Wendy Farmer is the co-owner of IDA Christian Bookstore & Interior Design from Above, in Archdale, NC. 

Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

In April 2001, I bought a wallpaper store.  The owners were selling the business and accepting closed bids and I won.  I took over the wallpaper business and starting doing interior design.  We both have a background in interior design.  Business was great for a few months and then the economy tanked.  In 2003, I met my partner, who was an interior designer and formed Interior Design from Above, Inc.  We moved into a 10,000 sq. ft. building just off the interstate and business was good.  We do residential and commercial interior design.  We also sell furniture, window coverings, everything you need to decorate your home or office.  In March 2010, we opened a Christian bookstore.  Business has been picking up since then for us.

How have you been able to create a successful customer base?

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Jim Clary is the co-owner of Crossroads Restaurant in High Point, NC.  It is a Christian themed, family restaurant.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you started your business.

I run Crossroads Restaurant with my wife, Jeanne.  We named our restaurant Crossroads because we were at a crossroads in our life.  I had just lost my job at The Home Depot and my wife had worked in accounting but, she felt it was time leave her job.  We decided to take the leap of faith and start a restaurant.  We originally opened up in Archdale, NC about a year ago.  We had a problem with the lease on that building and we were forced to close after a few months.  But it turned out to be a blessing, a couple months later we were able to find another location and reopen.  It just worked out for us, the owner of the building had a Mexican restaurant, a small chain that had 5 locations, ready to move into the building, but he liked our business plan better.  We are a Christian family restaurant and it was important to us to be that.  Since we don’t serve alcohol we converted the full bar in the new location to a dessert bar.  Our passion is serving people.

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Thomas Michael Liner is the Owner of Pioneer Family Restaurant in Archdale, NC. 

Tell me a little about your restaurant and how you got started. 

Opening a restaurant was a dream come true for me.  When I was little my family owned a restaurant and I knew one day I wanted to open one.  They owned a Freezette and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  In August of 1987, my partner and I opened the Pioneer Family Restaurant.  A few years later I bought my partner out.  Then in 1997, I sold the restaurant.  In 2003, the restaurant burned down and about a year later it was rebuilt in the same location.  On July 24, 2009, I was approached to buy the restaurant back.  I originally had no intentions of buying it back.  But after thinking about a couple days I bought the restaurant back in August 2009. 

So you didn’t originally want to buy it back?  Why not?

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