Restaurant Bites: What's new and what's coming to a menu near you

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As several new restaurants opened across the Charlotte area in March, uptown lost a couple of longstanding eateries.

Among those uptown Charlotte closures was Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, which closed on the edge of First and Fourth wards in late March after a run of 20-plus years.

And Charlotte veteran restaurateur Pierre Bader closed his City Smoke barbecue spot in early March after seven years in operation. Bader, however, will add a new concept in that 3,000-square-foot space in Bank of America Corporate Center — a wine bar that dishes up Italian small plates.

Some other restaurant spaces that have been vacant for months are now filling up. That includes 3,000 square feet at 4423 Sharon Road in SouthPark, once home to Treehouse Whiskey and Fork. It’s been replaced by a Southwest-inspired eatery called Pink Cactus Bar Kitchen. Across town, in NoDa, a “neighboring gathering spot” is slated to take over 2,400 square feet formerly occupied by Solstice Tavern at 3321 N. Davidson St. That restaurant closed last November.

The April edition of CBJ's Restaurant Bites feature offers a more complete look at what's new in Charlotte's restaurant scene.

Cox Media Group