Taste of Charlotte deal

Taste of Charlotte is coming in just a couple weekends (June 8 - 10).

The festival will take place on Tryon Street between 2nd (MLK Blvd) and 6th Streets.  The hours are as follows:
     Friday, June 8th      11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
     Saturday, June 9th  11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
     Sunday, June 10th  11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

A list of vendors is available here, more information here, and you can buy coins to buy samples at the festival here.

However, if you act quickly, you can get 7 coins for $5, which is a 50% savings.  Click HERE to get this deal before it expires!

Cinco de Mayo uptown

The uptown Cinco de Mayo party at 3rd and Tryon looks very well attended:

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

It's Cinco de Mayo and Mexican restaurants are not holding back in their celebrations.

La Paz, now at the Met, has the main street through the Met closed and a stage set up. Be aware if you are going there for another purpose, traffic is even worse than usual.

Banshee filming uptown

A new Cinemax show called Bashee is filming uptown today. They have been filming near the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus and are currently filming outside of E2, Emeril's new restaurant on Levine Avenue of the Arts (1st Street).

We couldn't get a decent photo (sorry!). Here is the best we got:

Custom Sushi restaurant coming to two Charlotte locations

A new restaurant is coming to the Overstreet Mall in the BB&T Building space.  It is a custom sushi roll restaurant where you choose your ingredients and they roll you a fresh sushi roll to your liking.

It's called How Do You Roll and there is another location opening in Ballantyne Corners Shopping Center.  No word on either location, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear.

Here is what the menu typically looks like:

Charlotte Overstreet Mall Map

People are constantly asking us for a map of how the Overstreet Mall connects and a list of retail establishments within it.  We have finally put a map together that includes a list, and we hope it's helpful.  Click to enlarge:

Brazz to open December 19th on The Green

It looks like Brazz may be opening on The Green (S. Tryon/College and Levine Avenue of the Arts (1st)) very soon.  The website is up, along with hours and even menus.

The dinner menu is available here, and the lunch menu is available here.

It is a Brazilian steakhouse, much like Chima down the road, and for $37.99 you get ten meats (kids eat for $9.99).  Lunch is a bit lighter fare with a choice of roasts (turkey breast, sirloin, or pork loin), as well as vegetarian options and soups and salads.

The restaurant will be accepting reservations on OpenTable, and by a survey of what dates are open for reservations, it appears the restaurant will be opening on December 19th.

Quiznos evicted from the Ivy's Building

A notice has been placed in the door at the Quiznos in the Ivy's Building uptown.  The notice says that the space has been locked by the Sheriff, and the restaurants is locked down with the lights off.

A quick look at the statute that is referenced in the notice indicates that the Sheriff claimed the property because of an eviction.  Quiznos must not have been paying its rent.  Under North Carolina General Statute 42-36.2, the Sheriff therefore has the right to possess the property.

That was a good Quiznos- but it was a lot of space.  There is also empty space next to the Quiznos in the Ivy's Building.  Those spaces do not have street frontage like Bojangles and Qdoba in the same building, which may make it hard to attract business.   If Quiznos doesn't make a comeback, we hope to see more retail there soon.

Time Warner Cable Arena without the Bobcats

The NBA season is on hold, and the lockout may last the entire season.  That's going to leave Time Warner Cable Arena empty a lot of nights, which will hurt local businesses, restaurants, and bars.

What to do with the space during the lockout?

We have an idea (ok a stupid one, but still).  The arena is in the heart of uptown, we say accelerate the process by making it the ULTIMATE club.
You've got lights, and you have an amazing sound system.  And basketball court = massive dance floor.  Let's party.

Bernardin's is open in the Ratcliffe

The space that used to be Ratcliffe on the Green has finally be filled with a new restaurant, Bernardin's.   They don't have a website yet, but they do have a sister restaurant in Winston-Salem that will give you an idea of the type of place it is.

Their website is available here, and the Winston-Salem menu is available here.

You can make a reservation on OpenTable here.

Wells Fargo Cultural Celebration

Wells Fargo has taken over Charlotte, and the city has rapidly become tinted with burgundy and yellow. To create some goodwill here, they sponsored a cultural day that featured free admission to all the uptown museums, a street fair featuring performances at several outdoor stages, performances at the town's theatres, and even stagecoach rides.  

Here are some photos from the day: