Greetings from
Best Town of Elon Event
The Farmer's Market
Sarah T. Moore | Managing Editor of Best Of
The farmer’s market is a community staple in Elon, bringing people together to support local agriculture, businesses and community members. With live music and a variety of vendors selling produce, meat and dairy products, flowers and more, the Elon Farmer’s Market takes over the Elon Community Church parking lot on Thursdays from late-April to early-November.
The town of Elon Farmer’s Market Manager Sarah Bass said that she wanted the market to continue bringing the Elon and broader Alamance county communities together after the town took over the market’s operations in January.
“It definitely brings a sense of community. These farmers are all from Alamance County or maybe just a little bit farther,” Bass said. “It really allows people to connect with local agriculture.”
In addition to local residents, the farmer’s market is frequented by students, staff and faculty at Elon.
“I just like seeing people interacting with the community,” Bass said. “Whether it’s Elon students, it’s young families or it’s the older folks in our community, everyone comes out here and everyone’s happy.”
Oak House Assistant Manager Roberto Jimenez refills The Oak House front counter with treats Dec. 5. Photo by Ryan Kupperman.
Oak House Assistant Manager Roberto Jimenez refills The Oak House front counter with treats Dec. 5. Photo by Ryan Kupperman.
Photo by Erin Martin.
Photo by Erin Martin.
Photo by Avery Sloan.
Photo by Avery Sloan.
Greetings from
Best Downtown Elon Business
The Oak House
Ryan Kupperman | Managing Editor of elonnewsnetwork.com
Oak House Assistant Manager Roberto Jimenez refills The Oak House front counter with treats Dec. 5. Photo by Ryan Kupperman.
For Roberto Jimenez, one of two assistant managers at The Oak House in downtown Elon, the best part of the job is being able to serve drinks to the Elon community.
The Oak House is half coffee shop, half bar and was voted 2024’s best downtown Elon business by the Elon University community.
Jimenez, who has worked at Oak House for roughly 2.5 years, said he enjoys getting to know people by their drink order and loves bartending when the shop gets busy.
“I know about half the people that come in, at least their drinks — if not by name. I want to say a lot of people know me by name,” Jimenez said. “Everyone seems pretty happy with what they get.”
Jimenez said it was nice to know that the community feels so positively about the business, as they have been putting more effort into attracting the community by hosting events such as open mic nights, live music and beer and wine tastings.
For people who have never been, Jimenez recommended they check out The Oak House on Friday nights to listen to some live music.
“I don't want to say everyone knows me — not everyone does —, but of the people who do, it feels rewarding that they know me,” Jimenez said.
Greetings from
Best Downtown Gibsonville Business
Ines Bakery
Lilly Molina | News Editor
Photo by Erin Martin.
Ines Bakery is a small, Argentinian business located in the heart of downtown Gibsonville, and it also holds a special place in Leah Schwarz’s heart.
A senior at Elon, Schwarz said not only is Ines a bakery, it is also a food stop. Schwarz, who is a regular customer, said that it is not a sit-down restaurant and there are no tables. Instead the bakery is more of a grab-and-go. People can either order there or call in.
“It is a smaller stop downtown,” Schwarz said, “You have to purposefully go there. It is so quaint.”
Schwarz said that she loves the spicy beef empanadas and macaron-style cookies. Coming to Elon, Schwarz said she thought she wouldn’t find such a cool little spot with tasteful food from a diverse background. She said it’s nice knowing that there is one not even ten minutes away from campus.
“It is cool too because it is authentic,” Schwarz said. “I feel like it’s hard to get that kind of stuff in the area.”
Schwarz said that as someone who does not identify as Latinx or Hispanic, sometimes these spaces can be intimidating to enter because she doesn’t want to feel like she is inserting herself. However, she said that she likes how welcoming and well-run the business is for anyone in the Elon community.
Greetings from
Best Downtown Burlington Business
Blend & Co
Madison Powers | Elon News Network
Photo by Avery Sloan.
The Blend & Co., located at 127 E. Front St. in Burlington, has won best downtown Burlington business.
The Blend & Co. is a coffee shop in downtown Burlington open daily that offers specialty drinks and light food, according to their menu.
Tessa Gladwell, an Elon University senior and barista at The Blend & Co. for almost three years, said she and her coworkers are excited about the win.
“It's very rewarding because we obviously all work super hard and take great pride in making good coffee,” Gladwell said. “We all really care about each customer that we serve and making sure that they get something that they enjoy and to have our hard work appreciated in that way is really rewarding.”
Gladwell said there is a sense of community and familial energy at The Blend & Co that has been built by the longevity of workers.
“It has been amazing just getting to know everyone here,” Gladwell said. “A lot of the people who work here now have been here for at least a year.”
Gladwell said the coffee shop serves as a gathering space for the Burlington community. She said patrons have commented on how The Blend has changed since 2014.
“There are still people who will come and say, ‘I've missed it so much,’ but with COVID they're coming back and just noting how much things have grown,” Glad well said. “A lot of friends who haven't seen each other in forever will come and catch up and you get to watch those kinds of reunions. And I think it just really acts as a space for community in Burlington.”
Greetings from
Best Place to Volunteer
Burlington Animal Services
Sarah T. Moore | Managing Editor of Best Of
Sophomore Lucy Burdette began volunteering with Burlington Animal Services her freshman year and said she goes almost every other week to work with the animals. According to their website, Burlington Animal Services had over 340 active volunteers in 2023.
One of the main tasks Burdette said she does when she is at the shelter is take the dogs out.
“All the dogs are so close together in their kennels, so we take them outside, let them run, play with them, give them love and scratches,” Burdette said.
Burdette said it’s one of her favorite tasks to do when she volunteers. She said she enjoys spending time with the dogs when she takes them out.
“They just have huge smiles on their faces and they just run around so freely,” Burdette said. “You can tell that they really enjoy it.”
Due to the shelter size, Burdette said animal services has a three person cap on volunteers per shift. Despite this, Burdette said she hopes that anyone who wants to spend time with dogs and cats should consider signing up.
“Most people don’t think about how impactful taking a dog outside could really be for them and for the shelter,” Burdette said.
Greetings from
Best Band
Thistle Ridge Band
Charlotte Pfabe | New Member Coordinator
Photo by Charlotte Pfabe.
Photo by Charlotte Pfabe.
In just over a year, Thistle Ridge captured the hearts and ears of many Elon students. Brought together through Elon’s music programs and open mics, the members of Thistle Ridge are finding success not just in the Elon community, but across the country.
According to Lucas McKeown, vocalist and guitarist, during this past fall, the band performed more than ever before, often performing three days a week or sometimes three venues a day.
While Thistle Ridge regularly performs at Oak House, they also play venues outside of Elon. In September, Thistle Ridge opened for a band named Easy Honey, and during this past summer, they played the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. The Bluebird Cafe is famous for being the venue where musicians are discovered including Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban.
During the summer of 2024, Thistle Ridge plans on traveling and performing in all of its members’ hometowns. The tour, appropriately called “Everybody’s Hometown Tour,” starts in Oxford, Mississippi and makes its way up to Boston, Massachusetts, stopping at different venues along the coast.
However, the band doesn’t attribute their success to only their musical talent. According to Julian Brown, who plays bass guitar, their success stems from enjoying performing as a group, and that the crowd picks up on them having fun.
“We have a lot of fun, we laugh with each other, we sometimes make up things on the spot,” bassist Julian Brown said. “Being on stage and seeing everyone have a good time, that’s priceless”
Greetings from
Best Bookstore
Persnickety Books
Max Wallace | Elon News Network
Persnickety Books was this year’s “Best Of” winner for the category best book store for the Elon community. Located on South Main Street in downtown Burlington, Persnickety offers three floors of books for customers to enjoy. Ian Baltutis, a 2008 Elon alumnus and co-owner of Persnickety, said it is exciting to see his store get recognized.
“It’s an exciting validation of the hard work we’ve been putting in to try to keep an amazing bookstore alive in our community,” Baltutis said.
As an Elon alumnus, Baltutis recalled the lack of community there was in downtown Burlington when he was a student. He said the connection with the college community is important to him, and has also helped the growth of the business.
“There’s challenges with the transient nature of college students,” Baltutis said. “But also with that comes an amazing creativity of folks who are coming into our community with their own expectations of what a bookstore, or downtown should look like.”
Baltutis said there is nothing more refreshing than visiting a bookstore, no matter if someone is an advent reader or not.
“Bookstores have this incredible place in people’s hearts,” Baltutis said. “They just have this nostalgia and feel that people love to embrace and be in.”
Baltutis said his favorite part of owning Persnickety is seeing the customers reactions as they venture throughout the store.
“I love when they share that perspective with us,” Baltutis said. “Persnickety truly is this conglomeration of many visions of what an amazing bookstore could be.”
Greetings from
Best Park
Beth Schmidt Park
Avery Sloan | Managing Editor of The Pendulum
Beth Schmidt Park, the winner of the “Best Of” parks category, is less than a 10-minute drive from campus. Jennifer Kamenides, town of Elon recreation and parks coordinator, said students come to the park for the variety of activities available.
Apart from the playground which is visible from the street, Beth Schmidt Park contains a one mile trail, a disc golf course, picnic areas and a fenced in dog park. Kamenides said the park also hosts a number of events throughout the year, including summer movie nights and holiday celebrations. One of the main events Kamenides hopes to have more students involved in is Beth Schmidt’s Arbor Day event.
Kamenides said the Arbor Day event has been going on since 2019 and includes about 15 educational exhibits. In previous years the event has taken place during spring break, but this year she hopes more Elon students can attend.
“We try to work with environmental studies group with that,” Kamenides said. “So this year our hope is to have them get involved as well and have someone from Loy farm come and set up an educational exhibit.”
In the spring, Beth Schmidt Park also hosts a bunny hop event for Elon families. Kamenides said last year Elon staff members helped run the event, even though it was mainly geared toward younger kids and their families.
“President Book actually and her staff were here for our bunny hop event last year,” Kamenides said. “They give out books to the children and are planning to attend again this year and assist with some of the activities that we did.”
Greetings from
Best Hair Salon
102 | North
Naomi Washington | Elon News Network
Photo by Erin Martin.
The Elon campus voted 102 North Boutique Salon for “Best Hair Salon” in the community.
The salon is located in Downtown Elon, and it opened in 2021 after the space was renovated during the pandemic. Owner Shelley Miller said her passion for doing hair and this town inspired her to start the business.
“I fell in love with this community and the University,” Miller said. “When a building became available across from campus, it was the ideal location for us to renovate a beautiful space and to do what I love locally.”
The team of three stylists is small but mighty. While they all do hair in the same salon, each of them has their own clientele and booking schedule. Miller said what they have in common is their shared specialties in blonding and dimensional color.
“We want our clientele, both students and local clients, to love their hair and also their time at 102 North.” Miller said.
With two full years of doing business in Elon under their belts, Miller said she is excited to continue being a part of the community.
“We are so honored to be voted best salon in Elon and take a lot of pride in our work and in the experience our clients have when they are in here.”
Greetings from
Best Nail Salon
Magic Touch Nail Salon
Avery Sloan | Managing Editor of The Pendulum
Photo by Erin Martin.
According to Manager Kat Tran, Magic Touch Nail Salon stands out from other nail salons for its professionalism and friendliness. Tran said she’s worked there for two years as both a nail technician and manager.
“Everybody's very nice, very friendly,” Tran said. “I love the atmosphere over here. And the space here is very open.”
Magic Touch provides services including waxing, permanent makeup, hand and feet massages, manicures and pedicures. It has been in business for two and a half years and is located on South Church Street.
According to its owner, Magic Touch is 20% Elon students and describes their service as, “quality, quick and courtesy.” Tran shares this sentiment and said she is proud of the work that she does.
The salon is also next door to 1102 Bubble Tea and Coffee and is owned by the same person. According to Magic Touch’s website, customers can order drinks during their appointments.
“I think because of our professionalism and also outstanding work. We do stand for our work, and we take really good care for our customer service.”
Photo by Erin Martin.
Photo by Erin Martin.
Photo by Erin Martin.
Photo by Erin Martin.
Built with Shorthand