Caroline Eubanks

Cheryl Day, cookbook author and owner of Back in the Day Bakery, shows off one of her cake creations. Photo by Angie Mosier.
In the 50s, a group of outspoken women fought to protect Savannah, Georgia from suburbanization. Travel writer Caroline Eubanks proves that today, Savannah’s women entrepreneurs are keeping that independent spirit alive.
Savannah, Georgia is known as the Hostess City for its southern hospitality, but it’s the women of this coastal locale that made it what it is today. W...

In 1939, Sylvia Gray and her husband Joe opened a furniture store in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The three-story space had previously housed a boarding house, a grocery store, and a meeting space for the Odd Fellows. The Grays stocked their store with “seconds,” usually extra furniture from manufacturing hubs in High Point and Thomasville. In the years following World War II, they added army surplus, including tents and canteens, to their offerings.
The couple lived in the building w...

A capital city getaway to Tallahassee.
Before making the 4.5-hour drive from my home in Atlanta through the small towns of south Georgia, I had little to no knowledge of Tallahassee. The city’s reputation as the home of Florida State University preceded it, so I went into my trip with an open mind, curious to see what a person who graduated many years ago could enjoy in a college town.
I drove into town on an oak-lined street straight out of a postcard before making my way into the city cente...

Our guides directed our canoe into the muddy waters of the Mississippi River, steering clear of the massive ships carrying containers south to the Gulf of Mexico. It felt as if there were skyscrapers towering over us, and we had to navigate carefully to avoid becoming the nautical version of roadkill. Thankfully, we were in the hands of a dyed-in-the-wool river expert, and he got us safely to a sandbar across the way.
I was on an afternoon excursion with Quapaw Canoe Company, an outfitter in ...

My grandmother, who we call Meme, is no stranger to travel—she visited all seven continents with my late grandfather, bringing back souvenir gifts from Australia, Egypt, and beyond and inspired my own travels. For her milestone 85th birthday this year, my cousins and I asked what she wanted to do to mark the occasion. I couldn’t have been more surprised with her response: "Disney World."
Our family trip to Disney World, her first time back in at least a decade, was planned for March. My grand...

For more than seven decades, the Mill Mountain Star—the largest man-made illuminated star in the world—has served as a beacon (and a popular photo op) in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Roanoke, Virginia. But many admirers may not realize how the landmark originated.
In 1949, the Roanoke Merchants Association and Chamber of Commerce were looking for a way to mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season. They enlisted the help of local companies, and the Roy C. Kinsey Sign Company stepped up,...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park stretches over 500,000 acres across Tennessee and North Carolina, and is known for its wildlife and historic homesteads. It’s the most visited national park in the country (yes, beating Yellowstone), with 12 million visitors in the last year alone.
With six park entrances to choose from, it’s important to base yourself near the sites you most want to see. Each gateway town has its own personality, but most don't get as much press as well-known Gatlinburg. H...

Brian Sammons used to track Osama bin Laden. Now, he makes award-winning craft spirits in Wisconsin.
“My role was to keep the target country from catching us spying on them, and to protect our intelligence collection operations against that country.”
That’s not the normal biography of a small-batch distiller. But Brian Sammons has found some common ground in his past work in counterterrorism and his current role overseeing Twisted Path Distillery, which opened in Milwaukee in 2014 in a conver...

By Caroline Eubanks
Columbus, Ohio is the state’s capital and a large college town home to the Ohio State University. But the Midwestern gem also has an incredible culinary scene that ranges from international eateries to award-winning distilleries and restaurants dating back over a century. Visitors can’t miss these spots.
The Original Food Hall
Long before food halls became a trend all over America, the North Market was a staple for life in Columbus. It first opened in 1876 and has gone on ...

For the past few decades, Savannah, Georgia’s riverfront, which runs alongside the namesake body of water, was home to praline shops, souvenirs and bars selling neon frozen drinks to go. But hotelier Richard Kessler, who got his start in the Peach State, changed all of that with a project that took over five years to complete, culminating with the 2021 opening of the JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District. It’s the first of the JW Marriott brand in the city and only the second in the s...

The city of Spartanburg, South Carolina came to prominence through the textile mills and railroad that used its location as an important hub. Located in the northwestern part of the state, it grew as additional employees were needed, which led to an increase in restaurants.
Despite the economic changes over the years, especially during the pandemic, many of these places from this heyday still exist and are quite literally diners, drive-ins and dives.
Beacon Drive-In
First opened on Thanksgivi...

Opened in 1948 in Asheville, North Carolina’s Southside neighborhood, Rabbit’s Motel was an essential respite during the segregated Green Book era. The Green Book guide, first published in 1936, provided Black travelers with listings of hotels, restaurants, and businesses that would be welcoming to them. Owner Fred “Rabbit” Simpson’s tourist court played host to a who’s who of Black travelers. But he also served his neighbors in the Southside neighborhood.
Fifty Years of Serving the Black Com...

A classic cocktail spins in its grave at a Durham distillery
Since launching in 2014, Durham Distillery, in the North Carolina Triangle, has garnered accolades and awards for its lineup of spirits, including the popular Conniption Gin. So, owners Melissa and Lee Katrincic decided to expand the business: They would open their first bar to highlight the products. Once they acquired a space, though, the building’s spooky past came to light.
“We began hearing what we thought was an urban legend—t...