Dear Neighbors,
We are in a race to finish the Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro, which will open late summer/early fall. Like a lot of races around here, sometimes we feel like we’re going in circles! Read on, and you’ll get some news about that, some bragging about a few of the amazing people with whom we get to work, and some special happenings at the O.Henry Hotel, the Green Valley Grill and the Lucky 32 restaurants.
Cheers! Dennis Quaintance & Nancy King Quaintance
Rambling: Proximity Is Near!
We named the restaurant Print Works Bistro because it honors our city’s history and it hangs with the hotel’s name. The Proximity Print Works Mill opened in 1912 to print cotton fabrics after its mother, Proximity Cotton Mill, opened in 1896. And “Bistro” seems the optimal handle for a lively restaurant with honest, flavorful food. My bet is that you will love Print Works Bistro not only because of the wonderful food, but also because it will be an amazing room. There will be windows overlooking gardens on three walls and the fourth wall will be a window to the kitchen. It is a long, narrow space leaving all of the tables within 16 feet of a window. And most of the windows open! On a pleasant day you’ll be able to dine outside–inside. And, there’ll be a boatload of outside–outside dining overlooking a 2.5 acre natural area and stream.
The 100 solar panels atop the Proximity Hotel are bold evidence that we will have a lot of features to cause it to consume less energy, but never at the expense of our guests’ comfort. No one will be able to tell that our hot water is heated by the sun. And they won’t notice that the food in the bistro is refrigerated with the assistance of geothermal technology. There’s a lot more news along these lines, but we’ll save that for a future letter. For now, we’ll just speculate that the Proximity will meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold level.
If we indeed make that goal, the Proximity will be rated higher than any other hotel in America, unless someone beats us to the finish line. This all seems natural, since we’re on Green Valley Road in Greensboro!
Even if the Proximity didn’t have the distinction of these LEED elements, it would still be extraordinary. Your jaw will hit the floor when you see the guestrooms, and you will fall fast asleep soon after your head hits one of our pillows, because we’ve considered our guests’ delight and comfort with every detail. For over a year we’ve had a full-sized prototype room where we spend lots of time working out every detail to ensure that everything is just right for our guests. For more details or to make a reservation, please visit proximityhotel.com or call 336-379-8200.
Maybe you can help us out. We are looking for friendly, energetic folk, both part-time and full-time. Please pass the word! Visit proximityhotel.com for an online application.
Join the Proximity Team!
Photo Courtesy of the Greensboro Historical Museum
Honorable Tea
We were pleased as punch to get to host a tea in March for the Leader of Britain’s House of Lords, The Right Honorable Baroness Valerie Amos. She was in town for the 4th Annual Chief Diversity Officers Forum to be honored as a Trailblazer in Diversity. The conference is a program of the amazing Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute that was founded at Bennett College. Dennis is doubly-lucky since he not only got to spend some time with the Baroness and Dr. Cole, but he also has the honor of serving on the Institute’s board
Nancy and Dennis with Baroness Valerie Amos.
(Photo courtesy of Photo Innovations)
What’s Cooking?
We love summer because it brings “the farm closer to the fork”– at least closer to the forks in our restaurants! We are delighted to buy food from farmers and food makers from right in our own backyard. During the next few months, we will purchase bunches of produce from Eastern Carolina Organics’ network of thirty-some farms. In addition to those farms, we use several other local and/or sustainable food providers: Giacomo’s, Old Mill of Guilford, Counter Culture Coffee, Goat Lady Dairy, Red Oak Brewery, Carolina Classic Catfish, Chapel Hill Creamery and several North Carolina wineries.
Our chefs are having buckets of fun creating (and tasting) new recipes that feature local food. You’ll see these menu selections popping up this summer. Playing with our menus has been especially fun because working with Bart Ortiz, who leads our “farm to the fork” initiative, is always wonderful and because we recruited our good friend Mark Furstenberg to help. He is a two-time James Beard Foundation nominee as “Best Chef in the Mid Atlantic” for his work at his Washington, DC icon restaurant, Breadline. He started the bread baking instruction program at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, and he is starting a similar program with the National Culinary School of Spain. We are in good company in seeking Mark’s help since he also works with Thomas Keller of the French Laundry and Michel Richard of Citronelle.
Enjoy our Outdoor Dining Rooms
Outdoor dining season is in its prime! Enjoy the gardens of our outdoor dining rooms at the Green Valley Grill and both Lucky 32s. They are all delicious spots to enjoy an alfresco lunch meeting, a leisurely dinner or a late-night snack. And just in case you didn’t know, we serve brunch on Sundays starting at 10 a.m. at Lucky’s and 9 a.m. at the Green Valley Grill. We also serve brunch on Saturdays at Lucky’s starting at 11:15 a.m. FYI: Lucky’s in Cary is now completely smoke-free, inside and out!
O.Henry Happenings
We are so lucky to have the nationally recognized Eastern Music Festival (easternmusicfestival.org) in Greensboro! This year, they have a whopping 100+ events between June 23 and July 28, 2007. After a concert, make it an extra special occasion by spending the night at the O.Henry. Our Music to Your Ears Package includes one night’s gracious accommodations for two, afternoon tea, a box of imported chocolates, a bottle of wine, the O.Henry Cheese Trio, $30 credit toward dinner at Green Valley Grill, complimentary transportation to the concert, a hot buffet breakfast and a late check out for only $269. But wait, there’s more! The first five folks to book this package for Saturday, July 22 will receive two complimentary festival tickets to see Bruce Hornsby that night. Please call reservations at 336-854-2000. If you snooze, you’ll lose!
Bring the kids for our Family Getaway Package during the month of July. This extra special deal includes one night’s gracious accommodations for up to four, two tickets to the nearby Children’s Museum or the new Animal Discovery Park at the Nature Science Center, transportation to the museum or park, milk and cookies for the kids, the O.Henry Cheese Trio for the parents, and a hot buffet breakfast, all for $199. Extra tickets are available. Please call reservations for details at 336-854-2000.
Celebrate July 4th in style with our special Fireworks Package on July 1-8. This package includes one night’s gracious accommodations, a $30 voucher for Green Valley Grill or Lucky 32 and a bottle of champagne or wine in your room. Plus, if you stay with us on July 4th, you can get a guestroom with a view of the big fireworks show (only a dozen of these rooms are available and we will do the anti-rain dance). On the other nights, we’ll leave the “fireworks” up to you! All of that is only $159. Please call reservations at 336-854-2000.
For more summer sizzlers and to get our “Best Rate” for any day of the year, please go to ohenryhotel.com.
Friendly,Competent Folk
Bricks and mortar hold up the roofs, but our amazing team is our true foundation. Lately, you may think some of our leadership team is playing hide and seek. With the additions of a new hotel and restaurant, some members of our leadership team are doing the shuffle. You’ll recognize many of these folks, but you will be seeing some of them in new places. A few months back, Jim Slowin and Bart Ortiz came to us with the idea of them going to the “front line” as “operating partners,” virtually eliminating the middle management roles they have been playing. It made sense, so we changed the basic structure of our company. The key team will be in the restaurants every day as opposed to spending some of their time traveling between them.
Crusted Goat Lady Cheese Salad Turkey Recipe
- 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Herb – Fresh Thyme, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 ounces Goat Lady Dairy Chevre
- 2 ounces Fresh Salad Greens
- 1 c. kosher salt
- 1 oz. fresh rosemary
- ¼ c. black peppercorns
In a bowl combine breadcrumbs, thyme and pepper. Drizzle goat cheese with extra virgin olive oil. Cover cheese in breadcrumb mixture and bake in a moderate oven until golden brown. Serve on a bed of seasonal greens with a vinaigrette of your choice (go to lucky32.com for recipes).
©This recipe is property of Quaintance-Weaver, Inc. Unauthorized commercial use is forbidden.
Menus, Reservations and Email Updates
Reservations & Call Ahead Seating
We reserve a limited number of tables so that everyone can be accommodated in a reasonable amount of time. Just give us a call and make a lunch or dinner reservation. You can also make online reservations for Green Valley Grill at greenvalleygrill.com. When you don’t have a reservation, and you are concerned about waiting, we offer a “Call Ahead” service. Just call us, and we’ll add your name to our waiting list (if we have one) so that any waiting will be kept to a minimum.
Pre-Ordering
With larger parties we offer pre-ordering to expedite service so you have more time to enjoy your visit. Let us know when you make a reservation if you would like to pre-order. Just fax us your orders by 10:30 a.m. at lunch and 4:00 p.m. at dinner, and we’ll have your meals served within minutes of arriving. Call the restaurant (or go to the Hours/Reservations section of lucky32.com or greenvalleygrill.com) for a pre-order form.
Get Lucky & Go
You call, we cook, and then we bring your order right to your car. Let us cook for your picnic, in office lunch, or a dinner at home with the family with the “Family Dinner” options. Don’t forget our “One Stop Wines” that are priced low. For complete Get Lucky & Go menus visit lucky32.com or just give us a call.
Menus
Every so often, the menus at Lucky 32 and Green Valley Grill change to take advantage of seasonal foods. Please visit lucky32.com and greenvalleygrill.com for the current menus.
Email Updates
To receive the latest news between newsletters, sign up with our luck-E-news at lucky32.com (and get some $10 Gift Vouchers in the mail) or our online guest books at ohenryhotel.com, proximityhotel.com or greenvalleygrill.com
LUCKY 32 SOUTHERN KITCHEN
Greensboro (On Westover Terrace, just off Wendover) 336-370-0707
Cary (On Tryon Road, between US-64 and Kildaire Farm) 919-233-1632
lucky32.com • facebook.com/lucky32greensboro • facebook.com/lucky32cary
O.HENRY HOTEL
Greensboro (Off Wendover at Benjamin Parkway, near Friendly Center)
336-854-2000 or 800-965-8259
ohenryhotel.com • facebook.com/ohenryhotel • facebook.com/ohenryweddings
GREEN VALLEY GRILL
Greensboro (Adjacent to the O.Henry Hotel) 336-854-2015
greenvalleygrill.com • facebook.com/greenvalleygrill
PROXIMITY HOTEL
Greensboro (Off Wendover at Benjamin Parkway)
336-379-8200 or 800-379-8200
proximityhotel.com • facebook.com/proximityhotel • facebook.com/greensborowedding
PRINT WORKS BISTRO
Greensboro (Adjacent to the Proximity Hotel) 336-379-0699
printworksbistro.com • facebook.com/printworksbistro
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