Camp North End teen curfew is hurting business, some store owners say
For several businesses at Camp North End, the shopping area’s 6 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied teens has been more of a curse than a blessing, according to interviews with owners.
What was meant to keep teenagers out of trouble and causing chaos has instead reduced foot traffic and customers, one owner said.
“The first week they instituted the curfew was like crickets,” said Tracy Gunn, owner of the Life is Sweet candy shop. “I don’t want nonsense, but I also want customers and I want vibrancy.”
Gunn leaves a bucket of chalk near her storefront so people can draw on the sidewalks, she likes to survey people on their favorite candy flavors, and, through a partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, she likes to give free candy to kids who read.
But the 6 p.m. curfew has kept teenagers — a major customer base — away, Gunn said.
Curfew after 6 p.m.
Camp North End and its shops, restaurants and outdoor spaces were built in an abandoned site once used for the production of Model T cars and, later, missiles for the U.S. Army.
Camp North End management put the 6 p.m. curfew in place on April 24 after “several unauthorized teen takeovers,” according to an announcement on Instagram. The shopping area’s management said the takeovers disrupted operations and negatively impacted businesses.
Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult after 6 p.m., according to the policy.
Lisa Serbaniewicz, a Camp North End spokesperson, said the development added the curfew, off-duty police and private security on the weekends after discussions with businesses and police.
“The safety and well-being of Camp North End guests, tenants, and employees is our top priority,” Serbaniewicz said in a statement emailed to The Charlotte Observer. “We value our tenants’ feedback and are actively engaged in ongoing conversations about how these measures are working. We remain open to revisiting the policy’s parameters as conditions evolve.”
But Gunn said she never had a discussion with management about the curfew. One day they dropped off flyers and said the new rules were in place, she said.
Gunn would have preferred finding a different solution, she said. A good start now would be pushing the curfew to dusk. Many teenagers work and get out after the curfew has passed, she said.
“That means that some of those kids can’t come get their free candy,” Gunn said. “I think there’s a better solution, but I think they were nervous and had to make a decision.”
Dean Hardy, who owns the Hardy Boys Record shop, agreed the curfew was too early, but said that it was necessary.
He was around for one of the “really big teenager incidents,” he said. A large group of teens were near his store when someone ran up and yelled something about a person having a gun. It sent people in the area into a panic, he said.
There was no gun, but it raised safety concerns, so he couldn’t blame management for trying the curfew.
“I don’t have any metrics whatsoever saying that that curfew is affecting us in any way at this point,” Hardy said. “But something we are concerned with is the fact that it’s so early … I would say either 7 or 8 is what we would prefer.”
Less foot traffic
CT Anderson, founder of Springclean, a nonprofit boutique, has noticed the lack of teenagers in other ways. She typically hires high school students as interns to work at her clothing shop on the weekends.
A big selling point was that they could hang out with their friends at the end of their shifts, Anderson said. But she’s seen less traffic because of how early the curfew is, she said.
“I would love to see collaboration opportunities to have the youth participate in Camp North End,” Anderson said. “One of the great things we do with hiring high school interns is that they get to own a portfolio of work … so maybe there’s some way for businesses to collaborate with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.”
Patrick Carroll, owner of Armada Skate Shop, said he mostly felt indifferent about the curfew, but the negative reaction to the teenagers felt somewhat personal.
“Most of those kids are Black,” Carroll said. “I know what it’s like to be them. So I’m just torn.”
Carroll said he understands why the curfew was put in place, but isn’t sure that it’s the proper solution. There hasn’t been an incident since the curfew, and he said he couldn’t recall any before it either.
If teenagers were disruptive in his store, he would just ask them to leave, he said.
“I really wish that there was something that these kids could do here that was constructive instead of meeting up just for the sake of meeting up,” Carroll said.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:34 AM.
