For Trophy Brewing co-owner Chris Powers, the holiday is an all-hands-on-deck celebration of industry roots, scratch-made sides and nostalgia.

By Eric Ginsburg | Photography by Forrest Mason

Technically speaking, Chris Powers is not a chef. But watching him make precision cuts to a clove of garlic from muscle memory, you could be forgiven for assuming.

He’s standing in the kitchen of his in-laws’ townhome in an idyllic neighborhood of Garner, methodically moving through prep work for a big family Thanksgiving meal in a few hours. Like any serious chef, he’s brought his own trusty knife—one that’s been custom-made to fit his right hand, and that’s developed a light patina with time. And he can wax poetic about his favorite varieties and vendors of produce—like the “Georgian Crystal” garlic he gets at Bugle Boy Farms at the NC State Farmers Market for special meals like this. “It has a more intense flavor—cleaner and more pure,” Powers says.

Sounds like a chef, too.

Powers made a name for himself in Raleigh first as a bartender and later as co-owner of the Busy Bee Café, which opened in 2009. Trophy Brewing, State of Beer, Young Hearts Distilling, and Bend Bar followed. (State of Beer was recently sold, and Busy Bee and Young Hearts have since closed.) Besides helping start Trophy—which first opened in 2013 and recently added an outpost in Five Points—Powers is best known for being affable, community-minded, and well-liked across town. I recently heard someone at a bar ask him if he’d ever run for city council. Powers politely waved off the suggestion; between his businesses and three young kids, his hands are full.

Powers and his family prep for dinner, a meal that often includes lots of snacks to enjoy before the meal is ready.

And right now, they’re also literally full of Brussels sprouts he’s quartering for one of his signature Thanksgiving dishes. Powers is trying, with mixed success, to include his kids in the process. Georgia, 5, is hanging onto his legs and practicing martial arts simultaneously, while her twin brother, Jack, is sitting on a couch in the living room. Arlie, 7, flits between rooms, as if surveying what everyone is up to, asking questions as she goes. 

Powers and his wife, Lara, have found that involving their kids in the cooking and prep process can make it a more enjoyable experience, and chopping veggies may be the most age-appropriate way. Between efforts, the kids snag bites off a charcuterie board Powers put together shortly beforehand, the cheese keeping them in the kitchen longer. Their methodical approach to big family meals comes from years in the restaurant and bar industry, starting at a young age. Lara’s dad, Ingolf “Footsie” Schluter, is a German immigrant who ran several restaurants in Hilton Head, and he also owned the Old Heidelberg, a German restaurant in Hickory. She helped there as a kid, kick-starting a career in the industry that included time in Boone and with Raleigh-based Rocky Top Catering.

Chris also started early—at 14, he worked for his family’s carnival company in Rochester, New York, running games, parking lots and food trailers before taking a gig at a neighborhood Italian restaurant. Then he spent a long time at chain restaurant Jack Astor’s, helping open locations from Texas to North Carolina. 

His résumé leans heavily toward the bar program at various jobs: an ungodly number of “crazy martinis” for Bogart’s American Grill on Glenwood South, pushing the Raleigh Times’ bar program toward craft beer, and serving as an opening bartender at Foundation back when part of the basement bar’s floor was still dirt. But as with many people in the industry, his experience isn’t cleanly contained to one part of any operation.

“Part of working at Jack Astor’s was spending time in the kitchen,” Powers recalls of the restaurant, which is still thriving in Canada but no longer has U.S. locations. “There was a philosophy that you can’t fire someone if you can’t work their station. So I was often working, fry.”

Powers loves cooking—it’s part of what drew the former latchkey kid who learned to make his own meals into hospitality in the first place. 

“There’s a gratification of someone enjoying what you’ve cooked,” Powers says, “the inherent trust between a diner and the person preparing it. It’s an opportunity to give someone a bit of recovery or reprieve.”

Kitchen prep was part of his job at the Italian joint as a teen. But it hasn’t been a core part of his professional life for a while now. When Powers and his business partners opened the Busy Bee, they hired a chef. You probably won’t find Chris in the kitchen at Trophy slinging pizzas, either. All the more reason that a meal like Thanksgiving feels special.

For the last 14 years, family Thanksgiving has mostly been held here in Garner, at the home of Lara’s parents. There’s a kitchen cabinet full of glassware from various places Footsie once ran, and Powers opens it to find martini glasses for a maple espresso martini.

On hand are also the newly released Trophy Gold lager, plus an assortment of wine (including sparkling) and an Old Fashioned that Powers made with Heaven Hill bourbon (he serves it in kitschy glasses decorated with racehorses). The drinks vary year to year, and the Powers family always stays the night. There’s one constant, though: kirsch, a cherry brandy traditionally made in Germany and Austria. Before shuttering Young Hearts Distilling downtown, Powers squirreled away several bottles of its take, a clear, 80-proof spirit. Enjoyed neat, the brandy has a vanilla note to it and is surprisingly smooth. 

Beverages are a must, including (left to right) an Old Fashioned, an Espresso Martini, and Kirsch.

“I only bring one bottle at a time, because it will not last long,” he says. “I hold onto them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.” 

There are a few reliable dishes on the food menu, too: stuffing, turkey, and some “attempt to be healthy,” like salad. Bread is made by his sister-in-law, Melissa Schluter, who might also bring pie if Lara hasn’t made one. Footsie will contribute something German. Powers will often source oysters from Locals Seafood and brisket or something similar from Lawrence Barbecue in Durham for variety.

There’s usually charcuterie for early snacks, maybe a sweet potato casserole he makes. Powers likes to make meatballs because they’re easy and shareable and can simmer in the background, usually mixing pork from MAE Farm with turkey and breadcrumbs. His Brussels sprouts—made with bacon, chicken stock, and garlic—are in high demand.

“I think it would be a problem if I didn’t bring those,” he says. And for him, it would be a problem if there weren’t also Chicken Rice-A-Roni, the only true nostalgic dish Powers has insisted on incorporating from his childhood.

“And now it’s one thing on the table I know our kids will actually eat,” he laughs.  

This article originally appeared in the November 2026 issue of WALTER Magazine.