Craigsville BBQ restaurant now offering breakfast
CRAIGSVILLE — Andrew and Crystal Gray opened Unbridled Souls BBQ about a year and a half ago on Craig Street in Craigsville. The restaurant was recently a vendor in Goshen for the 611 steam locomotive, a big event that helped expand the Grays’ exposure.
Unbridled Souls specializes in Eastern-style North Carolina barbecue and smoked meats in general, everything from crown roast to smoked turkeys for the holidays to barbecue ribs to chicken.
“We’ve got the best ribs ever,” Andrew Gray said. “I challenge you to find better ribs.”
Now, the menu has expanded with Unbridled Souls offering breakfast. Gray said the demand for breakfast in the Craigsville area helped lead to the decision. Winter is also the restaurant’s slow season so the Grays were hoping to find a way to boost business. Wednesday, Nov. 15, was the first day breakfast was served.
“Our omelets are phenomenal,” Andrew Gray said. “They’re really taking off.”
The omelet menu includes smoked cheddar, southwest and loaded.
The breakfast menu also includes platters with two eggs, home fries and a biscuit. You can get a sausage patty, maple bourbon sausage links or bacon with the platters. Bacon and sausage sandwiches come on a grilled bun or biscuit and can have eggs or cheese added. They offer fried chicken biscuits, fried pork loin biscuits and biscuits and gravy.
There are also sides like hash browns, home fries, bacon and sausage, and drinks include coffee, orange juice, tea, soda and water.
Unbridled Souls are open Wednesday through Saturday 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“Everything is homemade here,” Andrew Gray said. “We’re told on a daily basis by people that several of our items are the best they’ve ever had.”
Project Grows to hold matching donation challenge for Giving Tuesday
STAUNTON — This Giving Tuesday, Project GROWS will offer a $10,000 donation matching challenge. Thanks to the RZ Foundation and an anonymous donor, the potential $20,000 will be used to support growing a healthy community through various direct action programs, per a press release.
Project GROWS is a non-profit educational farm with a mission to grow a healthy community by connecting all people to nutritious foods. They operate several food access and education programs which work to increase the health of communities across Augusta County, Staunton, and Waynesboro.
For more information on the organization visit their website at projectgrows.org. GivingTuesday, on Nov. 28, is a global generosity movement, unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and their world.
In the past year, supporters have made a profound impact on the health of children, families, and seniors, allowing Project GROWS to expand their popular programs. In 2023, they facilitated four weeks of immersive summer day camp, added new mobile market locations in underserved communities, and expanded partnerships with local schools. It was a year of tremendous growth with a bright future ahead for the Staunton-based non-profit.
“Project GROWS started with a directive from local human health agencies to address childhood food insecurity, but we’ve expanded our mission to improve the health of all people through essential food access and education programs,” said Clara Metzler, executive director of Project GROWS. “We’re more directly supported by our community than ever before because of this. With the help of volunteers and community partners, we envision an equitable food system where everyone has the access and knowledge to choose, grow, and enjoy foods that support a healthy life.”
According to Giving USA, about 67% of all donations come from individuals, per the latest charitable giving statistics. Foundations made up the second-largest charity donation percentage with 19% of the total. Giving by bequest is third with 9%, and corporations make up 4% of all donations.
GivingTuesday, itself a nonprofit, was launched in 2012 as a simple idea: to create a day that encourages people to do good. Over the past eleven years, this idea has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
“With country and community leaders, millions of organizations, and countless givers of all kinds, GivingTuesday is creating a shared space where we can see the radical implications of a more generous world” said Asha Curran, GivingTuesday’s CEO, and co-founder.
Project GROWS supports SNAP matching programs at mobile and traditional farmers markets, offers cooking lessons in classrooms, and supports other local food system initiatives.
Waynesboro Library hosting food drive
WAYNESBORO — The Waynesboro Public Library is hosting a Community Food Drive through Dec. 30.
Donated food items will be used immediately in the Little Free Pantry onsite. The Little Free Pantry is a partnership between The Neighbor Bridge and Waynesboro Public Library to provide food items and books available to the community 24/7. Since its installation on on Sept. 1, 727 pounds of food has been distributed to the local community.
All donated food items must be shelf-stable/non-perishable, sealed, and able to withstand high temperatures. Glass containers are accepted. Suggested items include canned meats, protein bars, baby food, canned fruits and vegetables, crackers, pasta, rice, water bottles, powdered or condensed milk and juice boxes. Shopping suggestion flyers are available at the library for easy options including meal kit ideas provided by The Neighbor Bridge.
Other opportunities to support the Little Free Food Pantry include:
- Stocking Partner – Be a stocker on one designated week out of the month.
- Collection Partner – Collect items for pick up once a month.
- Funding Partner – Financially support a week of food supplies each month
For more information, visit www.theneighborbridge.org or contact neighborbridge@gmail.com.
Blauch Brothers president stepping down
HARRISONBURG — Blauch Brothers, Inc., a full-service mechanical contracting company and local leader in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industry, has announced a change in ownership. In June of 2023, the transition began for President Jim Blauch to step down. His two sons, Chis and Matt Blauch, will assume full leadership of the 69-year-old Harrisonburg-based company in 2025.
Jim Blauch has served as president of Blauch Brothers since 1988. His sons, Chris and Matt Blauch, have worked in a number of roles within the company in an effort to prepare for this transition. Matt began working at Blauch in 2014 and has worked in the field, in the warehouse, as a project manager assistant, as a project manager, as the operations manager and now as the service general manager. He will be taking on the role as president of the company.
Chris began working at Blauch Brothers part-time in 2007 and transitioned to full-time in 2015. He has worked in the warehouse, service department, sheet metal fabrication shop, HVAC controls, estimator, and now Preconctruction Manager. He will be stepping into the vice president position.
“This next chapter for Blauch Brothers has been a longtime in the making and a strategic move for the company as Chris and Matt possess the values and skills that are core to the company,” said Jim Blauch. “This is truly an exciting time and I am confident they will uphold the reputation of excellence and dignity that our family began years ago.”
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