Back in November I visited my favorite cousin Stanley and his girlfriend Diana in Charlotte, NC for a long weekend. They relocated there for his residency and have raved about it since moving there, so I was so happy to finally be able to visit!
When Stanley and Diana lived here in Memphis they LOVED and heavily supported our local/small business community, so it was no surprise that that’s the type of community that they gravitated towards in Charlotte. Population-wise, Charlotte is bigger than Memphis, however their small business and restaurant community has a very familial feel. The area that they moved to reminded me of Midtown, with so many places to walk to to shop, eat, and hang out. I didn’t take a ton of photos while I was there (there’s actually a highlight on my Instagram page that has video of everything), but since we did do quite a bit while I was there, I wanted to create a Charlotte, NC mini travel guide here that you can always refer back to in case you plan to visit and like to do the same type of things that I like to do.
I realized years ago that when I travel, I prefer to “live” like a local versus focusing on say nightlife or a sporting event. There’s a time and place for that, bu that’s the way that I live my life in Memphis, so I enjoy going to local eateries and small shops, touring museums and just taking it slow (but still having a good time) whenever I travel. And a good time was had-so good that there aren’t any pics of the food, lol! Anyhoo, if you find yourself visiting Charlotte, NC soon and are wondering what to do, here’s how I spent my time there.
Day 1
I arrived later in the evening, so I was starving and needed food. I freshened up and changed clothes once I made it to their apartment, and then we went on a mini food and cocktail tour for the evening. They live within walking distance of a lot of local hotspots, which I loved. There’s just something so cool about being able to get around without a car, but not feeling overwhelmed like you might be in a large city. Here’s where we went:
The Bohemian: A Wine Bar
A super cute lowkey spot that has indoor/outdoor seating and is perfect for a little wine, cheese board and good conversation. The Autum Bries flatbread and caprese salad are a must-try.
Supperland
Some of their friends were out and about, so once we left The Bohemian we hopped over to Supperland, a southern steakhouse meets church potluck restaurant and grabbed a cocktail.
Leah & Louise
Leah & Lousie is one of their favorite restaurants to visit, so that’s where we ended the night for dinner. The vibe is modern juke joint and southern cuisine and it didn’t disappoint.
Day 2
The area that they wanted to visit with me this day is called NoDa, which is Charlotte’s arts and entertainment district. It’s about a 5-10 minute drive away from where they live, and once you get there it feels a little bit more eclectic, like our Cooper-Young area. The weather was gorgeous this day and they were having like a little street market, so the neighborhood was buzzing. Here’s where we went.
Haberdish
Obviously brunch was on the menu. Haberdash is a mill town southern kitchen and craft cocktail bar and the food was amazing. I also loved the decor of the restaurant. It has a more industrial feel than some of the other businesses, but it’s definitely a vibe and fits in with the neighborhood.
After brunch we walked around the neighborhood for a few hours, popping into TAC Gallery ( a lot of eclectic knickknacks and art) Pura Vida Worldly Art (they carry handmade, fair trade items from over 40 countries around the globe), and Ruby’s Gift (a lot of locally hand-crafted jewelry and art). We also stopped at NoDa Company Store which had a cute outdoor area with simple swing sets and tables and we chilled there for a bit while we had a beer.
Before we headed back home to rest, we stopped by Amelie’s, a cute little café that serves pastries plus other small bites. The decor alone makes it IG worthy (french with a little bit of pop art mixed in), and the pastries we had were pretty yummy too.
For pre-dinner cocktails and bites we headed to Kiki’s Bistro and chilled on their rooftop near their fire pits. We were the only ones up there which was nice, even though it was a little chilly (the cocktails kept us warm, lol). The apps were Greek inspired (think hummus, feta cheese, veggies, etc), so they were light enough for us not to get full but heavy enough that the cocktails didn’t go to our head. Dinner was downstairs at Soul Gastrolounge which is like THE place to visit (seriously, we had a 2 hour wait, which is why we went to Kiki’s first) but it is absolutely worth it. We enjoyed sushi plus some other bites (the menu is a bit mixed) and it was all yum.
Day 3
We kicked day 3 off with brunch at Snooze A.M Eatery, which has a traditional American breakfast/brunch menu. The selection is pretty big, which means there will be a wait if you go, lol. Totally worth it though. We walked back to their place to change clothes and then headed Uptown to visit the Mint Museum, which I was VERY excited about. If you know me, you know above all else, if we can go to a museum while we’re traveling I’m with it. The museum is pretty big, which means we should’ve gone even earlier than we did because there is a LOT to take in, lol. It has a great mix of contemporary, American and European art and is multi-level. Even after being there for 2 hours we still hadn’t seen everything but we had to do some headshots before it got dark so we speed walked through the rest, visited the gift shop (which was amazing-I picked up a few Romare Bearden prints), grabbed a latte and then headed out.
After headshots we went to Vintage Charlotte, a cute pop-up shop concept that was at Camp North End for the holiday. I found a few gifts for Christmas, plus a few things for myself. They host popups at different places and it’s a mix if indie brand and true vintage finds so I’d definitely go to one again.
We were all tired from being out all weekend, so we decided to make it a chill evening and stopped by Optimist Hall, a food hall with retail spaces as well before heading back to their apartment for an “early” night since I had to be at the airport early the next day. I love concepts like this and hope that more cities develop them because it’s a great way for smaller more independent brands to pop-up with larger mass retailers as well. If you’ve ever been to Ponce City Market in ATL, it’s similar (though I feel like Optimist Hall is smaller). We walked around for a sec, grabbing bowls from Mezeh Mediterranean Grill (so so good), a few gifts from Archer Paper Goods (a paper and pen lover’s dream), and gelato from Honey Suckle Gelato.
I left the next morning and have been plotting my return ever since! I loved the speed of the city-unless it was rush hour, there wasn’t a ton of crazy traffic for us to deal with, and there was so much more for us to do that couldn’t be done in one weekend, lol. If you’re someone that’s looking for good food and an easy getaway, I highly recommend Charlotte. I can’t wait to go back once the weather is warm!