How to get a lobster dinner in South End for less than the cost of one Charlotte cocktail

South End’s hidden gem restaurant might just be Harris Teeter.

The store, which anchors the same strip that Holler & Dash and Nëkter occupies, opened mid-2017 complete with a wine bar and meal station that dishes out meals like – no kidding – a 1-pound lobster tail with a baked potato and corn on the cob for just $11.99.

As you enter the store, turn left toward the produce and you’ll walk right into it.

Specials change each day and are served 4-7:30 p.m., with exception of Saturday and Sunday:

• Monday: Mongolian Noodle Bowl, with chicken, beef, shrimp, chorizo or tofu, $8.99
• Tuesday: BBQ Brisket Sandwich, with fried tortilla chips, cole slaw and a pickle, $8.99
• Wednesday: Lobster Dinner, with a baked potato and corn on the cob, $11.99
• Thursday: Prime Rib Dinner, with oven roasted potatoes and fresh vegetables, $9.99
• Friday: Crab Cake Dinner, with roasted corn and jalapeño salsa and steamed broccoli, $11.99
• Saturday and Sunday (7 a.m.-12 p.m.): Omelet Station, with gruyere, cheddar or American cheese and ham, onions, peppers, tomatoes, spinach and mushroom, served with a toasted bagel, $4.99

To Agenda readers that have sent us notes about what we’re missing not covering the South End Harris Teeter: We hear you. You were right.

We tried both the lobster and the prime rib and walked away full and pleasantly surprised.

The prime rib was tender enough to cut with a set of plastic silverware. Pro tip: Skip the au jus, go straight for the horseradish.

Get there early for the lobster. They’ve been known to sell out and go through around 60 each night.

Each lobster is a pound and was enough to make the guys next to us ask where we’d gotten it because it smelled that good.

Ted’s pro tip: This is not a date night spot, because who wants to get covered in lobster juice while pretending they know how to properly eat it? My pro tip: Who cares?

Meals may come in a to-go box, but take a seat in the bar area and stay a while.

On a Thursday night at 6 p.m., every seat at the bar was taken. While it ebbed and flowed over the 45 minutes I was there, it never died down completely – and customers ranged in age from mid-twenties to late-fifties.

In one corner, a group of twenty-somethings pushed two tables together for a round of drinks and got excited when, to their surprise, another friend turned the corner. At the bar, another couple was catching up with a friend.

None of them were there to pick up groceries.

“It’s a destination,” said Gina, the manager who has been described by readers as the ‘family manager’ that watches over her customers lovingly.

She went on to say that there really isn’t a night her bar isn’t full; she’s got regulars, she’s seen date nights and she’s even seen couples tag team – one snags a seat while the other snags the groceries.

But, she said, it’s more about the experience. Just like its Myers Park counterpart, the bar has taken on a life of its own with nightly specials like 1/2-price glasses on Monday, $3 local drafts on Wednesday and $4 mimosas on Sunday.

“It’s a destination. South End, before we opened, didn’t really have a place for community. It had Mac’s, but that isn’t the same. Now, people come to have a drink, hang out.”

Saturdays are even dedicated to the idea, with scheduled community bonding time that includes $4 mimosas, beermosas and an omelet bar.

Despite being a first-timer, her sheer presence made me feel at ease and, frankly, like I wasn’t in a grocery store at all.

True to form, as I turned to leave, she stopped me and said: “Welcome to the family.”