Charlotte Magazine August 2021

Retiremgent Livin e Guid Our Local

Lessons from the Gas Shortage p. 14

NoDa’s New Art Film Showcase p. 17

The City Squabbles Over Its Own Future p. 60

p. 68

Game On!

From MLS expansion to a turf field at BofA Stadium, our pro sports landscape has a new look

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AUGUST 2021

charlottemagazine.com

A Refueled Hornets Bandwagon BEST BREW: The Beer Bracket Results Are In

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CONTENTS CHARLOTTE / AUGUST 2021 / VOL. 26, NUMBER 8

Features 44

BIG GOALS Will fans pack Bank of America Stadium for Charlotte’s new pro soccer team?

BY CARROLL R. WALTON

50

SODS AND ENDS Bank of America Stadium has switched to synthetic turf—a material with a long history in North Carolina

BY GREG LACOUR

54

ANYBODY’S GAME An exciting Hornets season drew new fans from every direction

BY ANDY SMITH

59

IN MEMORIAM David Foster and Rick Bonnell of the Observer

BY GREG LACOUR

ON THE COVER: Next spring, Charlotte’s new Major League Soccer team and the Carolina Panthers will begin to share the new turf field at Bank of America Stadium—similar to the surface here at Manchester Meadows Park in Rock Hill, where youth soccer teams practice.

Photograph by Rusty Williams.

ON THIS PAGE: A competitive team with superstar rookie LaMelo Ball has inspired renewed interest among Hornets fans, like this one watching a game at Pinhouse in Plaza Midwood. Photograph by Logan Cyrus.

Plus

60 THE FIGHT FOR CHARLOTTE’S FUTURE Discussion of the city’s new land-use plan devolved into an ugly, muddy mess

BY ELY PORTILLO

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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08 21 CONTENTS IN EVERY ISSUE 6 From the Editor 8

Connect

88

You Are Here

THE BUZZ 11 Life Lessons Lynne Daley paves the way for other veterans at Bank of America 14

SEEN 84 The city’s best party pics

RICK HOVIS; COURTESY; PETER TAYLOR (2)

38

33

Infrastructure The Colonial Pipeline panic and Charlotte’s precarious position for fuel supply

26

Building History Atando Avenue’s Quonset huts

39

The Story Behind Another Food Truck!?’s Viva La Juicy

28

Hot Listings Picturesque properties in Plaza Midwood

39

Bite-Sized News Foodie tidbits on a small plate

30

Playlist The best things to do and see this month

40

Beer The results of our annual Beer Bracket

42

Restaurant Guide Raising the bar on bar food

THE GOOD LIFE 17 Culture A preview of the Independent Picture House

FOOD + DRINK 33 Now Open Fat Cat Burgers + Bakeshop

22

Style Mitch Purgason keeps athletes looking dapper

36

Local Flavor The story behind 5Church’s new mural

24

Room We Love A gender-neutral teen lounge

38

On the Line Chef Robin Anthony pairs sake with sushi AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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Volume 26, Number 8

AUGUST 2021

morrismedianetwork.com

F RO M T H E E D I TO R

A CHAT WITH BIG PAT

Lessons from the Hornets’ PA announcer

www.charlottemagazine.com PUBLISHER Allison Hollins ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Gail Dougherty ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jessica Santee ADVERTISING SERVICE COORDINATOR Sharonda Howard EDITORIAL

“HELLO?” Patrick “Big Pat” Doughty has one of those voices. We spoke by phone in May for my story on Hornets fan culture (p. 54).

At several points during the conversation, he emulated in-game PA announcements at Spectrum Center, though at a fraction of his normal volume. Even under those conditions, it was magic.

I always assumed people like Big Pat were blessed with special larynxes—just a few extra points in the depth and clarity columns.

But like playing basketball, announcing takes years of work. The 52-year-old’s worked on it Andy Smith since he attended Pocomoke High School in andrew.smith@charlottemagazine.com Maryland: He took the mic after he failed to make varsity.

Even after he bested 500-plus other candidates in 2004 for his job, he continued to hone his voice. “I think when I first started, I was working mostly on pronunciation and enunciation, and trying to accurately describe the game,” he says. “I really worked on painting a picture. And I learned how to switch it up for the players: Shorten some names, growl on a few. One thing I absolutely hate, to this day, is when all names sound the same. John Smith.

Tony Blair. You really have to go extra with the BLAIIRRRR then.”

I told him he was kind for not including “Andy Smith” on the boring list.

My conversation with Big Pat shows how much work goes into the production of a single basketball game, beyond what’s happening on the court.

From the ushers to service workers manning concessions, each person is essential to the game experience—and each plays a part in unifying a community behind a team.

All of our sports stories this month—from Greg Lacour’s examination of Bank of America Stadium’s new turf on p. 50 to Carroll Walton’s feature on Charlotte Football Club—go beyond the boundary lines to examine how the industry is changing in Charlotte. I think you’ll learn something new on each page that’ll stick with you the next time you’re in the stands.

We had a lot of fun assembling this August issue, and I hope your reading experience is just as enjoyable. And since I can’t think of a better closing line, I’m going with the one Big Pat used when he concluded our phone chat: “And, as always, GO, HOR-NAAATS!”

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Andy Smith SENIOR EDITOR Greg Lacour LIFESTYLE EDITOR Taylor Bowler COPY EDITOR/FACT-CHECKER Allison Braden CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Cristina Bolling, Nikki Campo, Tom Hanchett, Ely Portillo, Carroll R. Walton ART & PHOTOGRAPHY ART DIRECTOR Jane Fields CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Daniel Coston, Logan Cyrus, Rick Hovis, Peter Taylor, Rusty Williams CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Rob Donnelly, Shaw Nielsen DIGITAL DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Alyssa Ruane CONTENT COORDINATOR Kendra Kuhar

Charlotte magazine 214 W. Tremont Ave., Suite 303, Charlotte, NC 28203 CONTRIBUTORS Email editor@charlottemagazine.com for writer’s guidelines.

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.

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

877-248-9624 ADVERTISERS For advertising information and rates please contact us at advertising@charlottemagazine.com.

A Publication of MCC Magazines, LLC a division of Morris Communications Company, LLC 735 Broad Street, Augusta, GA 30901

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

CHAIRMAN William S. Morris III CEO Craig S. Mitchell

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Connect

ONLINE EXTRAS, EVENTS, AND CONVERSATIONS

REACT

Responses to the June issue of Charlotte magazine

This sounds like a magazine Can’t wait to for the books get my copy!

Instagram comment by @your_braisen_chef To: “Life Lessons: Jim Morrill,” p. 15 This is really well done— @jimmorrill did his job better, for longer, than anyone else I can think of Tweet from @tommytomlinson Really enjoyed this. Jim speaks for the reporter class. I don’t know if it even exists anymore.

Tweet from @tedreednc I learned something valuable every time I got to talk with @jimmorrill. This @greglacour profile has got some great Morrill insight into politics, the media, grief, #ncga, and how to approach work & life with a little more “gentle tenacity” (h/t @j_tibs) Tweet from @chriscooperwcu @jimmorrill is the best of us Tweet from @KevinSiers To: “Where History Retreats Itself,” p. 23 Jekyll Island Club Hotel is a great place to stay! There is a conference room where the Federal Reserve was created by a commission brought together by the President!

Facebook comment by Peter Ungaro

Love the history and cottages.

On Jekyll Island, Driftwood Beach is amazing!! A very relaxing place to vacation!

Facebook comment by Misty Holtzman To: “Revival,” p. 41 We can’t wait to experience this amazing vision in person.

Congratulations Facebook comment by Laura New Wales Pure elegance and talent!

Facebook comment by Leah Rosario To: “Camp Fare,” p. 44 The food looks delicious Instagram comment by @kimberlysellsthecarolinas @lh_jefferson @krissykriss129 when we going Instagram comment by @courtneyjwilson_ (In response) @courtneyjwilson_ any day I’m down!

Instagram comment by @krissykriss129 To: “The Story Behind …

Harriet’s Jucy Lucy,” p. 51 The name wars crack me up!!

“If it’s spelled right, it’s done right.”/ “Remember, if it’s spelled correctly, you’re eating a shameless rip-off !"

Instagram comment by @queencityvoyager

That’s the most cheese I’ve ever seen in a Juicy Lucy!

Instagram comment by @m_lenaburg To: “Rapid Rise,” p. 58 What a rockstar!

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

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Amazing! Good luck, Evy (Leibfarth)!!

Instagram post by @rowhousecotswoldvillage

2.

To: “Hooked,” p. 70 We just saw the article you wrote, and wow, what a fantastic story! We loved the way you featured fishing being an activity that can really support many families to teach essential values to our next generations, besides being an option to keep the kiddos involved, creating beautiful memories!

Excerpt of email from Bruna Carincotte of the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation to lifestyle editor and story author Taylor Bowler

3.

This @CharlotteMag article has great real-world examples of @NCSU_EELab research!

Tweet from @Nature_Rachel @CharlotteMag put together a fantastic article highlighting all the great benefits of #familyfishing. Check it out!

Tweet from @SVatalaro_RBFF

Checklist: 15 Things You Have to Do in Charlotte This Summer How These Major Events in Charlotte Are Affected

by Loosened Restrictions Life Lessons: Jim Morrill, Longtime Observer Reporter (extended web version)

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INSIDE: LIFE LESSONS / INFRASTRUCTURE

BUZZ

THE

WHAT MATTERS NOW IN THE CITY

LI F E L E SS O N S

LYNNE DALEY She marched (and jumped) through a 22-year Army career—and uses what she learned to help other veterans at Bank of America

BY NIKKI CAMPO

RICK HOVIS

LYNNE DALEY, a senior business support manager at Bank of America, spent 22 years as an Army officer before she retired in 2006 and joined the bank through a program that recruits veterans in search of civilian careers. Daley supports a team of 240 in the bank’s Global Human Resource Technology organization. She also serves as an adviser and mentor in the same program that led to her post-service profession.

Daley grew up in a military family in Philadelphia. She says her father, a World War II veteran, taught her the value of hard work and pushing through discomfort to achieve a goal. Though Daley didn’t set out to follow in her father’s bootsteps, she joined an ROTC program in college and ended up serving in Germany and South Korea, among other countries with Army posts. A Black woman and an officer, she was a rarity: Even today, only 11% of active-duty officers are Black (compared to 71% white), and only 16% of the total active-duty Army is female.

Before she retired as a lieutenant colonel, Daley led soldiers during Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom, jumped from airplanes, set up a communications hub in a desert, answered to Dick Cheney (literally), and, eventually, became a mother. Now, she says, she’s committed to helping other veterans achieve what she has in civilian life.

Here she is in her own words, which have been edited for clarity and space: I WAS THE BEST SURPRISE EVER for my parents. I grew up in Philadelphia as the youngest of five siblings. We had modest beginnings and two loving parents. My father was my biggest champion. Maybe I was a daddy’s girl.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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THE BUZZ MY FATHER TAUGHT ME the importance of being on time, meticulous, and articulate. He was a great writer, always helping me with my grammar. He knew how to get from point A to point B, and he shared little tips and tools that helped me to be comfortable and confident moving through life.

IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL during the 1960s, I was bused from my neighborhood school to a predominantly white school across town. That was where I first learned to work in a diverse setting, and it was the beginning of something that would help me later in life.

I WENT TO COLLEGE at a small, predominantly white university, Shippensburg University, and majored in business. While I was there, I had a neighbor who was involved in the ROTC program. She said it was a lot of fun, that I should come, and that they got paid. You know how it was in college. You were like, Really? We get paid?

I THOUGHT ROTC was something I could do on the side to make a few dollars and get through college. But after summer training, the leader of the ROTC program looked at me and said, “How did you do that? You outperformed everyone in the program except one person.” I excelled in navigation, physical fitness, and weapons training, and it came naturally.

MY FIRST DUTY ASSIGNMENT was in Germany. I was excited, excited, excited.

My mom cried. I had to assure her, “Mommy, I’ll be OK.” AFTER GERMANY, I was asked to attend the Marine Corps Command and Control Systems Course in Quantico, Virginia. I was one of only five Army officers, the only Black Army officer and the only Black female officer in the whole class.

The Marines are a different breed. They’re already top of the crop, they’ve been selected as peak performers. Being around that audience, among a lot of competition—it could be unnerving.

I WENT TO FORT BRAGG, home of the Airborne. The mission there was to be the first ones to respond on short notice anywhere in the world and establish communications. It was another high-tempo operation. I am 5 feet tall. Back then, I

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weighed 110, 115 pounds, and I had to carry about 50 pounds worth of equipment—my rucksack, my weapons—to jump out of planes. Fort Bragg made me more courageous and forced me to be in peak condition, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

SHORTLY AFTER I WAS SELECTED as company commander, we were put on notice to deploy to Saudi Arabia and later into Iraq. Whenever I talk about my Gulf War experience, I get teary-eyed. They asked us to do things I didn’t know we could do. For example, we were given a grid coordinate and told to go out to this location in the middle of the desert to establish a communications center. I had to take my soldiers and our equipment and make it work. My soldiers called it “Johnson’s Mountain.” Johnson was my name at the time.

CARING FOR MY SOLDIERS was most important. We performed our mission.

We all came home, most of us decorated for what we had to endure. I came back with a Bronze Star for valor in combat.

I WAS THE ONLY commissioned officer of all my siblings. The joke in my family was always, “Here comes the colonel,” when I was around. My brothers saluted me.

AFTER WE RETURNED, I was asked to interview for a job in Washington, D.C. I dropped what I was doing in the middle of the day, went home, got my dress uniform ready, and drove up to the Pentagon.

I became an executive support officer to the secretary of defense. If the light was green on the big phone on my desk, that was Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. I had to pick it up on the first ring. He would say, “Get me General Powell,” or “Connect me to the White House.” I would say, “Yes, sir,” and he would hang up.

MY JOURNEY WAS DIFFERENT. I didn’t do normal jobs. I had opportunities to do things that were intimidating, a little frightening. You never know what you’re capable of until you’re tested. But I took opportunities anyway, and I learned so much. I think you should have a vision for yourself. It’s funny—every job I wanted to have, I wrote it down. I even made my passwords about the jobs I wanted, like “Lynne to Lieutenant Colonel.”

EVENTUALLY, I got to the point where I wanted to be able to raise my daughter.

My schedule was crazy—I had a live-in nanny. I thought, The Army will have many officers, but she will only have one mother. So I started searching. At first, I was a little discouraged. People wanted to hire me to go back to work for the military, but I was leaving.

AT A JOB FAIR IN D.C., a young woman at a Bank of America booth called me by name. Turns out she had been a lieutenant when I was a major in Korea. I used to have the young officers over at the house to make them feel at home. When she told me Bank of America was hiring, I laughed.

I said, “I don’t want to be a banker. I’m not into finance.” But she explained the bank had a large technology organization and was hiring former military … and they offered to relocate me from Virginia to Charlotte. I started there in 2006.

EARLY ON, I worked on big projects like the Countrywide and Merrill Lynch transitions. As a leader on the Military Advisory Leadership Council, I helped build programs to transition military service members to corporate life. Once you’re in the military, you have a deep appreciation for those who serve and the sacrifices they and their families make.

THE BANK provides continual training, coaching, and mentoring. We have a cohort program to link people together and help with attrition. If it wasn’t for a former military person who asked me to interview, I may never have ended up at the bank.

I THINK THAT WOMEN are sometimes shortchanged. If you set yourself up and surround yourself with friends, family, faith, and the right knowledge, you can go as far as your ambitions will take you.

I am a short, Black female who was in the company of 6-foot-tall men. I had to compete and win and be successful without being intimidated. But you need a village, and you need to ask for help. You might be surprised at all the angels sitting around ready to help you.

NIKKI CAMPO is a writer in Charlotte. She’s written for The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, and McSweeney’s.

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THE BUZZ

I N F R A ST R U C T U R E

‘PETRONOIA’ STRIKES DEEP The Colonial Pipeline panic illustrates Charlotte’s back-row position on the fuel supply line—and the prospect of another mad rush to the pumps

BY GREG LACOUR | ILLUSTRATION BY ROB DONNELLY

ON THE EVENING OF TUESDAY, May 11, NBC Nightly News aired a segment on the domestic story of the week: A cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, the larger of the two oil and gas systems that connect the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the eastern part of the country, had compelled drivers to make massive, frantic fuel purchases that emptied reserves and drove up prices.

“You can see hundreds of cars here, and this is just one gas station,” reporter Tom Llamas effused. “Drivers here tell me they’re waiting up to an hour. That’s where the line starts. We can’t even see where it ends.”

Alert Charlotteans—at least those watching television and not waiting up to an hour—recognized the setting: the Costco on Tyvola Road near Interstate 77. It wasn’t a random choice for NBC. Throughout the weeklong conniption, Charlotte and North Carolina outdid their

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Southeastern neighbors in the degree and thoroughness of what one national organization has dubbed “petronoia.”

The night the NBC report aired, 14.7% of North Carolina stations were out of gasoline, compared to 9.6% in Virginia, 9.4% in Georgia, and 7.5% in South Carolina. By the next night, the North Carolina figure had ballooned to 74% (compared to 56% in Virginia, 53% in South Carolina, and 50% in Georgia). Charlotte hit its peak on the morning of Saturday, May 15, when an astonishing 74.6% of the city’s stations—three of every four—had empty gasoline tanks.

So are we predisposed, to a degree not found in Richmond or Spartanburg or Macon, to hoard fuel when there’s a hint of a shortage? Maybe—but the geography of, and limited access to, the major fuel pipelines that carry gas to the East Coast happen to shortchange the Southeast’s

two largest metropolitan areas, Atlanta and Charlotte. (At one point, 73.4% of Atlanta’s gas stations were empty.)

“These are two of the biggest markets that have two of the fewest possibilities to get resupplied,” says Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, who collected the statistics above and tweeted them and others throughout the ordeal. Colonial, which carries up to 2.5 million barrels of fuel per day from Houston to New Jersey through a system of pipes as much as 40 inches wide, is the larger of the two major pipelines that run throughout the Southeast, along a route similar to I-85. The other, the Plantation Pipeline, which begins near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and ends at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., can carry as much as 720,000 barrels.

Both pipelines run through Charlotte.

States and cities close to the beginnings

and ends of those two systems—Louisiana and Mississippi, or New Jersey and Delaware—suffered far fewer fuel shortages than the Carolinas and Georgia. “The epicenter of outages was in the middle of two markets: the Gulf Coast market and the New York Harbor market. Right in the smack-dab middle? Atlanta, Charlotte,” De Haan says. “So there’s very few options.”

To complicate matters, he says, barges and ships can carry fuel quickly to markets near coastlines. That’s not an option for Charlotte or Atlanta.

The primary alternative to pipeline delivery is trucking, which continues to struggle after more than a year of COVID. Thousands of tanker truck drivers left the business because jobs dried up during lockdown and because drivers were afraid to make city-to-city deliveries during a pandemic, says Tom Kloza, the global head of energy analysis for the Maryland-based Oil Price Information Service (the source of the “petronoia” neologism). Driver training schools closed during the lockdown, too, which, he says, “choked off the pipeline of new haulers.”

North Carolina’s rapid population growth is still another factor: The more people who live in cities like Charlotte, the more tanks need filling. And when everyone decides at the same time that they need to fill the tanks in every vehicle, plus their spare fuel tanks, plus plastic shopping bags, and they won’t leave lines at gas stations until they’ve wrung every drop they can from the nozzle, the objective causes of shortages interlock with public irrationality, and pumps run dry within hours. In 2016, a 6,000-barrel Colonial Pipeline leak in Alabama caused fuel shortages in six states, including the Carolinas, and states of emergency in four of them. The system remains vulnerable to another hack or accident that could touch off a similar panic.

“My whole thinking here is that the outages that we saw in these states are probably 10% the result of the Colonial Pipeline and 90% the result of human behavior,” De Haan says. “You could have had the Colonial Pipeline running at 100%.

There’s no way in hell they could have kept up, even with a pipeline fully open, because we were seeing three to four times the normal demand volume. … People just strained the heck out of the system.”

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GREG LACOUR is the senior editor of this magazine.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

15

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GOOD LIFE

INSIDE: CULTURE / STYLE / ROOM WE LOVE / HISTORY / REAL ESTATE

/ PLAYLIST

THE

MAKING THE MOST OUT OF LIVING HERE

The Charlotte Film Society’s president, Brad Ritter, and director of programming, Jay Morong, are behind an effort to open an independent cinema in NoDa.

CU LT U R E

Picture This

Set to open this fall, the Independent Picture House will offer a moviegoing experience that supports and reflects the community

BY ALLISON BRADEN PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR

THE REGAL MANOR TWIN MOVIE THEATER needed a projectionist.

The last one had caught the projection booth on fire. Manager Ann Robinson hired Brad Ritter, a recent college graduate who had just moved to Charlotte. Not long after he started in 1993, a mandate came down from corporate: All nonmanagerial staff were required to wear paisley vests and bowties. When Robinson told Ritter, she already suspected what he was going to say: “I can’t do that.” So she made him an assistant manager.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

17

THE GOOD LIFE Morong and Ritter Ritter, who’s also president of the look over plans for Charlotte Film Society, eventually became the space, which general manager, a title he held until will include the Independent Picture Regal Entertainment Group shut down House, the Charlotte the 73-year-old movie theater last May. Art League, and two The demise of Charlotte’s only art house other tenants. cinema gave Ritter and the film society leadership the push they needed to do something they’d wanted to for years: open their own cinema. If we don’t do this, Ritter thought, who’s going to do this?

The film society secured a lease at 4327 Raleigh St., near the Sugar Creek light rail station—across the street, oddly enough, from a former movie theater—and plans to open the Independent Picture House later this year, in an area Ritter predicts will become an arts hub. Charlotte cinephiles, filmmakers, and the scattershot collection of film organizations in the region will finally have a place to call their own.

The area is far from an arts hub now.

I pull up to the site during a sweltering dry spell in late May. Parched tanMorong is excited to highlight niche, off-the-wall films (think: Neil Breen) gles of grass grow out of cracks in the that will challenge clientele, unlike streaming services, which serve parking lot, and a recommendations based on established preferences. barbed wire fence rings the property.

Ritter, who took on this project full infrequently the Manor changed what In the lot next door, sun glints off rows of tractor-trailers. Ritter greets me in the time after losing his job, has enjoyed the was playing. Moviegoers would often ask parking lot, a chain of laminate swatches design process, but he and Morong are when the theater would get new movies. for the concession counter dangling from more excited about the programming and “They’re not going to come back to your his hand. We’re joined by Jay Morong, a community-building possibilities once two-screen cinema and buy popcorn and UNC Charlotte theatre and film studies construction is complete. At the Manor, soda and have a communal experience,” lecturer who serves as director of pro- Ritter wasn’t able to negotiate with inde- Morong chimes in, “if they’ve already seen gramming for the film society. pendent filmmakers who wanted to show the two movies that are playing there for The dark, gutted building provides their work. “I would always have to give six weeks.” The Independent, by contrast, welcome relief from the heat. Workers them the 800 number to Knoxville,” he will feature a more dynamic rotation— recently removed segments of the floor says. “I don’t think I ever heard back from and tailor showings to local tastes.

“It’s communal curation,” Morong to run plumbing, and the rich aroma of one person.” Now, he’ll be able to offer artconstruction and sawed concrete lingers. ists reasonable rates to show their films in says. “We’re here. You come into the Ritter and Morong point at the sparse a real theater, so they won’t be relegated theater, you’re talking to Brad, you’re letarchitectural features to conjure the to classrooms and brewery back rooms. ting him know what’s good, what’s bad. future: First, they delineate their portion “When they see their movie on a giant That’s all in his brain, so the next time of the building, which they’ll share with movie screen, they’re excited because, I’ve there’s a movie from that director, or the Charlotte Art League and two other never seen it this big, but then they also see that country, or that type of movie, it’s tenants. We face the concession stand in how it’s different watching it on a moni- like, That’s something our audience really what will eventually be a small lobby. tor this size,” Morong adds. “That, to me, seemed to enjoy.” Cinema leadership will To our right will be an intimate, 19-seat makes better filmmakers.” be poised to offer an eclectic mix of films In his decades at the Manor, Ritter that will—and won’t—resonate with microcinema with recliners, which Morong anticipates will become a favor- thought plenty about what he would their core audience. Morong is excited to ite venue for offbeat films. Further back, do differently. Selling beer and wine, highlight niche, off-the-wall films (think: the space opens up dramatically as the for example, which Ritter considers Neil Breen) that will challenge clientele, lobby’s 10-foot ceilings surge upward. In indispensable for a modern movie the- unlike streaming services, which serve this area, whose dimensions match the ater. The idea was perpetually on the Manor’s almost exactly, parallel theaters Manor’s to-do list but never came to will hold 86 and 108 seats.

Continued on page 20 fruition. Another frustration was how

18

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

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Living life and looking ahead

THE GOOD LIFE

The Independent Picture House will open later this year with two large screening areas, a microcinema, and a concession stand (below).

20

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

explains how the spirit of theaters past will infuse the next chapter of Charlotte’s independent cinema. The joy and magic of going to the movies at the Manor—or even the decrepit former movie house across the street—will help bring these concrete floors and exposed rafters to life.

I try to picture it: Kids pull on their mothers’ shirts and beg for a box of Milk Duds. Audiences spill out of the pair of theaters, sharing highlights and perhaps trying to hide tear-stained cheeks. Future Spielbergs pick up tips at a film festival lecture, while old Manor regulars chat with Ritter in the lobby. Filmgoers queue for an awards contender and spot the poster

for an indie film destined to become their new favorite.

Cinephiles want to escape the mundane and mainstream. Ritter, Morong, and the Charlotte Film Society want to give them that chance—without sacrificing the local history, knowledge, and support that makes their escape possible.

“We don’t just want to be a business that’s operating,” Morong says. “We live here.

We’ve been here for a long time. We’re part of this community.”

ALLISON BRADEN is a contributing editor for this magazine.

COURTESY

recommendations based on established preferences. “As curators,” he says, “we want you to take a little step.”

The Charlotte Film Society has already raised about $400,000 toward its goal of $1 million to complete the renovation and cover a couple of years of rent. A grassroots GoFundMe campaign has contributed more than $119,000 to the effort.

Morong and Ritter have found support among former Manor regulars, cinephiles, and Charlotteans who buy into the importance of local establishments.

Like the city’s craft breweries and farmers markets, the cinema will offer consumers an alternative to corporate chains. “I call it ‘cinematic choice,’” Morong says.

Even though the Independent will operate much like a commercial movie theater—albeit likely without the exorbitant popcorn prices—Morong and Ritter emphasize that its nonprofit ownership means managers won’t chase profit and snap up tropical vacation homes. “That money is going right back into this venue,” Morong says. They hope to offer deals to local artists to show their films, sponsor director visits during the Charlotte Film Festival, and eventually offer grants to aspiring filmmakers.

Sun streams through the glass doors as a neon-clad construction worker sweeps debris off the floor nearby. Morong

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THE GOOD LIFE

ST YL E

Cut From Scratch

Mitch Purgason keeps NASCAR drivers, NFL players, and CEOs looking dapper in exquisite custom suits

HE’S JUST 29, but Mitch Purgason’s client roster already includes NFL players Christian McCaffrey, Mason Rudolph, and Josh Gordon and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. The Greensboro native designs custom suits under his Charlottebased brand, Stitched by Mitch, but he doesn’t want to be known as a “suit guy.”

“I’m not a salesperson, and I won’t relentlessly hit you up,” he says. “I treat celebrities like normal people. Christian is actually a really good friend, and that’s how I like to keep it. We have a mental association that we want to be the best at what we do, no matter what it is.”

While many clothiers offer made-tomeasure services that only alter suits, Purgason does everything “cut from scratch.” “I’m my own sourcing agent and pattern builder,” he says. “I measure the client, build the pattern, and tell the tailor exactly what to do so there’s no disconnect. New York and LA have people who do what I do, but Charlotte didn’t really have that. I loved the way Charlotte was growing, so it made sense for me to be here.”

Stitched by Mitch began as an assignment at Appalachian State University, where the 5-foot-8-inch Purgason walked onto the basketball team as a junior. An entrepreneurship class required him to start a business, which inspired his initial concept: affordable custom suits for college students. He researched fabrics, fit, and presentation and contacted a tailor to help him with his first designs.

“It was like an internship I created for myself,” he says. “There’s not a class on how to be a good entrepreneur—you’ve got to just try it. And that’s always been my attitude: Why not?”

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

After he graduated in 2015, Purgason continued to design suits for former App State athletes who’d made it to the NFL. Teammates noticed their impeccably tailored suits—suede lapels, contrast stitching, and patterned liners—and word spread. Purgason built relationships with tailors in LA, New York, and Italy and added tuxedos, bomber jackets, custom jeans, and joggers to his repertoire.

His prices range from $1,995 to $3,500, and his typical turnaround time is four weeks. Purgason spends most of his time on the road meeting with clients, but

COURTESY

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

COURTESY

Mitch Purgason (opposite) puts unexpected details like patterned liners and Ferrari racing numbers (opposite, bottom) on his bespoke clothing. (This page, clockwise from top left) A BMWthemed performance gabardine blazer; Milanese buttonholes with contrast stitching; hand-painted custom loafers; San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (pictured with wife Claire) in a double-breasted seersucker unlined blazer and chino shorts.

he spends Mondays in his uptown loft, where he researches materials and new patterns and designs. “I try to dress to the occasion I’m designing for,” he says. “If I’m designing tuxedos for a wedding party, I’ll wear a tuxedo while I design that. If I’m designing a leather jacket, I’ll put on jeans and my favorite leather jacket.”

When the pandemic forced him to stay home last year, Purgason experimented with beachwear and custom golf attire.

He recently designed a leather bomber jacket inspired by the BMW M series and made a “sick” teal Nappa leather bomber jacket for Cassi Smith (wife of Marcus

Smith, president and CEO of Speedway Motorsports) to match her teal G-Wagon.

“I really geek out about designing things like a bomber jacket matched to a guy’s Ferrari,” he says.

Purgason says he’s developing a TV show with a major Hollywood celebrity he can’t name; it’ll give viewers an unfiltered look at the design process, he says.

He’s also enrolled in an online luxury fashion management course and plans to go to Italy next year to take a four-month tailoring course. “I’m always trying to improve,” he says, “and you have to be willing to inconvenience yourself to grow

and learn and provide a product you’re really proud of.”

To him, that product represents more than a suit. “It’s a legacy builder,” he says.

“In the most important moments in our lives, we’re usually wearing suits. The best photos are at weddings, parties, and events when people are dressed up. Those are the best photos you’ll ever have of yourself, and they’re what your kids and grandkids will have long after you’re gone.”

TAYLOR BOWLER is lifestyle editor of this magazine.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

23

RO O M W E LOV E

Aged Up

Designer Melissa Lee turns a playroom into a teen lounge with a workstation, entertainment center, and reading loft

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

MELISSA LEE’S CLIENTS had lived in their SouthPark Tudor for close to 10 years when they hired her to transform the upstairs playroom. Their daughters, now 10 and 13, wanted a more mature lounge space where they could do schoolwork, watch TV, and host sleepovers. “It had heavy architectural details, so we painted the trim and beams to lighten it up,” says Lee, the principal designer at New South Home in Matthews. The girls wanted a darker wall color, so she brought in mauve and pink accents to keep it feminine and chose patterned upholstery and natural woods to create what she calls a “coastal boho vibe.” —Taylor Bowler

COURTESY LAURA SUMRAK

THE GOOD LIFE

GROW GIRL Before renovation, a hodgepodge of kid-sized furniture and a chalkboard wall underneath the chair rail cluttered the room. Lee removed the rail to “tone down the formality” and installed wall-to-wall Stainmaster carpet. She added woven shades to filter out the late afternoon sun and painted the walls in Sherwin Williams’ Tempe Star and the trim in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove. “The darker wall color made it feel more mature,” she says, “and paint is such an inexpensive way to change the whole vibe of a space.”

ZOOM IN The girls were in remote school at the time, so each got her own workstation.

Lee added reading sconces over the builtin bench and put a big, round table from Wayfair in the center of the room if they needed to spread out. “The desks are from Target,” she says. “We just changed out the knobs to make them look a little more expensive.” The upholstered bulletin board holds notes and lists and hides the wires from the sconce.

HIGH RISE Lee had the reading loft custom-built to fit a double mattress on top and a sofa underneath. For a touch of whimsy, she installed a swing from Serena & Lily. An assortment of pillows from Wayfair adds color and texture, and an ombre wood beaded chandelier from Lumens achieves the boho-chic aesthetic she was after.

“When we showed that to the girls, it was an easy yes,” she says. “The chandelier is the first thing you see, and when you have such a high ceiling, a statement light fixture is really important.”

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

25

THE GOOD LIFE

Trailer Specialists Inc., owned by Rick Gibson (right, with his son Harmon), has operated in a pair of 1940s Quonset huts off Atando Avenue since 1979.

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

Defying the Perpendicular Atando Avenue’s Quonset huts hark back to 1940s and ’50s America

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA why there are so many Quonset buildings on Atando Avenue?” Charlotte photographer Nancy O. Albert wrote me recently. Bored during COVID, she launched a Facebook group called Roadside Carolina. It now has 2,500 members who share photos of backroad buildings and industrial landscapes—including the remarkable constellation of Quonset huts off North Tryon Street near NoDa. What’s a Quonset hut? It looks like half of a tin can cut lengthwise and enlarged to create a building. A continuous curve of corrugated metal forms the sides and roof—a simple but sturdy

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

geometry that requires no interior columns. The Navy developed the design during World War II, when it deployed more than 150,000 Quonsets wherever it needed to set up an outpost, especially in the South Pacific, where the structures stayed stable in gale-force winds.

They were first developed and built at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island, thus the name.

I’ve always admired Quonset huts.

Their stripped-down simplicity feels like a workaday counterpart to the “midcentury modern,” high-style architecture of the 1940s and ’50s. So my eyes lit up when I saw a Quonset hut on my left just as I turned off North Tryon onto

Atando Avenue. And another at Ivey Exterminating on my right. Then more at a recycling yard. And still others at Trailer Specialists Inc. up the street.

Nancy Albert’s camera fell in love with the Quonsets’ parabolic lines, she says: “They defy perpendicular architecture.”

What’s their history on Atando Avenue?

The tale starts in 1946, when businessman Howard R. Biggers platted Atando Avenue as an industrial district. A railroad spur grandly called the Atlantic, Tennessee & Ohio Railroad inspired the street name. A, T, and O— Atando, get it?

Continued on page 28

COURTESY NANCY ALBERT

BY TOM HANCHETT

Check out our special section in the December issue for a list of 2021 Five Star Professional award winning real estate agents, mortgage professionals and home insurance professionals!

Tell us about your home professional today — they could win the Five Star award!

Go to www.fivestarprofessional.com/homesurvey or call 651-259-1865.

THE GOOD LIFE R E AL E STAT E

Hot Listings

Picturesque properties in Plaza Midwood. —Taylor Bowler

Among the lot buyers were two energetic, young WWII veterans. I found a bit of their story in a 1947 newspaper article headlined, “New Quonset Hog House Announced.”

(That must have been a slow news day.) “When E.H. Newcombe and (K.R.) Shupp got out of the Navy, they decided to go into business together. …

In February of this year, they organized Piedmont Steel Buildings Corporation, having secured the Quonset franchise from the Great Lakes Steel Corporation.” Aha! There’s the Navy connection. And these weren’t warsurplus structures, as I’d imagined, but newly manufactured at the Michigan plant that had won the Navy’s wartime contract.

Piedmont Steel Buildings indeed would sell Quonset hog pens to farmers, but their client list ranged far and wide. World War II and the Korean War caused a shortage of building materials during the late ’40s and early ’50s, so lots of local companies bought the pre-fab Quonsets, including Johnson Motor Lines and Interstate Milling.

In posh Myers Park, Christ Episcopal Church put up a Quonset for its initial worship services in 1946 (though I’m not sure Newcombe and Shupp sold it to them).

28

Along Atando, the partners’ workers erected a whiskey warehouse for the ABC board, a soft drink bottling works for Nesbitt’s Orange, and another for Nesbitt’s competitor Orange Crush.

By 1948, “twelve different types” of Quonsets faced Atando, reported The Charlotte News. Great Lakes Steel sent all its regional sales staff to visit, declaring Atando “the most compact and diversified” cluster of its kind “along the Eastern seaboard.”

Today, at least nine Quonsets still line the Atando corridor. At Trailer Specialists Inc., which has repaired truck trailers since 1979, owner Rick Gibson says the open-span design allows him to efficiently maneuver vehicles in and out. And it’s sturdy.

“When Hurricane Hugo came through, no problem,” he recalls. The 1989 hurricane upended trailers and blew out doors, but, as in the South Pacific, the Quonset hut stayed solid: “Hugo passed right on by.”

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

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

1607 MIMOSA AVE. $849,900 PLAZA MIDWOOD Gorgeous pine hardwoods run throughout the main floor of this two-story bungalow. The kitchen has a massive center island, stainless steel appliances, double wall ovens, and French doors that open to a covered screened porch. 3 BD, 2.5 BA, 2,810 sq. ft., Nestlewood Realty, nestlewoodrealty.com 2805 SHAMROCK DRIVE $599,990 PLAZA MIDWOOD This custom-built modern farmhouse has an attached two-car garage and fenced backyard. The chef’s kitchen has an eat-in breakfast area, expansive island, and custom cabinetry.

4 BD, 2.5 BA, 2,830 sq. ft., 5 Points Realty, 5pointsrealty.com 2019 CHATHAM AVE. $725,000 PLAZA MIDWOOD Relax on the screenedin porch of this Midwood cottage nestled on a charming tree-lined street. Natural light floods the main living and dining areas, and the owner’s suite has an updated bath with dual vanities, a built-in tub, and spacious walk-in shower. 3 BD, 2 BA, 1,786 sq. ft., Helen Adams Realty, helenadamsrealty.com Homes available as of May 28, 2021.

COURTESY NANCY ALBERT; COURTESY

At least nine Quonsets, like this triple, still line the Atando corridor.

1901 TRUMAN ROAD $970,000 PLAZA MIDWOOD This fully renovated property has the integrity of a 1950s home with the updates of a modern craftsman.

The first floor primary suite has a spa-like bathroom and spacious walk-in closet, and the sleek kitchen overlooks a turf yard with a built-in grill and covered seating area. 4 BD, 4 BA, 3,160 sq. ft., Allen Tate, allentate.com

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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

Country Acts Take Over in August You might as well call the University area “Little Nashville” this month, because decorated country stars take to the PNC Music Pavilion stage throughout August. Here’s the lineup—and the major awards each artist has won. Grab those boots and denim cutoffs and make for the pavilion lawn.

CHRIS STAPLETON Aug. 12

Academy of Country Music Awards

Grammy Awards

5

Country Music Association Awards

7

Billboard Music Awards

10

5

JASON ALDEAN Aug. 20

Academy of Country Music Awards

14

Country Music Association Awards

Billboard Music Awards

2

4

BRAD PAISLEY Aug. 28

3

Academy of Country Music Awards

14

Country Music Association Awards

15

WWE AT SPECTRUM CENTER WWE is back in Charlotte for its series of summer SuperShows. This one, at Spectrum Center on Aug. 14, includes favorites Roman Reigns, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Bianca Belair, and AJ Styles and Omos.

ALSO AT SPECTRUM CENTER THIS MONTH: A MICHAEL BUBLÉ CONCERT (Aug. 17), which is pretty much the opposite of a WWE event.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

Chris Stapleton

CHARLOTTE SQUAWKS’ 16TH EDITION: ‘GOING VIRAL!’ Described as “Saturday Night Live meets Broadway,” Charlotte Squawks is an annual musical sendup of all things Charlotte. Brian Kahn and Mike Collins, the host of WFAE’s Charlotte Talks, create skits and songs from the past year’s news. Going Viral! runs Aug. 19-Sept. 12 at Booth Playhouse.

BECKY FLUKE

Grammy Awards

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias

Stay Ahead of the Games

Major touring comedians are returning to clubs and concert venues this summer. Among them: Iglesias, who’s known for several specials, film appearances, and the Netflix original series Mr. Iglesias. He plays Ovens Auditorium on Aug. 5-6, and here’s a taste of his humor, derived mainly from his weight:

CAROLINA PANTHERS

AND I QUOTE:

“I drink Diet Coke so I can eat regular cake.”

(PRESEASON) Bank of America Stadium, 800 S Mint St.

“Me, racist? The only race I hate is the one you have to run.”

vs. BALTIMORE RAVENS Aug. 21, 7 p.m.

“I’ll walk up to a woman, I’ll say the first thing that comes to mind: ‘Hey, you hungry?’”

vs. PITTSBURGH STEELERS Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m.

ELSEWHERE IN COMEDY THIS MONTH:

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

ANDREW SCHULZ Comedy Zone, Aug. 6-7 WHOSE LIVE ANYWAY Ovens Auditorium, Aug. 7 AARON WEBER Comedy Zone, Aug. 10 DAMON WAYANS Comedy Zone, Aug. 19-22

THERE’S NO NEED. TO. BE. UN. HAP-PY. COURTESY

Charlotte’s sports teams have a busy August:

You know Victor Willis as the “hot cop.” The singer—and only founding member of the Village People who still tours with the group—recently rebooted the lineup in time for their 40th anniversary. They come to Belk Theater on July 25, armed with all of the hits: “Macho Man,” “In the Navy,” and, of course, “Y.M.C.A.,” which last year was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

Truist Field, 324 S. Mint St.

vs. JACKSONVILLE JUMBO SHRIMP Aug. 1, 5:05 p.m. vs. NORFOLK TIDES Aug. 17-20, 7:04 p.m.; Aug.21, 1:05 p.m.; and Aug. 22, 5:05 p.m. vs. DURHAM BULLS Aug. 24-28, 7:04 p.m., and Aug. 29, 5:05 p.m.

CHARLOTTE INDEPENDENCE American Legion Memorial Stadium, 1218-1238 Armory Dr. vs. PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS Aug. 14, 7 p.m. vs. COLORADO SPRINGS SWITCHBACK Aug. 21, 7 p.m.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

31

E S S AY S / F O O D A N D W I N E / T R A V E L / S H O P P I N G & M O R E

Charlotte magazine covers dining, travel, events, the arts, culture, real estate, business, and people. We explore every corner of city so we can bring you the best places to eat, drink, shop and hang out in every neighborhood.

Make better plans with your essential go-to guide for life in Charlotte.

AVA I L A B L E I N P R I N T, D I G I TA L O R B O T H .

S U B S C R I B E O N L I N E AT CHARLOT TEMAGAZINE.COM/SUBSCRIBE

FOOD DRINK

INSIDE: NOW OPEN / LOCAL FLAVOR / ON THE LINE / THE STORY BEHIND / BITE-SIZED NEWS / BEER / RESTAURANTS

+

EXPLORE THE TASTES OF CHARLOTTE

The New American sandwich with a lamb burger, basil mayo, balsamic onions, and blue cheese on a pretzel roll with a side of crinkle-cut fries.

N OW O P E N

A NEW WAY TO FILL UP

TKTKTKTKTKt

Fran Scibelli reimagines an old Dilworth favorite

BY TAYLOR BOWLER PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR

WHEN YOU VISIT Fat Cat Burgers + Bakeshop early on a weekend morning, the aroma of fresh-baked bread and cinnamon rolls hits you from the parking lot. Follow the smell to the walk-up donut window to the left of the entrance, and you’ll see a dessert case that brims with maple bacon donuts, confetti cookies, and blueberry crumb cake straight out of the oven. Grab a box to take home, or sneak a bite (or six) on the spot. Nobody will blame you.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

33

FOOD+DRINK

Owner Fran Scibelli (above) greets a customer at the walkup donut window. A rotation of baked treats changes daily (right).

FAT CAT BURGERS + BAKESHOP 2410 Park Road fatcatclt.com Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily *No lunch or dinner on Mondays due to labor shortage at press time Donut window: 8 a.m.-12 p.m. Monday; 8 a.m. until sold out Tuesday-Sunday

34

Veteran restaurateur Fran Scibelli is behind the Dilworth eatery and bakery, which opened in the Park Square Shopping Center in April. The 4,000-square-foot space had housed her previous concept, Fran’s Filling Station, since 2009, but a sales slump during COVID compelled her to reboot. She’d toyed with the idea of opening a donut shop for a few years, but she needed to pare down her menu to keep her costs manageable. So she added the walk-up window, gave the dining room a splash of red paint and new natural wood tables, and revamped the menu with loaded burgers, sandwiches, and a rotation of bakery items. She kept a few old favorites, too, like the New South Fried Chicken Sandwich and the Bacon-Wrapped Tater Tots. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner daily; the donut window opens at 8 a.m.

If you come for dinner, have a seat in the dining room, at the eight-seat bar, or on the patio. Order an OMB Copper or Juicy Jay from Legion Brewing, or get wine by the glass or bottle. Cocktails include the Lemon Kiss ($10) with limoncello and sparkling wine; Peachy Keen ($11) with sweet tea vodka and peach schnapps; and Loaded Coffee ($13) with Magnolia coffee, Jameson, and Baileys.

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

The Fat Franny (above) is a piece of fried chicken topped with pepper jack cheese and crispy onion rings sandwiched between two maple bacon donuts. The House Soft Pretzel (above, right) comes with a side of OMB Copper-spiked beer cheese dip. The Latin Wedge (right) is Fran’s spin on a traditional wedge salad.

Start with an order of Chili Cheese Fries ($6), a heap of crinkle-cut fries or waffled sweet potato fries topped with Fran’s chili and queso.

The House Soft Pretzel ($7) comes with a side of OMB Copper-spiked beer cheese dip and won’t last more than five minutes if you’ve got a hungry crowd.

For something lighter, see the lineup of salads. Get a Classic Wedge ($8), Ribboned Tuscan Kale ($12), or Green + Grain ($13), and add a protein like crispy or grilled chicken ($4), salmon filet or lamb burger ($7), or Impossible burger ($7.50). The Latin Wedge ($10) is Fran’s spin on the traditional wedge with avocado, corn, tomatoes, white cheddar, red pepper, and cilantro. Top it with grilled chicken or salmon for a heartier entrée.

Fat Cat’s burgers offer a plethora of choices, beginning with the bun: pretzel, potato, grain, or gluten-free. Proteins include beef, grilled or crispy chicken, salmon, lamb, or Impossible burger. Next, choose from 12 signature setups like the California ($14), topped with bacon, avocado, havarti, and house ranch; the New American ($14) with basil mayo, balsamic onions, and blue cheese; or the Hellaceous Honey ($13) with spicy honey, jalapeño bacon, and pepper jack cheese.

If you can’t decide on one combination, we recommend ordering two different sandwiches and going halfsies with a friend. Try the New American with lamb burger on a pretzel bun, and have the Hellaceous Honey with fried chicken on a potato roll to get more of the Fat Cat experience. And remember: These sandwiches are two-handed affairs, so ask for extra napkins and don’t be afraid to take big, vulgar bites.

If you still can’t decide, the Fat Franny ($15) is a sweet-and-savory monstrosity of a sandwich: a beef burger or fried chicken smothered with pepper jack cheese and crispy onion rings lodged between two maple bacon donuts. Eat it with a fork and knife if you must, but if you don’t leave a big happy mess behind, you’re not doing it right.

When you build a menu around burgers, donuts, and fruity cocktails, diners will inevitably follow. Come for a casual date night, bring the kids for lunch, or treat yourself to a donut if you’re in the neighborhood. Fran’s new concept is colorful, creative, unpretentious, and indulgent—but more than anything, it’s just really fun.

Don’t leave without trying: The Fat Franny ($15) is the house signature, with two maple bacon donuts that sandwich your choice of a beef burger or fried chicken with pepper jack cheese and onion rings.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: The donut window sells out fast on weekends, so don’t sleep in too late.

TAYLOR BOWLER is lifestyle editor of this magazine.

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LO C AL F L AVO R

WAR PAINT

With decor changes, 5Church Charlotte recognizes the restaurant game as a multifront battle

BY ANDY SMITH

36

WHEN 5CHURCH CHARLOTTE reopened in February, the uptown restaurant emerged from the pandemic with a new executive chef, Sherief Shawky, and a few new menu items, including a nowpopular seafood tower. Another big change: a massive interior mural, courtesy of the artists behind the works in all of 5th Street Group’s restaurants. “We felt strongly that if we were to reintroduce ourselves to the marketplace, we had to put our best foot forward,” partner Patrick Whalen tells me in May. “We wanted diners to see something they’ve never seen before, another side of us, which is the same reason chefs may add features to the menu.”

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

The mural wraps around an interior wall and highlights several tales from Aesopica, the collection of ancient Greek fables credited to the slave and storyteller. Among 5Church’s illustrated Aesop’s fables are “The Wolf and the Crane” and “The Scorpion and the Frog,” and the artists who worked on it include Charleston’s Honey McCrary and locals Matt Hooker, Matt Moore, Nathaniel Lancaster, Corey McGovern, Brian Michelotti, and Jon Norris.

When Whalen was growing up, his father would read Aesop’s fables to him.

Today, Whalen says the text still “offers an incredible resource of parables with real-life application,” even if the protagonists are often wild animals that talk. The

COURTESY

FOOD+DRINK

COURTESY

mural’s several scenes from the Aesopica are mostly monochromatic, with just a single accent hue for each piece. “Before this, our space lacked color,” Whalen says. “This new version of ourselves is more full of color and life and vibrancy.

Everyone has colors they’re drawn to, and we wanted to give these artists a way to express themselves by using just that one touch in each scene.”

Whalen and his team have made decor a priority since their first location of 5Church opened in Charlotte in 2015.

They plan to open a new restaurant, Church & Union, in Nashville this year.

Among the signature touches they’ll bring to Music City: the 13,500 words that com-

prise Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, inscribed in white on a black ceiling. It typically takes painter Jon Norris three months to complete a stylized transcription of the fifth-century Chinese military treatise, having previously done so for 5Church Charlotte and 5Church Charleston. Like the Aesopica, the text is more than just a fun idea that adds to the dining experience: Its words inform how he approaches all of the group’s restaurants, including the 5Church locations, Sophia’s Lounge at the Ivey’s Hotel, La Belle Helene, and Tempest in Charleston.

“Imagine a business model,” Whalen says in May. “Sadly, I’ve written many more business plans than I have businesses. ...

But imagine following The Art of War’s principles when you write down that plan and then try to make it real. These words are a business model for success and for victory. Following them, the business grows, and your people scale with it, and it feels inevitable if you follow the steps correctly. This is our tribute to that.”

The group’s ability to evolve, as it has with 5Church Charlotte, echoes a central Art of War principle: “Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.”

ANDY SMITH is the executive editor of this magazine.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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FOOD+DRINK O N T H E LI N E W I T H

ROBIN ANTHONY

The owner and head chef of Prime Fish is a certified sake adviser who expertly pairs the Japanese rice drink with sushi and tapas

BY TAYLOR BOWLER

Age: 30 You might know him from: Red Sake and YAMA Waverly, where he used to be head sushi chef Family status: Married with two children, ages 10 and 4 Favorite sports team: Real Madrid CF Currently reading: The Seafood Industry by George Flick and Roy Martin Favorite sports team: Panthers Where does your love of food come from? Since I was a kid, I’ve loved to be in the kitchen cooking for my family. I’m mostly self-taught; I watch a lot of cooking instructional videos.

THE TOUGH STUFF

What inspired you to open Prime Fish? The owner of YAMA introduced me to Edomae-style sushi, then I helped the owner of Red Sake open it and create the menu. I was there for one year to get it all set up, then went out on my own. I want to serve what people are getting in LA and New York and expand the palate of Charlotteans.

Ramen bowl or poke bowl?

Ramen bowl

How can we tell the difference? American-style sushi rolls are usually fried and sauced. You know your nigiri has been cut perfectly when it fits in your mouth in one bite. It means you have the right amount of rice with the correct cut of fish.

Calamari or oysters?

Oysters Shrimp tempura or shrimp cocktail?

Shrimp cocktail Lobster roll or egg roll? Lobster roll Comedy or drama?

Drama More money or more free time?

I want both Street eats or sitdown? Both.

I’m a foodie Facebook or Instagram?

Instagram

Tell me about developing an Asian raw bar menu. Edomae-style sushi is the foundation—we just combined it with Southern European and French flavors, like carpaccio and crudo. Carpaccio isn’t sushi, but it’s raw—so we’re combining several raw foods from different countries.

Ninety percent of this menu is raw, and at least 95% is seafood-based.

The French use a lot of microgreens and edible flowers; we get all of ours from a local farmer in Charlotte.

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What’s an example of a great fish and sake pairing?

Sashimi is good with a floral sake. Nigiri is better with a dry sake. Our menu pairs it for you. It took me about four years to research it. I have been drinking sake a long time (laughs).

What’s your favorite food and sake pairing? I love beef with Cowboy Yamahai sake. If you eat beef, it has to be this one. For sashimi, I drink Immortal Wing, a very fragrant sake with a honeydew aroma.

Anything else we should know about sake? Sake’s profile changes when you drink it cold versus hot. The aroma and taste will all be different. So for an appetizer, you might start with a hot one, and for your meal, I’ll give you a cold one.

Is there one recipe you’d still love to master? Edomaestyle sushi (laughs). You’re always learning.

Do your kids eat sushi? My oldest one does—she eats sushi like Cheetos.

What’s your favorite food city? New York. I eat a variety of Asian cuisines, and I like Italian food.

Any rules to live by in the kitchen? Follow your head chef, and always come on time.

PETER TAYLOR

How would you describe your approach to sushi? I do Edomae-style, which is Tokyo-style sushi.

You must have really good knife skills and lots of experience with fish. It’s the traditional way sushi is made. There are precise measurements of slicing the fish. It’s about the art of sushi. The way sashimi and nigiri is done in the U.S. isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Sake or wine?

Sake

What is a certified sake adviser, and how does one earn this title? Japan has a Sake Service Institute, where I got my certification. I studied and did a lot of prep on my own, so the course didn’t take too long. They have professors that come to Atlanta, California, and New York once a year to give the exam. I took mine in Atlanta. I passed on the first try, but if you fail, you have to wait do it again the next year.

BITE-SIZED STO R I E S

Foodie Tidbits on a Small Plate

T H E STO RY B E H I N D. . .

Another Food Truck!?’s Viva La Juicy BIRRIA TACOS, or “quesabirria,” have been all over social media this year, but Chef Anthony Denning and his wife, Kristen, got a jump on the trend when they launched Another Food Truck!? last summer.

“My wife is really big on TikTok, and she showed me birria tacos a few months before we opened,” Anthony says. “When we developed the menu, we took five or six items food trucks were known for and did them in our style. When we got to tacos, we thought: quesadilla or taco? We decided to do (birria tacos) because they’re a mix of both.”

The Viva La Juicy is Anthony’s take on this dish, which originated in Jalisco, Mexico: three corn tortillas stuffed with braised beef, queso, and a smoky jalapeño aioli, pan-fried and served with consommé for dipping. “Most people use short ribs,” he says, “but ours is a chuck roll mixed with some

other cuts depending on what we can get our hands on.” He tried four or five types of dried peppers and a variety of cheeses until he found the right blend of Mexican and fontina cheese. “Ours is different because we added a smoky aioli,” he says, “and we didn’t want a humongous cup of consommé—just enough to fold the taco and tap it in there.”

As for its catchy moniker, “I wanted the word ‘juicy’ in the name,” Anthony explains. “I started going through different words, and ‘viva’ felt like a party, something upbeat and happy.” Or something you might find on TikTok. —Taylor Bowler

ANOTHER FOOD TRUCK!? anotherfoodtruck.com

Best Bites Our favorite dish this month, chosen by Charlotte magazine staff

PETER TAYLOR; CROUTESY (2)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PIE, $15 SUPPERLAND

THE DESSERT MENU at Supperland includes a rotation of pastry chef Liana Sinclair’s handmade, individually sized pies in seasonal flavors like strawberry, sweet potato, and blueberry lavender. But the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is a mainstay because chocolate and peanut butter are always in season. The thick chocolate-graham cracker cookie crust alone won’t give you a sugar rush; its low-grade sweetness lets the peanut butter mousse filling be the center of attention. The candied peanut-and-pretzel crumble topping and chocolate-coated cocoa nibs give this dessert another sweet and savory layer, plus a bit of crunch to complement the velvety mousse. The flower garnish, like the rest of this dessert, is an edible delight. —Taylor Bowler

THE ROYAL TOT, a cocktail lounge and tiki bar from the team behind Stroke, will open in September at 933 Louise Ave. in the Belmont neighborhood. Larry Suggs will lead the drink program, and a tropical-inspired menu from The Paper Plane Deli & Market includes tequila-pineapple marinated Spam and Kona coffee-rubbed chicken wings.

The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, the Charleston-based hospitality company behind Oak Steakhouse and O-Ku, will open a wood-fired seafood concept called MIZU at the Hyatt Centric SouthPark this month. Michael Chanthavong, former executive chef at O-Ku, will lead the kitchen at the rooftop restaurant.

Ohio-based SAUCY BREW WORKS will open a twostory brewpub at 501 East Morehead St. in Dilworth in late 2022. Look for a rooftop deck, more than 20 beers on tap, and a full pizza menu.

Former Fine & Fettle executive chef DANIEL WHEELER is the new chef de cuisine at The Stanley. He replaces Alex Verica, who will lead the kitchen at PARA, a new cocktail and tapas bar in South End. —Taylor Bowler

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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FOOD+DRINK

1 Our Beer Bracket’s New Champion The local brew competition returned this year. Here are the results

WE BROUGHT BACK our annual Beer Bracket in May on charlottemagazine. com. We matched up 32 local brews in a March Madness-style competition—initially divided into four categories: IPAs, Lights, Darks, and Sours. Thousands voted, but several contests came down to single-digit wins. On this page, you’ll find this year’s winner, and on the next page, the second-, third-, and fourth-place beers. —Andy Smith

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WOODEN ROBOT BREWERY’S

OVERACHIEVER

It seems fitting that a pale ale called Overachiever would be the beer to best a wildly popular Imperial IPA. At 5.3%, it’s a little more than half the ABV of Hop Cakes, but that’s what Wooden Robot head brewer Dan Wade set out to do: pack the character of a hazy, heavy-hitting, New England-style IPA into a more approachable, “obsessively drinkable” pale ale.

“We originally wanted to brew it as a brewer’s beer,” Wade says. “At the end of the day, as a brewer, you want to have a low-alcohol beer that still tastes great with full flavors and won’t get you inebriated.”

Overachiever was on the original lineup at Wooden Robot, which opened in 2015 in South End before it expanded to NoDa with a new wood-aging facility in 2019. Despite being a “brewer’s beer,” it’s grown in popularity and is now regularly canned. In Charlotte magazine’s friendly competition, it cruised past brews that include the beloved Jalapeño Pale Ale from Birdsong Brewing.

“IPAs can turn people off because of the bitterness, which can be polarizing,” Wade says. “We were able to make something that really has some broad appeal, with a soft mouthfeel and that haziness. (Overachiever) is flavorful enough to make it noteworthy but light and easy enough so you’ll enjoy more than one.”

LAST YEAR’S TOP LIGHT: Wooden Robot Brewery’s Good Morning Vietnam

COURTESY

BEER

HOW THE BEERS WERE CHOSEN We introduced new rules to the selection process this year:

» No beer from our first Beer Bracket in 2020 was eligible. » Breweries had to be either inside or within three miles of the I-485 loop. Businesses based outside of Charlotte were eligible, as long as they actually brew beer in Charlotte.

» Seeding was based on opening date, where applicable. See the entire bracket at charlottemagazine.com/beer-bracket.

2

3

4

NODA BREWING COMPANY’S

TRIPLE C BREWING COMPANY’S

DIVINE BARREL BREWING’S

This Imperial IPA made it to the final round but fell to this year’s champion by a few dozen votes. Hop Cakes, which debuted in cans in 2015, combines sweet citrus and hops with the taste of Vermont maple syrup, of which 110 pounds are used in every batch. Its popularity inspired NoDa to craft variations for the taproom, including Chocolate Chip Hop Cakes, Blueberry Hop Cakes, and Strawberry Hop Cakes. It sells only the original in cans, though.

This Dark contender has an “Outstanding” score of 90 on rating platform BeerAdvocate. Among the ingredients that inspired Up All Night Breakfast Porter’s name: German chocolate malts, flaked oats, honey, lactose, and an infusion of coffee from Magnolia Coffee Company. Triple C usually releases limited batches around November. A bourbon barrel-aged version, which they typically release in the weeks that follow, adds a toasty, richer layer to the fan favorite.

Divine Barrel created this Berliner—a wheat beer style known for its cloudiness and sour quality—to conjure images of cobbler cooling on your grandmother’s windowsill.

They accomplished that by combining cherry, Madagascan vanilla, cinnamon, lactose, and graham crackers. Its drinkability has converted those who usually avoid sours. The brewery also makes peach and blueberry variations of the beer.

LAST YEAR’S TOP IPA: Legion Brewing’s Juicy Jay IPA (the overall champion)

LAST YEAR’S TOP DARK: NoDa Brewing Company’s Coco Loco

LAST YEAR’S TOP SOUR: Triple C Brewing Company’s Rainbow Sherbet

HOP CAKES

COURTESY

» Beers were selected based on rating on BeerAdvocate and Untappd; national awards; and general availability. Only one beer per brewery this year.

UP ALL NIGHT BREAKFAST PORTER

CAROLINA COBBLER

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FOOD+DRINK Legion Brewing’s Cheese Grits and Grilled Shrimp Skillet (below) is topped with grilled tomato and blistered shishito peppers. The ABLT Waffle Sandwich (bottom) is avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and egg sandwiched between two Belgian waffles. The Pho Mi Dip (right) is loaded with braised short rib, sliced flank steak, pickled carrots, cucumbers, and jalapeño.

R E STAU R ANT S

Is there anything better than a cold beer on a sweltering summer day? Kick back with your favorite brew and pair it with a burger, pizza, taco, or creative bar bite from one of these neighborhood hangouts

F E AT U R E D R E STAU R ANT

Legion Brewing 5610 Carnegie Blvd.

844-HOP-LOVE, ext. 2

TO CALL IT BAR FOOD would be an insult to Legion’s executive chef, Gene Briggs. Along with owner Phil Buchy, he turned SouthPark’s first craft brewery into a food destination.

You can count on a solid burger and chicken wings at the full-service restaurant, but Chef Gene spans multiple cuisines in this kitchen. Get a Pork Belly Gyro, a Pho Mi Dip, Carnitas Pizza, or a Pastrami Cheesesteak—each one tastes like it’s his specialty. Come for Sunday brunch and have a Juicy Jay Chicken Breakfast Biscuit or a Carnitas Breakfast Pizza with mimosa flights or a lineup of brunch cocktails. Chef Gene changes his menus regularly, though, so certain dishes come and go. But everything he cooks pairs well with a can of Juicy Jay on the patio.

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR A FULL DIRECTORY OF RESTAURANT LISTINGS.

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COURTESY LEGION/@FINICKYLADY (2); KENTY CHUNG (@KENTY_EATS)

Raising the Bar on Bar Food

44 MILLS KITCHEN & TAP

6189 Bayfield Pkwy.

704-787-9655 Behind the bar is an Oktober can seamer, which seals 32-ounce craft cans—or crowlers—straight from the tap, and a custom beer tower with 16 taps. Order a burger or entréesized salad if you’re really hungry; if you prefer to graze, get an assortment of small plates and “bar snackage” like fried pickles and mini-ham biscuits.

ACE NO. 3

1001 Belmont Ave. 704-910-2200 The counter-service burger joint from the team behind Sea Level and the Waterman offers a straightforward menu of burgers, fries, and shakes. Visit additional locations in Concord Mills and Myers Park.

BREWERS AT 4001 YANCEY

4001-A, Yancey Rd. 704-452-4001 Executive chef Drew Ward uses beer as an ingredient, from a pilsner-infused cheese sauce for the Victory Pretzel to the Hop Devil mustard on the Brewhouse Burger.

COMMON MARKET

2007 Commonwealth Ave. 704-334-6209 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.

COWBELL BURGER & BAR

201 N. Tryon St., Ste. 1010 980-224-8674 The sister restaurant to Leroy Fox has a trendy, pop culture vibe and a roster of fancy burgers including a foie grastopped masterpiece for $20.

DILWORTH NEIGHBORHOOD GRILLE

911 E. Morehead St. 704-377-3808 This wood-paneled, two-level sports bar is the place to take your family for no-frills burgers, wings, and beer on game day.

DIVINE BARREL BREWING

3701 N. Davidson St., Ste. 203 980-237-1803 The Sidekick CLT food truck has a permanent spot here, with personal pizza pies like You've Been Meatballed, High-waiian, and Ricky Ricotta.

THE EAGLE FOOD & BEER HALL

2120 South Blvd., Ste. 1 704-780-1570 Choose from over 100 craft beers and

feast on fried chicken with a side of house made hot honey, plus comfort food sides like mac and cheese, collards, and hush puppies.

ED’S TAVERN

2200 Park Rd. 704-335-0033 This Dilworth mainstay has drink specials every night of the week—stop by for $4 on Tuesdays, $15 Bud Light buckets on Sundays, or choose from 32 taps of regional craft beer. Order some jumbo wings or $3 tacos and find your game on one of over 30 big screen TVs.

FAT CAT BURGERS + BAKESHOP

2410 Park Rd. 704-372-2009 Owner Fran Scibelli reimagined the former Fran’s Filling Station to include burgers, fried chicken, and a walk-up window that serves handmade donuts.

FENWICK’S

511 Providence Rd. 704-333-2750 This Myers Park mainstay has served consistently good sandwiches, burgers, and salads since the 1980s.

FLATIRON KITCHEN + TAPHOUSE

215 S. Main St., Davidson 704-237-3246 High-quality steaks are a given here, but the seafood and vegetables are treated with the same respect.

HEIST BREWERY

2909 N. Davidson St. #200 704-375-8260 A slew of flatbreads, burgers, wraps, and hearty appetizers like the Chipotle Chicken Nachos dominate this menu.

(The brunch buffet is also a Best of the Best Award winner.)

JACKBEAGLE’S

3213 N. Davidson St. 704-334-5140 Order a cold beer and munch on unconventional bar bites like mac and blue cheese with bacon.

LEBOWSKI’S NEIGHBORHOOD GRILL

1524 East Blvd.

704-370-1177 Grab a stool at the bar and order a burger, brat, or the popular “Beef on Weck.” Enjoy it with a local brew—or one of six House White Russians.

LEROY FOX

705 S. Sharon Amity Rd. 704-366-3232 Come to this casual eatery for fried chicken and upscale pub grub, or snack on some pretzel bites and zucchini fries

with a beer on game day. An additional location is in South End.

MAC’S SPEED SHOP

2511 South Blvd.

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

MOO & BREW

1300 Central Ave. 980-585-4148 Come for a cold beer and burgers loaded with bacon, chili, and beer, and brew-braised ‘shrooms.

THE OLDE MECKLENBURG BREWERY

4150 Yancey Rd. 704-525-5655 Don't know which kind of sausage to get? (Smoked Baurenwurst? Gyulai?

Jalapeno Cheddar Bratwurst?) Get the sampler. The Bavarian-Style Pretzel is also a favorite.

PIEDMONT SOCIAL HOUSE

2135 Ayrsley Town Blvd., Ste. C 704-912-5160 Order a craft beer, cocktail, or boozy slushie and play a few rounds of pool, foosball, or yard yahtzee. Celebrate your win with some pretzel dippers, wings, or meatball sliders.

PINKY’S WESTSIDE GRILL

1600 W. Morehead St. 704-332-0402 Housed in an old auto shop, this funky spot serves loaded burgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches alongside $6 pints and $18 pitchers.

PROTAGONIST SOUTH END

227 Southside Dr. 980-209-0735 Pizza sizes range from 16 to 28 inches.

Like the beer, they're named after protagonists, like the Lando Calrissian (with pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, and veggies).

PROVIDENCE ROAD SUNDRIES

1522 Providence Rd. 704-366-4467 Classic bar food and friendly service have made this a beloved neighborhood hangout since 1933.

ROCKSALT

512 Brandywine Rd. 704-503-9945 Grab a table on the patio and enjoy the daily catch or fresh oysters from the raw bar.

ROOM AND BOARD

3228 N. Davidson St. 980-430-3136 Inside a two-story Victorian home and former boarding house, have your choice of sandwiches, burgers, and wings, or come for Sunday brunch and get a “hangover pizza.”

SALUD CERVECERIA

3306-C N. Davidson St. 980-495-6612 These sandwiches and wood-fired pizzas include the Stankonia (one of several OutKast references): red sauce, Parmesan, brussel sprouts, burrata, prosciutto, sea-salt, and pepper.

SIR EDMOND HALLEY’S

4151 Park Rd., Ste. A 704-525-7775 This British pub, named for the astronomer and mathematician, serves a menu of hearty dishes like chili, meatloaf, and fish and chips until 2 a.m.

SOUTHBOUND

2433 South Blvd.

704-912-1889 The breezy vibes and bright flavors at this taco joint call for a Pacifico or a margarita.

THE SUFFOLK PUNCH

2911 Griffith St., Ste. A 704-319-8650 The Suffolk Punch does a lot of everything: food, beer, cocktails, wine, coffee, and more. For eats, the shareables menu has Tuna Nachos and Kung Pao Wings, with mains that include Shrimp Po' Boy Tacos and Fish & Chips.

TOWN BREWING COMPANY

800 Grandin Rd. 980-237-8628 New word for you: Brachos. That’s Town's cider-braised bratwurst, with black beans, corn salsa, and aioli on corn tortillas. (The Pigs in a Blanket are tasty, too.)

WOODEN ROBOT BREWERY

1440 S Tryon St. #110 980-819-7875 Twisted Eats is the resident kitchen inside Wooden Robot's first location in South End. Highlights: Boozy BBQ Chicken Wonton Nachos and the Kre8 Kuban.

THE WORKMAN’S FRIEND

1531 Central Ave. 980-224-8234 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.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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By CARROLL R. WALTON

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

BIG

NOLICHUCKYJAKE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Charlotte’s new Major League Soccer team has slogged through COVID, indignation over ticket prices, and other complications before it’s built a roster, much less played its first match. Team officials say they expect a packed stadium for first kick anyway

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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you wonder whether Charlotte is ready for Major League Soccer, consider this: Charlotte Football Club, the fledgling franchise that will kick off next spring, has weathered a pandemic, a yearlong delay, and a ticket pricing backlash. Yet team officials hope—no, expect—to set an MLS attendance record for its opening match next March.

“Our expectation is crystal-clear,” Charlotte FC President Nick Kelly tells me by phone in May. “We want to be 74,000-plus. We can do that at Bank of America Stadium. We think if we can create a first game with 74,000-plus Charlotte and Carolina soccer fans, that’ll set the precedent of what to expect for the remainder of the year.”

Bank of America seats 75,000 for Carolina Panthers games. While it’ll typically be configured to seat 38,000 in the lower bowl for soccer, and the team expects most games to draw about 30,000 fans, Charlotte FC aims to fill the upper deck for “first kick” in 2022. So much for tempering expectations in financially tenuous times.

“Given the capacity of Bank of America Stadium, the demand we’ve seen since our club’s announcement, and the chance to be a part of the first MLS match ever for Charlotte FC leads us to believe this is an attainable target,” Kelly says. “A lofty one, but attainable.”

The FC draws much of its confidence from the success of its future rival to the southwest, Atlanta United, which

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owns the attendance record Charlotte FC is trying to break: 73,019 for a 2018 playoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The United has maintained one of MLS’ most ardent fan bases since its debut season in 2017. The United made the playoffs that year and won the MLS Cup in 2018, and the team is considered the gold standard for MLS expansion success. Charlotte shares not just a rivalry but a similar Southern sensibility, a booming young professional class, and a growing international influence. “If we’re not looking at them,” Kelly says, “we’re not setting the right standard.”

But Charlotte FC entered the league under circumstances Atlanta United

didn’t face. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper paid a record expansion fee of $325 million to secure the 30th MLS franchise, announced in December 2019. A few months later came the COVID lockdown, a burden for all pro sports franchises but especially onerous for one just getting started. “We got stuck with one of the hardest challenges probably in professional sports,” Kelly says.

Of course, COVID and economic hardship landed heavily on Charlotte FC’s potential fans, too—which caused concern and anger when they heard how much it might cost to attend the games.

Atlanta United set the MLS single-game attendance record on Dec. 8, 2018, when it defeated the Portland Timbers to win the MLS Cup before a crowd of 73,019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

COURTESY CHARLOTTE FC; JAMIE LAMOR THOMPSON / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

If

Nick Kelly, Charlotte FC President

COURTESY CHARLOTTE FC

THE CLUB HIRED KELLY, nationally known for his sports marketing work for Anheuser-Busch, in December 2020. Two months later, Charlotte FC announced it would require season ticket holders to buy personal seat licenses, or PSLs, in addition to some of the highest season ticket prices in MLS. The PSL, a one-time fee that ranges from $350-$900, is a first for an MLS franchise. With the PSL factored in, the per-game cost of an average season ticket is $54—highest in MLS. The prices stunned even some enthusiastic Charlotte soccer fans, especially considering the team’s own estimation of its fan base compared to the Panthers’: five times more likely to be between 18 and 34 years old and four times as likely to be Hispanic. The city’s Latino community comprises a large number of low- and working-class residents.

“The one thing that we basically made very clear to (disgruntled fans) was that we respect your opinion on the PSL,” Kelly says. “We hear you, but we’d still love to have you to a match.

If the season ticket model is not for you, we’re going to have affordable ways for every fan in the Carolinas to get in the building.” After a news

conference in late May, Kelly stressed that when single-game tickets go on sale—price range to be determined, as they hadn’t gone on sale as of this writing—that “we’ll be sure we price at a level that allows fans to attend a match in our inaugural season.”

Other fans say they understand the need for the team to balance affordability and profitability. “I get it, from a business perspective, why they would do PSLs, because they’ve got a product that people want to watch and buy into,” says David Gusler, president of Mint City Collective, a 2,000-member Charlotte FC supporters’ group. “If you have the ability to do that and get funding to invest back into the stadium, I get it. But then from a fan perspective, it’s not the most fan-friendly option when you already have a stadium built. It just doesn’t seem to rub some soccer fans very well.”

Gusler bought season tickets in the standing-room supporters’ section, which doesn’t require a PSL and averages $27 per game. So did Kristin Bobenage, a Panthers season ticket holder. “I feel like the (season) ticket prices are not overly expensive,” Bobenage says. “If you’re committed to going to every single match, then it

might be, but I feel like hopefully there are opportunities for it to be inexpensive just to fill some of the seats.”

Despite the pricing objections, Kelly says, a “very, very low number” of people asked for refunds of their season-ticket deposits, and many of those canceled because of relocation or COVID-related financial issues. Of the 10,000 deposits the team secured after the December 2019 announcement, Kelly says in May, more than half have converted to season tickets, and the club had “thousands” yet to contact. “We’re far exceeding where we thought we would be three months into ticket sales,” he says.

Far enough to draw a record crowd for the first game and 30,000 per match after that? Club officials are still working on that part. The team planned to build on initial demand over the summer with a marketing blitz it calls the For the Crown Tour, with initial stops at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend and the Carolina Country Music Festival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in midJune. “The purpose of the tour is to reach an audience that might not yet be engaged with our club,” Kelly says.

Charlotte FC plans to move its academy youth program from Manchester Meadows Park in Rock Hill, shown here during a 2020 U17 Academy match, to the old Eastland Mall site in Charlotte in 2022.

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RUSTY WILLIAMS; COURTESY CHARLOTTE FC

David Gusler (above), president of the Mint City Collective fan group, at the soccer-themed Courtyard Hooligans bar in Brevard Court. Collective members celebrated with Charlotte FC owner David Tepper (below, center) when he announced the team’s founding in December 2019.

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In the fall, the team plans to take advantage of $50 million in soccerspecific renovations at the stadium, which Panthers fans will see all season, not to mention Clemson and Georgia fans who’ll converge there for a college football game Sept. 4.

“It’ll be hard to miss,” Kelly says.

And as the FC builds its roster, players will join the campaign. “Oh, we’re going to wear out our players this fall,” he says. “They’ll be at every tailgate out there.”

FANS THRILLED with the announcement at the end of 2019 were surprised 10 months later when the team and city announced a change in location for the team headquarters.

When Tepper initially stood before a crowd and bank of cameras at the Mint Museum Uptown, he and team officials expected to house the headquarters at the longvacant Eastland Mall site, the hub of Charlotte’s east side and the heart of the city’s largest Latino community.

In October, though, the team revealed that it would locate its headquarters at the stadium and reserve part of the old mall site only for its elite Academy youth program, which practices at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill but expects to move to Eastland in July 2022. The main factor was the city’s hesitation to spend an estimated $110 million in public money to prepare the Eastland site and surrounding area for the headquarters; the revised plan requires only a $35 million public investment, $25 million of that amount for the city’s share of stadium improvements and construction around it. Kelly, who says Charlotte FC will be headquartered at the stadium “for the foreseeable future,” adds that the centralized location makes sense given the Panthers’ planned relocation of its headquarters to Rock Hill, South Carolina, in summer 2023.

“We’re going to take a lot of the practice fields, the Atrium Dome (indoor practice facility), even the weight room, and convert it over to

be soccer-specific,” he says. “Literally overnight, we would be able to turn this into one of the best soccer facilities in the world … even when you start looking over in Europe. Our practice facility would be in uptown. Our headquarters would be in uptown.

We’re not in a suburb coming in town for a soccer match. For a lot of these international players to have the ability to live, play, work, all within an uptown, South End type of lifestyle, is an extremely attractive option when we’re recruiting talent to come here.”

The switch turned out to be less of a concern for many in Charlotte’s Latino community than ticket prices.

“There were mixed feelings about (the headquarters) anyway,” says José Hernández-Paris, the executive director of the Latin American Coalition.

to the city. I think people are finding that it’s an opportunity to connect to Charlotte and to have the pride of being a Charlottean, particularly in a sport like soccer, which is so ingrained in our culture.”

Even with the team’s uptown location and the extensive renovations to accommodate soccer—including a new synthetic-turf field to replace the natural surface the stadium has sported since its opening in 1996— some city officials expect Tepper and his organization, Tepper Sports and Entertainment, to eventually come back to the city for more public investment.

“We had intentions of having a big discussion on everything all at once: Eastland, soccer, headquarters, football, and an entertainment district around the stadium,” says Tariq Bokhari, a Republican who chairs the City Council’s workforce and business development committee. “COVID happened, other things happened, and we had a smaller initial discussion. We know that there are other discussions that likely have to still be had.”

Still, Bokhari, as the representative for District 6 in south Charlotte and a soccer dad to three young children, says he sees MLS as a great opportunity for the city. For him, the vision crystallized when he toured Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with his fellow council members in 2018.

“What we learned primarily on that Atlanta trip—and why they had such drastic success so quickly—was the deep connection and leveraging of the fan base,” Bokhari says.

“Getting that excitement roaring hot and allowing that to fuel them going on this dominant journey where they control the airwaves, they control the ratings, and they won the championship. … I walked away from that knowing that the key to success or failure lies within the fan base.”

Literally overnight, we would be able to turn this into one of the best soccer facilities in the world.

—NICK KELLY

The LAC is Charlotte’s most prominent Latino advocacy organization, and Hernández-Paris’ office is 1,000 feet from the Eastland site. “I’ve been to training sites in other countries, and I’ve seen the training. ... It’s a large field with a fence. I’m not sure what impact that would have on the community surrounding it.”

On the whole, he says, the Latino community eagerly awaits the first season.

“I didn’t really expect the community to be as excited as I’ve seen it—to be able to support a local team,” Hernández-Paris says. “Many people in the community have made Charlotte home, and it’s very traditional in most of Latin America that each city has their own team that symbolizes a pride or a connection

CARROLL R. WALTON, a former sportswriter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a freelance writer in Charlotte. Senior editor Greg Lacour contributed.

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RUSTY WILLIAMS

S O

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After a quarter-century with grass fields, Bank of America Stadium has switched to synthetic turf—material with a long and consequential history that started in North Carolina

BY GREG LACOUR

D S A N D

E N D S

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Athletes have trod on natural grass at Bank of America Stadium since it opened in 1996. Crews began to remove it In May for a new FieldTurf surface.

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IN SPRING, when Tepper Sports was ready to make the change, the stadium’s head groundskeeper, Tom Vaughan, reached out to the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department and its director, Lee Jones. “We were contacted by the Panthers,” Jones says in May, “who said, ‘We’ve got all this dirt. Can you use it?’”

They could. Over the summer, crews moved 300 truckloads—4,000 cubic yards—of turf millings and root zone sand to six Park and Rec properties: Winget, Reedy Creek, and Veterans parks, plus the First Tee of Pineville golf driving range, Ramblewood Soccer Complex, and Sportsplex at Matthews. The old stadium turf will improve some old fields that “are a little bit worn down,” Jones says, and level or crown some uneven areas for better drainage. “And it’s top-quality soil,” says Jones, who’s worked for Park and Rec since 2004. “If you’ve ever been to that stadium, you know how beautiful that field is.”

Jones has been numerous times over 17 years, and the sentimental side of him will always prefer grass. His practical side understands the switch, and if it means beautifully maintained, donated turf for his department, he’s willing to cast sentiment aside. “Being a Panthers fan, I mean, grass is great, but when it's wet and muddy, it's wet and muddy, and that influences play,” he says. “With the synthetic turf they have now, you can get a lot better control, and you don't worry about people getting friction burns and things along those lines.”

Perhaps it was meant to be.

The Panthers and Park and Rec have worked together on other projects, and a former Park and Rec employee works for the Panthers as director of community relations.

His name? Riley Fields.

COURTESY CAROLINA PANTHERS; SHUTTERSTOCK

B

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, the grass field at Bank of America Stadium—a consistent feature since the stadium opened in 1996—should be long gone. Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and his organization, Tepper Sports & Entertainment, decided this spring to replace the natural surface with synthetic FieldTurf, which five other NFL stadiums use.

The main reason: cost. Grass fields are far more difficult and expensive to maintain. Under Tepper’s ownership, the stadium will host not only the Panthers and at least three college football games per season but Major League Soccer—whose new Charlotte MLS team Tepper also owns—plus high school games and concerts. The new field is part of a $50 million stadium renovation for soccer, paid for equally by Tepper Sports and the city.

“With two major professional sports franchises using Bank of America Stadium, and more events upcoming, having a natural grass surface is going to be a heavy lift,” Tepper Sports Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Hart said in April.

“We believe a synthetic surface provides the best solution.”

If you’re a casual sports fan, this might seem like an insignificant switch. You care about the games. What difference does it make what kind of field they’re played on? But teams and their players care—a lot—and fake grass has a six-decade history that contains surprises for all but the most turf-obsessed: a scientist in Raleigh who led the team that invented it; some truly dreadful injuries; things called “rubber crumbs”; and, in Charlotte’s case, a uniquely turf-related exercise in recycling.

Let’s run some sprints.

A 4,000-CubicYard Gift

BofA Stadium’s Worst Moment UNTIL THE LATE 1990S, artificial turf fields were essentially nylon fibers over a layer of foam rubber over concrete, which led to severe lower-body injuries and cumulative damage to ankles and knees among players, especially in football, even when they avoided injury. The worst turf-related injury happened in 1993, when Chicago Bears receiver Wendell Davis ruptured both patella tendons on the field at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. “The way I moved that day, I think my injury could have happened on grass,” Davis, who never played again, later told Sports Illustrated. “But I will say that was a very hard surface. No cushion at all.”

Davis’ injury helped push manufacturers like FieldTurf, the company that manufactures the new Bank of America Stadium surface, to develop more advanced systems, generally referred to as “third-generation” fields. The fibers are softer, more like grass, and rest atop sand and small rubber pellets—“rubber crumbs”—that help with drainage and provide a softer cushion that curbs the risk of injury.

The fields are easier to maintain, too, which would prevent a repeat of Bank of America Stadium’s most embarrassing moment: On Sept. 30, 2001, when it was still called Ericsson Stadium, large chunks of the grass field came up during the Panthers’ game against the Green Bay Packers.

The culprit turned out to be an overly thin, sand-based sod that failed to grow in cooler-thanaverage weather that September. It didn’t help that the Panthers lost, 28-7, en route to a 1-15 season, their worst ever.

The field’s most embarrassing moment came Sept. 30, 2001, when sod came up in chunks during the Panthers’ game against the Green Bay Packers, including defensive tackle Jim Flanigan (above). The Panthers lost 28-7.

BOB ROSATO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED VIA GETTY IMAGES; SHUTTERSTOCK

At the Root IT’S ODD THAT THE CAROLINAS’ only stadium for professional football took so long to install artificial turf, considering the stuff was developed nearly 60 years ago and just a twoand-a-half-hour drive to the east.

The Research Triangle Park in Raleigh was founded in 1959. A year later, the Alabama-based synthetic fiber manufacturer Chemstrand moved its research operations to the RTP and became the park’s first corporate tenant. One of the company officials who led the move was its vice president of new product research, Dr. David Webb Chaney.

Chaney worked in textiles, specifically synthetic fibers; he’d helped develop nylon parachute cords during World War II. During the next war, in Korea, military officers noticed that troops from the rapidly growing postwar cities seemed to be less physically fit than their counterparts from the farm. They and others thought more durable playing surfaces in city playgrounds and schoolyards might help. In 1962, the Ford Foundation offered money for research on synthetic grass to use on urban playing fields. Two years later, a Chaney-led

Chemstrand team developed ChemGrass, the first artificial turf, which was installed at a private school in Providence, Rhode Island.

But it never took root (sorry) in city centers.

It was too expensive. Entities like professional sports teams had more money. In 1965, the city of Houston unveiled another technological marvel of the Space Age: the Harris County Domed Stadium, the first of its kind in the world. Houston had a Major League Baseball team, the Colt .45s, that would play there. Did we mention space? What else was in Houston?

NASA. The Colt .45s were renamed the Astros.

The stadium was renamed the Astrodome.

Play ball.

Except … the new dome had a glass roof, which admitted sunlight for the natural-grass field. Outfielders would lose sight of fly balls in the glare. Stadium management painted it over, which meant they needed a replacement for the grass. They turned to Chemstrand and ChemGrass, which was installed in 1966 and quickly acquired a new brand name: AstroTurf.

SI later referred to Chaney as the man “responsible for indoor major league baseball

and millions of welcome mats.” But AstroTurf wasn’t an accomplishment he discussed much, his son, Dr. Steve Chaney of Chapel Hill, tells me by phone in May. “He was somebody I always really admired because he was obviously very smart, but he was gentle. He wasn’t arrogant,” says Steve Chaney, 77, a retired professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UNC Chapel Hill. “He didn't talk a whole lot about what he did at work.”

The elder Chaney later served as dean of N.C. State University’s College of Textiles—where he oversaw the establishment of the country’s first doctorate in fiber and polymer science— from 1967 to 1981. He died at 88 in 2004, and Steve Chaney tells me his father never thought of himself as the man behind the invention of AstroTurf. He was much prouder of another project he worked on at Chemstrand—the development of an artificial heart valve.

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By ANDY

SMITH

LOGAN CYRUS

ANYBODY’S GAME 54

It wasn’t just a building year for the Charlotte Hornets. The fan base expanded and evolved, too, even with the frustrations of (at first) an empty Spectrum Center and (later) postseason hopes dashed. But the bandwagon is tuned up and ready for passengers

The Hornets Fan Shop’s January 2021 sales were more than quadruple those of January 2020—and fan purchases of LaMelo Ball jerseys were a big part of the reason.

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I’M SURPRISED TO HEAR that Evan Kent doesn’t mind bandwagon fans. He is, after all, one of the most well-known diehards in the Hornets community. “Hey, if that’s what it takes,” says the 29-year-old cofounder of Bring Back the Buzz, a Hornets fan group with nearly 75,000 followers across its social platforms. “I’d rather be in an arena full of thousands that are Spectrum Center public address announcer Patrick “Big Pat” Doughty, a courtside fixture for 17 years. half-bandwagon but create a great environment than sitting by myself like I used to be.”

The 52-year-old Maryland native has manned the Kent, who works in the Bojangles marketing departmic at NBA games in Charlotte for 17 years. He was at ment by day, co-founded the group with his brother, Scotty, in 2011. When they started, Evan was a student at that courtside table during all of the touchstones of the Appalachian State while Scotty, now head of marketing Hornets’ post-2000 story: Michael Jordan’s 2010 acquisifor Hoppin’ Brands, taught in Mecklenburg Area Catholic tion of the team; the return of the Hornets name after the first franchise relocated to New Orleans in 2002; the new Schools. The Charlotte natives have experienced the highfranchise’s decade as the Bobcats; and a few playoff runs. est points of the franchise (four appearances in the Eastern (Any Ric Flair appearances, he adds, are also a big deal at Conference semifinals) to the lowest (the Hornets had one of the league’s worst attendance records as recently as Spectrum Center.) No time was stranger than the three 2019-20). months when the public address announcer had no public

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COURTESY, CHARLOTTE HORNETS

N

INETEEN THOUSAND SEVENTY-SEVEN Spectrum Center seats sat empty during the first 20 home games of the Charlotte Hornets’ 2020-21 season. You and I know what it felt like outside. Inside?

“Cold,” arena PA announcer Patrick “Big Pat” Doughty says with a laugh. “Other than that, the only word I can think of is just … ‘different.’ Imagine going to a gym to watch a game, but there aren’t any bleachers and you’re just kind of standing there, alone.”

to address. The “exchange of energy” between announcer and crowd, Doughty says, is vital to the job. “Even when we’re not doing so well,” Doughty says during a May call, “they were always there, and they were always charged up.”

The only Hornets player left from Bobcats days is veteran center Cody Zeller. When we spoke via Zoom in February, Zeller said he longed to see fans in the seats. “There’s been a handful of games where we’re walking off the court, looking at each other, and saying, ‘Man, imagine how good the crowd would have been tonight,’” he said. “Especially with our big wins over teams like the Nets and Bucks.”

They got their wish in March, when relaxed statewide COVID restrictions allowed crowds of nearly 3,000, then 5,000, at Spectrum Center. You might expect that the 12 months between the March 2020 shutdown and the March 2021 reopening was a dormant period, when the team lost fans. But the base only grew, fan groups say; streaming numbers for televised Hornets games soared; and the Hornets Fan Shop saw record sales.

Lukewarm toward its NBA franchise since the 1990s, fans’ passion has heated up.

It’s not just a case of the heart growing fonder during lockdown. The Hornets had their best season since a first-round playoff loss in 2016. At the center of the fan boom is a burgeoning superstar in LaMelo Ball, an exponentially growing city, and a foundation of role-players that analysts say is a springboard for future success. But how do longtime fans feel about the new bandwagoners, and how do they plan to capitalize on the momentum before it dissipates again?

COURTESY, CHARLOTTE HORNETS; LOGAN CYRUS

Statewide COVID restrictions relaxed in March, and fans (left) returned to what had been an empty arena. Scotty Kent (above), a co-founder of the fan group Bring Back the Buzz, chats with fellow fans at Pinhouse in Plaza Midwood.

The Kents’ initial grassroots mission was to simply restore the Hornets name. The original Hornets team, which began play in 1988, was owned by local businessman George Shinn. For years, as the only pro sports team in town until the Carolina Panthers’ inaugural season in 1995, the Hornets were one of the NBA’s top attractions, and Shinn was a civic hero. That turned 180 degrees in the late 1990s, when Shinn was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit; the trial in 1999 drew record viewership on Court TV. A jury eventually found Shinn not liable. But he had to admit to infidelity during his testimony, and the stain to his reputation in an image-conscious Bible Belt city compelled him to move the franchise to New Orleans three years later. Charlotte got a replacement team in 2004 in then-owner Bob Johnson’s Bobcats—complete with a cool new mascot with bright-orange fur and sunglasses— and a new uptown arena that opened the next year.

Rufus D. Lynx struggled to live up to the iconic status of Hugo the Hornet. When the New Orleans Hornets eventually rebranded to the Pelicans in 2013, it paved the way for Charlotte to reclaim the Hornets name, plus the team’s history, branding, and records between ’88 and ’02. The Kents’ campaign proved fan interest: Co-signers included their tens of thousands of followers, Hornets legend and original squad member Muggsy Bogues, and the media stories about Bring Back the Buzz.

So the buzz was brought back. What next? From that point, Evan and Scotty pivoted the group from grassroots campaign to fan organization. They started a podcast named Shootin’ The Shot! and collaborated with brewers at Unknown Brewing Co. on Buzzed City, a Hornets-themed American pale ale. And during every game, home or away,

they trade off on commentary on the @BringBacktheBuz Twitter account. “We’ve been seen as either huge homers or way too cynical,” Scotty says, “so that told us we’re doing something right. But people have always come to us for our honesty, and that’s why they’ve stuck around.”

Maintaining that community engagement was the short-term plan. The long-term vision for Bring Back the Buzz, spurred by the most exciting player of a generation in Charlotte, involves another fan base entirely.

A MASKED CHILD—wearing a #2 Hornets jersey over a black hoodie—stands and points toward the court: “There he is!”

A few yards away, the 6-foot-6-inch rookie slings one of his impossible passes across the court and directly into the hands of P.J. Washington, who hits the 3. The March 15 crowd produces an impressive roar for just 2,861, and it’s loudest during Ball’s 25 minutes of playing time against the Sacramento Kings. Fans missed the in-person December debut of 19-year-old Ball, the 2021 NBA Rookie of the Year and the youngest player ever to record a triple-double. Ball, already successul overseas and the youngest son of highprofile businessman LaVar Ball, had millions of followers before he set foot in the Queen City.

An in-person Ball sighting is a rare thing at this point in the season, and among the sea of jerseys, his #2 City Edition is the clear favorite in this crowd. Demand for a Ball jersey is part of the reason the Hornets Fan Shop’s sales in January 2021 were up 414% from January 2020— more than doubling the revenue of January 2014, the previous record-holder. This year, Ball’s play contributed AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

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to a sharp rise in TV viewership after the 2019 departure of former star Kemba Walker in free agency had cut it in half, the Charlotte Business Journal reported.

Ball also embodies one reality of fanhood in 2021.

Traditionally, fans follow teams. Today, a growing number of fans follow individual players. Columnists from media outlets like ESPN and Bleacher Report decry the trend and say player-centered fanhood isn’t real fanhood. But it’s the reality of a time when every professional athlete has his or her own social media account—and can use that platform to divide or unite the public against the franchise.

Meanwhile, fantasy sports, a multibillion-dollar industry, incentivize a focus on individual pros.

A player is one of multiple entry points into sports fan bases today, joined recently by NFTs and a trading card market that boomed during the pandemic. Anecdotally, plenty of newfound fans are like me: a transplant from a rural community with no professional teams. Only 41% of people in Charlotte are native North Carolinians, whereas an average of 58% of Americans live in their home state.

This city is ripe for bandwagoners.

Big Pat felt the phenomenon of Ball from crowd reactions. “That first game back, the team ran out,” Doughty says, emulating his game-time voice, “Here comes YOUR CHARLOTTE HORRR-NETS. … ’Melo must have been getting taped, because he came out last, and I started to hear this crescendo as he entered. Rah… rah… rah… and there he is: ’Melo comes out of the tunnel, and the crowd goes insane. I’ve only seen that happen for a few other players … LeBron, Wade, and M.J. when he enters the court for an event. ’Melo has taken a hold of this city.”

BRING BACK THE BUZZ’S RANKS have felt the LaMelo effect, too. A few years ago, the Kents noticed how their friends in Roaring Riot reacted to similar circumstances.

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The largest community of Panthers fans in the world took advantage of the energy that star quarterback Cam Newton and the Panthers’ 2015 Super Bowl run injected into the city. Founded in 2008, it’s the elder statesman of Charlotte fan groups: Its travels with the team include trips as far away as London.

“Now we have LaMelo,” Evan says, “and he’s our Cam. We feel like we’re building a culture, and success is on the way. Some people are following us just because of him, but I think we have to be open to that growth no matter how we get it. We’re a young city that’s a transplant-grown place. Young people are moving here, and they’re starting to have kids. And that’s what is needed to build a strong Hornets following for the future. We’ve had all of this stuff happen here, with the team going away and coming back, and now it’s time to invest.”

Roaring Riot leaders Zack Luttrell and Josh Klein noticed the parallels, too, and the four hatched a plan to rebrand Bring Back the Buzz as a fan organization called the Crown Club later this summer. The new group will build on the community the Kents have fostered over the last decade, offering more local events and coordinating travel to away games, as Roaring Riot has done for Panthers road games.

Evan says to not be surprised if Roaring Riot and Crown Club team up for events, too.

“But what we really want is a new club-camaraderie atmosphere in Charlotte,” Scotty says. “Why the hell can’t the NBA be like football, as a tight-knit community? We obviously cared enough to help get our city’s team to rebrand. Now we want to create the biggest community we can and get to know each outside of these platforms.

I want to get to know their families and build this future together. Part of that is letting everyone know they’re welcome, no matter how they got here.”

ANDY SMITH is executive editor of this magazine.

LOGAN CYRUS

Brothers and Bring Back the Buzz co-founders Evan and Scotty Kent.

IN MEMORIAM

Longtime journalists David T. Foster III and Rick Bonnell chronicled Charlotte sports’ emergence into the big leagues

BY GREG LACOUR

COURTESY; TODD SUMLIN/CHUCK BURTON

Spectrum Center paid tribute (above) in June to Rick Bonnell, The Charlotte Observer’s longtime NBA reporter, after Bonnell’s sudden death. David “Frosty” Foster III (center), shown here at Bank of America Stadium in 2016 with fellow Observer photographers Todd Sumlin (left) and Jeff Siner (right), was a renowned live sports photographer who died unexpectedly in late May.

AS WE PREPARED this sports-themed issue, we learned of the deaths of two men whose photos and words told much of Charlotte’s sports story over decades at The Charlotte Observer.

Photographer David Foster III, a 28-year veteran known for his skill at shooting live sports, was found dead in his home May 24. Eight days later, so was Rick Bonnell. He was the paper’s lead NBA reporter over 33 years, covering the Charlotte Hornets (and Bobcats) from the beginning of their first season in 1988-89.

“Those were guys who were the first draft of history for Charlotte sports in a lot of ways,” says Mike Persinger, who worked closely with both for 31 years—the last 18 as sports editor—until his departure from the paper in 2019. “I mean, Charlotte became a true major-league city with the Hornets.

Rick Bonnell started chronicling that, and he did it all the way through, and David Foster shot so many Hornets games, so many Panthers games.”

Although he occasionally wrote about other sports, Bonnell, who was 63, was one of the longest-tenured and most respected journalists who covered the NBA. A fixture at the Observer since 1987, he was one of the few reporters Michael Jordan would call or text back. “He prided himself on being fair and honest in his reporting, and I truly respected that about him,” Jordan said in a statement. ESPN’s NBA show, The Jump, and TNT’s Inside the NBA aired segments that memorialized Bonnell. Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum, a former Hornet whose story about witnessing his father’s on-court death in 1991 Bonnell told in the Observer last year, began his comments after a playoff game in June with a tribute to his memory. “He’s the best,” Batum said. “I want everyone to know that I’m going to miss him.”

Foster, known as Frosty, was a burly and usually reserved man who would open up once you got to know him, especially when conversation turned to his beloved UNC Tar Heels. He belonged to a close-knit photography staff, which he joined in 1993. “With layoffs and attrition over the years, the photo staff went from 22 (1997) to just six in 2017. This only brought us closer,” his longtime friend and colleague Todd Sumlin wrote in an email. “Of the last five male photographers (myself, John Simmons, Davie Hinshaw, Jeff Siner, and Frosty), none of us had brothers. We were the closest thing to actual brothers any of us ever had, so it was a real gut-punch to lose our baby brother, David (the youngest of us).” Foster was 52.

Both men appeared to have died of natural causes. “It’s obviously difficult for the entire Observer family. Anybody who has been around either of them has a special place for those two people,” Persinger says. “And for both of them to die in such a shocking fashion, in such close succession, leaves you a little breathless.”

GREG LACOUR is the senior editor of this magazine.

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Charlotte’s

fight future over its

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The city hasn’t adopted a comprehensive plan—a document that determines who can build what where, and who can afford to live there—since 1975.

City planners have worked on a draft for three years. Recently, they presented it to the City Council, and all hell broke loose.

Can the council get it together? What would it mean if they can’t?

By ELY PORTILLO

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Braxton Winston was frustrated about procedures for debating the nearly 320-page document, but his comment encapsulated a broader point. Three years after the city Planning Department launched its effort to craft a citywide comprehensive plan, Charlotte’s first in nearly a half-century, its big questions are far from settled—and there’s still plenty of opposition to many of its central ideas, from doing away with single-family-only zoning to requiring developers to pay for community benefits when they build.

The new plan—and detailed rules in a unified development ordinance that council members are expected to adopt in spring 2022—would guide Charlotte’s growth for the next 20 years. As the city limps toward the finish line in its yearslong effort to create it, no one’s quite sure where it would take us, or whether City Council members will approve a plan at all. City staff have worked on them since 2018, overseen by the City Council—although two successive councils have struggled to understand the process. If council members fail to adopt a new plan, or adopt a watered-down version, it would signal a stark choice: continued reliance on a long heritage of deal-making and one-off developments instead of a shared vision for our future.

Land use fights are never just about what gets built where, as shown in the history of urban renewal, redlining, and deed restrictions that barred Black people from Charlotte’s premier neighborhoods. Most Americans have an entrenched belief in the primacy of homeownership. Questions about who gets to live in different neighborhoods touch on race, class, and wealth—combustible subjects in today’s political tinderbox, or any era’s. As Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles put it to bickering council members during one meeting, the questions boil down to: “What is our American dream for Charlotte?”

Already steeped in technicalities, the plan’s creation was slowed by the endless rounds of “Hey-you’re-muted” Zoom meetings that defined life in 2020. And despite Lyles’ attempt to clarify the discussion, the controversy over the 2040 plan sounds at times like a half-dozen different debates happening at once, with participants talking past each other about everything from whether east Charlotte has enough sidewalks to historic patterns of segregation, from socialism to street parking.

The 2040 plan sets forth simple, overarching themes for how Charlotte—a city with roughly the same land area but a tenth of the population density of New York The proposed plan created a sharp divide between two groups of City Council members. Braxton Winston (far left) is among its most vocal advocates.

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City—should grow: Cultivate denser neighborhoods with more amenities like parks and grocery stores within walking distance. Sprinkle duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes among our oceans of single-family subdivisions. Promote more coordinated development, especially around transit lines, with less unplanned, car-dependent sprawl.

“On their own basis, they sound like God, motherhood, and apple pie,” says Rick Judson, a homebuilder and chairman of the Charlotte-based Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition. “A vision is a little easier to agree upon. It’s the details that become devilish.”

Developers like Judson fervently oppose measures the plan recommends, like mandates that would require them to include a certain percentage of affordable units in new housing developments or pay impact fees to fund new infrastructure. Those would make homes more expensive in the middle of what is already a historic housing shortage that’s sent prices skyrocketing. Developers say growth would flee to surrounding counties with a lighter regulatory touch.

“There are unintended consequences,” Judson says. “When you start ratcheting up costs, someone’s just going to go to Union County.”

Supporters of the 2040 plan, however, say without such measures, Charlotte will never erase historic inequalities that have left the city deeply segregated and ranked last in the nation among major cities for economic mobility.

“This is about equity. This is about fairness. I would even go so far as to say this is about reparations,” says Ismaail Qaiyim, a core member of the Community Benefits Coalition, a group of neighborhood leaders who want the city to require developers to pay for local improvements. A west Charlotte native, Qaiyim says he’s tired of watching waves of gentrification crash over historically Black neighborhoods like Belmont and

COURTESY

ore than an hour into another marathon meeting this spring about Charlotte’s 2040 Vision Plan, an exasperated City Council member sighed and said, “I just don’t know what we’re doing here.”

need rezonings and special allowances to build anything else. By allowing duplexes and triplexes in most single-family neighborhoods, plan supporters say Charlotte will increase its housing supply, making homes cheaper and easing long-standing patterns of residential segregation. Many neighborhood groups, which typically oppose adding more density or rental housing, swiftly came out against that proposal, to no one’s surprise.

But the plan has also created unexpected alliances—and foes. Tony areas like Myers Park were joined by low-income neighborhoods in far east Charlotte, where leaders said they don’t have the roads, sidewalks, or transportation to absorb any more density. Then the affordable housing advocacy group Equitable Communities CLT joined REBIC to oppose the plan. Their reasoning was that loosening zoning restrictions could accelerate gentrification and displacement by giving developers more incentive to build high-priced duplexes to replace old rental housing in low-income neighborhoods.

Plenty of gentrification and dis—ISMAAIL QAIYIM placement already occurs in those neighborhoods. Still, the argument took hold among City Council members who rarely share a side on any issue. Democrats Victoria Watlington, Matt Newton, and Renee Johnson joined Republicans Ed Driggs and Tariq Bokhari in an unsuccessful attempt to remove the changes to single-familyonly zoning.

“This (plan) does exactly the opposite of what we’d like for it to do,” Watlington said at a recent City Council meeting. On Twitter, she compared the plan to urban renewal, the government policy of clearing so-called slums—in reality, established Black neighborhoods—that resulted in the wholesale demolition of uptown’s Brooklyn neighborhood and others in the 1960s and ’70s.

Meanwhile, assistant city manager and planning director Taiwo Jaiyeoba, who’s led the 2040 planning effort since his hiring in early 2018, and fellow assistant city manager Tracy Dodson, who leads the city’s economic development efforts, had a spat in memos that were leaked to Axios Charlotte in late May. Dodson, whom the city hired in 2018 after four years as a vice president at real estate development giant Lincoln Harris, wrote to Jaiyeoba that the plan could hurt the city’s economic development efforts. She suggested that the city table or even eliminate some of the plan’s controversial parts, like community benefit agreements. “The Plan doesn’t suggest strategy,” she wrote, “but rather snippets of thoughts randomly placed throughout the document on particular goals.” Jaiyeoba responded that council members had voted to support the plan’s ideas, though in some close votes, and questioned why Dodson hadn’t brought up her concerns earlier.

It’s extraordinary for two department leaders in the traditionally united front of the city administration to clash so openly. And the unusual alliances—Myers Park and east Charlotte, real estate lobbyists and an affordable housing group, Democratic and Republican council members—illustrate that local land use politics don’t necessarily follow the clean partisan divides we’re used to seeing at the national or even state levels.

“It is complex,” says the Rev. Ray McKinnon, a longtime affordable housing advocate and plan supporter. “I’m not surprised to see this hodgepodge of strange bedfellows.”

“We see there’s all this wealth. We know that all this money is coming here. It really comes down to who has had a voice in decision-making in Charlotte and who hasn’t.”

COURTESY

Cherry and replace small, largely rented ranch houses with huge arts-and-crafts style “bungalows” that sell for $500,000 or more.

“We see there’s all this wealth. We know that all this money is coming here,” he says. “It really comes down to who has had a voice in decision-making in Charlotte and who hasn’t.”

FIGHTS BETWEEN DEVELOPERS and community activists over who should pay for growth or accommodate affordable housing are common at the City Council’s monthly rezoning meetings, where those questions are fought over on a development-by-development, neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.

But the 2040 plan has brought up different conflicts and new alliances— especially around the elimination of single-family zoning.

Most of Charlotte—84% of the residential land, according to a New York Times analysis—is zoned exclusively for singlefamily, detached houses. Developers

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N. CHARLOTTE

VILLA HTS.

MIDWOOD

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LOCKWOOD BELMONT

CHANTILLY GREENVILLE N. TRYON ST.

FIRST WARD

BIDDLEVILLE

SEVERSVILLE

THIRD WARD

S. TRYON ST.

W. TRADE ST.

ELIZABETH ROSEMONT COLONIAL HEIGHTS

E. TRADE ST.

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EASTOVER CHERRY

WESLEY HEIGHTS MYERS PARK

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The Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), a New Deal-era federal agency, assessed credit risk in the neighborhoods of American cities along racial lines; parts of town where Black people lived (in pink above) were judged high-risk, which made it almost impossible for residents to secure mortgage loans. The practice, known as “redlining,” laid a template for racial segregation and disparate land values in Charlotte and other cities that persists to this day.

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WILMORE

TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE GOT HERE, rewind to 1975: before the city’s skyline sprouted a bumper crop of skyscrapers, before Charlotte ate up most of Mecklenburg County through annexation, before Ballantyne and Steele Creek and most of University City were anything more than fields, farms, and woods.

The city’s population and land area were barely more than a quarter what they are now. The Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Blue Line, and Bank of America headquarters were all decades away.

That was also the year Charlotte adopted its most recent citywide comprehensive plan.

Soon, Charlotte outgrew the plan meant to guide its growth. It became the nation’s 15th-largest city as it picked up the “world-class” signifiers that boosters hungered for. Along the way, it swelled, pushed against its borders, and annexed more land, growing like a tree that adds new rings each year. So city planners drew up a growing thicket of new rules, regulations, and visions: dozens of nonbinding “small area plans” for different neighborhoods; a zoning code that sprawls over roughly 1,000 pages; and separate regulations for everything from sidewalks to stormwater, trees to subdivision streets, floodplains to driveways.

Sometimes the regulations worked together; sometimes they didn’t.

Charlotte learned to be a deal-making town, with developers, city planners, attorneys, neighborhood activists, and elected leaders haggling over what should be allowed where. OK, we’ll let you build those apartments if you pay for a wider sidewalk and trim the total number of units a bit. Deal. We’ll pay for some new streets and other infrastructure at your new development if you include a few dozen affordable housing units. Deal. Charlotte was a city where men—and they were almost all men—like Johnny Harris, John Crosland, and Allen Tate shaped more than the skyline and the sprawling neighborhoods and office parks they built.

They shaped the politics and the ethos, as generations learned to make Charlotte’s ad hoc and sometimes creaky development rules work for them.

Messy and imperfect though it was, those decades of freewheeling growth and deal-making built the city we have

today. But that heritage makes it harder to agree on a new plan than it would have been if we hadn’t waited 45 years.

“Ultimately, the city is paying the price for going decades without a decent comprehensive plan,” David Walters says. An architect and chairman emeritus of UNC Charlotte’s master’s of urban design degree program, Walters is on the advisory committee for Charlotte’s development rules rewrite. “Part of me weeps and part of me rejoices, that this is part of Charlotte growing up from a regional semi-backwater.”

As Charlotte grew, it followed the same pattern as the rest of America’s major cities: segregated housing, unequal schools, and ballooning economic inequality. The infamous Harvard “50th out of 50” report, which ranked Charlotte dead last among big American cities for economic mobility, went off like a bomb among local leaders in 2014. The embarrassment prompted soul-searching, committees of experts, and plans to invest in measures like affordable housing to try to close the gap.

So when Charlotte began rewriting its zoning and development rules in the mid2010s, equity—an attempt to correct historical inequalities that define Charlotte around race and give all citizens an equal opportunity to succeed—was one of the considerations. In 2018, when Charlotte hired Jaiyeoba to guide the comprehensive planning effort and a rewrite of land-use rules to match, equity became one of the guiding principles.

The solutions that planners settled on to promote equity would become the most controversial parts of the plan: eliminate single-family-only zoning, have developers pay for infrastructure improvements and community benefits like new parks, and push for rules that would mandate some affordable housing in new developments.

For advocates, these are only common sense. Decades of discrimination and government policies like segregation, redlining, urban renewal, and highway construction barred Black people from owning homes in desirable neighborhoods, wiped out Black enclaves, and embedded generational poverty and inequality into the urban fabric. The effects aren’t abstract. In some neighborhoods within sight of uptown’s sparkling skyline, average lifespans hover in the 60s. Head down Providence Road, into the city’s wealthier and whiter “wedge,” and life expectancies soar into the 80s.

Friction between the weight of history and the pull of the future is endemic in Charlotte. The future usually wins, as historic buildings are bulldozed and replaced by commemorative plaques. It’s behind a key question behind the debate over the 2040 plan: Should Charlotte try to correct the mistakes and sins of the past or follow the city’s unofficial-yet-abiding motto of Grow, baby, grow?

Driggs, one of the council members who wants to keep single-family zoning, pointed out that legal discrimination has been outlawed for decades. “What percentage of the population of Charlotte today was a party to any kind of redlining?” asked Driggs during one especially testy council meeting in late May. “I just don’t like to be characterized as a segregationist because I think there are values associated with single-family neighborhoods that deserve to be preserved.”

Those historical policies don’t seem quite so historical to people still living through the consequences. “I’ve been here since 1969,” Lyles, a Black woman, said in response to Driggs. She referenced a black-and-white photograph that shows the triumphant demolition of a house in a Black Charlotte neighborhood. “A bulldozer did come down, with a white guy in a suit, tearing down a neighborhood. So it’s kind of hard for me to forget about those things.”

THE NOTION OF A SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE, owned and not rented, holds a powerful place in the pantheon of American ideals. The 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life is a vivid, if perhaps unintentional, illustration of the ideal. Jimmy Stewart’s heroic everyman, George Bailey, stands up to the corrupt local plutocrat by helping people purchase starter homes in a new suburban subdivision. In the Bailey-free alternate reality, wicked Mr. Potter destroys idyllic Bedford Falls by building rental houses and a lively mixed-use entertainment district.

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Charlotte has long balanced the growth-friendly ethos with the single-family zoning restrictions that allowed it to grow both its skyscraper-studded city center and its vast single-family subdivisions. It’s the kind of city where pro-unregulated-business Mr. Potter and pro-tidy-subdivision George Bailey could have gotten along. Opponents say the plan will signal Charlotte’s final turn away from its heritage as a business-first, growth-oriented city.

“If passed as written, the comprehensive plan will signal that Charlotte no longer cares about the proper way to do things, it only matters that they feel good about it,” says Larry Shaheen, a Republican strategist and real estate transaction attorney. Bokhari referred to a proposed requirement that developers pay for community benefits in order to build towers more than 500 feet tall as the “Charlotte’s closed for business” provision.

The plan’s supporters, meanwhile, have spent much of this year lamenting that a few sections of a document that’s hundreds of pages long have been blown up and used to fuel the debate. Sam Spencer, a Democratic strategist and chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission, says miscommunication is part of the problem. The plan doesn’t suggest eliminating single-family neighborhoods—no one is taking a bulldozer to Myers Park—only the exclusively single-family zoning that covers most of Charlotte.

“Whenever there’s a potential change, Charlotte is still a very reactive city,” Spencer says. And nothing touched a nerve quite like the single-family zoning changes.

“You can never learn the lesson enough that people are going to interpret something different than you intended,” he says. “You can say, ‘Historically, single-family zoning was created to reinforce white supremacy.’ But is that what everybody hears?

No. Some people hear, ‘I’m a racist because I own a single-family home.’ And if you have people who are hearing that message, they are going to get mad.”

All spring, dozens of Charlotteans Zoomed in to the city’s virtual forums to defend single-family neighborhoods. Some council members joined them. “I live in a single-

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family neighborhood, and, you know, I look around and I see diversity in the neighborhood—whites, Blacks, Indians, Asians, Muslims—naturally occurring diversity,” said council member Greg Phipps, who’s Black.

The provision to allow duplexes and triplexes in all neighborhoods narrowly survived a 6-5 straw vote (with Phipps, incidentally, casting the deciding vote).

The change might not be as radical as opponents who decried the “elimination” of single-family neighborhoods fear—or as big a boost to affordability and housing supply as its supporters hope.

Duplexes are already allowed in Charlotte on corner lots, and duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes are common in many of Charlotte’s prewar neighborhoods and old streetcar suburbs. (I spent

COURTESY; ROBINSON-SPANGLER CAROLINA ROOM, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG LIBRARY

The Cherry neighborhood, just southeast of uptown, is a historically Black neighborhood that’s gentrified rapidly (above) in the last decade.

nents say neighborhoods without them are where the teardown machine could kick into overdrive, worsening displacement as renters are kicked out to make way for new duplexes and triplexes.

But how different would that be from Charlotte today? Developers and houseflippers have snapped up houses for years in neighborhoods like Seversville and Wesley Heights, simply replacing small single-family homes with bigger singlefamily homes.

“It’s happening now. Gentrification is the status quo,” McKinnon says. While he thinks gentrification is a big problem in Charlotte, the plan’s opponents are using it as a red herring: “I think, intentionally, folks started muddying the waters to say this thing is what is isn’t.”

AS OF THIS WRITING, IN LATE MAY, the 2040 plan slouched toward approval in June, with the council likely to adopt the plan in a narrow 6-5 vote. It’s been a bitter slog. Over the past few months, council members have said supporting single-family zoning is racist (Winston), insinuated their colleagues are “dumb people” (Driggs, who later apologized), said they don’t trust the planning director (Bokhari, who later called for Jaiyeoba’s firing), and spent endless hours snapping at each other in Urban renewal projects in the 1960s and ’70s demolished numerous Black neighborhoods testy confusion (pretty much all of them). in Charlotte—like Greenville, just north of uptown. In this photo from July 21, 1970, city Redevelopment Commission Chairman Raymond King operates the bulldozer for the During one interminable hearing, Lyles project’s first home demolition. seemed to express what we’re all feeling when she sighed and leaned back, hand to more than five years in a quadplex and a her forehead—a moment promptly captured as a Charlotte meme. duplex in Dilworth, and a quick glance In many ways, approving the plan is simply a relief. But Charlotte won’t be anyat Zillow will disabuse you of the notion where near done. The city must rewrite its development rules, the detailed policies that renters made the slightest dent in to actually implement the overall vision. That’s expected to last well into 2022. Then property values.) the arena might shift to the Legislative Building in Raleigh, where Charlotte would Minneapolis, which made headlines need the approval of the General Assembly to win the power to implement policies as the first major U.S. city to do away with like charging developers impact fees. single-family zoning and allow duplexes As we write the next chapter of Charlotte’s history, the city won’t pause and wait and triplexes anywhere, hasn’t been for us to catch up. Growth will speed on, with a few dozen new people swelling the deluged: The Charlotte Business Journal city’s population every day. As we grow, no matter what happens with the vision plan reported this year that fewer than four and zoning jargon, we’ll confront the same history that isn’t really history. Policies of dozen duplexes and triplexes were perthe past, buried in old deeds that enshrined segregation, mortgage denials for Black mitted in Minneapolis throughout 2020. residents, and euphemisms like “urban renewal” will still shape our city.

Increasing density doesn’t automatically “All this stuff is going to come up again,” Walters says. “All the hard stuff—that lead to more affordability, as the milliondoesn’t go away.” dollar-each “duets” for sale in Dilworth demonstrate.

And the city’s new development ELY PORTILLO spent a decade as a reporter in Charlotte, much of it covering growth and developrules won’t supersede covenants and ment. He’s now assistant director for outreach and strategic partnerships at the UNC Charlotte Urban HOA restrictions. The plan’s oppoInstitute.

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or active, independent living, no address compares to Windsor Run, a 6 0 -acre retirement community in M atthews, Mecklenburg County. ere you’ll find everything you need to live the carefree lifestyle you’ve worked hard for and deserve.

Enj oy your retirement in a spacious maintenance-free apartment home j ust steps from dozens of convenient amenities and services.

Windsor Run offers all kinds of resident-run clubs and activities to stimulate, entertain, and enrich you— plus on-site medical care to help you stay healthy and independent.

Due to popular demand for the Windsor Run lifestyle, we’re adding a brand new residence building named White Oak Terrace. Opening in fall 2 0 2 1 , this building will feature 1 1 3 apartments with the most-popular styles, plus several new floor plans, elegant finishes, a fitness center, create arts studio, and new restaurants.

A continuing care building will also open up at Windsor Run in 2 0 2 1 , which will include levels of care such as assisted living, memory care, and nursing care.

WINDSOR RUN

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of the Windsor Run community.

2030 Windsor Run Lane Matthews, NC 28105

WindsorRun_ 00560383.indd 1

1-800-989-9449 WindsorRunCommunity.com 6/17/21 1:46 PM

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iscover an award-winning, active adult lifestyle in an ideal location at Cresswind Charlotte by K OL TER HOM ES. J ust 2 5 minutes from U ptown Charlotte and 5 minutes from downtown M int Hill, Cresswind is Charlotte’s best-located 5 5 + community. anch-style homes feature floorplans specifically designed for active adults with options for flex spaces, daylight basements and elevators. Plus, you can personalize your new home from floor to ceiling with guidance from the professional designers at K olter’s on-site Design Gallery.

The resident-only, 1 7 ,0 0 0 sq. ft. clubhouse features resort-style amenities — including indoor and outdoor pools, sports courts, a full fitness center, cardio studio, demonstration kitchen, arts-and-crafts room and clubs for every hobby, all organized by a full-time L ifestyle Director.

New homes from the $ 3 0 0 s to $ 5 0 0 s. Tour 9 designer-decorated models, open daily, in-person or online at CresswindCharlotte.com.

CRESSWIND CHARLOTTE Cresswind_AUG.indd 1

8913 Silver Springs Court Charlotte, NC 28215

866-950-8227 cresswindcharlotte.com

6/25/21 11:08 AM

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

W

estminster Towers Senior L iving is one of the area’s best kept secrets. Sitting on a 2 0 acre campus in the heart of Rock Hill, Westminster Towers has provided senior living options for over 3 0 years. Westminster Towers is proud to be the first Life Plan etirement Community in South Carolina to receive National Accreditation and Person Centered Care. Offering a continuum of care as well as HomeB ridge, the non-profit, independently-operated community is j ust a short drive from Charlotte. ndependent living floor plans consist of studio, one bedroom, two bedroom and two bedroom deluxe apartments. Each offers full kitchens with granite countertops and stainless appliances.

Residents can dine with friends in our newly renovated lounge or elegantly casual dining room. The L ife enrichment calendar is filled with social engagements, outings and lifelong learning opportunities. Partnering with Winthrop U niversity, there are performances, plays and concerts to attend. Wellness classes are offered daily and the newly renovated Wellness Center is home to fitness equipment designed especially for seniors.

Westminster Towers offers numerous refundable residency

WESTMINSTER TOWERS Westminster.indd 1

fee options. M onthly fees are very affordable and include housekeeping, transportation, wellness classes, one meal per day, utilities, personal response system and on-site storage among other services.

Assisted Living, Long-Term Care and Medicare-Certified Rehab are also available, all under one roof.

Call today to schedule a visit of our Life Plan Community and see why so many people refer to Westminster Towers as “ A Community of Friends! ” 1330 India Hook Road Rock Hill, SC 29732

803-328-5587 WestminsterTowers.org

6/25/21 4:07 PM

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

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ocated in the heart of Pineville, The Charlotte Assisted L iving and M emory Care is an upscale retirement community offering a laid-back lifestyle complete with resort style amenities. The community’s vision is to help M embers live longer, healthier, happier lives. To achieve this goal, they embrace a wellness philosophy in all facets of their community; through award-winning wellness programs, restaurant-style dining and never-ending social calendars.

The Charlotte Difference A distinction from other senior living options in the Charlotte area is that The Charlotte is locally owned and operated with their headquarters in B allantyne. The company is dedicated to the local community in Charlotte and is proud to offer person-centered care to help seniors remain independent for as long as possible. The company is a leader in the senior living industry, as a 5 -time nationally recognized Argentum B est of the B est Award winner in Wellness, Family and Resident Engagement, Alzheimer’s Programming and Workforce Development.

In addition to Assisted L iving and M emory Care services, the community’s new Independent L iving Plus ( IL + ) service is the bridge between being fully independent and receiving hands-on assisted care. The advantage of this service is

THE CHARLOTTE ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY CARE

knowing that if something were to happen, you wouldn’t need to move and the care you need would be available within their community.

Peace of Mind In addition to care services, The Charlotte provides peace of mind for M embers and families without having to deal with the burdens of maintaining a house, cleaning, home security, cooking or transportation. With 2 4 -hour security, concierge and staff, there is never a worry about safety. The entire community is equipped with best in class security measures, to assure that you and your loved ones are safe and secure no matter what.

9120 Willow Ridge Rd. Charlotte, NC 28210

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6/25/21 1:27 PM

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f the L ake Norman area wasn’t impressive enough, the introduction of the Symphony Park L uxury Independent L iving Resort j ust leveled it up another notch. Designed for relaxation and adventure alike, personality abounds throughout the private residences, the grand clubhouse and the 3 6 acres of lush landscaping, all with a grand Floridian flare.

And, the location couldn’t be better. Whether you spend your day on the lake, shopping & dining in nearby B irkdale Village, strolling the streets of the culture-rich college town of Davidson or at the resort itself, the lifestyle that awaits promises to be abundant and satisfying.

Symphony Park’s all-inclusive concept allows residents to enj oy their private suites while also appreciating an array of amenities, concierge services and culinary options including fine dining, grab and go with ice cream, sports pub with billiards and a wine lounge with hors d’oeuvres.

Designed for active seniors, our life enrichment team and fitness coaches will offer a full calendar of programs and clubs to pique your interest. The amenity center is strategically situated at the heart of the community, connecting four buildings with sun-filled, glassed-in walkways. nside you will find the dining venues, a fitness center, art studio and craft room,

SYMPHONY PARK 210800_SYMPHONYPARKLIVING_00561972.indd 1

704-710-6968 Charlotte-Living.com

movie theater, and game room, as well as a large indoor pool.

Outside, residents will be staying in shape on the pickleball courts, playing bocce ball and shuffle board, and honing their skills in the stand-alone wood working shop.

To add to its attractiveness, Symphony Park offers a flexible rental plan with no large upfront buy-in fee, allowing residents to stay in control of their assets and enjoy the flexibility of a month-to-month all-inclusive lease.

Call today to learn more and ask about our exclusive Priority Partner program that will position you to secure the apartment of your choice once we begin taking reservations.

12221 Sam Furr Road, Huntersville, NC

704-351-6404 symphonyparkliving.com

6/24/21 12:18 PM

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ne of the greatest luxuries in life is having a choice, especially when aging in place.

The M anor and The Dorchester offer long-term independent living on your terms: Choose 1 , 2 or 3 bedrooms Choose maintenance-free living Choose restaurant-style dining Choose in-home medical visits Choose your social events We are so sure we will be your number one choice we offer a 9 0 -day guarantee that you’ll love living here or you can cancel your lease within 9 0 days,

and we will give you $ 5 0 0 to help you move.

At The Dorchester and The M anor you choose what works for you. Rent includes electric, water, trash, cable and Wi-Fi, an active social calendar, and 2 4 / 7 staffed front desk.

Full service can be affordable; select the services you need to enhance your lifestyle with luxury offerings including everything from a handyman and housekeeping to in-home doctor visits.

The M anor offers a designer kitchen, in-unit laundry, walk-in master closet, and choice of patio, deck or bay win-

THE MANOR & THE DORCHESTER

dow. The Dorchester offers single-level open concept floorplans with plenty of storage and full kitchens.

Y ou have a lot of independent senior living choices in the Charlotte area, choose the one that offers you the most choices.

12920 Dorman Road Pineville, NC 28134

210800_THEDORCHESTER_00561615.indd 1

833-290-5469 manorcharlotte.com dorchestercharlotte.com 6/25/21 4:02 PM

ADVERTISE YOUR ADVERTISE YOUR

RETIREMENT LIVING RETIREMENT LIVING WITH CHARLOTTE MAGAZINE WITH CHARLOTTE MAGAZINE

Contact advertising@charlottemagazine.com to include your ad in our January 2022 issue Contact advertising@charlottemagazine.com to include your ad in our January 2022 issue

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

RETIREMENT LIVING RESOURCE GUIDE Name

Purchase

ALDERSGATE

3800 Shamrock Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28215 704-532-7000, aldersgateccrc.com THE BARCLAY AT SOUTHPARK

4801 Barclay Downs Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 980-224-8540, barclayatsouthpark.com THE BLAKE AT BAXTER VILLAGE

522 Sixth Baxter Crossing, Fort Mill, S.C. 29708 803-339-0592, blakeliving.com THE BLAKE AT EDGEWATER

1099 Edgewater Corporate Pkwy., Indian Land, S.C. 29707 803-310-4242, blakeliving.com BRIGHTMORE OF SOUTH CHARLOTTE

10225 Old Ardrey Kell Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28277 704-557-0511, brightmoreofsouthcharlotte.com BRIGHTON GARDENS

6000 Park South Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-837-8272, sunriseseniorliving.com BROOKDALE CARRIAGE CLUB PROVIDENCE

5800 Old Providence Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-365-8551, brookdale.com BROOKDALE CHARLOTTE EAST

6053 Wilora Lake Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28212 704-537-8848, brookdale.com BROOKDALE CONCORD PARKWAY

2452 Rock Hill Church Rd., Concord, N.C. 28027 704-782-7594, brookdale.com BROOKDALE EBENEZER ROAD

1920 Ebenezer Rd., Rock Hill, S.C. 29732 803-366-1189, brookdale.com BROOKDALE MONROE SQUARE

919 Fitzgerald St., Monroe, N.C. 28112 704-225-9556, brookdale.com BROOKDALE ROBINWOOD

1750 Robinwood Rd., Gastonia, N.C. 28054 704-864-2480, brookdale.com BROOKDALE SALISBURY

2201 Statesville Blvd., Salisbury, N.C. 28147 704-636-0588, brookdale.com BROOKDALE SOUTH CHARLOTTE

5515 Rea Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-544-2094, brookdale.com

NonPurchase

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See display listings on previous pages for additional information on communities and facilities that are highlighted.

Skilled Memory Care Units Care Units

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

RETIREMENT LIVING RESOURCE GUIDE Name

Purchase

BROOKDALE WEDDINGTON PARK

2404 Plantation Center Dr., Matthews, N.C. 28105 704-847-9477, brookdale.com CARMEL PLACE

5512 Carmel Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-703-8192, holidayseniorliving.com CHARLOTTE SQUARE

5820 Carmel Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-544-4979, capitalsenior.com THE CHARLOTTE ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY CARE

9120 Willow Ridge Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-815-7362, charlotte-living.com

THE CYPRESS OF CHARLOTTE

3442 Cypress Club Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-714-5500, thecypressofcharlotte.com THE DORCHESTER

12920 Dorman Rd., Pineville, N.C. 28134 833-576-6465, dorchestercharlotte.com ELMCROFT OF LITTLE AVENUE

7745 Little Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-541-9333, elmcroft.com THE GARDENS OF TAYLOR GLEN

3700 Taylor Glen Ln., Concord, N.C. 28027 704-788-6510, taylorglencommunity.org GRACE RIDGE

500 Lenoir Rd., Morganton, N.C. 28655 828-263-4810, graceridge.org

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THE LAURELS AND THE HAVEN IN THE VILLAGE AT CAROLINA PLACE

13180 Dorman Rd., Pineville, N.C. 28134 704-540-8007, fivestarseniorliving.com

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7845 Little Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-375-0100, hpccr.org

6101 Clarke Creek Pkwy., Charlotte, N.C. 28269 704-947-8050, fivestarseniorliving.com

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HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE CHARLOTTE REGION

THE LAURELS AND THE HAVEN IN HIGHLAND CREEK

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240 Branchview Dr. N.E., Concord, N.C. 28025 704-703-8179, holidayseniorliving.com 8913 Silver Springs Ct., Charlotte, N.C. 28215 980-228-9044, cresswindcharlotte.com

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CRESCENT HEIGHTS

CRESSWIND CHARLOTTE

NonPurchase

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

RETIREMENT LIVING RESOURCE GUIDE Name

Purchase

LEGACY HEIGHTS SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY

11230 Ballantyne Trace Ct., Charlotte, N.C. 28277 704-544-7220, fivestarseniorliving.com THE LITTLE FLOWER ASSISTED LIVING

8700 Lawyers Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28227 704-545-7005, premierseniorliving.com THE MANOR

12920 Dorman Rd., Pineville, N.C. 28134 833-241-3248, manorcharlotte.com MERRYWOOD ON PARK

3600 Park Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28209 704-523-4949, seniorlifestyle.com PARK POINTE VILLAGE

3025 Chesbrough Blvd., Rock Hill, S.C. 29732 803-327-4723, actsretirement.org THE PINES AT DAVIDSON

400 Avinger Ln., Davidson, N.C. 28036 877-566-9376, thepinesatdavidson.org MATTHEWS GLEN

733 Pavilion View Dr., Matthews, N.C. 28105 704-845-5900, actsretirement.org

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SENIOR RETREAT AT PARK CROSSING

10408 Avodale Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-654-9488, seniorretreat.com SHADS LANDING

9131 Benfield Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28269 704-703-8234, holidayseniorliving.com SHARON TOWERS AT SOUTHPARK

5100 Sharon Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-553-1670, sharontowers.org THE SOCIAL AT COTSWOLD

3610 Randolph Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28211 704-366-2550, thesocialsl.com SOUTHMINSTER

8919 Park Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28210 704-551-6800, southminster.org

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4123 Kuykendall Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28270 704-708-9931, seniorlivinginstyle.com SENIOR RETREAT AT LANSDOWNE

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PROVIDENCE MEADOWS

7219 Folger Dr., Charlotte, N.C. 28270 704-654-9488, seniorretreat.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

RETIREMENT LIVING RESOURCE GUIDE Name

Purchase

SUMMIT PLACE AT SOUTH PARK

2101 Runnymede Ln., Charlotte, N.C. 28209 704-525-5508, fivestarseniorliving.com SUNRISE ON PROVIDENCE

5114 Providence Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28226 704-343-6545, sunriseseniorliving.com

SYMPHONY PARK LIVING

12221 Sam Furr Rd., Huntersville, N.C. 28078 704-351-6404, symphonyparkliving.com

TERRABELLA LAKE NORMAN

140 Carriage Club Dr., Mooresville, N.C. 28117 704-396-4681, terrabellaseniorliving.com

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TRINITY OAKS RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

728 Klumac Rd., Salisbury, N.C. 28144 704-633-1002, trinityoaks.net WALTONWOOD COTSWOLD

5215 Randolph Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28211 704-234-5198, waltonwood.com

WALTONWOOD PROVIDENCE

11945 Providence Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28277 704-234-6062, waltonwood.com

WELLMORE OF TEGA CAY

111 Wellmore Dr., Tega Cay, S.C. 29708 803-835-7007, well-more.com

WESTMINSTER TOWERS

1330 India Hook Rd., Rock Hill, S.C. 29732 803-328-5000, westminstertowers.org WILLOW GROVE

10043 Idlewild Rd., Matthews, N.C. 28105 704-771-1158, holidayseniorliving.com WILLOW RIDGE MEMORY CARE

2140 Milton Rd., Charlotte, N.C. 28215-3319 704-405-0730, willowridgememorycare.com

WINDSOR RUN

2030 Windsor Run Ln., Matthews, N.C., 28105 704-443-6300, ericksonseniorliving.com

Individual Living Units

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*Not intended as a comprehensive resource. To be included in the Spring 2022 Retirement Living Resource, please email advertising@charlottemagazine.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: AUGUST 8/1 NC Vintage Vineyard Tour in Huntersville 8/8 Charlotte Mimosa Festival 2021 at The Unknown Brewing Co. 8/14 Great Gatsby Gala at Truist Field benefitting the National MS Society 8/15 Miss May’s Roaring 20’s Afternoon Tea at Historic Rural Hill 8/23 3rd Annual Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen Benefit Golf Tournament at Rock Hill Country Club

BRIAN RUTENBERG SHOW OPENING

Jerald Melberg Gallery 4/30/2021

1. Martha Dunnagan, Clay Dunnagan, Lucy Stephens 2. Winnie Boroz and Joe Boroz 3. Brian Rutenberg 4. Elizabeth Fagg and Leigh Rogers

5

OPERA CAROLINA’S VIVA ITALIA

1. Mahari Freeman, Jordan Bisch, Johnnie Felder 2. Bechtler Ensemble 3. Liz Faison, Kimberly Mize, Jennifer Harmeling 4. Morgan Mangum and Pamela Perle 5. Daryl Hollnagel and Radmila Hollnagel

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

DANIEL COSTON

Private home 5/6/2021

5

BECHTLER MUSEUM MEMBERS EVENT

5/11/2021

1. Todd Smith and Weston Andress 2. Yvonne McCracken and Wesley Mancini 3. Paul Zarbatany and Emily Zarbatany 4. Laura Meyer Wellman 5. Bill Barnhardt 6. Joy Widener and Hunter Widener 7. Barbara Bascom

2021 UMAR ARTS FESTIVAL Queens University 5/15/2021

DANIEL COSTON

1. Howard Webb and Max Daniel 2. Ellen Moseley and Ann Bourgeois 3. Joseph Hawk and Hannah Hawk 4. West Bolz 5. Mark Hogan and Mike Travis

Continued on next page AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

85

Various locations 5/13/2021

1. Cecil Burrowes 2. Brent Fatticci 3. Jim Burroughs 4. Greg Wigent 5. Dr. Joshua Fisher 6. David Lewis

86

CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

DANIEL COSTON

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.

DRESS FOR SUCCESS: STILETTO SWAGGER 2021

WING HAVEN’S TEA TIME IN THE GARDEN

5/16/2021

1. Jazmin Salinas, Monica Debbi, Lucero Vargas 2. Gina Clegg, Elizabeth Gregg, Amelia Gregg 3. Tara Hinote, Megan Bimbo, Eloise Bimbo, Cameron Carlson, Elle Carlson

DANIEL COSTON

CROSSWORD OF THE MONTH

BY ANDY SMITH

ANSWERS can be found online at charlottemagazine.com/crossword.

AUGUST 2021 // CHARLOTTE

87

YOU ARE HERE Each month, we’ll throw a dart at a map and write about where it lands.

LOCATION: 4227 Statesville Road

tesville a t S 7 2 42

Road

Meat You at Jerry’s MAHMOUD AL-WARDAT bags penny candy in Jerry’s Market on a Monday morning. A customer named Patty approaches from the butcher counter.

She carries delicacies that distinguish this neighborhood grocery store and butcher shop, a staple on Statesville Road for nearly a half-century: garlicflavored Genoa bologna that Patty says she can find only at Jerry’s and a special treat for her daughter, who’s visiting— souse meat, or “hog’s head cheese,” a gelatinous spread made from pig scraps.

Al-Wardat walks around to the register to tend to her.

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CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // AUGUST 2021

Al-Wardat, 33, is a Jordan-born engineer who grew up around his family’s butcher shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He jumped at the chance to buy Jerry’s last year, but it seemed right to keep the name the market’s had since the late Jerry Wike opened it with his wife, Patricia, in the mid-1960s. A wallet-sized photograph of Jerry and Patricia is tacked to a post near the register.

His head butcher—a friendly man named Aaron Gaddy, whom customers call “A.G.”—worked for Harris Teeter for 35 years before Jerry’s hired him four years ago. A.G. slices up favorites like oxtails and

beef neckbones and wraps up short ribs and chicken straight from local farms. Up front, Al-Wardat stocks throwback candy like sugar cigarettes, Sugar Daddy lollipops, and old-fashioned coconut slices.

Soon after he bought Jerry’s in September 2020, Al-Wardat had an artist paint meat-themed murals on the exterior. But inside, it hasn’t changed much over the decades. “If I want to make it look shiny and have nice floors, the place will lose its flavor. It’ll be just like any shopping center,” he says. “I won’t let that happen. I want to keep it as old-school as possible.” —Cristina Bolling

SHAW NIELSEN; CRISTINA BOLLING

Mahmoud and A.G. sling oxtails and hog’s head cheese at this Statesville Road mainstay