Another one of Charlotte's oldest restaurants is closing
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Photo: Michael Graff/Axios
Cherished SouthPark restaurant Harper's is closing its doors later this month.
Why it matters: It's another Charlotte institution soon to be lost and torn down. A bank will take its place, CharlotteFive reported.
What they're saying: "We wish we could say this is our decision, but it simply is not," Tom Sasser, owner of Burke Hospitality Group, said in a press release. "We are working on a new location for a new iteration of Harper's, and hope we will be able to share more information soon."
Flashback: Harper's first opened in December 1987 on Woodlawn Road, where the Honey Baked Ham Company now is. The second location opened on Fairview Road in 1992.
- When the original restaurant lost business because of light rail construction, the owners kept the SouthPark spot.
Zoom in: Its Greensboro location at Friendly Center will remain open.
- Mimosa Grill, Taco Molino, and Horace's are also Burke Hospitality Group businesses.
The big picture: Harper's joins Futo Buta, Dandelion Market and a list of other adored restaurants to recently announce closures for various reasons.
- Charlotte's oldest restaurant, Green's Lunch, closed last year and was replaced by a hookah bar.
- Fuel Pizza in South End closed last year after its lease ended. Like Harper's, a bank will take its place.
Go deeper: How Charlotte's "OG" restaurants are faring in a city that loves new
Our thought bubble: "Losing Harper's is a different kind of blow than the loss of a Mr. K's or a Price's Chicken Coop," says Michael Graff, Axios Bureau Chief.
- "Harper's was a rare 1990s throwback in Charlotte, a modest but mature restaurant dishing famous chicken tenders and wood-fired pizzas and joy, holding steady against the unt-unt-unt waves of trendy and expensive spots seeking to 'elevate" the city's food scene.'"
- "It's served regulars from local politicians to former Charlotte Hornets like Muggsy Bogues. It's also been a special-occasion restaurant for the middle class. They've all sat in the soft booths or at tables pushed together in a comfortable setting with brick arches and an open kitchen, ordering from servers they've known for years, sharing a memorable meal for about $20 to $30 a person," Graff adds. "Now it'll be a bank."
What's next: Harper's last day on Fairview Road is July 20.
- Permits were filed with Mecklenburg County for a Chase Bank on the site.