Why Panthers owner David Tepper paid a visit to a Charlotte bar: ‘He’s a meddling owner’
Reports of David Tepper at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille are not exaggerated one bit.
On Thursday evening, a few hours before the 2024 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers’ owner stopped by one of the more popular bars in Charlotte to inquire about a sign outside the venue. The sign read: “Please Let The Coach & GM Pick This Year.”
Employees at the bar said Tepper was friendly when he walked in. Matt Wohlfarth, the owner of the restaurant, had left for the day by the time Tepper arrived — but he heard about the visit immediately.
At 10:30 p.m., in a phone interview with The Charlotte Observer, Wohlfarth chuckled: “I guess I did a thing.”
Wohlfarth said that he put the sign up earlier this week, “Monday or Tuesday.” Wohlfarth has been a Charlotte resident for decades and a Personal Seat License/season-ticket holder since the dawn of the franchise in 1995.
“It sounded a bit more on the joking side,” Wohlfarth said of Tepper’s surprise visit. “But also a bit mad. Otherwise he would’ve stopped in and had a drink.”
WBTV obtained video footage of Tepper’s brief interaction with the bar’s employees. The video shows Tepper walking in with another person, exchanging a few pleasantries with the host, taking someone’s hat off their head (and returning it), pointing outside to the sign and then ending the conversation with a handshake.
The Panthers did not respond to an Observer request for comment.
Wohlfarth clarified that it’s “really nice we have an owner who wants to win. That is (great). It’s just, you gotta stay in your lane. This is not really an attack on anyone or anything. This is me expressing frustration because, believe it or not, I actually lose more of my income when the Panthers lose than he does.”
Wohlfarth said that the revenue loss of six consecutive losing seasons has amounted to “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The most recent season ended in a league-worst 2-15 record punctuated by two consecutive shutout losses.
The owner of this local favorite isn’t alone in feeling like Tepper, the billionaire who purchased the Panthers in 2018, has been a little too involved in football affairs in his tenure. That sentiment within the Panthers’ fan base has grown in particular recently. In 2024, the Panthers will have a third different coach in three years (Dave Canales); the other local team Tepper owns, Charlotte FC, just started its third season with its third coach.
It’s also not the first time the restaurant has posted messages aimed at the Panthers and Tepper — and it’s also not the first time Tepper has stopped in, Wohlfarth said. Just after the season ended, in mid-January, Wohlfarth said he posted a message on his property — that is visible from East Morehead Street — “Meddling owners never win. Run from Jerry Jones.”
“And he was sorta pissed off about that one,” Wohlfarth said.
Why?
“Well, he’s a meddling owner,” Wohlfarth said.
With a new season draws new hope, though, as Wohlfarth made clear to The Observer.
“He’s hired a really good GM, a really great coach,” Wohlfarth said. “They had a great offseason. Just learn from your mistakes, you know?”
This story was originally published April 25, 2024 at 11:42 PM.
