‘This place knows my family by name.’ Charlotte mourns Zack’s Burgers closing news.
Editor’s note: Email us your Zack’s Hamburgers memories to charlottefive@charlottefive.com and we may add them to this story.
It was nowhere near lunchtime yet, but the Charlotte talk on social media Monday morning was focused on burgers — specifically, the Zack’s Special and the devastating news that Zack’s Hamburgers will close its doors for good this week.
Zack’s owner George Demopoulos told CharlotteFive reporter Jennings Cool last week that he and his wife would close the restaurant after business on Thursday and he asked us to hold the news until Monday, June 28.
And when the news dropped, it landed hard in the Charlotte community. Readers began posting memories and stories about the restaurant that was a Charlotte staple for 46 years.
Here are some of your memories:
- “Price’s, Mr. K’s, Zack’s, the Manor Theater ... it really does feel like an era of Charlotte has left us.” — Eric Orozco, via Twitter
- “This place knows my family by name. We’ve lived in walking distance for thirty years. They’ve fed us in credit when we didn’t have the money. This breaks my heart.” — @EllieOodle via Twitter
- “This is a damn shame. What’s gonna go in there? Another Shake Shack, Bad Daddy’s or Five Guys???” — @CHARLOTTEMAN, via Twitter
- “Zack’s is where my dad and I meet for burgers. This one stings an already open wound.” — Ben Jarrell, via Twitter
- “YOU’RE KILLING ME SMALLS!!!” — Harvey Cummings, via Instagram
- “I hate that all these CLT staples are closing.” — Niayai Lavien, via Instagram
- “I literally just said to myself last Thursday that I hope Zack’s doesn’t close! Now here we are!” — Anisha Hancock, via Instagram
“The Blue Line, it could be argued, was built to do just this. It took 13 years for me to notice but the <recent> losses have been tough to swallow. The authenticity of South End and LoSo will continue metamorphose because of it, mostly for better but sometimes for worse.” — @willplans via Twitter
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 10:23 AM.
