The future of South End is underground // APRIL FOOLS' EDITION

Plus: Bojangles struggles with new supply shortages; Historians uncover historic Chick-fil-A photo; Openings from our job board; Jay Bilas previews Final Four; Another honor for Leah & Louise

Apr 01, 2022

THIS IS THE APRIL FOOLS’ DAY EDITION OF THE CHARLOTTE LEGDER — IT WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED WITH NO DISCLAIMERS LIKE THIS ONE. ALMOST EVERYTHING IN THIS ISSUE IS MADE-UP.

Good morning! Today is Friday, April 1, 2022. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

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As land prices surge, developers plan mixed-use projects beneath the streets; micro-apartments, retail envisioned for ‘BelowSo’

A consortium of developers is planning a subterranean mixed-use project beneath South End. The Understreet Mall portion of the development will have a variety of retailers and restaurants. (Rendering courtesy of Thrift Commercial Real Estate Services.)

With South End’s land prices soaring and few parcels remaining available for development, some real estate companies are eyeing an innovative approach: building luxury apartments, shops and restaurants underground.

Taking inspiration from some European and Canadian cities that have built shopping and services in subway systems, Charlotte developers have started sketching out plans for subterranean mixed-use projects on the block north of West Tremont Avenue between Hawkins Street and Camden Road, the site of above-ground restaurants including Hawkers Asian Street Food and Shake Shack. A second phase could later be linked by tunnel to the area on Tremont near Pins Mechanical.

Previously, excavating and building beneath existing structures would have been thought of as prohibitively expensive. But with land prices in South End approaching $15M per acre, developers are coming around to the belief that developing underground is a creative way to save money on land acquisition.

“Sure, it’s expensive, but so is trying to buy a half-acre with a run-down half-century-old industrial building,” said Darrell Hunt, senior managing director of Extraordinary Land Co. The company last month filed plans in conjunction with Crescent Communities for Novel Troglodyte, a 325-unit LEED-certified luxury micro-apartment complex with amenities that include a lighted putting green, LED mood lighting and a combination taproom/health club with tanning beds. Crescent is pitching the apartments as environmentally friendly, with surrounding red clay providing insulation that’s expected to cut down on energy use.

The micro-apartments have shared living space and separate bedroom units inspired by Japanese capsule hotels. That helps keep costs down and allows Crescent to offer affordable apartments in an area of Charlotte known for escalating prices.

Micro-apartments, like those that have been eagerly embraced in South End and NoDa, are planned as part of an underground development beneath Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on Camden Road.

The development doesn’t have a name yet, but land brokers have informally started calling it “BelowSo,” short for “Below South End,” though some purists say that name seems contrived.

World-class city: Urban planners generally like the idea of subterranean developments, which can increase density. The Montreal Underground City, also known as RESO, has become a tourist attraction but also has shopping malls, hotels and a hockey arena. Paris has Les Halles, an underground shopping mall connected to the city’s metro, as well as a series of underground tunnels popularized in the Broadway hit “Les Misérables.”

Building below South End is expected to present challenges, however, because of the need for environmental remediation springing from decades of subsurface chicken grease seeping into the soil from the now-closed Price’s Chicken Coop.

Crescent is partnering with national retail developer Edens, owner of Atherton Mill, to bring below-ground restaurants and retail to the project, including:

A quarter-acre dog park with a 2,000 s.f. hard seltzer taproom, to be called Subwoofer
A 2,400 s.f. hip-hop-themed small-plates restaurant, to be called The Bass-ment
An 1,800 s.f. by-the-minute TikTok video recording studio, as yet unnamed
A revolutionary indoor cycling studio concept, called MineCycle, in which the energy produced from the cycles powers bitcoin mining
a brick-and-mortar location of Snow Your Roll, a mother-daughter-owned venture that sells egg rolls and shaved ice

There would be entrances to “BelowSo” placed strategically throughout South End, developers say.

The development also pays homage to South End’s rich subterranean history. For decades, hobbit-like creatures lived in caves beneath the area, and some of the artwork in them is believed to be Charlotte’s first murals. Hobbit labor was used in the gold rush in the early 1800s and, later, to drag the infield during the 7th inning stretch at Jim Crockett Memorial Park in Dilworth before it was destroyed by fire in 1985.

Bojangles scrambles amid global bo-berry shortage

Executives with fast-food chain Bojangles say the Charlotte-based company is experiencing a shortage of Bo-Berry Biscuits, as the result of a U.S. export ban on Russian bo-berries.

Analysts say Russia produces 40% of the world’s bo-berries and that recent sanctions have caused prices to spike by 305% in the last two months — if buyers can even get ahold of the rare fruit. CEO Jose Armario and members of Congress have requested that President Biden tap into the Strategic Bo-Berry Reserve, established in 1933 in response to the Great Bo-Berry Panic of 1929.

It was frenzied day at the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, following the release of the highly anticipated bo-berry crop report from the Agriculture Department.

Shortages multiplying: It’s just the latest supply chain struggle for Bojangles, which was previously forced to acquire sweet tea from non-legendary sources during the pandemic and ran into shortages of Cajun seasoning for french fries in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which knocked out Louisiana factories last August.

There was some encouraging news for the company, however, as bo-tato prices dropped 5% yesterday on news the Irish bo-tato blight was not as bad as previously feared.

JOB BOARD

Tell your boss ‘so long, sucka’

👀 Check out who’s hiring on our Job Board:

Bank Teller at the 27 new Chase and Fifth Third bank branches at prime Charlotte intersections that could have been something way cooler. Perks include *unlimited* free lollipops, pneumatic tube races and 100% free time, since no one uses our branches.
Social Media Manager for Charlotte Twitter. Duties including complaining about minor annoyances and engaging in petty arguments.
Associate at Red Ventures. Nobody knows what we do, but you can find out by coming to work for us. One of Charlotte’s most progressive companies, even though we built our headquarters in a town called “Indian Land.”
Realtor at a top Charlotte realty agency. Duties include putting up a “for sale” sign within four miles of uptown, answering your phone for three hours to receive 14 bids above listing price and taking your 3% cut.
Agent with Alcohol Law Enforcement. If you enjoy hassling legitimate businesses over obscure decades-old alcohol laws, we’ve got a badge and some power for you. Candidates with demonstrated inflexibility preferred.
Various with Carolina Panthers: From South Carolina municipal negotiator to starting QB, we have a number of exciting openings where no experience or talent is required.

Want more opportunities? Check out our Job Board.

Hiring? Post a job.

Historians unearth rare photo of Charlotte’s first Chick-fil-A drive-thru

HORSES AWAIT ‘MOR CHIKIN’: Lines of carriages snaked around the block in 1917 at Camp Greene, which historians believe was the site of Charlotte’s first Chick-fil-A drive-thru. The War Department complained to Mayor Frank McNinch that the traffic blocked soldiers from getting to their barracks and delayed shipments of munitions needed for World War I combat training, but the city said nothing could be done. Historians encountered the rare photo in a cache of documents being moved out of the main library uptown.

Q&A: Jay Bilas previews big Duke-UNC game — Manek’s Gillette deal, surprise return of Grayson Allen & more

In advance of tomorrow’s historic Duke-UNC Final Four matchup, The Ledger caught up with basketball analyst and Charlotte lawyer Jay Bilas while he was getting a haircut at City Barbers in uptown. The interview has not been edited for brevity as a Bilas haircut takes only three minutes:

Q. How do you expect the game to play out?

There are so many great story lines.

For Duke, the NCAA agreeing to Coach K’s request to select the refs because it’s his final tournament could be big. Also, Duke recruiting Grayson Allen for a one-game appearance through a little-used Covid exemption in the transfer portal might be the difference. The excitement has been palpable in Durham and New Jersey all week.

That said, UNC is riding high, with Brady Manek’s recent lucrative NIL (name image and likeness) marketing deal with Gillette. Then you have Leaky Black, from just up the road in Concord, who is fighting to make sure his seven-year run at UNC ends on a high note.

Then there’s CBS, and the open question of whether Bill Raftery’s career built on screaming nonsensical phrases will mercifully come to an end after 33 years. And debuting that TBS Coach K cooking reality show after the games — “Ratface in the Kitchen” — is an edgy move, too.

Q. You live in Charlotte. What’s the buzz about this game in Buzz City?

I was talking with (Wells Fargo economist) Mark Vitner the other day at a bald professionals’ roundtable, and he said productivity among UNC alumni in Charlotte plummeted 52% this week. Let’s face it, productivity among UNC grads wasn’t great to begin with.

The reaction among Duke fans in town has been harder to gauge, since they typically don’t return from Park City until early April. In any case, it’s been impossible to buy Tums or get an appointment with a GI doctor in Charlotte this week.

Q. Win or lose, this will be the end of the road for Coach K and his legendary career. Final thoughts about his legacy?

I’m actually hearing from sources that Mickie Krzyzewski is sponsoring a new post-post season tournament that could extend his career a few more weeks. I don’t think she’s ready to have him home all the time.

In brief:

More Myers Park ineligibility: Blumenthal Performing Arts CEO Tom Gabbard revealed Thursday that Myers Park High School forfeited all seven of its 2021 “Blumies” theater awards after two actors in “Matilda” were found to actually live in West Hollywood. The school’s award-winning jazz band was also said to be investigating whether its first chair trumpet player, Wynton Marsalis, lives in Barclay Downs as claimed. (WBTV)
Get ready for more Joe Brunos: Charlotte TV station Fox 46 says it is working with geneticists at UNC Charlotte who are close to cloning reporter Joe Bruno after recovering his DNA from a coffee cup at the Government Center. “With our forthcoming army of Joe Brunos, we will rule TV news in Charlotte, moo-ha-ha-ha,” said the general manager of the station, which now hilariously calls itself “Queen City News.” (Fox 46)
Ice cube recipe: Summer is around the corner. How do you make ice cubes? (Observer)
Airbnb regulations supported: City Council member Ed Driggs said he agrees with provisions in the proposed Unified Development Ordinance that would ban large gatherings at short-term rental houses, even though he has found the parties south Charlotte neighbors complain about to be “totally f—ing awesome.” He said he has spent hours personally investigating the gatherings, and that “while we all enjoy doing keg stands and skinny dipping in Piper Glen hot tubs with strangers half our age, those activities fall rightfully under the purview of our new regulations.” (Queen City Nerve)
Underground in South End’s future: With South End’s land prices soaring and few parcels remaining available for development, some real estate companies are eyeing an innovative approach: building luxury apartments, shops and restaurants underground. (Charlotte Stories)
Return to politics: Saying he is inspired by the return to politics of former Mayor Patrick Cannon, former House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews says he’s running for a seat on the Mecklenburg County Soil & Water Commission. Black held a fundraiser last month inside an IHOP bathroom. But it could be a tough race, with former Gov. Mike Easley and former Agriculture Secretary Meg Scott Phipps saying they, too, are considering running for the post. (WBTV)
Rich people arguing: Wealthy residents in a wealthy south Charlotte neighborhood are complaining that a wealthy developer’s plans will make them only much more wealthy instead of fabulously wealthy. (Charlotte Ledger)
Dollar bill shortage: The U.S. Mint reported Thursday that the nation is still reeling from a paper currency shortage, more than three months after the Uptown Cabaret and adjacent parcels were sold to a Chicago developer for $35M paid in $1 bills. (American Banker)
New prestigious award: The Charlotte Business Journal is launching a new awards program it is calling “The Pay to Play 100.” The publication has partnered with an online auction site that tracks corporate spending on Business Journal gala dinner tables, event sponsorships, full-page congratulatory ads and special advertising sections, with the top 100 spenders being presented with the prestigious honor at a gala award dinner.
New dating app: The founders of Bumble have created a hot new Wordle-based dating app called “Four Score,” which weeds out mouth-breathers who can’t solve the puzzle in four attempts or fewer. “No one wants to waste even five minutes with losers who can’t routinely get threes and fours in Wordle. I mean, gross,” CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said. The proprietary algorithm also interfaces with Facebook and Twitter and permanently locks the account of anyone who posts their Wordle scores on social media. “These duds should be eliminated from the gene pool,” she said. (Charlotte Inno)
Tops in the galaxy: Camp North End restaurant Leah & Louise was named top restaurant in the Milky Way galaxy by the Intergalactic Times Food & Wine Review. It beat out a Peruvian tapas bar on Orion’s Belt. (Axios Charlotte, CharlotteFive, Biz Journal, Unpretentious Palate)

A very happy April Fools’ Day from your friends at The Charlotte Ledger.

➡️ Many thanks to a small band of hooligan friends of The Ledger for suggesting ideas and writing portions of today’s fake newsletter.

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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project

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