5 popular restaurants that have closed since March — and what we’ll miss about them

A lot of beloved establishments have closed in Charlotte over the past year. We can’t help keeping a pulse on the changes on the restaurant scene — and there have been quite a few closures to pay attention to since March.

RIP:

The Liberty Gastropub

What we know about the closure: Owner Tom Condron closed the doors of this South End establishment in May two weeks after the death of his co-owner and business partner, Matthew Pera. UPDATE: While the restaurant’s second location in Blakeney lived on a bit longer, it has been confirmed that it closed last week.

What we’ll miss in South End: Some will miss the esteemed Crunch Burger featuring bacon, a pile of potato chips, ranch, lettuce, tomato, aioli and pimento cheese. Others (cough, me) will mourn the loss of the Veggie Burger, featuring avocado, arugula, tomato-pepper jam and goat cheese — so scrumptious.

Lumiere

What we know about the closure: Despite the locked doors at The Liberty in South End, Lumiere’s French fine-dining menu (under Condron’s same restaurant group) was supposed to keep rolling out. But that space also closed around the beginning of June. Three weeks had passed since the death of Pera.

What we’ll miss: The artisan cheeses with toasted bread and honey comb, plus the Escargots with puff pastry and green lemon-garlic butter. Before the recent introduction of La Belle Helene in Uptown, French cuisine wasn’t exactly easily recognized on the Charlotte scene, aside from Lumiere.

Davidson Street Public House

What we know about the closure: The property (adjacent parking lot included) was rezoned in March to Transit Oriented Development for mixed-use, and the restaurant closed at the start of May. Plans were announced to transform the parking lot into an open-air arts market. As for the building, a restaurant chain called Billy Jack’s Shack has indicated on its website that it’s coming soon to that very spot. On Facebook, the Billy Jack’s logo boasts the offerings of “bacon, beer, beef, bird” and the website refers to the establishment with the nickname “BJ’s.”

What we’ll miss: Pork belly sliders and lollipop lamb chops (according to neighborhood fans), not to mention the generous wine pours (according to me).

Savor Cafe

What we know about the closure: Savor closed July 1, and an eviction notice was posted.

What we’ll miss: What was perhaps the best banana pudding in all the land of Charlotte, complete with marshmallow creme. Everything on the lunch menu was fresh and delightful, too.

BUT: JackBeagle’s of NoDa is bringing its chicken wings and signature garlicky mac-n-cheese to this very space. This will be JackBeagle’s third location.

Just Fresh

What we know about the closure: Just Fresh at Kenilworth Commons, off of East Boulevard, met an expired lease after 17 years in this Dilworth space.

What we’ll miss: Smoothies like the Strawberry Banana Bomb with low-fat yogurt.

BUT: Just Fresh has other CLT locations. And more importantly, the third location of YAFO Kitchen (with its flagship location in SouthPark and second stop just going through a soft-opening in Plaza Midwood) is taking over the building. Can we really fight the hummus bowls and the unofficial Katie’s Build Your Own Salad Bowl? We’re going to be OK here.

This story was originally published August 13, 2018 at 2:30 AM.