CHARLOTTE ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — A number of Charlotte-area companies were nominated for the Coolest Things Made in NC contest. Each entrepreneur has a unique back story to go with their inventive product.
That’s really cool.
With their motto “Stay Cheesin'” in mind, Piedmont Pennies fills orders from all over the country here in Charlotte.
Ben Wright, the owner, said, “We love to bring pennies to the people.”
Her cheesy biscuit bites were a family favorite long before it was cool to be up for Coolest Thing Made in NC. Piedmont Pennies came in second place for small businesses in 2023.
Wright said, “It’s based on my grandmother’s recipe. When I was a kid, we called them cheese pennies.”
She started the business as an MBA class project a few years ago. Pounds from Piedmont are now sold in 400 shops across 35 states.
Wright turned down an offer to work at Facebook in the beginning so she could stay true to her vision.
She told Queen City News, “I just want to give anyone with an idea the courage and the heart to just go figure it out.”
The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce has put out a list of the Coolest Things Made in North Carolina. The Chamber has named the contest’s semifinalists after collecting the votes cast online.
The Piedmont Pennies are back on the list. Cheer wine, based in Salisbury, is one of the semifinalists in the category for medium-sized to big businesses.
If you live in Huntersville and own Candys Arm Rests, you should be proud that you were even considered.
Joe Pagani says, “That’s really cool!”
There was a fight between them after Pagani’s wife Candy almost fell off the back of his motorbike.
“And she throws a fit so she wants to take a taxi from Boone back to Charlotte,” he remembered. “I told them, ‘No, we’ll fix this. We’ll figure something out.'”
Joe’s unique armrests are made to make riders feel safe and comfortable as they ride. They are, of course, okay with Candy.
Pagani said, “She thinks it’s really cool that I thought of a way to help her enjoy riding… and not just go off riding by myself, but something we can do together.”
Pagani sells to people directly on his website, but he also wants to open more stores.
He has also made a new traveling bike product that works with Indian and Harley bikes.
The Fence Buddy is another winner for Coolest Made in NC. It began in March and is based in Cornelius.
An engineer named Ryan Hensley says it all began when a friend who coached Little League got tired of seeing drinks spilled on the ground in the bench.
A bottle case that hangs on the fence was made by Hensley.
“My only thing I’d tell someone is, ‘Man, you need to work on it.'” He tells them, “Don’t take no for an answer.”
Dallas, NC is a great place to live. Think about the fact that Splawn Amplification is based there—another company in the running for Coolest Thing Made in NC.
The company was started by Scott Splawn in the late 1990s. He says, “Done a lot of work over the years to come up with some cool stuff.”
He worked in car parts back then, but his side job did really well.
Splawn has a well-known reputation for making amps and guitars with unique looks and sounds.
“In the past 25 years, I’ve built every amp that I’ve sent out of here myself.” He was proud to say, “I hand-wired everyone.”
Splawn says that his childhood hobby turned into his job. He will retire someday, but he’s not built that way.
“They tell me, ‘Well, you’re already doing what most retirees do.'” I agree with you. “I’m just going to keep going,” Splawn says.
The business owners we talked to want more of us to go after our goals.
The phrase “no risk, no biscuit” comes to mind at Piedmont Pennies.
Wright said, “But it is so worth it to live a life that is in line with your values. It will take a lot of work and leverage behind the scenes.” “And it’s an honor to do this every day, just like my value of stay cheesin’ and stay happy.”
To see the full list of semifinalists, CLICK HERE . Voting for this round runs through September 11, when the top 5 in each category will move on.