CHARLOTTE — A Plaza Midwood area business will have to close due to future greenway construction by Mecklenburg County, which is planning a greenway along Briar Creek. It will connect Central Avenue to Monroe Road and dip under East Independence Boulevard.
Mecklenburg County purchased land along Morningside Drive, which is home to Hair Klaudt, a Charlotte salon that has been there for 30 years.
It’s not your typical salon. For starters, it is always decorated for Halloween, and they make and sell a hair dye called Zombie Snott.
“Hair color that lasts long after you die,” co-owner Lydia Stern said.
Mecklenburg County is planning to demolish the building home to Hair Klaudt near Plaza Midwood to make a new greenway. The eclectic salon and r-shirt store will close in August and is looking for a new location @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/b2MHVNUgy7
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) March 27, 2025
Part of the salon is dedicated to Zombie Sid’s, a T-shirt emporium with fun and quirky vintage shirts.
“Don’t get caught in a boring T-shirt for the rest of eternity,” Stern said.
Co-owner Lydia Stern says the business is eclectic, unique, and special.
“Basically, it’s a hair salon with a little something extra,” she said. “We like to be all inclusive, and we just love to have fun.”
Stern says the business has to move by Aug. 31. The 30-year-old business already had to do this once when its building up the street in the old Central Square development was sold. She is now touring potential new homes. This is a familiar story for longstanding Charlotte businesses that have found themselves forced out: Finding a place nearby that doesn’t charge extremely high rent is the hard part.
“Hopefully, we will find another location to work for us somewhere in the area,” she said. “It’s challenging.”
A spokesperson for Mecklenburg County says the greenway is part of an $11.3 million capital investment project.
The construction of this segment of the greenway is still at least a year away. Stern was hoping that would mean more time before they must leave the space. Mecklenburg County plans to demolish the building following the lease expiration to better assess the site for greenway design.
As Charlotte and its neighborhoods continue to change, Stern hopes people remember to support small businesses
“I am really nervous that Plaza Midwood is going to turn into all corporate,” she said. “We need to find something we can afford, which may be a little tricky.”
Statement from Mecklenburg County:
“Mecklenburg County recently closed on the purchase of property at 1116 Morningside Drive in Charlotte. The County purchased the property for the expansion of Briar Creek Greenway in east Charlotte. The greenway is an $11,300,000 capital investment project and is planned to extend the trail from Monroe Road to Central Avenue at its completion. The County purchased the property subject to an existing lease the previous owner had with Hair Klaudt, Inc. That lease is set to expire at the end of August 2025. The County is honoring the lease terms through its expiration date.
“Regarding the construction schedule, the complete project (from Monroe to Central) has been broken into three different construction phases. Phase I, the lower section (from Monroe to Bay Street), will commence construction in April/May. Phase II, the upper section from Commonwealth to Central, is anticipated to start construction later this calendar year. Phase III, the middle portion (from Bay Street just below Independence to Commonwealth) is approximately a year out from starting construction.
“The property in question (1116 Morningside) is in Phase III. It is the County’s intent to move forward with demolition of the building, which hangs over the creek, as soon as the lease expires. This will allow the County to more fully assess the site and have better-informed designs for this portion of the project.”
VIDEO: Man struck in head by brick walking near Plaza Midwood
©2025 Cox Media Group
