A dive bar-turned-foodie hangout at 25, an Italian debut + a filming exit
Consider this your fast pass to the Charlotte stories worth knowing about this week — a Montford mainstay is turning 25, a new Italian restaurant is opening, a Netflix hit is packing up its NC production and the latest Three Bone Theatre play lingers long after the curtain.
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Three-dollar Miller Lites and Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys were on the all-day menu Wednesday as Angry Ale’s marked its 25th anniversary. The Montford Drive sports bar opened in 2001 as what general manager Rich Lange calls “the diviest of dive bars” — and has since become one of the most reliable hangouts on the strip.
Lange, who’s been with Angry Ale’s for about 16 years and GM since 2017, told CharlotteFive the longevity isn’t complicated.
“We’ve been around a long time because I think we’ve changed with the times and really focused on what our customers want,” he said. “We’ve done a lot the last few years to be more food-intensive and create new items that are really popular. But, basically, it’s all about community and being a place where the neighborhood likes to hang out.”
📖 See Evan’s full story for more.
Fresh pasta, family recipes and a South End address once occupied by Futo Buta — all the plans for Lady Funari are coming together this fall.
The 1,600-square-foot restaurant will seat 40 inside and 40 more outside, and it’s named for B-Side Group culinary director Vince Giancarlo’s Italian grandmother, Claire Theresa Funari, whom he knew as his “Mommom.”
“It’s just kind of rooted in family for me,” Giancarlo said. “I grew up kind of on my grandmother’s hip every Sunday.”
Diners can preview the seasonal menu Sept. 16 at a takeover dinner at Customshop. Giancarlo’s lineup includes house-roasted local peppers, tagliatelle with rock shrimp and celery-almond pesto, cacio e pepe and handmade orecchiette with Harmony Ridge Farms pork sugo and whipped ricotta. Dessert: a sundae with stracciatella ice cream, candied tomato pearls, chocolate balsamic syrup and crispy basil. 🍨 📍 222 E. Bland St., Charlotte
👀 Get an early look with Heidi’s story.
The Netflix drama that turned Lake Norman into a Texas socialite’s backdrop won’t be filming its next season here. “The Hunting Wives,” whose first two seasons were shot in and around Charlotte, is expected to move to Georgia after North Carolina changed how it funds film incentives.
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Since 2019, the N.C. Department of Commerce ran incentives as a cash flow program tied to future appropriations. The General Assembly changed that structure — and producers say that funding certainty is gone.
It’s not the first time. “Homeland” left after three Charlotte seasons. “Banshee” moved to Pennsylvania for its final season. “Outer Banks” — literally named for the NC coast — filmed in South Carolina.
Three Bone Theatre’s new production of “Sovereignty,” written by Mary Kathryn Nagle and directed by Carolyn Dunn, follows Sarah Ridge Polson (Billie D. Merritt) as she argues before the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Cherokee Nation sovereignty.
The play toggles between the present and 1835, when John Ridge (Lance Claymore) and Major Ridge (Marco Fuller) signed the treaty that led to the Trail of Tears. Mvnte July draws standout marks as John Ross and his descendant Jim Ross — “equally jubilant and terrifying,” in our review.
At two hours 30 minutes plus a 15-minute intermission, “Sovereignty” leans hard on its thesis — sometimes at the expense of letting its actors carry the weight. But when the ghosts take the stage, the room hums. 📍 Three Bone Theatre, 1545 W. Trade St. — running Thursday–Sunday through Sept. 6.
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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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