Dilworth's long-vacant Epicurean lot is under contract
Plus: A Charlotte brewery actually closes; Breakdown of new airport lounge; Was the NFL commissioner in South End on Saturday night?
Good morning! Today is Monday, February 24, 2020. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Potential land deal is the latest hot real estate action along East Boulevard; new office/retail building?
A well-known lot in the middle of Dilworth’s commercial corridor that has been empty for 20 years could be on the verge of finally being developed.
The site on East Boulevard is known to old-timers as the Epicurean restaurant site. More recent arrivals know it as the spot that has pumpkin patches and Christmas trees.
Whatever you want to call it, Grey Poole of Selwyn Property Group tells the Ledger that his firm has it under contract. “We are in the preliminary stages of our due diligence, so I really don’t have any more details,” he wrote in an email.
Word around Dilworth is that the developer is eyeing a five- or six-story office building with underground parking and retail on the first floor. Property records show the lot contains three parcels totaling a little more than 1 acre. The tax value of the land is $2.2M. The property is being marketed by Lincoln Harris, according to a sign there.
The site is zoned for “neighborhood services” (NS), so it could require a rezoning. Selwyn Property Group has hired Collin Brown of Alexander Ricks, one of Charlotte’s best-known land use lawyers.
Of course, it’s possible the deal will fall through, as others involving that property have over the years.
Prom memories: The lot has been vacant since the Epicurean restaurant was torn down in the late 1990s. The owners had hoped to redevelop the site, but plans never came together. When it closed, the Epicurean was one of Charlotte’s oldest and most regal restaurants. “As one of the few high-class restaurants at the time, high school kids even had prom dinners there,” Charlotte Agenda reported in 2015.
Since the Epicurean restaurant closed in the late 1990s, the lot has remained vacant — even as much of the surrounding area has redeveloped.
Dilworth is seeing greater than its usual share of development intrigue lately. Other projects in the area include:
The planned expansion of Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center campus. Atrium has been working with neighbors on streets off East Boulevard who are concerned about cut-through traffic and tall buildings that might be built in the future. Atrium hasn’t said where precisely a possible new medical school might go. It will also make improvements to the greenway.
A company connected to developers Jim Gross and Brian Phillips bought nine parcels totaling 1.8 acres at East Boulevard and Lombardy Circle last month, property records show. City records show that the developers are proposing three condo towers and an office tower, each between three and eight stories, the Ledger reported last month.
On the next three streets over, off East Boulevard toward South End, a company connected with Summit Healthcare has about two dozen residential parcels under contract, the Ledger reported in December. It is unclear what Summit might be planning. The company also recently bought several parcels near the intersection of East Boulevard and Scott Avenue.
This month, a developer filed a rezoning petition on a 1.4-acre site on Morehead Street at Myrtle Avenue in Dilworth that’s the current site of Ellington Funeral Services, according to city records. The rezoning would allow redevelopment of the site “with an age restricted residential community.”
Land action: Developers have been on a buying spree in Dilworth lately, and Atrium Health is rezoning its 71-acre campus to prep for an expansion.
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What does it mean when a Charlotte brewery closes?
A brewery opens in Charlotte, and most of us shrug. We expect it.
But a Charlotte brewery closing? That’s rare.
Bold Missy, a female-owned brewery near NoDa, announced on social media over the weekend that it is closing after three years. Its last day is Saturday.
So what does it mean? Is Charlotte’s beer boom ending? Not so fast, Charlotte beer expert Matt McKenzie tells the Ledger. (A lot of people fancy themselves beer experts, but McKenzie has covered the Charlotte beer scene for the last seven years.) He says talk of Charlotte’s having reached “peak brewery” is overblown:
There’s still plenty of room for brewery growth as evidenced by several breweries’ plans to open or expand in the coming year.
You have to be smart about it all, though. Charlotte has definitely hit somewhat of a saturation point where it’s important to somehow differentiate yourself from others. No longer are the days where you can put just an IPA, brown ale, stout and lager on tap and expect the masses to come. Charlotte breweries are making award-winning beer at its highest rate ever and many have established themselves already, so you need a few beers that really stand out and make people want to come back.
That sounds about right.
This might sound like heresy, but the problem breweries have is they are making a product that is almost identical to the products of 28 competitors in Charlotte. The bet seems to be that enough thirsty millennials will move here to fill all these breweries and buy all that beer. OK, sure, at times, that seems like a safe bet.
Lots of competition: But just think about how much competition there is. If you were toying with opening an artisanal pottery shop, would you do it if you knew that there were 30 other pottery shops nearby? Maybe you make the most beautiful hand-painted vases. But so do a lot of other people. And many of them have been around longer, have better locations with cheaper leases, have vase-distribution partnerships with key people, loyal followings and established brand names. Seems tough — whether you’re making vases or beer.
Beer drinking seems destined to increase. But the number of beer makers?
The explosion of breweries in Charlotte in the last decade can obscure the reality that breweries are like any other business. They’re not automatically profitable just because people like beer. They can fail just like any other business, for a variety of reasons. Bold Missy follows the closure of Three Spirits last year and Four Friends in 2014.
Ledger’s take: Making beer, even in Charlotte, isn’t always a path to riches. Bold Missy isn’t the first to fail. And it won’t be the last.
Today’s supporting sponsors are The McIntosh Law Firm/Carolina Revaluation Services and T.R. Lawing Realty:
Upscale airport lounge opens today: Is it worth $550 a year?
American Express is opening a new Centurion Lounge at Charlotte’s airport this morning.
If you’re a longtime Amex Platinum cardholder and frequent flyer, this news is probably very exciting. Everybody else is probably wondering: What’s a Centurion Lounge?
The Ledger dispatched our airport correspondent to a preview of the lounge last week. Here’s the news release with many of the important details.
Here’s what our correspondent says you really need to know:
Q. What’s a Centurion Lounge?
Credit cards are a competitive industry. Amex has traditionally been the leader in high-end, prestige credit cards. But lately, it has been under fire from the likes of the Chase Sapphire Reserve and a host of imitators. To enhance the attractiveness of its product to its higher-end clients, Amex is opening airport lounges all over the country (see the map here).
The Charlotte opening is the 11th Centurion Lounge, with more coming soon. To gain admission to the lounges, you have to have an Amex Platinum card (annual fee: $550), a Delta Skymiles Reserve card (annual fee: $550) or an invitation-only Centurion card (annual fee $2,500, increasing to $5,000 in April).
Q. How does it compare to, say, the American Airlines Admirals Club?
The new lounge (as well as the other Centurion Lounges) is way better. Whereas you can get soda and pretzels at the somnolent Admirals Clubs in Charlotte, the Centurion Lounge is thoughtfully decorated and laid out, including a mural by Charlotte artist Amanda Moody. It’s got a couple of showers, a kids’ room, noise-dampening light fixtures, and a skyline view of uptown.
Plus, instead of pretzels, it features food from Joe Kindred, the owner/chef behind Kindred and Hello, Sailor.
Q. Did you try the food?
Yes. It’s very good, and it lives up to the billing. I tried the buttermilk fried chicken and the milk bread French toast. They were great.
Q. Where is it located?
Just past security in Terminal E. Which is not the greatest location if you’re flying out of A, though walking through CLT is still better than the sprawl/train combos you can encounter at other big airports.
Q. So is it worth paying $550 per year?
That depends on you.
Ledger’s take: if you don’t know whether or not it’s worth it for you, it’s probably not worth it for you. If you travel a lot, you probably already know about the Centurion Lounges and have made your decision. But if you have a friend or coworker with the right credit card, you should definitely take a look and get a bite to eat.
Can’t get enough? The Points Guy — which is owned by locally headquartered marketing firm Red Ventures — has a full-blown, hardcore look at the new lounge here. It includes about 50 photos (and even shots of the bathroom).
In brief:
CMS backtracks on gender-identity survey: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will eliminate controversial questions on a survey for 6th-12th graders, Superintendent Earnest Winston said Saturday. Some parents objected to three questions on the survey that inquired about students’ gender-identity and sexual orientation. “Given the feedback we have received, we have removed the aforementioned questions from this year’s student survey,” Winston said in a letter posted on Facebook. (WFAE)
No whips: The City Council tonight will discuss changes to the city’s animal ordinance designed to prohibit exotic and wild animals from being mistreated. Among other changes, the revisions would outlaw “the use of bullhooks, electric prods, whips or other devices to handle, train, or otherwise interact with elephants, felines and primates when they are on display, performing or being trained.” (City Council agenda)
Newspaper shift: The Wall Street Journal is notifying subscribers in Charlotte that the weekend edition of the newspaper delivered on Saturdays will shift to Sundays in two weeks because the Charlotte Observer is discontinuing its Saturday print newspaper. The two papers use the same carriers. “We know how much you value the timely delivery of The Wall Street Journal and we strive to provide you with the highest quality service available. Changes in printing and delivery on Saturdays announced by The Charlotte Observer will have an impact on the delivery of The Journal,” the Journal wrote to subscribers. The changes start March 7.
Affordable housing shortage: A Charlotte car dealership is allowing people without homes to sleep in their cars on its lot overnight. Families have been allowed to sleep in the lot of Kiplin Automotive Group on Brookshire Boulevard between 7:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. “They include a veteran, a mother with three children, and mostly young people who have jobs but can’t afford Charlotte rents,” the dealership’s manager said. (Observer)
Celebrity sighting in South End?
Spotted walking into Byron’s South End on Saturday night: Roger Goodell?
A definitely-not-a-stalker Ledger reader took this shot and swears “1000000%” it was the NFL commissioner:
He said Goodell was accompanied by wife Jane Skinner. Our secret photographer reports: “Some guy even shook his hand and said, ‘How are you, Roger?’”
Was it really him? You can analyze that grainy image closer than the Zapruder film and still be uncertain. We’re going with yes.
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, plus a Saturday news round-up. Not published on holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
The Charlotte Ledger is published by Tony Mecia, an award-winning former Charlotte Observer business reporter and editor. He lives in Charlotte with his wife and three children.