How did you find this location?
Sometimes you feel like God steps in and says, “this is
what you’re going to do” and this is one of those stories.
I had really wanted to be in Maggie Valley. There’s such
a legacy of tradition, history, and heritage here of whiskey
making. The most famous modern day moonshiner,
Popcorn Sutton is from right here in Maggie Valley. So,
I really felt connected to the area and wanted to be here.
We weren’t finding a space large enough to do what we
wanted to do and realized how expensive land in Maggie
is, so we started looking at Waynesville. I then get a call
from the mayor of Maggie at the time, Ron DeSimone,
asking why I wasn’t looking in Maggie anymore. He asked
to meet with me so he could hear my story and help me
find a place, assuring me that there was a place for me in
Maggie. After a great conversation, Ron asked me if I’d
looked at the Carolina Nights Dinner Theatre building. I
had passed on the building without looking at it, because
I knew I needed more height for the equipment. He told
me not to worry and suggested taking the stage out and
using the basement below for the extra room. He set up
an appointment with the realtor for later that day and
told me to call him in the morning. I came over and fell in
love with the building. I saw everything Ron saw. He was
so right, and I was so excited to call him the next morning
to tell him, but he was killed in a construction accident
that very next morning. This guy enters my life, changes
it forever, and then was gone in the matter of a phone
call. It blew my mind, and I felt more than ever that this
was where I was supposed to be. It was destiny. He was
a visionary and saw what I didn’t see at first, and I’m so
grateful for that moment with him.
What was the first product rollout?
The first was our white whiskey, Purchase Knob. We’ve
named everything after locations and important parts of
our history and heritage of the area. We also came out
with a vodka called Hurricane Creek, pronounced locally
as “hurrikin creek,” since the key to a good vodka is good
water. One of our flavored products is the Raymond Fairchild
Root Beer White Lightning. Named after the only
5 time world champion banjo player in history. He lives
over in Canton and plays bluegrass here the fourth Saturday
of every month. I don’t think people realize just how
big of a deal he is. We have people traveling from all over
to play with a legend. I mean, he’s played the Grande Ole
Opry many times!
Managed by Honours Golf
maggievalleyclub.com
(800)438-3861
Get to know Maggie.
Stay for a day, weekend or a lifetime.
There’s always something amazing
to do in Maggie Valley, NC
- including nothing at all.
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g o l f | f i s h | h i k e | r a f t | d i n e | p l a y | s t a y
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