Restaurant Bites: Pandemic, RNC move weigh on local establishments

CHARLOTTE — June marked another particularly rough month for local restaurant and bar owners as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on and the Republican National Convention moved its main event out of Charlotte.

Some concepts debuted in Charlotte for the first time, such as RH’s (formerly Restoration Hardware) rooftop restaurant at its three-story space in SouthPark’s Phillips Place retail center and new eateries at Camp North End.

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Other establishments reopened, only to have to close down again on a temporary basis. Restaurants including The Waterman Fish Bar in South End, Stagioni in Myers Park and The Dumpling Lady food truck and food stall in Optimist Hall closed temporarily after employees tested positive for Covid-19 (the former two have reopened).

COVID-19 forces temporary closure of popular The Dumpling Lady

And a number of Charlotte-area restaurants and bars announced in June they have shuttered for good amid the pandemic.

Local establishments were dealt another big blow earlier in the month when a major event scheduled for late August that would have provided some welcomed business was pulled from Charlotte. RNC organizers made official on June 11 plans to relocate the bulk of the convention to Jacksonville, Florida.

For the full roundup of restaurant-related news in June, check out CBJ’s latest installment of Restaurant Bites here.