¡THE QC LOCAL!

Charlotte’s a busy place. Here’s the best of it.

🎢 Before I get into it this week, it was devastating to hear about the fire at Morehead Social this past week. Fortunately, no one was hurt, according to their Instagram, but still a really scary situation and caused an approximated $150k damage. I wasn’t able to find a GoFundMe, but I’ll keep my eye out. Their IG post promised to come back stronger, so that’s what we will hope for!

March Madness hasn’t really shown its true colors yet, but my brackets sure have. I’ve still got one alive, but the other two are rather toast. I guess that’s what I get for believing the San Diego Tritons would pull through and make it to the Elite 8. Special shoutout to my guy Michael Schroeder for naming his bracket on the ESPN TC app the “TC Local,” which I got a kick out of.

🌹ROSE

• Shoutout to my longtime friend and Charlotte resident Brandon Meeks, who runs a grassroots Twitter account for College Basketball, famously titled @MeeksKnowsBall, for getting featured on the House of Highlights Instagram this morning. If you’re a CBB fan, go give him a follow if you haven’t seen the post already.

🪷BUD

• The duration of March Madness in the city. Every bar with a TV was packed out last night, which is what I love to see about the city. Whether it’s Ed’s, Angry Ale’s, Providence Road Sundries or All-American Pub, make sure to go out and watch your team the next couple of days while supporting local.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

🍸Kid Cashew has an absolute stack of weekly food and drink deals, which include $6 Mules on Mondays and $6 Craft Cocktails on Thursdays. You can even knock out the unreal Mac N’ Cheese with your cocktail.

Never Had a Bad Time CLT Bar Bracket

‼️As of the past few days, I’ve been getting intermittently sent stories from a Charlotte-based Instagram account called @Neverhadabadtime, who put together a March Madness style Bar Bracket of the best bars in Charlotte, which is just a phenomenal idea. Turns out, this is their 5th annual event, with past winners including Ed’s, Hoppin’ and Workman’s Friend. After seeing the bracket (which is below) I figured I’d tell you about a couple of the underdogs I saw in this year’s bracket

• 11 seed(s), Jack Beagle’s/Jack Brown’s over 6 seed, The Local

  • Jack Beagle’s Mac n’ Cheese and Jack Brown’s unbelievable daily burger specials? Absolute steal at an 11 seed.

• 9 seed, Jeff’s Bucket Shop over 8 seed, The Brickyard

  • While The Brickyard can be a fun spot and darts are always fun, how can you beat the nonstop karaoke at Jeff’s Bucket Shop, which is arguably the most fun spot in Charlotte?

• 11 seed, Ri Ra’s over 6 seed, Charlotte Beer Garden

  • I’ve always been overwhelmed by CBG, and Ri Ra’s has Smithwick’s on tap and live music constantly, as well as an awesome upstairs area. Ri Ra is the answer here.

I hope you enjoyed my mediocre takes this week. I’ll be back next week after the first round has been decided. Really fun idea from this account though.

Soon to be (1 of) My Favorite Restaurants?

Since my IG these days mostly consists of all things Charlotte, I’m honestly shocked I hadn’t come across The Wafflery sooner. Tucked on E. 10th street in the Belmont neighborhood, this brunch spot looks unbelievable, and a true hangover cure. Open from 7am-3pm on the Weekends with a killer menu, I’ll be soon trying their Hot Chicken Grit Bowl. After a night out, this looks like it could actually cure you enough to get up for Sunday church.

other goings on 🔥

• Sycamore Brewing is opening a more family friendly taproom in 2026, located in Cotswold. Seems like a strategic play for them.

• La Lima Sangucheria opens on March 24th serving up Peruvian Style Sandwiches in Southend. Interested to see how that pans out!

Let me know of anything you hear about or wanna hear about!

Hit me up at [email protected] for any q’s or debates you may have.

— Jack