(l. to r.) Dee, Ginger, and Kevin (photo courtesy of Charlotte Magazine)
In the Strudel Shop’s kitchen, Central Piedmont alumnus Kevin Kelly stretches a sheet of dough over a stainless steel counter and shakes it in a motion that resembles the rolling of ocean waves. Soon the dough will make up the crust for an apple strudel, which he’ll sell from a sliding window on 15th Street in Optimist Park. But for now, Kevin needs a few extra hands to finish the job.
“Dee, grab that corner,” he tells Dee Huang, co-owner of the Strudel Shop and Kevin’s childhood best friend. Dee chuckles and responds, “Yes chef!” Kevin directs his grandmother Ginger to another corner and me to the last corner. Together they pinch and tug on the flour-covered dough and drape it over the edges of the table until it’s so thin, it looks like tablecloth.