Specialty Food Magazine

SUMMER 2024 27 A Southern Season made its mark for more than three decades as a world-class specialty food retailer, earning a reputation as a foodie wonderland. Michael Barefoot founded the company in 1975 as a coffee roaster in an 800-square-foot space in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was later joined by his partner in life and business, Tim Manale, and the two built up the retail operation to become a destination for consumers from throughout the region and beyond who were seeking to browse its range of specialty imported products, Southern-made specialties, prepared foods, and more. "Michael Barefoot and Tim Manale were pioneers in specialty food retail," says Ron Tanner, a former longtime executive at the Specialty Food Association, who now operates his own consultancy, Tanner Food Group. "Their 59,000-square-foot store in Chapel Hill combined specialty food, housewares, a cooking school, a restaurant, and other departments to create a total experience for consumers." Tanner also pointed out that Barefoot and Manale helped hundreds of specialty food manufacturers start and build their businesses. As the company's reputation grew, A Southern Season's flagship store in Chapel Hill began receiving busloads of tourists each day, and the company expanded to a handful of additional locations, including a store at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, plus a mail-order catalog business. John Pharr, president and owner of food sales and marketing agency Northbeach Inc., based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, says he worked closely with Barefoot and Manale to help specialty food makers expand their presence in the U.S. market. "Michael and Tim were both exceptionally knowledgeable, but together they were a dynamic pair," he says. "I came to appreciate Michael's knowledge of the business and also admire Tim's ability to work with people. He immediately put people at ease, was engaging and, at times, hilariously funny." Manale died last year following a long illness. The two had sold the business in 2011, and launched a new import venture, called Bon Courage Gourmet. "I will always have fond memories of working with both of these people, and mixing in a bit of social time when we had the chance," says Pharr. Like Barefoot, Pharr is a fellow University of North Carolina alumnus, and he says UNC sometimes refers to those who do exceptional work for the university as "priceless gems." "I truly feel both Michael and Tim are priceless gems for the Specialty Food Association," Pharr says. "They gave so much to so many people in different ways." Jon Pruden, chairman of SFA and CEO of The TASTE Family of Businesses, which is also based in Virginia Beach, says he recalls Barefoot and Manale as being especially generous with their time and expertise when he was launching his business in 2006. They opened up their store for a behind-the-scenes tour, and shared information about their operations, he says. "They were supportive of other businesses in the specialty food industry." The flagship store, with its racetrack design and massive size offered "all of the specialty foods that you would see at a Fancy Food Show," he says. "During its heyday, it was an iconic fixture in the specialty food industry," Pruden says. "It really was a breakthrough innovation for the time, and had a tremendous shopping environment that understandably was adored for decades by their customers." —Mark Hamstra Michael Barefoot & Tim Manale A S OU T H E R N S E A S ON Lifetime Achievement Award 2024

• Cover