A beloved taco spot finds a new home in Charlotte + goodbye to another BBQ joint
A beloved taco business has found a new home in West Charlotte, a fast-casual barbecue chain shutters another local restaurant, and a pillar in the Charlotte arts community is departing.
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If you didn’t catch all that and more in today’s CharlotteFive newsletter, here’s a quick look to get you caught up at what’s happening this week:
Mariah’s Taco Spot is opening a ghost kitchen space at City Kitch on Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 2-7 p.m., with exclusive menu items like Caribbean taco boxes and Crunch Wraps that won’t be available anywhere else. You’ll find this takeout hotspot at 📍 2200 Thrift Road, Charlotte.
Owner Mariah Brown started the business as a pandemic hobby in her south Charlotte apartment — cooking birria tacos after her full-time job at Duke Energy — before growing it into a food truck and pop-up service. Plans for a previously announced NoDa brick-and-mortar location are on hold due to funding challenges.
🥤 Evan fills you in, so you can get filled up.
Shane’s Rib Shack closed its Rock Hill restaurant on Sunday, Aug. 2, with the location listed as “permanently closed” as of Monday. The now-shuttered spot was at 📍 4891 Old York Road, Rock Hill.
It’s the second Shane’s Rib Shack closure in the Charlotte area in recent months — the Steele Creek location shut down in February — leaving only the Gastonia spot about 30 miles away at 📍 3660 E. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia.
😢 Tanasia has all the details.
Tom Gabbard, president and CEO of Blumenthal Arts since 2003, announced Monday, Aug. 3, that he’ll retire by the end of 2027 after more than 20 years leading the organization.
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Under Gabbard’s watch, Blumenthal launched Knight Theater and Blume Studios and staged major events including The Charlotte Jazz Festival and Charlotte International Arts Festival. The “Immersive Van Gogh” exhibit alone drew 300,000 attendees and generated more than $40 million in economic impact.
🎤 Catherine shares what’s next.
Five North Carolina restaurants — Blue Ridge, Herons, Luminosa, The Dining Room at Biltmore Estate and The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge — made OpenTable’s Top Hotel Restaurants in America list, spanning the mountains to the Triangle.
The honorees include some serious culinary firepower: Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa holds a Michelin recommendation and Forbes Five-Star rating, while Asheville’s Luminosa is a Michelin Green Star and Bib Gourmand recipient.
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This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists. To learn more about how The Charlotte Observer is using AI in our newsroom, see our policy here.
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