Charlotte restaurant staple Dish (which turns 20 this week!) has a new local owner
Dish, the Charlotte staple known for serving up Southern favorites to locals and celebrities alike, turns 20 this week as it welcomes a new owner with deep ties to the Commonwealth/Plaza Midwood community.
Charlotte native Amanda Cranford, owner of Paper Plane Deli & Market, has taken over primary ownership from Lewis Donald, who stepped away to focus more on his other business, Sweet Lew’s. They closed on the deal in late June.
“Dish has an exciting future entering its 20th year,” Donald told CharlotteFive. “It was an honor to be a small part of keeping Dish in the neighborhood when we purchased it back in 2019. And it’s been fulfilling to get through COVID and to be able to set it up for the next 20 years. … I’m excited to watch Dish #keepdishin.”
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For Cranford, who lives a half mile away from the iconic yellow brick restaurant on Thomas Avenue, local ownership is everything. She’s watched Charlotte grow up over the years, with outside businesses moving into small tight-knit communities. When she heard of Donald’s intention to shift his priorities to Sweet Lew’s, she feared losing a neighborhood icon.
“Dish is really special. The community loves it, and it’s become a gathering place where people feel at home,” Cranford said. “As I considered ownership, it became clear that Dish fits everything I want to do, which is build a business and help build up a community.”
Dish landlord and partner Ray Tom echoed that sentiment. Over the years, he’s been approached by pharmacy chains, developers, sports bar owners and others looking to set up shop in the Dish space. They offered more money, but Tom said it just didn’t feel right.
“We’ve had this property in the family since the late 1970s, when my dad bought the building and operated the original HoToy restaurant until his retirement,” Tom said. “Our family has always wanted to keep local ownership. We believe in this neighborhood and want to give back to the people who have supported Dish and my family for decades. Amanda shares our vision, and is a great fit to take this restaurant forward.”
The human experience
Cranford has extensive industry experience. She worked her way up from cooking eggs at a coffee house to starting the commissary program at Reid’s Fine Foods, in addition to consulting work. She purchased Paper Plane in March 2020 — just three days before the world shut down. It took grit, endurance and much community support to survive those early days.
But it also led to her mission statement for both Paper Plane and Dish: “I’m in this to make people feel they matter.” Her goal as a local restaurant owner is to retain the human experience that comes with walking into a familiar place.
For the most part, the ownership transition has been fairly smooth, other than some fallout from a staff reduction. After speaking with former managers and interviewing each employee, Cranford said she parted ways with five staff members. All were offered severance payments, except for one employee who she said didn’t show up for the interview.
“We needed to shift the business in a positive direction, combined with labor concerns, which led to these changes,” Cranford said, noting they retained 15 employees, including a 20-year Dish veteran, Fred, who makes the restaurant’s pies and has a section of the menu named after him. “The staff who are here now are really excited about the future and are committed to making sure things go well.”
The menu
As for the future, Cranford promises to keep the “Southern comfort feel” and that all Dish staples like meatloaf and fried green tomatoes are here to stay. They will continue to evolve the menu and plan to rely more on local produce and vendors to help “take the quality up a bit,” she said.
They’ll add quiches and casseroles to the lunch menu, and spotlight fresh seasonal dishes. They’ve also added five new menu items for dinner, including a sourdough pasta with buttermilk cream sauce. The restaurant will soon launch a late-night menu and extend its hours until 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The familiar yellow brick exterior and yellow walls aren’t going anywhere, Cranford assures, although she did admit to decluttering a bit on the inside to give the restaurant a cleaner, fresher look.
“We’re thrilled about the next chapter of Dish,” Cranford said. “The Plaza is in my heart, and we have nothing but the best of intentions for this restaurant and the community.”
Dish
Location: 1220 Thomas Avenue, Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: Commonwealth/Plaza Midwood area
Cuisine: American, Southern
Instagram: @eatdish
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
