Photos: Emma Way/Axios
A new brewery called Midnight Mulligan is now open in Wesley Heights.
The big picture: The once-industrial strip of Thrift Road is now a booming food and drink district with the East Coast’s first spiked seltzer brewery, a dog bar, a popular high-end restaurant, a ghost kitchen collective, and now a new brewery and restaurant.
- Also on the street: Wray Ward’s hip new office with over 100 employees. Noble Smoke is just around the bend, and Lulu’s Maryland-Style Chicken and Seafood is there, too.
What to expect: The 10,000-square-foot brewery and restaurant has an expansive 3,000-square-foot patio with skyline views. The taproom serves a number of beers brewed in-house as well as a couple spiked seltzers from neighbor Summit Seltzer.
- The best seat in the house is in front of the fireplace in Midnight Mulligan’s private event space, which also has direct access to the patio (and views).
Yes, but: Another brewery?! We knew you were thinking it. Head brewer Jeff Bowman knows it too. “We’re different,” he tells me. “We’re going to be a modern brewpub.”
[Related Axios guide: Complete list and map of Charlotte’s 30+ local breweries, plus the most popular beer at each]
The beer: Midnight Mulligan launched with six beers brewed in-house, plus some collaborations. An Oregon native and Birdsong Brewing veteran, Bowman focuses on West Coast-style beers. In addition to IPAs, it offers lagers, sours, stouts and a variety of seasonal beers.
- “Go big or go home,” is the West Coast spirit Bowman hopes to emulate at Midnight Mulligan, he says. That means, “jam as much hop flavor and aroma into the beers as we can, while still being as balanced and clean and session-able.”
Food: The brewery will also have a simple, but elevated food menu, restaurateur Kevin Parker tells me. Led by executive chef Jzhanece Frierson, menu highlights include the burger, mac and cheese with prime rib, a salmon BLT and anything topped with Midnight Mulligan’s scratch-made beer cheese.
- Parker has been a fixture in Charlotte’s dining scene for decades and most recently served as executive chef at The Hotel Tavern in West Jefferson, N.C.
Mac and cheese topped with short rib.
Location: Midnight Mulligan’s exact address is 2215 Thrift Rd., Unit A.
Here’s a look around:
Kevin Parker and Jeff Bowman. Photo: Emma Way/Axios
Taproom burger.
Blackened salmon BLT
Salmon and veggies off the small plates menu is one of chef Frierson’s favorite dishes.
Editor’s note: This article has been refreshed with new photos and information about the now-open brewery. It was last updated on January 3, 2022.
