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Cities that Sizzle

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 2001

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Local unemployment rate: 2.5%

Sources: U.S. Dept. of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau; Editor & Publisher Market Guide; NRN Research.

Charlotte, N.C.

Paul King

Once known as a 'hornets nest of rebellion,' this city is now recognized as the 'Queen Bee' of North Carolina

When Charlotte, N.C., was embroiled in the American Revolution, British Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis referred to the town as "a hornet's nest of rebellion."

Today Charlotte is simply a beehive of activity, enjoying perhaps the finest period of growth in its 350-year history. An increasingly efficient transportation grid and the infusion of jobs and capital from banks and high-tech companies have combined to make the Queen City -- named for Queen Charlotte Sophia, wife of King George III -- one of the most vibrant urban areas in the South, and restaurateurs are starting to take notice.

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"Charlotte is definitely an up and coming city," says Nick LaVecchia, president of Big Fish Ventures, the parent company of LaVecchia's Seafood Grille. "It's a very desirable place to live, with its temperate climate and laidback atmosphere. I think the quality of life is second to none. And the Bank of America has really revitalized the downtown area."

According to the North Carolina Restaurant Association, restaurants in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County generate about $1.4 billion in annual revenue, or about 15.5 percent of the state's $9 billion restaurant trade. That percentage is expected to grow as the city and county expand. Companies like Bank of America and Compass Group North America, the U.S. arm of Granada Compass, the world's largest food management company, have brought more than $1 billion and 13,000 jobs to Charlotte over the last decade, and the city economy is expected to grow by 19 percent through 2005.

Rob Walsh, who heads Charlotte Center City Partners, a nonprofit organization charged with improving the city's main business district, says restaurateurs now want to take part in the area's regeneration.

"Off the top of my head, I could count off at least 30 restaurants that have opened just in downtown in the last four years," Walsh notes. "That's an extraordinary number of restaurants for a city the size of Charlotte."

In fact, there are now 130 eating establishments in Center City, encompassing everything from Burger King, Bojangles and Caribou Coffee to Bistro 100, Morton's of Chicago and LaVecchia's.

Walsh notes that's quite a change from what he found when he arrived four years ago. Then he found an active business district -- and not much else.

"Center City used to be treated like an office park," recalls Walsh, who managed the Union Square Business Improvement District in New York City before coming to Charlotte. "They may as well have rolled up the sidewalk at 5 p.m."

Center City is no longer bereft of nightlife, thanks in large measure to the banks that have made Charlotte the third-largest banking center in the country. Bank of America and First Union, along with other businesses and local government, have poured nearly $20 million into the redevelopment of Center City, which encompasses 16 square blocks of office, retail and residential space.

Food & Beverage Industry

Cities that Sizzle

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 2001

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