Southern Pecan, Your Mom’s Bazaar among Charlotte businesses to open during COVID-19
Expect the unexpected when opening a new business, right?
It’s probably safe to say not many of Charlotte’s new business owners had “plan around a pandemic” on their opening-day checklists.
The unexpected certainly arrived with COVID-19 in our community around mid-March.
Yet somehow, even with the state’s various phases of stay-at-home orders, new businesses are still opening in Charlotte.
We recently wrote about businesses that have closed since the coronavirus arrived here.
Here are some new spots that have opened or announced plans to open since mid-March:
800° Woodfired Kitchen
6815 Phillips Place Court
This restaurant with locations around the world will serve salads, bowls, sandwiches and pizza when it opens in SouthPark in 2021. It sources local and organic ingredients, and cooks only with extra virgin olive oil.
Alchemy
2517 Distribution Street
Alchemy, a 10,000-square-foot entertainment venue at C3Lab, includes The Restaurant at Alchemy, Gallery C3 and The Gathering Common. The restaurant has a vegetarian-focused menu and is now open.
Allegiance Coffee
1115 Old Charlotte Road SW, Concord
Allegiance Coffee has a focus on craft coffee provided by Haerfest Coffee, but has also partnered with other area businesses to provide baked goods and other treats.
Another Food Truck
Location varies
This new food truck is a rebrand of the former 225 Street Food truck from the chef and fiancee team of Anthony Denning and Kristen Bandoo. Look for childhood favorites with an upscale twist, such as a Hot Chicken Smash grilled cheese and Dirty Mac.
Bad Axe Throwing
350 E. 6th St.
Bad Axe Throwing, which is part of the World Axe Throwing League, has opened right across from the Spectrum Center. There’s also a bar serving beer and wine for taking a break when your arms get tired of throwing.
The Bella Ciao
201 S. Tryon St., Suite 101
This uptown Italian restaurant took over the spot that was formerly Vapiano Charlotte. The menu still features pizza and pasta, but the space has a fresh new look.
Bitty & Beau’s
Coming mid-2021
The Charlotte location of the coffee shop — known nationwide for its advocacy of the value, inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — will be just the second franchised location for Bitty & Beau’s.
Black Moth Bars
1824 Statesville Ave.
This mobile bar has parked itself at a new permanent location at Camp North End. This is one of several new food and beverage retailers joining Camp North End.
Blacow
517 University Center Blvd., and 1646 Hwy. 160, Fort Mill, SC; coming soon to 1515 S. Tryon St.
Blacow is expanding its menu beyond award-winning burgers to include sushi and unique starters in its new Charlotte locations. The University City area restaurant took over the old Taco Mac spot, and the South End location will open in early September in the new Dimensional Place building.
Bleu Barn Bistro
1824 Statesville Ave.
Bleu Barn Bistro, a farm-to-table food truck, has set up its first brick-and-mortar at Camp North End’s new food stalls. Featured items include a Farm House burger, Pork Belly tacos and seasonal favorites.
Boss of Vegan
4431 Brookshire Blvd.
Boss of Vegan’s curbside takeout-only menu features plant-based burgers made with Beyond patties, along with homemade chips, vegan chocolate chip cookies and fresh-squeezed mint lemonade.
Botiwalla
Optimist Hall, 1115 N. Brevard St.
James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Meherwan Irani of Asheville opened Botiwalla, an Indian street-food restaurant, in December in Optimist Hall. Other locations are in Atlanta’s Ponce City Market and in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Canopy Charlotte SouthPark
4905 Barclay Downs Drive
This boutique hotel promises Southern charm and local touches like Pure Intentions coffee in the mornings. It also houses the Fine & Fettle restaurant.
Charlotte FIT
1001 E. W.T. Harris Blvd., Suite W
Fitness trainer Taylor Calamese pushed through COVID-19 delays to open her new studio in October. It includes personal training, group fitness and virtual coaching.
Chef’s Kitchen
5301 Highway 557, Clover, SC
Chef’s Kitchen is slated to open in the Lake Wylie area with an upscale fusion menu that incorporates American, Southern and Italian flare. Ther space will have two full bars, a 25-seat patio and a large banquet room.
Copain Gatherings
6601 Morrison Blvd.
This European-style cafe and bakery is open in the atrium behind Rooster’s in SouthPark. You’ll find breads and pastries, along with prepared foods and provisions such as charcuterie.
Cordial
1824 Roxborough Road
Cordial sits atop the AC Hotel Charlotte SouthPark, pairing uptown views with cocktails such as Pink G&Ts and Cordial Mojitos. The rooftop bar’s menu includes light international fare such as Caribbean Jerk Wings, Yuca Fries and Empanadas.
Counter-
2200 Thrift Road
The immersive fine dining restaurant is now open. Guests will know nothing about the multi-course meal except for the quarterly theme until they show up for their reservations.
The Culture Shop
1425 Kennon St.
The Culture Shop opened April 21 in the Belmont neighborhood, selling cheese, wine and other provisions.
Dee’s Vegan To-Go
1540 West Blvd.
This takeout-only vegan restaurant serves options such as jambalaya, “chicken” and waffles, burgers and hot dogs, teriyaki “chicken” and crab cakes.
Derby City Skates
1425 Winnifred St., Suite 101
This sister shop to the original location in Winston-Salem has everything you need for roller skating, inline skating and even skateboarding.
Dilworth Tasting Room
4905 Ashley Park Lane, Suite J
Dilworth Tasting Room’s new SouthPark location will set up shop in 3,873-square-foot space formerly occupied by Corkbuzz. Remodeling is underway, and the restaurant and wine bar is expected to open in early 2021.
District 27
1526-B Alleghany St.
District 57’s “The Grid” is made up of 30 rooms with challenging mental and physical tasks to complete, plus food, drinks and arcade games.
Edge City Brewery
6629 Monroe Road
With statewide restrictions shutting down taprooms and on-premise consumption due to COVID-19, it pivoted to selling beer to-go in growlers.
The Exchange at 36th
451 36th St.
The Exchange at 36th will open as a combination grocery and essential goods shop serving artisanal goods and sandwiches. It will also feature a bar — and an adjacent restaurant is planned for the future.
Fine & Fettle
4905 Barclay Downs Drive
The restaurant, tucked inside Canopy by Hilton SouthPark, offers a seasonal menu, with shareables such as charcuterie and burrata and main plates such as crab primavera and roasted guinea hen. The cocktail program is wellness driven, with drinks such as “Game, Set, Matcha,” made with botanist gin, matcha orgeat, lime, mint and egg white.
The Foodie School
300 Springhill Farm Road, Suite 107, Fort Mill, SC
The coronavirus closed Salud!, the cooking school at Whole Foods, and led its director and a fellow chef to open the Foodie School in Fort Mill. It offers movie-themed classes, along with date nights and virtual options.
Free Range Brewing
301 Camp Road
Free Range Brewing’s Camp North End location is located next door to Leah & Louise — with a pass-through window so you don’t have to choose between drinks and dinner. Much of the beverage menu will be available to-go, as well.
Golden Cow
New location coming in spring 2021 to Stonewall and Tryon streets
This well-known ice cream shop’s third location in uptown Charlotte will carry favorites including Salted Oreo, along with the Golden Waffles recently launched at its SouthPark shop.
Harriet’s Hamburgers
1115 N. Brevard St.
Harriet’s Hamburgers is now open in Optimist Hall, with burgers made of black Angus short rib, brisket and chuck cooked to “medium right,” along with fries.
Hip Hop Smoothies
249 Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road, Suite 210
Roberto and Shamika Brooks were planning to open Hip Hop Smoothies in late March, around the time that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper ordered dining rooms closed to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The shop opened for a few days offering carryout only, then closed again before reopening in April.
Honeybear Bake Shop
Online
Pastry chef Hannah Neikirk turned a COVID-19 furlough into an opportunity to start a new cookie shipping service. Classic favorites such as chocolate chip are available, along with creations like hazelnut chocolate crunch, New York Cheesecake, blueberry muffin and cinnamon roll.
Hot Box Next Level Kitchen
1545 W. Trade St.
The Hot Box food trailer — the latest offering from chef Michael Bowling — is being upfitted into a fully functional kitchen where customers will be able to message ahead or walk up and order, with delivery available. You’ll find many of the same favorites as the original location inside Southern Strain Brewing Co.
Krispy Kreme
2116 Hawkins St.
This isn’t your average chain doughnut shop. The South End location opening Aug. 25 in will include a 24-hour vending machine, along with scoop sandwiches — a new take on ice cream sandwiches that features its classic glazed doughnuts — and hand-spun milkshakes.
Krustaceans Seafood
2908 Oak Lake Blvd.
Former Carolina Panthers player Marcus Lucas opened this new restaurant, bringing Lowcountry seafood to Charlotte. Another popular option is the lobster tail with red velvet waffles.
La Caseta
1824 Statesville Ave.
La Caseta brings Latin food such as pupusas, arepas and empanadas to Charlotte’s Camp North End. The food stall with outdoor seating is the newest concept from Raydal Hospitality, the owners of Sabor Latin Street Grill and Three Amigos and Mexican Cantina & Grill.
Leah & Louise
1824 Statesville Ave.
Set to open just as the COVID-19 shutdowns occurred, Leah & Louise regrouped to add online ordering for its modern juke joint fare tied to Chef Gregory Collier’s Memphis roots, including its Mud Island stew, Dirty Grits and a Pay What You Can vegetarian meal. The restaurant has now opened its dining room, with limited seating and reservations required.
Little Fete
Delivery
Executive Chef Craig Barbour of Roots Cafe and Roots Catering has created this catering brand targeting small gatherings, with packages available for weekend-long grazing, multiple-course meals and interactive kits for putting together brunch or dinner, along with a la carte options.
Little Mama’s Italian Kitchen
4521 Sharon Road
The Italian restaurant in SouthPark is a spinoff of Frank Scibelli’s Mama Ricottas in partnership with Stephanie Kalish and chef Tom Dyrness. You’ll find fresh pasta made in-house, specialty cocktails and even a mozzarella bar.
Lulu’s Maryland Style Chicken & Seafood
2308 Central Ave.
The popular restaurant’s new location — opening in 2021 — will feature the top sellers from the original Lulu’s, plus menu items with a relaxed brunch and dinner feel. The Central Avenue spot will have double the space, plus outdoor seating.
Mac Tabby
Market Street, Concord
The cat cafe that serves up coffee, craft beer and cocktails along with pet adoptions plans to open a second location in downtown Concord in late 2020. It will move into a historic building with a similar feel to its original NoDa digs.
Mahana Fresh
14815 Ballantyne Village Way
This fast-casual restaurant in Ballantyne allows customers to build their own bowls to customize meals — and it’s all gluten-free. Combine proteins with base options like sweet potato noodles or basmati rice, with sesame ginger broccoli and honey sriracha Brussels sprouts.
Midtown Tavern
1500 E. 3rd St.
Midtown Tavern is a neighborhood restaurant in Historic Cherry with two patio areas — one covered and one open air — and two bars. Expect upscale bar food like burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and salads.
MOA Korean BBQ & Bar
128 S. Tryon St.
MOA offers traditional Korean cuisine, such as grill-it-yourself meats, bulgogi and bibimbab, in an upscale atmosphere for lunch and dinner.
OMJ
1930 Camden Road, #125
The men’s brand opened a new showroom in South End’s Design Center of the Carolinas amid COVID-19, expanding its offerings in ready wear and custom offerings. Online shopping is available, as well.
The Original Hot Dog Factory
9211 N. Tryon St., Suite 9
The restaurant featuring gourmet hot dogs, loaded fries and milkshakes plans an October opening in Charlotte’s University City. Two more locations are in the works.
Panca Peruvian Street Food
7510 Pineville-Mathews Road, 10A-2
A former chef for the Charlotte Hornets and his wife opened this Peruvian street food restaurant with a team of former Spectrum Center employees. Bonus: There’s a mural inside by Charlotte artist Juan Tresierra.
Piedmont’s Bounty
Online
Piedmont’s Bounty offers multiple meal kits to choose from for cooking classes that are virtual, yet interactive. The boxes come with locally sourced ingredients that are delivered to your doorstep, contact-free.
Plant Joy
1801 N. Graham St., Suite 101
Located in the Camp North End food stalls, Plant Joy focuses on local, organic vegan dishes. It’s the newest endeavor from the team behind Nourish Charlotte.
Protagonist Beer
227 Southside Drive
This brewery’s second Charlotte location, in Lower SouthEnd, offers more indoor space, along with a mostly covered 6,000-square-foot patio. It also added pizza to compliment its craft beer.
Queen City Grounds
101 W. Morehead St.
Queen City Grounds has officially opened its second location at the corner where South End meets uptown at Morehead and South Tryon streets. It is on the ground floor of Broadstone Queen City apartments.
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Rice & Spice Thai Street Food
8314 Pineville-Matthews Road, Suite 901
Customers can choose their spice level — medium, hot or Thai hot — at this new Thai street food restaurant. in the Pineville area. Vegan and gluten-free menus are available.
RH Charlotte
6903 Phillips Place Court
RH Charlotte, The Gallery at Phillips Place, is now open in all of its 50,000 square foot SouthPark glory. The three-story retailer features a rooftop restaurant and a seemingly infinite number of chandeliers. “It will bring a new level of sophistication to the Charlotte retail marketplace and it will be a destination in itself,” Charlotte-based real estate developer Lincoln Harris’ CEO Johnny Harris said.
Ruby Sunshine
332 West Bland St.
This brunch restaurant’s menu is the same as the original New Orleans location, featuring dishes like BBQ Shrimp and Grits, Eggs Benedict or a Bananas Foster Pain Perdu.
Salty Parrot Brewing Co.
200 S. Graham St.
Salty Parrot Brewing Co. has taken over the spot that recently held Sunstead Brewing and Toucan Louie’s Gold District. The brewery features creative beers that match its tropical theme, and food is available through the Salty Parrot Tropical Grill food truck.
Sandra Lee’s Country Kitchen
3416 Freedom Drive
This comfort food truck serving homemade biscuits and chicken bog, along with fried chicken and collard greens, includes a space to eat outdoors with picnic benches and oak trees nearby.
SARU BY BOW RAMEN
1824 Statesville Ave.
Saru, Bow Ramen’s first concept outside of New York City, is now open at Camp North End’s new food stalls. The restaurant serves Nagahama-style Tonkotsu ramen, featuring hand-cut noodles cooked in pork bone broth.
Scratch House Chicken
3032 N. Davidson St.
The Goodyear House’s owners have launched a new delivery and pickup option, Scratch House Chicken. Meals are made in-house from scratch by Chef Chris Coleman. Order pickle-brined, all-natural chicken available either GBD (Golden Brown and Delicious) or Flame-Grilled. Choose from several house-made sauces and hand-made seasonal hand pies. SHC also sells a Farmer’s Salad, Chicken Bites, and NY’s Fries loaded with avocado, parmesan, herb verde and comeback sauce.
Shades of Moss
1419 E. 7th St., Suite C
Stop here for all your plant needs when the mood strikes to add greenery to your space. The store also features local artwork, T-shirts, pots and plant accessories.
Shoed Gallery
16735 Cranlyn Road
This hybrid space in Birkdale Village is half art therapy studio and gallery, and half custom art sneaker store. It also restores donated shoes and pays forward the proceeds to the Boys To Men Foundation of Charlotte, a youth mentoring and development organization.
SkyBar and RedSalt by David Burke
555 S. McDowell St.
Celebrity chef David Burke is opening a pair of spots, SkyBar by David Burke and RedSalt by David Burke, at the Le Méridien in uptown. Look for light American fare at the rooftop bar that formerly held City Lights and a menu that highlights locally sourced and seasonal ingredients at the restaurant.
Slingshot
332 W. Bland St.
Social game club Slingshot is planning to open during Phase Three of COVID-19 restrictions, Charlotte Agenda has reported. The South End game bar will have a full food menu and games like duckpin bowling, SuperKee, Connect 4 Hoops and PuttSkee.
Small Bar South End
2131 S. Tryon St.
Co-owner Wayne Padolik told CharlotteFive he’s hoping to open soon on South Tryon and Rampant streets in the former Keg and Cue space. Come thirsty — but also hungry. After finding success in its expansion into food at its Fort Mill location, Small Bar will look more like a restaurant than you may be used to if you frequent the Music Factory.
Snooze
2041 South Blvd., Suite 106
This breakfast restaurant opened a South End location a little more than a year after it moved into the Charlotte market in Plaza Midwood. It took the space formerly occupied by Owen’s Bagels & Deli.
Southern Pecan
6800 Phillips Place Court
The team behind Cafe Monte have opened Southern Pecan in the former Wolfgang Puck location, according to Charlotte Magazine and Charlotte Agenda. Its menu includes a Seafood gumbo and Southern Pecan shrimp boil and you can order online for pickup.
Spoons
2520 South Blvd.
Dig into an acai bowl at the new South End location of Spoons, which started out as a food truck and has grown in popularity ever since. A NoDa location is coming, soon, too.
Stars and Strikes
545 Concord Parkway, Concord
Stars and Strikes, an entertainment center with bowling, arcade games, laser tag, bumper cars and event space, opened in November. The space includes a restaurant and full bar.
Steak 48
4425 Sharon Road
The award-winning steakhouse with locations in Houston, Chicago and Philadelphia joined the SouthPark food scene, serving USDA prime-grade steaks, high-quality seafood and shellfish in an upscale atmosphere.
STIR Charlotte
1422 S. Tryon St., Suite 130
STIR Charlotte, on the ground floor of The RailYard in South End, is targeting a July opening. It will offer scratch-made food, a seafood raw bar and drinks crafted with artisan ice.
Stroke
1318 Pecan Ave.
Stroke brings a country-club feel to an indoor miniature golf experience, complete with craft cocktails and high-end snack options like pickled vegetables and pimiento cheese.
Summit Coffee
416 E. 36th St.
The North Carolina-based coffee shop’s fifth location is set to open Dec. 17 in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood. The cafe with locally roasted beans will include baked goods from its Davidson location.
Summit Seltzer
2215 Thrift Road
The city’s first seltzery is opening in the Wesley Heights neighborhood. The seltzery — which is women-owned, for the record — will feature up to 14 house-fermented small-batch, handcrafted seltzers.
Superica
4219 Providence Road
The South End Tex-Mex restaurant has opened a second spot in SouthPark, complete with a spacious outdoor patio and a seasonal Airstream-style satellite bar. Its wood-grilled menu items from the original location remain the same.
Sweet Spot Studio
4412 Monroe Road, Suite D
What was once simply Sweet Spot Studio has now branched into three ventures after a COVID-19 hiatus. Sweet Spot Studio has reopened with a new space for cookie classes, Sweet Spot Supply Company sells ingredients and tools for cookie-making, and Sweet Spot Cookie Club offers subscription boxes for cookie decorating.
VANA
1440 S. Tryon St.
Opening Aug. 13, the restaurant name — meaning wooded or forest area— is a rustic, casual departure from the team’s more upscale, tweezer-plated Bardo that opened two years ago about half a mile away on South Mint Street.
Vibe Cafe
1315 East Blvd.
Vasilis and Antonio Paspalaris will soon open their new coffee and wine bar, Vibe Cafe and Wine, in the former space of Dilworth’s Queen and Glass. Queen and Glass closed its doors earlier this year. The restaurant recently announced on social media that it will reopen in early 2021 in the new B-Tower of uptown’s 5th Street District.
Vaulted Oak Brewing
3726 Monroe Road
East Charlotte’s newest brewery, Vaulted Oak Brewing, is opening later this year inside a former bank in the Echo Hills/Oakhurst neighborhood. It plans to serve regionally-inspired beers and make use of the bank teller windows as walk-up windows for patrons, along with outdoor patio space in the former drive-thru.
Vitality Bowls
Coming in spring 2021 to South Charlotte
This superfood cafe will serve made-to-order smoothies, acai bowls, fresh juice, paninis and more. Plans call for additional locations once the first South Charlotte shop is up and running.
West Kept Secret
1444 Harding Place
In addition to adding livestream options, this woman-owned fitness studio pressed forward with pre-pandemic plans to move into a Dilworth studio during COVID-19.
Xiao Bao
Optimist Hall, 1115 N. Brevard St.
This Charleston-based restaurant with a focus on Japanese and Southeast Asian flavors is opening next to Boxcar Betty’s in Optimist Hall in spring 2021.
Your Farms Your Table
Delivery
Former Upstream Executive Chef Sam Diminich, who won Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay,” has been working since COVID-19 shut down the restaurant in March on a gourmet meal delivery service called Your Farms Your Table. The brand provides a three-course meal for $30.
Your Mom’s Bazaar
107 N. Main Street, Suite 100, Davidson
Courtney Buckley, owner of Your Mom’s Donuts, is expanding her portfolio with Your Mom’s Bazaar, a sister concept to her already successful doughnut concept. The market will open Oct. 17 on Davidson’s Main Street, and it will highlight local produce and provisions to foster a community.
Editor’s note: This article was first published June, 30, 2020, and has been updated.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
