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INSIDE ▼ "Top Chef" to feature Charlotte area
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PAGE 2B Friday, February 27, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 8
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Neighbors on dead-end street oppose project in Mint Hill by Justin Vick justin@cmgweekly.com
MINT HILL – Kurt Odom has applied for a rezoning that would allow him to construct two commercial buildings on 1.9 acres at 8405 Fairview Road and 7830 Large Oak Lane.
Odom wants a 7,500-square-foot building for flex/office space to face Fairview Road and a 15,000-square-foot building for medical office or retail use fronting Large Oak Lane. Odom proposes setbacks of 30 feet along Fairview Road and 25 feet along Large Oak Lane as well as 20 feet rear and side yards. Mayor Dale Dalton opened the public hearing on Jan. 8 and did not close it until
Feb. 22 at Odom’s request. Four neighbors spoke out against the project during the Feb. 22 meeting. Neighbor Tammy Warr asked commissioners to deny the rezoning request. She has concerns about a commercial business being near a residential dead-end street with a school bus stop. She said people already use neighbors’ driveways to leave her street. She worries commercial traffic and delivery vehicles will create unnecessary risks for the nine children who ride the bus. “I know that Mint Hill builds its reputation on protecting neighborhoods and making thoughtful growth decisions, but this location sort of fails that test,” Warr said.
Neighbor James Warr brought up the intersection of Fairview Road and Large Oak Lane being a quarter mile from the fire department. He said traffic already backs up to the fire department’s emergency entrance and that 60- to 90-second delays in response can have “tragic outcomes.” “At this point in time, I do not believe that rezoning of this area is in the best interests of the people who have made that area their home and decided to buy and build and live there because of the quiet, peaceful neighborhood that it is,” he said. Property owner Umangkumar Patel mentioned that public sewer service has not been expanded to Fairview Road and this project would rely on a septic system.
“While septic system is permissible today, I am concerned that continuous reliance on septic system defers the necessary infrastructure improvement along Fairview Road and additional planning on Fairview Road,” he said. Neighbor Vasil Vigivski explained that commercial uses aren’t a good fit for the area, noting how it’s hard for two vehicles to pass each other on their small street. He also raised concerns about traffic backups and commercial reliance on the septic system. The Mint Hill Planning Board is scheduled to review the rezoning request Feb. 23. Town commissioners may decide on the request as early as March 12.
CRTPO CULINARY DROPOUT awards over EXPANDING FOOTPRINT $25M for 16 projects, 2 in Matthews
CHARLOTTE – Culinary Dropout has signed a lease at The Bowl in Ballantyne and will open this fall.
Arizona-based Fox Restaurant Concepts and restaurateur Sam Fox created the brand, which focuses on great food, inventive cocktails and live music. There is currently a location at 1120 South Tryon St. The upcoming two-story space will be located at 15220 Bowl St. On the first level, a dedicated stage will make space for live music, along with a large indoor bar with a front-row seat to the open kitchen, a private dining room and patio seating. The top floor boasts a rooftop patio and indoor-outdoor bar. The menu will include shareable appetizers like the Soft Pretzels and Provolone Fondue, BBQ Pork Belly Nachos and Whipped Feta & Tahini Dip served with fresh pomegranate, a house-made apricot preserve and grilled ciabatta. Entrées include the Crispy Chicken Katsu sandwich, piled high with napa slaw and a spicy miso aioli; the Turkey Pastrami served on a freshly baked pretzel bun; and the 36-Hour Pork Ribs. Culinary Dropout’s beverage program offers a lineup of local beer, curated wines and handcrafted cocktails. Signature cocktails include: • Giddy Up Espresso Martini with vodka, Café Borghetti espresso liqueur, Spanish vanilla and cinnamon-spiced cold brew. • Abandoned Cadillac with Patrón tequila, Grand Marnier, pomegranate redux and tart lime. • Full Moon Party with lemongrass-soaked Tanqueray, velvet falernum, Thai basil leaf and English cucumber. On the web: culinarydropout.com
MATTHEWS – The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization approved funding allocations totaling $25,857,972 for several projects on Feb. 18.
Some of the entrées on the menu at the South Tryon Street restaurant include 36-Hour Pork Ribs, Beer Battered Fish & Chips, Fried Chicken, Korean Style Ribeye Cap, Ma...The Meatloaf, Mongolian Short Rib, Roasted Salmon, Spicy Rigatoni, Spicy Vegan Curry and Steak Frites.
Photo courtesy of Culinary Dropout
Matthews mayor gives remarks on I-77 South project MATTHEWS – Matthews Mayor John Higdon weighed in on the I-77 South Express Lanes project Feb. 18 during the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization meeting.
The N.C. Department of Transportation announced earlier this month that it was moving forward with an elevated design option due to decreased neighborhood and environmental impacts. Sustain Charlotte was critical of NCDOT’s decision, saying that an “elevated freeway amplifies noise, pollution, shadow and division.” The project was brought up during the public comment and member comment portions of the Feb. 18 CRTPO meeting. Here’s what Higdon had to say: I want to address the elephant in the room, and I want to preface my comments by saying that I really appreciate North Carolina DOT. They've been an excellent partner to my town of Matthews, and the work they've done, particularly in the western part of the state, is very admirable and commendable of late. In my town of Matthews, when a zoning petitioner comes forward and says, “We want to build a neighborhood,” or “We want to build
a commercial establishment,” they typically will give their plan and generalities, but they'll come back with elevations that our board also approves at a later date. And I think that's the same way it's done in most places. And in this case, we didn't see the elevations of this elevated highway. In my day job, I frequently used to go to Los Angeles quite a bit, and I visited a laboratory there that was right next to an elevated highway, and it was so loud outside that you literally had to scream to hear somebody a few feet away from you. So, very loud. This afternoon, I googled what major cities in the United States are building elevated highways or are planning to build them, and I found none. I did find that in the last 10 years, Milwaukee; Seattle; Rochester, New York; San Francisco; Vancouver, British Columbia; and a number of other cities have taken down elevated highways that they said were a mistake to build in the first place. Also, the cities of Syracuse, New Orleans, Detroit and Dallas are considering taking down elevated highways that they say were a mistake to build in the first place. Where are elevated highways being built? They're being built in Pakistan, Bangladesh,
New Delhi, Sri Lanka – mostly third world countries that are very poor and have zero land, and they can only build the roads up because there's no other place to put them, and it's the most economical way to build. I know that Charlotte likes to consider itself a world-class, first-class city, and so I question why we would build an elevated highway. I think this project is very much important. I was on I-77 this weekend, and the traffic is horrendous on a Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. So, we need to do something, but I think we need to reconsider our options. And I certainly think this board should – I'm not an attorney – but I think this board, we are the elected officials. We should have the ability to pause and take a breath and consider other options. We do have the transit tax that's going to bring in billions of dollars. And perhaps there could be a way to do a cover and cap or something like that in this area that would be less impactful. But I don't think we should build an elevated highway in Charlotte right through the middle of a historically Black neighborhood.
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This discretionary project funding will support 16 projects across 10 jurisdictions in Iredell, Mecklenburg, and Union counties. The Town of Matthews was awarded two grants: • To help realign the intersection of Hargett Road at Sam Newell Road, which will help make driving through the area less awkward, especially as children get dropped off at and picked up from Crown Point Elementary School. • To add a 10-foot sidepath along a stretch of Monroe Road, from Bojangles to the Family Dollar Distribution Center. This will fill in a sidewalk gap along the busy highway, helping pedestrians better navigate the terrain. As the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Charlotte urban area, CRTPO oversees long-range transportation planning and ensures that Federal Highway Administration transportation funds are allocated and spent appropriately. CRTPO allocates federal discretionary funds to help jurisdictions implement transportation projects, programs and studies that may otherwise lack funding. Projects awarded in Charlotte, Matthews and Union County towns are as follows: • Centralina Regional Council: Best practices using the Metrolina CommunityViz Model – $44,960 • Charlotte: I-277 Rail Trail Pedestrian Bridge (East Morehead Street Brooklyn Village Station) – $2,549,395 • Matthews: Hargett Road and Sam Newell Road intersection improvements – $1,019,199 • Matthews: Monroe Road Sidewalk (Gander Cove Lane - Matthews/Charlotte town limits) – $1,042,337 • Mecklenburg County: Irwin Creek Greenway (Crestridge Drive - Yorkmont Road) – $2,553,050 • Monroe: Circle Drive Shared Use Path (Franklin Street - Sunset Drive) – $1,713,287 • Waxhaw: Kensington Dr Improvements (Providence Road - Connells Point Avenue) – $374,175 • Wesley Chapel: New Town Road and Billy Howey Road intersection improvements – $935,427 On the web: crtpo.org