Food and Drink

3 new restaurants are opening soon in Charlotte, including a Mediterranean cafe

A handful of eateries are slated to join Charlotte’s food scene.

This week, I reported on three upcoming restaurant openings, including a woman-owned coffee and cocktail bar with plenty of drinks to choose from.

Here’s what’s coming soon to the Queen City:

Plot Twist

Plot Twist, an all-day coffee and cocktail bar, will set up shop in Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood neighborhood.

The bar is slated to open in April 2026, though an official date wasn’t announced.

A dimly lit, modern bar featuring a long dark wood counter lined with chartreuse green velvet stools. Behind the bar, two white grid-style shelves flank a large, ornate gold-framed painting centered on a dark charcoal wall.
Plot Twist, a woman-owned coffee and cocktail bar, is opening soon in Plaza Midwood. This rendering shows off the expected style of the bar. Chastaine & Company, courtesy of NiceDay.

Customers can look forward to coffee, cocktails, mocktails and more featuring house-made syrups. THC beverages are also on the menu alongside light bites including chips and nuts.

“We’re flipping the script on everything you thought a coffee shop or a bar could be,” founder Nikki Velazquez wrote on Instagram.

Small Bar

Small Bar already has a few spots in Charlotte and is looking to add another.

The “neighborhood dive bar” will open a third location at Joinery in Optimist Park.

A large, modern building sign for “Joinery East” features bold white 3D lettering mounted on a vertical wood-paneled backing against a light brick wall. To the right of the sign, a striking circular arched entryway leads into the building, flanked by large rusted metal planters with tall ornamental grasses.
A neighborhood dive bar will join more than a dozen retailers at the Joinery in Charlotte’s Optimist Park neighborhood. Kelsey Mard Photography NiceDay

“Small Bar NoDa will serve as a lively third place for residents and neighbors and marks the brand’s third Charlotte location,” Space Craft, developer of the mixed-use community, said in a news release.

Customers can expect lunch and dinner offerings alongside craft cocktails and cold beers. There will be plenty of games, karaoke and live DJ sets, too.

Roz Café

A new Mediterranean cafe is also set to open at Joinery in Optimist Park.

Roz Café will offer a full breakfast and lunch menu, plus cookies, croissants and other pastries. Breakfast sandwiches will also be available, along with shakshuka, savory pies and more.

Two square pieces of golden-brown baklava are presented on a white plate, showing their many thin, flaky layers of phyllo pastry and a thick nut filling. Each piece is lightly drizzled with honey syrup and garnished with a sprinkling of finely crushed green pistachios.
The cream baklava at Roz Grill is a sweet, flaky pastry made with layers of phyllo dough and cream, soaked in syrup and topped with pistachios. Alex Cason CharlotteFive

Ahmad Altaany, owner of Roz Grill in South Charlotte, is behind the new eatery.

Customers can look forward to the opening sometime this summer.

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Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
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