A Charlotte sports bar opening in NoDa also will feature live music, from jazz to rock

A new Charlotte sports bar will give local and national bands a place to play with a “chill vibe,” the owners say.

Halo Bar Lounge and Tap Room will officially debut on Friday, Feb. 16 at 3701 N. Davidson St. The former Free Will Craft and Vine spot in NoDa has been under renovation for six months, co-owner Bovell Barnes told The Charlotte Observer.

“(Halo) will carry on that NoDa vibe of chill,” Barnes said.

The bar will feature jazz to rhythm and blues and reggae to rock bands once or twice a week.

“We’re trying to bring more exposure to local bands, jazz being one of them,” Barnes said. But he said, “Halo is not a jazz bar, it’s more of a relaxed, upscale sports bar.”

Halo also expects to add a kitchen by summer.

Here’s what to expect at Halo:

The space

The nearly 5,000-square-foot space has about 17 televisions, a mix of booth and table seating, and a 27-foot-long bar with seating for 25 people that includes two wheelchair-accessible spaces.

The 1,500-square-foot patio will open in March with seating for nearly 40 and two more TVs.

“It will be a laid-back, casual lounge,” Barnes said. “Groups can sit together and relax after work and meet new people without a club atmosphere even though we will have events.”

Barnes said he expects to hire nearly 20 full- and part-time workers once the kitchen opens.

Drink menu

Halo will open with 12 beers on tap, including five spots for local and regional craft brews. Barnes said the beers on tap will eventually be expanded to 24.

There are eight drinks on Halo’s signature craft cocktail menu including The Dirty Halo with eight different liquors — two types of rum, vodka, gin, whiskey, triple sec, amaretto and Galliano — and grenadine and strawberry syrups.

Here are some of the other cocktails:

▪ Grab di Bull by the Tail made with Grand Marnier, red sangria wine and orange juice

▪ Caribbean Sunset made with white rum, melon liqueur, grenadine and orange-pineapple juice

▪ Rug burn made with tequila, rum chata and Baileys Irish creme.

Food menu

Once the kitchen construction is completed, Halo will add a small plates menu.

“It will be a different spin on Jamaican foods mixed with American and Mexican,” Barnes said.

Expect oxtail flatbread and oxtail tacos.

Early reviews

Halo has been holding soft openings since mid-January, which included Super Bowl Sunday and will include Valentine’s Day, which co-owner Gee Taylor said will include a live band and karaoke.

Customer Patrice Anderson was impressed by her new neighborhood bar. “A lounge like this is needed,” she told CharlotteFive.

The backstory

Barnes and Taylor are natives of Jamaica.

Barnes moved to Charlotte about 30 years ago by way of New York City. He told us he was affiliated with a jazz bar in the Elizabeth area.

NoDa, Barnes said, “is a little bit more eclectic and reminds me of SoHo, lower Manhattan and jazz area.”

The former accountant also is the food partner at Kilted Buffalo in Plaza Midwood.

“The experience I gained there, along with what has happened over the years, made me want to expand on that vibe into NoDa,” Barnes said.

Halo Bar Lounge and Tap Room

Location: 3701 N. Davidson St., Charlotte, NC 28205

Instagram: @halo.noda

This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 6:30 AM.