7 crazy long lunch lines worth enduring in Charlotte
My coworker and I are so stuck on the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern-inspired YAFO Kitchen at SouthPark that we go every other week. We’re efficient about it, too.
Our method: Converse amicably as we weave through the line, then BAM — the second we’re up against the partition between us and the food preparation, we forget each other and get down to business. Maniacally rattling off every possible topping we crave on our build-your-own salad or grain bowls, we get the job done fast. Precious minutes stand between us and mouthfuls of food.
But over the months, something has happened. More people have gotten in our way, gawking at the menu, painstakingly picking their toppings. If we’re not in line promptly at 11:40 a.m. on a certain weekday that shall not be named, the line spills out the door.
Not that this will ever stop us from going. There’s hummus and baba ganoush on the other side.
YAFO isn’t alone. Charlotte has some crazy long lunch lines, but they all have something that makes them stand out — and makes them worth enduring.
Here are six more of those lines:
Sabor Latin Street Grill in Elizabeth
Maybe it’s the Yuca fries or the creamy, chunky and spicy salsas. Maybe it’s the $1 Taco Tuesdays or the $4 Margarita Fridays.
415 Hawthorne Lane
Pinky’s Westside Grill in West End
As if the White Trash Burger or the Pimp’n Fries weren’t enough, Pinky’s just expanded its patio.
1600 W Morehead St.
Chop’t at Park Road Shopping Center
There are so many salad options here it’s overwhelming. Make your life (and wait in line more relaxed) by simplifying with the destination salad menu. Spicy Sonoma Caesar, anyone?
4125 Park Road
Johnny Burrito Uptown
Nonetheless self-advertised as “Fastest Lunch Line in Charlotte!!!” At least while you wait you can contemplate the selection of nearly 30 burrito fillings.
301 S. Tryon St.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Uptown
It could be the nostalgia that does it here. As it’s been said, “That first bite of a Potbelly sandwich rendered all previous sandwich bites pointless.”
320 S. Tryon St.
Price’s Chicken Coop in South End
No frills fried chicken. What more could keep the locals fixated on this tiny shop for 55 years? Don’t forget cash.
1614 Camden Road
What did I miss?
This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 12:00 AM.