An early streetcar suburb east of Uptown, laid out along Central Avenue and The Plaza. Bungalows, a dive bar that has outlasted everything around it, a former church turned restaurant, and the tattoo shops and record stores that came with the rents. It has gentrified hard and kept more of its own character than most Charlotte neighborhoods managed.
One of Charlotte's oldest vegan restaurants, in an unassuming building off Independence Boulevard, with a long menu of fully vegan comfort cooking: barbecue, cheesesteaks, bratwurst, reubens, meatloaf and crab cakes.
South 21 has been on East Independence Boulevard since 1955 and still says so at the top of its own site: 'Serving Charlotte Since 1955'. It is a survivor of the drive-in era, working the same lot on the east side while the road around it turned into an expressway. The board runs to burgers, sandwiches, fish plates, onion rings and daily specials. CharlotteEAST notes it has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The Workman's Friend is a Central Avenue pub that calls itself a friendly neighbourhood watering hole. It runs two rooms with different characters: a dark, cosy side and an open-air bar. It is the latest-closing room in Plaza Midwood on this list, open to 2am seven nights a week, and it opens at 10am on weekends.
Whiskey Warehouse sits on The Plaza across from Supperland and calls itself a top shelf pub: classic American dining, craft beer and cocktails, with a rooftop above the main bar. The rooftop keeps its own hours and runs latest of all, to 2am on Friday and Saturday.
