You and a dog walk into a bar
You and a dog walk into a bar
Plus: Levine Museum plans to sell its site — Price's Chicken Coop closes today — Latta Plantation closes temporarily over controversy — LaMelo Ball named Rookie of the Year
Good morning! Today is Saturday, June 19, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger’s Weekend Edition.
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Urban Adventures: A pleasant two-mile greenway walk near uptown — with a brewery halfway. (Dogs and kids optional.)
Calling all suburbanites, or city dwellers looking to break out of their bubbles: Has it been awhile since you ventured to one of those areas in and around uptown that you keep hearing about? You don’t need Blumenthal tickets or Knights seats as an excuse to make that trek into the big city — The Ledger is here for you. In this occasional series, we’ll handpick adventures (that we’ve tried ourselves!) and tell you everything you need to know to make the most of the experience, from the best time to go, to where to park (or what greenway/light rail to take). Grab your keys, phone and wallet … let’s go!
The Irwin Creek Greenway offers views of uptown Charlotte and passes through the Wesley Heights neighborhood. It is a trail filled with good people-watching but is less crowded than South End.
by Tony Mecia
In some areas close to uptown, it’s becoming almost cliché: Take a dog, go for a stroll, hit a brewery.
You might think that the best destination for such an excursion would be South End — which indeed is home to plenty of dogs and breweries. But for a pleasant and less-crowded experience, you might consider alternatives, like this one that we recently discovered between uptown and the Seversville neighborhood, a fast-changing area north of uptown with nice views of the skyline.
You don’t need to bring a dog, of course, though this trip is dog- and kid-friendly.
OK, let’s do this:
Today’s excursion: A pleasant stroll along a greenway in the shadow of Bank of America Stadium and the uptown skyline — beginning in a park in uptown’s Third Ward and ending up at a brewery in Seversville. It’s out and back, a mile each way.
(Note: If you’re like me and your brain is too old to remember which ward is which, I suggest a simple mnemonic device to recall uptown’s four quadrants, like this: First Ward, home of the uptown campus of the state’s first-biggest UNC-system school, UNC Charlotte; Second Ward, 2 much development on Stonewall Street; Third Ward, the Panthers score three points with a field goal; Fourth Ward, would you take four kids to Ray’s Splash Planet and Discovery Place?)
WHAT TO TAKE: A little bit of beer money. If bringing small kids or a dog, you might consider taking something for them to do while you enjoy a cold one.
WHERE TO PARK: Navigate to 1199 W. 1st St. in Charlotte. (From Morehead Street, turn onto Cedar Street behind Bank of America Stadium, then take the second left onto 1st Street.) Where the street dead-ends, there’s a large unmarked parking lot on the right that had ample spaces on the recent Saturday afternoon when I went.
YOUR ROUTE: The parking lot is between 1st Street and Greenleaf Avenue. Walk toward Greenleaf Avenue, and cross the bridge over Irwin Creek. Then hang a left onto the Irwin Creek Greenway. You’ll cross under I-77, and you’re on your way.
The nice thing about this route is that it feels as though you are in the middle of the city — the stadium and skyline aren’t too far, and you hear the rush of vehicles on I-77. But the walk is pleasant, going through a couple parks and the historic Wesley Heights neighborhood. Like elsewhere, houses here are zooming up in value.
You’ll likely see some parked scooters. Should you want to ride one, you’ll need the app (Lime, Bird or Spin) and have to connect it to a credit card, which takes a few minutes.
The day I was there, I passed young couples pushing strollers (one mom with a “squad goals” T-shirt), joggers and teens on scooters, but I didn’t feel like I was dodging traffic — which is sometimes the experience on South End’s crowded Rail Trail.
You’ll pass through Seversville Park, which has playground equipment, and the greenway dead-ends, conveniently, at Blue Blaze Brewing. They sell a wide selection of beer and a couple ciders, plus some nonalcoholic drinks, snacks and dog treats. There’s a fenced yard on the side of the building with picnic tables, and the afternoon I was there, a group of adults was drinking while kids threw a ball around. There were bikes and scooters parked out front. Our dog enjoyed a water break.
Customers of different ages relax in the shaded side yard of Blue Blaze Brewing in Seversville, the midway point on an excursion that gets you out of the house and into Charlotte’s urban core.
There’s a lot of construction in this area, both underway and planned. Just up the street is the site of Grubb Properties’ planned apartment complex that’s the first in the city to ban cars for residents (there will be no parking spaces for residents, who will be asked to sign an agreement saying they don’t have cars). The bet is that there are enough people willing to walk and bike — like the people you just passed on the greenway. There are also plenty of apartments, townhouses and adaptations of old warehouses into offices nearby. You’ll see some of this construction on your walk.
Don’t go too crazy on the beer, because you still have to walk a mile back to your car. On your return, you’ll appreciate just how close you are to uptown, because the city is in front of you.
VARIATION: If breweries aren’t your thing, do the walk in reverse. Park on the street by Blue Blaze (528 S. Turner Ave.), then walk on the greenway toward uptown. After you pass I-77, stay straight instead of turning left into Frazier Park, and stop in at Community Matters Cafe (821 W. 1st St.) for a cup of coffee, breakfast or lunch. (Open 7-3 weekdays, closed Saturdays and Sundays). It’s run by the Charlotte Rescue Mission and employs people who are getting back on their feet after struggling with homelessness and addiction.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS: Once you’re back in your car, you’re close to a few other potentially noteworthy stops. Summit Seltzery (2215 Thrift Road), just a few minutes away, bills itself as “the first seltzery on the East Coast” — basically homegrown versions of White Claw or Truly. If you’re looking for lunch or dinner, you could hit Pinky’s Westside Grill (1600 W. Morehead St.) for a burger or sandwich — that’s the one with the VW Beetle on the roof. Or for barbecue, check out Noble Smoke (2216 Freedom Drive), by well-known Charlotte restaurateur Jim Noble.
There are worse ways to spend a weekend afternoon than taking a scenic walk for a beer with friends, family and a dog.
Today’s supporting sponsors are Soni Brendle…
… and Midday Marketing, a series of free online panel discussions with tips on business marketing in Charlotte. Brought to you by The Ledger and Jumbo, a live-streaming platform. The next one is Monday from 11 a.m. to noon. Details.
This week in Charlotte: Alcohol sales are flowing; city mourns Price’s Chicken Coop; Levine Museum selling site uptown; controversy at Latta Plantation
On Saturdays, The Ledger sifts through the local news of the week and links to the top articles — even if they appeared somewhere else. We’ll help you get caught up. That’s what Saturdays are for.
Politics
LGBTQ ordinance draft made public: (Observer) Charlotte city council members have said they want to expand the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, and Republican city council member Tariq Bokhari presented the first draft of an expanded ordinance, which includes protections from employment discrimination and other forms of discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, as well as protections for people wearing natural hair styles. A public hearing and debate over the nondiscrimination ordinance is expected in August.
Education
Winston stresses community support: (Ledger 🔒) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Earnest Winston spoke to the Charlotte Rotary this week, stressing the importance of partnerships and community support. In the audience was County Manager Dena Diorio, but Winston didn’t address the current battle between the county and the school district over $56M in school funding or personal criticism he’s faced from commissioners Chairman George Dunlap.
‘Camp CMS’ kicks off: (WFAE) Some 30,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students began reporting to school last week for the 6-week “Camp CMS” summer school session designed to address setbacks caused by the pandemic. CMS estimated 50,000 students needed summer help, but far fewer enrolled in the program, which is being funded by federal tax dollars and is required by all districts. Officials say 311,000 students statewide are considered in need of the summer school, but there’s no tally yet of how many signed up or how well the districts have managed to staff the programs.
Local news
Farewell, Price’s Chicken Coop: (Ledger) Today is the final day that Charlotte diners can line up for chicken from the iconic Price’s Chicken Coop in South End, which announced last week that it’ll close today after 59 years “due to the Labor shortage, rising food costs, food quality and another coin shortage.” The announcement was greeted with a litany of news stories, remembrances and eulogies for the no-frills restaurant.
Latta Plantation controversy: (WFAE) Historic Latta Plantation is closed until further notice, after a controversy over an event scheduled for Juneteenth that critics say was overly sympathetic toward slaveholders. Mecklenburg County announced that it’s ending its contract with the non-profit that runs the plantation.
Questions over transit poll: (WFAE) In February, Charlotte city planning director Taiwo Jaiyeoba released the results of a poll showing support for a penny sales tax increase to fund an $8B to $12B transportation plan. But a full copy of the poll questions and results released to WFAE’s Steve Harrison showed areas of concern for the plan that were left out of Jaiyeoba’s presentation.
Business
Levine Museum sells site: (Ledger) The Levine Museum of the New South says it plans to sell its 0.7-acre site at 7th and College streets to to transition to a more digitally oriented future. Museum President Kathryn Hill says plans include finding “a more flexible uptown facility to serve our mission.” The announcement this week confirms reporting by The Ledger from last August, when we first reported that the museum was considering options that “could include selling its current location in uptown.”
New South End tower planned: (Biz Journal) A new 325,000 s.f. high-rise tower with office and retail space is headed next to Suffolk Punch brewery in South End. Texas-based Stream Realty Partners is working in a joint venture with The Durban Group, which owns Suffolk Punch and adjacent real estate parcels. Durban paid $4.5M for the land in 2018, real estate records show.
Sports
LaMelo Ball named Rookie of the Year: (Observer) Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball was named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Wednesday, winning the award despite missing 21 games with a fractured right wrist suffered in late March that threatened to end his season.
Good reads
Uptown vs. downtown: (Charlotte magazine) Every longtime Charlottean has theories about how Charlotte’s urban center became known as “uptown,” but historian Tom Hanchett digs into local archives and tells the complicated story of when the area got the moniker — and as you may imagine, it’s complicated.
The winding path to Charlotte’s med school: (Charlotte magazine) Writer Greg Lacour details the winding path of developments that led to Charlotte finally landing a medical school, and breaks down what it means for the city.
The state of NC newspapers: (The Assembly, excerpted in The Ledger) Jeremy Borden offers an in-depth look at the state of newspaper chain McClatchy, which owns some of North Carolina’s biggest newspapers, including the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer. For decades, those papers have set the news agenda in their cities, but they’ve fallen on hard times in recent years with big staffing cuts and McClatchy’s sale to a hedge fund. What does that mean for the future of media in North Carolina?
From the Ledger family of newsletters
Scooters are cruising back: (Transit Time) The use of rentable electric scooters in and around uptown was down during the pandemic but is now on the rise, up 61% compared with 2020.
A loving son stolen by addiction: (Ways of Life 🔒) In our weekly obituaries newsletter, we tell the story of Cody Mogensen, who died at age 32 after a battle with addiction that started when he was prescribed oxycontin after being brutally attacked while delivering pizzas as a high schooler. Cody’s family tells his story in the hopes of helping others.
Liquor sales flowing: (Wednesday 🔒) Liquor sales in Mecklenburg County are reaching new highs, as people are ready to get back into bars and restaurants, and are drinking more at home, too. According to state figures, the Mecklenburg County ABC Board’s sales in May hit its biggest May ever and 25% above May 2019, before the pandemic. The ABC board sells spirits to both individual customers at stores as well as to bars and restaurants.
Lawyers heading back to the office: (Monday) Several of Charlotte’s top law firms say they are making moves to get more of their workers back into uptown offices at the beginning of next month.
Electric ‘tingling’ closes pool: (Wednesday🔒) The pool at Barclay Downs Swim & Racquet Club has been closed since May 29, when swimmers reported feeling a shocking, tingling sensation when using the pool’s ladders. The club is working with electricians and Duke Energy and is making progress with a fix but the pool remains closed until it passes inspections.
Bank boom in Ballantyne: (Monday) Construction crews are building two new banks across the street from each other on Conlan Circle in Ballantyne, which has become a bank hotspot. One bank is springing up in the parcel formerly occupied by a popular restaurant.
Novant says it’s ‘safest’: (Wednesday 🔒) A new billboard by Novant Health off the Brookshire Freeway is proclaiming that it has “the safest healthcare in the region” — in a region that has only two major hospital systems. Why does Novant say that? And what does that say for its rival healthcare system, Atrium Health?
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks