Orosoko Sound Bar Provides a New Concept in South End

Located along Bland Street amidst the many food and drink destinations that make South End so popular sits a new arrival that hopes to set itself apart from its nightlife neighbors by word of mouth … or perhaps word of ear. 

Orosoko bills itself as a “sound bar,” and if you’re unfamiliar with that concept, don’t feel uninformed. 

“That’s because we kind of came up with the name,” said Greg Pappanastos, who launched the business with partners Nick Spain and Jay Pound. Each member of the trio built their names in different industries in Charlotte before coming together to develop the concept of Orosoko.

Far from your ordinary listening room, the owners of Orosoko aim to engage each of their guests’ five senses from the moment they walk in. 

Walking up to the establishment, just as the sign above comes into clearer view, guests are met with an imposing piece of carpentry. Standing at 10-by-6 feet, weighing in at 1,000 pounds, it is hard not to compare the entrance of the venue to that of a temple or church. 

After being greeted and let in through the mahogany door, I was led to where the host sits and looming above them are two paintings of masked men keeping their eyes on one another. This setup showcases one of the main themes at work inside Orosoko: East vs. West. 

From the drinks to the “anti-fusion” food creations, each mini entrée is poised in direct opposition of another, in a duel between Asian and Latin inspirations. 

My company and I chose our “player avatars” and set out on our own curious battle. One of the first pairings we tried were the al pastor tacos and pork belly steam bun. While many of the base ingredients are the same, both dishes are prepared in the culinary practices of the opposing cultures. 

Exploring the menu at Orosoko Sound Bar

Admittedly, before walking into the establishment, my bias leaned toward the Asian side of the selections, and I absolutely enjoyed the savory tastes and melt-in-your-mouth textures of the pork, hinted with the watermelon pickled daikon inside the bun. 

That said, the al pastor tacos we were served were in a league of their own; the chile glaze worked together with the pineapple salsa in a way that highlighted both sensations, a tad of heat with the sweet component paired in, a tag-team of its own.

Next came the street corn fritters, smoked chile duck confit taco, and steamed BBQ chicken dumplings. As we tried each, with the servings big enough to split between a few people, there was no lack of trying to pick each dish apart. 

Much of the conversation revolved around how each selection of the menu ranked up against the other, something certainly intended by the purveyors of Orosoko.

The menu has an inexpensive entry point; while some of the dishes can run up to $28 dollar price tag, most stay between $12-$18, and with most entrees including multiple dishes, your best bet is to bring some friends and share a communal dining experience. 

The mind behind the menu is Jay Pound, formerly the chef at the ever-popular Soul Gastrolounge. In fact, according to Pappanastos, he was behind more than just the menu. 

“This is really Jay’s idea and his creative outlet,” Pappanastos told Queen City Nerve. “He created this East vs. West idea based on some of the imagery, the décor, and storyboards that we had already in place.”

“When Jay came on board with his culinary background, it wasn’t just Soul, he was at several different high-profile restaurants prior to that, and he’s got a ton of ideas,” he continued. “And so the food really elevated to the level of everything else, and rounded out that kind of five-sense approach to our hospitality.”

Putting the sound into the sound bar

But what’s a sound bar without great sound? The team built out the sound system and infrastructure to best create a vibrant atmosphere for a DJ to spin house music without marring the flow of conversation, helped along by the mahogany wood paneling that can be seen on the walls throughout much of the restaurant.

“We had to work with the boundaries that we had and the surfaces that we started with,” Pappanastos explained. “We were able to enhance them and create a complimentary environment, but it’s very difficult to have great sound without putting in a fair amount of investment, not only in the sound system itself, but in the environment that the sound system is in.”

The sound engineers who worked on the project compared the space to a guitar.

So, you have strings on a guitar, and you strum the strings, what you hear is not just the strings, but the environment that the strings enliven and that creates the sound,” said Pappanastos. “And so, you know, it’s almost like a concert hall. You have some concert halls that are known for their acoustic quality.”

In working with the sound engineers, the team wanted to ensure the environment wasn’t clouded by music blaring out and distorting any conversations among patrons.

Instead, like a movie background soundtrack, the owners were able to devise a way to add the additional sound layer to the full experience itself, while using their means to craft their vision for one of the best DJ booths in the city.

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While he is president of Argos Real Estate Advisors, this was the point where Pappanastos could draw on his experience as a DJ who once regularly played Charlotte nightclub staples like Label.

“A lot of times, the DJ booth is an afterthought, and because of my history playing, we kind of built this entire portion of the space around that DJ booth,” he explained. 

The construction process ran right up to the restaurant’s opening, with the design and construction team finding a way to work three more inches out of the space just to get the exact setup the ownership team wanted.  

In the end, things came together, giving South End visitors a new Bland Street venue to visit that’s anything but bland.

Located at 130 W. Bland St., Orosoko is open Tuesday to Saturday at 4:30pm, closing at 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 2 a.m. on weekends.