That week between Christmas is a time for reflection, and at Queen City Nerve we like to use this time to reflect on which stories from around Charlotte our readers engaged with most over the last year.

This year’s slate of Queen City Nerve’s most-read stories includes plenty of news coverage — the continued harassment of a retired couple at their home, an alleged cover-up at a South Carolina megachurch, a lawsuit against the rapidly growing E2M Fitness organization — mixed in with the type of food writing, cultural commentary and arts coverage that sets us apart.

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Pizza Baby Flops in Attempt at NY-Style Pizza in Charlotte

By Timothy DePeugh

When we sent this story to print in February, we had no idea that it would garner any more of a reaction than Timothy’s past food writing, but you just never know what’s going to warrant a citywide temper tantrum. It was around the time that we had to field calls from Axios Charlotte for a story about the reaction to our story that we realized something had struck a Nerve.

We don’t publish content in an effort to cultivate negative reactions, and we stood by this article then as a legitimate critique written in Tim’s very specific style just as we do now. It was called clickbait, bad writing, and everything in between by internet commenters, but the NC Press Association in its annual awards recognized DePeugh for a second time, this year awarding him with Second Place in Beat Reporting for his food writing. We’ll take the word of the experts.

Lawsuit Unveils Issues with Fast-Growing E2M Fitness Company

By Annie Keough

Jeff Witherspoon launched Eager to Motivate, known as E2M Fitness, in 2016 with a mission to motivate busy adults who want to lose weight or get back in shape but don’t have the time to attend a traditional gym or fitness center. Since then, building on word-of-mouth that manifested through the company’s referral program, E2M has seen a steady rise in popularity, going from a small Charlotte-based venture to getting national attention.

Over its eight years, E2M has garnered more than 200,000 members, many of whom network and share their experiences with the company’s programming in the company’s members-only E2M Training Motivation Group on Facebook.

But in the fall, a class action complaint filed against E2M for an alleged breach of contract led to a wider discussion about the culture of the company, with a recent shift in the business model leading to an online backlash online in which some members complained they were not receiving the services they signed up for … and worse.

Community Rallies Behind Couple Facing Harassment From Neighbor

By Ryan Pitkin & Justin LaFrancois

The mood was upbeat as a group of nearly 30 people gathered in Jay Walker’s front yard in the Grove Park neighborhood of east Charlotte on June 22. 

The attendees ranged from college students, organizers with local activist group Feed the Movement Charlotte, and Grove Park neighbors, among others. The group kept to themselves; some conversed with one another while others sketched in notebooks — there was no loud music or boisterous behavior. 

The scene looked like any other potluck you might expect to see around Charlotte on a summer day, but things shifted around 2 p.m. when two deputies with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) arrived to serve Walker with a criminal summons. The deputies were there for the same reason the young community advocates were: For years, Walker, a Black man who moved to the home with his wife after retiring more than 10 years ago, has dealt with what he says is unprovoked harassment from his white neighbor, Richard Eury.

Pornhub Disabled in North Carolina

By Ryan Pitkin

Pornhub, the most popular porn site in the world, cut off access for North Carolina users on Dec. 28, 2023, in protest of a new state law that took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. The NCGA in September 2023 passed House Bill 8, which requires age verification on pornographic websites like Pornhub in North Carolina. The proposal was added at the last minute to a bill that originally aimed to add a computer science class to high school graduation requirements.

We already know that sex-related content on our site gets the most traffic — a years-old advice column from Dan Savage about sexual choking tops our click list nearly every week to this day — and we assume this one got so much attention from folks who were already online and disappointed to see that they couldn’t access their go-to porn site and Googled to see what was up after their plans fell flaccid.

Charlotte’s First Coffee Shop for Parents Set to Open

By Dezanii Lewis

“This is something that I’ve been trying to figure out and find out what the vision was,” Stacy Baker told our staff writer Dezanii Lewis about her new business venture, Grow Cafe, in June. “I had this vision the first time in 2017 and I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I knew it was a space that families and children could thrive.”

Judging by the reaction to this story from readers across all of our platforms, it was a concept that folks were waiting for.

The Black- and family-owned play cafe that caters to parents and children aged 0 to 6 opened over the summer on Docia Crossing Road in a shopping center anchored by Cinergy Dine-In Cinemas. Partnering with Enderly Coffee, Grow Cafe offers traditional coffee-shop items such as espressos, lattes and baked goods in an environment geared toward children, with an innovative play space that includes both fun and educational equipment.

The site also offer various activities in an effort to allow parents to better engage and interact with their children including Mommy and Me Yoga, arts and crafts classes, music workshops, and reading sessions featuring local children’s authors.

Clint Eastwood’s ‘Juror #2’ and the Decay of the Movie Studio

By Joshua Robbins

Josh Robbins has been contributing to Queen City Nerve for years, but readers truly began to engage with his personal style of writing this year, including this review/essay, which at the time of this writing remains at the top of our engagement analytics.

In he piece, Robbins delves into the new Clint Eastwood film, Juror #2, speculating about the iconic actor/director’s legacy and the deeper reasons why Warner Bros. decided not to give the film a wide theatrical release.

Getting a First Look at Charlotte’s Two New Jewish Delis

By Darrell Horwitz

When Queen City Nerve contributor Darrell Horwitz learned that we would close out 2023 in Charlotte with the opening of two new Jewish delis on the fringes of Uptown, his Chicagoan heart skipped a beat. Growing up in the Windy City, he was simply used to Jewish delis being around all the time.

So just as 2024 kicked off, he took trips to Joan’s Bakery and Deli in the Metropolitan and Schreiber’s on Rye in Optimist Hall to report back abut how each one stacked up the pastrami.

Nine Charlotte-Area Food Challenges to Throw Down Your Gullet

By Annie Keough

We don’t publish many listicles at Nerve, but maybe we should start? It’s hard to recall what it was that inspired us to send Annie out in search of the city’s most gluttonous food challenges, but local gastronomical athletes have certainly taken to it. We don’t recommend trying all nine, at least not within a short timespan, but trying just one is enough to impress us.

‘The Substance’ Explores Feminism Through Body Horror

By Joshua Robbins

In this review of September’s The Substance, Josh Robbins delves into the body-horror flick to find not what is lurking below the surface but what is actually clear as day, just like director Coralie Fargeat intended.

Lawsuits Against MorningStar Church Expand Sex Abuse Scandal

By Jeff Taylor

Following the Sept. 6 guilty plea to 10 charges related to sexual abuse by a former Cornelius police officer and youth church leader, for which he was sentenced to nine years in prison, leadership at the South Carolina megachurch where Erickson Douglas Lee preyed on children were likely hoping to put the disturbing episode behind them.

They will not be allowed to do so, as lawyers gathered in Rock Hill on Sept. 16 to announce a new slate of lawsuits that name not only Lee but MorningStar Fellowship Church, founder and senior pastor Richard Joyner, former church vice president David Yarnes, former head of security Douglas Lee and others they say turned a blind eye to years of exploitation and abuse.

ESSAY: Love and Loss in Charlotte’s Restaurant Scene

By Courtney Estes

In a heartfelt essay, Futo Buta cofounder Courtney Estes wrote about her struggles to process last year’s loss of her partner Michael Shortino as Valentine’s Day neared.

“The death of a partner leaves an indelible imprint on the heart, altering the terrain of one’s emotional landscape in ways that defy articulation,” she wrote. “Grief is trauma. I would be lying if this story ends on a happy note. I am very much still in this process — a process that is not linear — and I often find myself circling back to ground zero (Grief Day Number One).”

Bojangles and the Threat Posed by Private Equity Pirates

By Joshua Robbins

Outside of the Charlotte Hornets, there is perhaps no local brand more revered than Bojangles, the regional fast food chain that opened its first location at the corner of West Boulevard and South Tryon Street in 1978.

In 2019, Bojangles was acquired by Durational Capital Management LP and The Jordan Group (TJC), two private equity firms. Their mission is (or was) to take the brand nationwide. But if the phrase “private equity” rings a bell and sends shivers down your spine, you’re right to trust your gut. Look no further than the recent bankruptcy of Red Lobster.

In this essay, Josh Robbins decries the private equity firms that have run so many popular American chains into the ground while fretting over the future of his beloved Bojangles

Lincolnton Brewery Owners to Take Over NoDa Company Store

By Ryan Pitkin

NoDa Company Store co-owners Joey Hewell and Scott Lindsley announced on Facebook in February that they have sold the taproom’s NoDa location to the owners of BrickTree Brewing Co., a brewery based in Lincolnton.

“After some deep convo sessions (and maybe a few too many pints), we’ve officially passed the torch to the awesome folks over at BrickTree Brewing Co.!” the post read. “They’ve got the energy, the brews, and the passion to take our beloved spot to new heights!”

Since the takeover, the new owners have kept it operating in a similar fashion to what was always there, though we still do miss those free Sunday lunches.

Airport Presents Plan for Changing Flight Paths Over Charlotte

By Ryan Pitkin

Charlotte City Council heard a presentation from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) CEO Haley Gentry in early December that showed a proposed plan to lessen the noise impact for some neighbors of the airport by spreading out the flight routes for departing planes, sure to spur an outcry from some who currently see no air traffic above their homes.

The presentation led to a broader debate among council members about transparency and expectations around community engagement. Council approved the plan the following week and it will now be sent to FAA for another approval process that could take up to two years and will include more community engagement opportunities.