June 4, 2024 • 25 mins
Step into the world of refined craftsmanship and spirited adventure with our esteemed guest, Pete Barger of Southern Distilling Company. As we unravel Pete's journey, you'll be captivated by the tales of how his award-winning bourbons and ryes have earned high praise from the most discerning of palates, securing top honors in competitions that set the gold standard in the industry. Discover the commitment to quality that propelled this Statesville distillery from its strong local roots to a remarkable presence in 27 markets, all while staying true to a narrative that's as authentic as their spirits.
Shift gears with us as we trade stills for steering wheels in the Great Race, an automotive odyssey that harkens back to a simpler time. Classic cars, cryptic clues, and an unwavering sense of camaraderie define this cross-country challenge, where precision trumps speed and the open road becomes a testament to human ingenuity. Pete Barger returns to the driver's seat, sharing his personal narrative—from a lineage of entrepreneurs to the helm of a distillery that's as much about community as it is about bourbon. Embark on this episode as we weave a tapestry of local heritage, entrepreneurial tenacity, and the sheer joy of a journey well-traveled.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back Discover Statesville fans.
If you're ready to cruise intoJune, you're going to want to
tune in now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes
you on a captivating journeythrough the heart of one of
North Carolina's most charmingtowns.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
All right, welcome back to Discover Statesville.
Today, we are joined by PeteBarger, co-founder and CEO of
Southern Distilling Company.
Welcome, pete.
Thank you, glad to have youhere.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
So several months ago we had your partner Vienna on
and one of the things that wetalked about we were really
hyper-focused on SouthernDistilling, obviously, but one
of the things that we talkedabout was the significant rise
of Southern Distilling over theyears and all the accolades that
you guys have received in theshort time of the foundation of
your company.
But I understand that you havereceived more accolades recently
(00:46):
.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Yeah, there's several competitions that we
participate in and in ourindustry.
Competitions can kind of belike William Say soccer.
There's certain competitionsthat everybody gets a medal,
everybody gets everybody special, everybody's a winner, and we
choose not to participate inthose because we really, you
know, we want to.
(01:08):
We want to know how we're doingright.
Are we, are we doing it rightor are there opportunities for
improvement?
So you know, there are ahandful of really what we would
call more prestigiouscompetitions and those are the
ones that that we like toparticipate in, you know.
So you guys may remember, acouple of years ago we won the
New York World Wine and SpiritsCompetition best bourbon in the
(01:30):
world in 22.
I think, the only non-Kentuckybourbon to ever win that
accolade.
So that's kind of hard to top.
But you know, this year, yeah,we've got, I think, 13 medals
that we've accumulated so farFor the bourbon lovers out there
.
You guys probably know FredMinnick, and Fred Minnick is a
big critic based out ofLouisville, kentucky.
(01:51):
He's got a deal called theAscot Awards because he always
wears an Ascot right?
That guy's classy, yeah, he's avery classy guy, good guy, good
guy.
But we got two platinums andthree golds in his competition
this past I guess month actuallyand then one that's actually
kind of, really kind of.
(02:12):
I think more important is wewon some medals at the SIP
Awards and this is aconsumer-based award.
So instead of having thecritics and the industry
insiders, it's the consumers,it's the everyman, yeah, and
those are the guys that matter,because those are the guys that
buy our bottles right.
And so, super proud, we pickedup two double golds in that
(02:34):
competition for our rye.
So most people think about usfor our bourbons, but the ryes
we do a really good job on.
So the double rye product, andthen the Hunting Creek rye,
which is right now onlyavailable in North Carolina and
that's a heritage brand that wasreally.
We've re-released it.
It was produced here inStatesville up until 1903.
(02:55):
So 120 years later, we'vere-released it and that won a
double gold.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So yeah, that's amazing Congratulations.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Putting Statesville on the map is an understatement.
Of course, we see all of yoursocial media followers
constantly, like you said,critics, but even the consumers
who want to be influencers,constantly posting about all of
your great products.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
I mean, that's how little guys like us, kind of
David and Goliath.
That's how we win is throughthat consumer interface and that
whole social presence, andwe've got really good people who
are helping us with that rightnow.
But you've got to have a storyto tell.
And one of the cool things is Ithink a lot of folks know that
(03:46):
our main business is we do a lotof contract production for a
lot of other brands around theworld, you know, and the branded
side of the business isactually a pretty small part of
the business today.
Now, you know, we'd like it tobe the majority of the business,
but that's a long haul.
But the thing that's sorewarding is is that we get to
talk about these awards.
I don't get to talk about it,you know, with most of our
clients because we're under NDA.
(04:07):
Everything is super top secret,so it's always nice when you get
to brag a little bit about theawards.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, absolutely Well , congratulations.
We are certainly proud that youguys call States North Carolina
home.
Talking about SouthernDistilling, are you in almost
every state now?
No, your footprint's growingpretty fast, right.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And so there's a couple of things about this
industry Everybody believes whenthey start is that wide
distribution is what you want.
But wide distribution is reallyvery expensive and it's more
important to go deep than it isto go wide, you know.
And the other thing is is thatit's important to win at home,
and you know North Carolina ishome and we got to kill it.
(04:51):
North Carolina, you know that'sthe most important market.
You know.
That's why we've got thesponsorship with the Panthers
and Charlotte FC is because youknow North Carolina is home and
we got to win here, got to beseen here.
North Carolina's home and we'vegot to win here, got to be seen
here.
We're in 27 markets.
I would tell you that that wasprobably a mistake to go into 27
markets.
Quite honestly, we've pulledback and scaled back so that
(05:21):
we're really pushing on morelike 18 markets.
I think today, most on the EastCoast.
You know Vienna's fromCalifornia.
I'm from Statesville, you know.
So we have to have a presencein California.
But California is a very toughmarket to win in.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, well, I think, just being in that many states,
in the short amount of time thatyou guys have been open, it
seems like forever, but itreally is a short amount of time
11 years, you know, 11 yearssince we incorporated the
company.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
um, you know, if you go back 11 years ago, our
offices were right across thestreet.
You know, over here, um, Iguess that was the old spain
hours building, really, yeah,that's what vienna at least a
storefront office there, and youknow why we were doing all the
design and engineering.
That's kind of where we, wherewe were for two years, I, I
guess, and then, of course, oncethe construction was done on
(06:10):
the Jennings Road site, we ofcourse moved out there.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah, and it's an amazing facility Slow, smart
growth, yep.
So we wanted to talk to youabout your awards, because we
think that's amazing and we'reproud of you guys, but the main
reason we're here today is totalk about this very cool thing
that you're passionate about andthat you're doing, and it's the
Great Race, the 2024 Great Race, and for you, this is going to
(06:36):
be the second time that you'veparticipated in it, but we want
to talk through.
You guys are going to do acruise in to kind of celebrate
the race and kick it off, andwe're going to give some details
on that, but tell us about theGreat Race.
Why the Great Race for SouthernDistillery and for Pete?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
So it's a good thing that we have 20 minutes because
it's a bit of a story, right.
But I think it's an interestingstory, especially for people
who love cars, right.
So a lot of people are familiarwith the Great Race.
More people would be familiarwith, say, the Cannonball, right
, Because there's a movie aboutthe Cannonball.
But the Great Race and theCannonball are very similar.
(07:13):
It's just private, independentguys getting out and doing a
cross-country race.
Now the difference is is thathistorically, the Cannonball was
a race for speed.
The Great Race is not a racefor speed.
The great race is what we calla time trial, so it's a timed
event, and that's importantbecause we have cars as old as
1912, all the way up through1974.
(07:36):
So these are not speed demons.
The 1912 car I had to followlast year really great guys,
super good group of guys.
They're all attorneys and thenfor two weeks out of the year
they pack up in a 50-year-oldbus and go out with this 1912
American LaFrance and thencampaign it.
But that American LaFrancestarted out as a fire truck.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And then they converted it way, way back into
a quote-unquote indie racer.
But when it leaves it lookslike the Exxon Valdez has just
left the dock there.
I mean it's like oil everywhereand last year we had to follow
it and of course we're allcovered with oil.
And they wear jumpsuits.
They wear these bright yellowjumpsuits to protect them from
(08:19):
all of the flying debris.
I was like I need one, so wetraded out some whiskey, we got
our jumpsuits and they wereready to go now, but anyway.
So the great race, it's what Isay 4,000 miles, the hard way,
because it's a 10-day event,it's cross-country, we don't
(08:41):
know where we are going until 30minutes before our allocated
start time and we have to startin sequence.
They'll be roughly 300 milesper leg give or take each day.
No GPS, no maps, no phones, allsecondary roads, right.
(09:01):
But it's a little bit like anEaster egg hunt.
You get very, very crypticinstructions and then you've got
to hit checkpoints.
You don't know where they'regoing to be.
You know there's going to besix of them, but you don't know
where they're going to be andyou've got to hit them exactly
at the right time.
So you can't be a minute late,you can't be a minute.
(09:23):
I mean, you can be, but youlose points for that.
So you know, the ideal is tohit that checkpoint right on
time zero seconds early, zeroseconds late.
If you make it perfectly, it'scalled an ace.
An ace, you get an ace.
We got two aces last year whichwas a big deal for a couple of
rookies.
I navigated Trinity, our oldest, our son.
He drove, I was going to driveand he was going to navigate.
(09:47):
Until he looked at thenavigation, it was like 300
unique instructions and it'slike.
I won't even go into thecomplexity of it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He's like hell.
No, I'm not doing that I'lldrive.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
So you said they are pretty cryptic.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I mean it's like putting together a puzzle.
I mean you're having to sort offigure out clues for directions
, or it's super cryptic.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
So it's literally.
It's like you know go 27 milesan hour until you see the right
hand curve sign that has 20miles an hour slow down, not the
one that's 35 miles an hourslow down, and then make a right
hand turn.
And the way they calculate theperfect time is that they assume
that your car will go from zeroto whatever instantaneously.
(10:28):
It slows down instantaneously.
Cars don't do that right, soyou have to calculate well, how
fast does my car accelerate andbrake and come out of a turn?
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Wow, that's pretty intricate.
And then there's all.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I had no idea.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
I am sitting there with a calculator and a bunch of
tables and then barkinginstructions.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Last year I just assumed you were going on a nice
leisurely drive.
I would drive as well.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I'm going to tell you right now, when I signed up for
this thing, I thought man, thisis going to be so much fun.
It's going to be across-country tour.
I'm going to get to see lots ofnew places.
You don't see anything.
You see the calculator andyou're looking at the signs, and
Trinity bless his heart.
You've got to.
Well, if you want to win,you've got to have a calibrated
speedometer which is like thisbig.
(11:12):
And he's staring at thespeedometer and when he gets out
of the car, all he can see ishis blue remnant of the
speedometer.
It takes about two hours forthat to disappear from his
vision.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
And so how many teams are there?
Usually About 200.
Wow, okay.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah, man, we're actually sponsoring this year.
So we had such a great timelast year, we said, hey, why
don't we sponsor the event?
So it starts out in Owensboro,kentucky, and ends in Maine.
I'm not even sure you've gotthe map here.
Gardner, maine, so never beento Maine.
Get to see it.
Maine, so never been to.
Maine Get to see it.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So over eight days, June 22nd through June 30th.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
And it actually starts a couple of days earlier
for some pre-trial events.
Okay, it's kind of like speedcheck make sure everything works
the way it's supposed to work.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So Southern Distilling brand all over across
the states.
Again, guys, you guys put.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Statesport on the map On every car.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But to send you off right, yourteam came up with this great
idea to do a summer cruise-inand bring in other cars.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Yeah, we're going to have a big cruise-in at the
distillery June 13th, I think.
There's slots still available,slots still open.
You can go out to our website,I think, and find it there.
So June 13th, I think that's aThursday, from 5 to 9.
But bring whatever brings youjoy, I don't really care, I mean
.
So we're campaigning a 1967Bonneville Cars can't be newer
(12:37):
than 1974.
But we're agnostic, we justlove cars.
So bring whatever makes youhappy.
I'll be happy to see you there,but we're going to have food
trucks, craft cocktails, ofcourse, live music and a very,
very special single barrelrelease commemorating the great
race this year.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Only available on that date, right I?
Speaker 4 (12:56):
think only available that date at the distillery.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
yeah, Well, we will be there.
And last update I heard there'salready over 65 cars right
there.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
I think there's probably more than that yeah,
okay Are you going to bring acar.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
If I had one, I would .
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Do you have a car A?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
pre-74 car.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Can I bring a toy car ?
Hey, you don't.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
You do not have to bring a pre-74 car.
Oh, okay, Now if you want torace in a great race, you just
bring whatever puts a smile onyour face right.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yeah, no, we're going to be out there with a fun gift
from the Statesville Conventionand Visitors Bureau to help
send Pete off, that's awesome.
We are very excited about that.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Is it going to be some goofy sunglasses that I
have to wear while I'm out there?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
No, it's actually we worked with your team in the
tasting room and we were lookingat some different options for
gifts for when visitors come in.
And we were bringing a pintglass in and it turned out
they're called silly pints.
They're made out of silicone,bpa-free, go in the dishwasher,
microwave, but they're in thesame colors as your
(14:03):
commemorative, your recentrelease for the Charlotte
Football Club, and it's a rocksglass.
Oh cool, so it's a rocks glass.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
It'll be perfect for the great race that's right,
send everybody off in style.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So we're looking forward to it.
So we know that Pete Barger isa car enthusiast Yep enthusiast
but we'd love for our listeners,who may not know anything about
Southern Distilling or anythingabout you and your family, to
learn a little bit about you.
One of the things Richard and Ireally, really enjoy about
Discover Statesville is thethings that we get to learn
(14:38):
about the people that make upthe patchwork of this amazing
community that we live in.
So people who live here orpeople from afar who are
listening, tell us about PeteBarger.
I mean, you grew up here, yourfamily's from here.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
My family has been here for many generations.
So yeah, I grew up inStatesville.
So my great grandfather andthen predecessors they actually
were in Mount Ulla, but ifyou're from there I think it's
Mount Ulla but I say Ulla.
But anyway, the history is thatthey were in the lumber
(15:17):
business and they had PM Bargeractually it was Barger Brothers
at that point in time and thenbecame PM Barger Lumber Company
and I think it was my granddador great-grandfather was 60 or
65 years old.
He picked up, moved fromMooresville to Statesville and
opened up a new business.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
So you know, pretty big move for a 60-plus-year-old
guy.
Then my granddad went into thefamily business.
My dad went into the familybusiness.
I always thought I was going togo into the family business but
the family business didn't lastlong enough so we were in the
wholesale lumber business, soBargamelware Company, so right
off of Interstate 77.
(15:57):
I've got pictures of thebuilding as they were building
77 in kind of our familyarchives, but it used to be.
I guess they call it the fivepoints down on Front Street
where I guess it's Thornburghosiery is today.
They used to be there that wasthe original Berger Millwork
company.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Okay, but a family of entrepreneurs my granddad was.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
It was a lumber broker, my great-grandfather,
and so he brought the first railcarloads of redwood into this
part of the country and so hewould go out to the West Coast.
He would buy fur, redwoodthings that you couldn't get on
the East Coast and then bring itback by rail and that's how we
(16:42):
started the company.
From there it went into otherwholesale millwork things and
unfortunately wholesale millworkis not a thing anymore and you
know that business kind ofdisappeared with the Lowe's home
improvement model.
Sure sure, but we always hadthat really strong
entrepreneurial I did, you know,because I grew up in that
family business always somethingI wanted to do.
(17:02):
Dad always said go work forsomebody else, first learn how
to build a business, then go doit.
And that was great advice.
So, you know, we finally gotthe opportunity to do that.
You know when was that?
2012.
Yeah, 2012.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Seems like yesterday.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
But yeah, I grew up at Glendale Drive, Tip Nicholson
everybody knows Tip.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Nicholson right.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
So dad sold the house to Tip, however, many years ago
.
If you go to Tip's house andyou look in the driveway,
there's a beautiful maple treeon the right.
I planted that tip.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Their house is your family house.
I didn't know that.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Yeah, absolutely Very cool, that's very cool.
Went to DMAT Thompson when thatwas a thing we called it
doormat and then joke wood right.
My parents went to D-Mat.
Yeah, and that's back in theday when we all rode our bikes
to school, right?
I went to Oakwood the other day, where our youngest is right
now and one poor child on a bike, and I remember back in the day
(18:03):
, man, there was like bike racks, hundreds of bikes, right it
would be nice if we could getback to that.
Oh gosh yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I miss that Mike doesn't ride his bike, but he
walks to school and back everyday.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah, I see him, I see him.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
I see him walking down the street sometimes he has
a bike, he just chooses to walk.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's nice to be close for people like that.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
So yeah, I'm statesville born and bred.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Very cool.
Let's talk a minute becauseIdle County is so rich in
agriculture.
When Vienna was here, you guyshad just won this amazing award
from the state of North Carolinafor your participation in
agriculture, which I thought wasa very high accolade.
It was unexpected, right.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Totally shocker to us .
We had no idea that we wereconsidered and certainly didn't
think that we were deserving towin, but we're very appreciative
that we were deserving to win,but we're very appreciative.
So, yeah, a lot of people don'tunderstand that the bourbon
business, the liquor business ingeneral it's an
agriculturally-based business.
I mean so you know, every day,just our little company, we go
(19:02):
through about 60,000 pounds ofgrain every day, and we're
running 360 days a year, sothat's a lot of grain, and we're
very proud that the vastmajority of that grain is
produced, really, in Iredell andsurrounding counties.
It all comes from withinbasically a 15, 20 mile radius,
so we've got great farmingfamilies that we partner with.
(19:26):
The really cool thing aboutthat, though, is that we're
taking what would be kind of araw ingredient and we're making
a value-added product that'sagriculturally based.
Even the waste material isreused.
We send that out.
That gets fed, primarily, todairy cattle, so it's a full
(19:47):
agricultural circle, and we'vegot a fantastic commissioner of
agriculture, commissionerTroxler, very, very
forward-thinking guy, big fan ofnot just our company but the
industry for North Carolina ingeneral, and the thing that we
appreciate about him so much ishe's always thinking okay, how
(20:08):
can we keep North Carolina aheadof the curve, right?
So value-added ag is a hugepart of that.
The other part of that isexports.
And so, as we look at bourbonin particular, it's an
American-produced product, hasto be produced in America, but
historically it's always beenenjoyed in America.
The real opportunity is lookingat export.
(20:28):
Let's move that great Americanproduct to the other parts of
the world.
And so, with the support of theDepartment of Ag, we were able
to do kind of a mission tripinto Europe last year, pretty
successful, both for the brandedside of the business as well as
our contract side of thebusiness.
(20:48):
Through the branded side of thebusiness as well as our
contract side of the business,and you know they appreciated
what we were doing, and we wereagain awarded Exporter of the
Year from the North CarolinaDepartment of Ag.
Very cool Again, not somethingthat we expected, but pretty
nice.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, that's very exciting.
So, on top of your passion forcars and racing and being an
entrepreneur in the bourbonbusiness, pete is also on the
board of directors for theStatesville Convention and
Visitors Bureau, so has apassion for tourism and his
business in general.
As, being a local growing uphere, I have a passion for
(21:23):
celebrating Statesville.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
There you go, I mean, yeah, exactly, and you know we
could just stay out on JenningsRoad and just mind our business.
But you know, this is, this ismy hometown and I'm proud of it
and I want other people toexperience it and be proud of
that when they when they leavehere.
And so I'm very honored to workwith Cindy Sutton on that cause
(21:47):
.
Without Cindy Sutton folks, itwouldn't be the same.
I'm going to tell you, thiswoman works.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
She does yeoman's work out there?
I was going to say it's peoplewith passion like yours that
keeps me ticked.
Keeps me ticked yeah, but thispodcast is made possible by the
Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau.
Also, discover Statesville ismade possible by the support of
the Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau and we're very
grateful for that.
We're grateful for your passionand your time that you give
(22:14):
Absolutely you give back totourism.
So people Southern Distillingright here, locally in
Statesville.
If you're local and you haven'tbeen, they have a tasting room
open seven days a week in sevendays a week.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
We have a tasting room open seven days a week and
we have a very exciting paletteof new special releases that
will only be available in thetasting room there.
So very special things thatI've picked, that Vienna's
picked, that we're doing specialfinishes on.
So come and visit, it's a greattime.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yeah, you're in the bar there.
Your mixologists do an amazingjob.
I'm a bourbon drinker so Ienjoy when they come up with new
drinks and they have theirevents Food trucks out there on
Saturdays.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Yeah, pretty often yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
On Saturdays, if you're traveling through, am I
going to say this right, Stopand sip for a while.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Stop and sip for a while.
That's what the billboard says.
But even if you're, not.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I think that the tour in general and everything I
mean it's fascinating.
Yeah, even if you're not abourbon person, just to learn
about the business and how youguys operate and everything For
the whole family educationalprocess.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
And that's one thing.
A lot of people oh, I can'ttake my kids to this.
It is a family environment.
We even have like a big toy boxfor the toddlers that come in.
But you know, kids really enjoythe science.
I mean, it's science right.
Oh yeah, it's cool and we getto learn and teach people about
all sorts of chemistry andphysics, but it's really the
only opportunity outsideTennessee or Kentucky to see a
(23:36):
distillery operate at this scale, so it's really kind of cool
and it's right off 77.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
That's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Yeah, and I'd be remiss and your marketing team
would be upset with me if Ididn't mention that you have
robust social media.
Follow along on Instagram forsome cool behind-the-scenes
content.
Yep, we reposted a video fromone of your visitors.
That was the bung he was.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
They untapped the barrel, she doesn't want to say
it.
That little piece of wood, it'scalled a bung.
I was going to say he tappedthe bunghole, you got to pull it
.
It's an industry, it's a realthing.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It was our number one performing reel.
Everyone was excited about it.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Everybody likes it.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Southern Desilium.
People, everyone make plans.
Get your mind out of the gutter, cindy, come on this month in
June, june 13th, from 5 to 9,.
You're not going to want tomiss this summer cruising.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Even if you don't have a car, come on by.
We won't see you.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Absolutely Southern Distilling everyone.
Thanks, pete, thank you guysAll right, thanks, folks, see
you.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Thank you for joining Discover Statesville.
You can email us at discover atstatesvillenccom.
Check us out on Facebook atDiscover Statesville, nc hashtag
Discover Statesville and ourwebsite statesfulnccom.
Catch us next week as wecontinue on our journey to
uncover the hidden gems,culinary adventures,
entertainment, and to beinspired and enlightened as we
(25:06):
Discover Statesville.
Welcome back Discover Statesville fans.
If you're ready to cruise intoJune, you're going to want to
tune in now.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes
you on a captivating journeythrough the heart of one of
North Carolina's most charmingtowns.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
All right, welcome back to Discover Statesville.
Today, we are joined by PeteBarger, co-founder and CEO of
Southern Distilling Company.
Welcome, pete.
Thank you, glad to have youhere.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Great to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
So several months ago we had your partner Vienna on
and one of the things that wetalked about we were really
hyper-focused on SouthernDistilling, obviously, but one
of the things that we talkedabout was the significant rise
of Southern Distilling over theyears and all the accolades that
you guys have received in theshort time of the foundation of
your company.
But I understand that you havereceived more accolades recently
(00:46):
.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Yeah, there's several competitions that we
participate in and in ourindustry.
Competitions can kind of belike William Say soccer.
There's certain competitionsthat everybody gets a medal,
everybody gets everybody special, everybody's a winner, and we
choose not to participate inthose because we really, you
know, we want to.
(01:08):
We want to know how we're doingright.
Are we, are we doing it rightor are there opportunities for
improvement?
So you know, there are ahandful of really what we would
call more prestigiouscompetitions and those are the
ones that that we like toparticipate in, you know.
So you guys may remember, acouple of years ago we won the
New York World Wine and SpiritsCompetition best bourbon in the
(01:30):
world in 22.
I think, the only non-Kentuckybourbon to ever win that
accolade.
So that's kind of hard to top.
But you know, this year, yeah,we've got, I think, 13 medals
that we've accumulated so farFor the bourbon lovers out there
.
You guys probably know FredMinnick, and Fred Minnick is a
big critic based out ofLouisville, kentucky.
(01:51):
He's got a deal called theAscot Awards because he always
wears an Ascot right?
That guy's classy, yeah, he's avery classy guy, good guy, good
guy.
But we got two platinums andthree golds in his competition
this past I guess month actuallyand then one that's actually
kind of, really kind of.
(02:12):
I think more important is wewon some medals at the SIP
Awards and this is aconsumer-based award.
So instead of having thecritics and the industry
insiders, it's the consumers,it's the everyman, yeah, and
those are the guys that matter,because those are the guys that
buy our bottles right.
And so, super proud, we pickedup two double golds in that
(02:34):
competition for our rye.
So most people think about usfor our bourbons, but the ryes
we do a really good job on.
So the double rye product, andthen the Hunting Creek rye,
which is right now onlyavailable in North Carolina and
that's a heritage brand that wasreally.
We've re-released it.
It was produced here inStatesville up until 1903.
(02:55):
So 120 years later, we'vere-released it and that won a
double gold.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
So yeah, that's amazing Congratulations.
Thank you, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Putting Statesville on the map is an understatement.
Of course, we see all of yoursocial media followers
constantly, like you said,critics, but even the consumers
who want to be influencers,constantly posting about all of
your great products.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
I mean, that's how little guys like us, kind of
David and Goliath.
That's how we win is throughthat consumer interface and that
whole social presence, andwe've got really good people who
are helping us with that rightnow.
But you've got to have a storyto tell.
And one of the cool things is Ithink a lot of folks know that
(03:46):
our main business is we do a lotof contract production for a
lot of other brands around theworld, you know, and the branded
side of the business isactually a pretty small part of
the business today.
Now, you know, we'd like it tobe the majority of the business,
but that's a long haul.
But the thing that's sorewarding is is that we get to
talk about these awards.
I don't get to talk about it,you know, with most of our
clients because we're under NDA.
(04:07):
Everything is super top secret,so it's always nice when you get
to brag a little bit about theawards.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yeah, absolutely Well , congratulations.
We are certainly proud that youguys call States North Carolina
home.
Talking about SouthernDistilling, are you in almost
every state now?
No, your footprint's growingpretty fast, right.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And so there's a couple of things about this
industry Everybody believes whenthey start is that wide
distribution is what you want.
But wide distribution is reallyvery expensive and it's more
important to go deep than it isto go wide, you know.
And the other thing is is thatit's important to win at home,
and you know North Carolina ishome and we got to kill it.
(04:51):
North Carolina, you know that'sthe most important market.
You know.
That's why we've got thesponsorship with the Panthers
and Charlotte FC is because youknow North Carolina is home and
we got to win here, got to beseen here.
North Carolina's home and we'vegot to win here, got to be seen
here.
We're in 27 markets.
I would tell you that that wasprobably a mistake to go into 27
markets.
Quite honestly, we've pulledback and scaled back so that
(05:21):
we're really pushing on morelike 18 markets.
I think today, most on the EastCoast.
You know Vienna's fromCalifornia.
I'm from Statesville, you know.
So we have to have a presencein California.
But California is a very toughmarket to win in.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
Yeah, well, I think, just being in that many states,
in the short amount of time thatyou guys have been open, it
seems like forever, but itreally is a short amount of time
11 years, you know, 11 yearssince we incorporated the
company.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
um, you know, if you go back 11 years ago, our
offices were right across thestreet.
You know, over here, um, Iguess that was the old spain
hours building, really, yeah,that's what vienna at least a
storefront office there, and youknow why we were doing all the
design and engineering.
That's kind of where we, wherewe were for two years, I, I
guess, and then, of course, oncethe construction was done on
(06:10):
the Jennings Road site, we ofcourse moved out there.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, yeah, and it's an amazing facility Slow, smart
growth, yep.
So we wanted to talk to youabout your awards, because we
think that's amazing and we'reproud of you guys, but the main
reason we're here today is totalk about this very cool thing
that you're passionate about andthat you're doing, and it's the
Great Race, the 2024 Great Race, and for you, this is going to
(06:36):
be the second time that you'veparticipated in it, but we want
to talk through.
You guys are going to do acruise in to kind of celebrate
the race and kick it off, andwe're going to give some details
on that, but tell us about theGreat Race.
Why the Great Race for SouthernDistillery and for Pete?
Speaker 4 (06:52):
So it's a good thing that we have 20 minutes because
it's a bit of a story, right.
But I think it's an interestingstory, especially for people
who love cars, right.
So a lot of people are familiarwith the Great Race.
More people would be familiarwith, say, the Cannonball, right
, Because there's a movie aboutthe Cannonball.
But the Great Race and theCannonball are very similar.
(07:13):
It's just private, independentguys getting out and doing a
cross-country race.
Now the difference is is thathistorically, the Cannonball was
a race for speed.
The Great Race is not a racefor speed.
The great race is what we calla time trial, so it's a timed
event, and that's importantbecause we have cars as old as
1912, all the way up through1974.
(07:36):
So these are not speed demons.
The 1912 car I had to followlast year really great guys,
super good group of guys.
They're all attorneys and thenfor two weeks out of the year
they pack up in a 50-year-oldbus and go out with this 1912
American LaFrance and thencampaign it.
But that American LaFrancestarted out as a fire truck.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (07:58):
And then they converted it way, way back into
a quote-unquote indie racer.
But when it leaves it lookslike the Exxon Valdez has just
left the dock there.
I mean it's like oil everywhereand last year we had to follow
it and of course we're allcovered with oil.
And they wear jumpsuits.
They wear these bright yellowjumpsuits to protect them from
(08:19):
all of the flying debris.
I was like I need one, so wetraded out some whiskey, we got
our jumpsuits and they wereready to go now, but anyway.
So the great race, it's what Isay 4,000 miles, the hard way,
because it's a 10-day event,it's cross-country, we don't
(08:41):
know where we are going until 30minutes before our allocated
start time and we have to startin sequence.
They'll be roughly 300 milesper leg give or take each day.
No GPS, no maps, no phones, allsecondary roads, right.
(09:01):
But it's a little bit like anEaster egg hunt.
You get very, very crypticinstructions and then you've got
to hit checkpoints.
You don't know where they'regoing to be.
You know there's going to besix of them, but you don't know
where they're going to be andyou've got to hit them exactly
at the right time.
So you can't be a minute late,you can't be a minute.
(09:23):
I mean, you can be, but youlose points for that.
So you know, the ideal is tohit that checkpoint right on
time zero seconds early, zeroseconds late.
If you make it perfectly, it'scalled an ace.
An ace, you get an ace.
We got two aces last year whichwas a big deal for a couple of
rookies.
I navigated Trinity, our oldest, our son.
He drove, I was going to driveand he was going to navigate.
(09:47):
Until he looked at thenavigation, it was like 300
unique instructions and it'slike.
I won't even go into thecomplexity of it.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
He's like hell.
No, I'm not doing that I'lldrive.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
So you said they are pretty cryptic.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I mean it's like putting together a puzzle.
I mean you're having to sort offigure out clues for directions
, or it's super cryptic.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
So it's literally.
It's like you know go 27 milesan hour until you see the right
hand curve sign that has 20miles an hour slow down, not the
one that's 35 miles an hourslow down, and then make a right
hand turn.
And the way they calculate theperfect time is that they assume
that your car will go from zeroto whatever instantaneously.
(10:28):
It slows down instantaneously.
Cars don't do that right, soyou have to calculate well, how
fast does my car accelerate andbrake and come out of a turn?
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Wow, that's pretty intricate.
And then there's all.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I had no idea.
Speaker 4 (10:42):
I am sitting there with a calculator and a bunch of
tables and then barkinginstructions.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Last year I just assumed you were going on a nice
leisurely drive.
I would drive as well.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I'm going to tell you right now, when I signed up for
this thing, I thought man, thisis going to be so much fun.
It's going to be across-country tour.
I'm going to get to see lots ofnew places.
You don't see anything.
You see the calculator andyou're looking at the signs, and
Trinity bless his heart.
You've got to.
Well, if you want to win,you've got to have a calibrated
speedometer which is like thisbig.
(11:12):
And he's staring at thespeedometer and when he gets out
of the car, all he can see ishis blue remnant of the
speedometer.
It takes about two hours forthat to disappear from his
vision.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
And so how many teams are there?
Usually About 200.
Wow, okay.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
Yeah, man, we're actually sponsoring this year.
So we had such a great timelast year, we said, hey, why
don't we sponsor the event?
So it starts out in Owensboro,kentucky, and ends in Maine.
I'm not even sure you've gotthe map here.
Gardner, maine, so never beento Maine.
Get to see it.
Maine, so never been to.
Maine Get to see it.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
So over eight days, June 22nd through June 30th.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
And it actually starts a couple of days earlier
for some pre-trial events.
Okay, it's kind of like speedcheck make sure everything works
the way it's supposed to work.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So Southern Distilling brand all over across
the states.
Again, guys, you guys put.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Statesport on the map On every car.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But to send you off right, yourteam came up with this great
idea to do a summer cruise-inand bring in other cars.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Yeah, we're going to have a big cruise-in at the
distillery June 13th, I think.
There's slots still available,slots still open.
You can go out to our website,I think, and find it there.
So June 13th, I think that's aThursday, from 5 to 9.
But bring whatever brings youjoy, I don't really care, I mean
.
So we're campaigning a 1967Bonneville Cars can't be newer
(12:37):
than 1974.
But we're agnostic, we justlove cars.
So bring whatever makes youhappy.
I'll be happy to see you there,but we're going to have food
trucks, craft cocktails, ofcourse, live music and a very,
very special single barrelrelease commemorating the great
race this year.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Only available on that date, right I?
Speaker 4 (12:56):
think only available that date at the distillery.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
yeah, Well, we will be there.
And last update I heard there'salready over 65 cars right
there.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
I think there's probably more than that yeah,
okay Are you going to bring acar.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
If I had one, I would .
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Do you have a car A?
Speaker 3 (13:10):
pre-74 car.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Can I bring a toy car ?
Hey, you don't.
Speaker 4 (13:14):
You do not have to bring a pre-74 car.
Oh, okay, Now if you want torace in a great race, you just
bring whatever puts a smile onyour face right.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yeah, no, we're going to be out there with a fun gift
from the Statesville Conventionand Visitors Bureau to help
send Pete off, that's awesome.
We are very excited about that.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Is it going to be some goofy sunglasses that I
have to wear while I'm out there?
Speaker 1 (13:39):
No, it's actually we worked with your team in the
tasting room and we were lookingat some different options for
gifts for when visitors come in.
And we were bringing a pintglass in and it turned out
they're called silly pints.
They're made out of silicone,bpa-free, go in the dishwasher,
microwave, but they're in thesame colors as your
(14:03):
commemorative, your recentrelease for the Charlotte
Football Club, and it's a rocksglass.
Oh cool, so it's a rocks glass.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
It'll be perfect for the great race that's right,
send everybody off in style.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So we're looking forward to it.
So we know that Pete Barger isa car enthusiast Yep enthusiast
but we'd love for our listeners,who may not know anything about
Southern Distilling or anythingabout you and your family, to
learn a little bit about you.
One of the things Richard and Ireally, really enjoy about
Discover Statesville is thethings that we get to learn
(14:38):
about the people that make upthe patchwork of this amazing
community that we live in.
So people who live here orpeople from afar who are
listening, tell us about PeteBarger.
I mean, you grew up here, yourfamily's from here.
Speaker 4 (14:53):
My family has been here for many generations.
So yeah, I grew up inStatesville.
So my great grandfather andthen predecessors they actually
were in Mount Ulla, but ifyou're from there I think it's
Mount Ulla but I say Ulla.
But anyway, the history is thatthey were in the lumber
(15:17):
business and they had PM Bargeractually it was Barger Brothers
at that point in time and thenbecame PM Barger Lumber Company
and I think it was my granddador great-grandfather was 60 or
65 years old.
He picked up, moved fromMooresville to Statesville and
opened up a new business.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
So you know, pretty big move for a 60-plus-year-old
guy.
Then my granddad went into thefamily business.
My dad went into the familybusiness.
I always thought I was going togo into the family business but
the family business didn't lastlong enough so we were in the
wholesale lumber business, soBargamelware Company, so right
off of Interstate 77.
(15:57):
I've got pictures of thebuilding as they were building
77 in kind of our familyarchives, but it used to be.
I guess they call it the fivepoints down on Front Street
where I guess it's Thornburghosiery is today.
They used to be there that wasthe original Berger Millwork
company.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Okay, but a family of entrepreneurs my granddad was.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
It was a lumber broker, my great-grandfather,
and so he brought the first railcarloads of redwood into this
part of the country and so hewould go out to the West Coast.
He would buy fur, redwoodthings that you couldn't get on
the East Coast and then bring itback by rail and that's how we
(16:42):
started the company.
From there it went into otherwholesale millwork things and
unfortunately wholesale millworkis not a thing anymore and you
know that business kind ofdisappeared with the Lowe's home
improvement model.
Sure sure, but we always hadthat really strong
entrepreneurial I did, you know,because I grew up in that
family business always somethingI wanted to do.
(17:02):
Dad always said go work forsomebody else, first learn how
to build a business, then go doit.
And that was great advice.
So, you know, we finally gotthe opportunity to do that.
You know when was that?
2012.
Yeah, 2012.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Seems like yesterday.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
But yeah, I grew up at Glendale Drive, Tip Nicholson
everybody knows Tip.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
Nicholson right.
Speaker 4 (17:27):
So dad sold the house to Tip, however, many years ago
.
If you go to Tip's house andyou look in the driveway,
there's a beautiful maple treeon the right.
I planted that tip.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Their house is your family house.
I didn't know that.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Yeah, absolutely Very cool, that's very cool.
Went to DMAT Thompson when thatwas a thing we called it
doormat and then joke wood right.
My parents went to D-Mat.
Yeah, and that's back in theday when we all rode our bikes
to school, right?
I went to Oakwood the other day, where our youngest is right
now and one poor child on a bike, and I remember back in the day
(18:03):
, man, there was like bike racks, hundreds of bikes, right it
would be nice if we could getback to that.
Oh gosh yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
I miss that Mike doesn't ride his bike, but he
walks to school and back everyday.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Yeah, I see him, I see him.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
I see him walking down the street sometimes he has
a bike, he just chooses to walk.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
It's nice to be close for people like that.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
So yeah, I'm statesville born and bred.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Very cool.
Let's talk a minute becauseIdle County is so rich in
agriculture.
When Vienna was here, you guyshad just won this amazing award
from the state of North Carolinafor your participation in
agriculture, which I thought wasa very high accolade.
It was unexpected, right.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Totally shocker to us .
We had no idea that we wereconsidered and certainly didn't
think that we were deserving towin, but we're very appreciative
that we were deserving to win,but we're very appreciative.
So, yeah, a lot of people don'tunderstand that the bourbon
business, the liquor business ingeneral it's an
agriculturally-based business.
I mean so you know, every day,just our little company, we go
(19:02):
through about 60,000 pounds ofgrain every day, and we're
running 360 days a year, sothat's a lot of grain, and we're
very proud that the vastmajority of that grain is
produced, really, in Iredell andsurrounding counties.
It all comes from withinbasically a 15, 20 mile radius,
so we've got great farmingfamilies that we partner with.
(19:26):
The really cool thing aboutthat, though, is that we're
taking what would be kind of araw ingredient and we're making
a value-added product that'sagriculturally based.
Even the waste material isreused.
We send that out.
That gets fed, primarily, todairy cattle, so it's a full
(19:47):
agricultural circle, and we'vegot a fantastic commissioner of
agriculture, commissionerTroxler, very, very
forward-thinking guy, big fan ofnot just our company but the
industry for North Carolina ingeneral, and the thing that we
appreciate about him so much ishe's always thinking okay, how
(20:08):
can we keep North Carolina aheadof the curve, right?
So value-added ag is a hugepart of that.
The other part of that isexports.
And so, as we look at bourbonin particular, it's an
American-produced product, hasto be produced in America, but
historically it's always beenenjoyed in America.
The real opportunity is lookingat export.
(20:28):
Let's move that great Americanproduct to the other parts of
the world.
And so, with the support of theDepartment of Ag, we were able
to do kind of a mission tripinto Europe last year, pretty
successful, both for the brandedside of the business as well as
our contract side of thebusiness.
(20:48):
Through the branded side of thebusiness as well as our
contract side of the business,and you know they appreciated
what we were doing, and we wereagain awarded Exporter of the
Year from the North CarolinaDepartment of Ag.
Very cool Again, not somethingthat we expected, but pretty
nice.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, that's very exciting.
So, on top of your passion forcars and racing and being an
entrepreneur in the bourbonbusiness, pete is also on the
board of directors for theStatesville Convention and
Visitors Bureau, so has apassion for tourism and his
business in general.
As, being a local growing uphere, I have a passion for
(21:23):
celebrating Statesville.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
There you go, I mean, yeah, exactly, and you know we
could just stay out on JenningsRoad and just mind our business.
But you know, this is, this ismy hometown and I'm proud of it
and I want other people toexperience it and be proud of
that when they when they leavehere.
And so I'm very honored to workwith Cindy Sutton on that cause
(21:47):
.
Without Cindy Sutton folks, itwouldn't be the same.
I'm going to tell you, thiswoman works.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
She does yeoman's work out there?
I was going to say it's peoplewith passion like yours that
keeps me ticked.
Keeps me ticked yeah, but thispodcast is made possible by the
Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau.
Also, discover Statesville ismade possible by the support of
the Statesville Convention andVisitors Bureau and we're very
grateful for that.
We're grateful for your passionand your time that you give
(22:14):
Absolutely you give back totourism.
So people Southern Distillingright here, locally in
Statesville.
If you're local and you haven'tbeen, they have a tasting room
open seven days a week in sevendays a week.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
We have a tasting room open seven days a week and
we have a very exciting paletteof new special releases that
will only be available in thetasting room there.
So very special things thatI've picked, that Vienna's
picked, that we're doing specialfinishes on.
So come and visit, it's a greattime.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Yeah, you're in the bar there.
Your mixologists do an amazingjob.
I'm a bourbon drinker so Ienjoy when they come up with new
drinks and they have theirevents Food trucks out there on
Saturdays.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
Yeah, pretty often yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
On Saturdays, if you're traveling through, am I
going to say this right, Stopand sip for a while.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Stop and sip for a while.
That's what the billboard says.
But even if you're, not.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I think that the tour in general and everything I
mean it's fascinating.
Yeah, even if you're not abourbon person, just to learn
about the business and how youguys operate and everything For
the whole family educationalprocess.
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
And that's one thing.
A lot of people oh, I can'ttake my kids to this.
It is a family environment.
We even have like a big toy boxfor the toddlers that come in.
But you know, kids really enjoythe science.
I mean, it's science right.
Oh yeah, it's cool and we getto learn and teach people about
all sorts of chemistry andphysics, but it's really the
only opportunity outsideTennessee or Kentucky to see a
(23:36):
distillery operate at this scale, so it's really kind of cool
and it's right off 77.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
That's remarkable.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Yeah, and I'd be remiss and your marketing team
would be upset with me if Ididn't mention that you have
robust social media.
Follow along on Instagram forsome cool behind-the-scenes
content.
Yep, we reposted a video fromone of your visitors.
That was the bung he was.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
They untapped the barrel, she doesn't want to say
it.
That little piece of wood, it'scalled a bung.
I was going to say he tappedthe bunghole, you got to pull it
.
It's an industry, it's a realthing.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
It was our number one performing reel.
Everyone was excited about it.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
Everybody likes it.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
Southern Desilium.
People, everyone make plans.
Get your mind out of the gutter, cindy, come on this month in
June, june 13th, from 5 to 9,.
You're not going to want tomiss this summer cruising.
Speaker 4 (24:35):
Even if you don't have a car, come on by.
We won't see you.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Absolutely Southern Distilling everyone.
Thanks, pete, thank you guysAll right, thanks, folks, see
you.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Thank you for joining Discover Statesville.
You can email us at discover atstatesvillenccom.
Check us out on Facebook atDiscover Statesville, nc hashtag
Discover Statesville and ourwebsite statesfulnccom.
Catch us next week as wecontinue on our journey to
uncover the hidden gems,culinary adventures,
entertainment, and to beinspired and enlightened as we
(25:06):
Discover Statesville.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com