La Bodeguita is Charlotte's new space for real connection
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
La Bodeguita in Camp North End. Photo: Laura Barrero/Axios
My 2026 vision board is a hodgepodge of manifestations, featuring photos of book covers I hope to read, people who inspire me and places I want to visit.
- I made it at La Bodeguita, a craft cafe in Camp North End built around the idea that making things together can feel like belonging.
Why it matters: Many young adults say Charlotte feels disconnected. La Bodeguita is built to solve for that — offering connection without performance, creativity without "networking," and a third place that feels rooted instead of copy-pasted.
Context: Owner Michelle Fernandez, a therapist, is building La Bodeguita as a community space first, craft space second.
- "The goal is to use art as a tool of entry to connection to yourself," Fernandez tells Axios. "Because when we better connect to ourselves, we can better connect to others."
How it works: La Bodeguita operates more like a menu of experiences than a traditional café.
All craft supplies are provided, and BYOB and BYO food are encouraged. Set-up and clean-up are handled by Fernandez. La Bodeguita's programming generally falls into three buckets.
- Studio sessions: In-house guided experiences, including vision boarding, collage-making and calendar-making. These events are ticketed and usually range from $15 to $30.
- Community activations: More accessible events that are often cheap or free, including craft club, domino night and cafecito mornings.
- Artist-led workshops: Classes that let people "be voyeuristic" in an artist's practice, then try it themselves. Think Cricut workshops and camera basics classes, which range from $30 to $45.
Flashback: Fernandez first built a following in Charlotte through Limoncito Goods, a maker brand that grew through pop-ups, markets and deep ties to the city's creative community.
- In 2021, she started a craft club after realizing many of her therapy clients were lonely and needed ways to meet without the therapy office as the connector.
- That shift — from selling handmade goods to creating space for people to gather — eventually shaped what La Bodeguita would become: a place where people can show up, make something, and maybe meet someone without forcing it.
Yes, but: "I never wanted to feel like we're shoving therapy down your throat," she said. La Bodeguita, like therapy, is what you make of it.
The big picture: A recently released survey found that many young adults are considering leaving Charlotte, often because they can't find community or feel the city hasn't developed a strong sense of self.
- Fernandez argues Charlotte does have culture, it's just not always where newcomers expect to find it, especially in areas that have rapidly gentrified.
Her larger critique: Charlotte sometimes confuses small business with local business, and the city's "big city" aspirations often incentivize national brands over homegrown places.
- That's part of what makes La Bodeguita feel different: it's a concept inspired by what she'd seen online, but executed as something deeply place-based — shaped by Charlotte, not dropped into it.
If you go: Plan ahead and check Instagram for an event that interests you. Most weeknights feature programming around 6:30–8pm, and on weekends it's open for extended hours from 12-8pm.
- La Bodeguita is at 1824 Statesville Ave., next to Kiki, Thrift Pony and Gravity Pizza.