Anything fun to do in Charlotte, NC from 6 tonight til about midnight?

May 23, 2013 1:25 PM

My connecting flight from Charlotte to NYC has been canceled until 6 am tomorrow. I have a sweet airport hotel room, but want to get out and explore a little. Suggestions?

So, i guess I'm a typical Brooklynite: I like good beer, wine, and food. Weird and fun bars or maybe a silly dance night, or a local band's show. I also like history, so maybe there's a good Civil War site somewhere nearby?

I have no car. Cabs only. I also want to be in bed by about midnight.

Help a stranded Mefite make the best of a long layover?

posted by functionequalsform to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

Ugh, cabs. Not our strong suit here. I mean, we have them, but they're not lining the streets waiting for you. You'll probably need to call for one, or ask the hotel to call one for you.

If "Americana" is of any interest - OMG you are in luck - you're in town for Speed Week - the week between our two (2!) spring NASCAR races. That means the Speed Street festival is going on in downtown/uptown Charlotte. Food, entertainment, people watching (but PLEASE don't judge us by what you see there). It's open till 11 p.m. Read about it here

Or, plan B, ask the cab to take you to Plaza-Midwood. Have a beer at Thomas Street Tavern and grab dinner at the Diamond (around the corner). The folks at either place will know if there's music tonight in the area.

Wish I didn't have so much to do tonight, or I'd offer to meet you so we could make fun of people together. Enjoy our city! Take a raincoat, if you have one with you - I think they are calling for some storms (AGAIN, good golly I am tired of rain) tonight.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:34 PM on May 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Oh, I was just there! The airport really isn't terribly far from the downtown and there are a bunch of fun bars and restaurants. Here are some suggestions I got when I was asking recently.

I especially liked Harvest Grille and Dandelion Market (It's sort of gastropubby).
posted by chatongriffes at 1:35 PM on May 23, 2013

We went to Tilt on Trade as part of a Sales Thingy and the folks there were pretty awesome. It's downtown and not too, too far from the airport, 10 miles give or take. Basically, it's a bar, and I mean that in the best possible way. They don't serve food though.

There are some pretty nice restaurants in the area as well. If you go down by the arena, there's a place called Epicentre, it's an entertainment complex with all kinds of restaurants and clubs (like Howl at the Moon.) It's in the same vicinity as Tilt on Trade.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:36 PM on May 23, 2013

As a Brooklynite who spent her first 26 years in NC, you'd be just as likely to have fun drinking from the minibar and laughing at the local news than you would out-on-the-town. I say this as a person who believes that NC has tons of awesome shit to offer. Just not in Charlotte. If you were there during the day, maybe there would be some historical things to suggest, but the nightlife is not worth the very high cost of a cab to and from.
posted by greta simone at 2:51 PM on May 23, 2013

Response by poster: Welp! Forty bucks in cab ride later, and I'm at Thomas Street Tavern. My IPA is good and cold, and the accents are charming, so I'm happy enough! Beats the airport for sure.

(Two more mefites also headed back to nyc might get stuck here too, so cheers all around!)
posted by functionequalsform at 3:12 PM on May 23, 2013