Charlotte’s largest new restaurant of 2017 is expected to host their grand opening this coming June to open at the corner of South Poplar and West Fourth streets. ‘Loft & Cellar’ will have over 7,600 square feet on 3 separate floors with 3 separate uses.
The basement will include the kitchen, a private dining room, and a romantic wine cellar. The first floor will have the main dining room and bar, and the second floor will feature a second dining area with a late-night bar and private lounge.
Executive Chef Nicolas Daniels is a local Johnson & Wales University graduate who’s resume includes cooking for The Wooden Vine, Ember Grille, and Georges Brasserie.
His dishes will be inspired by culinary experiences from South America to the Mediterranean to New York and Chicago, according to their website.
Some signature dishes will include Nicaraguan tamales, chicken tikka masala, a reuben-tartare plate, with small entrees starting at $6.
The restaurant will open every night of the week, as well as during lunch hours for business-casual take-out service and Sunday brunch.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals just ruled against Widden I-77’s toll lanes case. After a long fought battle, the court basically just threw out all of their legal objections against the toll lanes.
According to Widden I-77, the court basically found that:
(1) delegating the unfettered right to set tolls to a private company on public infrastructure is an appropriate delegation of authority;
(2) 50 years of private tolling serves a public purpose;
(3) the project does not reduce the number of general purpose lanes because the contract says it does not; and
(4) tolls are not taxes.
The group also noted that, “the court did not mention the fact that a portion of toll revenues are to be paid to the state as required by the P3 statute, nor did they mention the fact that the contract sets a threshold for revenue sharing so high it constitutes a de facto elimination of revenue sharing thereby violating the P3 statute.”
Widen I-77 will now begin to plan their next actions against the toll lanes, they noted that they do not plan on giving up the fight.
You can find out more about the group on their website, WidenI77.org.
A $12.4 million contract has just been awarded to the Blythe Construction Company by the NCDOT for the entire resurfacing of a major stretch of I-85 all the way from Lowell in Gaston County to Mecklenburg County.
Contruction will start on the new project sometime in the next couple months and is expected to take about a year to finish, with an expected completion date of August 30th, 2018.
The company is planning to only work the night shift, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., the highway will not be closing while the work progresses, according to the NCDOT.
The $12.4 million contract also includes rehabbing the South Fork and Catawba river bridges.
All drivers must reduce speeds during the duration of the project.
In about 2 weeks, Whole Foods will be opening their 3rd Charlotte area location is the new Waverly Development.
The will be the main anchor tenants of the massive 90 acre development near the corner of Providence Road and Ardrey Kell Road, just south of 485.
The Waverly development will also include the following businesses:
Whole Foods will be hosting a Bluegrass and BBQ grand opening celebration in about 2 weeks on May 20th from 4pm-7pm, with proceeds going to the Sustain Charlotte non-profit.
The grand opening will also feature tons of discounts, product demos, and free samples.
This will be the 3rd Whole Foods in the Charlotte region, in addition to the one in South Park and Huntersville – a 4th location is also being constructed in Uptown.
A new bill has passed the NC House that would allow North Carolina drivers to drive through protesters who are blocking the road without being sued, as long as they “exercise due care.”
The North Carolina House passed HB 330 with a 67-48 vote.
It was introduced by Republican Justin Burr and “provides that a person driving an automobile while exercising due care is immune for civil liability for any injury to another if the injured person was participating in a demonstration or protest and blocking traffic.”
“As we’ve seen, time and time again, as folks run out in the middle of the streets and the interstates in Charlotte and attempt to block traffic,” Burr said. The Republican commented that he wants to ensure that “drivers don’t have to fear driving through Charlotte or anywhere in North Carolina.”
“This bill does not allow for the driver of a vehicle to target protesters intentionally,” he added. “It does protect individuals who are rightfully trying to drive down the road.”
Charlotte saw a number of roads blocked after the death of Keith Lamont Scott and the protests that followed last year. During the second night of the protests, rioting erupted in Uptown Charlotte, with one person being shot and killed.
Here’s some footage from the rioting last year:
The bill is now heading to the NC Senate for final approval.
The YMCA is about halfway through construction on their new $20 Million, 48,000 square foot facility on Robinwood Lake, that will feature a boathouse, an open-air chapel, several waterside athletic fields, and 2 full-sized indoor pools.
The new boathouse will allow members to rent canoes, stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, as well as fishing boats with electric motors. Artificial reefs are being installed in the lake, that will be stocked with roughly 40,000 large-mouth bass and bream for fishing.
Two miles of trails are being built through the nearby woods, as well as a day camp village with the ability to camp in tents and secluded spots to meditate in peace.
The facility will also include a 2-story climbing wall and app-accessible cafe that will serve shakes, smoothies, juices, salads, wraps.
The new Robinwood Lake YMCA will replace 2 outdated facilities – the YMCA Central Branch on Franklin Blvd. and the South Gastonia YMCA on Union Rd.
Grand opening is now scheduled for November or December of this year.
Jacques Webster, Jr., better known by his stage name Travis Scott, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Houston, Texas. In 2012, Scott signed a record deal with Epic Records.
He’ll be performing this coming Friday night at the AvidXchange starting at 8pm
This weekend will be the first weekend of the U.S. National Whitewater Center’s 2017, featuring a variety of outdoor feature-length films from across the globe, viewers will have a chance to experience the active, outdoor lifestyle from the perspectives of those living it to the fullest. The Whitewater Film Series takes place on Friday evenings at sunset in April, May, September, and October.
This coming Friday they’ll be playing the Trails in Motion;
The producers of the world’s biggest magic show, The Illusionists have teamed up with the award winning puppeteers from War Horseto present a thrilling turn of the century circus spectacular.
Sensational puppetry puts Elephants back in the ring as never seen before along with a huge cast of the most unique, amazing and dangerous circus acts from all four corners of the world, from strong men to contortionists, acrobats to musicians, high wire and much more!
Bastille are a British indie pop band formed in 2010. The group began as a solo project by lead vocalist Dan Smith, but later expanded to include keyboardist Kyle Simmons, bassist Will Farquarson, and drummer Chris Wood.
This coming Sunday from 2pm-6pm, Huntersville will be hosting the town’s annual music and arts festival.
There will be performances will be center stage for 2017 as follows: 2-3pm / Drums 4 Life, 3-4pm / The Connick School of Irish Dance, 4-5pm / Aloha Island Hula Girls, 5-6pm / Latin Music Quartet. Join Drums 4 Life from 3-4pm outside Fire Station 1 to learn how to play in a drumming circle. Aloha Island Hula Girls will be roaming the event grounds from 5-6pm teaching the crowd how to hula dance, limbo, and to take pictures. Enjoy the roaming mime, hoop dancer, and Native American stories and artifacts by Ramona Moore Big Eagle.
The sixth edition of the North Carolina festival is set for the weekend of May 5 – 7 in the city of Charlotte at the Motor Speedway and will feature Soundgarden, Def Leppard and Avenged Sevenfold as the headliners.
Soundgarden will close out the first night of the fest, with A Perfect Circle, Mastodon, the Cult, Pierce the Veil, Opeth, Amon Amarth, Eagles of Death Metal and Highly Suspect making up the top portion of Friday’s billing. Also performing that day will be Gojira, Nothing More, Every Time I Die, Starset, Radkey, Crobot, Volumes, Dorothy, As Lions, Wage War and Mother Feather.
Uptown Charlotte’s murder-mystery dinners begin innocently enough—guests arrive to mingle amid drinks and quiet conversation. As diners munch away, a sudden death interrupts the feasting. A detective arrives to determine who the killer is, inevitably laying blame on one of the audience members. Tablemates work together to prove their innocence and find the real killer through an interactive performance full of hilarious suspects and eye-catching costumes, all the while dining on the included three-course meal and taking advantage of drink specials.
This coming Sunday, from 1pm-5pm, Charlotte’s next Open Streets 704 will take place.
Grab your friends and family and join us for the next Open Streets 704 event! Open Streets create a temporary, linear park by opening the roads to pedestrian, bicycle, and other “people powered” transportation, so the streets can be used for walking, cycling, dancing, playing, and connecting neighbors.
Four-year-old Charlee Rivers is now playing just as hard as all the other girls in her neighborhood, it’s unbelievable to think that just a year ago, she had a critical heart defect and was at the top of the heart transplant list.
Immediately after Charlee was born, doctors at the Levine Children’s Hospital rerouted all her arteries to her right side. She was essentially born with “half-a-heart”, according to her mother – a condition that impacts roughly one-in-a-thousand children.
In her first 3 years of life, she had to undergo numerous surgeries – many thought she’d never make it to see her 4th birthday.
On July 11th, 2016, Charlee was officially released from the hospital.
The Rivers family now believe that what happened to Charlee was a true miracle, they believe that Jesus healed her.
“It had to be a miracle. There’s no other explanation for how she turned around because she was top priority on the heart transplant list,” commented her mother.
The Rivers family wants Charlee’s story to be shared to inspire hope in others, and to help fundraising drives for other children born with congenital heart defects.
Charlotte native and former Northwest School of the Arts student Eva Noblezada has just received a best actress nomination in the 2017 Tony Awards for her Broadway debut.
The 21-year-old actress was nominated for her star role in “Miss Saigon” as Kim, a young Vietnamese bar girl who falls in love with an American soldier.
She’s now up against some stiff competition, including; Denée Benton (“Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”), Christine Ebersole (“War Paint”), Patti LuPone (“War Paint”) and Bette Midler (“Hello, Dolly!”).
This is now Eva’s first Tony nomination after taking the big stage just a few years ago. She got her first big break at the age of 17, taking the role of Kim for “Miss Saigon” to lead the Broadway revival of the musical.
She has also played a leading role in West End’s “Les Miserables.”
Here is Eva performing the hit song, The Last Night of The World, on the Today Show:
South End Hops Festival will hold its fourth annual event for beer enthusiasts and the benefit of RescuedMe, a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing dogs in dire need, rehabilitating them and placing them in stable, loving homes.
The festival, a staple in South End, will take place on Saturday, May 13 at 308 W. Carson Boulevard and Mint Street from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Presented by Greystar, attendees will experience craft beer, live music and food trucks.
“We are so excited for this year’s South End Hops Festival that will gather the community for a good time and a good cause,” said Maureen Mahood, President and Co-founder of RescuedMe. “The increased awareness of our services and financial support we receive allow us to care for those dogs in Charlotte who might not otherwise survive. Not only do our dogs find safe homes, but those who adopt find a companion.”
An anticipated 1,500 attendees will experience beer from more than 40 local favorites including Big Boss Brewing Company, Blue Blaze Brewing Company and Triple C Brewing Company. New this year, the festival will feature cooking demonstrations by Chef Chris Coleman of Stoke Charlotte, as well as the Blue Blaze Brewing Beer Garden that will feature shade umbrellas, wooden benches and hay bales. Bands scheduled to perform include Clydes on Fire and The Business People.
South End Hops Festival is dog-friendly and open to individuals 21 years of age or older. General admission entitles guests to unlimited beer tasting and a souvenir tasting cup. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the gate. Attendees can purchase tickets, volunteer and learn more about the event by visiting southendhopsfest.org or calling 877-725-8849.
About RescuedMe
RescuedMe provides education, prevention, intervention, and adoption services to ensure that lost or abandoned dogs enjoy long, healthy lives in loving, safe, appropriate homes. The Charlotte-based organization is a 501(c)(3) organization run solely by volunteers since 2007. To donate, volunteer, adopt or learn more about the organization, visit www.rescuedme.org or call 704-621-3066.
Charlotte’s largest new restaurant of 2017 is expected to host their grand opening this coming June to open at the corner of South Poplar and West Fourth streets. ‘Loft & Cellar’ will have over 7,600 square feet on 3 separate floors with 3 separate uses.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals just 
A $12.4 million contract has just been awarded to the Blythe Construction Company by the NCDOT for the entire resurfacing of a major stretch of I-85 all the way from Lowell in Gaston County to Mecklenburg County.
Whole Foods will be hosting a Bluegrass and BBQ grand opening celebration in about 2 weeks on May 20th from 4pm-7pm, with proceeds going to the 
A new bill has passed the NC House that would allow North Carolina drivers to drive through protesters who are blocking the road without being sued, as long as they “exercise due care.”
