Axios Charlotte

July 18, 2026
π Hi Saturday! It's Alexis who can't stop singing Drake's lyric "Chef Curry with the pot" from "0 to 100/The Catch Up" after meeting Ayesha Curry yesterday. More on that and robot servers below.
π§οΈ Today's weather: Mostly sunny then chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 96 and a low of 75.
π Happy birthday to our member Phyllis Schultz!
This newsletter has 705 words and is a 2.5 minute read.
1 big thing: β½οΈ Where to watch the World Cup final
Argentina will face Spain tomorrow at 3pm in the FIFA World Cup final.
Why it matters: Charlotte bars and restaurants will be packed as people watch to see if superstar Lionel Messi and Argentina can claim a second straight World Cup title.
Fun fact: In 2007, a 20-year-old Messi participated in a charity photo shoot between his team FC Barcelona and UNICEF. Messi was paired with a five-month-old baby named Lamine Yamal.
- The two will meet on the field tomorrow, with the now 19-year-old Yamal representing Spain.
Here are a few spots to watch the game:
β½οΈ NoDa: Heist and Salud
π» Plaza Midwood: Sip City and Workman's Friend
β½οΈ South End: Blinders, HopFly and Hoppin'
πΊ Uptown: Brevard Court (pictured above) has several go-to soccer bars, including Hooligans, Belfast Mill, QCBC and Valhalla.
π» Wilmore: Tyber Creek
2. βοΈ Chef Curry with the tea pot
Ayesha Curry's Sweet July Cafe opens in Uptown on Monday, July 20.
Why it matters: The all-day cafe is the the first of two businesses from Ayesha and husband Steph Curry opening inside The Ritz-Carlton.
Zoom in: Ayesha, a Food Network personality and cookbook author, partnered with The MINA Group to bring her Sweet July brand to Charlotte after opening the first cafe in Santa Monica in May.
What to expect: Sweet July serves breakfast, lunch, coffee, matcha and smoothies, with many dishes inspired by Ayesha's Caribbean roots using locally-sourced ingredients.
- Breakfast includes grab-and-go items like coconut chia seed pudding, overnight oats and house-made pastries, including a strawberry shortcake croissant, crème brûlée Danish and bananas foster cinnamon roll.
- Lunch includes pita-foldies β warm pita sandwiches inspired by Jamaican coco bread, plus smash burgers, Jamaican beef patties and seasonal salads.
- Among the dessert options are fruit-topped soft-serve sundaes and house-made chocolate treats.
Stop by: Find Sweet July at 201 E. Trade St. It'll be open Monday through Friday 6:30am-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 7am-8pm.
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3. π± Revolving sushi and robots in south Charlotte
You can grab sushi from a revolving conveyor belt at this new restaurant in south Charlotte.
Why it matters: Kura Sushi at Stonecrest at Piper Glen is the first North Carolina location for the Japanese restaurant.
How it works: Grab plates as they pass by on the lower level conveyor belt, or order specific dishes from a touch screen panel. Special orders are delivered to your table on an upper express belt.
- Kura also has a few robot servers that delivers drinks straight to your table.
Dig in: The menu features more than 100 dishes, including nigiri like American wagyu, garlic ponzu salmon and garlic skipjack tuna, plus rolls like the spicy tuna crunchy roll and tiger roll.
- All sushi plates are $3.75. The menu also features noodle dishes like ramen and soba, and dessert.
Stop by: Find Kura Sushi at 7804 Rea Rd Suite A. Open Sunday 11am-9pm, Monday through Thursday from 11:30am-9pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00am-9:30pm.
4. πΊ One must watch tv show to go
A new comedy television series called "The Hawk" is available to stream on Netflix.
Why it matters: The show features co-star Fortune Feimster who was born in Charlotte and grew up in Belmont.
Details: In the show, Will Ferrell plays Lonnie "The Hawk" Hawkins, a former golf great trying to prove he's still got one last major win in him.
- Ferrell brought Hawkins to the Home Run Derby broadcast, opening with "Are you guys ready to watch some balls go very far into the air?" Baseball fans were mixed on the bit.
π£ I was reminded that my eyes are bigger than my stomach, but it's hard to make responsible decisions when sushi keeps floating past you at Kura.
π₯― Ashley is trying one of your bagel recs this morning.
π§ McKenzie is excited we have a revolving sushi bar and would also like to put out a request for someone to open a revolving dessert bar.
πΏ Alex is checking on tickets for "The Odyssey."
Thanks to Jen Burkett for editing this newsletter.
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