Hattie’s Tap & Tavern is a Charlotte fixture that welcomes all — if you’re not a jerk
An important fixture in any community is somewhere you can be unapologetically yourself. Tucked into the winding sprawl of The Plaza, Hattie’s Tap & Tavern is exactly that place for the quiet neighborhoods that lie between NoDa and Plaza Midwood.
Open since 2014, it’s a place where you can play pool, try your hand at old school Nintendo games and shoot back some Fernet or Rumpleminze (a favorite at Hattie’s that owner Jackie DeLoach hasn’t been able to keep in stock for a month). It’s a place where you can be whoever you want to be. The environment offers the same sense of belonging and triumph the LGBTQ+ community enjoys during Pride month and beyond.
But don’t be mistaken — Hattie’s isn’t a gay bar. It’s a bar for everyone.
At the end of the day, as DeLoach put it, “We’re just a neighborhood dive,” and all are welcome as long as they respect others.
The bar exudes those devil-may-care vibes with a side of how-was-your-day?
“You really are a therapist when you’re sitting behind the bar sometimes, and, you know, people enjoy that. They want to have that personal experience,” DeLoach told CharlotteFive. It shows when you walk in the door.
Immediately after crossing the threshold into Hattie’s, patrons enter a dark, cavernous space covered in beer-themed art and kitschy decor. There’s a couch in the corner, and someone’s bike is parked inside near it. The friendly bartender waves hello and makes sure to walk you through the beer selection with care.
Folks carry on all sorts of personal conversations at the bar, insulated by the anonymity of the surroundings. You’ll see regulars run into each other with an “Oh my God!” here. A sign that reads “Tip yer bartender” is situated behind the bar near the cash register. It’s these kinds of frills — not frills at all — that make this dive such a community staple.
Neighborhood bar
One feature of Hattie’s that secures its status as a neighborhood bar is how connected it is. The bar looks out for the neighborhood, and the neighborhood looks out for the bar. During COVID-19, Hattie’s took a hit and its friends stepped up.
“We were 100% shut down for almost eight months … That was a really difficult time for us,” DeLoach said. “But it really showed how much Hattie’s has an impact on our community. I didn’t start a GoFundMe, but one of our regulars did.”
DeLoach talked of lemonade sales, merch drops and a drive-in rooftop show hosted with Abari and Tommy’s Pub that helped keep her business afloat during the COVID-mandated shut down.
“If we had to be shut down another 6 months, we wouldn’t have made it,” she said.
In pandemic times, when people were separated from those they loved, Hattie’s continued to have a family surrounding and supporting it as a business.
“It was hard,” DeLoach said. “But people didn’t want to see us going anywhere.”
LGBTQ connections at Hattie’s
The mutual support inherent to Hattie’s doesn’t start or end during Pride month, and folks who identify as LGBTQ+ are welcome at the bar. DeLoach shuns a strictly-gay bar label, saying, “I like being labeled as an ‘everybody can feel safe and comfortable’ bar.”
DeLoach described regulars who send flowers to the bar during Pride month to celebrate and support Hattie’s. She appreciates the gesture, but notes that concrete Pride celebrations aren’t for Hattie’s. “I don’t want it to be just one month … I want this to be every day, where people come out here and support and enjoy themselves,” DeLoach, a member of the LGBTQ+ community herself, said. Pride month may be in June, but it’s everyday for LGBTQ+ people, she notes, so “why can’t it be everyday for everybody else?”
Charlotte’s Pride runs from August to November this year, with the parade happening in October. But Hattie’s isn’t planning anything particularly highkey for the occasion. “Just come and celebrate here,” DeLoach said.
DeLoach sees Hattie’s as somewhat of a countercultural fixture in the LGTBQ+ scene. “Frustrated” about certain types of LGBTQ+ activism groups that only reflect the type of person who has societal privilege, she aims to break that mold. With that pigeonholed type of organization, she said, “you’re only reaching a specific group … it shouldn’t be like that.”
It’s no surprise that what is likely the Hattie’s credo is something that’s a distinct DeLoach vision: “As long as you’re a good person and respect other people, then be who you want to be while you’re at my bar.”
There’s ample room for queer love at Hattie’s, too, as evidenced by how many queer relationships have bloomed and come to fruition at the bar. People meet for first dates, as DeLoach told CharlotteFive. They get engaged at Hattie’s. They even get married.
“We’ve had lesbian weddings here,” DeLoach said. “We’ve had a gay wedding here. I cannot tell you how many couples have met here.”
Hattie’s past and present
Before it was Hattie’s, the location housed a bar called The Boasting Hound. DeLoach recounts hanging out there frequently after work and becoming friends with the owner. Upon learning he was looking to move on from owning a bar, she knew it was time.
She took the lease over from him and opened Hattie’s in a neighborhood she knew was rapidly growing. And as the area has changed over time, so has the bar. Once serving 24 drafts, Hattie’s has pared it down to just 10. Overall, the bar serves over 75 kinds of beer.
DeLoach remembered it being difficult the first few years to operate a fledgling bar, but she also remembers the relentless support from the NoDa/Plaza Midwood area.
“That’s, you know, what really kept me going,” she said. She was already an industry vet at the time of opening Hattie’s, but said “it’s a completely different monster … when you’re a female, sole owner in a male prominent industry, and then on top of that, a female part of the LGBTQ community.”
Despite the difficulties of opening a new bar and surviving a pandemic, DeLoach is happy with “where we’re at right now. Like, we’re doing really well.”
She mentions aspirations to expand the bar, but overall, wants to keep things consistent. And who can blame her?
Pride Month may be over for this year, but the appreciation for queer lives continues at Hattie’s. It’s the DeLoach way. Especially in a time when lesbian bars are closing all over the country and queer spaces are as important as ever for self-expression, Charlotte benefits from such an affirming place — a place where anyone who respects others can go crack open a cold one and enjoy themselves without fear.
Hattie’s Tap & Tavern
Location: 2918 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205
Hours: Monday to Friday 4-11 p.m.; Saturday 3-11 p.m.; Sunday: 2-11 p.m.
What to know: gay friendly, dog friendly
Instagram: @hattiesclt