Charlotte Magazine’s Most Popular Stories of 2022
From purple streetlights to crabs to lingering NASCAR fanaticism.
PHOTO BY HERMAN NICHOLSON
Charlotte’s nightlife hub a decade ago, the Epicentre headed toward foreclosure in early 2022. Photos by Andy McMillan.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY TRAVIS DOVE
Here’s an easy way to tell how long someone has lived in Charlotte: Take them to 1315 East Blvd., at the corner of East Boulevard and Scott Avenue, and see how many past restaurants they can name.
Red@28th, a “multicultural literary lounge” that opened in early 2021, is the sixth tenant in 20 years to lease the 8,000-square-foot space at East Boulevard and Scott Avenue. Photos by Peter Taylor.
Locals referred to it as “the ugliest house in Concord”: a 1,100-square-foot mill house on Glenn Street that was built in 1900 and had been vacant for at least the previous five years. Adam and Jessica Miller bought it in June 2021 for $70,000. The Millers, both studio artists, had renovated four homes over the last decade. But nothing could have prepared them for dummy grenades in the front lawn, a vintage soda can under the floorboards, and snakes—snakes!—in the rotting walls.
Adam and Jessica Miller grew up in Concord. The renovation made them feel “like we were helping to keep the town growing,” Adam says. “It’s important to balance the new elements with the charm that brought people here in the first place.” They welcomed their fifth son in August. Photographs by Joel Lassiter.
Lori Rice and The Poster, Lancaster’s BBQ, Mooresville. Photo by Herman Nicholson.
Pringle Square, a 292-unit complex in the rapidly growing Steele Creek area, opened in June 2021. Photographs by Herman Nicholson.
ILLUSTRATION BY BOB SCOTT
Charlotte’s first arts and culture officer, Priya Sircar, will help set a long-term plan for the sector. The result, she says, “will be shaping the future of Charlotte.” Photos by Andy McMillan.