Tim Manale, former co-owner of the renowned Southern Season specialty retail stores, died peacefully on February 12, surrounded by loved ones following a brave struggle with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 60.
Founded in 1975, Southern Season was a food lover’s destination, known for its exciting and innovative products from local and international vendors. The 60,000-square-foot Chapel Hill flagship combined specialty food, confections, kitchenware, a cooking school, an award-winning restaurant, and other departments to become a premier retailer for 36 years.
Manale was a driving force. Many said that Manale's eagerness to please customers was what kept them returning, but he quipped that it was his refined taste buds, inherited from a long line of foody Italian ancestors, that fueled the success. His life and business partner Michael Barefoot observed, “He danced his way through life with a winning smile and fearless optimism.”
"Southern Season was a pioneer in specialty food retailing,” said Jon Pruden, chairman of the Specialty Food Association. “Michael Barefoot and Tim Manale created a store that helped many Specialty Food Association members start their businesses and brought the best of the world to North Carolina."
Sharon Meehan, founder of Ham I Am! and current brand manager at Nestlé, added, “Tim and Michael. You didn’t say one name without the other. They very quietly and by example taught me all I needed to know about food, about love, and about life.”
Barefoot and Manale were inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame in 2016. They were also celebrated as Outstanding Retailers of the Year by the Specialty Food Association and received scores of other honors from publications, associations, and community groups.
Manale earned an MBA from Duke University in 1986 and a BS from the University of North Carolina in 1984. He was a devoted member of Sunshine Freedom, an intentional community in the foothills of NC; believed in Carolina Friends School's holistic approach to learning; and celebrated life, joy, and sadness with the North Carolina Symphony. Always appreciative of ecologically sound businesses, Manale chose terramation (human composting) for his remains, saying "I know I'll make really good dirt!"
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to: Sunshine Freedom Assn., 257 Weathertop Way, Dobson, NC 27017; Carolina Friends School, 4809 Friends School Road, Durham, NC 27705; and/or North Carolina Symphony, 3700 Glenwood Ave. #130, Raleigh, NC 27512.
Related: Produce Business Founder Dies; Raley's CFO, Pilot Killed in Crash