workers. Opening your business here is a slap in the face of those working hard to make and re-make their lives on their own terms, rather than appealing to an outside force for concessions to better their lives. You should be spending your energies self-organizing communities with the collective and democratic capacity to determine their own future and connect with others. It is clear that this business contributes to the process of marginalization centers around gentrification, in which our communities are deemed “dead” and in need of “revitalization.” Pointing this out places a lot of us in uncomfortable positions—certainly large real estate speculators who consciously live off of this process, but also many people who do not consciously mean others any harm. It is not easy to hear this; it is easier to ignore or lash out at us or others who have pointed this out and to continue playing the role of sleeping beauty, than to live up to the responsibility we all have of creating viable communities along with all of our neighbors.
As our mentor, Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, has said: “We declare that we will make a collective network of all our particular struggles and resistences, and intercontinental network of resistance against neoliberalism, and intercontinental network for humanity. This intercontinental network of resistance will strive to find itself in other resistances around the world…This intercontinental network of resistance is not an organizing structure: it has no central head or decision-maker; it has no central command or hierarchies. We are the network, all of us who resist.”
Posted by: Che Kilombo | March 21, 2011 at 03:27 PM
I love the part where some random guy drives past Kings and shouts, "hot dogs!!!"
Posted by: Tooth | March 21, 2011 at 03:49 PM
I really digging the che kilombo troll.
Posted by: Natalie | March 21, 2011 at 05:01 PM
I always thought that the nexus of intercontinental, neo-liberal exploitation was Goldman, Sachs. Now I find out that it's really King's Sandwich Shop. Who knew? Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos!
Posted by: John Martin | March 21, 2011 at 05:46 PM
I hate it when small businesses open up in vacant buildings and provide jobs. It makes me sick.
Posted by: Matt Dudek | March 21, 2011 at 06:10 PM
I got slapped in the face by a King's burger and it was delicious!
Posted by: William | March 21, 2011 at 06:12 PM
Best comment thread EVER!!!
Posted by: Steve Graff | March 21, 2011 at 07:55 PM
Lol!!!
Posted by: Cal | March 22, 2011 at 05:57 AM
Che, go back and re-read your manifesto... Marcos wasn't talking about resistance, it was "... an intercontinental network of restaurants." He didn't decry the "surge of corporatism"... he clearly warned us of the "surfeit of corpulence".
Get your diatribes straight. Geeez.
Posted by: Doug Roach | March 22, 2011 at 08:30 AM
@doug. The revolution will not be franchised.
Posted by: Matt Dudek | March 22, 2011 at 08:59 AM
Che Kilombo = Blazer Manpurse?
Posted by: JCV | March 22, 2011 at 12:57 PM
@JCV You may be onto something! In Blazer Manpurse's (Manpursie?) farewell blog post he said:
And when they learned what had transpired, all who dwelled there did say “Our most annoying blogger has left us, but we are all Blazer Manpurse now.” And they took the snark into their hearts and hatched many schemes.
Subcomandante Marcos, hero of the El Kilombo-ites who "struggle" over on W. Geer was quoted as uttering:
"if you want to know who Marcos is, see who’s hidden behind the mask, then take a mirror and look at yourself. The face you see there will be face of Marcos, because we are all Marcos.”
I'd much rather be a Blazer Manpurse than Marcos - I don't like wearing ski masks.
Posted by: Steve Graff | March 22, 2011 at 02:22 PM
Blazer (aka Subcomandante) lives!! Note the location of the photo in the last post on Bullsh@t -- I think the photographer may have been looking out a second floor window of the Central Park School for Children!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Toby | March 22, 2011 at 09:44 PM
that link is http://bullshat.wordpress.com/2007/06/24/manpurse-risen/
Posted by: Toby | March 22, 2011 at 09:45 PM
I was wondering what ever happened to old Man Purse.
Posted by: jules | March 22, 2011 at 10:29 PM
i think it's pretty obvious subcomandante marcos is really chef MARCO Shaw from piedmont, trying to sabatoge former-piedmont chef andy magowan's new venture at foster and geer. hee hee.
Posted by: bb | March 23, 2011 at 09:55 AM
If Che Kilombo is not Yousuf Al Bulushi (founder El Kilombo) he is doing an incredible job channeling his blog-speak.
Posted by: Rob | March 23, 2011 at 12:57 PM