Piedmont is first and foremost about the food and the ingredients with respect to the connection between the land and the plate. The cuisine is Contemporary American, seasonally focused and ingredient driven. Our menu changes daily based on what is currently available. Our mission is to provide access to well prepared, sustainably raised, local food. We use only local produce, seafood and meats from sustainable businesses to showcase the diversity of North Carolina foodstuffs. We focus on sourcing the best ingredients from local, sustainable producers with our guide being Coon Rock Farm. We are an elegantly casual restaurant that welcomes both the everyday diner as well as the special occasion gathering.
Eno Hospitality Group
Eno Hospitality Group is a farm-to-table partnership between Nancy and Sarig Agasi, Jamie DeMent and Richard Holcomb. The group owns Zely & Ritz in Raleigh, NC and Piedmont Restaurant in Durham, NC.
Sarig Agasi
Sarig Agasi grew up on a small collective farm on the northern coast of Israel. There he grew to appreciate the bounty of the earth and the importance of freshness. In 1991 he enrolled at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. After graduation he went to New York to cook with the great David Bouley and Gray Kunz. He and Nancy relocated to Raleigh in the spring of 1996 to raise a family. Sarig worked for two and a half years as sous chef to Scott Howell at Nana’s. In January 1999, they opened their first restaurant, Butterflies, in North Raleigh. After a few years in North Raleigh, he decided to move to the more trendy and popular downtown area to open a new concept that was more casual with a greater selection of dishes to choose from. In 2004 Sarig and Nancy partnered with long time customer Richard Holcomb to open Zely & Ritz.
Richard Holcomb
Richard Holcomb received a B.S. from the University of South Carolina and an M.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. He helped start several technology companies including StrikeIron, GadgetSpace, HAHT Commerce and Q+E Software. Richard is an active venture investor and serves on the corporate boards of several public and private technology companies including Neon Systems, ChannelAdvisor, IITS, and Ultimus. He has served on several public advisory boards including the NCSU Graduate School Board of Advisors, the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, NCSU Engineering Entrepreneur’s Program Advisory Board, and is a former appointed member of the North Carolina Information Resource Management Commission. During his career, he has won several awards including the 1993 Ernst and Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for North Carolina and the 1996 Business Leader Top Gun Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2004 Richard purchased Coon Rock Farm in Hillsborough and partnering with Sarig and Nancy, opened Zely & Ritz restaurant in Raleigh.
Nancy Agasi
Nancy Agasi grew upon the upper West Side of Manhattan. She attended Horace Mann School and Tufts University, where she received a BA in Art History & Middle East Politics and has her MBA from NYU Stern School. As an undergraduate, she went to Israel to learn Hebrew and explore her Jewish roots. During her first stay in 1983 she worked in the cotton fields and citrus orchards and on her second stay in 1985 she worked in the citrus groves and avocado orchards. Since the opening of Zely & Ritz she has been the General Manager and Wine Steward.
Jamie DeMent
Jamie DeMent was raised in Eastern North Carolina. As she saw family farms disappearing and industrialized farming taking over, she began to search for ways to revive the simplicity of eating healthy, locally grown food. In 2001 she completed her degree in Southern History and African American Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. During her career there she was the Special Projects Chair for the Class of 2001 and the Campaign Advisor for UNC’s Government Elections. Following graduation, she worked in Washington DC at the Capitol as a Legislative Aid for Representative Brad Miller. In 2004 she began work as Director of Special Projects for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences as the liaison to State and Federal governments and worked on fundraising for the Nature Research Center. DeMent left the Museum to work with Richard Holcomb at Coon Rock Farm. Today her days are spent planting, harvesting and selling products from her farm.
Zely and Ritz is all about fresh, organic, locally grown dishes. The food is beautifully presented, intensely flavorful and simply delicious. Chef Sarig uses local organic ingredients in unexpected ways to create fantastic culinary works of art. What makes Zely & Ritz so special is that over half of our ingredients come from our farm, Coon Rock Farm. The food we grow and serve is raised simply and sustainably and we make every effort to take care of the land that takes such good care of us. We also support and buy from over 50 other local farmers. We believe that good food is important and that where you eat and what you eat is a choice that affects not only your personal well-being but also that of the planet. We are passionate about providing our customers with the best possible choices in good, healthy, and delicious food.
Coon Rock Farm began in 2005 as a sustainable family farm providing garden crops and pasture-raised antibiotic and hormone-free chicken, eggs, pigs, lamb, cattle and goats. The farm’s 55 acres is nestled along a bend in the Eno River just outside Hillsborough, NC. The farm concentrates on “sustainably taking care of the land while letting it take care of us.” The soil is fertilized by the animals through intense rotational grazing, cover cropping, and composting. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides are used. Already a fixture in local kitchens, Coon Rock Farm produce, meat and eggs are known throughout the Triangle thanks to its’ participation in area farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs.
About Piedmont
Our Mission
Piedmont is first and foremost about the food and the ingredients with respect to the connection between the land and the plate. The cuisine is Contemporary American, seasonally focused and ingredient driven. Our menu changes daily based on what is currently available. Our mission is to provide access to well prepared, sustainably raised, local food. We use only local produce, seafood and meats from sustainable businesses to showcase the diversity of North Carolina foodstuffs. We focus on sourcing the best ingredients from local, sustainable producers with our guide being Coon Rock Farm. We are an elegantly casual restaurant that welcomes both the everyday diner as well as the special occasion gathering.
Eno Hospitality Group
Eno Hospitality Group is a farm-to-table partnership between Nancy and Sarig Agasi, Jamie DeMent and Richard Holcomb. The group owns Zely & Ritz in Raleigh, NC and Piedmont Restaurant in Durham, NC.
Sarig Agasi grew up on a small collective farm on the northern coast of Israel. There he grew to appreciate the bounty of the earth and the importance of freshness. In 1991 he enrolled at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. After graduation he went to New York to cook with the great David Bouley and Gray Kunz. He and Nancy relocated to Raleigh in the spring of 1996 to raise a family. Sarig worked for two and a half years as sous chef to Scott Howell at Nana’s. In January 1999, they opened their first restaurant, Butterflies, in North Raleigh. After a few years in North Raleigh, he decided to move to the more trendy and popular downtown area to open a new concept that was more casual with a greater selection of dishes to choose from. In 2004 Sarig and Nancy partnered with long time customer Richard Holcomb to open Zely & Ritz.
Richard Holcomb received a B.S. from the University of South Carolina and an M.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. He helped start several technology companies including StrikeIron, GadgetSpace, HAHT Commerce and Q+E Software. Richard is an active venture investor and serves on the corporate boards of several public and private technology companies including Neon Systems, ChannelAdvisor, IITS, and Ultimus. He has served on several public advisory boards including the NCSU Graduate School Board of Advisors, the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, NCSU Engineering Entrepreneur’s Program Advisory Board, and is a former appointed member of the North Carolina Information Resource Management Commission. During his career, he has won several awards including the 1993 Ernst and Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year for North Carolina and the 1996 Business Leader Top Gun Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2004 Richard purchased Coon Rock Farm in Hillsborough and partnering with Sarig and Nancy, opened Zely & Ritz restaurant in Raleigh.
Nancy Agasi grew upon the upper West Side of Manhattan. She attended Horace Mann School and Tufts University, where she received a BA in Art History & Middle East Politics and has her MBA from NYU Stern School. As an undergraduate, she went to Israel to learn Hebrew and explore her Jewish roots. During her first stay in 1983 she worked in the cotton fields and citrus orchards and on her second stay in 1985 she worked in the citrus groves and avocado orchards. Since the opening of Zely & Ritz she has been the General Manager and Wine Steward.
Jamie DeMent was raised in Eastern North Carolina. As she saw family farms disappearing and industrialized farming taking over, she began to search for ways to revive the simplicity of eating healthy, locally grown food. In 2001 she completed her degree in Southern History and African American Studies at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. During her career there she was the Special Projects Chair for the Class of 2001 and the Campaign Advisor for UNC’s Government Elections. Following graduation, she worked in Washington DC at the Capitol as a Legislative Aid for Representative Brad Miller. In 2004 she began work as Director of Special Projects for the NC Museum of Natural Sciences as the liaison to State and Federal governments and worked on fundraising for the Nature Research Center. DeMent left the Museum to work with Richard Holcomb at Coon Rock Farm. Today her days are spent planting, harvesting and selling products from her farm.
Our Eno Partners
Zely and Ritz Restaurant
301 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 100
Raleigh, NC
www.zelyandritz.com
Zely and Ritz is all about fresh, organic, locally grown dishes. The food is beautifully presented, intensely flavorful and simply delicious. Chef Sarig uses local organic ingredients in unexpected ways to create fantastic culinary works of art. What makes Zely & Ritz so special is that over half of our ingredients come from our farm, Coon Rock Farm. The food we grow and serve is raised simply and sustainably and we make every effort to take care of the land that takes such good care of us. We also support and buy from over 50 other local farmers. We believe that good food is important and that where you eat and what you eat is a choice that affects not only your personal well-being but also that of the planet. We are passionate about providing our customers with the best possible choices in good, healthy, and delicious food.
Coon Rock Farm
1021 Dimmocks Mill Road
Hillsborough, NC
www.coonrockfarm.com
Coon Rock Farm began in 2005 as a sustainable family farm providing garden crops and pasture-raised antibiotic and hormone-free chicken, eggs, pigs, lamb, cattle and goats. The farm’s 55 acres is nestled along a bend in the Eno River just outside Hillsborough, NC. The farm concentrates on “sustainably taking care of the land while letting it take care of us.” The soil is fertilized by the animals through intense rotational grazing, cover cropping, and composting. No chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides are used. Already a fixture in local kitchens, Coon Rock Farm produce, meat and eggs are known throughout the Triangle thanks to its’ participation in area farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture programs.