More Great Food in Ballantyne: Big Daddy's Burger Bar

Charlotte Business Journal reported this week that Partners Frank Scibelli and Dennis Thompson expect to open Charlotte's second Big Daddy's Burger Bar in Ballantyne this July. Big Daddy's original location is on East Blvd. in the Dilworth neighborhood. Big Daddy's website sums up the restaurant, "we do exactly what our name suggests - we have amazing burgers, a killer bar, and it’s all very, very good... we love serving you amazing food in a lively, laid-back atmosphere."

I've enjoyed a great burger at Big Daddy's in Dilworth. The beer selection was good too. The restaurant space itself is very small though, so it will be nice to see them open up a bigger space here in Ballantyne. The place definitely draws a crowd, so look for it to become a welcome addition to the Ballantyne restaurant scene. No word on exactly where in Ballantyne they plan to open, however.

http://www.bigdaddysburgerbar.com/

D'Vine Wine coming to BV

Fans of wine are well aware that Ballantyne Village's Under the Grape winebar closed and has been vacant for a while now. Good news, however: Ballantyne Village website indicates a new shop coming soon called D'Vine Wine.

From their website, "D’Vine Wine is a boutique winery specializing in custom wines made from the highest quality varietals. By the glass, by the bottle or our vintners will guide you through the process of customizing your very own wine. Personalized labels add a great finish to your creation. D’Vine Wine, Your Personal Winery is truly a unique experience for the wine novice or the wine expert. Our winery produces many award winning wines from the finest juices. Starting from the juice, rather than growing our own grapes, allows us to offer a wide variety of wines from the bold reds, to crisp whites, to fruit and desert wines."

http://www.dvinewinecafe.com/

Farmers Markets are Still Open!

With the weather changing from warm to cold, people tend to forget fresh fruits and vegetables are still available at the farmers market. Delicious fruits and vegetables in season during November and December include apples, broccoli, oranges, mushrooms, pears, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and much more! Stop by your local farmers market to pick up the freshest food for your healthy lifestyle.

• Charlotte Tailgate Farmers Market located at 100 West Park Avenue (South End), hours are Saturday 10am-1pm, Tuesday 3:30pm-6pm until the weekend before Christmas.

• Matthews Community Farmers Market located at 105 N. Trade St, hours are Saturday 7:15am-noon through November. Hours change to every other Saturday starting December 6th 7:15am-noon.

• Charlotte Regional Farmers Market located at 1801 Yorkmont Rd, hours are Tuesday – Saturday 8am-5pm all winter.

Noodles & Company opens in Arboretum

The Arboretum shopping center at the intersection of Hwy 51 and Providence Rd has a new restaurant option, Noodles & Company. A favorite of kids and adults alike, Noodles & Co. offers Asian, Meditteranean, or American noodle dishes as well as custom made-to-order noodle dishes.

Ballantyne area Starbucks' are Safe!!

By now you might have heard about Starbucks closing 600 stores nationwide. I stumbled upon a news site that listed all 600 of them, so I couldn't resist the urge to check North Carolina and see which stores were slated to be closed. Of course I had my fingers crossed that the Starbucks at Conlan Circle in Ballantyne and the 'drive-thru' Starbucks at Hwy 51 & Park Rd (...both of which get a good amount of business from me!) wouldn't be on the list. I can rest easy! Here is the NC list below. Looks like the Wilkinson Blvd. Starbucks (wasn't this funded by Magic Johnson and wasn't it supposed to help revitalize the area?) and the Starbucks at Providence Plaza on Providence and Sharon Amity Rd (brand new?!?) didn't fare so well:

North Carolina
11525 CHATHAM DOWNS 141 CHATHAM DOWNS CHAPEL HILL NC
10420 WILKINSON BLVD 3220 WILKINSON BLVD CHARLOTTE NC
10836 NORTHLAKE COMMONS 9335 CENTER LAKE DR CHARLOTTE NC
11056 PIEDMONT TOWN CENTER 4620 PIEDMONT ROW DR CHARLOTTE NC
13533 WORTHINGTON 1520 OVERLAND PARK LN CHARLOTTE NC
14141 PROVIDENCE RD & SHARON AMITY RD 2921 PROVIDENCE RD CHARLOTTE NC
14183 FIRETOWER RD & ARLINGTON BLVD 1889 E FIRETOWER RD GREENVILLE NC
11136 VALLEY HILLS MALL 1960 HWY 70 SE HICKORY NC
11925 NASH STREET 2113 NASH ST WILSON NC
8716 HARPER HILL COMMONS 4912 COUNTRY CLUB RD WINSTON SALEM NC

Under the Grape

Vanessa Willis of The Observer reports:
"Under the Grape is moving from Ballantyne Village to a new location, to be determined.

Owners Barb and Henry Tyree could not be reached for comment. But they sent an e-mail to customers last week that said their lease had been terminated and they planned to relocate elsewhere in Ballantyne. It also said they had been asked not to keep their bar doors leading to the patio open while music was playing inside.

Village leasing agent Christy McQueen could not comment on the terms of the separation, but said another wine bar will likely move into the space."

TABLE Restaurant Closes

Rumor has it that TABLE Restaurant in Ballantyne Village has closed its doors to business and is potentially relocating to another place around town. A friend's daughter had pre-prom dinner there over the weekend and heard from servers there that it was the last weekend of operation. As a quick check, I tried to make a reservation on Opentable.com, but the listing for Table is no longer available on that site. So it seems that this might really be the loss of a great restaurant in BV.

Ballantyne Elementary School!

CMS Board Meeting on 5/13 to Discuss Name of New Elementary School


Please join Principal Sharon Damare at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, May 13th. The naming of the new elementary school will be on the agenda. Principal Damare and parents will be proposing the new name be Ballantyne Elementary School. Please help provide your support!

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 13th at 6pm at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. 4th St.

Questions? Please see one of the following web pages or contact Princial Damare, sharon.damare@cms.k12.nc.us.

http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/gems/lancaster/DamareNewsletterMay.pdf

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/boardeducation/boardagenda.asp

Good things are coming to Blakeney

Developer Crosland has posted a current expected tenant list for the Blakeney Crossing retail center currently under construction. Best Buy heads up the list as the anchor, along with PetSmart. Also mentioned are Asian Fusion, Omaha Steaks, and Just Fresh!

Check out the tenant list and site plan here.

Parkway Crossing development taking shape in Pineville

A village-style community is currently being developed along Sam Meeks Rd. in Pineville. If you drive on Carolina Place Parkway, you might have seen the signs for the coming development but the work is being done over the hill out of sight from the major thoroughfares around the mall. The proposed village center is to include a mix of single-family and townhomes, with a close-knit layout that includes walkable streets and on-street parking. The residential component will wrap around a village retail center with a mix of shops and offices. Arden Homes has built a handful of homes so far, with classic southern architecture, inclduding hardi-plank siding and wide front porches.

See a site plan of the retail and townhome portion here.