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Food & Beverage Industry

Cities that Sizzle

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 2001

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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.

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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.

Walsh has taken the money and done for the area what he helped do for Union Square -- convert it to a vibrant, diverse business community. Among the changes to Center City are a free shuttle bus service that carries 50,000 passengers a month, the weekly North End Green Market, and provisions that make parking more affordable and much easier to find.

"Charlotte has a lot going for it," notes T. Jerry Williams, executive director of the North Carolina Restaurant Association. "There are a lot of banks, a lot of other industries and a great airport hub. It's the center of a dynamic area that stretches from Raleigh-Durham to Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., and a lot of people come over the border to shop and eat."

Williams adds that the highway system in place has made Charlotte a more accessible city.

"People used to complain about all the roadwork going on in Charlotte," he explains. "Now, that's paid off, and it's very easy to get into and around Charlotte."

Melvin Tennant, executive director of the Charlotte Convention & Visitors Bureau, notes that when Route 485 is finished, it will circle the town and provide even more locations at its exits for restaurants and other retail trade.

Of course, Charlotte's growth is not only about business, Tennant adds. Tourism also is helping to improve the city's fortunes.

"In Mecklenburg County more than 36,000 jobs are tied in some way to tourism," Tennant explains. "Charlotte has become the No. 1 travel destination in North Carolina, and tourism generates close to $2 billion in revenue for the area."

Food & Beverage Industry

Cities that Sizzle

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 2001

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