TACO TIME 
Eighteen tacos—some traditional, some not—to try ASAP, and margaritas to wash them down 
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, AND GREG LACOUR

HUNGER PAINS 
Prices are high, and service is strapped. What does the strain on restaurant labor mean for Charlotte’s dining scene? 
BY TAYLOR BOWLERCLTCM

Darby Camp 
The Charlotte teen and rising Hollywood star IRL

The Kids Might Actually Be Alright
Are we overanalyzing and overmedicating normal teenage angst?

Tricks of the Trades
North Carolina’s first public trade high school trains the next generation of workers. For local companies, the students can’t graduate soon enough

EXIT STRATEGY
Exit 3A on I-277 is the most hated interchange in Charlotte. It won’t improve anytime soon

WHICH WAY DO WE GO? 
Charlotte officials have an ambitious blueprint for a “safe and equitable” transportation network—if they can find a way to pay for it

SECRETS OF THE ANTI-GRID
Historian Tom Hanchett answers some FAQs about Charlotte’s entropic street system

PLUS
GATEWAY TO GASTONIA
Gaston County officials are determined to build wealth for businesses and families—and kick its reputation as a local punchline

THE MOMO MOMS 
Six babies, three rare pregnancies, one unique bond

‘MY NAME IS OLIVIA’
A CMS division designed for a handful of students with physical disabilities brings teachers to them. Lately, the program has had to serve hundreds— including a surging number with mental illnesses

PLUS
BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN TOWN
Summer fun right under your nose

TOP DOCTORS
The annual list you can’t live without

SCREEN TIME
A cheat sheet for when—and how often—to get preventative exams

STREET EATS
Ditch the utensils and dig in: Some of Charlotte’s best cuisine is made to grab and go

PLUS
FROM REVOLUTION TO REVELATION
Sam Diminich’s journey to Cuba for “the most important meal I’ve ever cooked”

THE BOB AWARDS
We celebrate the Best of the Best in Charlotte this year—and 25 years of BOB Awards

PLUS
THE NODA THAT WAS
Painter Jerry Kirk keeps the memory of old, gritty NoDa alive. What’s it say about Charlotte that something so recent feels like ancient history

GIMME SHELTER
On a limited budget, I tried to find a place to rent in Charlotte. What I found had sagging countertops, bedside stoves, and possible blood smudges on the wall

ALTERED STATES
Design trends to track in the post-pandemic age

PLUS
JUDY CARPENTER’S REGENERATION
She’s led a pioneer’s life— in business, philanthropy, trap shooting, economic development, and more. At 80, she’s found a new territory to explore

FOUR YEARS LATER ... Who We've Become
Local writers on the pandemic's lingering legacy

PLUS
HOME TOUGH
Fusing style and function in south Charlotte

THE LONG ROAD FROM STANLY TO STEPHEN
Louis Cato, a musical prodigy from Albemarle settles in at the helm of the Late Show band

LIFE, THERAPY, AND THE PURSUIT OF WELLNESS
12 Ways to Get Healthy in 2024

PLUS
THADDEUS JONES
The executive recruiter draws on a deep family history to push for diverse faces in high places

ACCESSORY TO FREEDOM
Farah Usmani sells scarves to help victims of domestic violence flee their abusers

WHAT IS CHARLOTTE CUISINE?
We asked five food-and-drink veterans how our palates have evolved from old guard to New Southern

50 BEST RESTAURANTS
Our annual list

DRY, NOT BORING
Eight mocktails for when you’re on a break from booze

SPILLING THE KOOL-AID 
A colorful group of stand-ups breaks the wall of Charlotte’s high-fructose comedy scene

CHARLOTTEANS OF THE YEAR
The people and institutions who make Charlotte better, in 2023 and beyond

NO COMPETITION
ESPN commentators Andraya Carter and Alyssa Lang celebrate every win

THE WINE ISSUE
With chef-inspired wine and appetizer pairings + Yadkin Valley vineyards

THE QUEEN'S WATERS
The natural waterways that quietly define our city 

THE LONG GREEN THREAD
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway is a streamside path that can take you from NoDa to Pineville and back again—and only on occasion reminds you of the booming city on either side

ROAD HOGS
It’s one of the city’s most coveted properties. But Neese’s Country Sausage has loaded delivery trucks from a little brick building here since the 1940s, and the family-run company intends to stay put

FALL TRAVEL: CARIBBEAN RESURGENCE
Eleuthera, Grand Cayman, and St. Barthélemy

SAVING OUR TREES
Charlotte still merits the title “City of Trees.” But as development downs more of them, city officials and conservationists work to plant seeds of new growth

The Art of Beer

THEIR CANVAS IS A CAN
Meet some of the designers who turn beer can labels into art.
BY GREG LACOUR

THE BABY MAKERS
Parents, surrogates, and professionals wade through the complexities of the booming surrogacy industry.
BY TESS ALLEN

‘IT DOESN’T GET MORE REAL THAN A HEARTBEAT.’
A growing therapy team at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital thinks music matters in patient care—and sometimes goes places that doctors can’t reach.
BY GREG LACOUR

CATS ON THE GROUND
Our booming city needs reliable, affordable public transit more than ever. But our system has a shrinking fleet of poorly maintained buses, myriad operational issues, absent leadership—and no clear route to fix any of it.
BY TESS ALLEN

THE 2023 BOB AWARDS
Only the Best of the Best make our annual list
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, ALLISON BRADEN, AMANDA PAGLIARINI HOWARD, AND GREG LACOUR

NOBODY’S LAND
For potential homebuyers, some good news: The market has started to calm down. Some bad news: It’s settling in an expensive place.
BY GREG LACOUR

FOUNDATION WORK
A pair of builders and frat brothers install charitable giving in their custom homes.
BY TAYLOR BOWLER

EXCUSE US, WE’RE SPEAKING
10 women and the hills we climb.
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, ALLISON BRADEN, KATHLEEN PURVIS, AND CARROLL WALTON

HERE COMES THE SUN 
Three destinations with nonstop service for your next girls getaway.
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, AND JENN RICE

CHARLOTTE HAS AN ARTS PROBLEM
A variety of factors keeps the city’s arts scene mired in a self-perpetuating cycle of mediocrity. What will it take to come unstuck? 
BY ALLISON BRADEN

WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE? Once, Charlotte was run by a group of civic-minded business leaders who transformed a small city into a national player. But they’ve stepped aside, and the city has become a Babel of atomized and often conflicting interests. This is how it happened.
BY JIM MORRILL

50 BEST RESTAURANTS
Plus trends from neighborhoods throughout the city.

50 BEST RESTAURANTS
Places throughout the city that reward your investment in Going Somewhere to Eat
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, AND GREG LACOUR

CHARLOTTEANS OF THE YEAR
They saw new trails through 2022 
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, ALLISON BRADEN, AND GREG LACOUR

CHRISTOPHER WARRENGREEN.

GUIDED GIVING
Seven local store owners share their favorite, bestselling, and giftworthiest goods..
BY TESS ALLEN

KEEP CALM AND EAT DOUGHNUTS
When food writer Kathleen Purvis moved to Charlotte in 1985, a fancy breakfast meant butter on grits. 
BY KATHLEEN PURVIS

CRY US A RIVER
Jokes aside, I-277 is one of the worst mistakes in Charlotte history. What would have to happen to make it disappear?

SLAP SHOTS & ELVIS & BAD GUYS & JESUS 
If ever the marquee of a performance venue could capture the contradictory, heat-struck culture of 1970s Charlotte, this was surely it. 
BY GAVIN EDWARDS

In Memoriam 
Longtime Observer reporter and rail enthusiast Jim Wrinn lived his dream on the tracks.

A FAMILY-FRIENDLY GUIDE TO FALL 
Concerts, Halloween events, fruits on trees, and other ways to welcome a less restricted autumn.
BY GREG LACOUR

SCENES FROM A RECLAMATION
A Concord couple restores “the ugliest” 1900s mill home and documents the hair-raising project on TikTok.
BY TAYLOR BOWLER

UNDER THE HOOD
Before you even take a swig, quality control pros drop science into what flows out of the tap.
BY GREG LACOUR

BEER BRACKET
Our beer competition returns for its third year. Here are the beers you picked as the city’s best.
BY ANDY SMITH

CARE IN CHAOS
Atrium’s Dr. David Callaway on helping Ukraine war refugees and the value of risk

THE BUZZ
Life Lessons
Dr. Ashley Dawson overcame childhood poverty and systemic obstacles to open her own dental practice with a focus on giving back

THE GOOD LIFE
Weekender
Untamed beaches and boatloads of fresh seafood in North Carolina’s

FOOD + DRINK
Now Open
Introducing Yunta, where the cuisine spans the Paci�c and surprises

DRINKS WELL WITH OTHERS
At The Cocktailery, Tamu Curtis lives every hour like it’s happy hour.
BY TAYLOR BOWLER

THEIR HEARTS OUT
Four of Charlotte’s leading mixologists on the cocktails that mean the most to them, and how they worked their personalities into the mix.
BY GREG LACOUR

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE EPICENTRE
Until a few years ago, Afshin Ghazi’s nightlife hub was the place to be in Charlotte. But the good times quickly faded with financial troubles, increasing violence, COVID, and today, foreclosure. What happened, and what’s next? 
BY ELY PORTILLO

THE 2022 BOB AWARDS
Our annual compendium of the Best of the Best in food, entertainment, shopping, and living.
BY TESS ALLEN, TAYLOR BOWLER, ALLISON BRADEN, GREG LACOUR, AND ANDY SMITH

CALL OF THE ’BURBS
People think of Charlotte’s urban core as the hot area for apartments, but developers increasingly head toward the I-485 loop—and beyond.
BY GREG LACOUR

THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
In 2021, Charlotte appointed Priya Sircar as its first arts and culture officer and assembled a board to distribute funding and develop a long-range plan. Could the move help turn Charlotte into a cultural destination? 
BY ALLISON BRADEN

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July 2023

June 2023

Charlotte magazine is filled with timely, well-written features and resources to help readers satisfy their lifestyle-driven needs. Readers rely on Charlotte magazine for information to enhance their modern lifestyles while getting the best out of what our city has to offer. In every issue, readers find information on the people, places, and trends that define Charlotte.

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Charlotte Magazine - June 2023

Charlotte Magazine - June 2023

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