Food + drink

3rd and Fernwood is slated to open this fall at The Metropolitan in the former Hickory Tavern space. It’s the newest concept from Chef Greg and Subrina Collier’s Bayhaven Restaurant Group. Cleo Hethington, a 2022 James Beard Emerging Chef finalist, will be executive chef. The menu was still in development at press time but will “delve into the foodways of the African diaspora and its connection to the American South,” Greg Collier says. Coquette, a French bakery and restaurant from Mother Earth Group, opened at 400 S. Tryon St. in uptown. The Matador will open this fall in South End. The Mexican food restaurant and bar with more than 150 tequilas, mezcals and agave spirits is owned by North Carolina native Zak Melang. 

Left – Right: Cleo Hethington, Greg Collier, 3rd and Fernwood. Photos by Peter Taylor Photography and Clay Williams Photo.

Siloam’s new home

Photograph by Grant Baldwin

Following a six-year effort and a $1.2 million fundraising campaign, the historic Siloam School last month was moved from University City to its new home on the campus of the Charlotte Museum of History in east Charlotte. The Rosenwald-designed school was built in the 1920s as a place to educate Black children. The building will be restored as a permanent home for exhibits about the 20th century Black experience amid segregation. A grand opening celebration will be held in 2024. 

Follow the bubbles 

SouthPark has new public art — and it’s OK to walk on. In fact, artist Laurie Smithwick would love kids and grown-ups alike to follow the path of the whimsical bubbles she painted on the sidewalk at the newly finished Anne O. Moffat Park at the corner of Sharon Road and Hazelton Drive. The SouthPark Association of Neighborhoods secured grant funding for the mural, which was also ArtPop Street Gallery’s 50th Inspiration Project around the city. The half-acre green space is an extension of Sharon Towers (soon to be The Sharon at SouthPark), designed to serve neighbors within the continuing-care community and surrounding area. On a nice fall day, don’t be surprised to find folks sitting by the fountain — and maybe throwing in a coin or two to make a wish. Read the story.

Shop

Photographs courtesy Phillips Place

A popup shop with more than 60 vendors is open at Carolina Place Mall: Southern Lion plans to debut its main store in January 2024, with a grand opening slated for February. Vendors include floral designs, home décor, self-care items, gifts, luxury fabrics and clothing.

Phillips Place announced a trio of new brands: A 4,608-square-foot Ralph Lauren store, rag & bone and La Vie Style House will open this fall. The stores will join Jennie Kayne, Veronica Beard and others recently introduced by Dallas-based Highland Park Village, the center’s co-owner that oversees leasing, marketing and property management at Phillips Place.

Outdoor furniture store Yardbird is open at Apex SouthPark.

Atlanta gourmet grocer Savi Provisions is open at The Line in South End.