Tupelo Honey just announced plans to open their 15th location this year in Uptown. The southern brand will open its second Charlotte location in a 4,800-square-foot space in the heart of the Bank of America Plaza.
As the North Carolina eatery continues their transition from a local diner in Asheville to a culinary powerhouse across 7 states, it’s now putting even more emphasis on responsible sourcing.
“With ingredient and sourcing transparency becoming more and more important to the consumer, we feel it necessary to help our guests with guidance and information to make the smart choice they desire,” states chef Eric Gabrynowicz. “The future of our food system is everyone’s responsibility and we will continue to do our part and try and be at the forefront of positive change.”
“For us, our regional and North Carolina based vendor partnerships are our oldest and strongest. We’ve grown our businesses together; they have strengthened our story and our commitment to our roots. Not to mention the incredible quality and integrity they bring to the products they offer. We are so proud of our partners with these strong shared roots,” Gabrynowicz added.
Tupelo Honey aims to locally source as much as possible in each individual market. Unlike many restaurants, Tupelo does so with more than just food products. Listed are purveyors local to North Carolina and detail as to what they each provide to the restaurant.
- Imladris Farm (Fairview) – Tupelo’s signature blueberry preserves that are served with the restaurants famous biscuits start with blueberries from this North Carolina farm
- Custom Living Quarters (Fletcher) – Tupelo partners with this woodworking shop to create wooden masterpieces and various architectural elements for many Tupelo Honey locations.
- Annie’s Bakery (Asheville) – Tupelo partners with this Asheville bakery to supply bread for its artisan offerings like avocado toast and on every plate of Tupelo Shrimp & Grits.
- Goodnight Brothers Produce Company (Boone) and Carolina Mountain Trout (western NC) – Menu items, such as the sustainable Roasted Carolina Mountain Trout and Fried Chicken & Biscuits, incorporate meat from these local purveyors.
- Hickory Nut Gap Farm (Fairview) – This purveyor has a long family history in this region and provides breakfast sausage and chorizo to all locations.
- Renwood Mills (Newton) – Located just a stone’s throw from Charlotte, Renwood Mills makes all of the biscuit flour for every Tupelo Honey store. In fact, wheat that grows in the south produces a softer flour, making it great for biscuits.
- Simone Wilson – Although she is now located in Atlanta, Wilson connected with Tupelo Honey back when she was based in Asheville, and her art is heavily featured in all of the restaurant’s locations, including the new Charlotte store.
- Two South Carolina companies not far from Tupelo Honey’s CLT store are Adluh grits in (Columbia) and Orangeburg Pecan (Orangeburg).