Aman Boyd, loves NoDa's vibe, but soon after he opened the neighborhood's corner pizza joint with his wife, Dena Bashiti, he realized the industry's way of preparing pizza didn't jive with the way they wanted to do things. Disappointed to find that many restaurants used pre-made, frozen ingredients, they began seeking local farmers and merchants who could help him realize his fresh food goals for Revolution Pizza and Ale House. But he doesn't stop with the groceries; he's also interested in providing the Queen City with a variety of local — meaning made in North Carolina — brews.

Creative Loafing: When you say you use fresh, local food — what do you mean exactly?

Aman Boyd: We buy as much produce as we can from local farmers, like Grateful Growers; we have our flour milled locally; we shop at farmers markets; we even asked Chef Harry Peemoeller, of Charlotte's Johnson and Wales, to create our pizza dough recipe; not only that, we make our own mozzarella, gelato and salad dressing. It's all part of the revolution; we don't want to buy pre-made, pre-shredded, frozen foods because we don't really know what's in it. I can honestly tell any of my customers that I know what is in the food on their plates and I know how it was made, and by whom. I even know where most of the ingredients came from. That bit of effort makes the quality of the food stand out. Plus, if I need supplies, I just get in my truck and go get them.

What is your favorite local brew?

It's a moving target. Right now, I'd have to say Allagash White. It's a Belgium-style wheat beer in the same style as Blue Moon. The beer being made in North Carolina can rival beer made anywhere else, and we want to feature that. It's also one of the best parts of the job, tasting the new drafts. I'm really looking forward to tasting Olde Meck Brewery's beer.

Tell me about Revolution Pizza's logo.

That's Demeter, the Greek goddess of the bountiful harvest. She represents all of the great things that come out of the ground that we harvest and take advantage of. Demeter taught humans how to grow, prepare, preserve and use grain, so she represents Dena and my take on pizza and our determination to make everything in-house.

Revolution is located at 3228 N. Davidson St. Contact them at 704-333-4440

(photo by Logan Canale)

Nestled inside the Uptown Charlotte Plaza, Cloud 9 Confections is a welcoming, minority-owned bakery with desserts that will have you visiting several times a day. Cloud 9 Confections specializes in cakes and custom orders made from scratch. Not to mention the owners, Roland and Erica Baez-Horton, being a joy to be around. You will walk out with not only great desserts, but great friends as well.

Creative Loafing: Tell us some things about yourself?

Erica Baez-Horton: I love cake, can’t you tell! I was originally born in Puerto Rico, and then moved here to Morgantown, N.C., when I was 7 years old. So I have been in North Carolina most of my lifetime. I went to UNC-Charlotte, and then I fell in love and moved to Virginia with my honey.

Roland Horton: We have two kids. I love sports; I coach an AAU basketball team. Basketball is my first love. I am originally from Morgantown, N.C. And I have an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice. Then I met my lovely wife in 1992.

I saw on the web site that you all do eggless and vegan cakes; tell me more about that?

Erica: That came pretty much from one of my supervisors from Wachovia; she told me that I should really explore the vegan and the eggless world — she’s from the Indian community. So I decided to do the Festival of India with her, and I couldn’t believe the response I got from them. It was very welcoming, and it was almost like, “wow, finally we have a professional cake decorator who understands our religious beliefs in addition to our dietary needs.” We have extended our products to gluten-free, vegan and eggless. We are very detailed-oriented whenever we take orders to ensure we do the proper preparation for them.

Roland: We also cater to the diabetic community as well, seeing as how I’m diabetic.

Do you have a personal favorite cake?

Roland: My favorite cake, we have not baked here, but my grandmother used to make a caramel cake that was out of this world. That would be my personal favorite.

Erica: For me, being from the Caribbean we love anything with rum in it. I love Dominican cake, Pineapple Rum cake and a fresh pound cake.

Cloud 9 Confections is located at 201 S. College St., Suite 270 (inside Charlotte Plaza bldg). You can reach them at 704-334-7554 or visit their Web site.

Jason Surface is the manager of the family-owned business Hillbilly Produce Market. Hillbilly is tucked away inside an enormous garage located on East Independence Boulevard. But this isn’t your average market, and Surface has expanded the merchandise from more than just produce.

Creative Loafing: What’s the history behind this place?

Jason Surface: My father, Marshall Surface, opened Hillbilly back in 1984. 25 years. He originally had produce markets in West Virginia, but moved because the economy wasn’t doing so great. I worked here through high school. I was always around it.

Tell us about the items you sell here at Hillbilly.

We do sell more than just produce. We’ve got an entire gardening section, a large selection of beverages, candy and even some furniture pieces. Dog houses are outside. There are trees at Christmas time, and plants in the spring.

How do you compete with the chain supermarkets?

First of all, we are a lot cheaper. Much cheaper. And we buy locally whenever it’s available. We’ve been getting watermelons from the same place for years; we go straight to the farm to pick them up. Our customers know us, and we get to know them.

After 22 years at Athens Restaurant, the beloved Uptown diner that closed in 2006, former co-owner Serafim “Sam” Housiadas and his wife Maria found a new culinary home at the Shuffletown Drive-in near Mountain Island Lake in northwest Charlotte. Both Greek immigrants, they learned to love food by spending time with their family in the kitchen.

Creative Loafing: What do you like to eat?

Maria: We love to cook. Sam does the cooking here, but I cook at home. As much as we love the food here, I try to cook a little bit healthier at home: more vegetables, leaner meats. In the summer, we have a small garden.

What brought you to Charlotte?

Sam: I grew up in a small town exactly 292 km from Athens, Greece. The first time I came here was Nov. 2, 1975. I didn't speak English, but language was never a barrier; everyone was very kind. I moved to New York, met and married Maria and we returned with our daughter on March 27, 1982.

Maria: My family emigrated from Greece when I was about 6 years old. My father owned Hastings Center Restaurant in Hastings on Hudson, NY.

Do your children also work in the food industry?

Sam: They have all worked in the restaurants and our youngest, Kosta, 24, still does.

Maria: My father moved to this country with only a fifth-grade education. He was successful, but he worked really hard. It was his wish that all of his children be educated. Two of our children, Joanna, 27, and Athan, 25, are out of college and have their own jobs. Kosta graduates in the spring. Their plan is to stay in their own field, but they know this is always here if they need a fallback. We'd love to keep the restaurant in the family, but we'll see what happens.

When Holly McLelland, owner of DELECTABLES by holly, founded the company in 1995 she sought out to provide her clients with “serious service.” She, like many caterers, had a passion for food. A passion so raging that now 14 years later, she’s still serving the Charlotte area with food that will “engage all your senses.”

Holly McLelland: I always loved to cook. I know that’s cliché, but I always loved to cook. And I always knew that I wanted to work for myself. And I like to be creative. Those three things together, it just kind of evolved that I would get into catering. Yeah, I just always wanted to do it.

What is your favorite event to cater? Can you share an experience with such an event?

I like doing it all, to be honest with you. But I think the most rewarding and challenging are major events where it calls for a lot of creativity and ingenuity.

For two years running we’ve worked with MDA of Charlotte. And it was a big Black and Blue Gala fundraiser. The cause is very near and dear to my heart, because my father passed away with ALS about five years ago. And it was an event sponsored to raise funds for ALS, but it was sponsored by Harley-Davidson. And their concept is that you can come to the party in blue jeans and tuxedo. It is kind of a merging of black tie and Harley-Davidson. So my food stations had to be representative of those two polar opposites; so we did pigs in a bandana with tools in its mouth. And blue denim and toolboxes on one station; and black tie and silver and cut glass on another. And all in the same event, just trying to marry it all together. So that was probably one of my favorite events.

What makes your catering company distinctive?

Well, we have lots mantras, lots of beliefs around here. I think the first thing that makes DELECTABLES by holly unique is the team that works here. I really do feel like I’m blessed to have the most incredible people around me that I could possibly have. Also, we believe all your senses need to be engaged on every event. We believe that needs to happen in the first 10 seconds. So we talk about that, how are we going to create that “big wow” first impression? Furthermore, we prepare everything that we prepare from scratch. We do not open boxes, and lay pre-made orders out on the tray and put them in the oven. And lastly, we are definitely a relationship-oriented firm, we value our relationships and we work hard on our relationships.

(photo by Logan Canale)

Not only is Charles Jenkin a producer for WBT’s Charlotte Morning News segment, he hosts his own radio show, This Show is Cookin’. In addition to talking about food, he writes about it for local publications like Charlotte Living, Charlotte Weekly, Union County Weekly and the Mint Hill Matthews Weekly. Jenkins also makes time to MC dinners and wine soirees for charitable causes like the HeartBright Foundation.

Creative Loafing: Tell us about how you began your culinary career.

Charles Jenkin: I missed days of high school to cook at a local burger and ice cream shop where I was a bus boy. After college, I worked in many different restaurants. I had my own in Rhode Island, I’ve worked at the Fountainebleu in Miami, and I have also worked in New Orleans — which is where I met my wife.

How was the transition from restaurant to radio?

I had worked in the restaurant business for 15 years, but then I switched careers and worked at what had originally been American Express Financial Services. After I was laid off, I went back to school at Carolina School of Broadcast to study something I thought I would really enjoy. Not that I had ever done it, but I had been a theater major at Temple University. I decided to make that leap. While I attended Carolina School of Broadcast I did an internship here at WBT and have been here ever since.

What do you enjoy most about your radio show?

It’s fun to talk to chefs and restaurant owners and share their stories with our listeners. We’ve had on authors of cookbooks and we’ve done giveaways to restaurants. I never talk badly about a place on the show, though. It is all very positive. I also have an opportunity to promote different food venue charity events.  I’ve really had a great response.

This Show is Cookin’ airs Sundays from 12-1 p.m

(photo by Logan Canale)