Meet four Best of Chatham winners – from boutique fitness and lush houseplants to balloon artistry and pediatric care – that are shaping Pittsboro’s growing community
By Renee Ambroso | Photography by Lindsay Metivier
SHAPE UP
You’ll never walk into an overcrowded class at Pilates at the Core. That’s by design.
“We want to be very careful about any growth,” says co-owner and instructor Judy McKenna. “We are intentionally small, and we’re going to keep it small.” Each class has six or fewer attendees who benefit from personalized instruction.
Judy operates the studio off Highway 64 in Pittsboro with co-owners Laura Bradley and Penelope Barrow. She crossed paths with Laura during a teacher training program Penelope led in Chapel Hill.
“I was taking Pilates at a local studio once a week, just to augment other physical activities that I do,” Judy says. “Then Penelope came there as an instructor. She teaches classical Pilates, which is very different from the more contemporary versions – more intentional, more mindful. Her approach [truly] resonated with me.”
Learning from Penelope had a lasting impact on Laura, too. “I started the training out of curiosity more than anything,” Laura says. “I didn’t initially plan to be a teacher; I just wanted to challenge myself more and really learn about the classical Pilates system. … As I began completing the required teaching practice hours, I realized how much I enjoyed working with clients.”
The trio eventually decided to open a studio to provide classical Pilates instruction to the growing Chatham County population, setting out “to create a community where we could offer small, highly personalized classes and private lessons,” Laura says.
Laura, Penelope and Judy initially hosted sessions at the Chatham Grove Community Center until their space opened Jan. 2. Pilates at the Core offers mat, reformer and tower classes at four difficulty levels, from beginner to advanced, each incorporating different equipment.
Studio newcomers must complete two private sessions before they can access group classes. “We feel that is the only way to stay true to the method and develop relationships with people, learn about their bodies and what they need,” Judy says, adding that this structure facilitates strong ties with clients who are committed to their training.
Pilates at the Core also hosts weekly Wednesday walks – 45 minutes with a stop at The Plant – which are open to anyone who wants to join and pair easily with a 7 a.m. or 9 a.m. class.
“It’s a social time to get to know one another, because Pilates is not an exercise form where you can chat with people,” Judy says. A meetup also takes place at a local restaurant every few months – a recent one was held at Carolina Brewery – offering another chance to connect. “We want people to feel like they have friends in the studio,” Judy says.
Other events include quarterly workshops open to the public – no Pilates experience required – which cover various topics such as hand and foot strength and mobility. There are plans to offer teacher training courses by winter 2026.
Judy, Penelope and Laura listen closely to their clients and feedback from the wider community. “We realized pretty early on that we needed to have more [classes] available in the early morning and evening to accommodate working hours,” Laura says. “We’re already looking at adding classes to make sure we meet that demand.” In July, the studio also launched a Saturday men’s class to highlight the strength and mobility benefits of classical Pilates.
Penelope stresses that the exercise form can benefit everyone. “Throughout my 30-year Pilates journey, this work has impacted so many lives in so many different age groups and fitness levels,” she says. Pilates at the Core clients range from teenagers to an 87-year-old. “It’s a welcoming environment, no matter your stage in life, the shape of your body or whether you’ve done Pilates before,” Judy says. “… No one in our space should ever feel that they’re not welcome.”
BLOOM WHERE YOU’RE PLANTED
Pittsboro native Alex Plummer and his wife, Crystal Plummer, graduated in the same Northwood High School class, but their romance didn’t blossom until they reconnected years later.
“We graduated in 2012, and we both went off to school,” Alex says. “She went to [Appalachian State University], and I went to Liberty [University] – then we both came back to our hometown. … And we found each other.”
Alex now works as a teacher for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and Crystal is a nurse at UNC Hospitals Adult Oncology Outpatient Center in Chapel Hill. The couple married in 2019 and quickly settled into home life in Pittsboro with bloodhound, Darlin’, and dachshund, Whiskey, but the pair soon realized they harbored aspirations beyond their day jobs.
“We wanted to be part of the business community in our hometown that we love so dearly,” Alex says. “We got to thinking about what Pittsboro needed, and thought a plant shop would be a great fit for our small town.”
Alex followed in his family’s entrepreneurial footsteps by launching Cactus Cowgirl Plant Shop: The Plummers owned and operated Al’s Diner on West Street for 25 years before selling it in 2022.
“I grew up being part of a family business, helping out and [building relationships] with locals,” Alex says. “I guess it’s our turn to start something and grow it.”
The shop opened off Sanford Road in February before moving to 19 Hillsboro St. in early August. Alex and Crystal leapt at the opportunity to situate their storefront among other shops and restaurants in the heart of downtown Pittsboro. “I think every small business owner dreams of having that little shop on [the main street in town],” Alex says. They also added boutique items like clothing, jewelry and candles to their existing inventory of houseplants, grow lights, fertilizer and pots in order to draw in more downtown shoppers.
“Of course, we carry cactuses because that’s in our name,” Crystal says. “We have cactuses and succulents – from 4- to 8-inch pots – and we also have a lot of tropical houseplant options, from pothos to philodendron, monstera, alocasia and begonia, in sizes ranging from 4 to 12 inches.”
Crystal credits her mother-in-law, Nikki Mason Plummer, for fostering her green thumb. “When we got married and moved into our first home, [she] gave me about five or six houseplants,” Crystal says. “I was doing good with those at home, and then started keeping things alive that I bought off the sale racks at Lowe’s or Walmart. I learned from experience what would keep [a plant] alive and thriving.”
Crystal plans to share her expertise through workshops for small groups of 10-12 people. Keep an eye on Cactus Cowgirl’s Instagram profile for details on “Houseplant 101” sessions, which cover general plant care, as well as upcoming propagation courses.
The shop has already built connections with fellow local establishments – they provide tabletop floral arrangements for West End Kitchen on a weekly basis, for example (Alex says he and Crystal “dabble” in fresh-cut flowers) – and hope to collaborate with other businesses to host events at their new location, too.
Crystal says the pair are “pumped to be more involved” with community events like Pittsboro Business Association’s First Sunday Pittsboro as well as other street fairs and markets. “We’re both excited for the holidays,” she adds. “The [annual] tree lighting downtown – that’s going to be a fairy-tale moment for us – a chance to celebrate in our hometown while having a shop where we can do fun holiday things.”
MAKE IT POP
An undecorated room is a blank canvas with endless possibilities in Jordan Frye’s eyes. Her creative mind constantly dreams up color schemes for party themes, carefully plotting each detail for every birthday celebration, graduation bash or retirement fete her friends and family host. This passion for orchestrating gatherings led the Chapel Hill native to study event planning at East Carolina University; in June 2024, she launched Bitty & Bug Event Creative Co., which offers custom balloon installations as well as helium balloons, backdrop rentals and grab-and-go balloon arches.
“I felt like this was something that was missing in Chatham, so I wanted to fill that void,” Jordan says. “With all of the growth, Chatham Park and all the new businesses, I felt like it was a great time to provide a service like this.” Jordan hopes that Chathamites will seek out Bitty & Bug’s offerings over party supply stores outside the county or national online retailers that can’t provide the same balloon quality, creative acumen and personalized experience. Many of her clients seek her services to take children’s birthdays to the next level, but Jordan emphasizes that balloon decor is “not just for kiddos’ parties. It’s also for corporate events and [organizations like] the Chatham Chamber of Commerce, which I’m a part of.”
Jordan says Bitty & Bug is her “5 to 9” gig, but that custom crafting balloon arches and drawing up invoices “doesn’t feel like work.” She currently balances the endeavor with her full-time job as a marketing coordinator and parenting sons Bryson, 3, and Hunter, 5, who began kindergarten at Pittsboro Elementary School this fall. The family’s roots in Pittsboro run deep – Jordan’s husband, Corey Frye, grew up here, and the couple built their own home in town in 2019.
Jordan named her venture after her biggest inspiration: her children. “My youngest, his nickname is ‘Bitty,’ and my oldest’s nickname is ‘Bug,’” she says, adding that she purposefully chose the rest of the moniker to leave the door open for expanding the company’s scope. “Eventually, I’d love to do more – the invites, tablescapes and bounce houses, and really an entire event planning business. That’s where I see it 5 to 10 years down the road.”
That dream could become a reality sooner than Jordan anticipates if business keeps exceeding her expectations. “The response has been overwhelming in such a positive way,” she says. “We’ve grown more in the past six months than I ever thought we could at this stage, so I’m excited to see where the next years take me.”
TAKE CARE
Drs. Carolyn Brookhart and Katharine Delgado worked together for the better part of a decade before deciding to launch their own practice together.
Dr. Brookhart earned her medical degree from UNC’s School of Medicine. Dr. Delgado, a graduate of Brown University and Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, went on to complete her master’s in public health at UNC before training in pediatric and preventive medicine at UNC Hospitals. “We both come from community health roots,” Dr. Brookhart says. “Katie worked at Piedmont Health, and when I was in Boston, I worked for a community health center and a large safety net hospital there.”
The pair developed a close relationship based on their shared values and mutual commitment to providing health care to underserved populations. “Given our backgrounds … we’re just really similar,” Dr. Brookhart says. “We started talking about what we’d like to see if we were to have our own practice. Having agency is really how you [can make those changes], so we decided to branch out on our own.” Opening an independent workplace felt like a natural next step, and they didn’t worry much over how their professional bond would fare once becoming co-owners. “We worked collaboratively together for a long time, so we knew that we worked well together,” Dr. Delgado says.
The two opened Chatham Pediatrics in November 2024 at 501 Landing, minutes from Briar Chapel, Fearrington Village and other communities in Chatham and Orange counties.
Chatham Pediatrics’ patients range from newborns to young adults. Well care and acute visits are available Monday through Saturday, and the practice coordinates additional support for patients with chronic illnesses. “You meet the family where they are, the child where they are and you bring in the resources to help them reach their absolute potential.” Dr. Brookhart says. “Our underlying mission is to serve all kids and to have connections with the larger community, not just the kids we’re seeing in our office.” In service of this goal, Chatham Pediatrics takes part in events like ClydeFest and Chatham County Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources’ Eggstreme Spring Fling. “Chatham is just bubbling with activity; it’s really vibrant and a fun place,” Dr. Brookhart adds.
Dr. Delgado had long known she wanted to work in Chatham County, even before the idea for Chatham Pediatrics took shape. “[My career] started out here,” she says. “I love Chatham, I love the diversity and different community agencies and groups that work with kids, so I’ve always known that if I got the strength to start my own practice, this is where I’d want to do it.” With no independent pediatric practice in the county, the opportunity to open one felt perfect.
Chatham Pediatrics is poised to grow as the surrounding areas do, with access to add more exam rooms and offices as demand increases.
“The county is growing so fast, so we’re hoping to gradually add providers to serve the community,” Dr. Delgado says. “We’ll be looking for other community-minded people. Most of our support staff and I speak Spanish, and we’re hoping [to hire additional team members who do as well], so that we can grow with the needs of the community.”
Building the business, which now employs 10 staff members, challenged Drs. Delgado and Brookhart to learn new skills and overcome unexpected obstacles, but they credit their network for helping them navigate those hurdles.
“We’ve had incredible support from friends we’ve known for a long time, but also community members we’ve just met and especially other women business owners,” Dr. Delgado says. “Every time we have a challenge, we seem to be able to find somebody who we can ask for advice, and they say, ‘Oh, I know just the person to help you out.’ The connections have been key.”
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