Carrie Scanlon Copley, Phd

Dear America, I understand this is a big year for you. Two hundred and fifty years is impressive. I say that with absolutely no understanding of time beyond breakfast, dinner, walks, naps, and the moment someone opens a cheese wrapper three rooms away. Still, I can tell the humans are excited. The flags are out. The coolers are being packed. Somebody is already talking about fireworks. There are hot dogs involved, which is the part of the celebration I fully support. I am patriotic in the...

There’s a reason people across West Virginia are obsessed with pepperoni rolls. They’re portable, comforting, salty in the best possible way, and practically part of the state’s DNA. But at Coal Valley Bun Works, we decided to take that Appalachian classic and push it one step further. Enter the Pepperoni Bun. And yes, there’s a difference. A Pepperoni Bun Means Pepperoni in Every Bite A traditional pepperoni roll usually features sticks or chunks of pepperoni baked into bread dough. Some...

We could sit around waiting for the perfect time. We could spend another year saying "someday." We could come up with a dozen reasons not to do the big, wild, slightly ridiculous thing we can't stop thinking about. But we opened a hot dog and pepperoni roll shop instead. In a few weeks, the doors swing open at Coal Valley Bun Works. And it still doesn’t feel real. This idea has been in Kevin's head for a long time; written on bar napkins, scribbled in notebooks, sauce recipes traded back and...