K9 Protection Dogs in Greensboro, NC

Radiologist Dr. Gretchen Green launched into space Saturday morning, part of a groundbreaking mission made possible thanks to her decades of work with the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation and Space Camp.

“There are very few things in life that are true perfection,” Dr. Green said in a video released by Blue Origin after the flight. “When I looked out from space and back down to Earth, our training was perfect, the experience from Blue Origin was just unparalleled and amazing, and that was the word that came to mind. Everything about it was just perfect.”

Green’s connection to space exploration runs deep. She first attended Space Camp in 1986 at just 12 years old. On her Blue Origin flight, she brought along a Polaroid picture of herself at camp and her original Space Camp wings—a tribute to the experience that launched her lifelong passion for space.

“I’ve kept those memories as encouragement for me when I took on harder and harder academic, personal, and professional challenges,” she said.

According to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation, Dr. Green is a women’s imaging specialist with more than 20 years of clinical experience. She has trained at Harvard, Yale, and Brown and holds degrees in neuroscience, the history of medicine, and medicine. She’s also an entrepreneur, certified life coach, and medicolegal expert who founded The Expert Resource to support fellow physicians.

Her adventurous spirit doesn’t stop at space—she bicycled across the U.S. at 16 to fight hunger and reached the North Pole in 2022.

She says her experience in space will stay with her as she continues her medical practice.

“To become a physician, we have to have a lot of compassion and understanding for everyone from all walks of life,” Green said. “Women’s health and women’s imaging in particular has always been important to me—not only to study the life cycle of women’s biology, but also because I enjoy working with that population. Having that compassion and that love for people is something that is a common denominator for all of us.”

couple has opened a new spot in Greensboro that combines their love of food and music.

A’leurer opened May 30 at 1500 Mill St., Suite 101, in the space formerly occupied by Taste of Thai. It’s in a strip center that also houses Saffron Indian Cuisine.

Donnell Charlton and his wife, Natasha Charlton, said they wanted to open a restaurant where they also could support local artists by hosting their performances.

Donnell has been in the music business almost 20 years, starting out in gospel and eventually moving into soul music, recording under the name Donnell Isaac.

He also eventually moved into a career in the food business, working his way up to management positions with fast-food chains. “I’ve been in the restaurant business off and on for 20 years,” Donnell said.

Natasha’s background is in business and management, and she has helped Donnell manage his music career.

And it was Natasha who came up with the idea of starting their own restaurant. “Initially, it was going to be a platform for artists – and it still is,” she said. “But after we found this space, we wanted to have a restaurant. Donnell had always worked for other (restaurants). We thought, ‘Why not do it on our own?’”

Donnell initially balked. “I was reluctant – because I’ve seen all the industry’s woes.”

But she convinced him. “She had a vision,” he said. “You perform at so many places – wineries, jazz places, all kinds of places – and she saw, ‘Hey, we can do this better.’”

“I said, ‘You take care of the kitchen. I’ll take care of the rest of it,’” Natasha said with a laugh.

Despite Donnell’s background, A’leurer is not fast food. “It’s soul food reimagined,” Donnell said, served in an upscale environment.

“It’s like good home cooking, but it’s a little upscale, too,” Natasha said.

The name looks like French, but it actually is a made-up word that’s a phonetic play on “allure.”

“We want you to be enticed,” Natasha said.

The sign out front includes a slogan, “Elegance in every bite.”

The menu has plenty of comfort-food, soul-food classics, including fried chicken, collard greens and yams. But it has a lot more, too, including lamb chops, steaks and even lobster.

The Charltons hired Kiara Harrison, the owner of D.O.P.E. Lifestyle Catering, as executive chef. Harrison said she has worked in catering at High Point University. Assisting Harrison in the kitchen is the Charltons’ 19-year-old son, Jaleil.

Appetizers start at $10 for hand-breaded mozzarella squares with marinara and go up to $17 for crab cake. Other choices include chicken wings, firecracker shrimp bites, meatballs, and shrimp and grits.

Baked chicken or pork chops run $24. Both also are available fried, as is fish.

Meat entrees start at $15 with meatloaf and beef tips and gravy. There’s also ribs, pot roast and ribeye steaks.

There also are oxtails ($19), turkey wings ($15) and lamb chops ($27).

Pasta dishes ($18) include shrimp scampi, chicken scampi, Cajun Alfredo and spaghetti.

Seafood items include shrimp, salmon, crab legs and lobster – the latter the most expensive item on the menu at $29.

The large selection of sides includes collards, green beans, kale, broccoli cabbage, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and mac ‘n’ cheese.

There are chicken strips and hamburger sliders for kids, plus such desserts as lemon cake and apple crumb pie.

The restaurant has a full bar for beer, wine and cocktails. The Charltons also are selling their own wine brand, a sweet muscat under the label Sensuel Amour. They hope to expand that line in the future with more wines, they said.

L’Aleurer

Parking issues have been prevalent ever since the restaurant opened on April 25.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Dave's Hot Chicken opened its Greensboro location at the corner of Battleground Avenue and Cornwallis Drive on April 25, and the new joint's popularity has waned little in the month since.

But while the influx of business has been great for Dave's, customers have become frustrated with the restaurant's parking situation, and some have even walked out of the location to find their cars missing.

We reported on the situation on Monday, speaking to customers like Doug Lott, who had his car towed after parking in the lot located next to Dave's, not the one owned by the restaurant that only features 13 spaces.

"I was looking forward to it," said Lott, who lives in Greensboro. "I felt like I was finally doing something for myself ... To look up and see my car being towed away, and more than one tow truck circling the lot, I immediately started freaking out."

The lot Lott parked in wasn't owned by Dave's, but instead the shopping center next door that houses Outback Steakhouse, IHOP and several other businesses. Business owners in the shopping center told WFMY News 2 they've seen cars getting towed left and right since Dave's opened.

The lot has signs to warn Dave's customers against parking there, but Lott said they were difficult to spot. The owner of Gotcha Towing told WFMY News 2 over the phone that he understands why people are frustrated, but he stands by the signage. He said there are three signs near the entrance closest to Dave's and another on the opposite side of the lot.

On Tuesday, Gabriel Rivera, the marketing director for the Charlotte-based franchisee that runs the Dave's location in Greensboro, spoke to WFMY News 2 about the situation.

"It's really disheartening," Rivera said. "People travel from all over to try Dave's, and the last thing we want is for their experience to be spoiled because of where they parked."

To make things right, Rivera said Dave's will offer a $25 gift card to any customer who has been towed in the lot next to the restaurant as long as they bring in a towing receipt.

"It's just a small way of saying we hear you, we see you, we appreciate you.

Rivera also said employees will now use the restaurant's intercom system to remind guests to double-check their parking spots when their food is ready. Employees are also carpooling in an effort to take up less space in the restaurant's designated lot.

People parking in the wrong lot near Dave’s Hot Chicken — are walking out to find their cars towed. Customers warn others to avoid a hefty towing fee.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Dave's Hot Chicken opened about a month ago, and it’s been packed ever since.

However, for some customers, the heat didn’t stop with the chicken. The real burn came when a tow truck rolled off with their cars.

When Doug Lott pulled into the parking lot next to the restaurant, he thought he was in for a good meal.

"It was anticipation at first I was, you know, looking forward," Lott, who lives in Greensboro, said. "I felt like I was, you know, actually doing something for myself for change instead of working and doing stuff for everybody else. I said, well this is for me. You know, I'm gonna go in here and enjoy something new I'm gonna go in here and enjoy something new."

Twenty minutes later, he walked out full, but the parking spot he parked his truck in was empty.

"To look up and see my vehicle being towed away and more than one towing truck in the parking lot I immediately started freaking out," he said.

He had parked in the lot next door to Dave's, not one owned by the restaurant.

Several business owners in the strip mall told WFMY News 2 they have seen car after car get hauled off from that lot. None wanted to go on camera, but they confirmed it's been happening often.

The lot has signs warning drivers, but Lott argued they’re hard to spot.

"I take some fault for not seeing that sign, but it was, I don't feel that that was, posted in a manner which made it very easy to see … I'd like to see that much bigger, much higher up to catch people when they're driving they're not looking down at the ground for signs," Lott said.

The owner of Gotcha Towing told WFMY News 2 by phone that he understands why people are frustrated, but he stands by the signage. He said there are three signs near the entrance closest to Dave's, and another on the opposite side of the lot. If you park there, he said, you're fair game.

For Lott, that surprise tow left more than just an empty parking spot — it blew a hole in his wallet.

He showed WFMY a receipt for $340 dollars which he had to pay in cash. Something he said seems excessive.

"I definitely think it's unfair and I think it is predatory. I think the signs were made small intentionally," Lott said. "Everything I had to make a living and the ability to make a living was tied up in that truck, the ladders on top and that sort of thing. So it, they really had me at my mercy, yeah. I had no choice."

WFMY News 2 reached out to Dave's Hot Chicken multiple times for comment but has not received a response.

The restaurant has around a dozen parking spots. To avoid a surprise tow, customers are urged to park in one of those spaces if they’re available.

CBL Properties announced Friday that the Lego Store and the ear-piercing chain Rowan will open retail locations later this year in Greensboro’s Friendly Center.

Also opening this year are four new restaurants: Cooper’s Hawk, First Watch, North Italia and French artisan bakery Tous les Jours.

“Friendly Center is one of CBL’s top performing properties and is the destination of choice for brands looking to expand into the Greensboro market,” said Stephen Lebovitz, CBL’s chief executive

The Lego store will be the second in North Carolina when counting the location in Concord Mills.

Cooper’s Hawk will offer a Napa, California-style tasting room, main bar, dining room, private dining rooms and a large patio in its 10,000 square-foot location on the site of the former NY & Co. store.

The breakfast and brunch First Watch chain will occupy a 4,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Qdoba.

North Italia will bring its homemade pasta and handmade pizzas to a 6,000 square-foot space located on the site of the former U.S. Post Office.

Tous les Jour will be in The Shops at Friendly Center.

Rowan will be located at 3326 W. Friendly Ave. Suite 119. It accepts appointments and walk-in clients.

It will be Rowan’s second Triad store counting a location at Thruway Shopping Center in Winston-Salem, as well as the seventh in North Carolina counting two Charlotte locations and one each in Huntersville, Raleigh and Wilmington.

The Rowan chain offers ear piercings provided by licensed nurses. The typical store features between six and eight licensed nurses and a studio manager.

According to the Rowan website, a device piercing is $35 for one piercing and $50 for two, plus the cost of piercing studs. Those piercings are available for all ages.

A needle piercing is $35 per piercing, plus the cost of piercing studs. Needle piercing is available for ages 12 and up, with lobe piercings available for ages 5 and up.