Good News Friday is Cardinal & Pine’s weekly roundup of positive news stories from around NC. For past editions of Good News Friday, tap here.
Here’s what you’ll get in today’s edition of Good News Friday:
- North Carolina restaurants recognized in 2026 Michelin Guide
- Early voting surge continues in first full week
- Catawba County business to add hundreds of jobs with planned expansion
It’s Michelin season once again. For just the second time since the Michelin Guide debuted its new “American South” category in 2025, culinary figures and establishments from the Carolinas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia have been vying for a spot in the renowned listings.
I consider myself lucky to have Lang Van, the small Vietnamese spot recognized with Michelin’s Bib Gourmand honors, as a neighbor.
As a longtime Charlotte journalist, I’ve also been fortunate enough to cover a number of the Queen City restaurants recognized in this year’s Guide. I’ve interviewed Hector González-Mora, the winner of this year’s MICHELIN Guide American South Young Chef Award, and taken in some great meals at the Michelin-recommended L’Ostrica.
I’ve also overseen tons of coverage on local chef Sam Diminich, who was recognized with Michelin’s new Mindful Voices platform for the same reasons he was regularly featured in the pages of my former outlet.
I enjoy the Michelin Guide because it’s something like an awards ceremony but mostly a directory to help you find what you may be overlooking in your local culinary scene. So let’s see which other North Carolina spots saw recognition in this year’s Michelin Guide.
NC restaurants recognized in 2026 Michelin Guide
In September, we told you which North Carolina hotels were recognized with Michelin Keys, but this week saw the announcement of the 2026 Michelin Guide, the organization’s distinguished list of restaurants that have earned Michelin Stars, Bib Gourmand recognitions, and a slew of other awards.
Last year marked the inaugural Michelin Guide for the American South, with a number of North Carolina restaurants recognized within. This year saw some new establishments and culinary figures garner more honors.
Counter- in Charlotte remains the only Michelin Star restaurant in the state, an honor the fine-dining establishment earned last year and retained in 2026. However, there are plenty more North Carolina restaurants recognized throughout the 2026 Michelin Guide for a number of reasons.
Chef Hector González-Mora, who led the opening of The Story of Mi Cariño in Charlotte’s South End in February, was recognized with this year’s American South Young Chef Award. William Mellon, the owner of manna in Wilmington, took home the American South Sommelier Award at this week’s ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.
New to the list of Bib Gourmand winners, recognizing those who serve exceptional food at great value, was Ideal’s Sandwich and Grocery, a Northeast-style deli and artisanal market in Durham. Longtime friends Ian Bracken and Paul Chirico, who originally met in culinary school, both left the fine-dining world to launch the less formal Ideal’s in 2021.
Other new Bib Gourmand winners in North Carolina include Tesoro in Carrboro and Ajja in Raleigh.
New entries into the Recommended Restaurants guide include Native Fine Diner in Greenville, among a handful of other French-inspired bistros to show up in the American South category this year. Michelin’s experts wrote that Native “features an all-day menu of upscale comfort dishes, such as spaetzle mac and cheese, fried goat cheese salad and half poulet rouge (a French heritage chicken breed) with spring pea française, burnt leeks and smoked jus.”
Visit the North Carolina page on the Michelin Guide website to check out what other establishments have been recognized and recommended over the last two years.
Early voting surge continues in first full week
Following two impressive days of early voting turnout on Thursday and Friday of last week, the surge has continued into the first full week. As of Thursday morning, Oct. 22, North Carolina had already seen 1,101,318 ballots cast for the Nov. 3 general election, according to the Catawba College Center for NC Politics and Public Service (CNPPS).
Including all accepted mail-in ballots and early, in-person ballots, that total marks an increase of 302,540 ballots compared to the same day in the 2022 midterms, a 38% rise.
In-person voting is driving the increase, with 325,800 more ballots cast compared to seven days into the 2022 midterms, representing a 45% increase.
“There’s a lot of ways to analyze this data…but the remarkable dynamics beyond the fact that we are half-way to 2022’s total numbers, and still have 10 more days to go, is something that will make 2026 one for the record books in terms of N.C.’s mid-term elections,” read a release from the CNPPS.
Democrats also appear to be driving the surge. The North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation found that, as of Oct. 20, 44% of the early ballots cast had been from registered Democrats with just 22% from registered Republicans. That compares to a 40% to 31% split at the same point in 2022.
Catawba County business to add hundreds of jobs with planned expansion
Catawba County has seen a jump in unemployment this year, but an announcement from local employer US Conec Ltd. this week brings hope for relief.
Gov. Josh Stein joined Conec leaders Thursday in announcing that the company will add 224 new jobs in Catawba County, investing more than $149.7 million to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Hickory.
The international design, development, and manufacturing firm has been headquartered in Hickory since 1992. The expansion will include a new 200,000-square-foot building for advanced manufacturing, research and development, administrative operations, and distribution, according to a release from the governor’s office.
“The support of our state leaders for US Conec’s expansion is great news for North Carolina, for Catawba County, and for our industry,” said Tracey Horton, president of US Conec. “The expansion will create highly skilled jobs, enhance US Conec’s manufacturing capabilities in Catawba County and help meet growing demand driven by deployments of advanced computing infrastructure. We appreciate the attractive environment North Carolina has created for advanced manufacturing and look forward to continuing to invest in our team, our operations, and the communities where we work.”
