Uptown Magazine: December 2009

uptown m a g a z i n e
december.09
www.uptownclt.com uptown 1
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2 uptown www.uptownclt.com
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December 09.indd 8 11/25/2009 12:00:43 PM

ity
75
nts
22
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the seen pictures: catchlight studio
It was a decadent evening filled with

sushi, drumming and fire, capped
off by our fourth annual sexy auction
that raised $10,000 for the Levine
Children’s Hospital. Enso at the
Epicentre graciously hosted the event,
with DrumStrong providing not only
the background drum beat but also
the matching funds from the auction
for the Levine. Fire was provided
by the women from Exuro and Jim
McGuire threw in his own homemade
flame thrower. Hardin Minor served as
emcee and auctioneer and put on his
finest gold bejeweled top hat and tails.
If you missed it this year, don’t make
the same mistake again in 2010.
December 09.indd 10 11/25/2009 12:00:49 PM

December 09.indd 11 11/25/2009 12:00:50 PM

01_00
the seen pictures: catchlight studio
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01_00772/3.qxd:Layout 1 11/17/09 2:17 PM Page 1
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*
uptown
Originally from Shelly Shepard, Ryan Sumner Charlotte native A man about town
NY, Alessandra an editor/writer, is both Creative Matt Kokenes is with his camera,
Salvatore has called called The Charlotte Director and Owner no stranger to the George Lanis of
Uptown Charlotte Observer home for of Fenix Fotography, media-sales business Catch Light Studio
home for a year over 10 years, writing a full-service photo in the Queen City. He has been photograph-
now. An avid writer headlines and copy studio located in has been selling both ing people in his
of articles, reviews, editing countless Plaza-Midwood that’s print and television for native Charlotte for
and screenplays, front-page stories. dedicated to creating almost seven years. years. From friends’
Alessandra’s other Wanderlust has taken compelling and artful Through perseverance weddings to parties to
addictions include Shelly from teaching images for corporate, and intestinal family photos for the
interior decorating, English in Prague, advertising, fashion, fortitude, Matt has holidays, his work is
red wine, and to living in a hut in and weddings. The shown he has the creative and diverse,
“swapping”—she Thailand. studio also offers on toughness to succeed and he’s always look-
recently created If not working, site studio work for in this business. This ing to show you in the
SwapSassy.com, chances are you’ll find executive headshots. month Matt goes best light. Check out
a website where her hiking. Ryan’s photographs deep underwater catchlightonline.com
fashionistas can swap Professionally, Shelly’s appear in the fashion to figure out what’s for more.
clothing. When not at home with a page section of this going into the city’s
scoping the Charlotte of words in front month’s issue. Click to water system.
scene, you can find of her, a mouse in fenixfoto.com to find
her at home in the hand and a deadline out more about Ryan.
company of her looming.
husband, Greg, and
her fat cat, Marcus.
December 09.indd 16 11/25/2009 12:00:59 PM

A native Charlottean, name: Little Shiva
Jennifer
Misenheimer is species: mutant
a hair stylist and
artistic creator with here for: the smell of
a discerning eye for ink on paper
style. When she’s
not doing hair at interests: juxtaposi-
Escape Hair and Skin tion, transformation,
Studio, in Dilworth, mystery, clarity, the
or styling fashion process of becoming,
shoots, Jennifer finds image and design
outlet for her creative
passion through contributions to
painting, personal this issue: table of
styling, and designing contents
one-of-a-kind custom
costumes. website:
This month, Jennifer littleshiva.com
styled our fashion
layout.
December 09.indd 17 11/25/2009 12:01:01 PM

*
uptown
Greg Lacour is Victoria Cherrie Kristin Sherman

a Charlotte-based grew up overseas, has called Charlotte
freelance writer studied journalism in home since 1994,
who has written for Kansas and migrated when she first started
an assortment of to the N.C. coast. She teaching English as a
publications in and spent nearly 20 years Second Language at
outside of the city, covering stories at CPCC. She also writes
including The New newspapers across ESL textbooks and
York Daily News, the state and now is workbooks, which is
Crossroads Charlotte a public relations con- much more fun than it
and the UNLV alumni sultant and freelance sounds. Over the last
magazine. He was writer in Charlotte. decade, she has tried
a reporter on The Recently, her byline her hand at short sto-
Charlotte Observer’s has appeared in The ries and essays, which
Metro staff for nearly New York Times and very occasionally find
10 years and worked she has reported for their way into print.
in daily newspapers WFAE 90.7 FM. When
for 16. A native of New she’s not writing from
Orleans, Lacour lives her Plaza-Midwood
in NoDa. home, she’s shopping
or relaxing on her sail-
boat with her dog.
December 09.indd 18 11/25/2009 12:01:06 PM

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December 09.indd 19 11/25/2009 12:01:09 PM

Letter from the editor
* have 365 days of drama-filled reality fit for our own
show on MTV, and problems I had never dreamed
of when still at Wachovia, thinking of starting a
magazine.
The year started with copyright issues from
Editor/Publisher
Todd Trimakas
Advertising
Matt Kokenes
704.944.0551
Executive Editor
Shelly Shepard
an out of town publication, and quickly moved to
the typical musical chairs of account reps. We had Contributing
problems with QuickBooks. Or better said, I had Editor
problems with QuickBooks which were so well mis- Peter Reinhart (Food)
configured that they never got resolved, and of course Ryan Sumner (Fashion)
we encountered the usual collection problems that
everyone is running into these days. Contributors
On the sunny side of this rock is our new editor Victoria Cherrie
Shelly Shepard, who escaped the Observer with a George Lacor
buyout package and has already made a very positive Jennifer Misenheimer
impact in the pages of the magazine. And our new Alessandra Salvatore
happy offices painted in mint and brown that I’m Little Shiva
writing from now. Kristin Sherman
We’ve survived, and continue to grow, thanks to
our readers. Thank you for picking us up and we look Photography
forward to a MUCH better 2010, as long as I didn’t Ryan Sumner
jack up QuickBooks again in 2009. Todd Trimakas
I’m getting old. The reason I know this is that George Lanis
I’ve become one of those people who wonder: What ~Todd Trimakas
happened to 2009? Here at the magazine we’ve been Publisher / Editor Cover
slogging through this briar patch of an economy, Todd@uptownclt.com Ryan Sumner
getting scratched and bruised but still on our feet
and moving forward with determination. I hate when Distribution
people say this, because time is so very precious, but Sean Chesney
I’m glad to see the tail end of 2009.
It was a tumultuous year, with the normal
screaming roller-coaster ride of running your own Office
business magnified by the horrific economy. What 1600 Fulton Ave., #140
would normally have been a tough year for any Charlotte, NC 28205
entrepreneur running any business turned into the Contact us at
death knell for many. The headlines were littered with info@uptownclt.com
the struggles of big businesses like Wachovia, to the Uptown Magazine
smaller ones that quietly disappeared from one day to is a trademark of
the next. Survival meant success in 2009. Uptown Publishing
We survived – we didn’t have to renegotiate inc., copyright 2009.
our debt, declare bankruptcy, sell off assets or sell All rights reserved.
our bodies down on Wilkinson Boulevard – we did it! Uptown is printed
We cranked out 12 matte-covered issues that we are monthly and
proud to look back on. That’s not to say that we didn’t subscriptions are $25
annually and can be
purchased online at
uptownclt.com.
December 09.indd 20 11/25/2009 12:01:12 PM

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December 09.indd 21 11/25/2009 12:01:13 PM

living
words: alessandra salvatore
You’re out partying somewhere in the QC, and the inevitable occurs – it’s time to break the seal.
Making your way through the crowd, you enter the bathroom and hope the line goes quickly so you
can get back to your night. You finish your business, come out to wash your hands, and before
you can check your teeth there is suddenly soap in your hand, the water is running, and a paper
towel is ready for you. Of course there is, you stud you – you’re that important! Then you glance to
the left and there it is – a jar on the counter brimming with glimmering coins and dollar bills.
the life It seems that more and more bars and restaurants are hiring attendants to … well, what?
Make the establishment appear fancier? Be there for moral support? I’ve waitressed in
several restaurants and for a long period in my life my entire income relied solely on
tips. But I was performing a service: patrons would come in expecting to be waited
on, and they needed me, or other servers – to take their orders, refresh their drinks, and bring their
food. They couldn’t go into the kitchen and get their own food or go behind the bar and mix their
own drinks (though many drunken ones have tried). But is it really necessary for someone to
hover over me while I wash my hands, and pump soap into my palm when I am fully capable of
doing it all by myself, like a big girl?
“I get so irritated!” says Rick, a resident of uptown Charlotte. “And then I feel obligated
to give them money! I started leaving restrooms with attendants without even washing my
hands, just so I don’t have to deal with them.”
Gross? Yes, but I, too, hate being put in a situation where I’m pressured to pay for
something that I could have done without. Several people voiced their frustrations about these
attendants for the same reasons, but others had a different opinion.
“Oh, have you ever met the attendant at Cosmos?” asked my husband. “He’s awesome.”
“Why, what does he do?” I ask. “He’s just cool as shit. Always a good time, he brings his own
music – it’s like a whole club inside a club over there.” I had to see this for myself.
My friend and I patiently stalk outside of the men’s bathroom at Cosmos until a man
emerges, and we pounce. “Excuse me, but could you get the attendant to come out for a min-
ute?” The guy quickly sizes us up, then sticks his head back in. “Hey, Big E! You got some ladies
out here!” About 10 seconds later “Big E” appears. I tell him I want to ask him a few questions
for an article I’m writing. “Sure – come on in.” He abruptly turns and heads back into the bath-
room. Huh? I shrug my shoulders, and my friend and I head into his, um, office.
Once inside, I realize that Big E is the man. He’s been at Cosmos Cafe for three years,
and he takes pride in his job. He brings a mini sound system in there and blasts tunes during
his shift, and sets up a DVD player on top of it. He’s got Tums, Listerine, cigarettes, cologne, breath
mints, spray deodorant – you name it, you need it, he’s got it. He’s not just sitting there wiping down the counter
and looking busy; this is a man who loves his job and enjoys meeting new people. “That’s the best part of the job,
the people. They’re great. I’ve met celebrities, too – Ric Flair, Patrick Ewing, UFC fighters from NYC.”
“And what’s the worst part?”
We all laugh, because we all know the answer. “You know, I always step outside when that time comes.”
We make note of the fact that there was no attendant in the women’s bathroom that night. “My cousin used
to work there, but she stopped. Women don’t tip!” Big E says. It suddenly hits me that he is right. Women are
used to going out and having guys pay for them, or not having cash on them. I know I’ve been guilty of wanting to
leave a tip and having nothing but my debit card in my pocket, like the time a few weeks ago at BlackFinn. It was a
Thursday night, the place was packed, and there was a long line for the bathroom, but the attendant was laughing
with everyone, helping fix the ladies’ hair, and just having a blast, keeping the line moving all at the same time. I
make a mental note to make sure I carry singles with me the next time I head over there.
I’ve personally never grabbed any of the items attendants have on display, like hairspray, gum, etc., but even
so, I almost always feel pressured to leave something just because they are usually standing there watching.
However, I decide that if I come across attendants that are as fun as Big E and the BlackFinn attendant, I would
have no problem leaving a few bucks. U
(I’d like to take a moment to thank my friend Stacy – a friend will barhop with you, but a true friend will bathroom
bar hop with you. Thanks for being a true friend, Stac!)
Reach Alessandra at alicatt29@aim.com
For more info go to www.uptownclt.com
December 09.indd 22 11/25/2009 12:55:08 PM

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December 09.indd 24 11/25/2009 12:55:11 PM

holiday
The holidays are approaching, and I’m so excited! wide-mouthed wine glasses, purchase a roll of ribbon like the beautiful
Oh, wait a minute ... I’m broke. The year has beaten one I found at Dollar General, and tie a bow around the stem of the
me up and stolen my wallet and left me, along with glass. Fill the glasses with nuts, or make a shrimp cocktail with cocktail
many of us, little wiggle room for buying frivolous sauce inside of the glass and the shrimp hooked onto the outside. It is
items. Although most of my holiday budget will festive and functional all at once.
be spent on gifts, I decide I will not be a scrooge Speaking of bows: I found several gorgeous 9-foot-long rolls
the life and skimp on holiday decor. Benjamins or no of ribbon for (you guessed it) $1 at Dollar General. Scoop some up and
Benjamins, I will get into the spirit – and I will hit up go nuts. Tie them around lamps, pillows, the backs of chairs, stacks of
every dollar store it takes to complete this mission. silverware, plates, yourself – whatever.
If you, Wrap your pictures.
too, are looking to spruce up your Find extra wrapping paper
digs on a dime for the holiday from years past, take down
season, don’t despair. Before you your wall hangings, “gift-
head out to the stores, get a feel wrap” them, and rehang for a
for what you are looking for. Scan fun and fresh way to dress up
magazines or Web sites and make your walls.
a mental note or take a quick Think outside
pic, whatever you need to do to the tree. Hook ornaments
keep on track while scouring the around lamp switches,
aisles at your nearest dollar joint. doorknobs, drawer pulls, or
Do you like elegance, with lots of anywhere else you feel like
glimmer? Do you prefer a natural, hanging them. Take beaded
rustic style? Are you completely garland and string it around
lost, don’t care in the least, and chairs, doorways, mirrors,
just want to impress your date or swirl it through lighted
with your impeccable taste? Maybe garland and place in the
you’re throwing a party and feel center of your table (Plastic
obliged to set a festive mood? Beaded Garland, 18 feet for
Whatever your reasons may be, $1.25, Family Dollar).
this guide can serve as inspiration. Who needs Yankee
Grab plain glass Candle Co.? $19.99 for one
containers or pitchers box of potpourri? Who spends
and fill them with cheap that? Not you. Pick up a few
ornaments. A 12-pack of red- bags of Christmas tree-
and-gold-glitter apple ornaments scented potpourri at Dollar
at Family Dollar costs $1. Once you General for $1 a bag, and
get them out of their ugly plastic stick it in a basket to bring
containers they take on a whole some charm and freshness
new look and will give any kitchen to your bathroom.
table or counter an instant pick- By mixing everyday
me-up. items from my cabinets with
Take inventory of what you other ideas for inexpensive christmas decorations items found at dollar stores, I managed to
already have. Have an extra set of glasses in decorate my entire apartment for fewer
your cabinet that never get used? Pull them out, dust ‘em off and plop a than 40 bucks – less than the cost of a single tree skirt at Crate & Barrel.
votive candle in them, then tuck them all around your home. The extra Although often treated as a quick-stop convenience shop, inside the
flicker of light will cheer up the whole room. four walls of a dollar store hides great potential for decorating. You just
Head to the grocery. Defrost a few bags of frozen cranberries, have to use your imagination. No matter your merriment or motives, the
pour them into a large bowl, then nestle a few candles in them at above tips can help you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to
different heights for a quick and casual centerpiece. You can also use turning your home into a festive spot to help you celebrate the season. U
nuts, peppermints, beans … you get the idea. If you need candles, hit up
Dollar General – they have plenty in all sizes and colors. Reach Alessandra at alicatt29@aim.com
If you are having a party, take everyday items and put them For more info go to www.uptownclt.com
to use in a different way. For instance, take a few martini glasses or
December 09.indd 25 11/25/2009 1:09:58 PM

work
The holidays are upon us, a time for giving a little more, eating a little more, celebrating a little more … and for some of us,
making just a little more of an ass out of ourselves. As the Corporate Holiday Party season approaches, let’s take a moment to
observe some of the oh-so professional behavior from the past, and honor these HR nightmares in all their glory. I hereby pres-
ent to you some of the “Worst Corporate Holiday Party Moments,” those treasured times that occur when alcohol and employees
mix together, creating the perfect blend of awkward moments followed by Monday morning walks of shame.
“A co-worker of mine, an analyst around the same age as me (30-ish), got smashed at our Christmas party. She started a
the life conversation with the head of our department, a much older and well-respected man, to try to impress him. During the conver-
sation he kindly asked her if she had children, and her response was: ‘Oh, no! But I told my boyfriend, if we do get pregnant that
baby better not have his big head, because I’m so small, you know? Wouldn’t that be, like, terrible, pushing that big melon out of
my tiny vagina?’ I had to walk away, but not before I saw his face ... priceless.” – GL
Ouch … I’m sure she walked her tiny vagina all the way to the unemployment office, right after she got canned ….
“My pervy co-worker, who was clearly bombed, told me, ‘You have the face you would see in a magazine. Not your body, just your face.’ Um,
thanks a**hole! By the way, I don’t care if you print his name – it’s Ted.” – LS
Sorry Ted, but you deserve that one!
“I went to a holiday party for a radio station in Ft.

Lauderdale. It was at a really neat restaurant on the Intra-
coastal waterway. The owner of the station, let’s call him
Vinny, was this really crazy, short Italian guy with a major
temper. Vinny walks up to the DJ and demands he play a
song, to which the DJ refused. Vinny says, ‘I am the owner
of the company and you better play that song.’ And the DJ
says, ‘Or what?’ Vinny says, ‘Or I’ll take you outside and
beat the shit out of you.’ The DJ replied with a swift ‘F*ck
you,’ stops the song playing right in the middle, turns off
his equipment and starts packing up. Vinny is livid at this
point, and demands that the DJ turn the music back on.
‘No, I am done,’ says the DJ. And they go toe to toe in an
ugly, awkward fight, until Vinnie’s wife walks over and tells
her old man to cool it. The DJ packed up and left. Vinny just
looked at everyone and said, ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS,’ and
walked out.” – DD
Wait a minute: a short Italian with a temper problem?
Don’t know if I can buy that one ....
“A couple of years back, a female co-worker did ‘The Worm’ at our holiday party and her dress was way too short to be doing that! She flashed
the entire company! She’s always good for a laugh when two glasses of wine are involved.” – JW
Why did they stop her after two drinks? I think a third could produce great potential…
“I’m a teacher, and my friend made out with the DJ at our holiday party ... like in front of the principal, teachers, all of the faculty ... just got
hammered and made out with the DJ. So bad.” – KK
Well, at least this DJ was cooperative …
And the grand finale...

“I was working with this one girl who I had a crush on for the entire year, and I saw our corporate holiday party as my time to shine. I kept my
cool all night and made sure I didn’t drink too much, and steered clear of all the other idiots getting bombed and looking stupid. I finally approached
her and we hit it off – she was going to ride with me to the after party. We were waiting for the valet guy to bring my car around and I noticed my
stomach was rumbling pretty bad, but I figured it would pass. He pulled up the car and I opened the door and let her in, and right when I got in on the
driver’s side and sat in the seat it happened – I (pooped) my pants. I didn’t know what to do so I told her I was fine when she asked me if I was OK ...
needless to say, she smelled something funny and politely left, saying she had another ride.” – DM U
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the water buffalo
words:
28 kristin sherman www.uptownclt.com
uptown
December 09.indd 28 11/25/2009 12:55:16 PM

I’m teaching Ben how to drive in his spotless car.
Dust-free plastic flowers hang from the rear-view
mirror. Catholic Social Services in Charlotte gave
Ben the 15-year-old Volvo, so he could drive the
other men in his family around. Only 23, he must
guide his older nephew as well as the younger.
Ben and the others are Bunong, one of the 26
Montagnard tribes from the central highlands of
Vietnam. The French, America’s predecessors in
Vietnam, called them montagnards because of
their mountain origin. Like most Montagnards,
Ben is short, with a broad face and flat nose. His
black hair lies in a fringe across his forehead.
Every weekday morning, I teach Ben English
in a little apartment in west Charlotte, just off
Wilkinson Boulevard, with 42 other refugees. Ben
often comes in holding hands with one of the
other young men.
December 09.indd 29 11/25/2009 12:55:18 PM

a lthough North Carolina has many Montagnards,
Ben and the others are the first Bunong. Each tribe has its own
language. There are no English-Bunong dictionaries. He has
the photocopied primer that they used to study English in the
Cambodian camps. The primers provide translations of commonly
used phrases. They can say, “Quick! Catch the water buffalo,”
“The rice is high in the fields” and “The elephants are angry at
the rain.” I teach them how to say things such as, “Where is the
break room” and “Uh-oh! The copier is broken.” Ben really likes the
“Free,” Ben replied.
Ben worries. He takes jokes badly. After Ben had learned
some English, he brought in a driver’s manual and asked me to
make a tape for him. When I handed him the tape, he asked, “How
much?” I laughed and said $10. The next day he gave me a new
$10 bill.
“Oh, no,” I said, “That was a joke. It was free.” He didn’t
come to class the next day. But he must have forgiven me,
because for a couple of weeks I would see him walking around the
apartment complex in his slippers and Hello Kitty T-shirt, listening
phrase “uh-oh,” which is easily mastered, covering a multitude of to his Walkman, and hear, “No right turn, one way, pedestrian
sins. crossing.” I offered to take him on a driving lesson. Ben looked
He and the others don’t yet have the words to explain how very concerned.
they came to the United States, so with gestures and pictures, The next day, he returned, saying, “Vietnam woman no
they acted out the story of the three weeks they walked over the drive, woman no drink coffee.” I realized that I was something of
Vietnamese mountains. By twos and threes, mostly young men, a floozy, or appeared to have sexual identity problems, driving to
sometimes whole families, they left their longhouses, coming class every day with my mug of coffee.
together on the path through the jungle, until groups of 70 or I tried to reassure Ben.
more walked at night, sleeping during the day. When the Bunong “Here in America, it’s OK for women to drive. It’s OK for
crossed into Cambodia, they settled in refugee camps. Their limbo women to drink coffee.”
ended a year later, when they arrived at 1 a.m. on July 13th in Los “OK?” he asked.
Angeles. All 43 students in my class know the exact time and
date. below: the highlands of vietnam // a steeped roof community house //
a french built church in the central highland town of dalat
“Why did you come to the United States?” I asked.
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“OK,” I answered. “Excuse me. My friend’s car won’t start. Do you know
“OK,” he said. “You teach me drive.” anything about cars?” For a moment, I wonder whether Ben thinks
So now we are in Ben’s car and nearly out of gas. I wonder I know all men at the gas station or whether he is aghast that I am
whether he has been waiting to get gas until I can go with him. yelling to a strange man.
Fortunately the gas station is only a block away on Wilkinson. We “Sure, let me take a look.” Our flannelled friend joins us
drive to the gas station very slowly. Ben has a definite antipathy under the hood. “It’s your battery. See that corrosion? Let’s move
for curbs, so we coast down the center of the road. He appears the car over there, and I’ll see what I can do.”
to be following a different philosophy of driving, one where The man and Ben push the car while I steer, and we get
courtesy dictates that he make a turn incrementally, telegraphing it into a parking space by the side of the lot. Our new friend
his intentions with the widest possible sweeps of the wheel. He drives his truck over. When he gets out he has a couple of socket
knows oncoming traffic will stop. I practice yoga breathing. wrenches in his right hand. I congratulate myself on choosing a
Ben pulls up to the pumps and turns off the engine. He gets man who travels with tools.
out and studies the pumps, hesitating. He finally chooses a gas “Your terminals are really corroded, but I think if we clean
and begins to pump. I think he is pumping premium into his old some of the crud and really crank that nut down, you’ll be able
Volvo, but I am a woman. I’m pretty sure that women don’t tell drive it.” He knocks some of the fluff off, and tries to tighten the
men what gas to use in Vietnam. Ben finishes and heads in to pay. nut with a wrench. “These are metric,” he says. “I need another
I know the man inside can see how much Ben owes, and I know wrench.”
Ben knows the words for money, so I stay in the car. I resist the He walks back to his truck and lifts out the mother of all
urge to buy some coffee to go. Ben would not like the trash in his socket wrench sets. It’s a yard wide, and when he opens it, we
car. see dozens of wrenches, all sizes. We gape, impressed. I wonder
Ben comes out of the little store and gets into the car. He whether Ben believes all American men have such riches in their
turns the key. Nothing. He tries it again. There is no sound, not vehicles. Ben takes a step closer, peeking over my shoulder. I feel
even a click. He pops the hood and we get out. Neither of us his breath.
knows what the problem is, but we suspect it’s in the engine rather The man reaches for a wrench on the second row, and tries
than the trunk. He looks intently at the engine to save face, and it on the terminal. This wrench fits perfectly, and he makes a few
I look, too, to be helpful. A man in a flannel shirt and blue jeans hard rotations. I admire his precision, his unerring selection of the
leaves the store as we gaze on. In a second I take his measure – a exact size needed from the vast array, his ability to tighten the nut
man who can work with his hands, or at least looks that way. without stripping the threads. Then he bangs the hell out of the
terminal.
below: irrigated rice terraces in kon tum province // “Uh-oh,” Ben says.
buddhist temple in the highlands of central vietnam
“Of course, you can’t get it off now, but you’ll be OK for a
December 09.indd 32 11/25/2009 12:55:31 PM

while. Start it up,” the man says. Ben gets in and turns the key. The
engine comes to life again.
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“Thank you so much,” I tell him. “How long do you think it

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“Oh, months,” he says. “You’re lucky you ran into a
mechanic.” The man closes up his mammoth wrench set, and puts
it into his truck bed.
I thank him again and get in the car. Ben races the engine as
we sit for a few minutes.
“What he have?” Ben asks.
“The tool? He used a wrench. Wrench,” I say.
$500.00 off
“Wrench. Wrench,” he repeats.
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the meticulously kept Volvo, careening with young men. But now
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gestures of the steering wheel, and some double pumping of the

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the broken asphalt, the strip mall a blur. U
Reach Kristin at kdsherman@carolina.rr.com
Photos courtesy of the Vietnamese tourism bureau
December 09.indd 33 11/25/2009 12:55:33 PM

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b e h i n d t h e s c e n e s
niki de saint phalle - l’oiseau de feu sur l’arche (firebird)
34 words:
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pictures: todd trimakas
December 09.indd 34 11/25/2009 12:55:35 PM

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T
hat’s the hope, anyway. And
in the middle of this vision of soaring glass and
concrete sits a peculiar burnt orange-tile structure
that represents perhaps the boldest gesture yet
in the city’s nascent reinvention. On this day, John
Boyer swivels from desk to laptop in his third-
floor office that overlooks South Tryon Street as
he prepares for the Jan. 2 opening of the Bechtler
Museum of Modern Art.
The last several weeks have been hectic,
but “it’s going fine,” says Boyer, the Bechtler’s
president and CEO. “We’re in great shape with the
installation of our inaugural exhibit, which is going
to be too beautiful for words.”
It’s taken a long time and years of tug
of war among Charlotte’s arts community, city
officials and Andreas Bechtler – the retired
Swiss businessman and artist whose family
collection the museum will house – to get to this
point. Now it’s almost ready, a cornerstone of
the long-awaited Wells Fargo Cultural Campus
of museums, cultural centers and performance
spaces uptown. The Bechtler’s main exhibit space
has about 70 percent of its art installed. The
exterior sports the “Firebird” sculpture, a 17-foot,
5-inch Phoenix of mirrored and colored glass that
surely must be the most incongruous creature to
ever spread its wings on South Tryon.
Implicit in the sculpture, and its incongruity,
is a question: Is Charlotte ready for this?
For the arts, sure. The Cultural Campus
includes a new, expanded Harvey B. Gantt Center
for African-American Arts + Culture and a new
Mint Museum of Art, scheduled to open in October
2010. But the Afro-Am Center and the venerable
Mint have history, tenure. The Bechtler represents,
in its presence and its collection, what modern art
scenes from inside the museum

December 09.indd 38 11/25/2009 12:55:56 PM

historians have referred to as “the shock of
the new.” Or, put another way: Can a museum
housing the works of Picasso, Max Ernst and
Andy Warhol thrive around the corner from
the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the corporate and
tourist heart of stock car racing?
The Bechtler’s challenge from the
beginning “has not only been in installing the
exhibits. It’s building an entirely new institution
from the ground up, both literally and
figuratively,” Boyer says, turning away from his
computer. “We’re making certain assumptions
about our audience and market. Charlotte has
the Mint Museum of Art, the McColl Center (for
Visual Art), the Mint Museum of Craft + Design,
the Blumenthal (Performing Arts Center),
even The Light Factory. That demonstrates
to us that there is an appetite for ambitious,
potent, meaningful engagement with art in this
community.
“I know there have been some jokes
about whether Charlotte is ready for the best
of mid-20th century European modernism,
but I figure they just have to prove to me that
Charlotte’s not ready for it.”
Start with the building.
Compared to the other Cultural Campus
and office buildings that surround it, the
four-story structure at first seems small and
undistinguished. Then you get closer.
The exterior and columns supporting the
cantilevered fourth floor above the entrance
appear to be made of mortarless brick. It’s
an illusion. They’re red-clay terra cotta tiles,
arranged in steps and grades for texture. Each
tile is attached to the building’s skeleton, made
of strong but lightweight aluminum armature
wire. The arrangement in steps creates the
effect of a series of straps holding the building
together. The surface also creates its own
kind of art, manipulating light and shadow
depending on the weather and the time of day
– or night.
“At night, it’s absolutely scrumptious,
man,” Boyer says, stopping at a fourth-floor
terrace overlooking the open-air atrium.
“Really, really pretty.”
This is the work of Mario Botta, the
renowned Swiss architect and friend of
Andreas Bechtler’s. Botta designed the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the
Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, South
Korea. When Bechtler was convinced that
from top: mural at the entrance // a max ernst piece holds its own //
warhol in the background // the view through the center of the museum uptown
www.uptownclt.com 39
December 09.indd 39 11/25/2009 12:56:03 PM

uptown Charlotte would be a better setting sounding like a teacher roll-calling the giants Andreas Bechtler moved to Charlotte
for his collection than his own property at of European modernism: Leger. Max Ernst. in 1979, then to Mountain Island Lake in 1997;
Mountain Island Lake, his sole condition was Picasso. Klee. Giacometti. Miro. there he founded the Little Italy Peninsula Arts
that Botta be allowed to design the building. As prominent as the names are, their Center, with studio space for artists to work in
Inside, you’re surprised to find that such works are rarer, at least in the United States, a peaceful, bucolic setting. A few years later,
a compact structure could contain that much than you might think. After World War II, after his parents died, Bechtler had an idea
space – 36,500 square feet of it, including American museums were caught up in a to build a small museum on the property as
10,000 in the main exhibit hall. It’s designed post-war exuberance for anything American, an adjunct to the arts center and display the
to catch as much natural and ambient light as which led them to celebrate and exhibit mainly family’s collection.
possible so the effect, in Boyer’s words, is of a American artists – Jasper Johns, Jackson In stepped an assortment of Charlotte
“cube of clay filled with light.” The backbone is Pollock, Mark Rothko. The Europeans tended city officials, members of the Arts & Science
the building’s glass-and-steel atrium, which to stay in Europe. Council and tourism leaders, who already
seems to radiate light throughout. If you’re Which, of course, is where the Bechtlers were tossing around the idea of a centralized
beginning to sense that the building itself is in were. The family, based in Zurich, owned stock campus for art museums and cultural centers
effect a part of the permanent collection, you’re in Pneumafil Corp., a manufacturer of textile in uptown. They didn’t care for the idea of one
supposed to. machinery with a plant in Charlotte. Andreas of the world’s greatest individual collections
The floor plan tries to make maximum Bechtler’s parents, Hans and Bessie, came of modern art set in the woods 20 minutes
use of the available space by, among other from a family of art collectors who met and outside Charlotte.
things, locating collection storage, curatorial befriended many of the artists whose work At first, Bechtler recalls, it was
offices, the reference library and exhibit they sought. (One of the collection’s pieces Foundation For The Carolinas President and
workroom underground, freeing up space is a four-panel Andy Warhol portrait of the CEO Michael Marsicano and local attorney
above ground for exhibits. Bechtlers from 1973; there’s a young Andreas Mark Bernstein who stepped in and convinced
And what exhibits they are. In late at far right, in jacket and tie.) Over 70 years, the him to go uptown. Bechtler was OK with the
November, Boyer walked around the main family acquired about 1,400 pieces in assorted idea in principle, but he wanted to retain his
third-floor exhibit space, pointing out the media, but mainly by European artists, dating original idea even in a different setting: a
highlights of the Bechtler collection and from the late 1930s to the late 1970s. distinct, standalone structure designed by
uptown
40from above: www.uptownclt.com
inside the museum // firebird // detail of the firebird
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Mario Botta. That’s why he rejected one of the to each other, you see a perfectly framed a film series and other programs arranged
initial ideas, to exhibit some of the collection in riot of color and geometry against a black for local teachers. Boyer sees the artwork
one wing of a new uptown Mint Museum. background – the French painter Victor as a conduit for teachers to discuss history,
“I knew I had a very interesting collection Vasarely’s Tridem K. It’s on an opposite wall, culture, psychology; he points to Landschaft
for Charlotte, and I also believe good cities something you wouldn’t be able to see except (Landscape), a striking painting by the Franco-
have variety in their cultural institutions. You for the windows and the light they let through. Russian abstract artist Nicolas de Staël,
don’t want to have a Wal-Mart of institutions for Any initial doubts Bechtler might have who was forced out of Russia after the 1917
the arts,” says Bechtler, 68. “ I decided I would harbored are long gone. “I’m elated,” he says. Revolution and eventually committed suicide
like to have a small at 41. In viewing the work,
place for the collection, reminiscent of Rothko in its
something that has its
“You’re not going to get it all with one tour,” Boyer says. gloomy reds and blacks and
own character. It’s all like “The works reveal a remarkable window on not only horizontal panels, you can
a puzzle that falls into who the painter was, but who we are … It can change talk to students about the
place.” people’s lives, if they let it.” revolution, what caused it
And that, after and what it led to, the turmoil
years of back and forth on a continent and the
and a rental car tax despair in a man’s heart.
hike approved by the “You’re not going to
N.C. General Assembly to help pay for the “I’m so happy I was finally able to find the right get it all with one tour,” Boyer says. “The works
campus, was what happened. The museum place for the collection.” reveal a remarkable window on not only who
broke ground in 2007, which was good timing. If modern art was about anything, it was the painter was, but who we are … It can
Another year’s delay might have meant no about abolishing the barrier between so-called change people’s lives, if they let it.”
museum, even no campus, in a recession. high and low culture, about finding art in the Of course, it can merely entertain
“It’s a good thing this came together everyday and the everyday in art. The kind of them, too. No shame in that. In addition to the
before things tanked. Otherwise, the chances audience the Bechtler is after has the same chamber music concerts he wants to start
of it happening would be none,” said Cyndee irreverence toward the distinction, or doesn’t in February, Boyer is thrilled about plans to
Patterson, who chairs the museum’s board recognize it to begin with. screen an episode of a popular television show
of directors. “This is Charlotte’s stimulus There’s always been an anti-intellectual featuring Jasper Johns as a guest star. The
package. We have pumped lots of money into strain in American life, what Boyer refers to as name of the episode is “Mom and Pop Art.” A
the economy to get this built, opened and up “the late Jacksonian democratic notion that you main character unintentionally creates a work
and running.” should stay away from the highfalutin.” of outsider art and becomes a local celebrity,
And even with incomplete installation “It’s counterintuitive of the great befriending Johns and other artists. The show?
in late November – not all the pieces in place, strength of this country,” he says. “Most of the “The Simpsons.”
none of the information placards – it’s clear great American scientists and writers and “We’ll mix it up, know what I mean?”
that the collection is staggering for any city, performers and painters, journalists, came Boyer says.
much less lil’ ol’ Charlotte. from nowhere. In my mind, that’s the America So, again: Is Charlotte ready for this?
Turn one corner in the main exhibit I want to be a part of. There’s this idea of a gap “I think it’s very much ready,” Bechtler
space, and you find Picasso’s La Femme au between Joe Six-Pack and gallery-goers. I’d says. “We are new, and it will take a lot of effort
Chapeau (Woman In a Hat), one of the master’s argue they’re one and the same.” to build a base ... but this is my gut feeling.
later works. Turn another to encounter Boyer has plenty of experience in trying This is not contemporary art. It’s modern art,
Le Corbusier’s Spirales Logarithmiques to eliminate those kinds of gaps. A fourth- and these are very proven artists, and I think
(Logarithmic spirals), from the early ’30s, generation Californian, he came to Charlotte in it’s overdue that we have this here.”
when he was trying to build a new vocabulary 2008 after serving as president and CEO of the Inevitably, you go back to the Firebird
for the Cubism that Picasso and Georges Roosevelt Institute, a New York-based public sculpture, created by the late Franco-American
Braque had created. On another wall hangs policy agency. But before that, he spent 16 artist Niki de Saint Phalle. It seems to
Ernst’s eerie, playful Projet Pour un Monument years as executive director of the Mark Twain represent the whole venture. Yes, it confounds
a W.C. Fields, with its pulsating reds and House in Hartford, Conn. There, he expanded your expectations. You may love it; you may
blues and spectral apparitions of Fields and a the Twain House’s programs to include national not. But you cannot ignore it.
parasol-wielding Mae West. teacher institutes, symposia and lecture series, Or, as Boyer puts it: “We may be caught
Near another corner, you run across a citywide festival and exhibitions in fine and off guard, but we’re delighted.” U
a surprise, one of the places where Botta’s decorative arts.
artistry holds the others’ in its hand. Through He wants to take the same approach Reach Greg at lacour.greg@yahoo.com
two windows set in the walls at right angles with the Bechtler. He’s already working on For more info go to www.uptownclt.com
December 09.indd 42 11/25/2009 12:27:38 PM

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December 09.indd 43 11/25/2009 12:27:59 PM

CONVERSATION
December 09.indd 44 11/25/2009 10:33:00 AM

words: victoria cherrie
pictures: fenix fotography
Michael Gallis’ work studying urban networks has changed the way cities and transportation systems have
been built nationwide. But today as he works quietly at a long red table among his books stacked around
ornate pieces of his African and Chinese art collection, he looks more like a philosopher, an academic, a
historian – all apt descriptions. His right hand scrolls through e-mails on his sleek silver MacBook. His left
hand gently pets Lili, his wife’s chihuahua, whose bed sits on a chair next to his.
December 09.indd 45 11/25/2009 10:33:04 AM

G allis’ passion for exploring
history, his ability to see beyond
boundaries and identify spacial
relationships has made him
an expert in his field. He has
helped shape the vision for
U.S. transportation in the
But he is also a writer, working on a book about friends who went
to Vietnam and returned very different people. He is a historian, able
to quote Bible verses and war battles. And he is passionate about the
environment and the impact of global warming.
“It’s apparent to all of us we have a daunting challenge ahead of
us,” he says.
Gallis, 66, was born in San Francisco to a Chinese-born Russian
21st century. His uptown father who operated a general goods and timber company that
Charlotte firm paved the way expanded to Oregon. When the company collapsed during the Great
for how people commute from New York to Orlando, Fla., to Detroit and Depression, Gallis’ father moved to the United States and enrolled in
Memphis, Tenn., which also has a new economic development strategy the University of Oregon. His mother was Swedish. Her family operated
thanks to him. timber companies as well. The two had met at International House at
the University of California at Berkley and married a short time later.
Gallis, who crewed on a rowing team when he was young, also
developed an appreciation for history and art, courtesy of his parents
who had their own Chinese art collection. He bought his first piece – a
pair of African figurines – from an L.A. art dealer he discovered while
buying supplies for a freshman architecture project at a lumberyard
next door.
“The importance of collecting art from different parts of the world
to me is that it was created as a result of different kinds of ideas,” Gallis
says.
Today his first floor office in the Boxer Building uptown resembles
a gallery, with hundreds of pieces of Tribal and African art displayed on
shelves and whitewashed walls. Feathered masks with shells, carved
wooden shapes and masks with cutout eyes fill the library. But the
collection doesn’t stop there. Metal statues tucked between floor plants
fill the hallways and decorate desks along with a chair hand carved from
a single tree. One of Gallis’ favorite pieces of art is a colorful painting of
Chinese letters that hangs in the conference room.
“If you only stick to your own culture, you never expand
your mind,” he says. “By collecting different art you get a better
understanding of your own history and a deeper appreciation for your
perceptions and values.”
Gallis studied art history and earned his architecture degree from
the University of California at Berkley and a master’s in architecture and
planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He went on to teach at the
University of Miami and came here in the early 1970s when a college
friend asked him to teach at the newly formed college of architecture at
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
He was an associate professor there for 20 years before starting
his own company, which he called Noah Studios – a name he chose
after reading the Bible and recalling Jesus’ first prophet, Noah.
“That little company was our ark,” he recalls. “Noah put trust in
God to guide the ark and we left it up to God to get our little company off
the ground.”
Decades later, Gallis has been recognized nationally for motivating
governments to integrate regional, national and global strategies. His
firm’s latest study – the first of its kind – provides insight into coping
with nature’s evolution and how man-made systems can evolve
efficiently so the two can co-exist.
The framework for his most recent study and those before it stem
from lessons learned while watching Charlotte transform from a tiny
gallis in an african king chair

December 09.indd 46 11/25/2009 10:33:09 AM

city into the country’s 21st largest. gallis’ playground: a physiographic map of the northeast
Gallis began studying Charlotte in depth in the mid-1980s. It was
transforming quickly from a city to a metropolitan area and people were Using a pen on old hand drawings, Gallis circles little yellow
confused over how to deal with planning as political coalitions emerged blobs on a map that represents Gastonia, Concord and others. They
and development patterns changed. were getting bigger. And a grid of highways and superhighways was
“When I arrived here, Charlotte was just a small city with a lot of beginning to develop, he says.
country roads around it,” Gallis says. “In the course of the next three The cities were not just growing but they were merging as one big
decades it transformed into a major metro area – it was a great urban unit or urban network, and the future of any city is related to where it
learning laboratory.” sits inside the network.
His staff crafted a development plan for Rock Hill, S.C. And it was This would require new theories and approaches, Gallis says.
during that research when growth patterns began to emerge. A decade later city leaders formed committees to study growth
December 09.indd 47 11/25/2009 10:33:10 AM

December 09.indd 48 11/25/2009 12:52:46 PM

in the region. Rather than build more highways, the Gallis research buildings – we never built either to fit the natural system. We took the
suggested Charlotte choose building a transportation system along its environment for granted,” Gallis says. “It is only now we are able to fully
centers and corridors, which became the transit lines the city has today. appreciate our relationship with nature.”
“The key to the future was understanding how these urban Currently nature and man-made systems are in conflict with each
networks grew and changed and then how we could affect their future other, he says.
through different policies, regulations and investments,” Gallis says. “We have to move toward co-evolving.”
He retired from teaching in 1997 to work full time at the newly By identifying effects of growth on the environment such as
formed Michael Gallis & Associates, which suddenly began getting erosion, depletion, extinction and pollution, Gallis & Associates has
nationwide attention for its innovative and efficient strategies. identified strategies for action to include new policies, incentives and
The firm began studying connections between Connecticut, New regulatory procedures up to the federal level.
York and Boston and discovered relationships between politics, urban “The bottom line is we have to rethink the way we manage the
economics and geography. Soon, Gallis and his staff were traveling the growth of our cities,” Gallis says. “We have two systems in conflict and
country compiling research on numerous regions. we are facing problems people haven’t grasped.”
Through this work the firm developed what Gallis calls a Based on its global research and findings, Gallis & Associates
systems approach to networks such as transportation, tourism and the is one of several organizations working with the National Oceanic and
environment. The concept is similar to the systems within the human Atmospheric Administration to study the physical, socioeconomic and
body, each with a purpose and function. ecosystem impact of significant changes in sea levels along the Eastern
It was through this lens that Gallis and his people determined that seaboard.
the environment was so unique that it should be treated separately. “We are looking at some of the potentials of dramatic changes that
“We discovered that we knew less about the environment than people think will happen in small increments but could be of significant
we did about any other system,” Gallis says. “And it occurred to me that size,” Gallis says. “If we don’t try to understand them we won’t be
we needed to study the interaction of (the environment and man-made prepared for them.” U
systems), which had never been done before.” Reach Victoria at sailorgirl39@gmail.com
What had been done before simply was man’s impact on the For more info go to www.uptownclt.com
environment such as air pollution and water
runoff. But no one had studied how people
were building urban ecosystems, Gallis
says.
Wearing a crisp white button-down
and gray paisley tie, Gallis pops up out of his
chair to fetch a book to illustrate his point.
He glances pensively through his collection
of topics from painting to ocean liners and
railroads. At 6-foot-4, he towers over some
of the highest shelves, which include the
1929 plans for New York City, a collection
of 19th century atlases and the book that
created the Federal Aviation Administration.
In the mash of books, Gallis can’t find
what he’s after, but it’s hardly needed. He
recalls most of the details he’d hoped and
explains how his firm began researching
the way cities were growing compared to
the patterns of nature. First his staff looked
at the Southeast, from Birmingham, Ala.,
to southern Virginia as well as Atlanta,
Columbia, S.C., Charlotte, Raleigh and the
Tennessee Valley. On a global scale, Gallis &
Associates took the research to another level
looking at the relationship between natural
and human systems.
“You could see where – as we built
human networks such as roads and
charlotte from gallis’ perspective www.uptownclt.com uptown 49
December 09.indd 49 11/25/2009 10:33:15 AM

franklin water treatment plant on brookshire boulevard
December 09.indd 50 11/25/2009 10:33:17 AM

A cracked and faded life preserver, seasoned more
from the hot sun than from actual use, had been looking
on with us as brown bubbles churned random patterns in
the pool’s surface – its maritime feel at odds with its perch
above the giant, brewing vat of wastewater. “Ever have
to use that,” I ask Mike Lingerfelt, nodding toward the
“Love Boat” era prop. Murky bubbles continued foaming
around the pool at the Irwin Creek Wastewater Treatment
Plant, breaking into little sticky brown globs as they met
the surface. “Not since I’ve been here,” said Lingerfelt,
in that factual manner embraced by most government
employees, and not a bit amused by the idea of someone
drowning in a pool of shit water. “Probably wouldn’t help
anyway, though. You wouldn’t be able to swim with all
those air bubbles, and I’m pretty sure you’d sink straight
to the bottom.”
What a way to go.
words: matt kokenes www.uptownclt.com uptown 51

pictures: todd trimakas
December 09.indd 51 11/25/2009 10:33:19 AM

B
etter to meet your end in this pool company with the water, and will be recycled The problem that every resident of
than some of the ones earlier in the as fertilizer at farms in surrounding counties. Charlotte should care about, though, is that
process though. Where we stood, The treated water will eventually make its way this same process is used by communities
wastewater collected by the city of downstream toward the next town’s municipal upstream from Lake Norman and Mountain
Charlotte was more than halfway processed water treatment plants, where it will be pre- Island Lake, towns whose treated wastewater
for return to nearby Irwin Creek. I’d take my pared for drinking, and consumed again. flows into streams and rivers that feed these
chances in these brown bubbles in a heart- But just how clean was the wastewater two sources of Charlotte’s drinking water.
beat over the sludge pond a few stages back. as it splashed down out of the plant and into According to The United States Geo-
The site we toured, just off of Billy Graham Irwin Creek? How many unknown substances logical Survey, treated wastewater is almost
Parkway, was spread over many acres and has will this same water carry when it flows certainly laden with hundreds of unidentified
cleaned up Charlotte’s wastewater for decades. through faucets in the next town over? We substances: pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetics,
Carefully planned stages of treatment separate should reasonably expect it to be devoid of hormones and antibiotics – all of which are in-
water from sewage so effectively that, accord- bowling balls and killer bacteria, but is that terwoven into our image-conscious and highly
ing to Erin Culbert of Charlotte-Mecklenburg good enough? Many of us might not give a medicated society. Almost half of all Americans
Utilities, “The cascade of clear water flowing second thought to spent water that’s well on its take at least one prescription drug, and one in
from the wastewater treatment plant back into way to the next county. six take three or more medications. They’re
Irwin Creek is much cleaner than what
previous and current pages: franklin water treatment plant on brookshire boulevard
is already there. Plus as it flows down
into the stream, the water is oxygenated
as well, which of course benefits the
stream’s biosphere.”
However, many water-quality
experts warn that while treated waste-
water flowing back into the ecosystem
from plants such as this may look crys-
tal clear, there is much hiding below
the surface.
A large metal screen catches the
“big stuff” as soiled water flows from
the city’s sewer pipes into the facility.
Bowling balls, shopping carts, and
even a 55-gallon drum have been
found jammed against the screen,
says Mike. Much later in the process,
UV light scrambles the DNA of
microorganisms, rendering them
sterile and unable to reproduce.
With such minute life cycles, this
clever approach spells certain
doom for deadly bacteria and other
microbes. Across the sprawl-
ing complex, between the metal
screen and the cascading water-
fall, pools, chambers, and vats
of all shapes and sizes progres-
sively separate more of the “sol-
ids” from the city’s wastewater.
The large majority of the solids
will eventually part
December 09.indd 52 11/25/2009 10:33:23 AM

prescribed to millions of Americans every day, tedious, not routine, and therefore expensive. U.S. water samples. Simply, if you drink from
but science suggests only a small amount of Indeed, two different quotes by commercial the tap, there is a high probability that you’re
these substances are actually processed by labs that did have the capacity to conduct these consuming a cocktail of psychotropic drugs,
our bodies. The portions of these chemicals sophisticated tests landed in the $6,000 range hormones such as estrogen, and lots of other
that aren’t absorbed by the body are passed – just outside of Uptown Magazine’s water stuff you didn’t sign on for, which have passed
through and flow into wastewater treatment testing budget. through the bodies of millions of other people.
plants. And while these plants thankfully Fortunately, a better-funded group – In compliance with EPA regulations,
remove things like shopping carts and fecal The U.S. Geological Survey – has developed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities supplies the
matter from wastewater before it’s discharged a laboratory analytical method to measure millions of gallons of drinking water the city
back into rivers, streams and groundwater, the concentrations of eight widely prescribed demands on a daily basis. Water pulled directly
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities itself acknowl- antidepressants in environmental waters. from Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake
edges on its own website, www.charmeck.org, Most are from the commonly prescribed class will pass through treatment facilities like the
that these finely dissolved substances most called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Franklin Water Treatment plant on Brookshire
likely pass from wastewater to drinking water and include Prozac, Lexapro, Paxil and Zoloft. Boulevard and flow through a complex series
supplies both here in Charlotte and across the Last year, the USGS applied the new method of purification stages to make sure that the
entire country. to samples taken from a stream in Texas, and levels of microbes, turbidity, copper, lead and
Part of the problem is that to date very detected high levels of the substances used to disinfectants are within the standards set and
little research, and no regulation – local, state make the most commonly prescribed antide- controlled by the Environmental Protection
or federal – yet exists for the presence of pressants. Agency. Fluoride will be added to keep our
these substances in municipal water supplies. Sure, Texas is a long way from Charlotte, teeth strong. Chlorine will kill tiny bugs that
Only a handful of labs across the country even but according to the Centers for Disease Con- would do us harm. Nearly 42,000 treated water
have the capability to test for the presence of trol and Prevention, antidepressants are the samples taken from the county’s drinking wa-
pharmaceutical drugs in water. Setting up this most prescribed drugs in the country, and it’s ter treatment plants will be tested every year.
type of detection for the labs that are capable is likely that the findings would be similar in any
December 09.indd 53 11/25/2009 10:33:26 AM

Indeed, documentation provided by the utility, On a subsequent tour of the city’s shiny awareness of common contaminants sprouted
and readily available to the public, confirms new Environmental Services Facility, we saw demand for drinking water not just with legally
levels of more than 100 regulated substances plenty of beakers and white lab coats and test acceptable levels of lead and copper, but with
detected in local samples last year were within tubes in action. A chemistry nerd’s dream zero heavy metals or other pollutants. With
EPA standards. come true. Most of the thousands of tests their wallets, American consumers have
But without EPA standards for pharma- performed on the city’s water samples will spoken loudly. Drinking water was once the
ceuticals, hormones, cosmetics, and antibiotics be conducted in this state of the art quality sole domain of municipalities, but now more
in drinking water, no tests are conducted by control center. But even the scientists there and more new companies scramble to use
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Depart- acknowledge that there are very likely all sorts clever packaging and relentless marketing
ment to look for these substances. To be fair, of unregulated substances flowing undetected campaigns to hawk the earth’s most important
with no regulation, it wouldn’t even know what through Charlotte’s water treatment facilities, commodity.
to look for. If it did find 5 parts per million of and all across the United States. Huntersville’s Midas Spring is one rare
the chemical in Prozac, would that amount be No one can really say for sure what’s exception. The local bottler’s biggest change in
dangerous? Would drinking a glass of that wa- in America’s drinking water. Even Uncle Sam recent memory was making the switch from
ter stamp a plastic smile on your face, or pass doesn’t seem to know. glass bottles to plastic.
through you with no effect? How about 1,000 Thus the ever-swelling business of Owner Gianni Liburdi correctly points
glasses of Prozac-infused water? selling packaged water. Widespread public out that the company is the oldest registered
business operating in Mecklenburg County,
and unlike national water giants such as Coke,
Pepsi and Nestle (Dasani, Aquafina, Deer Park,
etc.), Midas Spring has been in the bottled
water business since 1871.”Our spring flows
up from an aquifer 200 feet below the surface.
The water has trace amounts of magnesium
and calcium, which are very beneficial to the
human body,” Liburdi says.
Some studies do, in fact, suggest that a
diet supplemented with magnesium can help
prevent heart disease and Attention Deficit
Disorder. And it’s no secret how important
calcium is.
Naturally, Liburdi was happy to talk at
length about Midas Spring, but in the pro-
cess he also shed some light on the water
industry, as well. “Every drop of Midas Spring
water comes directly from our spring here in
Huntersville. Many of the national bottled water
companies, though – the big ones that we all
know – some even with the word ‘spring’ in
their names, fill their bottles with only a frac-
tion of actual spring water. Demand for their
product far exceeds what any natural spring
could produce, so the rest of the bottle is filled
up with purified water. Typically water from
a municipality or even directly from a lake,
that’s been stripped of everything – including
any beneficial minerals – using the reverse
osmosis process.”
left: waste water pool at the irwin creek

wastewater plant
top right: the lab at the new environmental
services facility
December 09.indd 54 11/25/2009 10:33:29 AM

Bruce DeBlock has been selling “RO”
water for years from a kiosk in the parking
lot of Park Road Shopping Center. Water he
buys from the city, just like the rest of us,
passes through a series of carbon filters,
de-ionizers, ozone gas, ultraviolet light and
many other stages before producing a fin-
ished product at 1 part dissolved solids per
million parts water. The very knowledge-
able owner of H2Oasis contends that his
process, much too advanced and costly to
be employed on the massive scale needed
by the city, eliminates pathogens, viruses,
carcinogens, arsenic, fecal matter, and lead
that is present in municipal water in small
amounts – amounts that are within EPA
regulations. H2Oasis store manager Sonny
Kiel assured me their filtration process even
eliminates finely dissolved substances such milk and fruit beverages. the water table, and into the spring. To ensure
as pharmaceutical drugs from the water his In “Flow,” her award-winning documen- purity, he says, his water is passed through a
company sells. tary about the “world water crisis,” Irena Salina series of filters, and a UV light as well, before
Kiel demonstrated in an informal test, suggests that there aren’t nearly enough it’s sealed into little plastic bottles for sale. He
with a handheld digital dissolved solids tester, inspectors to effectively monitor the entire seemed sure that his water was also free of
that his purified water did indeed come in at U.S. bottled water industry. Not even close. unregulated substances, too, and it just might
1 part dissolved solids per million gallons of According to Liburdi, an FDA inspector stops be. But without specifically testing for these
water. Municipal drinking water drawn from a by and pokes around Midas Spring on a couple substances, he’s in the same boat as the city
sink 10 feet away measured considerably high- of surprise visits every year. By DeBlock’s own of Charlotte, H2Oasis, and the hundreds of
er at 42 parts per million. other entities offering
According to Kiel, quarterly drinking water for sale
filter changes ensure the But without EPA standards for pharmaceuticals, in this country. Without
high level of purity the busi- hormones, cosmetics, and antibiotics in drinking water, adequate data on what
ness is built on, and those no tests are conducted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg foreign contaminants
who shrug at the difference might slip through even
Utilities Department to look for these substances.
between 1 ppm and 42 ppm, the most sophisticated
need only take a look at the purification processes,
stage 2 filter when it’s re- and a cost effective way
placed. This filter, says Kiel, to find out if they’re even
is positioned early in the process, and “looks admission, no one from the FDA has ever been there, none of them can know for sure, and
and smells like shit” when it is removed for to H2Oasis. therefore neither can the consumer.
replacement. The big players in the water business Perhaps most troubling is that it would
But how do we really know that the wa- use such vast amounts of water that they often appear that the scope of what isn’t known
ter in a bottle of Poland Spring off the shelf is pull directly from the same lake or river that a about this phenomenon is enormous – much
hormone free? Or what the 1 ppm at H2Oasis municipal water utility might. Naturally, their larger than what is known. Until there’s regu-
is made up of, or that Liburdi’s calcium-rich RO purification systems and bottling opera- lation and oversight, and a financially stream-
spring water isn’t brimming with other stuff tions are colossal and set up to meet national lined way for those who provide drinking water
that’s not on the label? Unlike municipal water demand for bottled water. If there aren’t an to test for these chemicals, as consumers
utilities, which are looked on closely by the adequate number of inspectors, as Salina sug- we’ll remain in the dark. In our sophisticated
EPA, the Food and Drug Administration alone gests, they’ll likely be pulling some overtime. society, we depend more and more on drugs,
has the daunting task of monitoring the goliath Liburdi was well prepared for my follow- antibiotics, and all kinds of other stuff to get us
industry of purified and packaged water. up question about the possibility that his spring through our modern lives.
According to Nestle Waters North America, could somehow be compromised by an outside But not one of us will live without water. U
bottled water sales volume in this country, sec- source – a toxic industrial spill from a nearby Reach Matt at matt@uptownclt.com
ond only to soft drinks, exceeds beer, coffee, business, perhaps, that could have seeped into For more info go to www.uptownclt.com
December 09.indd 55 11/25/2009 10:33:32 AM

December 09.indd 56 11/25/2009 10:33:37 AM

pictures: fenix fotography | fenixfoto.com
fashion styling: jennifer misenheimer
hair: jennifer misenheimer | escape hair and skin studio
A
makeup: scott “scooter” arnold & jackie greene
clothing & accessories: coplons & pure
models - michael & emma: e-agency | modelinge.com
models - heather: whilhelmina-evolution | evolutionmt.com
Christmas
Story
one shoulder dress: trina turk
dress shirt: mondo
denim: mek
bubble dress: rubber ducky
no drive glitter platform shoes: christian louboutin
December 09.indd 57 11/25/2009 12:53:30 PM

one shoulder dress: trina turk
lady claude pony hair peep toe pump: christian louboutin
December 09.indd 58 11/25/2009 11:55:32 AM

satin dress shirt: bertigo
denim: mek
December 09.indd 59 11/25/2009 10:33:52 AM

sequin top: trina turk
satin pleat stretch skirt: diane von furstenberg
maya pump: pedro garcia
December 09.indd 60 11/25/2009 1:06:48 PM

shirt: mondo
denim: mek
December 09.indd 61 11/25/2009 10:34:03 AM

December 09.indd 62 11/25/2009 10:34:07 AM

Dining and Nightlife Guide
AMERICAN Bentley’s on 27 – $$$ Taipei Express – $ 330 S Tryon St, 704.334.4575
201 S. College St. Fl. 27 704.343.9201 731 Providence Rd. 704.334.2288 Dilworth Playhouse Cafe – $
Alexander Michael’s – $ (Charlotte Plaza Building) Tin Tin Box & Noodles – $ 1427 South Blvd. 704.632.0336
401 W. 9th St. 704.332.6789 Bonterra Restaurant – $$$ 101 N. Tryon St. 704.377.3223 Einstein Brothers – $
Brevard Court Sundries – $ 1829 Cleveland Ave. 704.333.9463 Zen Asian Fusion – $ $ - 201 S. Tryon St. 704.332.4015
145 Brevard Court 704.342.4700 Carpe Diem – $$$ 1716 Kenilworth Ave. 704.358.9688 Einstein Brothers – $
Camilles – $ 1535 Elizabeth Ave. 704.377.7976 1501 South Blvd. 704.333.4370
1518 E. 3rd St. 704.342.4606 City Tavern – $$ BAKERY Java Passage – $
Cans – $ 1514 East Blvd. 704.343.2489 101 W. Worthington 704.277.6558
500 W. 5th St. 704.940.0200 City Tavern – $$ Cloud 9 Confections – $ Jump N Joe’s Java Joint – $
Cedar Street Tavern – $ 214 N. Tryon St. 704.334.6688 201 S. College St. Suite 270 704.334.7554 105 E. Morehead St. 704.372.3217
120 N. Cedar St. 704.333.3448 Custom Shop – $$$ Great Harvest Bread – $ La Tea Da’s – $
Champions – $ 1601 Elizabeth Ave. 704.333.3396 901 S. Kings Dr. 704.333.0431 1942 E. 7th St. 704.372.9599
100 W. Trade St. - Marriott Hotel 704.333.9000 Fig Tree – $$$ Amelie’s Bakery – $ Nova’s Bakery – $
Comet Grill – $ 1601 E. Seventh St. 704.332.3322 2424 N. Davidson St. 704.376-1781 1511 Central Ave. 704.333.5566
2224 Park Rd. 704.371.4300 Harry & Jeans Nova’s Bakery – $ PJ’s Coffee & Lounge - $
Cosmos Cafe – $ 201 S. Tryon St. 704.333.4300 1511 Central Ave. 704.333.5566 210 E. Trade St. (Epicentre) 704.688.0366
300 N. College St. 704.372.3553 Lulu – $$ Panera Bread – $ Port City Java – $
Dogwood Cafe – $ 1911 Central Ave. 704.376.2242 601 Providence Rd. 704.374.0581 214 N. Tryon St. (Hearst) 704.335.3335
138 Brevard Court 704.376.8353 McNinch House – $$$ SK Netcafe – $
East Boulevard Grill – $ 511 N. Church St. 704.332.6159 BARBEQUE 1425 Elizabeth Ave. 704.334.1523
1601 East Blvd. 704.332.2414 Mimosa Grill – $$ Starbucks – $
Ember Grille – $$$ 301 S. Tryon St. 704.343.0700 Art’s Barbecue – $ 545 Providence Rd. 704.372.1591
601 S. College St. WestinHotel 704.335.2064 Monticello – $$ 900 E. Morehead St. 704.334.9424 Starbucks – $
Fenwick’s – $ 235 N. Tryon St. – Dunhill Hotel 704.342.1193 Jolina Tex Mex & BBQ – $ 101 S. Tryon St. 704.374.9519
511 Providence Rd. 704.333.2750 Pewter Rose Bistro – $$ 500 S. College St. 704.375.0994 Tic Toc Coffee shop – $
Fox and Hound – $ 1820 South Blvd. 704.332.8149 Mac’s Speed Shop – $ 512 N. Tryon St. 704.375.5750
330 N. Tryon St. 704.333.4113 Ratcliffe on the Green – $$ 2511 South Blvd. 704.522.6227
French Quarter – $ 435 S. Tryon St. 704.358.9898 Rib Palace – $ DELI
321 S. Church St. 704.377.7415 Taverna 100 – $$$ 1300 Central Ave. 704.333.8841
John’s Country Kitchen – $ 100 N. Tryon St. – Founder’s Hall 704.344.0515 Adams 7th Street Market – $
1518 Central Ave. 704.333.9551 Town Restaurant – $$ BREAKFAST 401 Hawthorne Ln. 704.334.0001
Nix – $ 710 W. Trade St. 704.379.7555 Art’s Barbecue – $
201 N. Tryon St. 704.347.2739 Zink – $$ Art’s Barbecue – $ 900 E. Morehead St. 704.334.9424
Pike’s Soda Shop – $ 201 N. Tryon St. 704.444.9001 900 E. Morehead St. 704.334.9424 Blynk – $
1930 Camden Rd. 704.372.0097 Coffee Cup – $ 200 S. Tryon 704.522.3750
Presto Bar and Grill – $ ASIAN 914 S. Clarkson St. 704.375.8855 Common Market – $
445 W. Trade St. 704.334.7088 Einstein Brothers – $ 2007 Commonwealth Ave. 704.334-6209
Providence Café – $ $ 88 China Bistro – $ 201 S. Tryon St. 704.332.4015 Dikadee’s Deli – $
829 Providence R d. 704.376.2008 1620 E. 4th St. 704.335.0288 Einstein Brothers – $ 1419 East Blvd. 704.333.3354
Providence Road Sundries – $ Basil Thai – $ 1501 South Blvd. 704.333.4370 Dogwood Cafe – $
1522 Providence Rd. 704.366.4467 210 N. Church St. 704.332.7212 IHOP – $ 138 Brevard Court 704.376.8353
Rock Bottom – $ China King – $ 2715 E. Independence Blvd. 704.334.9502 Fresco Cafe & Deli – $
401 N. Tryon St. 704.334.2739 128 Brevard Ct. 704.334-7770 Monticello – $$ 3642 Moultrie St. 704.376.5777
Selwyn Pub – $ China Queen Buffet – $ 235 N. Tryon St. – Dunhill Hotel 704.342.1193 Grand Central Deli – $
2801 Selwyn Ave. 704.333.3443 127 N. Tryon St. Ste 3 704.377.1928 Owen’s Bagel & Deli – $ 101 N. Tryon St. 704.348.7032
Simmons Fourth Ward Restaurant – $ China Saute – $ 2041 South Blvd. 704.333.5385 Great Harvest Bread Co. – $
516 N. Graham St. 704.334.6640 2214 Park Rd 704.333.1116 Tic Toc Coffeeshop – $ 901 S. Kings Dr. 704.333.0431
Something Classic Café – $ Creation – $ 512 N. Tryon St. 704.375.5750 Groucho’s Deli – $
715 Providence Rd. 704.347.3666 1221-A The Plaza 704.372.2561 201 N. Tryon St. 704.342.0030
South 21 – $ Cuisine Malaya – $ BRITISH Halfpenny’s – $
3101 E. Independence Blvd. 704.377.4509 1411 Elizabeth Ave. 704.372.0766 30 Two First Union Ctr. 704.342.9697
Southend Brewery – $$ Dim Sum – $ Big Ben’s Pub – $ Jason’s Deli – $
2100 South Blvd. 704.358.4677 2920 Central Ave. 704.569.1128 801 Providence R d. 704.334.6338 210 E. Trade (Epicentre) 704.688.1004
Stool Pigeons – $ Eggroll King – $ Jersey Mike’s Subs – $
214 N. Church St. 704.358.3788 8907 Steelechase Dr. 704.372.6401 CAJUN & CREOLE 128 S. Tryon St. 704.343.0006
The Gin Mill South End – $ Emperor Chinese – $ Jersey Mikes Subs – $
1411 S. Tryon St. 704.373.0782 337 S. Kings Dr. 704.333.2688 Boudreaux’s Louisiana Kitchen – $ 2001 E. 7th St. 704.375.1985
The Graduate – $ Fortune Cookie – $ 501 E. 36th St. 704.331.9898 Jump N Joe’s Java Joint – $
123 W. Trade St. 704.358.3024 208 East Independence Blvd. 704.377.1388 Cajun Queen – $$ 105 E. Morehead St. 704.372.3217
The Penguin – $ Fujiyama – $ 1800 E 7th St. 704.377.9017 Laurel Market South – $
1921 Commonwealth Ave. 704.375.6959 320 S. Tryon St. 704.334.5158 1515 South Blvd. 704.334.2185
The Philosopher’s Stone – $ Fuse Box – $ C A R I B B E A N Leo’s Delicatessen – $
1958 E. Seventh St. 704.350.1331 227 W. Trade St. 704.376.8885 1421 Elizabeth Ave. 704.375.2400
The Pub – $ Ginbu 401 – $ Anntony’s Caribbean Cafe – $ Li’l Dino – $
710 West Trade St. 704.333.9818 401 Providence Rd. 704.372.2288 2001 E. 7th St. 704.342.0749 401 S. Tryon St. 704.342.0560
Thomas Street Tavern – $ Great Wok – $ Austin’s Caribbean Cuisine – $ Matt’s Chicago Dog – $
1218 Thomas Ave. 704.376.1622 718 W Trade St. Ste M 704.333.0080 345 S. Kings Dr. 704.331.8778 425 S. Tryon St. 704.333.3650
Tic Toc Coffeeshop – $ Hong Kong – $ Owen’s Bagel & Deli – $
512 N. Tryon St. 704.375.5750 1713 Central Ave. 704.376.6818 CHINESE 2041 South Blvd. 704.333.5385
Union Grille – $ Koko – $ Philadelphia Deli – $
222 E 3rd St. – Hilton Towers 6609 Elfreda Rd. 704.338.6869 88 China Bistro – $ 1025 S. Kings Dr. 704.333.4489
704.331.4360 Monsoon Thai Cuisine – $ 1620 E. 4th St. 704.335.0288 Phil’s Tavern – $
Vinnie’s Sardine – $ 2801 South Blvd. 704.523.6778 Vanloi Chinese Barbecue – $ 105 E. Fifth St. 704.347.0035
1714 South Blvd. 704-332-0006 Orient Express – $ 3101 Central Ave. 704.566.8808 Rainbow Café – $
Zack’s Hamburgers – $ 3200 N Graham St. 704.332.6255 Wok Express – $ 400 South Tryon 704.332.8918
4009 South Blvd. 704.525.1720 Pho An Hoa – $ 601 S. Kings Dr. 704.375.1122 Reid’s – $
4832 Central Ave. 704.537.2595 225 E. 7th St. 704.377.1312
AMERICAN MODERN Pho Hoa – $ COFFEE SHOPS Ri-Ra Irish Pub – $
3000 Central Ave. 704.536.7110 208 N. Tryon St 704.333.5554
131 Main – $$ SOHO Bistro – $ Caribou Coffee – $ Salvador Deli – $
1315 East Blvd. 704.343.0131 214 N Tryon St. 704.333.5189 100 N. Tryon St. 704.372.5507 N. Davidson St. 704.334.2344
300 East – $$ Thai Taste – $ Dilworth Coffee – $ Sammy’suptown
www.uptownclt.com Deli – $ 63
300 East Blvd. 704.332.6507 324 East Blvd. 704.332.0001 1235 East Blvd # B, 704.358.8003 1113 Pecan Ave. 704.376.1956
December 09.indd 63 11/25/2009 10:34:09 AM

Sandwich Club – $ Open Kitchen – $ The Corner Pub – $ Roly Poly Sandwiches – $
525 N. Tryon St. 704.334.0133 1318 W. Morehead St. 704.375.7449 335 N. Graham St. 704.376.2720 317 S. Church St. 704.332.6375
Sandwich Club – $ Pasta & Provisions – $ Sbarro – $
435 S. Tryon St. 704.344.1975 1528 Providence Rd. 704.364.2622 PIZZA 101 S. Tryon St. 704.332.5005
Substation II - $ Portofino’s Italian – $$ Simply Subs – $
1601 South Blvd 704-332-3100 3124 Eastway Dr. 704.568.7933 Brixx – $ 212 S. Tryon St. 704.333.0503
1941 E. 7th St. 704-358-8100 Primo Ristorante – $$ 225 East 6th St. 704.347.2749 Smoothie King – $
116 Middleton Dr. 704.334.3346 Donato’s Pizza - $ Epicentre - 210 Trade St. 704.979.6911
DESSERT Cafe Siena – $$ 718-A West Trade St 704.714.4743 Smoothie King – $
230 N. College St. 704.602.2750 Domino’s Pizza – $ One Wachovia Center 704.374.0200
Crave the Dessert Bar – $ Salute Ristorante – $$ 343 S. Kings Dr. 704.331.9847 Spoons – $
501 W. 5th St. 704.277.9993 613 Providence Rd 704.342.9767 Fuel Pizza – $ 415 Hawthorne Ln. 704.376.0874
Dairy Queen – $ Terra – $$ 214 N. Tryon St. 704.350.1680 Woody’s Chicago Style – $
1431 Central Ave. 704.377.4294 545-B Providence Rd. 704.332.1886 Fuel Pizza – $ 320 S. Tryon St. - Latta Arcade 704.334.0010
Dolce Ristorante – $$ Villa Francesca 1501 Central Ave. 704.376.3835 Zack’s Hamburgers – $
1710 Kenilworth Ave. 704.332.7525 321 Caldwell St. 704.333.7447 Hawthorne’s NY 4009 South Blvd. 704.525.1720
Luce Ristorante – $$ Volare – $$ 1701 E. 7th St. 704.358.9339
214 N. Tryon St. – Hearst Plaza 704.344.9222 1523 Elizabeth Ave. 704.370.0208 Latta Pizza – $ S E A F O O D
Monticello – $$ Zio Authentic Italian – $$ 320 S. Tryon St. 704.333.4015
235 N. Tryon St.– Dunhill Hotel 704.342.1193 116 Middleton Dr. 704.344.0100 Papa John’s Pizza – $ Aquavina – $$$
1620 E. 4th St. 704.375.7272 435 S. Tryon St. 704.377.9911
ECLECTIC L AT I N Picasso’s – $ Cabo Fish Taco – $
214 N. Church St. 704.331.0133 3201 N. Davidson St. 704.332.8868
The Melting Pot – $$$ Cloud 9 Confections – $ Pie Town – $$ Capital Grille – $$$
901 S. Kings Dr. Stuite 140-B 704.548.2431 201 S. College St. 704.334.7554 710 W. Trade St. 704.379.7555 201 N. Tryon St. 704.348.1400
Therapy Cafe – $ Pizza Hut – $ Fig Tree –$$$
401 N. Tryon St. 704.333.1353 M E AT & T H R E E 901 S. Kings Dr. 704.377.7006 1601 E. Seventh St. 704.332.3322
The Fig Tree – $$ Rudino’s Pizza & Grinders – $ GW Fins – $$
1601 E. 7th St. 704.332.3322 Dish – $ 2000 South Blvd. - Atherton Mill 704.333.3124 525 N. Tryon S 704.716.3467
1220 Thomas Ave. 704.344.0343 UNO Chicago Grill – $ LaVecchia’s – $$$
FRENCH Mert’s Heart & Soul – $ 401 S. Tryon St. 704.373.0085 225 E. 6th St. 704.370.6776
214 N. College St. 704.342.4222 Villa Francesca McCormick & Schmick’s – $$$
Terra – $$ Blue – $$$ 321 Caldwell St. 704.333.7447 200 South Tryon St. 704.377.0201
545-B Providence Rd. 704.332.1886 214 N. Tryon St. 704.927.2583 Zio Authentic Italian – $ McIntosh’s – $$$
Intermezzo Pizzeria & Café – $ 116 Middleton Dr. 704.344.0100 1812 South Blvd. 704.342.1088
GREEK 1427 E. 10th Street 704.347.2626 Outback Steakhouse – $$
QUICK BITES 1412 East Blvd. 704.333.2602
Greek Isles – $$ MEXICAN
200 E. Bland St. 704.444.9000 Bojangles’ – $ SOUTHERN & SOUL
Little Village Grill – $ Cabo Fish Taco – $ 310 E Trade St. 704.335.1804
710-G W. Trade St. 704.347.2184 3201 N. Davidson St. 704.332.8868 Boston Market – $ Lupie’s Cafe – $
Showmars – $ Johnny Burrito – $ 829 Providence Rd. 704.344.0016 2718 Monroe Rd. 704.374.1232
214 N. Tryon St. 704.333.5833 301 S. Tryon St. 704.371.4448 Burger King – $ Mert’s Heart and Soul – $
La Paz – $$ 310 E. Trade St. 704.334.3312 214 N. College St 704.342.4222
INDIAN 1910 South Blvd. 704.372.4168 Chick-fil-A – $ Price’s Chicken Coop – $
Phat Burrito – $ 101 S. Tryon St. 704.344.0222 1614 Camden Rd. 704.333.9866
Copper – $$ 1537 Camden Rd. 704.332.7428 Chicks Restaurant – $ Savannah Red – $$
311 East Blvd. 704.333.0063 Salsarita’s – $ 320 S. Tryon St. – Latta Arcade 704.358.8212 100 W. Trade St. 704.333.9000
Maharani – $ 101 S. Tryon St. 704.342.0950 Church’s – $ Marriott City Center
901 S. Kings Dr. 704.370.2824 Taqueria La Unica – $ 1735 W. Trade St. 704.332.2438
Suruchi’s – $ 2801 Central Ave. 704.347.5115 Dairy Queen – $ S P A N I S H
129 W. Trade St. 704.372.7333 1431 Central Ave. 704.377.4294
MIDDLE EASTERN Domino’s Pizza – $ Arpa Tapas – $$$
I TA L I A N 343 S. Kings Dr. 704.331.9847 121 W. Trade St. 704.372.7792
Kabob Grill – $ Fuel Pizza – $ Sole Spanish Grille – $$$
Carrabba’s Italian Grill – $$ 1235-B East Blvd. 704.371.8984 214 N. Tryon St. 704.350.1680 1608 East blvd.. 704.343.9890
1520 South Blvd. 704.377.2458 Fuel Pizza – $
Coco Osteria – $$ OUTDOOR DINING 1501 Central Ave. 704.376.3835 S T E A K H O U S E
214 N. Tryon St.–Hearst Plaza 704.344.8878 Green’s Lunch – $
Dolce Ristorante – $$ Big Ben’s Pub – $$ 309 W. 4th St. 704.332.1786 Beef & Bottle – $$$
1710 Kenilworth Ave. 704.332.7525 801 Providence Rd. 704.334.6338 Mr. K’s – $ 4538 South Blvd. 704.523.9977
Fig Tree – $$$ Cans Bar – $ 2107 South Blvd. 704.375.4318 Capital Grille – $$$
1601 E. 7th St. 704.332.3322 500 W. 5th St. 704.940.0200 Papa John’s Pizza – $ 201 N. Tryon St. 704.348.1400
Hawthorne’s NY Pizza – $ East Boulevard Grill – $ 1620 E. 4th St 704.375.7272 Chima – $$$
1701 E. 7th St. 704.358.9339 1601 East Blvd. 704.332.2414 Pasta & Provisions – $ 139 S. Tryon St. 980.225.5000
Intermezzo Pizzeria & Café – $ Ember Grille – $$$ 1528 Providence Rd. 704.364.2622 LaVecchia’s – $$$
1427 E. 10th St. 704.347.2626 601 S. College St. - Westin Hotel 704.335.2064 Pita Pit – $ 225 E. 6th St. 704.370.6776
Ri-Ra Irish Pub – $ 214 N. Tryon St. 704.333.5856 Longhorn Steakhouse – $$
Luce Ristorante & Bar – $$$ 208 N. Tryon St 704.333.5554 Quiznos Sub – $ 700 E. Morehead St. 704.332.2300
214 N. Tryon St. – Hearst Plaza 704.344.9222 Sullivan’s – $$$ 127 N. Tryon St. 704.374.9921 Morton’s – $$$
Mama Ricotta’s – $$ 1928 South Blvd. 704.335.8228 Quizno’s – $ 227 W.Trade St.- Carillon bldg. 704.333.2602
601 S. Kings Dr. 704.343.0148 320 S. Tryon St. – Latta Arcade 704.372.8922
December 09.indd 64 11/25/2009 10:34:09 AM

Outback Steakhouse – $$ Ed’s Tavern
1412 East Blvd. 704.333.2602 2200 Park Rd. 704.335.0033
Ruth’s Chris – $$$
222 S. Tryon St. 704.338.9444
Evening Muse
3227 N. Davidson St. 704.376.3737
Having both luxury and affordability
Sullivan’s – $$$ Fox and Hound – $
1928 South Blvd. 704.335.8228 330 N. Tryon St. 704.333.4113 is no longer just a dream.
Hartigans Pub – $
S U S H I 601 S. Ceder St. 704.347.1841
Hawthorne’s NY Pizza – $
Cosmos Cafe – $$ 1701 E. 7th St. 704.358.9339
300 N. College St. 704.372.3553 Howl at the Moon – $
Enso – $$ 210 E. Trade St. 704.936.4695
210 E. Trade St. 704.716.3676 Jillian’s SouthEnd – $
Fujo Uptown Bistro – $$ 300 E. Bland Street 704.376.4386
301 S. College St 704.954.0087 Loft 1523 – $$
KO Sushi – $$ 1523 Elizabeth Ave. 704.333.5898
230 S. Tryon St. 704.372.7757 Madison’s – $$
Nikko – $$ 115 Fifth St. 704.299.0580
1300-F South Blvd. 704.370.0100 Morehead Tavern – $
Room 112 – $$ 300 East Morehead St. 704.334.2655
112 S. Tryon St. 704.335.7112 Phil’s Tavern – $
Ru-San’s Sushi – $$ 105 E. Fifth St. 704.347.0035
2440 Park Rd. 704.374.0008 Picasso’s – $
214 N. Church St. 704.331.0133
T A P A S PJ’s Coffee & Lounge - $
BUSH CUSTOM TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
210 E. Trade St. (Epicentre) 704.688.0366
Arpa Tapas – $$$ 704.372.7792 Pravda – $$ Serving the Carolinas since 1958!
121 W. Trade St. 300 N. College St. 704.375.8765 Last minute reservations readily accepted 24/7
Cosmos Cafe – $$ 704.372.3553 Presto Bar and Grill – $
300 N. College St. 445 W. Trade St. 704.334.7088 800.452.2657 • 704.394.3337 • www.bushtrans.com
Ri-Ra Irish Pub – $
V E G E T A R I A N 208 N. Tryon St 704.333.5554
Selwyn Pub – $
Blynk – $ 2801 Selwyn Ave. 704.333.3443
200 S. Tryon 704.522.3750 Stool Pigeons – $
Dish – $ 214 N. Church St. 704.358.3788 “The company I trust is Bush Transportation.”
1220 Thomas Ave. 704.344.0343 Suite – $ –Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina Panthers
Something Classic Café – $ 210 E. Trade St. 704.999.7934 www.m2foundationforkids.com
715 Providence Rd. 704.347.3666 The Attic – $
200 N. Tryon St. 704.358.4244
V I E T N A M E S E The Corner Pub – $
335 N. Graham St. 704.376.2720
Pho An Hoa – $ The Forum – $$
4832 Central Ave. 704.537.2595 300 N. College St. 704.375.8765
The Gin Mill – $
B A R S 1411 S. Tryon St. 704.373.0782
The Penguin – $
Amos SouthEnd – $ 1921 Commonwealth Ave. 704.375.6959
1423 S. Tryon St. 704.377.6874 The Pub – $
Apostrophe Lounge – $$ 710 West Trade St. 704.333.9818
1400 S. Tryon St. 704.371.7079 Thomas Street Tavern – $
BAR Charlotte – $ 1218 Thomas St. 704.376.1622
300 N. College St. 704.342.2557 Tilt – $$
Big Ben’s Pub – $$ 127 W. Trade St. 704.347.4870
801 Providence Rd. 704.334.6338 Town Tavern – $
Buckhead Saloon – $ 200 N. Tryon
201 E. 5th St. 704.370.0687 Tremont Music Hall – $
Cans Bar – $ 400 W Tremont Ave. 704.343.9494
500 W. 5th St. 704.940.0200 Tutto Mondo – $
Cedar Street Tavern – $ 1820 South Blvd. 704.332.8149
120 N. Cedar St. 704.333.3448 Tyber Creek Pub – $
Connolly’s on 5th – $ 1933 South Blvd. 704.343.2727
115 E. 5th St. 704.358.9070 Vinnie’s Sardine – $
Cosmos – $$ 1714 South Blvd. 704.332.0006
300 N. College St. 704.375.8765 Visulite Theater – $
Coyote Ugly – $ 1615 Elizabeth Ave. 704.358.9250
521 N. College St. 704.347.6869 Whiskey River – $
Crave the Dessert Bar – $ 210 E. Trade St. 704.749.1097
501 W. 5th St. 704.277.9993
Dilworth Bar & Grille
911 E. Morehead St. 704.377.3808
Dilworth Billiards
300 E. Tremont Ave. 704.333.3021
Dixie’s Tavern
301 E. 7th St. 704.374.1700
DoubleDoor Inn
218 E. Independence Blvd. 704.376.1446
December 09.indd 65 11/25/2009 10:34:10 AM

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December 09.indd 68 11/25/2009 10:34:11 AM

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“Thank you so much,” I tell him. “How long do you think it

gestures of the steering wheel, and some double pumping of the