Your guide to Uptown’s non-Starbucks local coffee options
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no starbucks charlotte
I used to drink Starbucks. I wouldn’t say I was a fan so much as just a passive consumer of an almost unavoidable product, but I did have a gold card with my name on it that afforded me a free drink on my birthday and the opportunity to be swindled into constantly reloading it. I’m not sure when I started to outright hate Starbucks but I think it was somewhere between their beverages feeling like acid in my intestines and their abolition of the free soymilk perk for gold cardholders. Ever since then I’ve set out to slowly destroy the Seattle-based coffee empire one self-righteous #drinklocal tweet at a time.
And so here I am to challenge my nemesis in the saturated Uptown market where it holds homecourt advantage with six locations within the I-277 loop. But that’s ok because I found 10 other places you can get coffee Uptown, no gold card required.
Everyone’s favorite French bakery has opened its largest (11,000-square-foot) cafe in the heart of Uptown. This location isn’t open 24 hours like the one in NoDa but they’re open until midnight Sunday – Wednesday and 2 a.m. Thursday – Saturday. Find it: 301 S. Tryon Street
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This little cafe in the lobby of the Ritz is known for its fancy handmade chocolates and baked goods (there’s a cheesecake in the shape of a pyramid), but they’ve also got a full espresso bar. Bonus: There’s no seating in the cafe area so you get to enjoy your caffeine fireside in the luxe lobby bar area. Find it: The Ritz-Carlton, 201 E. Trade Street
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Charlotte Coffee Station
If you like dessert-flavored coffee, this is your spot. They do all kinds of crazy things with flavored syrups, but black coffee and straight espresso aren’t forgotten. Baristas are super nice. Find it: One Wells Fargo, 301 S. College Street
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Jackson’s Java
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Wells Fargo clearly knows bankers run on coffee. Find it: Three Wells Fargo, 401 S. Tryon Street
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Located inside The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, this newly opened cafe is run by the same team behind Fern and Halcyon so you know it’s good. They only have drip coffee, but do you really need anything else with a giant s’mores bar? Probably not. Closed Tuesdays. Find it: The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, 420 S. Tryon Street
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NJC is a cult favorite among Charlotte’s coffee elite. If you don’t know about it, you haven’t been here long. Start with a caramel latte, their most popular drink. Find it: 7th Street Public Market, 224 E. 7th Street
This tiny little cafe oozes charm at the end of the brick-paved pedestrian alley at Brevard Court. They’ve got a handy mobile app loyalty card so you don’t have to keep up with some hole-punched piece of paper. Find it: 120 Brevard Court
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The guys that brought you the Tin Kitchen food truck have a full-blown brick and mortar cafe Uptown, too. They only serve drip coffee but it’s local Enderly Coffee for the win. (Read about Enderly’s mission to improve the community here.) Find it: 525 N. Tryon Street
And if you’re a trolley commuter…
Sure, they’re not in Uptown proper but they’re close enough and they’re on the trolley route for any of you Elizabeth-area commuters. So don’t you dare wait until you get Uptown to go stand in line at Starbucks. You know you’ve got time to kill at your stop so step into these shops for a hot beverage for the ride.
Say hello to my office away from home. I could sit in here all day. They’ve got a quick-service food counter, deli case, fresh baked goods and a full espresso bar. Find it: 1609 Elizabeth Avenue
This is a coffee shop for when you can’t decide if you need a shot of espresso or vodka… because it’s in a bar. Everybody wins. Find it: 1425 Elizabeth Avenue
Of course I’ll still drink Starbucks in moments of desperation, like in airports or on long car rides, but it’s never my number one choice and it need not be yours either. What’d I miss?