Tribal Outkast
Veteran
Right. I stay passing that place but never stopped. Now I want to stop by Midnight Diner
The Official Charlotte, NC Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Towlie
- Start date
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
Right. I stay passing that place but never stopped. Now I want to stop by Midnight Diner
Where is the new MD gonna be located at?
Also do they still have they Sister spot “Red Diner” open in Epicenter?
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
I like to chop it up with the muralists from around here. He’s one of them. Them mural artists are dope folks man.
Bryan Danielson
Jmare007 x Bryan Danielson x JLova = King Ghidorah
Gotcha…. I know only a couple….. I Deneer is my homey.
I wonder has he done work with my former company.
I may need to look it up
Verbal Kint
Superstar
Ayo. Seriously considering/wanting to move to Charlotte when my oldest graduates HS next year. Gonna be down there for a week next month too. Can yall help me out with some ideas for good neighborhoods for working black families to check out? Also what are some cons/ things to be aware of with the city? Ive got some people there but they all just moved there within the last 6 months and the articles only tell you so much
Mindfield333
Superstar
Where are you coming from?
Verbal Kint
Superstar
Like 40 mns outside Chicago. Lake County
Some of mine were there as a kid. My grandma owned a underground liquor house when she ran numbers from. It was in the hood but it was fun
Mindfield333
Superstar
Cool. Is that near Evanston? I got family out there but I don’t know them. My grandmothers sister & her husband. Been trying to hunt down a pic of my grandma and I heard they might have one
Verbal Kint
Superstar
Naw Evanston literally borders the city. I'm like 30 mns from E-town. Definitely hit up the Jamaican spots on Howard on the regular basis though
Coffee shop owner wants to evoke positivity in every cup - Q City Metro
Coffee shop owner wants to evoke positivity in every cup
Joe Keenan, owner of Evoke Coffee, wants his shop to be a space for people to make new connections.
Joe Keenan, owner of Evoke Coffee. Photo courtesy of Joe Keenan
By Jalon Hill
February 14, 2022
When Joe Keenan moved to Charlotte in 2016, he would go to local coffee shops to meet new people, making connections with everyone from local business owners to the coffee shop baristas.
“I wasn’t going just to get a cup of coffee. I was going to vibe and find some inspiration,” the 31-year-old Spartanburg, South Carolina, native told QCity Metro.
He noticed a lack of Black coffee shop owners in Charlotte and wanted to start his own.
On Sunday, Keenan hosted a soft opening for “Evoke Coffee,” a brick-and-mortar coffee shop at CLT Hub (750 West Morehead St.).
Color Your Perspective
Get our Morning Brew newsletter and keep pace with events in Charlotte's Black communities.
Keenan’s journey as a coffee shop owner started from a mobile service he and a friend created in 2019. The two had bought a horse trailer and traveled throughout Charlotte selling coffee pouches.
Despite some business successes, creative differences led the duo to shut down their operation in the summer of 2021, and Keenan was reluctant to start another part-time gig, notwithstanding requests from some of his former customers.
Keenan said he was inspired by his mother to try.
“I would give her a bunch of reasons why I wasn’t going to do it, but she just kept pushing me to do it,” he said.
In October, his mother died from Covid-19 and liver disease.
That same month, Keenan relaunched his mobile coffee service under the new name, Evoke Coffee, with a mission to “evoke positivity in every cup.”
Joe Keenan serving coffee at his soft opening. Photo courtesy of Joe Keenan
He started serving at events including brunches, corporate functions and private parties. Positive feedback, he said, “gave me even more courage to keep going and keep doing this.”
Keenan now works alone, but he said he wants to start a paid mentorship program for young men to gain knowledge and work experience. He wants his shop to be a space that other Black business owners and creatives can use for events and workshops.
Keenan said he wants his customers to make positive connections, just as he did when he moved to Charlotte.
“I’m really big on connections, and I have made a lot of connections from getting coffee, so I just want to do the same for others,” he said.
Customers can find Evoke Coffee’s weekly schedule on the shop’s Instagram page.
Coffee shop owner wants to evoke positivity in every cup
Joe Keenan, owner of Evoke Coffee, wants his shop to be a space for people to make new connections.
Joe Keenan, owner of Evoke Coffee. Photo courtesy of Joe Keenan
By Jalon Hill
February 14, 2022
When Joe Keenan moved to Charlotte in 2016, he would go to local coffee shops to meet new people, making connections with everyone from local business owners to the coffee shop baristas.
“I wasn’t going just to get a cup of coffee. I was going to vibe and find some inspiration,” the 31-year-old Spartanburg, South Carolina, native told QCity Metro.
He noticed a lack of Black coffee shop owners in Charlotte and wanted to start his own.
On Sunday, Keenan hosted a soft opening for “Evoke Coffee,” a brick-and-mortar coffee shop at CLT Hub (750 West Morehead St.).
Color Your Perspective
Get our Morning Brew newsletter and keep pace with events in Charlotte's Black communities.
Keenan’s journey as a coffee shop owner started from a mobile service he and a friend created in 2019. The two had bought a horse trailer and traveled throughout Charlotte selling coffee pouches.
Despite some business successes, creative differences led the duo to shut down their operation in the summer of 2021, and Keenan was reluctant to start another part-time gig, notwithstanding requests from some of his former customers.
Keenan said he was inspired by his mother to try.
“I would give her a bunch of reasons why I wasn’t going to do it, but she just kept pushing me to do it,” he said.
In October, his mother died from Covid-19 and liver disease.
That same month, Keenan relaunched his mobile coffee service under the new name, Evoke Coffee, with a mission to “evoke positivity in every cup.”
Joe Keenan serving coffee at his soft opening. Photo courtesy of Joe Keenan
He started serving at events including brunches, corporate functions and private parties. Positive feedback, he said, “gave me even more courage to keep going and keep doing this.”
Keenan now works alone, but he said he wants to start a paid mentorship program for young men to gain knowledge and work experience. He wants his shop to be a space that other Black business owners and creatives can use for events and workshops.
Keenan said he wants his customers to make positive connections, just as he did when he moved to Charlotte.
“I’m really big on connections, and I have made a lot of connections from getting coffee, so I just want to do the same for others,” he said.
Customers can find Evoke Coffee’s weekly schedule on the shop’s Instagram page.
From thrift store shopper to thrift store owner; Taylor Drew wants to share her passion - Q City Metro
From thrift store shopper to thrift store owner; Taylor Drew wants to share her passion
Drew grew up thrifting, and now she owns her own store in Pineville.
Taylor Drew, owner of Hause Collective. Photo by QCity Metro
By Jalon Hill
February 11, 2022
If you walk into The Hause Collective Charlotte, you night think you’re in the 1990s. The thrift store, located in Carolina Place Mall, is filled with vintage items, from throwback jerseys and Coogi sweaters to cassette tapes and vinyl records.
Taylor Drew, the store’s owner, reflected on a time when thrift stores were the only place she and her two sisters could shop.
“[My mom] wasn’t taking us shopping nowhere expensive,” she told QCity Metro. “We came across thrift stores and realized that you could find cool stuff for cheap.”
Drew said thrifting has long brought her excitement, and she wants to generate that same experience for those who visit her store.
Free Newsletter
Stay informed with news and events that impact Charlotte's Black communities.
The 28-year-old business owner established The Hause Collective Charlotte in July 2021 as a franchise to her family business.
Her sister, Chelsea, founded the family’s first two thrift stores (of the same name) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2018 and 2019. After a brief deployment at Fort Bragg, Drew moved to Charlotte and was encouraged by her sister to open a location here.
Drew said she was reluctant at first, concerned about the challenges of being a full-time entrepreneur, but her sister’s persuasion changed her mind.
She initially stocked the store with her own collection of clothing and with purchases from Goodwill, but she later partnered to sell the products of other small, Black-owned clothing brands and designers.
“It’s a community shop…we just keep it running so we can all represent our own small business,” she said.
Hause Collective Charlotte. Photo by QCity Metro
Drew said that while some of her older customers enjoy the clothes and nostalgia, teens make up her largest clientele base.
“It’s cool to see younger people really enjoying the aesthetic and everything in here,” she said.
Drew said her first year in business has come with ups and downs. Her motivation, she said, has comes from seeing customers enjoy her store.
“To find a piece of clothing that makes you shine on the inside and on the outside, it’s just a beautiful feeling,” she said. “And I love seeing when people get that feeling.”
From thrift store shopper to thrift store owner; Taylor Drew wants to share her passion
Drew grew up thrifting, and now she owns her own store in Pineville.
Taylor Drew, owner of Hause Collective. Photo by QCity Metro
By Jalon Hill
February 11, 2022
If you walk into The Hause Collective Charlotte, you night think you’re in the 1990s. The thrift store, located in Carolina Place Mall, is filled with vintage items, from throwback jerseys and Coogi sweaters to cassette tapes and vinyl records.
Taylor Drew, the store’s owner, reflected on a time when thrift stores were the only place she and her two sisters could shop.
“[My mom] wasn’t taking us shopping nowhere expensive,” she told QCity Metro. “We came across thrift stores and realized that you could find cool stuff for cheap.”
Drew said thrifting has long brought her excitement, and she wants to generate that same experience for those who visit her store.
Free Newsletter
Stay informed with news and events that impact Charlotte's Black communities.
The 28-year-old business owner established The Hause Collective Charlotte in July 2021 as a franchise to her family business.
Her sister, Chelsea, founded the family’s first two thrift stores (of the same name) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2018 and 2019. After a brief deployment at Fort Bragg, Drew moved to Charlotte and was encouraged by her sister to open a location here.
Drew said she was reluctant at first, concerned about the challenges of being a full-time entrepreneur, but her sister’s persuasion changed her mind.
She initially stocked the store with her own collection of clothing and with purchases from Goodwill, but she later partnered to sell the products of other small, Black-owned clothing brands and designers.
“It’s a community shop…we just keep it running so we can all represent our own small business,” she said.
Hause Collective Charlotte. Photo by QCity Metro
Drew said that while some of her older customers enjoy the clothes and nostalgia, teens make up her largest clientele base.
“It’s cool to see younger people really enjoying the aesthetic and everything in here,” she said.
Drew said her first year in business has come with ups and downs. Her motivation, she said, has comes from seeing customers enjoy her store.
“To find a piece of clothing that makes you shine on the inside and on the outside, it’s just a beautiful feeling,” she said. “And I love seeing when people get that feeling.”
I ate at What The Fries today. If you go there, be ready to spend money.
Tribal Outkast
Veteran
I also went over to Carolina Place again and I ordered from the Black-owned Italian Ice place. It was good, and I walked past that Black-owned thrift store a few posts up but I didn't go in.