Howdy! Welcome to this week’s issue of The Hospitality Hotline, brought to you by our team at 86search. The purpose of this publication is to celebrate and support the Hospitality industry in the Charlotte Metro area.
Contents
Hospitality Happenings
New Hotels on the Horizon
Charlotte continues to grow in 2023. With almost all COVID-19 restrictions lifted, tourism is on the rise again. With it comes the need for more hotels in order to accommodate the number of people visiting the Queen City.
A plan to develop a new hotel at the Charlotte Convention Center is slowly coming to fruition. At the end of 2022, Charlotte City Council approved a land swap with Millennium Venture Capital that would allow them to have the necessary land for the hotel. Although it will be a few years before the hotel is built, it’s an exciting step in the continued growth of Charlotte. Read more about the land swap here.
Moxy Hotel is set to open in late 2024 at 125 S. Brevard St. This 13-story, 208-room hotel will focus on entertainment as it offers live music and games in the lobby (located on the 13th floor) that leads outside to stunning views of Charlotte on the rooftop terrace. The hotel is focused on creating an environment where guests don’t even have to leave in order to enjoy their trip to Charlotte. Read more details on the hotel here.
Coffee for a Cause
As if you needed another excuse to skip your Keurig and head to the coffee shop instead, Change Please Coffee will open inside of Innovation Barn at the end of this month. What makes this UK-based coffee so unique? Besides the fact that it’s the first one to open in the United States, 100% of sales are used to support people that are experiencing homelessness. The profits are able to help provide people with a liveable wage, housing, training, and future opportunities for growth. So grab a cup of coffee and help support the 3,000 people in Charlotte that are experiencing homelessness.
Read more about the brand here.
Events in Town
Southern Range Chili Cook Off
Still looking to put your chili cooking skills to the test? We’ve got another opportunity for you to add to the calendar! Southern Range Brewing is hosting its 3rd annual chili cook-off on January 28th. The best part? It’s for a good cause! Tasters pay only $10 for a ticket and all of the proceeds will go to the charity of the winner’s choosing. More info can be found here.
NC Black Heritage Festival
“Remember the past, Celebrate the present, & Shape the future.” That is the theme for this year’s NC Black Heritage Festival. Over 100 black-owned companies will be in attendance at the festival where you can enjoy games, crafts, art, performances, and community. The festival will take place on February 26th at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. Purchase tickets here.
Queen City Brewers Festival
Grab your pint glasses and head out to the Grady Cole Center on February 11th to take part in this year’s Queen City Brewers Festival. The annual event started in 2012, but was put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19. Since the festival is coming back to life, this year’s benefits go to Project Life Movement, the Charlotte-based non-profit that saves lives by helping match healthy stem cell and bone marrow donors to patients that need it. The event will feature Charlotte region’s craft beverage producers and tickets are $60 for access to the beverage and food samples. Check out their website to see which breweries will be represented at the event.
Must Eat Treats
Sammie of the Week: Laurel Market
In the Myers Park neighborhood, Laurel Market humbly sits. With all the qualities of your corner store bodega, this shop doesn’t stand out much. Until you taste their sandwiches, that is. This family-owned store and deli serves mouth-watering breakfast and lunch sandwiches made fresh every day, with soups and salads to boot. Their sandwiches rotate on and off their menu, but if you can, please order the Traveler that is topped with prosciutto, capicola, Salami, manchego cheese, arugula, cornichons & plugra butter.
Treat of the Week: The Batchmaker
We are doubling down this week on treats, which is easy to do when they are made by Cris Rojas at the Batchmaker. With dozens of cakes, cookies, and bars to choose from, it can be hard to find a favorite treat from this bakery. As a sucker for nostalgia, I always gravitate toward her take on the famous oatmeal cream pie and her various flavors of Poptarts! Don’t expect these treats to taste like your childhood, in fact, be prepared for an upgrade.
Hire These People
Jenny
Jenny is a General Manager with top-shelf customer service skills who takes pride in the organization and cleanliness of her restaurants. She has tremendous experience in Café, Breakfast, pizza, and casual Italian restaurants. Jenny also has solid front-of-house and kitchen management experience. Jenny’s teams love working for her and have followed her to new restaurants the few times that she has made a change in employment. Jenny is looking for a solid culture where she can work at the General Manager or Assistant General Manager level and she is seeking a base salary in the low 60s.
Rich
Rich is a highly experienced Executive Chef who has been leading fine dining kitchens of various sizes for over 30 years. He has incredible job stability and has been with the same group for more than 15 years but is seeking a change and would like to work for a local restaurant group in the Charlotte area to be near family. Rich is skilled in managing food and labor costs along with inventory. He enjoys coaching and training and calls himself a working Chef. Rich loves to cook and be behind the line and is highly skilled in all areas of the kitchen including pastry. He has spent most of his career in high-end American cuisine with Spanish, French, Italian, and Scottish cuisines. Rich is seeking a base salary of 85k plus bonus.
James
James is a steal for your kitchen. He has been an Executive Chef at a high-end restaurant that focuses on American cuisine but would like to take a step back from the lead position to be able to focus on family. He has been working 70+ hours a week for the last 10 years and would like to be back to 45-50 consistently. James is skilled at every position on the line and would love to move into an Executive Sous or Sous Chef position where he can continue to cook and teach, but is not responsible for everything. James would like to be at a compensation rate of $25 hourly.
If you believe these candidates would make a great addition to your team, contact 86search today!