Gamecock fans will have a new home base at South End’s The Horseshoe

Why it matters: Charlotte is full of University of South Carolina fans and alumni, which should come as no surprise since the school is only about an hour and a half south of here in Columbia, SC. “There are 17,000 members [in the alumni association], just in the Charlotte zip codes,” owner James Korpela said. 

Korpela knows how to build a bar — also owns The Brickyard in South End. He’s been planning The Horseshoe with the local alumni association for about three or four years.

Details: The Horseshoe is located at 1515 South Mint St, right behind Burrow Welchel & Culp, a new orthodontics office opening Friday, Oct. 21, and next door to the new nightclub Trio. 

• The Horseshoe is open Wednesday 4-12pm and Thursday 4-12pm, Friday 4pm-2am, Saturday 12pm- 2am, Sunday 12pm-12am, closed Monday and Tuesday.

What’s happening: The Horseshoe had its soft opening Sept. 23 and is gearing up for its grand opening on Oct. 22.

• Korpela says they will do a joint grand opening with the dentist’s office next door that will be filled with prizes.

Flashback: The alumni club in Charlotte has been bouncing from location to location on game days since Flight CLT closed in Uptown in 2019. That’s where Korpela, who isn’t a USC alum, comes in. He moved to Charlotte from Vegas about six years ago to help open Flight, and after it closed he kept a close relationship with the alumni association.

Menu: The “barstaurant,” according to Korpela, will serve food that’s somewhere between “bar food” and “fancy restaurant food.” 

• Other food items include shareables, nachos, salads, sandwiches, signature entree items and a kids menu will be served until 11pm. 
• Korpella tells us that among the affordable prices there are also a few signature dishes that upstate New Yorkers will appreciate like chicken finger bread, tachos and a Thanksgiving sub.
•  “Didn’t want to break the bank on prices and we want to be unique with our bar/ restaurant food. That’s what we were going for,” said Korpella 
• The full bar will also feature 6 craft cocktails with local or gamecock-themed names like “The Wolf of Mint St.” which is a house mojito named after the head of the gamecock club, James Wolf. 

The Vibe: The Horseshoe will be Gamecocks-themed but not exclusively a Gamecocks bar — it’ll cater to all college sports fans. “But on Saturdays for all intents and purposes, it will be the home of the Gamecocks,” Korpela said.

• Of note: The name “Horseshoe” is a nod to the quad on the Columbia campus by the same name.
• They have NFL Sunday Ticket so people can watch all the games every week.
• “One of the things getting lost these days are fun sports bars.” said Korpela.  

The space: At about 4,200 square feet, The Horseshoe will have indoor seating, an outdoor patio and a private event space for rent that fits about 20-25 guests.

• It’ll have a total of 10 TVs between inside, outside and private event space designed by  Stephanie Calderon and Andrew Graven. .
• Parking is limited along with most places on Mint Street but Korpela says he’s working on solutions to combat that problem.
• “You get the best of both worlds because people want an inside bar during the colder months so now people can have plenty of options year round.” said Korpella.

What’s next: For one day only, Friday, October 7, Kopella says he will announce a food discount on their instagram page ahead of their opening.

• He encourages people to monitor the page for updates regarding the specials he will have that day.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published August, 2022 and updated October 2022 to reflect the opening date.