Kyle McCloud initially wanted to open his business in Columbia County. But when his request was denied, McCloud turned to Lincoln County, which helped him find a building and wrote a law that would allow his type of business to open there. McCloud owns Back Paddle Brewing, a nanobrewery located at 3472 Bethany Church Road in Lincolnton. Back Paddle is referred to as a nanobrewery because it only brews 31 gallons of beer, the equivalent of two kegs, at a time. It’s smaller than a microbrewery, but he said the

Making baklava is a time-consuming process that involves buttering 60 layers of filo dough, but Thalia O’Gorman loves baking the Greek dessert. O’Gorman owns Thalia’s Baklava, which recently began leasing space in OPP Kitchen located at 359 Furys Ferry Road in Martinez. She sells seven flavors of the dessert, including traditional, chocolate, blueberry, and espresso. “It’s like apple pie; everybody who makes it has their own version of it,” said O’Gorman, a native of Connecticut. “And we all swear ours is the best.” She grew up in a Greek family

Restaurateur, Renee Hajek (above in green, hugging supporters) will have some more time to serve beer and wine at Stay. Social, Tap & Table. That’s because Chief Superior Court Judge Jim Blanchard, Jr. will be busy reviewing hundreds of pages of letters, evidence, petitions, and a nearly one-hour video of the Oct. 4 commission meeting in which Columbia County Commissioners revoked Stay’s license. Yesterday morning, Blanchard presided over a court hearing to determine whether Stay’s alcohol license will remain in effect. On Oct. 13, Blanchard overturned the County’s decision and