Charlotte’s West side deserves another Third Place. Hopefully, it may soon get it.
If there’s one thing Charlotte loves, it’s flipping former warehouses and mills into mixed-use restaurant and retail spaces.
You know the kind — examples include:
Atherton Mills in South End
Camp North End and
Urban District Market, which just opened — a mile away from yet another example, the popular Optimist Hall.
Room to Be
Charlotte’s central core is dotted with these spacious complexes that offer a variety of options to shop and get a drink or grab a bite. These places feel good because they offer a gastronomical range from the familiar to the exotic, and also the chance to mix it up with entrepreneurs, artists and everyday people who otherwise might not meet.
Sociologists call it a “Third Place,” different from home – the First Place, or work — the Second Place. It’s a space where inspiration is shared, ideas are exchanged, and partnerships are born.
Charlotte’s West side needs its own space like this, now.
Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte’s historically Black and chronically underserved corridor, has a wealth of creativity but very few places to nurture and interact with it. As it stands, if you don’t know the individuals behind the storefronts, churches, schools and living rooms, you won’t know what’s going on.
This is especially true if you’re not religious, don’t have children or are not in school. Without a central place for folks across the social spectrum to gather, our well-loved but neglected neighborhoods stagnate.
Kemetic yogis, tech designers and hiplet dancers need public spaces to showcase and capitalize on their talents. Emerging chefs need stands to pioneer dining concepts beyond safe but predictable soul food. Above all, people on the Ford should be able to try out these new experiences in a comfortable, welcoming cultural atmosphere.
This free-flowing exchange of energy is what builds zeitgeist, a scene — and movements. It builds a neighborhood’s reputation and a city’s character.
Recent successes
We’ve seen progress with the success of Archive, a coffee shop that opened last year on Beatties Ford and LaSalle. The small cafe hosts jazz events and book signings, and has been embraced as one of the few options in the area to sit and enjoy refreshment with a friend.
Fate and city zoning may provide another venue, if plans for a 1-acre lot on Beatties Ford and Booker Street move forward. A three-story restaurant, retail and commercial building is in the works.
Whether new construction or redevelopment of existing properties, let’s hope this wave continues on the West side. The attention is long overdue to one of Charlotte’s main arteries and will contribute to a more vibrant cultural landscape for the entire city. Besides, do we really need another brewery?
This story was originally published May 2, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
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