Axios Charlotte

April 20, 2024
Hello, Saturday. It's Ashley, who feels like a kid in a candy store with so many bookstores to explore.
β οΈ Weather: High 77.
π Happy birthday to Axios Charlotte members Ron Law, Katherine Martin, Terri White and Amy Baker.
π Inspired by what you read? Make a difference in local journalism β become an Axios Charlotte member today.
π Situational awareness: The Charlotte 49ers spring football game is tonight at 7pm. Gates open at 6pm. Admission is free.
Today's Smart Brevityβ’ count is 651 words β a 2Β½-minute read.
1 big thing: π How to celebrate 4/20 legally in NC
Marijuana is still illegal in North Carolina, to be blunt, Axios' Alexis Clinton writes.
Yes, but: You can legally buy and get high off a product just like it.
State of play: Delta-8 is a popular alternative to cannabis. It is a derivative of Delta-9, the psychoactive component of marijuana, and can provide a similar high.
- Meanwhile local law enforcement is tasked with cracking down on marijuana use, and that gets complicated.
Context: 4/20 has become a big marketing hook. (4/20 is doper slang for marijuana and has turned April 20 into a big, lit celebration.)
Here are legal ways to celebrate in Charlotte:
π¨ Seed to Soul: A luxury dispensary in SouthPark.
π Happy Camper: Get the "THC experience" at the consumption lounge in NoDa, or grab a joint to-go from its Optimist Park dispensary.
π΅ Hemp & Tea Company: Sip on cannabis-infused teas from any one of its locations, including Huntersville and southeast Charlotte.
2. π³ Let's go to the park
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation turns 50 this year, and the celebration kicks off today in Independence Park, Charlotte's first public park.
If you go: Charlotte History Festival: This is Meck runs from 10am-2pm. It's free to attend.
πΊ Expect music, art, food and drink, including Lost Worlds Brewing, which just opened its Metropolitan location.
π Free parking is available in Central Piedmont Community College's Deck 1 at 1321 Charlottetowne Ave. You can also take public transit like the Gold Line, which runs past the park.
π Independence Park is at 300 Hawthorne Lane. The festival will take place in the west side of the park, which is between Hawthorne Lane and Charlottetowne Avenue.
3. π Wegmans is coming and other things we learned
π Wegmans will open its first Charlotte location in Ballantyne in 2026.
π Bojangles is expanding to Los Angeles.
π° Cakeable, a nonprofit workforce development program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has opened a cafe in Uptown.
βοΈ Higher Grounds by Manolo's is a new coffee shop inside Myers Park United Methodist Church opening in mid-May.
π The UNC Board of Governors approved the $60 million first phase of expansion of the Charlotte 49ers football stadium.
π° North Carolina burst out of the gate during its first month of legal mobile sports betting β with a total bet of $659.3 million between March 11-31.
πΆββοΈ SouthPark Community Partners has released "The SouthPark Vision Plan," and hopes to become a place where you rarely have to move your car.
π Local leaders are discussing the Red Line, a commuter rail that would end in Mooresville.
πΆ Skiptown will open its second Charlotte location in 2025 near NoDa.
πββοΈ More than 100 Charlotteans ran the Boston Marathon. They also gave Axios the scoop on the best bathrooms to stop at on your next run in Charlotte.
πΈ Folia, an upscale cocktail bar with a Miami feel and a menu from mixologist Bob Peters, will open in South End this summer.
π₯ Seoul Food Meat Co. has opened a kid-free speakeasy inside its Optimist Park location.
4. π© A new Salty Donut
The Salty Donut will open a second Charlotte location this fall at The Bowl at Ballantyne.
Context: The Miami-based doughnut shop opened its first North Carolina location in South End in January 2023 at 1515 S. Tryon St. #105. The business also had a pop-up truck at UNC Charlotte.
What's next: The Salty will have a pop-up at today's Run! Ballantyne event, serving traditional glazed, brown butter & salt, milk & cookies, and strawberry shortcake doughnuts.
- Expect more pop-ups leading up to the opening.
π The bookstore haul: I bought "First Lie Wins" by Ashley Elston, "The Rise of the Ultra Runners" by Adharanand Finn, "The Book of Lost Names" by Kristin Harmel and "The Road to Sparta" by Dean Karnazes.
- So far I've finished "First Lie Wins" and it was 10/10. I'll report back on the other three.
Thanks to Amy Stern for copy editing this newsletter.
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