Larry Suggs Chases the Dream with All Purpose Bar

Larry Suggs had to call it quits on one endeavor to make his true dream a reality with another. 

The renowned local mixologist (he prefers bartender) built his name in Charlotte in his roles at establishments like The Punch Room, Zeppelin, The Stanley, The Royal Tot and a slew of celebrated pop-ups. 

In August 2024, Suggs announced he would open his first solo venture, Jean’s Cold Drinks, in the newly rebranded Alley at Latta Arcade. Over the months to follow, however, the 110-year-old building brought more problems than promise.  

“We had a lot of issues with the building that were out of our hands,” he said. “The project went from being affordable, something that I thought I could get done pretty quick, to quickly ballooning into a massive amount. At that point I was kind of out of a location.” 

He never opened the doors at Jean’s, but for every door that closes … well, you know the rest of the expression. 

In late 2025, Suggs signed a lease at his new solo venture: All Purpose Bar. Located in the former Protagonist Beer space at the corner of North Davidson and East 35th streets, the new establishment is located in the barman’s favorite neighborhood, within walking distance of his house. 

The limited outdoor seating also provides one of the best people-watching experiences in the city, if we may editorialize a bit. 

For Suggs, who will open the doors at All Purpose Bar on April 13 and operate 4 p.m.-midnight daily from there, the location is everything he could have wished for. 

We sat down with him in December shortly after he signed the lease to talk about the sort of community gathering spot he aims to run at All Purpose Bar, and why the space he landed makes more sense than any other he’s operated in before.   

Queen City Nerve: How did this opportunity present itself? 

Larry Suggs: [After Jean’s Cold Drinks], I started putting feelers out, using my network of people that I’ve met over the years. And this was just sitting here and I’d walk by or drive by, I live less than a mile down the road, and I’d be like, “What’s going on? Why is this place not open?” 

It’s such a great location. NoDa is my favorite neighborhood in the city. So, I was very excited, I was hitting up the property manager, the landlords, I was coming in and talking to the other business owners and stuff. I was like, “Who do I talk to about this place?” 

It was under a lease that failed, so then I was fortunate to kind of take over a project that already had all the plumbing, the electrical that I need, the drains, all the stuff that costs the most money that nobody ever sees. So this is a great opportunity, honestly. I’ve been looking for the right place to settle down. I wanted a place that I could call my own, you know, make all the decisions and push my dream. 

Now that you do have that space, tell me about what that dream is. What do you want to accomplish? 

I’m pretty well-known for my cocktail-making ability, so I think that’s what people will talk about and come in [for]. But I really want this place to be more than just a cocktail bar. We’ve designed it to be like a neighborhood hang that people can feel like they don’t have to dress up. But they also could come in on a night where they’re dining in the neighborhood or something like that.

That’s where the inspiration of the name All Purpose kind of came from. It’s like, we want to be not just a cocktail bar, not just a wine bar, we want to be appropriate for any occasion. 

What can folks expect of the menu?

So the way I’m curating the menu is very balanced between cocktails, beer, wine and nonalcoholic [options]. And there is going to be a little bit of focus on, I’ll say, not affordability, but high value. [Suggs says rotating specialty cocktails will cost between $12-$18 with regular well options for cheaper.]

I’m fortunate that I’m the owner-operator and I don’t have to hire big names. And I don’t have a kitchen here, so our kitchen is actually going to be used to fuel our cocktail program. We’re going to let the people that are good at food in the neighborhood [do their thing], and people can bring it in. 

What inspired you in creating this spot? 

A lot of it was inspired by when I was traveling to places like New York and DC and in Nashville, where they’re a little further ahead in their hospitality industry just because all the tourism in those places. And I started seeing these bars that make great cocktails that I didn’t feel like I had to, like, put on my nice shoes to go to. It was kind of like every bar you went to had great cocktails. It wasn’t like, “Oh, we’ve got to go seek them out.”

It’s all about a place where people can build community. That’s the places I like to go to. I like to know that my dollar is going towards the right people. I rarely go to a chain. I honestly rarely leave the neighborhood anymore.

Speaking of which, the last year or two in NoDa has seen something like a renaissance in its nightlight scene with the opening of Copperhead, McHale’s, Chief’s, even Soul Gastrolounge in The Pass. Do you feel like that’s good timing for you? 

Yeah, that gave us confidence in choosing this place. Because there’s a lot of challenges to being in NoDa with, like, the limited parking, but it’s a very vibrant part of town. It changes daily and nightly depending on what’s going on or who’s playing in Neighborhood Theatre. 

McHale’s was getting close to opening when we signed the lease and, just seeing their success and getting to know those guys, how invested they are in the neighborhood. Also, I’m really close friends with Jason and Dairelyn [Glunt] at Salud, so having those relationships gives me a lot of confidence. 

I do feel like NoDa has changed so much, you know — as all of Charlotte has — since I started drinking on this street almost 20 years ago. While there’s some places still here, it’s just like the demographics have changed. There’s now, you know, multi-million dollar homes in the neighborhood. I think they’ve done a good job of keeping it kind of weird, though. 

How will this differ from your past ventures? 

The older I get, I used to be like, “Oh, it’s all about the cocktail, and it’s all about me,” like, pumping my ego up. But this bar is literally the opposite; it’s for everybody else.

After everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve been through, like, this is, I feel like, the closest I’m gonna get to like that perfect experience for me. And I’m going to enjoy coming in here every day.

All Purpose Bar is located at 3123 North Davidson St., Suite 104. Stay tuned to All Purpose Bar’s website and Instagram for updates. 

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