Class with Chef: The official press release.

First there was this:

Local joys of cooking at Every Day Fresh.

Then there was this:

Foodie foreshadowing & denouement: Class With Chef.

Now there is the official press release. The notion of cooking classes held in a bookstore with a fully functional kitchen is entirely logical, isn't it? It's also fascinating to watch as businesses evolve, seeing as I have a stake in just such a transformation.

Take it away, Class with Chef.

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CLASS WITH CHEF CREATES HAPPY COOKS

NEW ALBANY, Ind. – Southern Indiana is rapidly becoming a hotbed for culinary entrepreneurs and starting next month, home cooks (and wannabe cooks) can join in the excitement.

Every Day Fresh, the food consultancy of Chef Gina Brown, is launching “Class with Chef” in a space once occupied by a popular New Albany soup and sandwich shop. Group classes on kitchen and culinary skills will begin on Thursday, June 5, at 6 p.m.

Brown, a veteran of professional kitchens and a long-time New Albany resident, spent more than a year looking for a kitchen where she could offer hands-on instruction. “We want to show people how much joy there is in cooking great food,” she said. “The best way to learn about food is to get your hands messy and with a Chef Instructor on hand to help, we think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The chef is already offering meal planning and food shopping excursions to private clients. “We wanted to expand those services into a group setting,” she said, “and now we think we have the perfect place to do that. We’re excited to extend the Every Day Fresh concept to a more social environment.”

Class with Chef will launch in the former Dueling Grounds Café space inside Destinations Booksellers, 604 E. Spring St. in New Albany. Landlord Randy Smith said he and his wife had been looking for the right tenant and have always envisioned the kitchen, built in 2009, as a perfect incubator space. “Gina and I have talked, and we think there is still room for one or more part-time tenants,” he said, inviting inquiries from other food entrepreneurs looking for a chance to “prove a concept.”

For the time being, Chef Brown will be the sole instructor, with classes planned for Thursday evenings and Saturdays during the first month or so.

Brown is a graduate of Sullivan University with an A.S. in Baking and Pastry Arts and has more than two decades of experience in professional kitchens. She is currently a Chef Instructor at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg, Ind., and has previously taught at Sullivan University in Louisville, Ky., and the Prosser Career Education Center in New Albany. She is also a ServSafe Instructor/Proctor.

Classes are by reservation only and fees will run from $35 to $75 a person, depending on the class description, and includes all materials and equipment use. Customers can also purchase classes as a gift for a friend or loved one. Each class is limited in size to ensure adequate instructional time for each customer. Group rates are also available.

The June 5 class is Pie Making 101 and includes instruction in making the perfect flaky crust. Each class member will make a classic Spring pie and a galette (rustic tart) to take home.

The Saturday classes on June 7 and June 14 are called “Follow Me to the Market,” and features a guided trip to New Albany’s Downtown Farmers’ Market where Chef Brown will guide the selections for each class member to make a seasonal, locally-sourced meal.

For details on classes and to reserve a spot in an upcoming class, call Chef Brown at (812) 697-0266 or visit classwithchef.com. Every Day Fresh can also be contacted on Facebook and Twitter.

Foodie foreshadowing & denouement: Class With Chef.

Just the other day I took a glance at Gina Brown's Every Day Fresh, and while aware that further connectivity was afoot, the exact dimension was not known to me.

These two posts at the Destinations Booksellers blog tell the tale, and it is an encouraging development, indeed.

First, a tease ...

Ann and I Are Expecting

For some readers, this will come as a jarring shock. For others, it will bring tears of laughter to imagine us bringing a little one into this world.

No, it’s not what you’re thinking, except perhaps metaphorically.

Since 2004, we’ve tried to create a place for community, bending our backs to recruit, nurture, and facilitate the efforts of creators, whether they be communitarians, authors, or entrepreneurs bringing unique products and services to our city. And let there be no illusions: creators are the soul of a city.

There is always a dividing line between the creators and the looters, and hardly anyone qualifies as neither. One is either building and creating or one is extracting and looting.

We like to encourage the creators and it has long been our dream to build an incubator where they can do their thing without undue risk and with some infrastructure support.

... then, the hook.

A Kitchen Reborn: Welcome “Class With Chef”

It’s the culmination of a dream for Chef Gina Brown of New Albany. After more than 30 years as a professional and more than ten years as a chef instructor, Chef Brown is launching her own business and we at Destinations Booksellers are excited to become co-tenants with her.

Every Day Fresh with Chef Gina Brown is proud to announce the opening of “Class With Chef” [ClassWithChef.com] in the former kitchen space of Dueling Grounds Cafe inside Destinations Booksellers.

Two events this week at Destinations!

Submitted. Note the change in store hours.

On Tuesday, January 19th, author and motivational speaker Robert Mueller will join us for his program on "The 15 Best Ways to Improve Your Life". We'll get started at 6pm!

Then on Friday, January 22nd, author Keven McQueen will be in the store to sign copies of his new book Strange Tales of Crime and Murder in Southern Indiana. The book features a story about New Albany and Keven has more stories for us regarding our city! 7 pm is the start time for what will surely be a fun evening!

You've probably noticed by now but our hours have changed for both Destinations and Dueling Grounds Cafe. We are now open from 9am - 9pm Tuesday through Saturday! We will be closed on Sundays and Mondays. However, if you have a group that needs a meeting place, Dueling Grounds will be available on Sundays and Mondays for private bookings. Just call us at 944-5116 to set up the day and time!

We're always interested in hosting book clubs, meetings and other various ventures. Be on the lookout for some new groups and events coming up, including a Socrates Cafe, Science Cafe and other groups!
Here are our events listings for the coming weekend. All these event details are at our Web site. And cafe features are always available here.

Don't forget that Sara Casey's photography is currently displayed and will remain so until February 13th. Sara's photos were taken in Paris, Hungary and Amsterdam as well as locally. Please come out and support New Albany's local artists!

Waistline alert: Fresh bread at Dueling Grounds.

This just in from Dueling Grounds Cafe.

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Bread Loaves Fresh Today - Buy a loaf for dinner. Just $3.49

Our ovens are in full service, so we can now offer you fresh bread by the loaf. Right now, we have cheesy potato bread loaves and onion walnut bread in both regular and min-loaves. The regular loaf is $3.49 and the mini-loaf is just $2.49.

While supplies last. Up till now, we've sold every loaf, so we've ramped up capacity. Come in today.

You can always find our daily featured menu for soups and panini at our Web site, under the "About Us" tab, or use this handy link to take you right to the page: Dueling Grounds.

Dueling Grounds Cafe at Destinations Booksellers is now in full operation. Our espresso-based drinks are drawing raves and you simply won't believe how good the panini and soups taste. We're open from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays we stay open until midnight, though we open later on Saturday (7 a.m.). Sunday hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Another packed weekend: Coffee, anniversaries, hops, goats and pizza.

I'm told that the new Dueling Grounds Cafe is open for patronage in advance of tomorrow's bigger event. Check it out, and report back.

Tomorrow: 5th Anniversary of Destinations Booksellers, Sunday, October 18.

The Confidentials will be there at the bookstore/cafe on Sunday, but first we're driving out to Greenville for quality time at Capriole Farm's Fall Open House.

In other weekend event news, Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming is under way at NABC's Public House & Pizzeria, and the BBC Taproom (Main & Clay in downtown Louisville) is staging its Volksfest today.

As a final note, the NABC staff made a lunchtime sales call to Wick's on State yesterday (Friday), and when we left at 12:25 p.m., I counted 95 customers dining in or carrying out. That's very impressive, and I view it as another fistful of garlic waved in the faces of the bloodsucking naysayers.

NA Event Watch: 5th Anniversary of Destinations Booksellers, Sunday, October 18.

HH and FF have concluded, but downtown New Albany events aren't dissipating. Speaking of dissipation, there'll be time for a Bloody Mary and/or craft beer at Bank Street Brewhouse before the Destinations affair begins at two.

Fifth Anniversary ... with Garth Stein, Enzo and Friends

NEW ALBANY, Ind. - Oct. 12 - This is just a quick reminder to all our friends and fans about next Sunday's very special event with New York Times bestselling author Garth Stein.

Previous e-mails provide details, but please join us under the Big Tent starting at noon. We'll have giveaways, special announcements, tours of the new Dueling Grounds Cafe, special guests, live music, pet massage, a parade of dogs in the Enzo lookalike contest, and then, at 2 p.m., our friend Garth, whom we met in January of 2008 before he became one of the hottest novelists in America.

We're so very happy to be celebrating our fifth anniversary with you and with Garth, and virtually with our favorite fictional character, Enzo. If you've already purchased The Art of Racing in the Rain, be sure to bring it to be signed.

Floyd County Animal Rescue League continues to partner with us on this event and everyone who brings a can or package of pet food for their programs can take a discount on the purchase of the paperback.

Previously at NAC: Has it been five years already? Destinations Booksellers soon to expand with on-site Dueling Grounds Cafe.

Sweet Stuff open today, and Toast, and Dueling Grounds to follow ...

The Tribune covered this story a few weeks back (what happened to September, anyway?), but as of this morning, the Sweet Stuff Bakery has transitioned to its new 325 East Spring Street location and is open for business.

The plastic sheeting has come down to reveal the forthcoming Dueling Grounds Cafe at Destinations Booksellers, located just blocks east of Sweet Stuff at 604 E. Spring.

Lunchtime was clear yesterday, so Gregg Rochman and I investigated the scene at the debuting Toast On Market (East Market opposite the Grand). New Albany's branch of Toast boasts a stunning contemporary interior coexisting with exposed brick providing historic accents. The menu is identical to Louisville's, and there is a small top shelf liquor and wine selection befitting its morning and lunch hours (Toast closes after lunch). Toast is open on Sunday mornings at 7:00 a.m. Is this New Albany?

Well, is it?

The common theme of those in attendance at last evening's Block Party was something approximating incredulity. There were at least three hundred people in the middle of a newly paved street having fun on a Wednesday evening in downtown New Albany. I thought the last Waterfront Wednesday (Louisville) of the season might detract from attendance, but it did not, and the people I saw cut across age groups, demographics and beer preferences.

The vibe was celebratory and positive, just the sort of occurrence that public savants like Dan Coffey and Steve Price always avoid so as not to contradict their gloom and doom scenarios. It's their loss (and, unfortunately, ours, since they're unable to separate their personal prejudices from what passes for public policy meant to apply to all, not some).

Wick's Pizza is next on the horizon. By the time Harvest Homecoming is through, most of the elements will be in place. Now all we need is Councilman Bob Caesar's permission to operate in the vicinity of his mercantile turf. I'll be working on that one, and will explain in a future posting. By the way, has anyone seen Coffey's hoary abacus lately?

And so it is that six years after Mrs. Confidential agreed to our first Five Year Plan downtown, it has become possible for me to begin a free day with breakfast and a Bloody Mary, then continue imbibing, eating, listening and conversing through a whole day, drinking straight through into afternoon and evening, and never once depart from walking - from my home, into downtown, and back.

There's always more to be done. But that's fairly impressive, isn't it?

Has it been five years already? Destinations Booksellers soon to expand with on-site Dueling Grounds Cafe.

Destinations Booksellers is staying open later in the evening, and the book store's new Dueling Grounds Cafe is just about ready to open.

Dueling Grounds is described as "a fresh, new place to eat good food at great prices. Plus, fine specialty coffees, teas, cold beverages and espresso-based drinks." As you'll see below, there'll be genuine evening hours (in New Albany? Isn't that illegal?) Mrs. Confidential joined me in a look-see last evening, and the rear portion of Destinations currently enshrouded by plastic is about to be revealed for scrutiny and patronage. It looks good, and you'll be pleased.

I'll have more on the new venture, but for now, peruse the following note from Randy and Ann.

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Destinations Booksellers ... September 24, 2009

As part of our commitment to serving you better, we are expanding our hours of operation, effective this week.

Back to the Future

When we opened in October of 2004, we were committed to being open at your convenience. Those early years were tough on us, but we maintained our 9 to 9 schedule for as long as we could.

As we edge closer to our fifth anniversary in New Albany, we're going back to those original hours. Back then, we were pretty much the only independent retailer who remained open in the evening. That's beginning to change.

Tom Kaiser and I were talking recently. We agreed that it was in everybody's interest to stay open later. So Tom expanded the hours at Kaiser Tobacco, and we're going to be open again from 9 to 9, Monday through Saturday.

Some of this, obviously, has to do with the imminent opening of the cafe. But mostly, Ann and I have found more and more of you coming in just at closing time. So we're extending our hours.

You can be assured that you can find expert bookselling service every day of the week beginning at 9 a.m. Of course, our e-mail and voicemail service, not to mention our online purchasing tools, are available around the clock. Monday through Saturday, booksellers will be on hand until 9 p.m., which should take care of most of your needs. On Sundays, the booksellers will go home at 5 p.m.

More importantly, you can still browse and buy during our even more abundant cafe hours, which we implemented this week during the staff training period. Here are the cafe hours. Just remember, our cafe staff will do everything they can to help you with book questions, but don't be surprised if they take a note to pass on to the booksellers, who come in at 9.

Cafe hours

Monday through Thursday - 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday - 6 a.m. to midnight
Saturday - 7 a.m. to midnight
Sunday - 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thanks for your patronage and your friendship during the past five years. We hope you'll stay with us as we move into the next five. Send this e-mail to a friend, please, so they can learn about what's going on at Destinations Booksellers.

Dueling Grounds coffee shop (at Destinations Booksellers) and a downtown status report from Mike Kopp.

Randy Smith at Destinations Booksellers provides this look at progress toward completing the store's coffee shop project (both at 604 E. Spring St.) Contact Randy with questions.

Coffee Shop Update

There's a certain amount of madness, or as one local political aspirant would say, a "curtain" level of craziness going on right now. If you haven't visited recently, you will have missed the new construction work, but that's nothing compared to what's in store over the next two months.

I'm trying to run the store (luckily, we've hired some great new employees to work with Mark and Sophie) while planning a full kitchen build-out and we've just about finalized all of our equipment selections for the new coffee shop. It will be called The Dueling Grounds Café at Destinations Booksellers, and despite previous conjectures, we're going to incorporate the shop into the bookstore building. Next year, we'll probably build a deck out back for al fresco dining where you can enjoy your hot or cold beverages, soups, sandwiches, and desserts.

We're trying to get our final plan drawings completed in the next few days so we can submit them to the state building inspector's office and then we can begin the construction of the kitchen and coffee bar. You smarties who've discovered the rear parking lot may want to avoid the back entrance for awhile, though. We'll be sealing off everything south of my office while the build-out takes place.

While I'm committed to roasting our beans on-site, the capital expenditure right now is enormous, and we are giving strong consideration to sourcing our roasted beans from one of the fine local roasters until next year.

Mike Kopp, local realtor and president of Develop New Albany, recently circulated the following to DNA’s mailing list.

It's official: HobKnobb Coffee will be landing downtown at the former Joy's Coffee Nook on State Street (near State and Spring). Owner Barb Fischer will offer basically what she has at her other location in Floyds Knobs, and I think it will be a welcomed establishment with a good product.

Also official: The vacant building at 501 Pearl Street (formerly the John Vernia & Son Monument Co at the corner of Pearl and Elm) has sold and chances are if you drove by today you will see improvements already being made. This space is being prepared for office occupancy and may be completed by the end of October with a new tenant.

Though we have not closed on the building, there is a new owner coming to spruce up the service station at the corner of Oak and State Streets (former known as EZ Auto). This will be a new look, and it is planned for an official NAPA Auto Center. They, too, will be a U-Haul center but the new owners plan to provide fresh landscaping, renovation and a new look for the entire building, including resurfacing the parking lot and all new lighting for property as well. This will be noticed by September 1st.

A major retailer has downtown New Albany in its sights, so we're still in the running. These folks are out of Chicago and will need 5-10k square feet. They are an “apparel and more” retailer. This will not happen until after the first of the year, should I be successful in convincing them this is where they belong.

Liquidz Bar and Grill will be opening soon at the former Russ's Tavern on E. Main Street (between Pearl and Bank), and 211 E. Main (formerly Ermin’s and B & B, next to Studio’s) is the new location for the Redmens Club as Steinert’s moves in to their new location at 401 E. Main, which had been constructed by the Redmen in 2005.

The Parthenon at 203 E. Main continues to get a facelift as the columns are being repaired, and is it being made ready for a new tenant to be announced. There are new tenants at the southeast corner of Pearl and E Main (Merchants National Bank building). It is a spa of some kind, and that’s all I know, as I did not do the deal. The people from Louisville’s Green Building hope to meet with the city this week, as we have requested an appointment. They have their eyes on the Baptist Tabernacle Church (318 E. 4th) and the Reisz Building on Main Street.

Be sure to participate in one or all of the happenings in downtown. Great things continue to be said about our Farmers Market and the new activity on Fridays at the Amphitheater. Help clear up a few things: Both Wick’s Pizza in the former Speakeasy building on State, and Toast on Market on E. Market will be open soon, and both will have liquor licenses.