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INSIDE ▼ House budget would increase teacher pay
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Friday, May 23, 2025 • Vol. 25 • No. 21
thecharlotteweekly.com
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BHS Corrugated chooses Charlotte for Experience Center •
Why Choose Us? •
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CHARLOTTE – BHS Corrugated North America, a subsidiary of German-based BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH, has selected Charlotte for its new North American Experience Center.
The 25,000-square-foot BHS Experience Center, located in Rushmore Five at Ballantyne, marks a milestone for BHS as it looks to expand its market share in North America. "The BHS Experience Center embodies our vision for the future of customer
engagement in the corrugated industry," said Scott Purrington, president and CEO of BHS North and South America. "We're creating an innovation ecosystem where customers, partners and our team can collaborate to drive the industry forward through handson experiences, cutting-edge technology, and personalized support. The location, with a thriving business community and dynamic offerings like The Bowl, supports our longterm growth. Charlotte and the Experience Center will play a critical role as we continue to invest in our growth within the North
America footprint.” The center will create more than 50 jobs over the next several years. Jobs include executive leadership, service, training, sales, parts, information technology, human resources and finance. Key positions began transitioning to Charlotte in November 2024. According to Purrington, Charlotte’s talent pool has helped to build “a multifunctional and highly effective team.” Within the first few months, BHS has welcomed more than 25 new team members. The company expects to complete the
Customshop duo introduces third concept
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Professional Staging: We ensure your items shine when displayed in the environment. Immaculate Presentation: We make sure your home looks its best befor Respectful & Community-Focused: We treat your home and neighborh utmost respect. Expert Guidance: We provide in-depth instructions to ensure everything smoothly.
build-out of the space by this fall. The City of Charlotte collaborated with Mecklenburg County and the Economic Our Promise: We are dedicated to maximizing the value of your items while m Development Partnership of North Carolina process as stress-free as possible. Since 2013, we have built a reputation for pro integrity, and exceptional to recruit BHS. results. Contact Us: Christine Boskovich 305-5226 Christine@QualityEstateSaleNC “Their decision to (661) open an Experience Center here shows how Charlotte stands out as a hub for both advanced manufacturing “We Sell Everything, But the House! and innovation,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said. “It’s a great example of how global partnerships can create high-quality jobs here in our city.” •
Arboretum ventures into drone delivery CHARLOTTE – American Asset Corporation announced the launch of Wing drone delivery service at The Arboretum, saying it’s the first retail center in North Carolina to offer commercial drone delivery through DoorDash.
Emmy Lou’s is expected to open in fall 2025. Rendering courtesy of Emmy Lou’s
CHARLOTTE – Andres Kaifer and Alex Bridges, of Customshop and Marina’s Tapas, have revealed the official name of their third concept together.
The wine shop will be named Emmy Lou’s. Emmy Lou, the name Bridges’ wife Emma was affectionately called growing up, comes from her great-grandmother, Emma Stewart. Emma’s great-grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. from England in 1910, was known for her insight and wit. “We keep family at the center of everything we do, so it’s an honor to name this dream and achievement after one of the most important people in my life,” Alex Bridges said. Emma Bridges said the connection to her great-grandmother gives her name special meaning. “We’ve been in Charlotte for the past four years and it's incredibly meaningful that this family heritage will now be part of the home we’ve made here,” Emma Bridges said. “I can’t wait to raise a glass and cheers to my great-grandmother and the hard work that Alex and Andres have done to create a beautiful wine bar centered on love and family,”
The wine bar’s logo and branding includes a character the team fondly calls “Pino.” They hope that playful spirit carries over into Emmy Lou’s, which they envision will be a casual place to hang out where learning about wines doesn’t have to be stuffy or overly serious. This design will include reds and neutrals that keep the space cozy, warm and a little funky while still fitting in with Dilworth’s charm. The goal is to achieve the same elevated yet welcoming vibe as Customshop as soon as customers walk in the door.
Kaifer and Bridges are eager to dive deeper into the retail side of the business as well. Bottles of wine, all available for purchase, will be displayed on open shelves throughout the main dining room, and custom Emmy Lou’s merchandise, including shirts and tote bags, is being developed. The bar’s handpicked wine list will feature an extensive selection of bottles from around the world and a menu of small plates and snacks. Emmy Lou’s will open in fall 2025. On the web: emmylouswinebar.com
Customers within approximately four miles of The Arboretum can get aerial delivery from 15 participating stores thanks to a partnership between DoorDash and Wing, a company specializing in residential drone delivery. Customers can place orders via the DoorDash app and select drone delivery for items that meet size and weight requirements. “We’ve owned and operated this center, which is nearly 600,000 square feet, for over 30 years,” said Paul Herndon, president of American Asset Corporation. “It’s a unique hybrid project ... with almost as much small shop and free-standing retail space as anchor space. We have over 30 restaurants and plan to add more ... immediately adjacent to the Wing operations.” To check eligibility and explore drone delivery options, visit wing.com/charlotte or look for the drone icon on eligible store listings on the DoorDash App.
Residents near The Arboretum can enjoy the convenience of drone delivery. Photo
courtesy of American Asset Corporation
250 years of Meck Dec: Carolina patriots showed resolve By John Hood Contributor
RALEIGH – Our state’s official seal presents North Carolina as a series of dualities. In the background of the circular emblem are green-topped mountains to the west and crystal-blue water to the east. In the foreground, two female figures in classical garb symbolize Liberty (clutching a constitution in one hand and the traditional “liberty cap” in the other) and Plenty (holding stalks of grain in one hand and an overflowing cornucopia in the other).
Printed below and above the scene are two dates. One is April 12, 1776. That’s when North Carolina’s Provincial Congress, meeting in the town of Halifax, voted to instruct its delegates in Philadelphia to support America’s formal independence from Great Britain. The other date — May 20, 1775 — is the subject of today’s column. It was 250 years ago this week that some two-dozen leaders of Mecklenburg County, then a lightly populated jurisdiction on North Carolina’s frontier, met to discuss longstanding grievances against the Parliament in London and King George III’s royal governors in New Bern.
Some of those grievances were widely shared across British America, including Parliament’s usurpation of fiscal powers traditionally exercised by colonial legislatures. But the settlers of Mecklenburg, mostly Scottish Presbyterians and German Protestants, had their own particular resentments. One was deeply personal. According to a law they despised, only ministers of the Church of England could legally perform marriages. To the extent other ministers performed such ceremonies, they could be fined and any children produced by the resulting unions declared illegitimate (a status with both legal and social consequences). Another grievance was communal. For many years, Mecklenburg leaders sought a charter for a school. Having already named their county and its seat for the king’s wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg, they proposed to call it Queen’s College. A bill to this effect twice passed North Carolina’s legislature only to be vetoed by King George, whose royal governors warned him that Presbyterians, not Anglicans, would dominate the faculty. In 1775, the leaders of the Mecklenburg militia were Colonel Thomas Polk and Lieutenant Colonel Adam Alexander. They requested that each of the county’s nine militia companies send two delegates to the new Committee of Safety convening on May 19.
Along with a few additional leaders, they comprised the group that made history the following day. Precisely what they did remains a matter of dispute. Years later, eyewitnesses testified that the committee declared formal independence from Great Britain. But the only contemporaneous document we have is the Mecklenburg Resolves, printed in a Wilmington newspaper and dated May 31, 1775. When the delegates convened on May 19, they didn’t yet know a shooting war had broken out a month earlier in Massachusetts. They knew only that the colonies needed governments independent of royal governors such as North Carolina’s Josiah Martin, who’d improperly disbanded the provincial legislature in early April. So, the Mecklenburg Resolves declared that “all laws and commissions confirmed by or derived from the authority of the King and Parliament are annulled and vacated, and the former civil constitution of these colonies for the present wholly suspended.” It didn’t convey a complete and permanent break from Britain, however. I’ve written extensively on the centuries-long debate about the so-called Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. It’s too complicated a tale to relate here, but the most
likely scenario — I say this as a descendant of two Meck Dec signatories, John Queary and the aforementioned Adam Alexander — is that the committee arrived on May 19 with a draft of the resolves already in hand, then got word of the battles of Lexington and Concord and supplemented their work with at least extemporaneous words of defiance to angry spectators who later remembered them as a declaration of independence. Does that make me a believer or a skeptic? Yes! I embrace the duality. Whatever happened on or about May 20, 1775, the date well deserves its place on North Carolina’s state seal and flag — and our commemoration this week of its 250th anniversary. John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books “Mountain Folk,” “Forest Folk” and “Water Folk” combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com). Want to learn more
The Charlotte Museum of History opens a new exhibit, “MeckDec 250,” with artifacts and memorabilia and interactive displays. The museum, located at 3500 Shamrock Drive, is also offering MeckDec 259 tours of its historic grounds at noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m. May 24. Learn more at charlottemuseum.org.