#kaffeinate

[dr-archeville]

“He Had the Purest Heart”: Lee Family Grieves After Durham Explosion That Killed Coffee Shop Owner

In an Instagram post, the children of Kong Lee thanked Kaffeinate customers and first responders at the scene of the gas leak and explosion at the Durham coffee shop on April 10.

The children of a coffee shop owner killed in an explosion this week in Durham are remembering Kong Lee as the “best dad we could have ever asked for.”

Diana and Raymond Lee posted on Instagram last night that Kaffeinate coffee shop, which had occupied the first floor of the now-destroyed building at 115 North Duke Street, was closing indefinitely.  In the post, they thanked first responders who responded to a gas leak and explosion at the shop Wednesday morning, and customers who had supported the family business.

“The family we created at Kaffeinate made him so happy,” they wrote.  “We watched your smiles give him strength and joy.  Thank you.  Above all, he valued family, and he did everything to give us the best life he could.  That means he often worked 12-13 hour days doing jobs no one else wanted to do.  He never complained because he never wanted us to worry. That was our dad.”

In addition to losing a man with the “biggest, purest heart out of anyone we know,” the family lost their sole source of income.  Kaffeinate baristas are in need of work, they wrote.

“Kaffeinate is closed indefinitely.  It always was and always will be for our dad,” they wrote.  “We've been discussing it and hope one day to be able to rebuild and reopen and bring his memory back to life.”

Firefighters were called to North Duke Street at about 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday in response to a gas leak and immediately began evacuating Kaffeinate.  Fire Chief Robert Zoldos said earlier this week that eight to ten people who “would have also perished inside the building” were evacuated prior to the blast.

Firefighters instructed Lee -- last seen in the doorway of the business -- to leave as well, but he didn’t immediately heed to order and moments later the building collapsed.  What sparked the explosion -- which injured at least twenty-five people and damaged at least fifteen buildings -- is still under investigation, though city officials have said a contractor installing fiber cables struck an underground gas line.

“The last we heard from our dad, he called us to tell us there was a gas leak outside and to let our staff and customers know we would be closed for the day,” the Lees wrote.  “He was going to close up and make a sign to put on our door in case anybody came by later.”

The family asked anyone with memories of Lee to share them on Kaffeinate’s Instagram.  The shared an online fundraiser to support the family.

In addition to 115 North Duke Street, 806 West Main Street -- home to St. James Seafood -- has been condemned, Zoldos said Thursday.  Torreros, the former Triangle Brewing and a Duke office at 710 West Main Street do not have occupancy permits.  Other fundraising sites have been set up to help families, businesses, and restaurant workers impacted by the explosion.

A celebration of the 150th anniversary of Durham’s founding will take place as planned on Saturday, but “will serve as a way for the community to be with one another in solidarity and commend the heroic actions of first responders,” according to Discover Durham.

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[dr-archeville]

Utility Will Dig On Duke Street to Determine How Durham Explosion Occurred

The state Utilities Commission is investigating how a gas line was ruptured, leading to the explosion.

Dominion Energy is expected to soon excavate under the site of an explosion near downtown Durham earlier this month as part of a state investigation into how a gas line was struck, precipitating a blast that killed one and injured two dozen.

During a press conference, Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson said the city had received a request from Dominion to unearth a natural gas line on North Duke Street as part of an inquiry into the chain of events that led to the April 10 explosion.  The city expected to sign off on that permit today, he said.

While the Durham Fire Department is investigating was sparked the explosion that leveled 115 North Duke Street and damaged fifteen other buildings, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is looking at how a gas line beneath Duke Street was ruptured, setting off the blast that killed sixty-one-year-old Kong Lee, who owned the Kaffeinate coffee shop that had occupied the first floor of the 115 North Duke Street.

City officials have said a contractor laying fiber cable struck the gas line, but the company responsible has not been identified.  Crown Castle, a communications infrastructure company, has said its subsidiary, Fiber Technologies Networks, hired the contractor that struck the line, but has declined to name the company.  A company called PS Splicing both alerted 811 that it would be performing work in the area, and reported damage to the line.  It’s CEO was severely injured in the blast, the News & Observer reported, but Don Smith reportedly was not doing the work himself.

Firefighters first responded to the area around 9:17 a.m. on April 10 after a 911 caller reported smelling gas.  Firefighters found no evidence of gas and cleared the call.  They were again called to the scene at about 9:37 a.m. when the contractor that hit the line reported the damage to 911.

Firefighters then evacuated Kaffeinate (about a dozen people were inside at the time) but a building next door that was heavily damaged was not evacuated.  Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos said monitors used by firefighters in the building did not detect gas.

“Once we go into buildings we use monitors because your nose loses that ability pretty quickly on the scene," Zoldos said.  "So we use our monitors to determine where we do need to evacuate and we don’t and that’s how they based it that day."

The explosion occurred around 10:07 a.m., while people were being evacuated from Kaffeinate.

On Monday morning, a portion of Duke Street around the site of the explosion remained blocked off, although most of the Brightleaf district was “open for business,” as Mayor Steve Schewel told reporters before enjoying lunch at Maverick’s Smokehouse & Taproom, which had served as a headquarters for firefighters the day of the and the day after the blast.  Schewel encouraged Durham residents to support Brightleaf businesses that had suffered losses as a result of the explosion and ensuing road closures.  (Several online fundraisers have also been established to help people impacted by the blast).

Two businesses, Saint James Seafood and Torero’s Mexican Restaurant, have been condemned.  Matt Kelly, the chief at Saint James, told the INDY last week he hopes to re-open the restaurant in the same spot once the building is again up to code.  There wasn’t a timeline Monday morning to re-open the closed portion of Duke Street.

City fire officials are still investigating what ignited the gas.  Zoldos said the local fire marshal’s office had finished digging through the site, but still had additional interviews to conduct and needed to confer with state and federal officials before releasing its findings.  Eight of nine injured firefighters have returned to work.

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[dr-archeville]

Fiber Company Had Permit to Dig Near Explosion Site

According to the city, Fiber Technologies Networks was the only company permitted to work in the area, although a contractor installing fiber cable has not been identified.

A company called Fiber Technologies Networks held the only active permit for utility work in the area of an explosion triggered near downtown Durham Wednesday when a contractor struck a gas line, according to city officials.

City officials have not yet identified any subcontractors that may have been actually installing fiber cables in the North Duke Street area.  Crown Castle, which owns Fiber Technologies Networks LLC declined to name the contractor it hired, citing ongoing investigation into the incident.  

“We are devastated by this tragic event and its impact on the Durham community," Cathy Piche, area president of Crown Castle, said in a statement.  "We grieve the loss of life and our continued prayers go out to the people who were injured and their families.  We are grateful for the first responders whose brave actions saved lives.  Fibertech Networks, which is owned by Crown Castle, hired a contractor who was installing fiber in the area prior to the incident.  We have offered our full support and cooperation to Durham city officials.  We are committed to working with the Mayor’s office to help the community recover.”

According to Deputy City Manager Bo Ferguson, a Charlotte-based engineering firm called Utilis submitted the permit on the company's behalf, meaning it is responsible for overseeing any subcontractors and ensuring compliance with the work permit and a license agreement with the city.  Ferguson said Fiber Technologies Networks had a valid license agreement with the city that was approved in 2016.

City officials said additional documents attached to the permit -- as well as the 911 call reporting the initial gas leak -- would be released.

The company's permit to install fiber cables was issued on June 27, 2018, and is valid through June 25, 2019, and allows the company to bore into the sidewalk.  The company was authorized to work along Duke Street and Main Street, as well as parts o Roxboro, Mangum, Great Jones, Market, Chapel Hill, Foster, Corcorian and Morgan streets and Rigsbee Avenue.  A map on Crown Castle's website shows the company's fiber network around downtown Durham:

A copy of the permit says the reason for the work is to "connect cell tower to aerial antenna poles."  According to Crown Castle's website, it acquired rights to AT&T and T-Mobile towers in 2012.  Crown Castle, according to its website, is the "nation's largest provider of shared communications infrastructure" and has about 65,000 miles of fiber.

Investigators have not yet determined what ignited the gas, causing one death and at least twenty-five injuries.  The blast leveled a building at 115 North Duke Street, which housed the Kaffeinate coffee shop on its first floor.  The shop's owner, Kong Lee, was killed in the explosion.

Firefighters began evacuating the coffee shop once they arrived on the scene following a report of the gas leak.  Eight to ten people were evacuated before the blast.  Lee was inside when the explosion occurred and was last seen by first responders in the doorway of the shop.

"The owner decided he did not want to evacuate," Fire Chief Robert Zoldos told reporters Thursday afternoon.  "Our engine captain went to find a police officer to enforce that evacuation order and that’s when the building collapsed."

In addition to 115 North Duke Street, 806 West Main Street -- home to St. James Seafood -- has been condemned, said Zoldos.  Torreros, the former Triangle Brewing and a Duke office location at 710 West Main Street do not have occupancy permits.

This is a developing story.

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[dr-archeville]

Officials Now Say 25 Were Injured in Downtown Durham Blast

There were as many as ten people in the Kaffeinate coffee shop prior to the explosion. All but one—the owner, Kong Lee, who perished—were evacuated.

Durham officials said Thursday that twenty-five people were injured in an explosion at a downtown Durham coffee shop, and at least fifteen buildings were damaged.

Emergency responders are continuing to search the North Duke Street site today, but there is “no indication” that anyone is trapped in the debris, says Durham Fire Department deputy chief Christopher Iannuzzi, and there are no reports of missing persons.  Authorities had previously said seventeen people were treated at area hospitals in connection with the blast; they later added firefighters who sought treatment for injuries.

The damaged buildings are being evaluated for reoccupancy today.  There is the potential for additional structural collapse and hazardous materials, Iannuzzi told reporters during a morning press briefing.

According to fire chief Robert Zoldos, there had been eight to ten people in the Kaffeinate coffee shop before the explosion, which took place at about 10:07 a.m. Wednesday, a half-hour after a gas leak was reported at the site.  If not for efforts to immediately evacuate the coffee shop, “they would have also perished inside the building,” Zoldos said.

Firefighters arrived on the scene within "minutes" of a 9:38 a.m. 911 call reporting a gas leak on the 100 block of North Duke Street, he said.

Zoldos said firefighters made contact with Lee and advised him to evacuate seconds before the blast, which blew out windows on surrounding blocks.  Lee's "last known location" was in the doorway of the shop, Zoldos said.

Among the twenty-five injured are nine firefighters.  One — Darren Wheeler — suffered serious injuries and underwent surgery.  He is expected to be released today, Iannuzzi said.  Details on the other firefighters weren’t immediately available, but Iannuzzi said they’re all expected to recover.  People in nearby offices and a Carolina Livery bus on Duke Street were also injured, Iannuzzi said.

Firefighters continued rescue operations even after being injured by the concussion of the blast and debris, Zoldos said.

“They continued work even after they were involved,” he said.  “They were victims of the explosion themselves.”

The gas leak occurred when a contractor digging in the area struck a gas line.  What sparked the explosion is still under investigation.

City officials have still not identified the contractor involved.  Deputy city manager Bo Ferguson said during the briefing that the city’s staff has identified all of the companies that were permitted to work in the area, but which one was boring at that particular time and place and struck the line is still undetermined.

"Those permits give them permission to come in without necessarily notifying us exactly the day and time they're starting work so we wouldn't have information specifically reported to us about who was working on the street today ... We want to make sure how many permits might have been active at the time, and until we know that, we we're not going to release it,” Ferguson said.  Some information about what happened — like whether the gas line was properly marked on the pavement — may not be available until the site is more accessible, he said.

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[granolagirl1]

Well... that was too close #durhamnc #durham #durhamschoolofthearts #kaffeinate https://www.instagram.com/p/BwF-lQJpu_5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ceahdkm0xu6p

[wanderingwitness]

https://ift.tt/2U318YC

[dr-archeville]

Kaffeinate’s Iced Okinawan Steamer Is Summer’s Answer to Pumpkin Spice

The striking hues of the purple-sweet-potato-based drink makes waves on Instagram and your palate.

When Kaffeinate opened near Durham's Brightleaf Square last fall, it wowed the Instagram set with its black-sesame latte.  The seeds adrift in the white foam cap are all the more photogenic because they match the ninety-year-old black-and-white tile floors.  (The building was once a Studebaker car dealership.)

Then the shop upstaged itself with the Okinawan Steamer, a comforting, just-a-touch-sweet steamed-milk drink made with purple sweet potatoes.  While the drink was not intended to be a permanent menu fixture, its striking pastel hue (#nofilter) has taken it from chalkboard special to being the cafe's specialty.  Few can resist snapping a shot for social media before they sip.  It's also available iced, where its color shines brightly in a Mason jar.

But the Okinawan Steamer is more than Instagram bait.  With his father and sister, Kong and Diana Lee, coffee enthusiast Raymond Lee opened Kaffeinate in the former Respite Cafe space on North Duke Street.  Born in Queens and raised in Raleigh, the Lee siblings are first-generation Korean Americans.  They want their cafe's menu to draw flavors and influences from their heritage, but without being defined or restricted by it.

Raymond Lee has long had the idea for a sweet potato latte in mind.  In Korea, they're as popular as pumpkin spice lattes are in the U.S.; Seoul-based chain Hollys Coffee serves its signature almond-topped sweet potato latte year-round.  Lee wanted a sweet potato latte to be one of his cafe's signature drinks but wasn't satisfied with the recipe in time for the opening.

A few months after Kaffeinate opened, Lee's father brought him some purple Okinawan sweet potatoes that a friend gave him.  They were meant as a snack, but their serendipitous arrival revived Lee's idea.

"It took a while for us to develop a recipe that was both delicious and kept the beautiful color of the sweet potato, but the end result is the Okinawan Steamer," Lee says.

Lee found the Okinawan sweet potatoes hard to source regularly, so he switched to a locally grown variety of purple sweet potato he could get at the farmers market.  (But by then, the name had stuck.)

Lee buys the purple sweet potatoes at the Raleigh Farmers Market, then steams and purees them before mixing them with steamed milk, spiced with a proprietary blend.  Maple syrup draws out the tuber's natural sweetness and balances the starchy, vegetal taste, along with a dusting of cinnamon on top.  While the drink is best presented in all its purple majesty as a noncaffeinated steamer, espresso is an add-in option, and the full-bodied, locally sourced coffee tones down the sweetness even further.

You can order the espresso on the side to sample it both ways, but it's fun to watch the staff add it, too.  The espresso shot must be poured high above the foam so as not to muddle the color, and Lee and barista Toni Partin are ace enough leave the purple foam intact.

Though the Okinawan Steamer is a hit among those in the know, some customers are hesitant about drinking something with potato as an ingredient, no matter how alluring its color.  But Partin remains confident that doubters will be pleasantly surprised.

"People are always very curious about the taste, but I encourage them to try it, and I've yet to have a person bring it back to me or tell me they didn't like it in the eight months we've been open," she says.

KAFFEINATE 115A North Duke Street, Durham 919-237-2856 www.kaffeinatenc.com