The Packhouse is an ode to NC with homemade Nabs, Cheerwine cocktails and a tobacco leaf bar

The Packhouse pays tribute to owner Deedee Mills’ Carolina roots with reimagined classic southern fare served in a tobacco barn inspired setting.

All Treehouse Kitchen restaurants, including The Packhouse, support Mills’ nonprofit after school program, Behailu Academy, by donating 10% net profit and collecting charitable roundup donations from customers.

The restaurant feels like a barn with floor to ceiling reclaimed wood paneling and a dramatic canopy of tobacco baskets hanging from the ceiling.

To achieve the look, Mills and her team dismantled three packhouses near where she grew up in Williamston, a tiny town (pop. 5,000) about 4 hours east of Charlotte.

The tin roofs became a bar in the private dining room, the brick foundations became the base of the main bar and the wood slats from the historic buildings cover every inch of the restaurant.

The main bar features a unique tobacco leaf countertop created by Artisan Leaf.

The authentically rustic look is a jarring juxtaposition to the slick new 7-story building where The Packhouse is located. I love it.

On the menu, you’ll find classic southern fare like shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes and brunswick stew served up on mismatched thrifted dishes.

Mills says to expect some healthier, lightened up variations like a ricotta cauliflower mash instead of mashed potatoes.

The bar snacks and dessert menus shine with playful homemade versions of childhood favorites like cracker jacks (complete with a Packhouse temporary tattoo prize), Nabs (peanut butter and cheese sandwich crackers) and oatmeal cream pies.

The restaurant will be open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch.

In keeping with its North Carolina theme, The Packhouse will also have its own brand of muscadine wine.

As tobacco farming in North Carolina became obsolete, many farmers turned to muscadine grapes as an alternate crop. The Packhouse will have two signature muscadine wines — a white called Blond Optimism and a red called Noble Intentions — bottled under the brand name Cured. Mills will donate 15 cents from every bottle to a nonprofit “committed to finding a cure for their cause.”

A third muscadine drink in The Packhouse’s product lineup is Cannon’s Shine, a 100% muscadine grape juice named after Mills’ son Cannon Behailu Mills. Cannon’s drink will donate 15 cents from every bottle to the nonprofit of his choice benefitting his birth country of Ethiopia.

The bar will feature five classic cocktails and five specialty crafted cocktails.

Signature cocktails include Golden Leaf (Cannon’s Shine and moonshine) and Tobacco Road (bourbon, fig, lemon and honey).

The Carolina Cheer with muddled Cheerwine cherries, Cheerwine simple syrup, Muddy River Distillery spiced rum and a Cheerwine floater will also be a standout.

And it doesn’t end there… Mills is opening a fourth concept next door later this summer.

Joe and Nosh, a cafe and bakery, will open next to The Packhouse in mid July. Its airy, modern, minimalist design is a stark contrast to the repurposed barn next door and showcases Mills’ range not only as a restaurateur but as a designer, as well.

Joe and Nosh pays tribute to The Coffee Cup, a historic Charlotte soda shop that became one of the first integrated diners in the city in 1968 under female ownership.

Take a look around…

The Packhouse and Joe and Nosh are located at 500 E. Morehead Street.