Concord favorite Hot Box Next Level Kitchen is expanding. Here’s where.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published Nov. 11, 2020, and has been updated.
Historic West End continues its streak as Charlotte’s most interesting neighborhood with the upcoming addition of Hot Box Next Level Kitchen. Chef Michael Bowling is expanding his Concord concept into the Five Points area near Beatties Ford Road and West Fifth Street, with a mobile food trailer.
“I’ve watched the West End change and grow, and I know the people who live in the neighborhood,” Bowling said, citing nearby amenities including Johnson & Wales, Johnson C. Smith University and the coming Gold Line trolley extension. “It’s the most convenient space in the city, minus [the lack of] grocery stores. It’s a really great community, and I believe in the next few years it’s going to be one of the best live-work-play neighborhoods in Charlotte. The West Side is going to be an amazing place once it’s all said and done.”
The food truck will be popping up at breweries and other spots before settling into a more permanent spot in West End.
Bowling has strong ties to the West End. He lived there for years with his sister and business partner, Joy, who is still a resident. To him, it was always a diamond in the rough.
Although “the West End is where we wanted to be from the beginning,” Bowling couldn’t find a space that was a good fit for his eatery — until now. With the support of J’Tanya Adams and Historic West End Partners, Bowling was able to secure a $40,000 grant from the Center City Partners Innovation Fund.
“We had a plan in place, but J’Tanya encouraged us to apply for it, and we got it,” Bowling said. It was a major coup for the small business and came on the heels of another award: In August, HotBox won $25,000 from Discover’s Eat It Forward Program, aimed to help Black-owned restaurants impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The restaurant menu features sandwiches and salads, along with elevated main dishes such as Tijuana Mac with caramelized onions, spinach, chorizo and ginger citrus shrimp on three-cheese mac and cheese, and the Hot Box Grain Bowl, complete with farro, brown rice, green lentils and lemon vinaigrette on dressed cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes, and mushrooms.
The Hot Box food trailer, roughly the size of a small shipping container, was upfitted into a fully functional kitchen where customers will be able to message ahead or walk up and order, with delivery available. Bowling is also considering mobile catering possibilities, so the trailer can move to event locations and make fresh food onsite.
But Bowling’s first shop isn’t going anywhere. It will continue operating out of Concord’s Southern Strain Brewery while the food trailer gains steam, going from a soft opening in January to full service in February 2021. And Bowling is preparing for a permanent brick and mortar shop in 2022. That’s why he’s been so intent on expanding.
“We want to get a footprint in the area so when a permanent space becomes available, we’ll be able to get in,” he said. “We don’t want to be just another business, but part of the neighborhood.That’s why we call it the Next Level Kitchen. It’s always about growth.”
Hot Box Next Level Kitchen
Mobile and inside Southern Strain Brewing at 165 Brumley Ave. NE, Suite 3001, Concord
Instagram: @hotboxnc
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 12:23 PM.
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