Home Sales in south Charlotte
page 10
Serving The Arboretum, Ballantyne, Blakeney and SouthPark communities
Locally Owned & Operated www.thecharlotteweekly.com
Volume 15, Number 3 • Jan. 16 to 22, 2015
Separate land deals in Ballantyne by Red Venture affiliates spark rumors of expansion Officials on both sides deny that marketing firm has any plans for south Charlotte by Ryan Pitkin ryan@thecharlotteweekly.com
The 5,400-square-foot restaurant will join Midwood Smokehouse’s first location, which opened in 2011. “I love the Ballantyne area,” said Frank Scibelli, founder of FS Food Group, the parent company of Midwood Smokehouse. “It’s such a growth area. Candidly, I have friends say all the time that we need to put a Midwood there. We’re really unique in what we do and I think it’s not currently served in that market, at least not that I know of.”
Despite speculation that South Carolinabased web marketing firm Red Ventures was behind the recent purchases of two blocks of land at the intersection of Johnston Road and Providence Road West, it appears the purchases are unrelated. While Red Ventures does have money invested in York Development Group, which currently owns a 12.5-acre parcel of land at the intersection, the company was not part of the decision to purchase the land, according to sources close to both companies. The recent purchase of 7.5 acres of land connected to the York Development plot by another group, which is also affiliated with Red Ventures, sparked rumors that the marketing firm, which has been increasing its presence in Charlotte and Fort Mill, South Carolina over the past year, had plans to expand to Ballantyne. The relation between the two is simply a coincidence, said Charley Leavitt, senior vice president of Jones Lang Lasalle, a real estate firm representing York Development’s rights at the current site. “As far as I know, (Red Ventures) was not involved in the decision to buy that land,” Leavitt said. Officials with Red Ventures also denied any direct involvement with the purchase
(see Midwood Smokehouse on page 5)
(see Red Ventures on page 3)
Midwood Smokehouse’s Plaza-Midwood location opened in 2011. The restaurant will launch its Ballantyne location in March.
Midwood Smokehouse opening Ballantyne location by Hannah Chronis editor@thecharlotteweekly.com
Another popular Charlotte restaurant will soon make Ballantyne its home. Midwood Smokehouse, the well-known barbecue joint in Charlotte’s Plaza-Midwood neighborhood, will open its second location at 12410 Johnson Road in Toringdon. The location was formerly home to Sticky Fingers, which closed at the end of last year.
INDEX: News Briefs, 6; Crime Blotter, 7; Scores, 8; Home Sales, 10; Education, 12; Rev. Tony, 16; Calendar, 18; Sports, 20; Classifieds, 23