Food Features
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Zepeddie’s Pizzeria Returns After Decades-Long Closure
Typically, when a popular business shutters its doors, customers never expect to have that dining experience again. In the case of Zepeddie’s Pizzeria, however, it just took a little patience. On Nov. 1, the Zepsa family will reopen the New York-style pizza joint that they first opened in 1994 and…
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Blacker the Berry Lemonade Sweetens the Story of Black Culture
Though its origins can’t be pinned down exactly, the saying, “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” has its roots in the African American community. It’s often used to appreciate and uplift one’s Blackness, especially in moments where it is cast in an inferior light. While it is a…
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Raw Milk Movement on the Rise Despite Health Officials’ Warnings
Milk is a staple of many diets. Whether it comes from a cow, goat, sheep, nut, or oat, the vitamins and nutrients milk gives to your body can be vital to your health. Before the 18th century, however, alternative milks weren’t an option; raw milk was the only milk you…
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Optimist Hall’s Loyal Tenants Help Ring in Five Years
Optimist Hall — Charlotte’s first food hall situated in a revamped 1892 cotton textile mill — celebrated its five-year anniversary in August. In Charlotte time, that’s kind of a big deal. Hyped as Charlotte’s first modern-day food hall when it opened in 2019, it’s clear that management is doing something…
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Greg and Subrina Collier Debut 3rd & Fernwood in Midtown
When Greg and Subrina Collier first arrived in Charlotte in 2012 with dreams of entering the local restaurant scene, they were inspired by eateries like Delta’s Restaurant in Uptown, and Jackson’s Cafeteria in Uptown — diners that doubled as community hubs, serving a diverse range of people. “What we loved…
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Panzú Brewery Marks One Year as Caribbean Oasis in Mint Hill
Opening the Caribbean-inspired Panzú Brewery was anything but a smooth, refreshing process for siblings Johan Marte and Rosa Marte de Pacheco. Every step from the start of the business’s conception was hard-fought, but the co-owners owners were determined to honor their father through a family-run business, as they had always…
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Tyber Creek Pub, Dandelion Market Owners Persevere Through Tumultuous Time
When I asked Tommy Timmins what he and his two business partners call their company — the bar and restaurant group through which they operate popular establishments including The Workman’s Friend, Connolly’s on Fifth, Prohibition, The Daily, Tyber Creek Pub and Dandelion Market — he didn’t really have an answer. …
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Deep Roots CPS Farm Builds Network of Urban Farmers
In fall 2022, when Mecklenburg County received a $14,000 grant to be put toward a farmland preservation plan, Cherie Jzar of Deep Roots CPS Farm in northwest Charlotte thought it signified that the county was on the right track. Then came a meeting of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners…
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Enat Ethiopian Restaurant’s Tina Tedla Marks 7 Years in Business
When I caught Tina Tedla, owner of Enat Ethiopian Restaurant, over the phone in early June, it was a Thursday afternoon and she was running back and forth from Uptown to Optimist Hall, where she expanded with her second location in May 2022. The space served as a convenient prep…
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Taylor Redd Breaks Barriers as Redd Rose Vodka Founder
Any entrepreneur will tell you about the hardships that come with building a business: seed funding, analyzing supply and demand, marketing and any number of other tasks. Taylor Redd, founder and creator of Redd Rose Vodka, has experienced all of these challenges with one added caveat: having to sell herself…
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Eat Black Charlotte Expands on Food Festival with Bites on Seventh
Eat Black Charlotte started as a simple hashtag in 2020, a way for local foodies to better highlight Black food businesses in Charlotte, but like any good social media campaign, it eventually grew into something more. The Eat Black Charlotte Food & Culture Festival was launched originally as a way…
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L’Ostrica Is a Masterpiece in Three Acts
At some point amidst my multiple visits to L’Ostrica — which opened just south of the iconic Park Road Shopping Center in November 2023 and is already among the very best restaurants in Charlotte — I was struck by a sense of the theatrical, as though it were the inspiration…
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The Sober Curious Movement Continues to Grow in Charlotte
The idea of exploring sobriety and what that means has changed within the last few years. Sobriety describes the act of abstaining from substance use, whether that be alcohol, tobacco … you name it. When someone decides to become sober or explore the idea, telling others can hold a lot…
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Where Does Charlotte’s Craft Beer Scene Go From Here?
“Charlotte has too many breweries.” This is a sentiment you’ve no doubt heard if you’ve lived in Charlotte for more than a few years, 20 minutes into a heated deliberation over which brewery to go to on a Friday. “Breweries in Charlotte, people tend to somehow become a little negative…
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Mariah Henry Cultivates a Shift in Culinary Thinking at The Urban Haven
The Stead at Farmington, an apartment complex in northeast Charlotte, on Feb. 22 announced a partnership with Mariah Henry to launch The Urban Haven at The Stead, a community garden with culinary programming for residents and neighbors. The only community garden within 150 acres, The Urban Haven will include raised…
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Urban Sweets Co. Adapts After South End Closure
For many businesses, shuttering the doors to a storefront, especially a flagship location that had only been open for a single year, spells the end of things. But Kristen Stewart isn’t most people and Urban Sweets Co. isn’t most businesses. Stewarts’ ice cream company, known for its Charlotte-based flavors like…
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