This is part of an ongoing series titled Mailbag, items readers submit via email or our feedback form. We get a ton of feedback, this is not close to everything (it’s about 4%), but it’s a good sample.
In response to: SouthPark needs a brewery. The neighborhood is cool enough, right?
“Hey Ted, if you’re a 4% pilsner type of guy, I’ve got a brilliant idea – let’s put a Zima distributorship and tap room next to a new OG (Olive Garden, duh) near the south park mall!! As a suburban dad myself, I would think you understand and appreciate that when I get the chance to get out to a brewery, (a) I probably only have 37 minutes, and (b) I need 6%+. XOXO, Super Suburban Dad” – D
“SouthPark is desert for a lot of things- yes we have Whole Foods, that’s awesome! Not only are we missing a brewery, we are missing a local coffee shop/bakery, a local sandwich place, a local burger place, a casual place to hang out and eat, a park to walk your dog to and I could go on….. Charlotte will always be a car driven city. And parking will always be an issue.” – A
“Yaaaaaaas to the SouthPark brewery idea!” – A
“Agree on the location, disagree on the Pilsner beer type. We may not party like the hip folk, but we can still handle fancy beers out in the ‘burbs.” – J
“Terrible idea. Charlotte should subsidize market rate housing for a percentage of units to allow low income tenants. Concentrating economic stress is a long since failed architectural and social experiment.” – P
“The Mad Parkers and Starmounters would love it so much. Starmount is RIGHT at south park and there’s so many young people (like myself) buying and flipping in the neighborhood who want a cool bar/brewery to go to besides OMB and Brawley’s! – C
“Silly Ted. South Park doesn’t need a brewery. We have the Taj MaTeeter on Providence! $3 craft beers, live music and a rooftop patio can’t be topped by any South Park brewery.” -D
“Let me spell this out for you so you can understand. I’ll hold your hand like a small child – NOBODY in Charlotte needs more breweries. We are officially at maximum brewery capacity and I am sick of hearing about them all the time like we are supposed to be excited. New breweries at this point = white noise.” – S
In response to: Take a look inside Uptown’s “sexiest” apartment building yet, opening in July
“Ascent, low key thicc?” – A
“Ascent is just a value engineered blue box, hardly sexy. I know it’s a quote, but yeesh.” – J
In response to: A comprehensive list of the 6 best doggy daycares in Charlotte
“I can’t say enough good things about Lucky Dog Bark and Brew. Not only is it the cheapest, staff members are super friendly & there is a TON of room for the dogs to run around. Club fetch says they don’t require reservations on weekdays, but we have been turned down multiple times for not making a reservation no a weekday morning.” – C
“The dog in the Club Fetch logo is actually Blaire’s (the owner’s) Boston TerrierClub Fetch.”
“Privileged first world problem! Appalled that this kind of thing even exists.” – K
“Lucky Dog has Brew and Bath on Tuesday’s at the Cornelius location for $15.” – M
“Obviously haven’t checked out Pet Paradise!!! Best kennel in Charlotte!! Most of these kennels use crates, all of Pet Paradise pups stay in very spacious 16ft x 4ft indoor/outdoor suites!” – C
“Camp Bow Wow is one of the best! And in a much better price range than some of the ones you have listed. They also have cams so you can log in and watch your pup in real time!” – J
“You definitely do not know about the best doggie day care in Charlotte since you left Camp Bow Wow off your list. Granted the Metro location off Woodlawn is not one of Dakota’s favorites, she loves the Matthew location and the location in Fort Mill. Which is really great since she basically spends 4 days a week there while mommy has to go into the office. They have cameras where I can sneak peaks at her playing and having a good time. The camp counselor will even sent me picture, point in case the picture below. Dakota is the pillow. Best part when I have to travel for business or decide to got to the beach I can take her with me and she can go to Camp Bow Wows in those locations. I just ask her camp to clone her records over to the other camp. No need to bring shot record or redo the interview process, just drop her off as if it were her home camp. Excluding the 3 in Charlotte (yes she has been to all 3), Dakota has been to 3 other camp (NJ, SC and MI). I have not even talked about the Camp Bow Wow foundation, the training, the cabins they have for boarding or the fostering work they do. So time for you to do some more research and post a correction to your article and now include the best Doggie Day Care in Charlotte…any of the 3 Camp Bow Wow locations.” – D
“Thank you Social Pet Clients for coming to our defense🐾😊. We love the Axios Charlotte and this list was for the best dog daycares in Charlotte and we are in Pineville. We are extremely excited that we will be opening our 2nd location this summer in Charlotte and we hope to make Axios Charlottes list for next year!! Thank you!!!” – Social Pet
In response to: The single most underrated restaurant in Charlotte
“Zio is no longer gunna be a quiet kept secret!!” – S
“Beef & Bottle may be more of a guarded local secret than underrated!” – D
“Dish is awesome, love the cajun meatloaf & fresh made deviled egg as an app or fried green tomatoes. One of Plaza Midwood’s best.” – L
In response to: Inside John Lewis’s $6 billion vision to bring light rail across the city all at once
“More mass transit please! Bring Charlotte into the 21st century!” – C
“I love the hype of a Big Vision, but as a former CATS employee I was there when Ron Tober had the same vision 10+ years ago. Everything sounds good conceptually (especially to newcomers), then 15 years later when it’s still not finished or funding could never get approved we’re on to the next.” – K
“Does anyone remember that there is an East side of Charlotte?” – M
“Yes! An extension south to Fort Mill would be great too! I dream of the day I no longer have to drive in gridlock on 77-North.” – K
“A railway property tax is in order. The development along the corridors have mushroomed 10 fold of predictions. Since these are the primary beneficiary of these trains the cost of each apt and business , new assessments for transit should apply. Since the growth is so enormous a 1/2 of one percent should cover the train costs.” – S
In response to: The 15 biggest names coming to Charlotte for CIAA week
“Here we go again. CIAA time. Cue the racism discussions. I’m not sure what to think this year. Last year I lambasted my friends who callously warned people “not to go uptown”. Then some thugs shot up a car with high power assault rifles. This year maybe I’ll just keep my mouth shut, throw on a Patagonia, and go to Tyber Creek.” – A
In response to: 10 business people that might actually win if they “Pull a Trump” and run for Mayor
“LOL at no Michael Jordan on this list.” – M
“I’m going with Suzie Ford, beer for all!” – K
“Will you being doing an article tomorrow on the great public servants and nonprofit sector leaders in the Charlotte community who are awesome potential Mayors for this great city?! One of the best leaders right now in our state Graig Meyer – NC House District 50 is a social worker. If being a business person is the requirement to run for public office, then we are missing a massive pile of people who are willing and able to not only do the job, but do it with compassion and the will of all people… I hope we see more teachers, public health workers, and those who have put in years of hard work to serve the public good running for office.” – E
In response to: What does affordable housing mean in Charlotte?
“Y’all did an excellent job explaining the difference between the two types and how the rates are calculated. I recently heard Ann Clark speak about how decent, well located affordable housing could be used to attract high quality teachers, a carrot we sadly need since so many of the teacher benefits have been cut over the past few years.” – L
In response to: 7 places to meet people and make friends that aren’t your mom, Tinder or Bumble
“In Dec of 2014, I met the love of my life at a Meetup event in the Mint Museum Randolph. I am so grateful that I had the guts to show up because it changed my life. At the time, I wasn’t looking for anyone, so dating wasn’t even on my radar. I did decide, however, that I was not wanting to use Tinder, or any of the dating Apps. They just seemed like too much of a hassle and not very effective. To this day we tell everyone that they need to go to museums!!!”
“Honestly I’m still trying to figure this out, and I’ve lived here 2.5 years! It’s the only drawback of this amazing city. It’s very clique-ish. This goes hand-in-hand with the article/survey you guys published about the dating scene in Charlotte. Not great. I think social media is to be blamed, tbh. Museums – no one talks at museums to begin with Grocery store – most people have their mind set on getting what they need and getting out… I’ve talked to someone in the wine section, suggesting a kind, but that’s my only personal experience. Instabeerup – I’ve been to 4 of them, and only one was successful in upping my social media followers, but that was the extent of “friend-making”… most people go with someone they already know and don’t branch out while they’re there. They go for the door prizes. Meetup – probably the most plausible option on here Sports teams – this is something you typically do with an established group of friends… it might work if you know at least one person, but never sign up as a random. Volunteer – this could also possibly work if you’re very outgoing. My only suggestion, although not great, is Inner Peaks. It is typically crowded, so you’re bound to be forced to talk to someone on any given night.” – J
In response to: South End’s first hotel will be a Holiday Inn Express, now under construction
“Def agree doesn’t have to be completely lux…and a fan of the design….but what happened to all the community feedback where it was voiced to honor the uniqueness of South End with a boutique hotel? I would recommend a rebranding.” – J
In response to: Big bank bonus? Take a look at the 10 most expensive houses on the Charlotte market right now
“Luxury homes in Charlotte are lacking. They are all in the same area of town so of course they will have similar design elements but canary yellow walls with polished Carrera floors??? And the 20 foot tall mirror over the 4 foot tall fireplace. 😭. Come on builders. Don’t let your clients throw their money away.” – L
In response to: New food hall will be ideal love child of 7th Street Public Market and Music Factory
“My family’s company (Highland Mills Inc.) was the most recent owner and occupant of what I know of as “The Mill”. Since I was small, it always seemed so cool to go to work with my Dad at what seemed like the biggest place in the world. And it always helped that I got to visit with my Zeide (Yiddish for Grandpa), Uncle Sam, Uncle Saul, and a couple cousins while I was there. Never being allowed to go into the warehouse alone, I would constantly ask my dad if we could go and visit with all of the friendly women on the sewing machines and the guys in shipping and receiving, or to visit their break room. I would do odd jobs like adding stickers to boxes or labels to gain a small amount of change which I would immediately blow on a coke or reeces cup. As I got older, I started to realize the effect of the changing economy on the mill as the number of employees fell from roughly 300 to 30. Eventually, I got the opportunity to work at the Mill. I spent three summers working there. First in shipping and receiving learning what a day of hard work really is (and how to properly ride an electric hand-lift without hurting myself, don’t tell my Dad), and eventually learning how to manage my time in an office setting upstairs. I knew the Mill would have to be sold eventually, there were many corners of that large warehouse that were always dark because Highland just didn’t need the room. Nonetheless, it was a sad time when I knew the sale was imminent. I can share so many stories about the Mill growing up. It’s always meant so much to me. But when I realized what it was to become, and that it would be just as cool to everyone else as it seemed to me when I was going there as little boy… Well, lets just say I get filled with emotions every time I read about it. I am so proud. Thank you for covering this transformation so well, and I wish I could thank the developers for keeping the infrastructure, obviously that’s my favorite part about it.” – G
In response to: Thousands marched in Uptown yesterday for Charlotte’s ‘Day Without Immigrants’
“Did it ever occur to you that President Trump is not focused on ripping families apart but rather removing the criminal ILLEGAL immigrants? The recent ICE raids were focused solely on that and were planned most likely (based on timing) under the Obama administration. Also…do you remember 911, San bernadino, and the Orlando night club shooting? Are you ok with all of these happening again? President Trump is simply trying to get a handle on who is coming into our country and just pause entry from only 8 countries for 90 days IN ORDER TO KEEP US SAFE.” – A
“A picture was posted of a sign that said “deport the criminals not the innocent.” Newsflash, if you are living here illegally, YOU ARE A CRIMINAL. That is a crime. I have zero problems with people legally coming into this country. And I do feel for the poor children who only know America, but whose parents BROKE THE LAW by living here “undocumented” (I hate that PC term – you’re illegal.) But I refuse to support the people who choose to live every day as a criminal because they’re in this country illegally.” – T
In response to: I’ve discovered that being an entrepreneur and a dad offers surprising benefits
“I wonder about that all the time myself. We don’t have kids yet, but we hope it’s on the horizon, and I don’t see the entrepreneurial bug leaving me.” – T
