Charlotte Magazine May 2021

THE BEST OF THE BEST

396

Reasons We Love This City

OUR ANNUAL

BOB

Awards Virtuoso Breadworks' Caramel Apple Cruffin

MAY 2021

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CONTENTS CHARLOTTE / MAY 2021 / VOL. 26, NUMBER 5

Features 46 THE 2021 BOB AWARDS Our annual Best of the Best awards celebrate the restaurants, museums, breweries, salons, and other businesses and nonprofits that make this city a better place

BY TAYLOR BOWLER, ALLISON BRADEN, GREG LACOUR, AND ANDY SMITH

ON THE COVER: Caramel Apple Cruffin from Virtuoso Breadworks in Waxhaw.

Photograph by Peter Taylor.

ON THIS PAGE: Mural by Mike Wirth, Swych19, and Arko at Industrious NoDa. Photograph

by Logan Cyrus.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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05 21 CONTENTS

RUSTY WILLIAMS; PETER TAYLOR (2); COURTESY COLORADO ROCKIES

IN EVERY ISSUE 10 From the Editor 12

Connect

THE BUZZ 15 Culture What’s next for Theatre Charlotte

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You Are Here

18

THE GUIDE 88 Restaurants The city’s savviest restaurant listings

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42

History A Charlotte native’s new book examines Soul City

THE GOOD LIFE 21 Sports Charlotte native Daniel Bard’s long road back to baseball glory 26

Style Society Social founder Roxy Te embraces granny chic

28

Room We Love Designer Christina Britt Lewis creates a rooftop lounge in Wesley Heights

FOOD + DRINK 39 Now Open Botiwalla brings Indian street food to Optimist Hall

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Building History UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute offers self-guided walking tours of the city

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Served History Gus’ Sir Beef’s decades-long dynasty

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On the Line Fin & Fino’s bar manager Eli Privette

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Bite-Sized News Foodie tidbits on a small plate

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Hot Listings Inviting homes in Charlotte’s pocket communities

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Seen The city’s best party pics

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Playlist The best things to do and see this month MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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Volume 26, Number 5 F RO M T H E E D I TO R

BOBs AND WEAVE Our 2021 Best of the Best winners survived some kind of year—or for much longer

MAY 2021

morrismedianetwork.com

www.charlottemagazine.com PUBLISHER Allison Hollins ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Gail Dougherty ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jessica Santee

EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Smith SENIOR EDITOR Greg Lacour LIFESTYLE EDITOR Taylor Bowler COPY EDITOR/FACT-CHECKER Allison Braden CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tamiya Anderson, Cristina Bolling, Anna Katherine Clemmons, Tom Hanchett, Kathleen Purvis ART & PHOTOGRAPHY ART DIRECTOR Jane Fields CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Daniel Coston, Logan Cyrus, Peter Taylor, Rusty Williams CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Shaw Nielsen DIGITAL DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Alyssa Ruane CONTENT COORDINATOR Kendra Kuhar

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MORRIS MEDIA NETWORK PRESIDENT Tina Battock VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS Scott Ferguson DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING & PRODUCTION Sherry Brown ACCOUNTING MANAGER Veronica Brooks CIRCULATION BUSINESS MANAGER Michelle Rowe MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY, LLC CHAIRMAN William S. Morris III CEO Craig S. Mitchell

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

LOGAN CYRUS

I RECENTLY DOVE into our print archives, Scrooge McDuck-style, and came across the May 1999 edition. It was the time of The Matrix and TLC’s “No Scrubs.” As you’d expect, some entries haven’t aged well. A new company, PayPal, was voted as one of the 10 worst business ideas of the year. Papa John’s won our “Pizza-Delivery” category. (“Buy Local” wasn’t as much of a rallying cry in those days.) And, as some folks built bunkers in fear of the Y2K bug, we created our first-ever Best of the Best list.

There’s much more to admire than cringe at in those worn pages. The biggest surprise: Andy Smith andrew.smith@charlottemagazine.com the number of notable people and businesses still serving Charlotte. “Endurance” is an unofficial theme of the BOB Awards this year, as each of our 2021 winners battled the worst public health crisis of our lifetimes. It’s not over yet, but it’s especially important in this issue to recognize the feat of making it these past 14 months.

In keeping with the “endurance” motif, here are some 1999 winners that weathered a global financial crisis, two decades of destructive urban development, the John Travolta-led Battlefield Earth, and yes, COVID, and are still with us: Lupie’s won for both “Banana Pudding” and “Chili,” and both still reign supreme. For “Fried Chicken”: Price’s Chicken Coop, which has nabbed that title many, many times since.

Latta Arcade, which won for “Old Building,” is an even Older Building now. Thomas Street Tavern’s winning “Jukebox” still pumps out Bob Seger, and uptown is indeed the best place to in-line skate today, even if people don’t really do that anymore.

Paper Skyscraper continues to be the spot for “Gifts,” especially for awkward white elephant exchanges at your office Christmas party. Last, my favorite: “Veterinarian” Long Animal Hospital in South End, caretakers of my dear Macy and Riggins, along with thousands—nay, millions—of animals over its 73 years.

My hope is that in 22 years, we’ll be celebrating all of the people and places in this issue that survived that journey. Heck, I hope even you make it, Papa John’s.

ADVERTISING SERVICE COORDINATOR Sharonda Howard

Connect

ONLINE EXTRAS, EVENTS, AND CONVERSATIONS

REACT

Responses to the March issue of Charlotte magazine

Nice cover!

Instagram comment by @thek_retreat Such a great public art project by @asccharlotte Instagram comment by @b0bc0mbs To: “Birder’s-Eye View,” p. 17 So excited and honored to be featured in Charlotte, NC’s #Reppn Magazine!!

Tweet from @ldpharr More people than ever before are getting outside and turning to birdwatching.

Check out this great @CharlotteMag article on the growth of birding in Charlotte, featuring @Meckbirds and the research of @ldpharr.

Tweet from @AudubonNC Once you start learning you will be so surprised how much you didn’t know & how exciting to see new birds & their habitats Tweet from @tlake24 To: “The Case for Charlotte Music, Post-COVID,” p. 20 Terrific piece by @rthurmond.

We are thankful Charlotte is one of our REVS pilot cities and are excited to continue to learn from their example.

Tweet from @michaelbracy To: “Plaza Midwood’s Fertile Storefront,” p. 28 Thanks to Tom Hanchett & @CharlotteMag for featuring

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our Founder in this walk down memory lane. It was here, on Central Ave, that Leon Levine’s entrepreneurial vision came to life.

Tweet from @LeonLevineFdn Here’s a look back at the Harris Food Store when it was located at 1508-1510 Central Ave. This photo shows how the storefront and Central Ave looked during World War II and the immediate postwar years, circa 1942-1947. #CltHistory Tweet from @unccspeccoll Great piece of history one storefront on Central Avenue was the birthplace of @HarrisTeeter and Family Dollar Tweet from @chuckmcshane (Ed.: The New York-based pizza chain Emmy Squared announced in January that it would move into one of the storefront’s spaces by summer.)

It’s so hard to find pizza in Plaza Midwood Instagram comment by @chefjml3 (In response) it’s all we have Instagram comment by @cindy_southie Everyone hating on this but im actually a little bit excited because all the other restaurants in Midwood have been soooo terrible lately.

Bad food is unforgivable in

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

the Pandemic I dont even understand how half the places around are still open Facebook comment by Evan Marvel

ON THE WEB Want more to read? Check out these popular stories on charlottemagazine.com.

Plaza is dead. Y’all killed it.

Facebook comment by Lindol French

1.

Pizza Midwood Facebook comment by Bryan Gaddy

2.

To: “More Sizzle in SouthPark,” p. 33 Thank you @CharlotteMag for dining with us and sharing this amazing recommendation of our restaurant!

Tweet from @Steak48 To: “A Flying (Re)Start,” p. 42 I hope it is better. I hated it. Wall to wall people. No where to sit. The direct flight to Madison does not get a great gate.

Facebook comment by Jen Cov It’s a pretty small airport that has too many people flying through it. (Apparently it is considered “large” as they rank airports!) They are expanding and adding gates, at least. It is convenient for flying to Europe or the Caribbean, as it is an American hub. I like that it doesn’t take long to get to any one gate. It’s being improved.

Facebook comment by Liz Young

3.

OPINION: Why Arts Funding Is Worth More Than the Bottom Line Charlotte’s Comprehensive Plan: A Backgrounder GALLERY: Mr. K’s Soft Ice Cream Closes Doors in South End

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INSIDE: CULTURE / HISTORY

BUZZ

THE

WHAT MATTERS NOW IN THE CITY

Chris Timmons (left) with Jackie Timmons at Theatre Charlotte.

CU LT U R E

RUSTY WILLIAMS

FIREPROOF

The coronavirus and a devastating December fire have challenged Theatre Charlotte to reimagine its performances, but the community support that’s sustained the nonprofit for 93 years hasn’t gone anywhere

BY ALLISON BRADEN

THEATRE CHARLOTTE’S associate artistic director, Chris Timmons, let the security company’s first call go to voicemail. It was 2 a.m., three days after Christmas. Those messages, he says, weren’t uncommon. “It’s usually just that the door has blown open,” chimes in Jackie Timmons, the theatre’s development director (and Chris’ wife). But when the phone rang again, Chris picked up. The security team explained that a fire had broken out. “So I went there thinking that I just needed to meet with a police officer and sign some paperwork,” he recalls. “And I came around the corner onto Queens Road, and the sky was just lit up with firetrucks.”

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE BUZZ

THE CHARLOTTE BRANCH of the American Association of University Women founded the organization that would become Theatre Charlotte in 1928, inspired by a national interwar vogue for community theatre. The troupe moved to its permanent home at 501 Queens Rd. in 1941, after more than a decade of performances at venues around town. (A fire at one of them, the Presbyterian College Auditorium uptown, destroyed most of their props. A coffin and turkey were spared.) Since then, the little clapboard theater has survived economic downturns and natural disasters to host volunteer-led stage productions every single season— until 2020.

“We were getting ready to go into tech to open a show,” Chris says, “and we went into lockdown.” The sets were built, the workers paid, the lines rehearsed, the tickets sold. They planned to delay the production until April. “All of a sudden, it was like, We’re in this for the long haul,” Chris recalls. “And that was the really scary part, because it’s like, We don’t know what’s going to happen, if there’ll be any relief funding. We don’t know if we’ll qualify. We don’t know when we’ll be able

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

(Left) The Odd Couple closed on Feb. 16, 2020, and was the last play completed at the theater.

(Above) The theater area after the fire in December 2020. (Below) The same room in early March 2021. The wooden railing prevents people from stepping into the hole in the floor.

to do a show again. We don’t know how to do shows.”

Before the pandemic, 2020 was on track to be a record year for the nonprofit; now, if everyone demanded refunds, they’d be in deep trouble. But they managed. Many patrons, blessedly, didn’t ask for their money back. The theatre quickly figured out how to offer virtual programming, which didn’t bring in nearly as much as ticket sales. But by then, it was about more than just breaking even. “We needed to keep doing things to stay in the community’s eye and also to serve our artists,” Chris says. Jackie adds that it was important to remind older subscribers, especially those who lived alone, that they were still valued members of the Theatre Charlotte family.

“Even if we weren’t making any money,” she says, “we were doing the right thing.”

The theatre pulled together and produced an Isolation Radio Hour series, with local actors reading parts in iconic radio dramas, along with several streamed shows and interviews with performers and production staff. Last September, they performed What I Did Last Summer al fresco, with seats set up in socially distanced groups in the parking lot. In the winter, the group put on A Christmas Carol at Christ South Church’s Old Dairy Farm in Waxhaw. They limited shows to weekend afternoons because the evenings were dark and cold, but audiences loved the nontraditional atmosphere as they reflected on Christmases past, present, and yet to come. By then, both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines had been approved and were slowly, painstakingly making their way into arms. The

RUSTY WILLIAMS (2); COURTESY MAGEN MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Chris watched through the open door as dozens of firefighters in full gear fought the electrical fire. Through smoke and moving shadows, he could already tell that one side of the historic auditorium was destroyed. Then, firefighters literally closed the stage curtains.

Theatre Charlotte has been a mainstay in the city’s arts landscape for nearly a century, but the one-two punch of COVID and the blaze has pushed the nonprofit closer than ever to a knockout. In the convulsing red light of eight fire engines, Chris wondered: Are we done?

global tragedy had at long last entered its third and final act.

Then an HVAC (as far as officials can tell) sparked the fire, which wrecked not only the right side of the auditorium— from floor to seats to ceiling—but also the sound and light boards. “That first moment,” Chris says, his voice wavering slightly, “walking in the building and seeing the auditorium with a big giant hole in it and all the water just dripping down, was something I won’t forget.” Fire officials estimated $50,000 in damage, but their appraisal didn’t account for technical equipment, the expense of cleaning everything affected by soot and smoke, or the water damage from the fire hoses.

The theatre will continue to assess the true cost, but Chris anticipates a multimillion-dollar capital campaign to restore and rebuild. The loss was staggering, existential. But in some ways, COVID had prepared them. “We’ve been training for dealing with a fire,” Jackie says, “without actually knowing we were.”

In fact, Chris says the fire couldn’t have happened at a better time. “We weren’t

expecting to have an audience back until probably the fall of this year,” he says, “so this was as good a time as any for something like that to happen.” More than $11,000 in donations flooded in as the Theatre Charlotte team began the long and difficult route to restore its longtime home. Other arts organizations immediately got in touch to lend support and offer alternative venues. The outpour emphasized Theatre Charlotte’s fireproof community bond and the family feeling that’s helped it flourish for generations.

The nonprofit, tucked back in the Cherry neighborhood, has provided a springboard for stars who’ve gone on to Hollywood and Broadway. But it’s also a place, Chris explains, where you can watch your dentist take the stage. Here, neighbors join to suspend reality for a while, and the players, crew, and set designers—many new to Charlotte—form lifelong friendships. (Chris and Jackie met on set at another theater.) As Chris says, “Theatre’s more than a building.”

The organization contracted Jenkins Restorations to mitigate the fire damage.

Afterward, an as-yet-undetermined contractor will take over to complete the repairs and upgrades, and the theatre will develop more events on digital and outdoor stages to fund the unexpected initiative. In the meantime, they’ve launched a volunteer application and a relief fund called Save My Seat, which accepts donations via Theatre Charlotte’s website.

Chris still has moments of doubt about whether they can pull through, but these days, he’s optimistic. The upgrades will underscore the thrill of returning to watch a play in person and the joy of reuniting with friends and neighbors before the lights go down. “We feel confident that we can make a difference in that space and make it a much more exciting environment when people come back,” he says. “Once I got over the initial shock of seeing that space, it was like, OK, now we have a chance to really make an impact here.”

ALLISON BRADEN is a contributing editor for this magazine.

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MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE BUZZ

H I STO RY

A DREAM DERAILED Charlotte native’s new book examines the bold plans and discarded promise of Soul City

A NEW BOOK by Seton Hall University law professor and Charlotte native Thomas Healy, Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia, traces the efforts of lawyer and civil rights leader Floyd McKissick to establish a unique community on a former tobacco plantation in rural northeastern North Carolina. McKissick’s idea was a planned town, Soul City, open to anyone but specifically intended to improve the lives and economic prospects of Black people.

Its development, which began in 1969 and followed a master plan by a young architect and planner named Harvey Gantt, drew financial support from surprising quarters, including the Nixon administration.

Soul City barely got off the ground, and the reasons—racism, paternalism, an ingrained reluctance of white institutions to invest in an endeavor by and for Black people—obstruct economic progress for racial minorities as thor-

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

oughly now as they did a half-century ago. We talked with Healy, 51, a Charlotte Catholic and UNC Chapel Hill graduate who started his career as a reporter for The News & Observer in Raleigh, and Gantt about the book, the project, and how they illuminate issues that remain fresh today. Answers are edited for space and clarity; read an expanded version at charlottemagazine.com.

THOMAS HEALY

What led you to write Soul City?

Soul City had always been in the back of my mind since I first heard about it ...

I started reading more about it and realized that the reason that it didn’t succeed had a lot to do with my former newspaper and a lot to do with (the late U.S. Senator) Jesse Helms. It struck me as a very poignant story that had been forgotten. This is also right around the time of the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of Michael Brown (in 2014).

When I thought about Ferguson and the fact that the population was twothirds Black and yet whites controlled every aspect of the town, it reminded me a lot of what Warren County looked like when Floyd McKissick arrived and what McKissick was trying to achieve, which was to give Black people control over their own lives. I just thought the parallels between Ferguson and Warren County in 1969 were really interesting.

What makes this story relevant today?

Essentially, what McKissick was trying to do back then was the same thing that the residents in Ferguson were trying to do in 2014—take control over their lives and acquire a measure of power. If you look at the economic situation of African Americans today, they’re, on average, not much better than they were in 1969.

The average wealth of African American families is still about one-tenth of a white family’s, and the unemployment rate is

COURTESY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY/ METROPOLITAN BOOKS

BY GREG LACOUR

SOUL CITY RALEIGH CHARLOTTE

Soul City was a planned community on a former tobacco plantation in rural Warren County, the brainchild of lawyer and civil rights leader Floyd McKissick (below). Designed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the project never got fully off the ground, and a new book by Charlotte native Thomas Healy explores why.

still double the white unemployment rate.

There obviously have been success stories within the Black community, but on average, the economic gap between white and Black people has hardly budged.

McKissick’s view was that Black people would not have political independence until they had economic independence.

If you’re vulnerable economically, you just don’t have the luxury of being free to choose what you want to do politically. … That’s still what a lot of people are talking about now: How do you shrink that wealth gap between African Americans and whites? Soul City was one attempt to try to do that, and I think looking at the forces that were arrayed against it and understanding why Soul City did not succeed can help us chart a path forward today.

What defeated Soul City?

First, and most obviously, there was a lot of overt racism that Soul City faced from people like Jesse Helms and from people in the local community and throughout the state. … Also, there were a lot of white liberals who simply thought that Soul City was the wrong path to racial equality and who thought that this was a step away from integration. Claude Sitton, the

editor of The News & Observer (from 1968 to 1990), is the most prominent example of someone who thought along these lines. I don’t think Claude Sitton was racist. But I do think that he was unwilling to defer to the judgment of someone like McKissick about what was best for Black people.

What lessons can Charlotte take from this history?

I think one of the core problems is residential segregation, when you have communities that are segregated, both racially and economically. It means you don’t get that kind of cross-racial or crosssocioeconomic understanding that’s really important for a healthy, pluralistic democracy. A lot of resources just continue to flow into the communities that already have resources. … You see this in public schools. Upper-income families get more resources—if from no other source—from the school PTA. So those communities continue to thrive, and the economically disadvantaged communities, which are often predominantly made up of racial minorities, continue to fall behind.

HARVEY GANTT

(Ed.: As he launched his venture, McKissick hired as its chief planner a recent graduate of MIT’s School of Architecture: Harvey Gantt, who in 1983 became Charlotte’s first Black mayor. Seven years after that, he lost a U.S. Senate race to Helms, who defeated Gantt with tactics similar to those he used to undermine Soul City.)

Well, for me, as a 27-year-old, fresh-outof-school planner and architect, I went to Soul City with the notion that it was a reach, but it was something I wanted to be a part of. If I could help plan a new town, and … if it could sustain itself, we thought that would be a terrific example to the rest of the country. ...

The theory made sense: If we can attract an industrial company or two or three, and hire people who were once farmers, and train them in the technical schools of North Carolina, and we could give them jobs, and raise the economic level of Warren County and other places—for us, that seemed not to be an unusual thing that could happen. But in the back of everybody’s mind, we were saying that everything had to fall into place. And it didn’t.

GREG LACOUR is senior editor of this magazine.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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GOOD LIFE

INSIDE: SPORTS / STYLE / ROOM WE LOVE / BUILDING HISTORY / REAL ESTATE / SEEN / PLAYLIST

THE

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF LIVING HERE

Charlotte Christian alumnus Daniel Bard, shown here throwing batting practice during spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona, finished the 2020 season with a 4-2 record and his first majorleague victory in eight years.

COURTESY COLORADO ROCKIES

S P O RT S

Back on the Mound

DANIEL BARD stood on the outfield grass of Coors Field in Denver and exchanged long tosses with a fellow Colorado Rockies bullDaniel Bard had the good stuff: a fastball in the high 90s, a reputation as one pen pitcher. It was early afternoon on July 21, of baseball’s best setup guys, and a solid spot on one of the sport’s most several hours before a practice game. Their storied teams. Then, suddenly, he lost it, and the once-feared pitcher, who pitching coach, Steve Foster, walked up. grew up in Charlotte, traveled a crooked path to learn how to get it back “Daniel,” he said, “when you’re done, I need to talk to you for a minute.”

BY ANNA KATHERINE CLEMMONS

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE GOOD LIFE

Daniel Bard with younger brothers Luke and Jared in spring 1998. Bard went on to star at Charlotte Christian and UNC Chapel Hill before the Boston Red Sox drafted him with the 28th overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

“We are excited about this team this year,” Black said, “and we want you three to be a part of it.”

JUST MAKING a major-league roster again was a profound victory for Bard, and over the course of the shortened, bizarre 2020 season, he managed to achieve more on the diamond than he’d dared to hope.

He earned other things, too: lessons about the relationship between mind and body; the relative importance of baseball to family; himself. “It’s not about if I can throw a baseball perfectly,” Bard says. “It’s, ‘What example and legacy am I leaving for my kids?’ I hope that in 10 or 15 years, they’ll realize what kind of risk we took—and that we did it because we believed in it.”

Bard has come to realize how improbable it all was. It’s a curious place for him considering how many things in his life had always gone right—until, out of nowhere, they didn’t.

DANIEL’S PARENTS, Paul and Kathy, moved to Charlotte from Houston in 1985, when Daniel was less than a year old. Paul, a minor league catcher for five years, had played one season with the Double-A Charlotte O’s, and he and Kathy settled in Charlotte after he retired from baseball. After Daniel, they had two more boys. Jared, born two years later, and Luke, five years Daniel’s junior, would achieve their own success on the diamond. Luke now pitches for the Los Angeles Angels.

Baseball was Daniel’s favorite sport, but he thought about quitting when, at 12, he failed to make an all-star roster. He did make the team at Providence High School but mostly sat on the bench for his first two years. Then, the summer before his junior year, Daniel, a right-hander, pitched in a showcase in Massachusetts and threw 91 mph. He was the only pitcher there who topped 90.

He transferred to Charlotte Christian, became one of the team’s best pitchers, and won a scholarship to UNC. In 2004, Baseball America named Bard the nation’s top freshman pitcher. Two years later, he helped lead the Tar Heels to the College World Series finals. The Boston Red Sox chose Bard with the 28th overall pick in the 2006 draft, and he made his professional debut the next year with

the team’s High-A affiliate in Lancaster, California.

There, a coach adjusted his delivery technique, and his pitching troubles began. After two months of poor outings, Bard was demoted to Low-A in Greenville, South Carolina. He grew selfconscious about his technique, which led to more instruction from coaches, which only made things worse. He stood on the mound before every pitch and recited the instructions as a litany: Lift your leg—but don’t go too high …

The more Bard listened, the more he adjusted, the less he felt like himself. He finished 2007 with 78 walks in 75 innings and a dismal 7.08 earned run average. His physical skills weren’t the issue; his arm felt fine, and his fastballs still hit the mid90s. The problem lived in his mechanics and mind. He began to feel the pressure of expectations: I was a first-round draft choice. Why can’t I throw strikes? When he began the 2008 season in Greenville after a winter league stint in Hawaii, Bard told himself to ignore the pressure and enjoy the moment. (It helped when he met a Furman student named Adair Sturdivant, whom he’d marry two years later.)

It worked. He finished the season 5-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 107 strikeouts.

A LITTLE MORE than a month into the 2009 season, the Red Sox called Bard up from their Triple-A club in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Over the next two seasons, until late 2011, he was one of baseball’s best setup pitchers—a reliever who replaces the starter in late innings before, ideally, the designated “closer” gets the final three outs in the ninth. From 2009 through 2011, Bard pitched 197 innings, with nearly three times as many strikeouts as walks. He was named Red Sox Rookie of the Year in 2009. Whatever had bedeviled him in 2007 seemed long gone.

Then, as suddenly and inexplicably as before, it came back. His loss of control coincided with a monumental collapse by the Red Sox. Boston led its division at the All-Star break and in early September was a virtual lock for the playoffs—then lost 20 of 27 games and was eliminated on the regular season’s last day. “Daniel Bard had the most unfortunate month on a staff of dismal performances,” ESPN’s Jeremy Lundblad wrote at the end of that Continued on page 24

COURTESY

This was one of the last days of summer camp, the second round of training to prepare for an abbreviated Major League Baseball season with COVID restrictions.

The Rockies had invited nearly 60 players to compete for spots on the team’s 40-man roster. None had a story like Bard’s.

Bard grew up in Charlotte and dominated at Charlotte Christian School, then as a three-year starter at UNC Chapel Hill.

The Boston Red Sox drafted him in the first round of the 2006 draft, and for two years, he was one of the best setup pitchers in baseball. Then his career quickly unraveled with a problem uniquely tormenting for a professional athlete, one that had more to do with his psyche than his physique. Bard bounced from team to team as he struggled to perform a pitcher’s essential job: throwing the ball over the plate.

Exhausted and demoralized, Bard retired from baseball in 2017. Two years later, he started to throw again. By 2020, he’d decided to try one more time. He’d pitched well in Denver—some of his pitches hit 97 mph—and felt confident.

But he wasn’t sure if this meeting with Foster would bring good news.

The two men walked through the tunnel and into the manager’s office, where General Manager Jeff Bridich, Manager Bud Black, a few front office staffers, and fellow invitees Chris Owings and Matt Kemp—both major-league veterans—were scattered around the room, per social distancing rules. Black turned to the trio of Bard, Owings, and Kemp and momentarily pulled down his mask.

BACK ON THE MOUND CO NT I N U E D F RO M PAG E 2 2

month. “He finished September 0-4 with a 10.64 ERA, issuing more walks (nine) than he had in the previous three months combined (eight).”

Again, a pitching coach changed his mechanics. Bard’s confidence crumbled, and his command disappeared. In 2012, at age 27, Bard toggled between the Red Sox and their Triple-A namesake in Pawtucket. His ERA soared. In 2013, after two brief appearances with Boston, the team sent him back to the minors. He would never again pitch for the Red Sox. IN THE OFFSEASON, doctors discovered a physical problem Bard thought might explain his struggles. He was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, a group of disorders that cause shoulder and neck pain and finger numbness when the nerves between the collarbone and upper ribs are compressed. He underwent surgery, which ended the symptoms, and signed with the Texas Rangers.

But by the time he returned to the mound in 2014—this time for the single-A Hickory Crawdads, an hour’s drive from home—his control had deserted him. Bard made four appearances for the Crawdads that year, pitching a total of two-thirds of an inning. He walked nine batters and hit seven with errant pitches.

One night, Paul and Kathy drove up to Hickory to watch him. Bard made a brief appearance out of the bullpen. None of his

Bard holding his daughter, Campbell, and with his sons, Sykes (left) and Davis.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

pitches came close to the strike zone. “He had pitched in the big leagues just three years before, dominating teams as a setup guy,” Paul says. “Now, it’s a Low-A game with maybe 1,500 people watching. His head was down. I said to Kathy, ‘This is really taking a toll on him.’”

A year later, he signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs organization, which invited him to spring training.

“The hardest part was seeing the flashes of it still there, but realizing there was this mental block,” Adair Bard says. “The most gut-wrenching sound was him warming up in the bullpen and hearing the thud of the backstop instead of the pop of the catcher’s mitt.”

Bard thought about quitting every day.

But he’d see glimpses of his old self, the one who threw 99 mph fastballs over the plate. Of 25 bullpen pitches, 15 would be terrible, and 10 would be solid. Afterward, he’d think, If I could just harness those 10.

He couldn’t—not then, anyway—and only recently has professional sports made a serious effort to learn how to treat athletes, so familiar with the science of their bodies, when their psyches break.

BASEBALL PLAYERS, especially pitchers, know the term well. So do golfers.

They know it well enough to avoid mentioning it: “the yips.” There’s no strict definition, although Dr. Jason Freeman, the sports psychologist for the University of Virginia’s Athletics Department, has a provisional one: “the override of a welllearned or routine motor script.” You can throw a 99 mph fastball. You can sink a 20-foot putt or 20 straight free throws.

Then something happens, and suddenly you can’t do those things, and you begin to fixate on the fact that you can’t, and then everything goes bad. Talking about it is one way out of the hole—but you do not want to name it.

“I think, for many athletes, they just get stuck and feel like they can’t acknowledge it, so it develops a power and a reinforced pattern of its own,” says Freeman, who works with athletes in 25 varsity sports on mental health and wellbeing. “Part of the role of sports psychology is to support players in acknowledging, ‘I’m going through something, and that something seems like the yips. Let’s shine a spotlight on it, understand it, and work through it.’”

Bard tried. He spent portions of the 2016 and 2017 seasons with a trio of

minor-league teams. He tried hypnosis.

He fixated on his physique and spent hours in the weight room. At each stop, he’d talk to the team sports psychologist.

Some wanted to steer clear of the negative, but others spent hours working with him on visualization and other exercises.

He spoke with teammates. Over beers one night, he asked an infielder how he’d pushed through the yips and how they affected his personal relationships.

“You see two coaches talking, and you think, ‘They’re talking about how I just played catch,’ ” Bard says. “I think about it now, and it was ridiculous. It’s a weird thing that eats at you.”

And the expectations kept weighing him down—even more than before he’d made it to the majors. Each time he signed with a new team, he’d walk into the clubhouse, and players would tell him, “I loved watching you pitch in Boston.”

They meant well, but the praise added to the pressure he placed on himself. They wanted the same thing he did—for him to be that Daniel Bard again. The more he wanted it, the harder it was to pitch, or just to take the mound.

In August 2017, at 32 and playing for a New York Mets affiliate in Florida, Bard threw a handful of pitches during a bullpen session, then tossed the ball to a coach. “I don’t want to throw anymore,” he said.

He meant only that he was done for the day. But as he got into his car, he began to think: No, I’m done, period.

AS A PLAYER, PERHAPS, but not with baseball. Daniel and Adair bought a house in Greenville, and Daniel accepted a job as a player mentor with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

At first, Bard couldn’t believe he had quit baseball only to turn around and take another job in baseball. But he had learned a lot, and he wanted to use that knowledge to help other players through similar struggles. Bard traveled to the Diamondbacks’ affiliate sites and chatted with players. Some wanted to talk about his days in Boston; others had never heard of him. Each retelling felt like therapy—“It softened the blow of it a little more,” he says—and hearing from others gradually shifted his perspective: “I became more grateful for what I did get, versus seeing it as my 10-year career that I cut short.”

Continued on page 84

COURTESY

THE GOOD LIFE

THE GOOD LIFE

ST YL E

Roxy Te

The Society Social founder and creative director embraces ‘granny chic’

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

THREE THINGS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT THE CALM APP

“I listen to it while I’m getting ready in the morning, usually for about 10 minutes. It’s helped with my anxiety and stress.”

305 FITNESS

“This was my favorite gym when I lived in New York—there was a DJ and light show, like a dance party.

They launched an app, so I can do it at home now.”

CLEVR LATTES

“I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine, and these are amazing. It’s my little sip of luxury to start my day.”

colorful, and feminine spin,” she says, “or granny chic, if you will.”

With her small, edited collections, Te stands out from national brands like West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Serena & Lily, which often mass-produce their items and offer limited color and upholstery options. Her team of artisans and craftsmen can customize nearly any piece with customers’ preferred finish, fabric, or accents like tassels, piping, and scalloped hems.

Te says her dream is to design a hotel, or a “destination by the sea,” and in the meantime produce two new furniture collections a year. Most days, she bounces around the factory in her workout clothes, taking meetings, checking on new pieces, and styling product shots in the on-site photography studio.

“Working in the male-dominated furniture industry, in a small town in the South, as a woman business owner, minority, and person of color, I’m very aware that I have to work twice as hard to prove myself,” she says. “There aren’t a lot of people who look like (my daughter) where we live, in management positions no less, so it’s important to me to be that person to her.”

TAYLOR BOWLER is lifestyle editor of this magazine.

COURTESY

ROXY TE has immersed herself in furniture design almost from the moment she was born. She lived in her family’s first furniture factory in the Philippines until she was 2, when her parents immigrated to North Carolina. As a teen, she spent summers working in her parents’ office in Conover and attended the High Point Market every fall and spring. Te pursued a career as a fashion buyer after her 2007 graduation from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

But when she realized cubicle life wasn’t for her, she returned to her roots. In August 2011, at 27, she launched her own furniture line, Society Social.

Her collection of sorbet-colored accent chairs, grass cloth dressers, rattan bookcases, and Scalamandre pillows grew from an item many of us overlook: the bar cart, which she’s made a signature item for her brand. “(It’s) a very social piece of furniture,” she says. “The name Society Social came about because the social aspect of furniture infinitely inspires me.”

The 37-year-old mom to Austen, 3, moved back to North Carolina in 2018 after 10 years in New York. She opened Society Social’s first storefront in Atherton Mill in late 2019 but lives in Hickory, where she can be close to her factory and manage the company’s product development and e-commerce. Her playful, Instagrammable aesthetic combines classic design and traditional silhouettes with a “fresh,

THE GOOD LIFE

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

RO O M W E LOV E

Decked Out

Designer Christina Britt Lewis creates a rooftop lounge in Wesley Heights

WHEN CHRISTINA BRITT LEWIS and her husband, Tim, downsized from a house in the suburbs to a townhome in the city, the empty-nesters planned a rooftop lounge where they could read, nap, watch football, and enjoy skyline views. But under a stayat-home order and with their son home from college, the couple, who own The Redesign Company, fast-tracked the project. “It does not have to take forever and cost a fortune to love coming home,” Christina says. “We learned that having only what you need and love is a great way to live.” —Tamiya Anderson

COURTESY THE REDESIGN COMPANY

COASTAL FLAIR Christina chose a coastal color palette to make their outdoor space feel “cozy and comfortable … like you’re on a vacation.” Plush blue pillows rest against white love seats from Frontgate, woolwrapped ottomans from CB2 encourage conversation, and a blue stitched rug from Joss & Main complements the couple’s pottery vase and adds a layer of softness.

VIEW FINDER You see the skyline from every seat. “We can see the Jumbotron at the stadium and the fireworks after baseball games from our roof,” Christina says. She chose warm accents like a drum-style coffee table and overhanging string lights to enhance rather than obscure the views. “It’s so lovely being able to see the city,” she says, “and having those extra lights makes it feel very ambient.”

INSIDE OUT The Lewises, who love watching sports and movies on weekends, left space for an outdoor bar. They installed a 60-inch flat-screen TV above a 6-foot sideboard from Four Hands with plenty of storage for snacks and drinks. Christina added hand-woven Buhera baskets and a sheepskin from Iceland for texture, and a gold planter makes the lounge feel like an extension of the interior.

“Being outside never felt more important,” she says. “We have never lived in a smaller home, and we have never loved a home more.”

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE GOOD LIFE

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s walking tour of Elizabeth includes (left, top to bottom) Independence Park, the former home of author and civil rights activist Harry Golden, and the William Henry Belk House, which the department store founder built in 1924.

B U I L D I N G H I STO RY

Strolling Through History

COVID spurs Urban Institute to let Charlotteans guide themselves on City Walks

IS MAY THE MOST DELIGHTFUL MONTH for a walk in Charlotte? You won’t get any argument from the folks at City Walks Charlotte.

Since 2012, UNC Charlotte’s Urban Institute has offered free, volunteer-led walking tours each May that examine unexpected aspects of Charlotte’s urban landscape, history, art, and planning. This year, with COVID, the institute has listed more than two dozen walks on CityWalksCLT.org, which allows participants to take self-guided tours whenever they want. So grab a mask, find a walking buddy if you like, and get some socially distanced exercise for your legs—and brain.

Here are highlights from a walk I helped create for Elizabeth, just east of uptown, founded circa 1900 as the city’s second “streetcar suburb.” Arrive by car or the new LYNX Gold Line. Start at the Hawthorne Recreation Center, then stroll into Independence Park, opened in 1904 as Charlotte’s first public park.

Next stop: St. Martin’s Episcopal, girlhood church of the Rev. Carter Heyward, a civil rights activist and one of the first women ordained into the Episcopal priesthood. Wend your way along East EighthStreet, known for its bungalow-style

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

cottages—including that of Harry Golden, a best-selling author (Only in America, 1958) and civil rights activist.

On Clement Avenue, marvel at the big, gracious homes, which include the residence of William Wilkinson, the cotton mill owner for whom Wilkinson Boulevard is named. You can pause for a snack at the original location of Sabor, the local Latin street food chain, then take a short walk up Hawthorne Lane to find—hidden under the trees next to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center—the William Henry Belk House, the mansion the Belk department stores’ founder built in 1924.

That’s a surprising amount of history—all in a walk that’ll take you less than an hour.

The City Walks idea began with Mary Newsom, creator of UNC Charlotte’s PlanCharlotte blog, which digs into urban design issues in our region. Newsom counts the late Jane Jacobs as a major influence. In 1961, New York-based Jacobs published The Death and Life of Great American Cities, an influential book that slammed the tear-it-down ethos of “urban renewal.” Jacobs urged planners and residents to Continued on page 32

COURTESY DAVID WOODLEY; COURTESY TOM HANCHETT (3)

BY TOM HANCHETT

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THE GOOD LIFE R E AL E STAT E

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carefully observe how cities actually work, then build on that knowledge to foster better human interactions.

The Center for the Living City, which carries on Jacobs’ teaching, promotes Jane’s Walks—“walking conversations” in which neighbors learn from neighbors—in cities around the globe to mark the author’s birthday, May 4. Newsom organized Charlotte’s first Jane’s Walk nine years ago, and it grew into the annual, monthlong City Walks Charlotte. Through Urban Institute staffer Angelique Gaines, the program organized 40 walks, which drew more than 600 attendees in 2019.

Then COVID hit. Gaines first postponed the 2020 offerings, then canceled them. That gave Gaines and co-organizer Bridget Anderson time to reimagine the City Walks as self-guided offerings, which the Urban Institute has posted to CityWalksCLT.org: » » »

»

Arts advocate Anne Low (ArtWalksCLT.com) shares an uptown mural walk and a tour of public art in South End. Residents of NoDa, Camp Greene, and Fourth Ward introduce their neighborhoods.

Tours of what once was Brooklyn, the historic Black community in Second Ward, and the Belmont neighborhood just east of uptown focus on gentrification and redevelopment.

Explorations of the Hebrew Cemetery in North End and the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens uncover little-known treasures.

“City Walks are important for our city because it allows people to learn more about their community and connect across differences,” Gaines tells me. “We’re in our own bubbles sometimes, and we have our own networks.”

Adds Anderson: “This year especially, City Walks provide an important outlet to get outside and explore the neighborhoods around us.”

BUILDING HISTORY is a monthly series that highlights Charlotte’s historic buildings. Tom Hanchett, a local historian in Charlotte since 1981, is the author of Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975 and former staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South. Follow him on Twitter at @historysouth.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

215 TOWILL PL. $1,095,000 COTSWOLD The covered front porch has space for tables, benches, and rocking chairs.

Relax by the stone fireplace in the living room, retire to the master suite with an adjoining office, or retreat to the secret wine room in the basement. 4 BD, 3.5 BA, 4,397 sq. ft., Dickens Mitchener & Associates, dickensmitchener.com 912 TENNYSON DR. $514,000 ENDERLY PARK This new build has a back patio for entertaining, a one-car garage, and a spacious backyard with a privacy fence. High-end features include quartz countertops, a direct-vent fireplace, and a Nest technology package. 4 BD, 2.5 BA, 2,330 sq. ft., Millennial Realty, millennialrlty.com 1824 UMSTEAD ST. $479,900 VILLA HEIGHTS Original hardwood floors, wainscoting, and vintage barn doors add to the charm of this 1922 bungalow. The updated master suite contains custom his-and-hers closets, a garden tub, and a separate shower. 3 BD, 2 BA, 1,475 sq. ft., Allen Tate Realtors, allentate.com

Homes available as of Feb. 22, 2021.

COURTESY NANCY PIERCE / UNC CHARLOTTE URBAN INSTITUTE; COURTESY

COVID restrictions drove City Walks organizers to list more than two dozen self-guided tours on the program’s website, CityWalksCLT.org. The Urban Institute began City Walks in 2012; above, program co-organizer Angelique Gaines leads a tour of the Belmont neighborhood, which includes the renovated Louise cotton mill, in 2019.

2212 SPRINGDALE AVE. $1,499,000 DILWORTH This two-story arts and craftsstyle home has covered porches, city views, and a large detached garage. Three fireplaces, two master bedrooms, a bonus room, and a gourmet kitchen highlight the updated interior. 4 BD, 3.5 BA, 3,906 sq. ft., Helen Adams Realty, helenadamsrealty.com

THE GOOD LIFE

PART Y P I C S

Seen Upcoming Calendar of Events Submit your event online at charlottemagazine.com/ calendar, and look forward to seeing more from these: MAY 5/22 Charlotte Memory Gala benefiting Alzheimer’s Association, sharecharlotte.org 5/1 Derby Days for the Young Affiliates of the Mint, mintmuseum.org/events 5/15-16 Art in the Garden Tour by Charlotte Garden Club fundraiser, charlottegardenclub.com/event 5/16 Tea Time in the Garden at Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary, winghavengardens.org 5/30 Party in the Park Mint Museum Randolph, mintmuseum.org/events

YWCA We Believe (Virtual) Benefit luncheon for YWCA Feb. 25, 2021

1. Dr. Felicia Baiden 2. Shelley Smith 3. Kirsten Sikkelee

Mitchell’s Fund (Virtual)

Fund to improve mental well-being for children and families who have experienced trauma March 11, 2021

Case Baumgarten Show

Anne Neilson Fine Art Gallery Feb. 11, 2021

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1. Cassandra Richardson, Savannah Liles, Lindsay Adams 2. Lambeth Marshall, Case Baumgarten 3. Meg Farris, Hayley Farris 4. Sharon Wilson, Danielle Nashold 5. Blaine Nashold, Charles Wilson

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

DANIEL COSTON; COURTESY CLAIRE LECHTENBERG, YWCA (3)

1. Josh Daniel sings while children play 2. Chandler Head, Darby Camp

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THE GOOD LIFE ART S + E V E NT S

The Playlist THE BEST THINGS TO DO AND SEE THIS MONTH

BY ANDY SMITH

Water Lantern Festival MAY 8

THE CHARLOTTE WATER LANTERN FESTIVAL is one of more than 50 such events throughout the country at which floating lanterns are pushed out onto water to lift spirits and allow people to connect. You can expect a lantern decoration station, food trucks, and music.

The event supports Water.org, a nonprofit focused on safe water and sanitation, and our city’s version happens at Symphony Park (4400 Sharon Rd.) in SouthPark. Tickets run from $25.99-$64.99, and each adult ticket comes with one lantern.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m., and the launch begins at 8:30. More info: waterlanternfestival.com.

Silent Streets: Art in the Time of Pandemic at Mint Museum Uptown

St. Paul & The Broken Bones Brings Drive-In Show to Rural Hill MAY 25

This Southern soul-rock act, led by singer Paul Janeway’s explosive vocals, returns to the Charlotte area this month. Car passes for the 7 p.m. “Live Cruise-In Concert” at Historic Rural Hill (4431 Neck Rd., Huntersville) range from $175 to $325, depending on section; passes allow up to four people per vehicle. More info: maxxmusic.com.

This exhibition focuses on the work and lives of artists over the past year. The museum (500 S. Tryon St.) commissioned works by Amy Bagwell of Charlotte, Stacy Lynn Waddell of Durham, and Antoine Williams of Greensboro to be included among other pieces.

As of press time, Charlotte’s 407-acre theme park planned to reopen May 22. Among the changes to expect: » You can’t just show up and get in. Bring your season pass, mobile ticket, or printed ticket—along with a mask, required everywhere except at a table or bench while dining. » You can’t use cash, either. Plan to use a credit card, Android Pay, or Apple Pay. » Someone in your party must have a mobile phone with the Carowinds app downloaded and “Location Services” turned on. » Expect health screenings and temperature checks at the entrance, and use the new hand-sanitizing stations throughout the park.

More info: carowinds.com.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

COURTESY McNAIR EVANS; CEDAR FAIR

Carowinds Plans a Return This Month

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Bottle Service Money was no object; she would settle for nothing but the best. She sought out two world-renowned scientists who spent two years developing the layered-active technology for the brand. The custom design for the lightweight, easy-lock, airless pump that protects the go-anywhere product was another lengthy process. In 2020 their hero product, Hydro-Honey, was ready to launch. Then the pandemic hit.

Worth The Wait

Launching the new hygge-beauty brand, Valoie, was anything but simple. Or cheap.

From lab samples and mock ups, this founder put it all on the line to invest $500,000 of her own money to make her vision come to life. As an awardwinning entrepreneur, Jayme Valo thought she knew what to expect launching Cleanical skincare line, Valoie. Then the pandemic hit and nothing went as planned. Here she shares the challenges and why she relocated to Charlotte.

What’s In A Name Pronounced, “val-oh-ah” it’s a marriage of her last name, Valo and the Nordic word for light or glow.

“The idea for Valoie came to me when I was traveling extensively. A dozen skincare steps don’t

Risky Business Just before launch, every supply chain, retail partnership and timeline was delayed or stalled.

“We were gut punched when the pandemic hit. It ended up costing a lot more than we ever budgeted.

We kept our staff on payroll the entire shutdown and took the time to formulate our new pore repair treatment, Aktiv that has since become a fan-favorite.”

Built for Movers & Shakers Valoie is designed for the busiest people in the world who have a discerning taste for quality on the go. They moved all operations to Charlotte in early 2021.

The vibe of the city was perfect for the brand’s next project, Valoie’s signature Hygge-Beauty Space.

Skincare Is A Lifestyle Hygge-beauty, the brand’s methodology derived from Valo’s ancestry of Danish hygge, is about embracing rituals that calm and balance. “It’s about fewer, but better products. Consistency is key in skincare.”

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“Diamonds are graded for quality, clarity and purity, so are skincare ingredients and formulations.

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The Kale Pakoras, Indianstyle kale fritters made with curried chickpea batter, come with green chutney and sweet yogurt for dipping.

N OW O P E N

CHAR-GRILLED AND HANDHELD

Botiwalla brings Indian street food to Optimist Hall

BY TAYLOR BOWLER PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR

AT BOTIWALLA, Optimist Hall’s newest food stall, spiced meats sizzle over flames, and the smell of hot, buttered naan—the leavened flatbread that accompanies most Indian dishes—draws hungry guests inside. It’s the vision of five-time James Beard Award nominee Meherwan Irani, who’s already launched five other restaurants, including Chai Pani in Asheville in 2009 and the first Botiwalla in Atlanta’s Ponce City Market four years ago.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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FOOD+DRINK

The décor in Botiwalla’s dining room at Optimist Hall is a nod to the tea and kebab houses in India. (Right) The Desi Salad, topped with carrots, scallions, and roasted cashews, and a side of warm, buttered naan.

BOTIWALLA 1115 N. Brevard St., Unit 203 (inside Optimist Hall) botiwalla.com Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily

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“Botiwalla” is Hindi for “the meat guy,” a reflection of what Irani says was one of two main inspirations. The first is his attachment to late-night street food, a thriving tradition in Indian cities like Mumbai and his hometown of Ahmednagar, in western India. After the formal restaurants close for the night, he says on the Botiwalla website, “the grills come out, the fires get lit, and late-night revelers and commuters get fed.”

The second: the tea and kebab houses in Maharashtra, his home state, establishments originally designed to cater to Victorian-era English colonialists and their passion for high tea and propriety. At the entrance, you’ll find a “provisions corner” stocked with bottled sodas, spices, biscuits, and sauces. The dining area has glass chandeliers, Bollywood posters, and blue and brown wooden picnic tables with a view of the open kitchen. (At press time, the restaurant wasn’t yet open for dine-in service, so guests ordered at the counter or online and either took their meals to go or grabbed tables in the communal food hall.)

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

The first part of the menu is chaat, snacks you eat with your hands. Start with the SPDP ($5.99), crispy flour puffs stuffed with potatoes, cilantro, and onions and drizzled with sweet and savory chutneys. The Kale Pakoras ($8.99) are kale fritters made with a curried chickpea batter and served with green chutney and sweet yogurt. They taste more like salty potato chips than a green vegetable, so it’s perfectly reasonable to polish off the whole order.

The sigri section is where you find the grilled chicken, lamb, and paneer (Indian farmer’s cheese) you smelled down the hall. If you’re new to Indian food, or you just love the Kashmiri spices in a classic chicken tikka masala, get the Chicken Tikka Roll ($9.99). Wrapped in warm, buttered naan and topped with red cabbage slaw and mint chutney, it makes a great graband-go lunch.

The Botiwalla Lamb Burgers ($10.99) are a savory pair of ground lamb sliders topped with slaw, green chutney, and Maggi ketchup (which is like a spicier, tangier version of the Heinz variety). You’ll get hints of cumin, ginger, chilies,

(Left) Beverages include the Mango Lassi and homemade sodas like the Lime Ricky and Pineapple Turmeric soda.

(Above) An order of SPDP includes five puffed flour crisps stuffed with potatoes, cilantro, and onions and topped with sweet yogurt and crunchy chickpea noodles. (Left) The Botiwalla Lamb Burgers with a side of Masala Smashed Potatoes tossed with salt, chaat masala, lime juice, and cilantro.

mint, cilantro, and a burst of heat. And vegetarians needn’t worry: Botiwalla also offers options like the Desi Salad ($7.99), a heap of shredded cabbage, carrots, scallions, and roasted cashews topped with cilantro and crunchy chickpea noodles. (You can add a protein for an additional charge.) The Tandoori Veggie Roll ($8.49) is a hearty mix of grilled zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers marinated in yogurt, lime juice, and Kashmiri chili paste, and wrapped in warm, buttered naan.

For condiments, an Indian specialty, see the “extras” menu. Order Botiwalla Hot Sauce ($.50) to punch up your burgers, or cut the heat with Raita ($.50), a lightly seasoned yogurt with a touch of sugar. And for a paltry $1.99, you can order an extra serving of—yes—warm, buttered naan.

To top off your meal with something sweet, try the Mango Lassi ($4.99), a chilled yogurt drink with sweet mango and cardamom. For something hot, try the traditional Indian chai tea ($3.49). Botiwalla also serves homemade sodas like Tamarind Cola ($3.99), Pineapple Turmeric Soda ($3.99), and Lime Ricky ($3.99), which are great to douse the fire that the spices may have ignited in your mouth.

As adventurous as its food is, Botiwalla is neither pretentious nor expensive: The kitchen serves everything on disposable plates, and nothing costs more than $12. Come for lunch, dinner, or a spicy nighttime snack, and feel free to skip the utensils. Just don’t skip the homemade sodas or the warm, buttered … you know.

Don’t leave without trying: The Kale Pakoras ($8.99), a mound of crunchy, salty kale fritters that are way too delicious to be a vegetable.

TAYLOR BOWLER is lifestyle editor of this magazine.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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FOOD+DRINK

Constantine “Gus” Bacogeorge (right) opened Gus’ Sir Beef in 1968. Today, son Thrace (below, right) runs the restaurant with brother George. The iconic “Fresh My Farm” slogan (below) still distinguishes the building.

S E RV E D H I STO RY

SIR BEEF’S DYNASTY

Through more than five decades, Gus’ Sir Beef has served the famous and humble fried squash and other delectables from fresh its farm

BY KATHLEEN PURVIS | PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR

IF YOU WEREN’T NEAR the intersection of Monroe and North Wendover roads on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 23, you missed a beautiful sight. A line of people stood along Wendover in front of Gus’ Sir Beef, one of Charlotte’s iconic diners, and cheered and released balloons as a funeral procession passed.

Calliope Bacogeorge, 88, who died Jan. 17 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, was on her way to her final resting place beside her husband, Gus Bacogeorge, in the Greek section of Evergreen Cemetery. Calliope—pronounced CAL-ee-oh-pee—usually went

by Clara. She was also known as Mama Gus, the wife and hardworking partner of the late Constantine “Gus” Bacogeorge, owner of Gus’ Sir Beef. “She was as much a part of this as Dad was,” says their son Thrace Bacogeorge, 55, who grew up working in Gus’ and has run it since 2000 with help from his brother, George, 58. “It was their legacy.”

There are so many things to know about Gus’. There’s that slogan, “Fresh

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

My Farm,” Gus’s Greek-accented way of saying he grew a lot of the vegetables he served. There’s the fried squash (seriously, who goes without getting fried squash?), with a golden crust that clings to soft, hot circles of yellow summer squash. (Thrace is bound by a family contract never to reveal the recipe. We are bound to suggest you get a side of ranch for dipping.)

Thrace calls the most popular order “137-11” from the daily specials menu: beef tips, collards, and fried squash.

There are the legends, like the time in 1991 when Elizabeth Taylor came to Gus’. She was at Carolina Place to promote her White Diamonds perfume and told police officer Dennie Crowder, who was moonlighting as her security guard, that she wanted fried chicken. Crowder took Liz and her seventh husband, Larry Fortensky, straight to Gus’.

Lines at Gus’ used to wrap around the building. Charlotte royalty, from WBTV star Fred Kirby to businessmen like Hugh McColl and Ed Crutchfield, stood in that line. Professional wrestlers like Dusty

Rhodes, Ric Flair, and Ricky Steamboat crowded into a corner booth after shows.

Even André the Giant, the cliff-climbing colossus in The Princess Bride, came by one night, so big he had to duck to get through the door. “Dad couldn’t contain himself,” Thrace remembers.

LIKE SO MANY Charlotte restaurant stories, from the Open Kitchen’s to the Landmark Diner’s, the Sir Beef story started in Greece, where Gus was born.

(Calliope’s parents came from the island of Patmos, but she was born in Mississippi and raised in Wilmington, where her parents co-owned the Crystal Pier, now known as the Oceanic, in Wrightsville Beach.)

Orphaned by age 11, Gus grew up to be a police officer in Athens. But his real ambition was to come to America, which he did in the 1950s. He bounced from New York to Washington before a cousin told him in 1957 to move to Charlotte. “Three hundred bucks in his pocket,” Thrace says.

“He lived the American dream.”

(Far left) Calliope “Clara” Bacogeorge was also known as “Mama Gus.” Server Jackie Tatsis (left) takes lunch orders.

The restaurant still stands at the corner of Monroe and North Wendover Roads (below).

(Left) Beef tips with fried yellow squash and a basket of biscuits. (Above) Fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of black-eyed peas.

In Charlotte, he met John Couchell (father of George Couchell of Showmars), who had a popular steak restaurant, Johnny’s, across from where Sir Beef is today. He eventually bought out Couchell, and the Bacogeorges ran it until 1967, when a fire destroyed part of the building.

The city planned to widen Monroe Road, so rather than rebuild, the Bacogeorges bought a lot across the street and opened the original Gus’ Sir Beef in 1969. At first, the menu was similar to Johnny’s: steaks and fries, and Americanized classics like spaghetti and pizza (pizza is still painted on the outside of the building, but they stopped serving it 9 years ago). Then, in the early ’70s, a customer told Gus there was a market for fresh Southern-style vegetables that weren’t flavored with meat or meat drippings. Gus started buying fresh produce from local farms.

“My dad was probably the first farm-totable restaurant in town,” Thrace says. By 1972, Gus had bought 18 acres on Hargett

Road and started his own farm, growing squash, okra, and five kinds of greens. He had a rule: only fresh vegetables. (The exception is beets—Gus thought canned beets were best for marinating.) Of course, vegetables are seasonal, so there’s a code on the menu: “Fresh My Farm” is grown at the farm; “local fresh” is sourced from another local farm; and “farm fresh” means it came from a farm farther away, usually in South Carolina.

Thrace earned an engineering degree from N.C. State and worked for several companies before he came back to run the original location in 2000, working with his parents until Gus died in 2010.

Gus’ has had five locations over the years, including a wildly popular one in Latta Arcade uptown, which George ran from 1992 to 2006. Building repairs and an increase in rent led that one to close.

IT’S TRUE THAT GUS’ has seen better days. The drop-tile ceiling has water stains from leaks in the roof, and most of the

blue vinyl booths have tears in the seats.

Thrace plans repairs but had to focus on caring for his mother until her death.

COVID-19 has cut down on their customers, although people in the area who work at home often trickle in for lunch as late as 3 or 4 p.m.

Peg Robarchek, a novelist who recently retired from her job as director of communications at First Presbyterian Church, has eaten at Gus’ since she moved to Charlotte in 1980. She returns to Gus’ because it reminds her of an earlier Charlotte that was packed with Greek-owned diners— and, she says, it tastes like the garden vegetables her grandmother cooked: “You can taste ‘Fresh My Farm.’”

Her regular order? Fried chicken. “But I’m also a veggie plate fan,” she says. “Give me some fried okra. Fried squash—that goes without saying. Pinto beans. Pile up the stuff we shouldn’t eat.”

KATHLEEN PURVIS is a longtime Charlotte writer who covers Southern food and culture.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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FOOD+DRINK

O N T H E LI N E W I T H

ELI PRIVETTE Dogwood’s 25-year-old bar manager goes local, ‘funky’ with his cocktails

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

Where does your interest in cocktails come from? I’ve always had an interest in cooking in general. When I started working at The Porter’s House four years ago, I watched what the bar manager was doing, and it lit a fire under me to learn more about cocktails.

I’m naturally inquisitive and will ask a mixologist, ”Why are you doing that?”

Describe your role at Dogwood Southern Table & Bar. I have full control over creating and naming the drinks and designing

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the menu. At first, it was overwhelming, but I’m hitting my stride, from conceptualizing something to bringing it to the glass. I do all the management stuff before we open or after we close so I can interact with guests when I’m behind the bar.

I like to make customers feel like we’re their friends and enjoy their experience, especially now.

Tell me about your cocktail program. I’m a big fan of local ingredients. I love using things in funky, different ways. I just did a drink with smoked sweet potatoes and roasted beets, so not necessarily what you’d expect in a cocktail, but it’s still fun and approachable—complex but not too challenging to the palate.

What’s been the biggest challenge of packaging cocktails to go? Figuring out all the rules to go along with it (laughs). How do you make this in a way that it’s not a $14 drink and still looks nice? We’ve moved to Mason jars and include recipe

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

cards and a handwritten note.

Since customers aren’t sitting at the bar anymore, that’s the little bit of communication we can still have with them.

What do you think is an underappreciated flavor?

Bitter or umami.

What’s your favorite food and cocktail pairing?

A gin-and-champagne cocktail with fried chicken.

What’s the most creative cocktail you’ve ever made?

At World Class (a nationwide bartender’s competition) last year, I made a drink with cherry tomato, cilantro, salt, tequila, and a few types of vermouth. On the palate, it tastes like pico de gallo.

THE TOUGH STUFF Chocolate or vanilla?

Chocolate Coffee or tea?

Coffee Cake or pie?

Pie Manhattan or mojito?

Mojito Charcuterie board or glazed nuts? Charcuterie Lobster roll or egg roll?

Lobster roll Comedy or drama?

Drama Street eats or sit-down?

Sit-down Facebook or Instagram?

Instagram

of tequila and mezcal. Anything with those, and I’m on board.

Any drink trends you’re watching? I think we’ll see a shift to more low-ABV drinks and more focus on spritzes.

Any drinks you won’t touch?

I’m not a big fan of cynar, an amaro made with artichokes.

What’s your adult beverage of choice? Lately, it’s been a lot

What do you like to do outside of work? I spend a lot of time

COURTESY PLAID PENGUIN

Age: 25 You might know him from: He was a bartender at Fin & Fino and The Porter’s House.

Relationship status: Single with a lab-pit bull mix named Butch Hometown: Waxhaw Currently lives: Uptown Favorite sports teams: Panthers and Hornets Currently reading: Booze and Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks by André Darlington and Tenaya Darlington

with my dog, and I do a lot of running. I’ve been watching The Sopranos for the first time over the last month or so. I usually watch one episode a day.

What’s your favorite restaurant in Charlotte other than your own? I’m a big fan of The Crunkleton, Leah & Louise, Bardo, and VANA. What’s your guiltiest pleasure? I can’t keep sweets—or any kind of ice cream— in my apartment because I will absolutely crush it.

Any rules to live by in a bar? Tip your bartender. In times like these, take care of people in hospitality.

New Scibelli Restaurant Supplants NC Red in Old Penguin Building

B I T E - S I Z E D STO R I E S

Foodie Tidbits on a Small Plate Mixologist AMANDA BRITTON left VANA to join the team at Paul Verica’s new Italian concept, Orto. Look for amaros and Italian-inspired cocktails at the new NoDa restaurant.

BIG BEN PUB is moving from South End to the former Carpe Diem space in Elizabeth.

The Atlanta-based southern restaurant BOCADO BAR + DINER will open in its place this summer.

THREE AMIGOS opened a second location in the Colony Place Shopping Center in south Charlotte. Expect the same authentic Mexican dishes and an expanded margarita menu.

The 5th Street Group has taken ownership of LA BELLE HELENE, the uptown restaurant that closed last October. The French brasserie concept remains the same, but 5th Street Group has revamped the menu with Top Chef veteran and 5th Street Group Chef Partner Jamie Lynch behind the venture.

WARMACK is now open in the former Pint Central space in Plaza Midwood. The Asian comfort food restaurant serves noodles, bao buns, and late-night banh mi, plus a variety of specialty cocktails. —Taylor Bowler

FRANK SCIBELLI’S FS FOOD GROUP planned to open a new concept called CALLE SOL LATIN CAFÉ AND CEVICHERIA in April at 1205 Thomas Ave., the former Penguin Drive-In spot. Bruce Moffett, another longtime Charlotte restaurateur and owner of NC Red, the building’s most recent tenant, announced in February that he would close the restaurant after less than two years.

Calle Sol will serve Cuban classics like vaca frita, croquetas, and arroz con pollo in a casual neighborhood setting with a lunch counter and to-go window. Expect a rum-heavy cocktail menu with mojitos, Cuba libres, and pisco sours.

Executive chef Paul Cruz, a longtime member of FS Food Group, will work alongside Alfredo Garza, a Peruvian chef who will bring ceviches and other Peruvian dishes to the menu. Miami-based celebrity chef Ana Quincoces has come on board as a food consultant, and Moffett will stay on as a consultant and minority stakeholder. Scibelli also plans to keep several NC Red employees on staff as the restaurant changes hands. —Taylor Bowler MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS By

Taylor Bowler, Allison Braden, Greg Lacour, and Andy Smith Photographs by

Logan Cyrus and Peter Taylor

Skyline Drive-In screens films in a Camp North End lot.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

We’ve named the Best of the Best every year for the past 22, and they’ve always meant something. This year, they mean a little more. Each restaurant, watering hole, beauty salon, recreational hub, and fitness studio—and the others, 396 in all—is a testament to resilience in the face of a public health crisis that tested everyone. So patronize, visit, play. We’ve gotten through it together.

We’ll handle the future that way, too.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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704.364.1391 | 800.339.0734

CHEESESTEAK SHOWDOWN

The Stanley and Cheat’s Cheesesteak Parlor First, let’s get this out of the way: Your birthplace doesn’t make you a gastronomical expert. It does help to visit a dish’s city of origin, then try a local favorite. We’ve had enough cheesesteaks in Philly to know that what divides its populace is a question: Cheez Whiz or provolone? Two of Charlotte’s best cheesesteaks chose their sides: the pop-up CHEAT’S CHEESESTEAK PARLOR uses Whiz; THE STANLEY (1961 E. Seventh St.) uses provolone. If you like both, you can’t go wrong with either. Both use the coveted Amoroso’s rolls, shipped from Philadelphia.

The Stanley’s steak is chopped just a bit finer; both are delicately seasoned. Both are as good as any we’ve had in the City of Brotherly Love.

The Best of Food and Dining

The Stanley’s customers opt for provolone in theirs.

PETER TAYLOR

Cheat’s Cheez Whiz-filled cheesesteak.

eat THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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HOMEMADE BREAD:

Virtuoso Breadworks The pastry case brims with almond croissants, peach cinnamon rolls, English muffins, focaccia, and buttermilk biscuits at Ben and Lauren Kallenbach’s Waxhaw bakery. They serve Enderly Coffee Co. products, too, because this carb-fest isn’t complete without an espresso or iced chai. 205 Salem St., Waxhaw

PETER TAYLOR

(Right, clockwise) Virtuoso Breadworks’ cheese Danish pastries with strawberries; owner Lauren Kallenbach with their “Signature WXW” and Irish Cheddar sourdough loaves; and Caramel Apple Cruffins (also on cover).

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

eat / The Best of Food and Dining THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

FOOD TRUCK EXPANSION:

NEW RESTAURANT:

FOOD MASH-UP:

What The Fries

Supperland

Havana 33’s Cuban Eggroll

Chefs and co-owners Jamie Barnes and Greg Williams created one of the most popular food trucks in the region with their loaded gourmet fries, burgers, and fried bread pudding tots. Six years later, they opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in a former Cici’s Pizza on Park Road, and frankly, it’s about time. 10707 Park Rd., Ste. R

After more than a year of delays, Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel’s anticipated restaurant finally opened in March. The spouses and business partners, who also own Haberdish, Crepe Cellar, Growler’s Pourhouse, and Reigning Doughnuts, transformed a historic Plaza Midwood church into a restaurant and cocktail bar. Chef Chris Rogienski’s menu is Southern steakhouse-meets-potluck picnic, with chicken, steaks, and lobster cooked on a 900-degree fire grill.

Sides are served family-style and include Miso Mac & Cheese and Franks & Beans with wagyu hot dog. Pastry chef Liana Sinclair makes a rotation of desserts like sweet potato pie and chocolate chunk cookies with toasted benne seeds, and lead mixologist Colleen Hughes serves craft cocktails with edible flowers and gold metal straws in the church annex out back. 1212 The Plaza

This Cuban spot on Lake Norman took the components of its signature sandwich and created an exquisite mash-up of comfort food with pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles encased in a crispy shell. Sometimes even bread needs a vacation, and this appetizer’s so good, you won’t miss it. 637 Williamson Rd., Ste. 100, Mooresville

HANDHELD DESSERT:

Yum Yum Crumbs These build-your-own cake cups were the answer to the communal birthday cake during the pandemic. Owners Mitch Miller Jr. and Sarah Kennedy originally planned a storefront but shifted to a commercial kitchen and delivery structure (find them on DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Postmates) for a contact-free operation. Customize your cup with layers of red velvet cake crumbs, strawberry buttercream, candy, frosting, or caramel drizzle—no bad combinations here. 3500 Latrobe Dr.

USE OF EDIBLE FLOWERS:

Chef Daniel Wheeler at Fine & Fettle

SHUTTERSTOCK

Fine & Fettle’s executive chef arranges his plates like flower beds, garnished with edible marigolds, violas, and a variety of greens. Even heartier entrées like his grandmother’s Bucatini Bolognese get the floral treatment. 4905 Barclay Downs Dr.

SEAFOOD TOWER:

Sea Level’s Truist Tower Every head in the dining room turns whenever a server emerges with this three-tier, $135 seafood tower with 24 oysters, 12 mussels, 10 raw clams, shrimp cocktail ceviche, salmon poke, Maine lobster, and caviar. Bring a few hungry friends and settle in—you’ll be here awhile. 129 E. Fifth St.

BEST PLACE TO SPLURGE ON DINNER:

Steak 48 The raw bar is magnificent, the steak is impeccable, and Chef Heather King’s Au Gratin Potatoes are worth the extra time you’ll spend on the Peloton tomorrow.

Trust us. 4425 Sharon Rd.

SOUL FOOD:

La’Wan’s Soul Food Restaurant We splurged: a pile of fried chicken livers with crisp exteriors and tender but not greasy interiors, along with homestyle mac and cheese, pintos over rice, and a muffin-like disc of sweet cornbread—ALL FOR 10 BUCKS. La’Wan’s regulars love the smothered pork chops, beef tips, whiting fish, and country-fried steak, too. The place—open since 2001 and named after La’Wan Adams, who owns it with her husband, Kenny—hangs at the edge of a South Tryon Street shopping plaza anchored by a Family Dollar, and from its humble kitchen emerges proof of the slogan painted on the door: “Homestyle Cooking With Real Soul.” 7520 S. Tryon St., Ste. 19

RESET MEAL:

Plant Joy’s Socca and Salad Camp North End has plenty of opportunities to indulge, but when you need a good reset meal, head to this plant-powered kitchen.

The Socca and Salad is a refreshing dose of sesame-massaged kale, beets, and microgreens served on a chickpea crepe, and it’s satisfying whether or not you’re vegan.

Camp North End, 1801 N. Graham St., Ste. 101 MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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NEW FOOD TRUCK:

Another!? Food Truck

Anthony Denning of Another!? Food Truck with Dirty Mac (right) and the Viva La Juicy (far right).

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

PETER TAYLOR

There’s nothing dainty about Chef Anthony Denning’s street food—these dishes require big, uncivilized bites and lots of paper napkins to catch the savory drippings. The VIVA LA JUICY is three corn tortillas stuffed with braised beef, queso, smoked jalapeño aioli, and a sauce that inevitably dribbles down your chin. The DIRTY MAC, a heap of mac and cheese topped with braised beef, collard greens, “average sauce,” and cornbread crumble, is unequivocally above average. Desserts change weekly, but the sweet potato blondie with gingersnap crumble is one of his finest works. The truck parks outside breweries, apartment complexes, and hospitals throughout the city; check Instagram for the weekly schedule. @anotherfoodtruck

eat / The Best of Food and Dining TAKE-HOME MEAL DEAL:

QUICK BREAKFAST:

Capishe: Real Italian Kitchen

Chilito’s Breakfast Tacos

Jamie Turner

Over the past year, the “Familia Feast” became an essential weeknight dinner for multi-member households. For $40, you choose any two large pizzas, two familysized pastas, or one of each. Our favorite mix: the linguine carbonara with a margherita pizza. (Capishe can prepare any of nearly 100 combinations, so feel free to experiment.) Multiple locations (Dilworth and SouthPark).

Sit-down joints aren’t the only option for a tasty breakfast anymore: Chilito’s ON-THE-GO TACOS are an addictive, West Coast-style alternative. Each $4 item is packed with egg, bean, potato, and cheese—with your choice of shredded beef, spicy ground pork, pork belly bits, egg (Tex-Mex migas-style), and mushroom. The pop-up regularly appears at Resident Culture and Undercurrent Coffee, with locations announced on Instagram at @chilitotacos

The Asbury pastry chef and Soul Food Sessions member was poised for a banner year at the beginning of 2020. Oprah’s Vision Tour asked her to create a dessert in partnership with Weight Watchers, and Turner nailed it with her chocolate hazelnut pavlova nouveau. The Asbury got the coveted “WW” coin sticker on its menu and experienced the start of the “Oprah Effect.” Turner kept turning out her dazzling seasonal desserts, and she’s still the unpretentious, Chuck Taylors-wearing, pizza-loving girl who perfected the apple and pear brown butter bun. We have a feeling she’s just getting started.

235 N. Tryon St.

SUSHI:

Red Sake This Ballantyne sushi bar is for true sushi aficionados. The Luke Lobster Roll is a delectable mouthful of lobster meat, spicy tuna, avocado, and eel sauce topped with sweet potato strings. The chef’s choice changes daily, but if the Pandora Roll is on the menu, get ready for fireworks in your mouth. 8410 Rea Rd., Ste. 100

BANANA PUDDING:

Pinky’s Westside Grill You get a mound of it, just gelatinous enough and exquisitely ’nilla-wafered. If you’ve already downed a Mammoth Burger, your system may put up token resistance, but it’ll surrender after a couple of bites. 1600 W. Morehead St.

SPIN ON FLATBREAD:

Botiwalla’s Chicken Tikka Roll

PETER TAYLOR

THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

Asheville-based chef and five-time James Beard nominee Meherwan Irani brought his Indian street food to Optimist Hall, and everything from the lamb burgers to the naan is divine. If you love the Indian and Kashmiri spices in a classic chicken tikka masala, the CHICKEN TIKKA ROLL will be your favorite grab-andgo lunch. Optimist Hall, 1115 N. Brevard St.

GHOST KITCHEN:

SNAP Shellfish Several “ghost kitchens”—virtual, delivery-only businesses—popped up in 2020. SNAP Shellfish rises above the rest. Menu highlights include shrimp rolls, LOBSTERRITOS (burritos with Peruvian rice, corn, avocado, salsa, and aji sauce), and its finest creation: Fried Rice The Lobster Way. It’s Carolina Gold rice with lobster, locally sourced vegetables, sesame, and sweet and spicy tamari. Find the “hidden seafood shack” on social platforms: @snapshellfish.

PLACE TO GET THE TEA:

Afternoon Tea at the Ballantyne In addition to your tea (or a glass of Moët Champagne, if you prefer) you’ll have three tiers of cucumber sandwiches, mini quiches, blueberry scones, chocolate truffles, and strawberry macarons. Put on your pastels and bring your best table manners, because this is all of your little-girl fantasies come true. 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy.

PASTRY CHEF:

DESSERT GARNISHED IN GOLD LEAF:

Mico’s Flourless Chocolate Cake Dessert is the highlight of an already decadent meal at The Grand Bohemian’s Argentineaninspired restaurant. But the Pampas, a flourless dark chocolate cake garnished in gold leaf, is the dish you’ll dream about long after you leave.

201 W. Trade St.

BUFFET:

Heist Brewery Sunday Brunch Say you wake up one bright Sunday morning under the illusion that you’re a Tudor. Summon a carriage of your choice to convey you to Heist, which has laid out all the sweet and savory victuals Your Highness could ever ask for (except, curiously, drumsticks): eggs, fried potatoes, grits, bacon, sausage, an omelette station, a waffle station, a pizza rail, and a selection of eight brunch cocktails. Indulge. The Reformation, of your body at least, can wait until Monday. 2909 N. Davidson St., Ste. 200

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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Justin Hazelton, mixologist from Leah & Louise.

MIXOLOGIST:

Esquire recently named Leah & Louise one of its “Best New Restaurants in America.” Mixologist Justin Hazelton directs the bar program, which for a “modern juke joint” is as important as the food and service. He’s called his menu an homage to the “history of Black cocktails,” with ingredients like the whiskey Uncle Nearest, named for a man born into slavery who taught Jack Daniel the art of distilling. Menu highlights include the Rubee (Earl Grey- and hibiscus-infused Conniption gin, lemon oleo syrup, honey, and rosemary bitters) and the Zodiac Punch, which “changes with the signs.”

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

LOGAN CYRUS

Justin Hazelton

play THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

GENERAL EXCELLENCE IN BREWING:

Triple C Brewing Company It opened in 2012 as one of the first South End breweries, and it continues to roll out crowlers and four-packs from a modest brick building on a corner some blocks removed from the new apartment buildings and mixed-use complexes. But the consistent quality of its staples—the 3C West Coast IPA, Bier German Pilsner, and Up All Night Breakfast Porter are among our favorites—hoist Triple C above most of its South End counterparts. Its more adventurous offerings, like HAVOC WREAKED, an American barley wine, and the barrel-aged imperial stouts Roasted and Toasted are complex, original, and, wonder of wonders, drinkable. 2900 Griffith St.

EMERGING BREWERY:

Devil’s Logic Brewing Devil’s Logic opened in Elizabeth in December 2019. Don’t expect anything sinister: “Devil’s Logic” refers to rhetoric in lively debates between friends. The name also hints at the owners’ sense of humor: The New England IPA is called “WICKED SMAHT,” à la Good Will Hunting, and another is called “Bang A Uey.” No matter the style, the brewery’s motto, “Clean, Crushable Beers,” seems to apply. 1426 E. Fourth St.

The Best of Beer, Wine, Cocktails, Nightlife, and Going Out

CAN ART:

Lost Worlds Brewing Lost Worlds pays tribute to old explorers’ clubs in its decor and can art. Take the popular Vista IPA: The label depicts Yale University archeologist Hiram Bingham, who inspired the creation of Indiana Jones and charted Machu Picchu.

19700-D, One Norman Blvd., Cornelius

BREWERY EXPANSION:

LOGAN CYRUS

Protagonist Beer Protagonist’s second location opened in Lower South End late last year.

Its original NoDa space is a compact 1,700 square feet; its newest spot sprawls over 15,000. With the expansion came a new barrel-aging room and a full kitchen, an expanded “laboratory” for a concept that celebrates experimentation. (Its pizzas have become a go-to in the growing neighborhood, too.) 227 Southside Dr., Unit A

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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COFFEE:

Allegiance Coffee in Concord

CIDERY:

GoodRoad CiderWorks Even devoted beerheads learn something new at GoodRoad.

The South Charlotte business is a portal into the surprisingly complex world of hard ciders: semi-dry, dry, New England-style, and several other variations.

GoodRoad also makes meads, with their own span of styles. The educated staffers are your friendly guides into these lesser-traveled beverages. 117 Southside Dr.

BEER CATHEDRAL:

Charlotte Beer Garden Four bars, three levels, and 436 taps: The numbers are staggering at Charlotte Beer Garden. If you’re the curious type, there’s no better house of worship for imbibing new brews. 1300 S. Tryon St.

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HIDDEN BAR:

LOCAL SPIRIT:

Providence Road Sundries

Quinn’s Barrel-Aged Whiskey at Great Wagon Road Distilling Company

It’s easy to drive past without noticing; the snarl of Providence Road traffic saps your attentiveness. But squeezed between rows of trees is this vintage bar and grill that’s served generations of Myers Park denizens since 1933.

The bartenders, who pour from a healthy range of taps, take pride in remembering names and “usuals,” and the bar food, while nothing fancy, is some of the city’s best: made-to-order burgers, fries, quesadillas, nachos, salads, rice bowls, and grilled (!) wings.

1522 Providence Rd.

Ireland native Ollie Mulligan continues a family tradition of making whiskey. His barrelaged Quinn’s Carolina Whiskey blends that legacy with influences from his new home. It uses spring water from the Blue Ridge Mountains—and has a warm oak and cherry finish. Mulligan named the small-batch whiskey after his grandmother Mary Quinn. 610 Anderson St.

NEIGHBORHOOD BAR:

Hattie’s Tap & Tavern It’s the watering hole that made news in October when Mayor Vi Lyles and City Council members dropped by for a post-meeting drink and displayed an, oh, lackadaisical attitude toward its mask requirements. Even without the indecorousness of elected officials, Hattie’s is a good place to knock back a few—dimly lit, plenty of beers from here and elsewhere on tap and in the fridge, an expansive patio for cornholing and breeze-shooting, and dogs welcome both inside and out. Plus, as it’s some distance from the main drags of Plaza Midwood and NoDa, it tends to draw an eclectic mix of locals who, unlike some other folks we could name (ahem), observe neighborhood-hang etiquette. 2918 The Plaza

LOGAN CYRUS

Allegiance Coffee is a welcome find: a small, local neighborhood shop in a corridor choked with chains. A stylish yet friendly exterior houses a craft coffee operation that also serves cannoli, cupcakes, sticky buns, and scones. If it’s your first visit, go with the Iced Allegiance Latte, which has a “secret sauce.”

(What’s in it? Staffers won’t say, other than that it contains dairy.) 1115 Old Charlotte Rd. SW, Concord

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NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE:

Lenny Boy Brewing Co.’s Kombucha Lenny Boy’s organic kombucha is a tasty, nonalcoholic alternative to the beer du jour. Available at grocery stores and many of the city’s, er, hoppin’ hangouts, Lenny Boy’s seasonal and year-round varieties of this tart fermented drink are loaded with probiotics, B vitamins, and amino acids, and they can make day drinking feel—dare we say it—wholesome.

3000 S. Tryon St.

TO-GO COCKTAIL:

Haberdish and Bring the Queen Pick-Up Window The cocktail kit was a revelation for those missing the barstool, but nothing compares to a drink crafted by a pro.

Thankfully, late last year, the state legalized to-go cocktails, and past BOB winners like mixologist Colleen Hughes took advantage. You can buy her exquisite creations at the Bring the Queen pickup window in NoDa. Among our favorites: The Brown Sugar Old-Fashioned, which mixes Maker’s 46, Cruzan Blackstrap rum, Angostura bitters, brown sugar, and a cherry on top. 3116 N. Davidson St.

GOOD BOY BEVERAGE SPOT:

Skiptown Dog-friendly bars aren’t exotic to Charlotte. But like everything else it does, Skiptown goes as big as a Tibetan mastiff in this department. A robust menu lists a few dozen local beers, cider, wine, kombucha, and mocktails. Specialty drinks include Triple Chocolate Bomb (a milk chocolate bomb with cocoa and O’Reilly’s Irish Creme), which you should definitely not let your pooch try. He’s covered anyway: The bar serves bonebroth “beer” and “puppuccinos,” small cups of whipped cream.

222 Rampart St.

A Brown Sugar Old Fashioned, made from Haberdish’s cocktail kit

BUBBLE TEA:

LOGAN CYRUS

Binki Cafe Charlotte You might know it as “pearl milk tea,” “boba,” “bubble milk tea,” or just “bubble tea.” This Taiwanese drink, packed with tapioca balls, remains popular here in Charlotte; several stores opened last year. University’s Binki rises to the top by crafting its own chewy “pearls” and offering flavors that range from caramel milk tea to mango and red velvet. The store also serves rolled ice cream, a Thai concoction that will merit its own Best of the Best category in the near future. 9211 N. Tryon St., Ste. 5

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➌

LOGAN CYRUS (5)

➋

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The Best of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment

MURAL NEIGHBORHOOD:

NoDa (!)

Sure, North Davidson Street has changed. Its gritty reputation dissipated along with its status as the hub for galleries and studios.

But a creative power still surges within our arts and entertainment district, and a new collection of murals makes the neighborhood feel young again.

➊ MATT HOOKER and

MATT MOORE at Bargarita (3221 N. Davidson St.)

➋ MIKE WIRTH, SWYCH19,

and ARKO at Industrious NoDa (436 E. 36th St.)

➌ ABEL JACKSON

at the 36th Street light rail station

➍ DAMMIT WESLEY at Rhino Market (2320 N. Davidson St.)

➎ STENCIL SPRAY and JBIRD at The Evening Muse (3227 N. Davidson St.)

➊

➍

➎

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INDOOR MINI GOLF:

VIRTUAL GOLF:

Dr. Charles L. Sifford Golf Course Driving Range

Stroke

Ready to Golf

Play nine holes of miniature golf on this indoor course and sip a mimosa or Bloody Mary between putts. When you’re done, grab a table and munch on some flavored Bugles. Stroke is open to ages 21 and up after 7:30 p.m., but kids play free from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. 1318 Pecan Ave., Ste. 101

Book this mobile golf experience for a birthday party, happy hour, holiday soiree, or Tuesday afternoon. An RTG staffer sets up the video and screen, stays on site to show you how it works, and breaks it down when you’re through. Play inside or outdoors (an indoor setup requires 11-foot ceilings) and work on your distance, trajectory, speed … or just have some fun. getreadytogolf.com

When you need to get the kids out of the house for an hour of easy, inexpensive entertainment, head to this city-owned golf course in Wilmore. Purchase a $9-$11 bucket of golf balls, grab a spot on the driving range, and practice your swing until the bucket is empty.

1225 Remount Rd.

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LOGAN CYRUS; SHUTTERSTOCK (2)

CHEAP BUCKET OF GOLF BALLS:

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SOCIALLY DISTANCED FAMILY NIGHT OUT:

Skyline Drive-In Head to Camp North End’s drive-in on select Thursday nights and park yourself in front of the 40-by-60foot inflatable screen in the Statesville Avenue parking lot. Use an FM radio transmitter to tune in to the week’s movie and settle in with a snack or grab a takeout dinner from one of the food stalls.

400 Camp Rd.

VIRTUAL CONCERTS:

AVIAN IMMERSION:

Queen City Streams Series

Carolina Raptor Center

Regional artists take Neighborhood Theatre’s newly renovated stage in this streaming concert series.

All shows are free and streamed through the Mandolin platform and Facebook. (You can—and should—tip, though.) These professionally shot videos move between genres, from psychedelic rock to hip-hop. As of press time, the shows air once a week, and they’ll keep going until, finally, we can experience a show together again.

See, these are birds, worthy inheritors of their great lizard ancestors’ legacy, taloned predators that treat cute, furry mammals as so many amuse-bouches; you won’t find any precious “birbs” here. You will find (as of this writing) 81 residents from 37 species of predatory bird, including nine hawks, seven owls, seven falcons, four vultures, two eagles, and a LAUGHING KOOKABURRA. And the center, at Latta Nature Preserve since 1984, soon will occupy a new, expanded space behind Quest, a recently opened, multimillion-dollar interactive science center for both Latta and the CRC. 6000 Sample Rd., Huntersville

HIKING TRAIL:

RibbonWalk Nature Preserve This 188-acre nature preserve north of uptown takes its name from a woodland garden in Queen Charlotte’s family. Three miles of trails loop, ribbonlike, through an urban forest where you can spot foxes, beavers, and a bright variety of resident and migrant birds. When you have the park to yourself and glimpse a doe and her fawn in the understory on a crisp spring morning, you’ll feel like RibbonWalk is your own royal retreat. 5017 Hoyt Hinson Rd.

NEWSLETTER: OUTDOOR EDUCATION:

Wing Haven’s Art-Kiddo Workshops Leave the iPads behind and take the kids to this enclosed garden and bird sanctuary for an outdoor art lesson with a bilingual instructor. They’ll run around, get their hands dirty, make nature crafts, and pick up a few Spanish phrases during the one-hour class. For any parent who worries about holes in remote learning, you’ll have PE, art, and language covered.

248 Ridgewood Ave.

North Carolina Rabbit Hole JEREMY MARKOVICH, a former

back-page columnist for this magazine, is a fount of North Carolina trivia. His newsletter capitalizes on this, and Markovich often ties editions to Charlotte. A December letter, for instance, dived into “The story behind that GIF of Hugo the Hornet getting smacked in the face.” With top-notch research and humor, Markovich shows us that this state has an endless supply of fascinating and strange stories.

ARTISTIC NOD TO COVID:

Pure’ll Gold Mural Is there a better metaphor for the early days of COVID than a bottle of liquid gold hand sanitizer?

Charlotte artist Darion Fleming responded to the empty grocery store shelves with this mural on the 2100 block of North Davidson Street, across from The Hobbyist.

More than a year later, the message still resonates.

MUSICIAN TO WATCH:

Alan Charmer Alan Charmer is the alter ego of TERRENCE RICHARD, known to many as the lead singer of indierock outfit Junior Astronomers.

Tunes under his new pseudonym are hazy and stripped down, a blend of R&B and lo-fi bedroom pop that contrasts with the bombastic Astronomers—although Richard’s knack for infectious melodies anchors both.

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Hilliard Studio Method® Still the Best Pilates/Barre Studio in Charlotte 10 Years Running

h i l li ard st ud io me th o d.c o m  @hilliardstudiomethod • 516 Fenton Place • Charlotte North Carolina 28207

live

IN-HOME DOG TRAINING:

THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

Canine Scholars Your new puppy is the most adorable thing on four feet, but his chewing, nipping, and scratching gets old well before he does. This team comes to your home to correct these bad canine behaviors and curb others before they start so you won’t have a full-grown pooch that counter-surfs and eats food off the table. 1235 East Blvd., Ste. 123

The Best of Health, Wellness, Kids, and Family

FAKE VACATION GLOW:

Organic Bronze Bar SouthPark Strip down to your birthday suit while a masked staffer sprays you with an organic bronzing formula customized to your skin tone (read: no orange tint). It’s all contact-free—you have to buff your own fingers and toes when you’re done—but the process takes less than 30 minutes, and your tan lasts five to 10 days. 2907 Providence Rd., Ste. 102A

SCALP MASSAGE:

Kérastase Fusio Scrub at Denise Antonacci Salon Most clients come to this high-end SouthPark salon for cut, color, or extensions, but if you’re not due for a regular service, book a fusio scrub and ASK FOR MEG with the magic hands.

It’s like a facial for your scalp—and it’s bliss. She’ll cleanse, exfoliate, and get rid of excess oil and buildup while you relax in the massage chair with a glass of prosecco. 4810 Ashley Park Ln.

INEXPENSIVE PEDICURE:

Q Nails Happy Hour This Myers Park nail salon gives an exquisite $35 deluxe pedicure any day of the week—and the staff never skimps on your foot rub. But teachers and students get an even sweeter deal during Q NAILS HAPPY HOUR, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. Present your ID for 15% off all services and enjoy your mani and pedi with a complimentary glass of wine. 4425 Park Rd., Ste. 140

AT-HOME WORKOUT:

VIBE5’s On-Demand Classes This SouthPark fitness studio left you with no excuse to abandon your workouts this year. All memberships now include “on demand,” which gives you access to MORE THAN 50 CLASSES you can do from home whenever you want. There’s also LiveVIBE5 streaming if you prefer to do your yoga or bootcamp in real time and give virtual fist bumps to your classmates and instructors. 720 Governor Morrison St., Ste. 140E

HOME ORGANIZER:

Simplicity Organizers If The Home Edit inspired you to tame the clutter in your house but you’re not sure what to keep, donate, or toss, call organizational pro Laurie Martin. She’ll help you tackle your closets, pantry, playroom, garage, or any other space you’ve got. Once she makes your junk disappear, she’ll show you how to maintain your system after she leaves. simplicity-organizers.com

AMBASSADOR OF BOTOX AND FILLERS:

Blair Walker Hayes, PA-C Here’s the paradox of having work done: You don’t want to look like you’ve had work done. That’s why the owner of this Dilworth medical aesthetics practice is such an ace. She’ll explain the difference between Botox, Dysport, and dermal fillers, and she’ll give you just enough to make your jowls or marionette lines disappear—but not so much that you look frozen, puffy, or … like you’ve had work done. 512 East Blvd.

SMALL GROUP WORKOUT CLASS:

Iron Butterfly Pilates Studio This 3,000-square-foot studio in Atherton Lofts has plenty of room to socially distance, and staff has installed touchless hand sanitizers and UVC bags to sanitize foot and hand straps between clients.

Group reformer classes are limited to five people, and there’s no shared equipment, so you can have peace of mind as you perfect those back extensions. 2108 South Blvd., Ste. 202

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A luxury guest room at The Grand Bohemian (above) and Búho Bar (right).

STAYCATION:

The Grand Bohemian When you need a weekend getaway but leaving town isn’t an option, a night in this Argentinean-inspired uptown hotel is the next best thing. Each room teems with glitzy accents and custom Bohemian chandeliers. Get a massage at the Poseidon Spa, dine al fresco at the Bohemian Garden, or head 16 floors up to Búho Bar and sip a cocktail.

You might live five minutes away, but this feels like a far-off destination.

201 W. Trade St.

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SUN DAMAGE ERASER:

PODCAST:

AT-HOME PE CLASS:

Laser Resurfacing at OVME

Amplifier

GymSport

This service isn’t relaxing like a traditional facial; it feels more like a series of quick shocks similar to laser hair removal. But your aesthetician’s magic laser wand vaporizes brown spots and sun damage. A few days later, your skin peels, and you’re left with a smooth, even tone—like you’ve never had a sunburn in your life. 2040 South Blvd., Ste. 2

In each episode of this WFAE podcast, Joni Deutsch shows us that every great song has a backstory worth exploring. By focusing on local musicians, Deutsch charts a scene full of thoughtful artists influenced by our shared city. For prime examples, listen to her interviews with Jamaica native Sanya N’Kanta or her episode with the Grammynominated HamilTones, a group that started as Anthony Hamilton’s backup singers. wfae.org

Hide the tablets and give John Tolbert a call. He brings this mobile gym to you and sets up an obstacle course for the kids to climb, jump, run, and get all of their wiggles out in your backyard. He stays masked for the one-hour session, disinfects the equipment when you’re through, and packs it all up so you have one less mess to clean. gymsportonline.com

FAMILY-FRIENDLY WORKOUT SPOT:

Harris YMCA If you neglected your workouts this year or your family just got stir-crazy at home, get (or reactivate) a YMCA membership and head straight to the Harris branch.

Inside are two levels of treadmills, bikes, and rowing machines; basketball courts; an indoor track; a teen activity center; and more.

Outside, there’s a pool, water park, and splash pad; picnic areas and playgrounds; and an ADVENTURE PARK WITH A ZIPLINE. You could spend an entire weekend here and still not experience it all. 5900 Quail Hollow Rd.

LASH LIFT & BROW TINT:

COURTESY THE GRAND BOHEMIAN/BRANDON BARRE

Idolize Brows and Beauty at Dilworth Ditch the lash curler and skip the mascara, because this treatment takes care of it for you. Think of the lash lift as a perm for your eyelashes that gives them curl for six to eight weeks. For even more pop, spring for the lash and brow tint combo. The semi-permanent dye makes your eyebrows and eyelashes darker and fuller for two to four weeks—like you woke up with makeup on. 1235 East Blvd., Ste. F

MASSAGE:

Mood House Getting a massage at Mood House is a bit like ordering a drink at Starbucks. Thirty, 50, or 80-minute session? Light, medium, or deep pressure? Now set your intention and select the corresponding aromatherapy. Are you here to destress and relax, foster creativity and focus, or leave energized and invigorated? Once you’re on the massage table, your therapist will ask if you prefer music with or without lyrics.

Then let the endorphins flow as the tension in your back, neck, and legs melts away. Take some organic lemon-and-ginger water on your way out and hold on to that deep, relaxed state as long as you can.

2400 Park Rd., Ste. A

POOL BUILDER:

Waterscapes Custom Pools Jason Seneker and his crew design and construct some of the most gorgeous residential pools in Charlotte.

Whatever’s on your wish list, from waterfalls and tanning ledges to inset spas and electric pool covers, they’ll get it done. They install pool lighting, hot tubs, and saunas, too.

Just add water and get ready to CANNONBALL! 2252 Red Fox Trail

UNDERAPPRECIATED RADIO STATION:

WDAV You learn things from WDAV (89.9 FM, wdav.org), Davidson College’s member-supported classical music station: about the rich history of Black composers, presented via Lift Every Voice, a four-part original series that aired for Black History Month in February; about the delights of chamber music, from the Small Batch concerts the station held at Free Range Brewing until COVID moved them to video; and that, until his retirement in 2020, Vladimir Ashkenazy was the hardest-working man in show business, orchestral division. (This occurred to our senior editor one day a few minutes before he turned on WDAV, which happened to be airing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, conducted and performed by … Vladimir Ashkenazy. Hand to God.) Charlotte radio is an arid landscape, and ’DAV is one of its few natural springs.

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CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY:

Erin Atkinson, owner of Chancery Custom.

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Box-pleated crib skirt? Extra-long lumbar pillow?

L-shaped bench cushion? Erin Atkinson’s got you covered. Just give her your fabric and tell her your vision. She’ll take some measurements and make your custom drapes or upholstered headboards in the right size, color, and length every time. 413 Enterprise Dr.

LOGAN CYRUS

Chancery Custom

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SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE:

The Produce Box One more way you can avoid the supermarket: Just pay an annual $20 membership fee, place your order between Friday and Sunday, and fresh produce arrives at your door the following week. Choose from a range of curated boxes, customize your own, or select add-ons like goat cheese, cage-free eggs, meat, and seafood. Your fridge is always stocked, and you support local farmers at the same time. theproducebox.com

WALLPAPER SELECTION:

Celedore Fine Wallpapers If you watched HGTV during the stay-at-home order, you know that wallpaper is an easy way to create a statement wall or add some pizzazz to a basic powder room. Head to this SouthPark shop to browse Schumacher patterns, handmade paper by KOESSEL STUDIOS, and hard-to-find European brands. At press time, Celedore was open by appointment and only to parties of no more than two, so plan accordingly. 5010 Park Rd.

HOT SAUCE MAKER:

Puckerbutt Pepper Company The YouTube series “Hot Ones,” which interviews celebrities over increasingly spicy wings, is a boon for the hot sauce industry. Local fans may be surprised to find that hot pepper royalty resides right across the border: PuckerButt in Fort Mill produced the recordbreaking Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper. The store is a mecca for “Hot Ones” fans. But please, if you’re new to this, don’t start with the Reaper. 237 Main St., Ste. 1740, Fort Mill, S.C.

The Best of Style and Shopping

SPORTS APPAREL:

ART GALLERY:

Charlotte Hornets’ City Edition Jersey

Elder Gallery

Thursday, Dec. 3, when the mintgreen City Edition jerseys went on sale, was the HORNETS FAN SHOP website’s highest-grossing day ever. Stitched upon this one jersey are several Charlotte history lessons: the state stone reflected in the granite lettering; the gold rush of the 1800s captured in the gold trim; and a reference to the first branch of the U.S. Mint, established here in 1835, in the mint-green main hue. (Our potential Rookie of the Year, LaMelo Ball, amplifies—forgive us—the buzz.

His jerseys continue to sell best.)

BATH BOMBS:

Waxhaw Candle Company The bath bomb is having a moment as fatigued parents grasp for an escape and some relaxation at home. The menu for Waxhaw Candle Co.’s shea butter bombs is surprisingly robust: Thursday could be a Banana Tree night, but Friday might call for Oh La La Raspberry.

9830 Rea Rd., Ste. G

Sonya Pfeiffer sharpened the focus of this longtime arts institution when she took ownership in 2017: She wanted its roster and exhibitions to grapple with contemporary social issues. One show highlighted the work of veterans who reflected on their service; another showcased paintings and sculptures on the plight of refugees around the globe. Elder has carved a niche among more generalized art galleries. Most important, patrons contribute to a grander dialogue with each work they purchase. 1520 S. Tryon St.

CANDLES:

Pretty Honest Candles Andrea Bertrand’s soy candles burn slowly and clean, with no black smoke or soot. Her styles range from cozy “Campfire Mug Candles” to “Goddess Candles,” which vividly depict the female form. What tethers all of her products is nuance: Each comes with descriptions of high, middle, and low notes for scent, along with an expectation for burn time. Maybe that upfront mentality is why they’re called “Pretty Honest.” @prettyhonestshop

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OUTDOOR GEAR:

Gear Goat Xchg When Gear Goat Xchg opened in Plaza Midwood in 2018, it became Charlotte’s first and only outdoor gear consignment shop. The same year, 17 million tons of discarded textiles wound up in landfills, according to the EPA. At “The Goat,” knowledgeable staff will help you gear up for your next adventure— and buying used will help protect the planet. While you’re at it, say hello to cheerful shop pup Huckleberry. 824 Lamar Ave.

CREATIVE PLANETS:

AWM Designs

AWM Designs’ planters are made from old-school TVs, boomboxes, and shoes, and the creations are sometimes sold at events like this one at Lenny Boy Brewing Co. (left).

Ahmir Lee (above), a ninthgrader at Charlotte Lab School, paints a planter. (Top) A shoe collaboration between Ricky Singh and Zack Mottershead.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

LOGAN CYRUS (1); COURTESY (3)

AWM Designs is primarily a collaboration between designer Zack Mottershead and artist Ricky Singh. Their one-of-a-kind, street culture-inspired planters and vases are shaped like sneakers and boomboxes. A majority of sales are done through the Instagram account (@awm_designs), with commissions also open. Charlotte Lab School students are now working with AWM on their own creations, with plans to sell them to support art-based programming.

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CURVY AND PLUS-SIZE FASHION:

KNITTING AND CROCHET SUPPLIES:

PLACE TO BUY GREENERY:

Worthy Figures

Charlotte Yarn

PlantBar in Dilworth

This boutique in Plaza Midwood’s Charlotte Collective caters exclusively to plus-size and curvy women, who often have trouble finding clothing that fits and flatters. Worthy Figures curates a selection of affordable garments that range from size 12 to 24, and the on-site dressing room ensures you’ll walk out with a good fit.

1222 Central Ave.

Remi Haygood left a corporate job in 2005 to take over as owner of Charlotte Yarn. Since then, the Kenilworth Commons storefront has become much more than a place to buy skeins of plush yarn.

It’s a hub for what Haygood calls the “fiber community,” a welcoming place where both aspiring and expert knitters and crocheters can practice these therapeutic crafts.

1235 East Blvd., Ste. D

Hanging and floor-level greenery surrounds you as you walk into this Dilworth store. PlantBar opened in October, when many of us were considering how to beautify our homes. Now that we can spend more time out, we can enjoy its other attractions: a bar where you can BUILD A TERRARIUM and ongoing workshops to learn more about the pruning arts. 2452 Park Rd., Unit D

HOME GOODS:

Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio

A step into Ariene Bethea’s Oakhurst vintage shop is a step into the past and around the world.

With an impeccable eye for the interesting and beautiful, Bethea handpicks home décor items more than 20 years old, and her choices often include international textiles, warm woods, bold colors, and supple leathers. The result is a curation that’s earned praise from several national design magazines.

The shop’s selection changes often, so keep up on Instagram (@dressmyroom) or with frequent visits to explore. 2120 N. Sharon Amity Rd.

LOGAN CYRUS

Ariene Bethea curates the home décor items you’ll find at Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio.

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4810 Ashley Park Charlotte, NC 28210 704.362.6005

voters’ choice THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

COURTESY ENTY CHUNG

Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

Rob Gooljar (left) and Becca Whittier, owners of IRIS blossom, winner of the “Florist” category.

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Voters’ Choice / Results from Online

ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

Polls from January-February 2021

FOOD

CHEF

TIE:

FESTIVAL SETUP AND STRIKE

TICKET MANAGEMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

VENDOR MANAGEMENT

FESTIVAL AND EVENT PRODUCTION

VIDEO PRODUCTION

LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

WEB DESIGN

FESTIVAL DESIGN AND LAYOUT

GRAPHIC DESIGN

SPONSORSHIP SECUREMENT

EVENT STAFFING

★ PAUL VERICA thestanleyclt.com ★ CHEF SAM DIMINICH yourfarmsyourtable.com (Runner-Up)

GREG COLLIER leahandlouise.com PLACE FOR A DATE NIGHT ★ THE FIG TREE charlottefigtree.com (Runner-Up)

DILWORTH TASTING ROOM dilworthtr.com GIRLS’ NIGHT OUT ★ DILWORTH TASTING ROOM dilworthtr.com (Runner-Up)

FOXCROFT WINE CO. foxcroftwine.com

Visit us now: 3rdrockevents.com

FAMILY-FRIENDLY RESTAURANT ★ MAMA RICOTTA’S mamaricottas.com (Runner-Up)

PACO’S TACOS AND TEQUILA pacostacosandtequila.com BRUNCH ★ CAFE MONTE cafemonte.net (Runner-Up)

SNOOZE snoozeeatery.com BAGEL ★ POPPY’S BAGELS & MORE poppysbagelsandmore.com (Runner-Up)

CAROLINA SMOOTHIES 1408 East Blvd., Ste. D BBQ ★ MIDWOOD SMOKEHOUSE midwoodsmokehouse.com (Runner-Up)

NOBLE SMOKE noblesmokebarbecue.com BURGERS ★ ACE NO. 3 aceno3.com (Runner-Up)

HARRIET’S HAMBURGERS harrietshamburgers.com CHINESE ★ SUN’S KITCHEN suns.kitchen (Runner-Up)

BAODING baodingsouthpark.com FRENCH ★ CAFE MONTE cafemonte.net (Runner-Up)

AMÉLIE’S FRENCH BAKERY AND CAFÉ ameliesfrenchbakery.com FRIED CHICKEN ★ PRICE’S CHICKEN COOP priceschickencoop.com (Runner-Up)

BOSSY BEULAH’S bossybeulahs.com GREEK ★ YAFO KITCHEN yafokitchen.com (Runner-Up)

THE MAD GREEK madgreekclt.com

BAKERY ★ SUÁREZ BAKERY suarezbakery.com

INDIAN ★ COPPER copperrestaurant.com

AMÉLIE’S FRENCH BAKERY AND CAFÉ ameliesfrenchbakery.com DELI/MARKET ★ RHINO MARKET rhinomarket.com (Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

BLUE TAJ thebluetaj.com IRISH PUB ★ THE WORKMAN’S FRIEND theworkmansfriend.com (Runner-Up)

COMMON MARKET commonmarketisgood.com

RÍ RÁ rira.com

FOOD TRUCK ★ WHAT THE FRIES whatthefriesclt.com

ITALIAN ★ MAMA RICOTTA’S mamaricottas.com

(Runner-Up)

THE DUMPLING LADY thedumplinglady.com

ntitled-13 1

(Runner-Up)

POPPYSEEDS BAGELS poppyseedsbagels.com

(Runner-Up)

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SMOOTHIE/JUICE BAR ★ GREEN BROTHERS JUICE CO. greenbrothersjuice.com

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021 3/19/21 9:15 AM

(Runner-Up)

LITTLE MAMA’S littlemamasitalian.com

THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

JAPANESE ★ O-KU o-kusushi.com

SUSHI ★ O-KU o-kusushi.com

STEAKHOUSE ★ BEEF ‘N BOTTLE beefandbottle.net

VIETNAMESE ★ LANG VAN langvancharlotte.com

SPORTS BAR ★ HICKORY TAVERN thehickorytavern.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

RU SAN’S rusanscharlotte.com

RU SAN’S rusanscharlotte.com

PHO HOA phohoa.com

LATIN ★ SABOR saborcharlotte.com

SEAFOOD ★ SEA LEVEL sealevelnc.com

DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE STEAKHOUSE delfriscos.com

DUCKWORTH’S GRILL AND TAPHOUSE duckworths.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

PIO PIO piopiocharlotte.com

FIN & FINO finandfino.com

MEXICAN ★ PACO’S TACOS AND TEQUILA pacostacosandtequila.com

SOUTHERN ★ HABERDISH haberdish.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

SUPERICA superica.com

DOGWOOD SOUTHERN TABLE dogwoodsoutherntable.com

PIZZA ★ INIZIO PIZZA iniziopizza.com

SPANISH ★ BARCELONA WINE BAR barcelonawinebar.com

(Runner-Up: TIE)

(Runner-Up)

SAL’S PIZZA FACTORY salspizzafactorycharlotte.com; PORTOFINO’S portofinos-us.com

MIRO SPANISH GRILLE mirospanishgrille.com

SMALL PLATES ★ GOOD FOOD ON MONTFORD goodfoodonmontford.com (Runner-Up)

SOUL GASTROLOUNGE soulgastrolounge.com THAI ★ THAI TASTE thaitastecharlotte.com (Runner-Up: TIE)

THAI HOUSE thaihouse.us.com DEEJAI THAI deejaithai.com VEGETARIAN/VEGAN ★ PLANT JOY plantjoyclt.com (Runner-Up)

OH MY SOUL ohmysoulusa.com

NEW RESTAURANT (LESS THAN A YEAR OLD) ★ LITTLE MAMA’S littlemamasitalian.com (Runner-Up)

LEAH & LOUISE leahandlouise.com

DRINKS LOCAL BREWERY ★ LEGION BREWING legionbrewing.com (Runner-Up)

THE OLDE MECKLENBURG BREWERY oldemeckbrew.com

LOCAL DISTILLERY ★ GREAT WAGON ROAD gwrdistilling.com (Runner-Up)

DOC PORTER’S docporters.com ROOFTOP BAR ★ FAHRENHEIT chefroccowhalen.com (Runner-Up)

MERCHANT AND TRADE merchantandtrade.com WINE LIST ★ FOXCROFT WINE CO. foxcroftwine.com (Runner-Up)

DILWORTH TASTING ROOM dilworthtr.com

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

73

Voters’ Choice / Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

SWEETS + COFFEE

CRAFT COCKTAILS ★ DOT DOT DOT dotdotdotcharlotte.com

COFFEE SHOP ★ NOT JUST COFFEE notjust.coffee

(Runner-Up)

THE CRUNKLETON thecrunkleton.com

(Runner-Up)

UNDERCURRENT COFFEE undercurrentcoffee.com

NIGHTCLUB ★ LOST AND FOUND lostandfoundclt.com

DONUT ★ YOUR MOM’S DONUTS yourmomsdonutsnc.com

(Runner-Up)

THE ROXBURY roxburynightclub.com

(Runner-Up)

DUCK DONUTS duckdonuts.com

BARTENDER ★ NICO DESREUMAUX @cointricktwitch (Runner-Up)

STEFAN HUEBNER (DOT DOT DOT) dotdotdotcharlotte.com HAPPY HOUR ★ BREWERS AT 4001 YANCEY brewersat4001yancey.com (Runner-Up)

SEA LEVEL NC sealevelnc.com

COOKIE ★ HONEYBEAR BAKE SHOP honeybearbakeshop.com (Runner-Up)

SUÁREZ BAKERY suarezbakery.com CUPCAKE ★ SWIRL swirlclt.com (Runner-Up)

SUNFLOUR BAKING COMPANY sunflourbakingcompany.com

CUSTOM CAKE ★ SUÁREZ BAKERY suarezbakery.com

CHOCOLATE SHOP ★ THE SECRET CHOCOLATIER thesecretchocolatier.com

PILATES/BARRE STUDIO ★ HILLIARD STUDIO METHOD hilliardstudiomethod.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

WENTWORTH & FENN wentworthandfenn.com

TWENTY DEGREES CHOCOLATE 20degreeschocolates.com

BARRE3 barre3.com

DESSERT MENU ★ AMÉLIE’S FRENCH BAKERY AND CAFÉ ameliesfrenchbakery.com

BEAUTY + WELLNESS

(Runner-Up)

THE FIG TREE charlottefigtree.com ICE CREAM ★ JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS jenis.com (Runner-Up)

TWO SCOOPS CREAMERY twoscoopscreamery.com FROZEN YOGURT ★ TCBY tcby.com (Runner-Up)

MENCHIE’S menchies.com

PHYSICAL THERAPIST ★ CAROLINA SPORTS CLINIC carolinasportsclinic.com (Runner-Up)

ONWARD CHARLOTTE onwardcharlotte.com YOGA STUDIO ★ ZANZEN YOGA AT FUNCTIONAL FIT zanzenstudio.com (Runner-Up)

Y2 YOGA y2yoga.com

CARDIO WORKOUT CLASS ★ WEST KEPT SECRET westkeptsecret.co (Runner-Up)

BURN BOOT CAMP burnbootcamp.com BOUTIQUE GYM ★ WEST KEPT SECRET westkeptsecret.co (Runner-Up)

FUNCTIONAL FIT CHARLOTTE functionalfitcharlotte.com BARBERSHOP ★ CALIBER MEN’S GROOMING calibermensgrooming.com (Runner-Up)

CITY BARBERS citybarbersatuptown.com

Award Winning Spa

Voted 11 times for the “Best of the Best in Charlotte”

WHERE WE REFINE YOUR NATURAL BEAUTY.

Purchase “Microcurrent Face Lift” and receive a Complimentary Skinceuticals CE Feurlic 15 ml. (while supplies last)

12105 Copper Way Suite 202 | 6324 Fairview Rd Suite 101

980.406. 3269 | www.lepetitspacharlotte.com | Instagram: @lepetitspaclt 74

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

WOMEN’S HAIR SALON ★ DENISE ANTONACCI SALON antonaccisalon.com (Runner-Up)

KENNA KUNIJO kennakunijo.com MANICURE/PEDICURE ★ ALOHA NAILS REA FARMS alohanailsreafarms.com (Runner-Up)

MIMOSAS NAIL BAR themimosasnailbar.com LASHES & BROWS ★ LE PETIT SPA lepetitspacharlotte.com (Runner-Up)

THE LASH LOUNGE thelashlounge.com BLOWOUT ★ DRYBAR CHARLOTTE thedrybar.com (Runner-Up)

MED SPA (BOTOX, INJECTIONS, ETC.) ★ PROVIDENCE PLASTIC SURGERY AND SKIN CENTER ppsclt.com (Runner-Up)

CAROLINA FACIAL PLASTICS carolinafacialplasticsurgery.com DAY SPA ★ THE SPA AT BALLANTYNE (THE BALLANTYNE HOTEL) theballantynehotel.com (Runner-Up)

TOCCARE DAY SPA toccaredayspa.com PLASTIC SURGERY PRACTICE ★ CHARLOTTE PLASTIC SURGERY charlotteplasticsurgery.com (Runner-Up)

H/K/B COSMETIC SURGERY hkbsurgery.com

HAIR REMOVAL ★ LE PETIT SPA lepetitspacharlotte.com

FACIAL PLASTIC SURGEON ★ DR. JONATHAN KULBERSH (CAROLINA FACIAL PLASTICS) carolinafacialplasticsurgery.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

DENISE ANTONACCI SALON antonaccisalon.com

COPPER WILLOW SALON copperwillowsalon.com

H/K/B COSMETIC SURGERY hkbsurgery.com

PLACE TO GET YOUR MAKEUP DONE/MAKEUP ARTIST ★ JILLIAN MARIE BEAUTY @jillianmariebeauty16

ACUPUNCTURIST ★ MODERN ACUPUNCTURE modernacupuncture.com

(Runner-Up)

HEATHER A. HAWKINS heatherahawkins.com

 @cwhome_charlotte •info@cwhome-charlotte.com

(Runner-Up)

DR. KEVIN KIM (EVERGREEN ACUPUNCTURE AND HERBAL CLINIC) evergreenqi.com CHIROPRACTOR ★ CAROLINA SPORTS CLINIC carolinasportsclinic.com (Runner-Up)

CATALYST CHIROPRACTIC catalyst-chiro.com

LOGAN CYRUS

704 Shop offers a variety of streetwear.

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

75

Voters’ Choice / Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

Voted Best Local Gift Shop!

MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST/COUNSELING ★ BRIGHT VIEW COUNSELING brightviewcounseling.com (Runner-Up)

SUN COUNSELING AND WELLNESS suncounselingandwellness.com

SHOPPING STORE FOR CHARLOTTE APPAREL ★ 704 SHOP 704shop.com (Runner-Up)

GLORY DAYS APPAREL glorydaysapparel.com WOMEN’S BOUTIQUE ★ BOEM shopboem.com (Runner-Up)

SLOAN sloanboutique.com

330 East Boulevard Charlotte NC 28203 @paperskyscrapergifts

Indulge in Serenity

MEN’S CLOTHING STORE ★ TABOR taborclt.com (Runner-Up)

TAYLOR RICHARDS & CONGER shop-trcstyle.com CUSTOM SUITS ★ STITCHED BY MITCH (MITCH PURGASON) stitchedbymitch.com (Runner-Up)

TAYLOR RICHARDS & CONGER shop-trcstyle.com FINE JEWELRY ★ DIAMONDS DIRECT diamondsdirect.com (Runner-Up)

PERRY’S DIAMONDS AND ESTATE JEWELRY perrysjewelry.com LOCAL JEWELRY DESIGNER ★ PERRY’S DIAMONDS AND ESTATE JEWELRY perrysjewelry.com (Runner-Up)

BROWNLEE JEWELERS brownleejewelers.com LOCAL GIFT SHOP ★ PAPER SKYSCRAPER paperskyscraper.com

Aloha Nails Rea Farms

VOTED BEST OF PEDI & MANI by the readers of Charlotte Magazine of 2021!

9905 Sandy Rock Place STE E | 704.256.9159 | alohanailsreafarms.com 76

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

(Runner-Up)

THE BUTTERCUP GIFTS AND STATIONERY buttercupcharlotte.net

PET SUPPLIES ★ PET SUPPLIES PLUS petsuppliesplus.com (Runner-Up)

PET PEOPLE petpeople.com CRAFT BEER BOTTLE SHOP ★ BRAWLEY’S BEVERAGE facebook.com/brawleysbeverage (Runner-Up)

CRAFT TASTING ROOM AND GROWLER SHOP craftgrowlershop.com WINE STORE ★ FOXCROFT WINE CO. foxcroftwine.com (Runner-Up)

BOND STREET bondstreetwines.com HOME FURNISHINGS + DECOR ★ TRADITIONS traditionsofcharlotte.com (Runner-Up)

HOUSE OF NOMAD houseofnomaddesign.com CHARLOTTE SHOPPING DESTINATION/AREA ★ SOUTHPARK MALL simon.com/mall/southpark (Runner-Up)

PARK ROAD SHOPPING CENTER parkroadshoppingcenter.com AUTO DEALER ★ HENDRICK AUTOMOTIVE GROUP hendrickcars.com (Runner-Up)

FORMULA IMPORTS formulaimports.com BRIDAL BOUTIQUE ★ HAYDEN OLIVIA haydenolivia.com (Runner-Up)

LADIES OF LINEAGE ladiesoflineage.com CHARLOTTE-MADE PRODUCTS ★ FAIREST FLICKERS CANDLES fairestflickers.com (Runner-Up)

704 SHOP 704shop.com INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE ★ PARK ROAD BOOKS parkroadbooks.com (Runner-Up)

THAT’S NOVEL BOOKS thatsnovelbooks.com

House of Nomad THE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS

LANDSCAPING ★ ARBORSCAPES arborscapes.net

WINDOW RESOURCES ★ ZEN WINDOWS zenwindows.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

HOWELL LANDSCAPE AND DESIGN howelllandscapeanddesign.com

JELD-WEN jeld-wen.com

KITCHEN AND BATHROOM RESOURCES ★ FERGUSON ferguson.com (Runner-Up)

THE MAJESTIC BATH themajesticbath.com PLACE TO SHOP FOR CBD ★ CHARLOTTE CBD cltcbd.com (Runner-Up)

KURE CBD AND VAPE kurevapes.com LOCAL PLANT NURSERY ★ BLACKHAWK HARDWARE blackhawkhardware.com COURTESY

(Runner-Up)

PIKE NURSERIES pikenursery.com

SERVICES RESIDENTIAL REMODELING ★ SIMONINI HOMES simonini.com (Runner-Up)

ANDREW ROBY andrewroby.com HOME BUILDER ★ SIMONINI HOMES simonini.com (Runner-Up)

JEFF CHANCE CUSTOM HOMES jeffchance.com

INTERIOR DESIGN ★ HOUSE OF NOMAD houseofnomaddesign.com (Runner-Up)

TAMMY COULTER DESIGN tammycoulterdesign.com HOME ORGANIZATION ★ CW HOME cwhome-charlotte.com (Runner-Up)

SIMPLICITY ORGANIZERS simplicity-organizers.com

HEATING AND COOLING ★ TRAVIS CRAWFORD HEATING, COOLING AND PLUMBING traviscrawfordhvac.com (Runner-Up)

ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR onehourheatandair.com

REALTOR ★ SARAH ROSE (RE/MAX EXECUTIVE) remax.com

HOUSEKEEPING/CLEANING SERVICE ★ POSEIDON CLEANING SOLUTIONS poseidoncleaningsolutions.com

(Runner-Up)

(Runner-Up)

THE BELCHER GROUP (RE/MAX EXECUTIVE) remax.com

KISSHA HANEY (K&E HOUSECLEANING)

PLUMBING SERVICE ★ QUEEN CITY PLUMBING queencityplumbingcharlotte.com (Runner-Up)

TRAVIS CRAWFORD traviscrawfordhvac.com

STAYCATION HOTEL ★ THE BALLANTYNE HOTEL theballantynehotel.com (Runner-Up)

THE RITZ-CARLTON CHARLOTTE ritzcarlton.com

Sports Chiropractic and Physical Therapy

Blakeney • SouthPark • Fort Mill

www.carolinasportsclinic.com MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

77

Upscale Men’s Grooming & Massage With each service, enjoy a beer or beverage of your choice and a game of shuffleboard.

Voters’ Choice / Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

FINANCIAL ADVISOR/ WEALTH MANAGEMENT ★ RYAN SAUNDERS (PLANCENTRIC FINANCIAL GROUP) plancentricfinancial.com (Runner-Up)

ELLEN LINARES carolinas.massmutual.com LAW FIRM ★ COSTNER LAW FIRM costnerlaw.com (Runner-Up)

HATCHER LAW GROUP hatcherlawgroup.com ASSISTED LIVING/ RETIREMENT COMMUNITY ★ BROOKDALE CARRIAGE CLUB brookdale.com (Runner-Up)

SOUTHMINSTER southminster.org

235 West Tremont Ave. Suite 102, Charlotte NC 28203 www.calibermensgrooming.com | Instagram: @calibermensgrooming

980.207.3342

TAX PREPARATION ★ FISHER, P.A. fisheraccountants.com (Runner-Up)

CANNON ACCOUNTING cannonadvisors.com TATTOO PARLOR ★ THE GREY ASH TATTOO AND ART STUDIO thegreyash.com (Runner-Up)

MADE TO LAST TATTOO madetolasttattoo.com AUTO REPAIR ★ WOODIE’S AUTO SERVICE AND REPAIR woodiesautorepair.com (Runner-Up)

COMPACT CAR SERVICES compactcarservice.net GRAPHIC DESIGN/WEB DESIGN FIRM ★ WELL-RUN MEDIA + MARKETING well-runmedia.com (Runner-Up)

MADE OUTSIDE madeoutside.com PR FIRM ★ SOCIAL APE MARKETING socialapemarketing.com (Runner-Up)

WELL-RUN MEDIA + MARKETING well-runmedia.com AD AGENCY ★ ASHLAND ADVERTISING ashlandadvertising.com (Runner-Up)

ARTHUR ELLIOTT arthurelliott.com

DJ ★ CAROLINA DJ PROFESSIONALS carolinadjprofessionals.com (Runner-Up)

SPLIT SECOND SOUND splitsecondsound.com CATERER ★ BEST IMPRESSIONS bestimpressionscaterers.com (Runner-Up)

QUEEN CITY CATERING qccatering.com PHOTOGRAPHER ★ WESLIE WOODLEY PHOTOGRAPHY wesliewoodleyphoto.com (Runner-Up)

CAROLYN ANN RYAN PHOTOGRAPHY carolynannryan.com EVENT RENTALS ★ PARTY REFLECTIONS partyreflections.com (Runner-Up)

CE RENTAL charlotte.cerental.com PARTY/EVENT PLANNER ★ KATRINA HUTCHINS EVENTS katrinahutchins.com (Runner-Up)

THIRD ROCK EVENTS 3rdrockevents.com VIDEOGRAPHER ★ THE 5 AND 2 PROJECT (KEVIN YOUNG) the5and2project.com (Runner-Up)

RECOLLECTIVE FILMS recollectivefilms.com WEDDING/SPECIAL EVENT VENUE ★ ALEXANDER HOMESTEAD alexanderhomesteadweddings.com (Runner-Up)

DUKE MANSION dukemansion.com FLORIST ★ IRIS BLOSSOM @irisblossomclt (Runner-Up)

BLOSSOM SHOP blossomshopflorist.com DRY CLEANERS ★ LONG’S DRY CLEANING 918 E. Morehead St. (Runner-Up)

ELITE CLEANERS elite-clean.com TAILOR/ALTERATIONS ★ ANNA’S ALTERATIONS annasalterationscharlotte.com (Runner-Up)

78

ANN’S ALTERATIONS annsalterations.com CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

MITCH PURGASON Clothing designer based out of Charlotte, North Carolina

STITCHED BY MITCH STITCHEDBYMITCH.COM Photo done by @joshhartmedia, http://www.joshhartmedia.com/contact

WESLIE WOODLEY

PHOTOGRAPHY wesliewoodleyphoto.com

Voters’ Choice / Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

TRAVEL AGENCY ★ MANN TRAVELS manntravels.com (Runner-Up)

AAA CAROLINAS TRAVEL carolinas.aaa.com PUBLIC/CHARTER SCHOOL ★ UNION DAY SCHOOL uniondayschool.com (Runner-Up)

WADDELL LANGUAGE ACADEMY schools.cms.k12.nc.us PRIVATE SCHOOL ★ CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL charlottecountryday.org (Runner-Up)

CHARLOTTE LATIN SCHOOL charlottelatin.org

Weslie Woodley Photography is proud to be selected as Best Photographer in Charlotte Magazine’s 2021 Voters’ Choice Best of the Best Awards.

SUMMER CAMP ★ YMCA CAMP HARRISON ymcacharlotte.org (Runner-Up)

YMCA CAMP THUNDERBIRD ymcacharlotte.org AFTER SCHOOL CARE ★ HARRIS YMCA ymcacharlotte.org (Runner-Up)

J-TEAM AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM AT THE LEVINE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER charlottejcc.org PET BOARDING/ DAYCARE ★ LUCKY DOG BARK & BREW luckydogbarkandbrew.com (Runner-Up)

CLUB FETCH clubfetch.com VETERINARIAN ★ LONG ANIMAL HOSPITAL longanimal.com (Runner-Up)

DILWORTH ANIMAL HOSPITAL dilworthanimalhospital.com DOG TRAINER ★ THE DOG WIZARD CHARLOTTE thedogwizard.com (Runner-Up)

SIT, STAY, PLAY DOG TRAINING (CAMILLE ASMER) sspdogtraining.com MOVING SERVICE ★ HORNET MOVING hornetmovingnc.com (Runner-Up)

METROLINA TRANSPORT GROUP metrolinatransport.net

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

HOUSE PAINTER ★ TRINITY PAINTERS (Runner-Up)

M.A. PAINTING mapaintingnc.com

MEDIA + CULTURE RADIO SHOW ★ MATT & RAMONA (107.9 THE LINK) 1079thelink.radio.com (Runner-Up)

CHARLOTTE TALKS WITH MIKE COLLINS (WFAE 90.7) wfae.org LOCAL PODCAST ★ WAKE UP TO YOUR LIFE WITH COLLEEN ODEGAARD wakeuptoyourlife.net (Runner-Up)

★ BRANDBUILDERS PODCAST dunstangroup.blubrry.net WEATHER FORECASTER ★ BRAD PANOVICH @wxbrad (Runner-Up)

LARRY SPRINKLE @larrywcnc LOCAL TV NEWS TEAM ★ WCNC wcnc.com (Runner-Up)

WBTV wbtv.com REPORTER ★ MOLLY GRANTHAM @molly_grantham (Runner-Up)

JOE BRUNO @JoeBrunoWSOC9 ATHLETE ★ CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY (Runner-Up)

LAMELO BALL SPORTS TEAM ★ CAROLINA PANTHERS panthers.com (Runner-Up)

CHARLOTTE HORNETS nba.com/hornets SPORTING EVENT ★ CAROLINA PANTHERS FOOTBALL panthers.com (Runner-Up)

CHARLOTTE HORNETS BASKETBALL nba.com/hornets TWITTER FEED ★ BRAD PANOVICH @wxbrad (Runner-Up)

KATIE LEVANS @katie_levans

Motivational Fitness Coach, Former Professional Golfer, Full-Time La Colombe Coffee Consumer.

@bodybytrainor

Meghan Trainor has offered free LIVE daily Instagram workouts since the very beginning of the Pandemic in March of 2020 and she hasn’t repeated a single workout since!

The @BodyByTrainor workout is more than just 50 minutes of exercise, it is an EXPERIENCE and a vibe that you carry with you throughout your day.

Meghan has created a community of like minded people that she calls her CLAMS, who all strive for a healthy, balanced lifestyle consisting of positivity, hard work and FUN! Join the BBT Experience and see what it’s all about! You won’t regret it.

www.bodybytrainor.com

Thank You Charlotte!

Best Videographer

Videography ∙ Photography ∙ Drone

Kevin Young, Owner

the5and2project • the5and2project.com

Voters’ Choice / Results from Online Polls from January-February 2021

No Cuts. No Color. Just Blowouts!

INSTAGRAM FEED ★ MEGHAN TRAINOR @BodyByTrainor (Runner-Up)

LINDSAY REGAN THORNE @lindseyreganthorne CHARLOTTE INFLUENCER ★ OHAVIA PHILLIPS @ohaviaphillips (Runner-Up)

LAURA LONG @smartsouthernstyle AUTHOR ★ KEVIN WINCHESTER kevinwinchesterwriter.com (Runner-Up)

BUCLEIGH KERNODLE ART GALLERY ★ SOZO GALLERY sozogallery.net (Runner-Up)

ELDER GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART eldergalleryclt.com

@drybarcharlotte and @drybarshopsus SouthPark: 6401 Morrison Blvd. Suite 9A | Atherton Mill: 2120 South Blvd. Unit 4

Booking appts: online at thedrybar.com or on the Drybar app!

MUSEUM ★ MINT MUSEUM UPTOWN mintmuseum.org (Runner-Up)

HARVEY B. GANTT CENTER FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS + CULTURE ganttcenter.org LOCAL ARTIST ★ AMY MOFFATT @amymoffattart (Runner-Up)

EVELYN HENSON evelynhenson.com

(Runner-Up)

BANK OF AMERICA bankofamerica.com FESTIVAL ★ SOUTH END WINE & HOPS FEST southendwineandhopsfest. com (Runner-Up)

YIASOU GREEK FESTIVAL yiasoufestival.org POP-UP EVENT ★ GIRL TRIBE POP UP girltribepopup.com (Runner-Up)

VINTAGE CHARLOTTE vintage-charlotte.com HOLIDAY EVENT ★ LIGHT THE KNIGHTS AND CHARLOTTE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE cltchristmasvillage.com (Runner-Up)

LIGHTS AT WHITEWATER CENTER usnwc.org

(Runner-Up)

EMBRACE SCULPTURE 6697 Monroe Rd.

NEIGHBORHOOD THEATRE neighborhoodtheatre.com

LOCAL BAND/MUSICIAN ★ JOSH DANIEL’S GRATEFUL BAND joshdanielmusic.com

PERFORMING THEATRE GROUP ★ CHILDREN’S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE ctcharlotte.org

(Runner-Up)

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF CHARLOTTE TIES AND TAILS GALA humanesocietyofcharlotte.org

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR ★ WELLS FARGO wellsfargo.com

(Runner-Up)

CHARITY EVENT/ FUNDRAISER ★ BEERS AND BURPEES beersandburpees.com

82

AR WORKSHOP arworkshop.com

LIVE PERFORMANCE VENUE ★ THE FILLMORE fillmorenc.com

THE AVETT BROTHERS theavettbrothers.com

704-246-6141

(Runner-Up)

PUBLIC ART ★ CONFETTI HEART WALL 1930 Camden Rd.

(Runner-Up)

Blakeney Shopping Center 9882 Rea Road Suite D ∙ Charlotte, NC 28277

DIY STUDIO/CLASS/ WORKSHOP ★ HOLT SCHOOL OF FINE ART holtschooloffineart.com

FAMILY ATTRACTION ★ U.S. NATIONAL WHITEWATER CENTER usnwc.org (Runner-Up)

CAROWINDS carowinds.com

(Runner-Up)

ACTOR’S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE atcharlotte.org GOLF COURSE ★ QUAIL HOLLOW CLUB quailhollowclub.com (Runner-Up)

MYERS PARK COUNTRY CLUB myersparkcc.com

Voted Best PR Firm Helping Charlotte Businesses Grow Since 2012

socialapemarketing.com

Congratulations to all

BOB Awards Winners!

Show off your recognition with a high-quality archival keepsake plaque.

It ships to you ready to hang, no framing necessary.

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MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

83

BACK ON THE MOUND CO NT I N U E D F RO M PAG E 2 4

In recent years, professional sports teams have begun to realize the value of formal, full-time mentoring programs, not just the traditional, informal practice of veterans who take young prospects under their wings. In 2019, the Diamondbacks hired Bard as one member of an official, three-person “mental skills group.” During more talks with farm-club players, Bard threw with them and drew exclamations like, “Man, you need to play again!” He brushed off the compliments.

But when he returned to Greenville after the season, he built (then later bought) a netting system for the backyard, ducttaped a strike zone on the net, and began throwing.

By now, the Bards had two boys: Davis, born in 2015, and Sykes, born two years later. Adair assumed he installed the net just to play with Davis. But even after playtime, her husband would fire pitches into the taped-off strike zone. He’d walk inside, tell her how good his arm felt, and mention that the players he’d worked with had encouraged him to try again.

“I knew it was a serious thought,” Adair says, “which made me excited and terrified at the same time.”

Daniel and Adair traveled to Charlotte to visit their family for Christmas, and Daniel asked his younger brother and fellow pitcher Luke if he could go with him to Showcase Baseball Academy, a training center on Independence Boulevard in Matthews where Luke and other professional players worked out.

Sure, Luke said. Daniel threw 91, 92 mph, right over the plate. A few weeks later, Daniel went with Luke again, this time equipped with a radar gun; a Rapsodo machine, which collects and analyzes pitching data like velocity, spin rate, and placement; and Paul. Daniel threw more than 30 pitches—slider, changeup, fastball—with full control. His fastballs consistently hit close to 95 mph. Daniel walked off the mound, full of adrenaline, and thought to himself: This is really close to how I threw 10 years ago.

Until that day in January 2020, Bard thought there was about a 10% chance he’d try to play again. Adair had given birth to their third child in 2019—a daughter, Campbell—and he had a steady job he loved. He’d been out of baseball for three years. He wasn’t sure anyone would take

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

him seriously. But as he drove out of the Showcase Baseball Academy parking lot, he called Adair to tell her: He was ready.

IN FEBRUARY, two days before spring training, Bard flew to Phoenix and told the Diamondbacks he was leaving his mentoring job because he wanted to try to pitch again. His agent had sent video clips to MLB teams and let them know Bard would be throwing at a local high school that week. Bard hoped five or six teams might show up and offer a minorleague deal.

That morning, more than 20 teams sent scouts. They huddled, pointing their radar guns, as Bard prepared for his first pitch. He laughed to himself: “I was like, I’m 35 years old. I haven’t done this in three years. This is insane.”

He threw well enough for several teams to offer contracts. He and Adair chose the Colorado Rockies. Just before his first official outing, in a spring training game against the Rangers on March 4, Bard wondered if the yips would resurface. He felt like his heart might pound out of his chest. Bard gave up four hits and six runs and walked two batters before he was pulled.

“I knew that everyone would look at that box score and say, ‘The Rockies signed Daniel Bard, what a bunch of idiots,’ ” Bard says. “But internally, I laughed, because this was not the same.

I knew it was different.” Back on the mound three days later, he pitched one inning and notched two strikeouts, then followed with another solid appearance.

And then COVID shut down baseball, as it did everything else. Bard flew home. MLB teams began to release their non-roster invitees, and he worried that Colorado would cut him. But the Rockies kept him on their weekly Zoom sessions for the bullpen. Bard worked with other pro ballplayers who lived in the Greenville area and waited for the Rockies to call. Word eventually came, and in July, he found himself in an office in a stadium in Denver as the manager of a major-league club told him something he hadn’t heard in years, something he didn’t think he would hear again: You made the team.

FOUR DAYS LATER, on a Saturday afternoon in an empty stadium in Arlington, Texas, Daniel Bard returned to the mound.

In the COVID season’s second game,

the Rockies led the Rangers 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth. But Rockies starter Jon Gray had just surrendered an RBI single.

Two on, two out. Bud Black made the call to the bullpen, and in trotted Bard, who threw a first-pitch strike, then got the batter to fly out to left. Bard pitched the sixth, too, giving up two singles but not allowing a run. The Rockies won 3-2. Bard threw 25 pitches, 20 for strikes—and he got the win, his first in the majors since May 2012.

“These games are important, but also at the end of the day you’re still playing a game,” he said afterward. “I think the guys that are able to take that mindset into each and every day despite the pressure ... are the ones that have a lot of success.

“It took me a while to fully grasp that.”

The Rockies finished the shortened 2020 season with a 26-34 record and 17 games out of first place. But Bard compiled a 4-2 record and 3.65 ERA, including six saves, in 23 appearances as a reliever.

In December, his performance earned him a pair of Major League Baseball’s highest honors: the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Tony Conigliaro Award, given every year to an MLB player who has “overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination, and courage.”

“Daniel is an example of what we try to help players develop: resilience, grit,” says Zach Brandon, who worked with Daniel when they were mental skills coordinators for the Diamondbacks. “You saw him learn about this stuff over time and then start to realize that, for lack of a better way of saying it, he still had it.”

MLB scheduled a more normal date, April 1, for Opening Day 2021. However this season unfolds, Bard has his family, his comeback, and his shift in perspective.

One key to control, it turns out, is letting go of it. It’s a game, he tells himself nowadays. Just go throw the ball. If you enjoy it, keep doing it. If not, do something else.

“For a long time, I put a lot of pressure on myself that I had to live up to this expectation,” he says. “But life in general—baseball especially—only has as much meaning as you assign to it.”

ANNA KATHERINE CLEMMONS, a 2001 graduate of Davidson College, is a freelance writer and an assistant professor of practice in the University of Virginia’s Department of Media Studies. She’s a former writer, reporter, and producer for ESPN and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and other publications.

SPECIAL ADVER TISING SECTION

PLASTI C S UR GE RY

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KIM HUMMEL

SPECIAL ADVER TISING SECTION

Charlotte Plastic Surgery DR. DR. DR. DR. DR. DR.

MICHAEL BEASLEY ASHLEY CHANDLER STEPHAN FINICAL THEODORE NYAME KEVIN L. SMITH JACK SCHEUER

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ABOUT THE PRACTICE: Proudly Celebrating 70 Years! Charlotte Plastic Surgery has provided hundreds of thousands of transformations, giving our clients newfound confidence. Our six Board Certified Plastic Surgeons are renowned for offering sound guidance and excellent surgical results to each patient. Our greatest joy is that of a positive patient experience.

WHAT SETS US APART: We are a versa-

tile, medically diverse trained, collaborative group of six board-certified plastic surgeons within one practice. Patients can feel secure knowing that for each unique cosmetic procedure, we have the team who strives for the best surgical outcomes and unparalleled safety measures. Our surgical facility is equipped to hospital standards and our staff is expertly trained to ensure every patient is safe throughout their surgical journey. Our entire team is devoted to providing world class customer service during each client interaction and beyond. Though we have years of experience, we never forget for each patient their unique procedure is very personal.

WHAT’S NEW: We are excited to welcome Dr. Ashley Chandler, MD to join our team.

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OUR NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: Our greatest passion is to help patients achieve their desired aesthetic goals. There is no greater compliment than a happy patient, their kind referrals, and the honor of receiving the Charlotte Magazine BOB award for six years running. We look forward to being of service to you.

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SPECIAL ADVER TISING SECTION

ABOUT THE PRACTICE: The top aesthetic destination of the south, Carolina Facial Plastics is led by double boardcertified facial plastic surgeon Dr. onathan Kulbersh. With his team of cosmetic experts, a fully accredited surgery center, and a private recovery retreat all located in the heart of SouthPark, Carolina Facial Plastics is known for unparalleled and natural looking results exclusively for the face.

OUR PHILOSOPHY: By focusing 100

on cosmetic treatments for the face, Dr. Kulbersh and his team perform both surgical and nonsurgical aesthetic techniques designed to fully enhance each patient s own unique attractiveness.

WHAT SETS US APART: Dr. Kulbersh

honed his skills with the top plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills, including Dr. Paul Nassif from the T series Botched, which laid the foundation for bringing the best global techniques to the South.

Next, Carolina Facial Plastics is the only

Carolina Facial Plastics

SouthPark practice that has its own fully accredited surgery center and luxurious recovery retreat in the same building, providing patients with the highest level of care and comfort in a discreet, yet welcoming atmosphere.

Lastly, Dr Kulbersh has successfully completed 2,000 cosmetic surgeries, 12,000 Botox and filler treatments, and received 12 Top Doctor Awards including Top Facial Plastic Surgeon by Charlotte Magazines s BOB awards 3 years in a row.

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THE GUIDE

Restaurants YOUR GUIDE TO CHARLOTTE’S DINING SCENE KID CASHEW

Dilworth 300 EAST

$-$$

NEW AMERICAN The interior of this old houseturned-restaurant is welcoming, as is the menu of familiar and surprising sandwiches, salads, and entrées.

Save room for dessert by pastry chef Laney JahkelParrish. 300 East Blvd. (704-332-6507) BR (Sun), L, D, BAR

BONTERRA

$$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Its setting may be a historic Southern church, but Bonterra serves up modern Southern flavors with top-notch service. Wine lovers will be impressed by the more than 200 wines by the glass. 1829 Cleveland Ave. (704-333-9463) D, BAR

CAPISHE

$-$$

ITALIAN The pasta dishes and pizza prepared by Chef David Cavalier, previously of Kindred, are impressive for a fast-casual restaurant. Arrive early for lunch to beat the long lines. 500 E. Morehead St., Ste. 100.

(980-819-9494) L, D, BAR

COPPER

$$$

INDIAN Ease into Indian cuisine with standard dishes like chicken tikka masala, or be more adventurous with the spicy seafood medley “anjeeri.” 311 East Blvd.

(704-333-0063) L, D, V, BAR

DOLCE OSTERIA

$$-$$$

$$-$$$

$$-$$$

PIZZA Two words: pistachio pizza. Seriously, try it.

Then grab a spot on the patio beneath the bistro lights and enjoy a bottle of wine with friends. There’s a second location in Providence Commons, too. 2230 Park Rd., (704-900-0929) L, D, BAR

88

$

ZEN FUSION

$$

FUSION Here, fusion means a sampling of dishes from the Far East and Spain. 1716 Kenilworth Ave. (704-358-9688) L (weekdays), D, BAR

Elizabeth/Cherry CAJUN QUEEN

$$$

$$

AMERICAN This small Dilworth restaurant has soups, salads, and delicious, oversized sandwiches made with fresh, thick bread filled with innovative combinations.

2410 Park Rd. (704-372-2009) L, D, BAR

INIZIO PIZZA NAPOLETANA

THE MAYOBIRD

AMERICAN The daytime partner to The Summit Room focuses on specialty coffees, quiches, and pastries, and, of course, chicken salad sandwiches. 1531 East Blvd. (980-237-2543) B, L, B/W

NEW AMERICAN Owner and executive chef Trey Wilson uses top-notch, seasonal ingredients to create fresh takes on American cuisine in a hip, rustic atmosphere. 1601 Elizabeth Ave. (704-333-3396) D, BAR

ITALIAN The open layout lends an air of conviviality to this slick eatery, which has house-made pastas, thin-crust pizzas, note-perfect risotto, and daring meat entrées. 2418 Park Rd. (704-333-3062) L, D, BAR

FRAN’S FILLING STATION

$$

$$

VEGETARIAN Fern moved from Plaza Midwood to Dilworth in mid-2016. It still has ferns on the wall, and the menu is still full of flavorful vegetarian cuisine. 1419 East Blvd., Ste. A. (704-377-1825) L, BR, D, V, BAR

FIAMMA RESTAURANT

LEBOWSKI’S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL

AMERICAN Dishes at this neighborhood favorite include burgers, brats, and the popular “Beef on Weck.”

1524 East Blvd. (704-370-1177) L, D, BAR

CAJUN Nightly live jazz complements New Orleans creole favorites like shrimp étouffée and crawfish Diane in this century-old house. 1800 E. 7th St. (704-3779017) BR, D, BAR

ITALIAN This classic, cozy, family-run neighborhood trattoria serves a mix of fresh, regional Italian cuisine and a tidy, all-Italian wine list. 1710 Kenilworth Ave. (704-332-7525) L (weekdays), D, B/W

FERN, FLAVORS FROM THE GARDEN

$$

MEDITERRANEAN This bright and rustic restaurant from the owner of Georges Brasserie serves meat family-style from a wood-fired grill and a selection of small plates. 1608 East Blvd. (704-208-4148) L, D, BAR

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

CUSTOMSHOP

$$-$$$

EARL’S GROCERY

$

AMERICAN This upscale marketplace, with sandwiches, salads, and daily specials, is a welcome afternoon spot for a grab-and-go meal or a bite and people-watching. 1609 Elizabeth Ave. (704-333-2757) B, BR, L, D, V

THE FIG TREE RESTAURANT

$$$$

NEW AMERICAN The No. 2 restaurant on our 2018

$ $$ $$$ $$$$

Most entrées under $10 Most entrées $10-$17 Most entrées $18-$25 Most entrées $26 & up Best Restaurants

B BR L D V

Best Restaurants list, the Fig Tree specializes in fresh and flavorful cuisine with an emphasis on wine pairing in a 1913 bungalow. 1601 E. 7th St. (704-332-3322) D, BAR

PIZZERIA OMAGGIO

$$

PIZZA Among a sea of by-the-slice joints, owner Daniel Siragusa sticks by his Italian roots with personal pizzas. Some think they can’t possibly eat the whole pie, but they do. And then they order dessert. 1055 Metropolitan Ave., Ste. 130. (704-370-0777) L, D, BAR

THE STANLEY

$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Chef Paul Verica’s menu reflects a respect of seasonal produce, with playful dishes such as “Asparagus—as many ways as we could think of,” and a more robust cocktail program. 1961 E. 7th St. (980-299-2741) D, BR (Sun), BAR

SUNFLOUR BAKING CO.

$-$$

BAKERY With locations in Dilworth, Harrisburg, and Ballantyne, Sunflour serves croissants, cinnamon buns, sandwiches, and soups. Regulars spend mornings here with a cup of coffee, letting them fade into afternoons.

2001 E. 7th St. (704-900-5268) B, L, D, V

Huntersville/Lake Norman ALIÑO PIZZERIA

$$

DRESSLER’S

$$$

PIZZA Enjoy your Neapolitan-style, wood-fired pizza at a community table with paper towels on hand to catch the drips from crust dipped in herbs and olive oil. A second location is at Concord Mills. 500 S. Main St., Ste. 401, Mooresville. (704-663-0010) L, D, B/W

NEW AMERICAN Part steak house, part upscale American cuisine, dishes are delivered with consistency and a smile, both here and at the Metropolitan Avenue location. 8630-1A Lindholm Dr. (704-987-1779) D, BAR

FLATIRON KITCHEN + TAPHOUSE

$$$

STEAK HOUSE High-quality steaks are a given here, but the seafood and vegetables are treated with the same respect. 215 S. Main St., Davidson. (704-2373246) BR, L, D, BAR

Breakfast Weekend brunch Lunch Dinner Vegetarian friendly

B/W Beer and wine only BAR Full-service bar Patio seating available Reservations suggested

REVIEW POLICIES—The restaurants on these pages are recommendations of the editors of Charlotte magazine. They are not related to advertising in any way. Restaurant visits are anonymous, and all expenses are paid by the magazine. Reviews are written by members of the editorial staff. We regularly update these listings. New additions are denoted by “new listing” and revised reviews are indicated by “update.”

HAVANA 33

$$

CUBAN Enjoy lake views and authentic Cuban dishes like picadillo and mojo chicken with Yuca fries and sweet plantains. 637 Williamson Rd., Ste. 100 (704799-0875) BR, L, D, BAR

HELLO, SAILOR

$$-$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Davidson’s sweethearts, Joe and Katy Kindred, opened this lakefront spot. Expect Carolina classics like fried catfish and seafood platters, as well as tiki drinks. 20210 Henderson Rd., Cornelius.

(704-997-5365) BR, L, D, BAR

KINDRED

$$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN Chef Joe Kindred, a James Beard Award semifinalist, serves homemade pasta dishes and creative small plates in historic downtown Davidson. 131 N. Main St., Davidson. (980-231-5000) BR, L, D, BAR

SABI ASIAN BISTRO

$$

ASIAN Find Asian-inspired dishes, from sushi to stir fry to sweet-and-sour chicken, in a sleek interior. 130 Harbor Place Dr., Davidson. (704-895-5707) L, D, BAR

Matthews/Mint Hill KABAB-JE ROTISSERIE & GRILLE

$$

MIDDLE EASTERN With a second location in Stonecrest, this Mediterranean and Lebanese spot serves dishes like hummus shawarma and lamb kabobs.

2233 Matthews Township Pkwy., Ste. E. (704-8450707) L, D

LOYALIST MARKET

$-$$

AMERICAN This charming eatery is a sandwich shop by day and a cheese shop by night. Choose from over 60 artisan cheeses and cured meats from the U.S. and abroad, along with gourmet food products, wine, and local beer. 435 N. Trade St., Ste. 102. (704-814-9866) L, D, BAR

NEW ZEALAND CAFÉ

$-$$

FUSION A wooden latticework ceiling and indoor trellis add charm to this neighborhood favorite, where sushi is fresh and affordable. 1717 Sardis Rd. N., Ste. 6A. (704-708-9888) L, D, B/W

SANTÉ

$$$ - $$$$

FRENCH The food is far from colloquial here, and the exposed brickwork and antiqued tin roof lend credence to the French name. 165 N. Trade St., Matthews.

(704-845-1899) D, BAR

YUME BISTRO

$$

JAPANESE The excellence of this spot’s ramen and sushi carry over to the to-go format, with Yume’s InHome Ramen and Gyoza Kit among its innovations.

1369 Chestnut Ln., Matthews. (704-821-0676) L, D

Myers Park/Cotswold DEEJAI THAI

$$

THAI This family-owned eatery offers takeout, but with its modern dining room and bright patio, you’ll want to settle into a table. 613 Providence Rd. (704333-7884) L, (weekdays), D, BAR

FENWICK’S

$$

LEROY FOX

$$

AMERICAN A Myers Park mainstay since the 1980s, Fenwick’s is a go-to for a comforting meal made with fresh ingredients, delivered with warm service. 511 Providence Rd. (704-333-2750) BR, L, D, BAR

SOUTHERN A casual eatery known for its fried chicken, Leroy Fox serves Southern classics and upscale pub grub, with an additional location in South End. 705 S. Sharon Amity Rd. (704-366-3232) BR, L, D, BAR

MAMA RICOTTA’S

$$

ITALIAN Frank Scibelli’s (Midwood Smokehouse, Yafo, Paco’s) first restaurant does simple Italian dishes with stylish twists in a spot fit for couples, families, and everyone else. 601 S. Kings Dr. (704-343-0148) L, D, BAR

PROVIDENCE ROAD SUNDRIES

$-$$

AMERICAN Classic bar food and friendly service have made this a neighborhood hangout for generations.

1522 Providence Rd. (704-366-4467) L, D, BAR

STAGIONI

$$$

ITALIAN Meaning “seasons,” this concept from Bruce Moffett serves Italian standards. A must-visit for Chef Eric Ferguson’s delicious, handmade pastas, woodfired pizzas, and slow-roasted meats. 715 Providence Rd. (704-372-8110) D, BAR

VOLO RISTORANTE

$$$

ITALIAN Volo translates to “flight,” which is the Italian answer to a tasting menu. Let the chef choose a meat, vegetable, or seafood flight for you, or order off the dinner menu and enjoy a plate of gnocchi, risotto, or tortellini paired with a glass of chianti. 1039 Providence Rd. (704-919-1020) D, BAR

$

FRENCH Enjoy a flaky croissant on the outdoor patio or order from the café menu of soups and sandwiches any time of day—or night. Amélie’s now has two additional locations in uptown and Park Road Shopping Center. 2424 N. Davidson St. (704-3761781) B, L, D

BAO + BROTH

$-$$

EL THRIFTY

$-$$

MEXICAN The Mexican cantina and gaming venue in Optimist Hall serves creative tacos and cocktails with a side of duckpin bowling. 1115 N. Brevard St. (980-9497837) L, D, BAR

THE GOODYEAR HOUSE

$$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN Grab a table in the botanist room or the open patio on a warm night, and enjoy elevated comfort food like smoked cashew mac and cheese and guinea hen stew. 3032 N. Davidson St. (704-9100132) L, D, BAR

HABERDISH

$$-$$$

AMERICAN Southern appetizers, fried chicken, and apothecary cocktails from Colleen Hughes draw a hip crowd to this mill town southern kitchen. 3106 N. Davidson St. (704-817-1084) BR, L, D, BAR

HARRIET’S HAMBURGERS

$

AMERICAN The burger joint with a pick-up window at Optimist Hall has a simple menu of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and fries, but they get everything right.

1115 N. Brevard St., Ste. 6 L, D

$-$$

AMERICAN This is bar food to the extreme. Beer is incorporated into several dishes at this brewpub. The beer cheese is made with Heist’s own beer and served alongside pretzels made with leftover mash. 2909 N. Davidson St., Ste. 200. (704-375-8260) BR, L, D, BAR

JACKBEAGLE’S

$

$-$$

$

SOUTHERN A James Beard-nominated chef and Soul Food Sessions co-founder Greg Collier serves the dishes he grew up on, like hot fried quail and dirty grits, in a space modeled after a Memphis-style juke joint. 301 Camp Rd., Ste. 101 (980-309-0690) D, BAR

PIZZA A full Benny P’s pie is 28 inches, almost double the standard—but if you divide it into eight slices, one is the ideal-sized meal for one person. 2909 N. Davidson St., Ste. 100. (980-949-8398) L, D, B/W

CABO FISH TACO

THE DUMPLING LADY

ASIAN One of Charlotte’s most popular food trucks has a brick-and-mortar space in Optimist Hall. Order Zhang Qian’s authentic Sichuan dumplings, noodles, and dim sum, and brace for spice. 1115 N. Brevard St. (980-595-6174) L, D, V

AMERICAN A mainstay for the locals, this place serves unconventional bar bites like mac-and-blue-cheese with bacon. 3213 N. Davidson St. (704-334-5140) BR, L, D, BAR

ASIAN Follow the smell of ramen and steamed pork belly buns to this food stall, the fifth restaurant from chef Bruce Moffett, and have a seat among the other diners in Optimist Hall. 1115 N. Brevard St. (704-6252269) L, D

BENNY PENNELLO’S

$-$$

HEIST BREWERY

NoDa/North Charlotte AMÉLIE’S FRENCH BAKERY

CRÊPE CELLAR KITCHEN & PUB

FRENCH The crêpes—both sweet and savory—are delicious, but the restaurant’s fare goes beyond its French roots with flavorful salads, entrées, and craft cocktails. 3116 N. Davidson St. (704-910-6543) BR, L, D, BAR

$-$$

SEAFOOD This NoDa “Baja seagrill” serves up the title dish as well as quesadillas, burritos, and salads in a fun, surf-themed atmosphere. 3201 N. Davidson St. (704332-8868) L, D, BAR

LEAH & LOUISE

$$

PAPI QUESO

$-$$

ROOM AND BOARD

$-$$

AMERICAN Expect all the staples from the popular food truck, along with new grilled cheeses, mac and cheese, and melts from the brick-and-mortar location in Optimist Hall. 1115 N. Brevard St. (704-5791779) L, D, V

AMERICAN Inside a two-story Victorian home and former boarding house, have your choice of sandwiches, MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

89

THE GUIDE burgers, and wings, or come for Sunday brunch and get a “hangover pizza.” 3228 N. Davidson St. (980-4303136) BR (Sun) L, D, BAR

ROY’S KITCHEN & PATIO

$$

CARIBBEAN Come for a fruity cocktail, but don’t expect a trip to Margaritaville—this is a relaxed neighborhood hangout with cornhole, ping-pong, and rotisserie chicken you can smell cooking down the street. 3112 N. Davidson St. (704-910-2031) BR (Sun), D, BAR,

Plaza Midwood/East Charlotte ACE NO. 3

$

AMERICAN The new counter-service burger joint from the team behind Sea Level and the Waterman offers a straightforward menu of burgers, fries, and shakes.

1001 Belmont Ave. (704-910-2200) L, D,

CILANTRO NOODLE

$-$$

VIETNAMESE Structured like Chipotle, build-yourown meals include a base starch (banh mi, vermicelli noodles, white rice, fried rice), one protein, and five toppings. 2001 Commonwealth Ave. (704-345-9490) L, D, V, B/W

COALTRANE’S

$-$$

AMERICAN Rotisserie chicken with South Americaninspired sides makes for a healthy and fast lunch or dinner. 1518 Central Ave. (980-265-1290) BR, L, D, BAR

MIDWOOD SMOKEHOUSE

$$

BARBECUE With North Carolina pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked chicken, and dry or sauced ribs, there’s a ’cue for everyone—and traditional sides to pair. The restaurant has a number of Charlotte locations including Ballantyne and Park Road Shopping Center, but the Plaza Midwood spot is its flagship post. 1401 Central Ave. (704-295-4227) L, D, BAR

MOO & BREW

$$

AMERICAN A playful list of burgers, craft beers, and friendly servers make this spot an easy choice for a casual dinner out. The patio is packed on nice nights.

1300 Central Ave. (980-585-4148) L, D, BAR

SAL’S PIZZA FACTORY

$$

PIZZA The New York slices at this east Charlotte joint have thick cheese and generous toppings—the classic style of pizza that fuels nostalgia and harkens back to a time when you didn’t know what calories or gluten were. 3723 Monroe Rd. (980-219-7108) L, D, BAR

SOUL GASTROLOUNGE

$$

NEW AMERICAN Expect to wait a while at this no-reservations spot, known for small plates like pork belly tacos with compressed watermelon, and a rotating list of craft cocktails. 1500-B Central Ave. (704-348-1848) D, BAR

SNOOZE: AN A.M. EATERY

$$

DELI A neighborhood hangout with locations in South End and Oakwold, this market and deli serves quick and delicious sandwiches, local craft beers, snacks, sweets, and more. 2007 Commonwealth Ave. (704-334-6209) B, L, D, B/W

AMERICAN The Denver-based breakfast spot has a huge menu, but you’re free to mix and match. Choose any two benedicts with the Benny Duo, or get the Pancake Flight with three different flavors. There’s also a morning cocktail menu with mimosas, mojitos, and a dirty drunken chai. 1331-A Central Ave. (704-2435070) B, BR, L, BAR

DIAMOND RESTAURANT

NEW LISTING

COMMON MARKET

$

$-$$

AMERICAN This 1950s-style diner features retro teal booths, a jukebox, and classic dishes like burgers, fried pork chops, and fried chicken. 1901 Commonwealth Ave. (704-375-8959) L, D, BAR

DISH

$-$$

SOUTHERN A neighborhood joint with an eclectic clientele, good, down-home Southern food, and a funky wait staff. 1220 Thomas Ave. (704-344-0343) B, L, D, BAR

INTERMEZZO PIZZERIA & CAFÉ

$-$$

FUSION Even the pickiest eater can find something to order here, with menu options ranging from burgers and pizzas to cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers. 1427 E. 10th St. (704-347-2626) L, D, V, BAR

LANG VAN

$

VIETNAMESE Regulars love this no-fuss spot for its authentic cuisine, with loads of flavor and fresh ingredients.

3019 Shamrock Dr. (704-531-9525) BR, L, D, V, B/W

LUPIE’S CAFE

$

AMERICAN The building, interior, and menu have barely changed since owner Lupie Duran opened in 1987. It’s an ideal spot for cold days, specializing in handmade burgers, four kinds of chili, meatloaf, and “chicken n dumplins.” 2718 Monroe Rd., (704-3741232) L, D, B/W

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

SUPPERLAND

$$$-$$$$

SOUTHERN The vibe is southern steakhouse-meetspotluck picnic, and dishes like waygu pot roast and miso mac & cheese are all served family-style. 1212 The Plaza (704-817-7514). D, V, BAR

THREE AMIGOS

$$

MEXICAN Three Amigos remains a constant on Central Avenue, specializing in enchiladas and other Mexican staples like tinga de pollo and carne asada tacos.

It’s always fresh, too—they’ll never save rice, beans, or meat for use the next day. 2917A Central Ave., 704536-1851. L, D, BAR

THE WORKMAN’S FRIEND

$$-$$$

IRISH Enjoy Irish classics like fish and chips and shepherd’s pie in this rustic dining room, or grab a pint at the custom-built walnut bar. 1531 Central Ave. (980224-8234) BR, L (Fri-Sun), D, BAR

YAMA IZAKAYA

$$

JAPANESE Enjoy true, labor-intensive ramen, complete with add-ons like corn and pork belly, as well as traditional Japanese small plates and a sushi menu.

1324 Central Ave. (704-910-6387) D, V, BAR

ZADA JANE’S CORNER CAFE

$-$$

SOUTHERN This funky neighborhood restaurant with shuffleboard courts, a large patio, and colorful walls

serves breakfast and brunch all day. 1601 Central Ave. (704-332-3663) B, BR, L, BAR

South End BARCELONA WINE BAR

$$$

NEW AMERICAN Nosh on Spanish and Mediterraneaninspired tapas or a charcuterie board with meats from different regions in Europe. Choose from more than 400 wines, and don’t miss the olive oil cake. 101 W. Worthington Ave., Ste. 110. (704-741-0300) D, BAR

BARDO

$$$

BEEF ’N BOTTLE

$$$

NEW AMERICAN This foodie destination serves seasonal small plates and creative cocktails. The dining room looks into a big, open kitchen where diners can watch the chefs at work. 1508 S. Mint St., Ste. B. (980585-2433) D, BAR

STEAK HOUSE An old favorite, this steak house is just what you’d expect, serving up thick and juicy cuts in a dark interior. 4538 South Blvd. (704-523-9977) D, BAR

BREWERS AT 4001 YANCEY

$$

AMERICAN In addition to craft beers, this LoSo brewery has Southern-inspired bar food like fries topped with jalapeño gravy and bacon crumbles. 4001-A Yancey Rd. (704-452-4001) BR (Sun), L, D, BAR

THE DUNAVANT

$$$

STEAK HOUSE The signature steak and bottomless fries dinner, which includes bread, a choice of soup or salad, and the option of three sauces, tastes more expensive than its $25 fixed price. 2322 Dunavant St., Ste. 200. (980-335-0125) BR, D, BAR

THE EAGLE FOOD & BEER HALL

$$

AMERICAN Feast on fried chicken with a side of house made hot honey, plus comfort food sides like mac & cheese, collards, and hushpuppies. 2120 South Blvd., Ste. 1 (704-780-1570) D, BAR,

EIGHT + SAND KITCHEN

$

AMERICAN Come here for breakfast, brunch, lunch, an afternoon snack, or an evening out. The made-fromscratch bakery has sandwiches, salads, and artisan breads, and the café serves drinks all day. 135 New Bern St. B, BR, L, B/W

FUTO BUTA

$$

JAPANESE This ramen house promises authenticity, irreverence, and delightful, salty bowls of the hot noodle soup. 222 E. Bland St. (704-376-8400) L, D, B/W

ILIOS CRAFTED GREEK

$-$$

MEDITERRANEAN Get authentic Greek fare from the team behind Ilios Noche in a fast casual setting. Build a dish with your choice of roasted chicken, lamb, or pork, and chose from a rotation of sides like chickpea salad, Aegean slaw, and zucchini fritters. 1514 S. Church St. (980-237-1949) L, D,

INDACO

$$-$$$

ITALIAN Atherton Mill’s rustic Italian restaurant serves wood-fired pizzas and hand-crafted pastas, proving certain dishes are classics for a reason. 2046 South Blvd. (704-741-9004) L, D, BAR

LET’S MEAT KBBQ

$$$$

KOREAN BBQ Marinated meats at this all-you-caneat hangout come with Korean sides like steamed egg soufflé. 1400 S. Church St., Ste. B. (980-299-4389) L, D, (Mon-Fri) BAR

LUNA’S LIVING KITCHEN

$$

VEGETARIAN This vegan gem is known for its raw version of lasagna, made with zucchini noodles, sundried tomato sauce, mushrooms, and a cashew-basil cheese. Its juice bar is also a popular draw. 2000 South Blvd., Ste. 300. (704-333-0008) B, L, D, B/W, V

MAC’S SPEED SHOP

BAJA The breezy vibes and bright flavors at this taco joint call for a Pacifico or a margarita. 2433 South Blvd.

(704-912-1889) BR, L, D, BAR

SUPERICA

$$-$$$

THE WATERMAN FISH BAR

$$-$$$

$

$

NEW AMERICAN Chef Michael Noll serves a blend of tapas and shareable plates in this open kitchen spot with a wood-fired theme. Don’t miss the quail with Tandoori marinade, buttermilk, and chili oil. 1440 S. Tryon St., Ste. 100. (980-819-5913) BR, D, BAR,

$$-$$$

JAPANESE Artistic sushi, a moody interior, and thumping sound system bring in dinner and late-night crowds, but quick service makes it a great lunch spot.

325 Arlington Ave., Ste. 108. (704-370-0100) L (weekdays), D, BAR

NORTH ITALIA

ITALIAN Find comfort food like spaghetti and house meatballs and lasagna, or savor some squid ink linguini and a glass of pinot grigio on the patio. 16646 Hawfield Way Dr., Ste. 101 (704-716-9400) L, D, BAR

$-$$

SEAFOOD This oyster bar has all the staples: lobster rolls, clam chowder, and oysters four ways. At sunset, head to the rooftop terrace for a cocktail and views of uptown. 2729 South Blvd., Ste. D. (704-275-5558) L, D, BAR

GREEK Despite the sounds of South Boulevard, the Greek pastries and coffees here can transport you to the Aegean Sea in just one taste. 4004 South Blvd., Ste. E. (980-207-0508) B, L, D, B/W

NIKKO

SOUTHBOUND

$-$$

AMERICAN This 24-hour classic diner has everything you’d expect, including all-day breakfast, onion rings, milkshakes, burgers, and hand-cut fries, along with Southern fare. 115 E. Carson Blvd. (980-207-3641) B, L, D, B/W

MOCCO BISTRO

dishes sourced from local farmers. 10000 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. (704-248-4100) B, BR, L, D, BAR

TEX-MEX Atlanta chef Ford Fry brings the newest location of his Tex-Mex concept, with tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas, to the Design Center. 101 W. Worthington Ave., Ste. 100 (980-321-9914) BR, L, D, BAR

BARBECUE Solid barbecue and cold beer (150 choices) in a motorcycle-themed space draw fun-loving crowds, with additional locations in Matthews and Lake Norman. 2511 South Blvd. (704-522-6227) L, D, BAR

MIDNIGHT DINER

becue with Korean flavors all the way to the sides, which include ramen mac-and-cheese. 1400 S. Church St., Ste. A. (980-299-5143) L (weekends), D, BAR

$$-$$$

VANA

$$$

South Charlotte (Arboretum, Ballantyne, Pineville, Fort Mill) BIG VIEW DINER

$$

AMERICAN This spot serves up hearty portions of diner staples, such as meatloaf and fresh-roasted turkey clubs, all made in-house. 16637 Lancaster Hwy. (704544-0313) B, L, D, BAR

CIVETTA ITALIAN KITCHEN + BAR

$$-$$$

ITALIAN Head to the ground floor of the RailYard for a dressed-up entree like squid ink mafaldine, or get the basic spaghetti and meatballs, which is good every time. 1414 S. Tryon St., Ste. 140 (980-279-8900) BR, L, D, BAR

ITALIAN This eatery in StoneCrest at Piper Glen has Italian-American dishes like snapper picatta, penne alla Civetta, and scallops risotto. Save room for a lasagna-sized slice of tiramisu for dessert. 7828-E Rea Rd. (980-335-2758) BR (Sun), L, D, V, BAR

O-KU

THE BLUE TAJ

$$-$$$

$$

THAI Upscale Thai food in a sleek interior with attentive service makes this a fitting spot for South End. 1520 South Blvd., Ste. 130. (980-207-0991) L (MonSat), D, BAR

SEOUL FOOD MEAT CO.

$$

FUSION This hip spot fuses traditional American bar-

FLIPSIDE RESTAURANT

$$-$$$

NEW SOUTHERN This sister restaurant of Flipside Café has a more formal and spacious dining room, which fits with its elevated menu. 129 Caldwell St., Rock Hill. (803-324-3547) BR, L, D, V, BAR

GALLERY RESTAURANT

$$-$$$

RED SAKE

$$-$$$

SPICE ASIAN KITCHEN

$$-$$$

JAPANESE This is sushi for true sushi aficionados. The Luke Lobster roll is a delectable mouthful of lobster meat, spicy tuna, avocado, and eel sauce topped with sweet potato strings. 8410 Rea Rd., Ste. 100 (980-4981578) L, D, BAR

ASIAN The dumplings and Pad Thai are consistently good, but the bibimbap, bossam, and curry dishes are great for adventurous palates. During patio season, enjoy a cocktail or dessert at the rooftop terrace bar. 251 Textile Way, Fort Mill. (803-548-6868) L, D, V, BAR

WALDHORN

$$

GERMAN Family-friendly Waldhorn offers authentic German dishes in a Bavarian-style setting. 12101 Lancaster Hwy., Pineville. (704-540-7047) BR (Sun), L, D, BAR

SouthPark/Park Road BAR MARCEL

$$-$$$

JAPANESE Black and red decor, delicious sushi, techno beats, and a large pair of geisha eyes staring out at the crowd make for a dramatic setting in this shared-plates restaurant. 4515 Sharon Rd. (704-817-7173) D, BAR

NEW SOUTHERN Chefs Jon and Amy Fortes’ first restaurant makes you feel right at home, but the food lets you know it ain’t your mama in the kitchen.

3150 Hwy. 21 N., Fort Mill. (803-802-1711) B, BR, L, D, B/W,

RAI LAY THAI CUISINE

RED ROCKS CAFÉ

AMERICAN Consistently good pasta, seafood, and steak make this restaurant a mainstay in the Strawberry Hill shopping center. Additional locations are in Indian Land and Birkdale Village. 4223 Providence Rd., Ste. 8 (704-364-0402) BR (Sun), L, D, V, BAR

$$-$$

PRICE’S CHICKEN COOP

$

$$$-$$$$

STEAK HOUSE The newest member of the Rare Roots Hospitality Group (Dressler’s, Dogwood) is known for thick-cut steaks, modern sides, and craft cocktails.

7417 Waverly Walk Ave. (704-930-7878) D, BAR

FUSION The menu features shareable plates of beef carpaccio or truffle and herb frittes—but order a flatbread pizza for yourself. 3920 Sharon Rd., Ste. 160.

(980-237-1919) L, D, BAR

INDIAN The sister restaurant of Copper has contemporary decor and a sharply dressed wait staff delivering Indian dishes to each table. 14815 Ballantyne Village Way., Ste. 170. (704-369-5777) L, D, V, BAR

SOUTHERN Expect to eat your meal standing up— or sitting in your car—but rest assured it’s the best damn fried chicken in the country. 1614 Camden Rd. (704-333-9866) L, D (until 6 p.m.), Cash only. No seating.

THE PORTER’S HOUSE

$$$

$$-$$$

SUSHI This second location of the Charleston-based Indigo Road restaurant group’s Japanese spot has great service, a beautiful interior, and dishes full of flavor. 2000 South Blvd., Ste. 510. (704-594-1922) D, BAR

THE FLIPSIDE CAFÉ

OGGI RISTORANTE ITALIANO

$$$-$$$$

NEW AMERICAN Inside the Ballantyne hotel, you’ll find Southern-inspired, white-tablecloth dining with

BAKU

$$-$$$

BARRINGTON’S

$$$-$$$$

NEW AMERICAN Bruce Moffett’s first restaurant is one of the best in town, with a classic menu and stellar service. 7822 Fairview Rd. (704-364-5755) D (MonSat), BAR

CAFÉ MONTE

$$-$$$

FRENCH Monte Smith has done a bang-up job recreating a classic French restaurant, and diners react enthusiastically at brunch, lunch, and dinner. 6700 Fairview Rd. (704-552-1116) B, L, D, BAR MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE GUIDE CANTINA 1511

$$

MEXICAN This easy, casual spot draws crowds for its fresh takes on Mexican cuisine and fine margarita list.

4271 Park Rd. (704-331-9222) L, D, V, BAR

DOGWOOD SOUTHERN TABLE + BAR

$$$

STEAK HOUSE Chef Tyler Honeycutt aces steakhouse classics like ribeye or filet, and be sure to save room for some lemon olive oil cake for dessert. 4477 Sharon Rd., Ste 125. (704-954-8900) D, BAR

NEW AMERICAN Stefan Huebner’s creative cocktails may be the main attraction at this members-only speakeasy, but chef Corey Dawson’s sweet seared scallops with roasted mushroom risotto will convince you to stay for dinner. 4237 Park Rd., Ste. B. (704-817-3710) D, BAR

EASY LIKE SUNDAY

$$

AMERICAN The fried chicken and cornmeal pancakes are worth standing in line for, but if you’d rather skip the weekend rush, go in the evening and have a boozy brunch after dark. 1600 E. Woodlawn Rd., Ste. 100.

(980-335-2428) B, BR, L, D, BAR

FLOUR SHOP

$$-$$$

$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Ingredients are fresh and cocktails are innovative at this spot, a sister to Dressler’s. 4905 Ashley Park Ln., Ste. D. (704-910-4919) BR (Sun), L, D, BAR

DOT DOT DOT

LITTLE MAMA’S ITALIAN KITCHEN

ITALIAN Think of this eatery as the prequel to Mama Ricotta’s, with family recipes and scratch-made pastas and mozzarella. Settle into one of the dining rooms with a plate of pappardelle or cozy up at the “Mozz Bar” and watch the chefs at work. 4521 Sharon Rd. (980-209-0323) D, BAR

$$$

OAK STEAKHOUSE

PACO’S TACOS & TEQUILA

$$$$

$$

MEXICAN Although you’ll find plenty of options on the menu, there are 10 varieties of tacos and more than 60 kinds of tequila. 6401 Morrison Blvd., Ste. 8A. (704-716-8226) L, D, V, BAR

PEPPERVINE

$$$$

FUSION Chef Bill Greene serves a rotation of artistic small plates with unexpected pairings, like lamb belly with kimchi porridge and smoked butternut squash with miso. 4620 Piedmont Row Dr., Ste. 170B. (980283-2333) D, V, BAR

REID’S FINE FOODS

$$-$$$

ITALIAN Watch your pasta get prepared in the open kitchen. Chef Trey Wilson’s shared plates are great for larger groups, but if you don’t want to share, get the lamb Bolognese. 530 Brandywine Rd. (980-299-3754) D, BAR

NEW AMERICAN Stellar service and a reliable menu have earned this market and restaurant a loyal following. 4331 Barclay Downs Dr. (704-377-7686) BR, L, D, BAR

FINE & FETTLE

AMERICAN The dining room has retractable glass walls, Japanese boxwood hedging, and a fountain. The menu is standard (but upscale) American fare like lobster rolls, truffled grilled cheese, and ribeye steak. 6903 Phillips Place Ct. (704-790-4970) BR, L, D, V

$$-$$$

AMERICAN Chef Daniel Wheeler makes culinary art at this homey restaurant inside the Canopy by Hilton. Feast on pork cheeks with edamame, a fried hen sandwich, or splurge on a fried PB&J with black pepper sorbet. 4905 Barclay Downs Dr. (704-552-1715) B, BR, L, D, BAR

GOOD FOOD ON MONTFORD

$$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN Bruce Moffett’s small-plates bistro unites a variety of influences and flavors onto one menu, and each dish is worth ordering. 1701 Montford Dr. (704-525-0881) D, BAR

HARPER’S RESTAURANT

$$

AMERICAN Jazzed-up American cuisine makes Harper’s a place to take out-of-town guests with varying palates. 6518 Fairview Rd. (704-366-6688) BR (Sun), L, D, BAR

HIBISCUS

$-$$

ASIAN Roger and Robert Kongham, the sons of Thai Taste’s owners, serve creamy curries, Thai classics, and sushi in a more formal dining room. 1600 E. Woodlawn Rd., Ste. 150. (980-256-4380) L, D, BAR

LEGION BREWING

$$-$$$

AMERICAN Unlike its flagship location in Plaza Midwood, the SouthPark brewery serves more than typical bar snacks. Chef Gene Briggs cooks pork belly gyros, duck fat chicken wings, and a full Sunday brunch. 5610 Carnegie Blvd. (980-256-4167) BR, L, D, BAR

RH ROOFTOP RESTAURANT

ROASTING COMPANY

$$$-$$$$

$

AMERICAN Since adding a full bar, Roasting Company fits in more comfortably with the Montford Drive scene but still sets the standard for rotisserie chicken.

1521 Montford Dr. (704-521-8188) L, D, BAR

ROCKSALT

$$$-$$$$

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

STEAK 48

$$$$

TAQUERIA MAL PAN

$$-$$

STEAK HOUSE Steak is the main attraction, but don’t miss the crispy shrimp deviled eggs, corn crème brulée, and seafood tower. 4425 Sharon Rd. (980-5804848) D, BAR

MEXICAN Pace yourself with the chips and guacamole because the California burrito is the best burrito you’ll have in Charlotte—spoiler alert: it has French fries inside. 4625 Piedmont Row Dr., Ste. 115-D (980298-6138) BR, L, D, BAR

TOSCANA

$$$

ITALIAN An authentic northern Italian menu is paired with an extensive wine list, while courtyard dining adds to the experience on a nice night. 6401 Morrison Blvd., Ste. 6B. (704-367-1808) L (weekdays), D, BAR

YAFO KITCHEN

$$

YAMA ASIAN FUSION

$$

MEDITERRANEAN With additional locations in Dilworth and Plaza Midwood, this fast-casual concept serves Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired fare in a wrap, salad, or grain bowl. 720 Governor Morrison St., Ste. 120. (704-365-7130) L, D, B/W

FUSION This upscale Japanese restaurant has sushi, hibachi, and Asian-inspired entrées. A second location opened in Waverly last year. 720 Governor Morrison St., Ste. 130. (70s4-295-0905) L (Mon-Sat), D,BAR

University Area AMALFI PASTA ’N PIZZA

$$

ITALIAN The only other places where Italian food is this real, this good, and this cheap are called trattorias, and you have to take a plane to get to them. 8542 University City Blvd. (704-547-8651) L, D, B/W

FIREWATER

$$-$$$

SEAFOOD Head to RockSalt for the spacious patio and fresh seafood—from the raw bar, with several varieties of oysters on the half shell, or the daily catch. 512 Brandywine Rd. (704-503-9945) BR, L (weekends), D, BAR

AMERICAN The food here is primarily American bistro-style, but the owner’s family tuna business makes apps like the tuna tartare standouts. 8708 J. W. Clay Blvd. (704-549-0050) L (weekends), D, BAR

ROOSTER’S WOOD-FIRED KITCHEN

MEXICAN Expect typical Mexican fare in a high-energy dining room, with an additional location in Ballantyne.

8927 J.M. Keynes Dr., in University Place shopping center. (704-503-1979) L, D, BAR

$$-$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Chef Jim Noble’s menu offers gussied-up, Southern-tinged American and European peasant fare, like hand-tossed pizzas and roasted chicken. A second location is in uptown. 6601 Morrison Blvd. (704-366-8688) L, D, V, BAR

SIR EDMOND HALLEY’S

$$

AMERICAN This pub, named for the astronomer and mathematician, serves its entire menu until closing at 2 a.m. 4151 Park Rd., Ste. A. (704-525-7775) L (weekdays), D, BAR

SOUTHERN PECAN

$$-$$$

SOUTHERN The team behind Café Monte serves Gulf

92

Coast-inspired cuisine like pecan fried catfish, Louisianna barbecue shrimp, and oyster po’ boys. 6705-C Phillips Place Ct., Ste. C (704-749-2949) L, D, BAR

ZAPATA’S CANTINA

$$

Uptown 204 NORTH

$$$

NEW SOUTHERN This uptown spot with modern Southern food is best for cocktails and conversation at the bar. 204 N. Tryon St. (704-333-3747) BR, L, D, BAR

5CHURCH

$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN Top Chef alum Jamie Lynch’s inno-

vative, seasonal menu includes morel mushroom flatbread and mint crusted lamb loin. 127 N. Tryon St., Ste. 8. (704-919-1322) BR, L, D, BAR

ALEXANDER MICHAEL’S

$$ -$$$

AMERICAN The blackened catfish is cooked just right, the Cajun pasta is piping hot, and chatter fills the noreservations dining room. 401 W. 9th St. (704-3326789) L, D, BAR

ANGELINE’S

$$$

ITALIAN The Italian-inspired entreés at this uptown spot are all excellent, and the whipped ricotta with sourdough, lavender honey, and pistachio is the most imaginative appetizer on the menu. 303 S. Church St. (704-445-2540) B, BR, L, D, V, BAR

ARIA TUSCAN GRILL

$$$

ITALIAN This restaurant serves up an extensive Italian menu in an elegant, modern space. 100 N. Tryon St. (704-376-8880) L (weekdays), D, BAR

THE ASBURY

$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Chef Mike Long’s inventive menu mixes countryside favorites like biscuits and deviled eggs with bold flavors and contemporary techniques.

235 N. Tryon St. (704-342-1193) B, BR, L, D, BAR

BASIL THAI

$$-$$$

THAI Thai lovers can sate their cravings with tasty pad Thai, while the more daring can try dishes like crispy red curry duck, a rich, deep-fried half duck in a spicy red curry sauce. 210 N. Church St. (704-332-7212) L (weekdays), D, V, BAR

THE CELLAR AT DUCKWORTH’S

$$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN The focus is on small plates, craft beer served in its proper glassware at proper temperature, and craft cocktails. 330 N. Tryon St. (980-349-4078) D, BAR

CLOUD BAR BY DAVID BURKE

$$

AMERICAN Grab a seat on the rooftop patio, sip on a Queen City cocktail, and order the maple glazed bacon clothesline. The presentation is exactly as it sounds.

555 S. McDowell St. (980-237-5356) D, BAR

COCO + THE DIRECTOR

$

AMERICAN Marriott introduced this coffee and sandwich shop for locals and hotel guests alike to have a comfortable, casual dining option. 100 W. Trade St. (704-353-6003) B, L, D, B/W

COWBELL BURGER & BAR

$$

AMERICAN This sister restaurant to Leroy Fox has a trendy, pop-culture vibe—and a roster of fancy burgers (including a foie gras-topped offering for $20). 201 N. Tryon St., Ste. 1010. (980-224-8674) L, D, BAR

DANDELION MARKET

$$-$$$

NEW AMERICAN On weekends, this Irish pub turns into one of uptown’s hottest nightlife spots. But during the day, come for a cozy meal with flickering candles and shared plates. 118 W. 5th St. (704-333-7989) BR, L, D, BAR

ESSEX BAR & BISTRO

$$-$$$

GLOBAL Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influ-

ences run through this menu. Order a few tapas and a bottle of wine, head out to the patio, and watch the activity at Trade and Tryon. 101 S. Tryon St., Ste. 14.

(980-406-3857) L, D, BAR

FAHRENHEIT

$$$-$$$$

NEW AMERICAN Located on the 21st floor of Skye Condos, chef Rocco Whalen’s restaurant is the place in Charlotte to eat a meal and see the city twinkle. 222 S. Caldwell St. (980-237-6718) BR, D, BAR

FORCHETTA

$$-$$$

ITALIAN Chef Luca Annunziata serves lasagna just like his mom made it and carbonara as it’s served in Rome.

230 North College St. (704-602-2750) B, L, D, BAR

FIN & FINO

$$$

SEAFOOD Come for the raw bar, but stay for bartender Brittany Kellum’s drinks. Then splurge on a slice of cheesecake. 135 Levine Avenue of the Arts, Ste. 100.

(704-800-5680) L, D, BAR

HAYMAKER

$$$ - $$$$

NEW SOUTHERN Enjoy locally and seasonally inspired dishes from North Carolina chef William Dissen in this bright, stylish space next to Romare Bearden Park. 225 S. Poplar St. (704-626-6116) BR, D, BAR

THE KING’S KITCHEN

$$-$$$

SOUTHERN Chef Jim Noble’s restaurant, which serves traditional Southern fare, donates profits to faith-based feeding centers and employs troubled youth and people who have just come out of rehab or prison. 129 W. Trade St. (704-375-1990) L (weekdays) D, B/W,

LUCE

$$$

ITALIAN Luce is a beautiful, intimate, luxurious restaurant with simple but innovative northern Italian cuisine. 214 N. Tryon St., Ste. J, in Hearst Plaza. (704-3449222) L (weekdays), D, BAR

MALABAR SPANISH CUISINE

$$

SPANISH This sister restaurant to Luce serves authentic regional cuisine from Spain for lunch and dinner.

214 N. Tryon St. (704-344-8878) L (weekdays), D, BAR

McNINCH HOUSE

MOA KOREAN BBQ

$$-$$$

KOREAN BBQ You can order Korean tacos and kimchi bulgogi nachos a la carte, but the tabletop barbecue is the main attraction. Watch your server cook beef brisket and pork belly as you sip a craft cocktail. 128 S. Tryon St. (704-503-9412) L, D, V, BAR

SEA LEVEL NC

$$-$$$

SEAFOOD Concrete beams and rustic brick give an industrial feel to this seafood restaurant, which serves up dishes that are accessible, inventive, and sustainably sourced. 129 E. 5th St. (704-412-2616) L, D, BAR

SOHO BISTRO

$$

ASIAN Lightning-fast, friendly service complements hot, savory Chinese favorites such as Sha Cha Shrimp and Mongolian Chicken. 214 N. Tryon St., Ste. 110. (704333-5189) L, D, B/W

STOKE

$$$

THE YOLK

$-$$

NEW AMERICAN Hotel dining gets an upgrade with this wood-fired-grill, family-style concept in Marriott City Center. 100 W. Trade St. (704-353-6005) B, BR, L, D, BAR

AMERICAN Greg and Subrina Collier’s breakfastfocused concept in 7th Street Public Market is open for breakfast and lunch, but shrimp and grits topped with Gouda cheese, jerk seasoning, and scallion pesto is delicious any time of day. 224 E. 7th St. (704-2304346) B, L

West/Northwest Charlotte COMMUNITY TABLE BISTRO

$

$$$$

$-$$

GREEK This upscale Mediterranean restaurant offers healthy and delicious dishes like gyro pitas, lamb burgers, and hearty salads. 609 N. Main St., Belmont. (704825-7005) BR, L, D, V, BAR

$$$-$$$$

NEW AMERICAN Ingredients are sourced almost exclusively from North Carolina, and the tasting menu includes fried chicken and pork and beans. 8470 Bellhaven Rd. (704-595-7710) D, V, BAR

SOUTHERN James Bazzelle’s pride and joy serves down-home Southern cooking, with a dash of Lowcountry, in a downtown-feeling place. 214 N. College St. (704-342-4222) BR, L, D,B/W

MICO

$$$

SOUTHERN At the Goodwill Opportunity Campus, a small, cafeteria-style restaurant sears, bakes, and fries comfort food on a daily rotation for an affordable price. 5301 Wilkinson Blvd. (980-636-1000) B, L (weekdays), V

NEW SOUTHERN Guests order from a daily prix fixe menu (ranging from five to nine courses), choose their wine and entrées, and the staff takes care of the rest.

511 N. Church St. (704-332-6159) D, BAR

MERT’S HEART AND SOUL

MIMOSA GRILL

NEW SOUTHERN This popular after-work spot has a seasonal menu, friendly service, tasty seafood dishes, and creative mixtures to top grits. 327 S. Tryon St. (704343-0700) BR, L (weekdays), D, BAR

ARGENTINEAN The South American-inspired menu is full of complex flavors and unexpected mash-ups like harissa creamed spinach and brown butter bread crumbs. Chef de Cuisine Whitney Thomas arranges each dish with edible flowers and vibrant vegetables that frame the plate. 201 W. Trade St. (980-999-5550) L, D, BAR

ESTIA’S KOUZINA

$$-$$$

HEIRLOOM RESTAURANT

$$-$$$

NOBLE SMOKE

$-$$

BARBECUE Feast on Carolina-style pork and Texasstyle brisket, and grab a drink at the “Legends Counter” with custom plaques for Southern barbecue icons.

2216 Freedom Dr. (704-703-5252) L, D, BAR

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

93

$

PINKY’S WESTSIDE GRILL

$

AMERICAN Housed in an old auto shop, this funky spot serves great burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and salads, as well as tasty sides like waffle fries. 1600 W. Morehead St. (704-332-0402) L, D, BAR

TOUCAN LOUIE’S

Breweries

Best Sips

Here’s a directory of local breweries, where you can enjoy award-winning beers—and the latest libations

Butterfly Smiles American Pale Ale, $12 (4-pack) TRIPLE C BREWING CO.

Charlotte NODA/OPTIMIST PARK/ NORTH CHARLOTTE BIRDSONG BREWING COMPANY

1016 N. Davidson St. 704-332-1810 birdsongbrewing.com

DIVINE BARREL

3701 N. Davidson St., Ste. 203 980-237-1803 divinebarrel.com

FONTA FLORA OPTIMIST HALL

1115 N. Brevard St., Ste. D 980-207-2470 fontaflora.com

FREE RANGE BREWING

2320 N. Davidson St. 980-201-9096 freerangebrewing.com

HEIST BREWERY

2909 N. Davidson St., Ste. 200 704-375-8260 heistbrewery.com Other location in Druid Hills

NODA BREWING COMPANY

2921 N. Tryon St. 704-900-6851 nodabrewing.com Other locations in Optimist Park and Charlotte Douglas International Airport

PROTAGONIST CLUBHOUSE

3123 N. Davidson St., Ste. 104 980-938-0671 protagonistbeer.com

94

SALUD CERVECERIA

3306-C N. Davidson St. 980-495-6612 saludcerveceria.com

ELIZABETH/PLAZA MIDWOOD CATAWBA BREWING COMPANY CHARLOTTE

933 Louise Ave., Ste. 105 980-498-6145 catawbabrewing.com

DEVIL’S LOGIC BREWING

1426 E. 4th St. 704-666-1001 devilslogic.com

LEGION BREWING

1906 Commonwealth Ave. 844-467-5683 legionbrewing.com Other location in SouthPark

PILOT BREWING COMPANY

1331 Central Ave., Ste. 104 704-802-9260 pilotbrewing.us

RESIDENT CULTURE BREWING COMPANY

2101 Central Ave. 704-333-1862 residentculturebrewing.com

SOUTH END/SOUTH CHARLOTTE/MORA BREWERS AT 4001 YANCEY

4001-A Yancey Rd. 704-452-4001 visit.brewersat4001yancey. com

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

$

CARIBBEAN With state-sourced meats smoked in-house and strictly N.C. cheese, this new cafe’s commitment to local ingredients is notable, but it’s their food’s Caribbean flair that elevates their grab-and-go sandwiches. 2753 Rozzelles Ferry Rd. (980-209-9791) B, L, D, B/W

Our favorite brews this month, chosen by Charlotte magazine staff

SOME TRIPLE C EMPLOYEES are friends with the folks at InReach, a Charlotte nonprofit that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

One of InReach’s clients is a woman named Missy, who has Down syndrome and draws smiles on the faces of the butterflies she paints on her pottery and artwork. Missy’s whimsical drawings adorn the label of Butterfly Smiles, which Triple C released in November; 10% of sales benefits InReach and other nonprofits. Head brewer John Rankin and team concocted an aggressively citrusy pale ale—the better to spread some sunshine atop the bite of American and New Zealand hops—and its reasonable ABV (5%) means you can drink more than one, a boon to both Triple C and InReach. “We just wanted to help them out,” Rankin says, “at a time when people need some help.” —Greg Lacour

EDGE CITY BREWING

6209 Old Post Rd., Ste. 109 980-949-6199 instagram.com/ edgecitybrewery

LENNY BOY BREWING CO.

SYCAMORE BREWING

528 S. Turner Ave. 980-859-2586 blueblazebrewing.com

TRIPLE C BREWING COMPANY + THE BARREL ROOM

PRIMAL BREWERY

3000 S. Tryon St. 980-585-1728 discoverlennyboy.com

2900 Griffith St. 704-372-3212 triplecbrewing.com

LOWER LEFT BREWING CO.

THE UNKNOWN BREWING CO.

4528 Nations Crossing Rd. 704-469-9861 llbrewco.com

1327 S. Mint St. 980-237-2628 unknownbrewing.com

OLDE MECKLENBURG BREWERY

WOODEN ROBOT BREWERY

4150 Yancey Rd. 704-525-5655 oldemeckbrew.com

THE SUFFOLK PUNCH

2911 Griffith St., Ste. A 704-319-8650 thesuffolkpunch.com

SUGAR CREEK BREWING COMPANY

215 Southside Dr. 704-521-3333 sugarcreekbrewing.com

SUNSTEAD BREWING

1200 S Graham St. 980-949-6200 sunsteadbrewing.com

BLUE BLAZE BREWING

2161 Hawkins St. 704-910-3821 sycamorebrew.com

1440 S. Tryon St., Ste. 110 980-819-7875 woodenrobotbrewery.com Other location in NoDa

UNIVERSITY ARMORED COW BREWING

8821 JW Clay Blvd., Ste. 1 704-277-6641 instagram.com/ armoredcowbrewing

WEST CHARLOTTE TOWN BREWING CO.

800 Grandin Rd. 980-237-8628 townbrewing.com

Belmont 16432 Old Statesville Rd. 704-947-2920 primalbrewery.com Other location in Huntersville

Concord CABARRUS BREWING COMPANY

329 McGill Ave. NW 704-490-4487 cabarrusbrewing.com

COMMONER’S BREWING COMPANY

1048 Copperfield Blvd. NE, Ste. 101 704-886-6002 commonersbrewingcompany. com

HIGH BRANCH BREWING CO.

325 McGill Ave. NW, Ste. 148 704-706-3807 highbranchbrewing.com

RED HILL BREWING COMPANY

21 Union St. S, Ste. 3511 704-784-2337 Redhillbrewing.com

COURTESY

BOSSY BEULAH’S

AMERICAN Think of Bossy Beulah’s as the kid sister—or sidekick—to Noble Smoke. Order your fried chicken sammie bunless or add American cheese, and pair it with a sweet tea or Cheerwine.

2200 Freedom Dr. (980-737-1400) L, D,

Charlotte magazine (ISSN 1083-1444) is published monthly by Morris Communications at 214 W. Tremont Ave., Suite 303, Charlotte NC 28203-5161. Entire contents Copyright © 2021 by Morris Communications. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Periodicals postage paid in Charlotte, NC and additional offices. To subscribe, renew, or change address, go to www.charlottemagazine.com or write to: Charlotte magazine, 214 W. Tremont Ave., Suite 302, Charlotte NC 28203-5161. Subscription rate $19.95 for one year (twelve issues). For renewal or change of address, include the address label from your most recent issue. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Charlotte, P.O. Box 433237, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9616. Unsolicited photographs, illustrations, or articles are submitted at the risk of the photographer/artist/author. Charlotte magazine assumes no liability for the return of unsolicited materials and may use them at its discretion.

THE GUIDE

TWENTY-SIX ACRES BREWING COMPANY

7285 W. Winds Blvd. NW 980-277-2337 26Acres.com

SOUTHERN STRAIN BREWING CO.

65 Brumley Ave. NE, Ste. 3001 704-218-9106 southernstrainbrewing.com

Cornelius ASS CLOWN BREWING COMPANY

10620 Bailey Rd. E 704-997-8490 assclownbrewing.com

D9 BREWING COMPANY

11138 Treynorth Dr. 704-247-7200 D9brewing.com

ELEVEN LAKES BREWING COMPANY

10228 Bailey Rd., Ste. 201 704-998-9017 elevenlakesbrewing.com

LOST WORLDS BREWING

19700-D, One Norman Dr. 980-689-2467 lostworldsbeer.com

Denver ROYAL BLISS BREWING

7532 Royal Bliss Ct. 704-951-8388 royalblissbrewing.com

Fort Mill, S.C. AMOR ARTIS BREWING

PERCENT TAP HOUSE

4250 Main St., Ste. 109 980-258-8651 percenttaphouse.com

Indian Land, S.C. LORE BREWING CO.

1218 Rosemont Dr., Ste. 100 lorebrewing.com

13717 E. Independence Blvd.

704-628-5211 sweetunionbrewing.com

Harrisburg PHARR MILL BREWING

105 Oakley Dr. 704-456-7657 pharrmillbrewing.com

115 E. North Main St. 704-843-7326 dreamchasersbrewery.com

130 W. White St. 803-324-4610 dustoffbrewing.com

CROSSWORD OF THE MONTH

By Andy Smith

ANSWERS can be found online at charlottemagazine.com/ crossword.

211 West Ave. 704-933-9203 oldarmor.com

Matthews SEABOARD BREWING, TAPROOM, & WINE BAR

213 N. Trade St. 704-246-6575 seaboardbrewing.com

Monroe SOUTHERN RANGE BREWING CO.

151 S. Stewart St. 704-706-2978 getsrb.com

Mooresville GHOSTFACE BREWING BREWERY & PIZZERIA

KING CANARY BREWING CO.

CAVENDISH BREWERY

274 Columbia Ave. slowplaybrewing.com

DUST OFF BREWING

THE DREAMCHASER’S BREWERY

Kannapolis

LAKE WYLIE BREWING CO.

207 N. Chester St. 704-830-0435 cavendishbrewing.com

SLOW PLAY BREWING

121 Caldwell St., Ste. 101 803-366-7266 rockhillbrewingcompany.com

Waxhaw

OLD ARMOR BEER CO.

427 E. Statesville Ave. 704-799-7433 ghostfacebrewing.com

Gastonia

LEGAL REMEDY BREWING

129 Oakland Ave. 803-324-2337 legalremedybrewing.com

ROCK HILL BREWING COMPANY

Indian Trail SWEET UNION BREWING COMPANY

204 Main St., Ste. 101 803-547-6464 amorartisbrewing.com

1741 Gold Hill Rd., Ste. 100 803-802-0001 lakewyliebrewingcofortmill.com

Rock Hill, S.C.

562 Williamson Rd. 704-967-8472 kingcanarybrewing.com

JOLLY ROGER BREWERY

236 Raceway Dr., Ste. 12 704-769-0305 jollyrogerbrewery.com

Pineville MIDDLE JAMES BREWING

400 N. Polk St., Unit B 704-889-6522 middlejamesbrewing.com

MAY 2021 // CHARLOTTE

95

YOU ARE HERE

Each month, we’ll throw a dart at a map and write about where it lands.

LOCATION: 7400 S. Tryon St.

.

st tryon .

S 0 0

74

Scarred Ground

THE FOREST behind Rod of God Ministries, on South Tryon Street in the Olde Whitehall neighborhood, is peaceful, thick with pine trees, and pocked with hoofprints. Every few minutes, the deafening rumble of an airplane drowns out the bird chirps and serves as a reminder of something horrific that happened here nearly 47 years ago.

Just after 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, 1974, the pilots of an Eastern Airlines flight from Charleston were distracted by conversation, hit patchy fog, and missed the runway at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. They crashed into a cornfield in what’s now this forest.

Sixty-nine of the 82 aboard died at the

96

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // MAY 2021

scene. Three more died in the days that followed. It remains the deadliest aviation accident in Charlotte history. Three of the victims were the father and two brothers of comedian Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’ The Late Show. Colbert was 10 at the time, and he has said his deep grief at such an early age led him to a career in comedy.

A decade after the crash, the Rev. Larry and Bonnie Allen, co-pastors of Rod of God Ministries, bought a big piece of land that included the overgrown cornfield and forest where the Eastern plane went down. On a recent, warm afternoon, Bonnie Allen gazes into the woods from the parking lot. “There’s nothing left back

there,” she says. Still, people still come by periodically to tromp through the overgrown brush and weave through trees to see if they can spot the wreckage, she says.

A few times, family members of those who died in the crash have come through. Last year, a group of pilots showed up.

Bonnie Allen turns her head toward the traffic whizzing by on four-lane South Tryon Street, which was just a small country road surrounded by fields and farmland in 1974. “Can you just imagine the mayhem that took place when that happened?” she asks. “The fire trucks?

The police? Can you imagine the dirt that just sucked up blood? That was right here.” —Cristina Bolling

SHAW NIELSEN; CRISTINA BOLLING

A tranquil forest obscures what remains of the deadliest plane crash in Charlotte history

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