Part gallery, part bar: New Charlotte gallery space meshes art, cocktails (+ a dog!)
There’s a new space packed with personality in uptown Charlotte offering a place to grab a drink, sit with your laptop and meet new people. And there’s a bonus: A house dog named Luna will greet you at the door.
Gallery House — which owner Jess Gillman opened at the end of September — is part art gallery and part bar.
After Gillman opens the space at noon Tuesday through Sunday, you can settle in to work through the afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea amid a backdrop of old movies and TV shows. Or you can drop in after work for a cocktail and chit chat about the paintings on the wall. One of the artists might just show up to chime in, too, Gillman said.
“At some places, people come in and stay to themselves — and that’s not what goes on here,” Gillman told CharlotteFive.
“I wanted to build a community where people come in and talk to one another. That’s how you find connections,” she said. “Here, you can have a good discussion with someone, make a friend and even buy a piece of artwork.”
Gillman aims to have something fresh hung up on the bright blue walls quite often to give her customers a new conversation point. Local artists including John Hairston Jr. (whose work you might recognize from the Black Lives Matter street mural) have pieces up for sale, along with a few nationally known names.
“You can talk about the beautiful art on the wall and the beautiful community that is in those walls,” she said.
While you curl up in a cozy chair or lounge on Gallery House’s burnt orange couch, you can visit with Luna the house dog and sip drinks with art-driven names like The Smithsonian, Dirty Diva, Canvas Cooler and Soso Soda. There are $10 ‘tinis every day.
Food isn’t on hand, but Gillman plans to connect with a ghost kitchen to rotate options — “because culinary is a form of art, too.”
“It’s a welcoming place for all — that’s the best way to put it,” she said.
Gallery House
Location: 231 N Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28212
Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 12 p.m.-12 a.m.
Instagram: @galleryhouseclt
