How uptown Charlotte is becoming an actual destination
When I was growing up in south Charlotte, I never went uptown, except for the occasional Discovery Place visit, or the occasional “Nutcracker” performance at Belk Theater, or the even less-occasional Panthers game when Ericsson Stadium was still the home field’s name.
When I moved back to Charlotte in 2013, I rode around on the light rail a bit, went to a couple of bars uptown and the museums for work events, went to the EpiCentre, and then quickly wrote uptown off as nothing but a workplace destination.
I spent more time in other neighborhoods, particularly South End, Dilworth and Plaza Midwood.
Until recently.
What changed? Maybe I did, a little bit. But so did uptown. Recent conversations with friends make it apparent that we’ll be aggressively steering our cars toward Whole Foods uptown once it opens at Crescent Stonewall Station in the next year or so. Especially if a hot bar, smoothie/coffee station and wine bar gets lumped in with the grocery aisles, like at SouthPark.
I realized I’ve already been making more plans uptown recently. A few newer spots caught my eye, or I was invited to something that was new to me and WHAM — I was hit in the face with that old desire to wander back uptown after work and try something different.
I went to Jazz at the Bechtler for the first time with friends this month, followed by wine and cocktails at the oh-so-classy Bernardin’s across the street. I got a rush from the Sinatra-themed performance, from the energetic applause and foot-tapping of the crowd, from staying out under the skyline lights past my bedtime.
Rewind.
By day, I’ve ventured uptown for hits of coffee at hip new craft coffee places, from Not Just Coffee’s Packard Place location to Hyde Brewing at Goodyear Arts.
I’ve made big plans to go on a huge, free uptown art crawl — it got rescheduled for Oct. 27 due to protests. Along the route I’ll see: Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Mint Museum Uptown, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, New Gallery of Modern Art, Sozo Gallery, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, UNCC Center City, Goodyear Arts and Levine Museum of the New South.
I’ve gone to Stoke for date night to check out Chef Chris Coleman’s new digs. To split: The Stoke House Pretzel Brioche with artistic smears of whipped butters. To not split: Wine and a cocktail.
If you pay attention, you’ll see it too. Something uptown will catch your eye, be it food, art or a random event. Be open to it. If we love Charlotte’s skyline so much (I see you all on Instagram), we should remember to love what’s in it it, too. Make it a destination.
Tonight, I’m going to start by finally exploring The Poplar Street Tapas, Café & Bar inside The Morrison House, a registered historical landmark built around 1885 in Fourth Ward.
I know I’ll love it.
Photos: Katie Toussaint
This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 1:00 AM with the headline "How uptown Charlotte is becoming an actual destination."