Dog Friendly Spots in CLT
If you walk down the streets of the Southend neighborhood in Charlotte, around every corner is someone walking their dog. The rail trail makes a great city-view stroll with your pup, but there are also a ton of dog-friendly hangouts in Charlotte! If you can’t bear to leave your furry friend at home, keep reading.
Lucky Dog Bark & Brew
2220 Thrift Rd
Charlotte, NC 28208
With several CLT locations, this is one of the most popular dog bars in Charlotte. It is an indoor/outdoor sports bar, but also offers daycare, boarding, and grooming services. The pups can play while the people hang!
Sycamore Brewing
2161 Hawkins Street
Charlotte, NC 28203
Located in Southend, this is one of the most popular breweries in Charlotte. Did you know you can bring your dog along, too? While dogs can’t run loose, they can hang out on leash as you enjoy a drink with friends! Dogs are also invited to the very popular Front Porch Sundays, where local businesses pop up at Sycamore for you to shop.
U.S. National Whitewater Center
5000 Whitewater Center Parkway
Charlotte, NC 28214
If you love the outdoors and desire an adventure with your best fur pal, try bringing him to the Whitewater Center! On leash, your pup can enjoy paddle boarding, kayaking, or hiking. The Whitewater Center also has fun events that are dog friendly. Just check their calendar!
Hoppin’
1402 Winnifred Street
Charlotte, NC 28203
Hoppin’ is a really fun, hip bar in Charlotte where you can serve your own beer/cider with a wristband connected to your card. Dogs are welcome to join in on the fun! Be sure to check out the list of everything they have on tap.
Seoul Food Meat Co.
1400 S Church St Ste A
Charlotte, NC 28203
Enjoy Korean BBQ and karaoke–and enjoy it all with your pup! Seoul Food Meat Co. has an outdoor, fenced dog park where your furry pal can run free. This fun restaurant has four stars on Yelp. See what people have to say about it!
Tour Charlotte’s Street Murals
Do it for the gram.
Or for the culture.
If you haven’t seen them yet, check out The Talking Walls festival — 17 mural artists painting 16 new murals around Center City Charlotte—debuted this past fall in Charlotte.
Southern Tiger Collective’s Alex DeLarge and IMEK Studio’s Kevin Taylor, with the help of committee members Rob Reilly and Queens University professor Mike Wirth, put together the initiative that allowed for ten local artists and seven national/international artists to come together in the name of Charlotte’s public art.
One of the sponsors was the Hyatt House, who came into Charlotte’s art scene in a heartbreaking way. After glass windows were broken during protests in the wake of the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, Hyatt House invited artists to paint on the plywood temporarily boarding up the space. Those plywood pieces have become works of art.
Each artist was given $1,000 + supplies (including paint and lifts) + food. They also received creative control — all of the art was the artist’s choice.
The Talking Walls murals can only be experienced, not seen, so drive around and see for yourself:
7th Sin Tattoo
927 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: JEKS
Based in: Greensboro
Abari Game Bar
1721 N Davidson St
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Gus Cutty
Based in: Asheville
Chasers
3217 The Plaza
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Ramiro Davaro-Comas
Based in: Brooklyn, New York
Hal Marshall Building
700 N Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Sebastian Coolidge
Based in: St. Petersburg, Florida
Hal Marshall Annex
618 N College St
Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Nick Napoletano
Based in: Charlotte
Ink Floyd
1101 E. 36th St
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Trasher
Based in: Mexico City, Mexico
InnerVision
408 E Trade St
Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Hoxxoh
Based in: Miami
Mecklenburg Valve
2407 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Denton Burrows
Based in: New York City
Moo & Brew
1300 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: MDMN
Based in: Phoenix
Pizza Peel
1600 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Darion Fleming
Based in: Charlotte
Pure Intentions
2215 N Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28204
Artist: Arko and Owl
Based in: Charlotte
Salon 1226
1226 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Garden of Journey
Based in: Charlotte
Spirit Square
345 N College St
Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: Dammit Wesley
Based in: Charlotte
Spoke Easy
1530 Elizabeth Ave
Charlotte, NC 28204
Artist: OBSO
Based in: Charlotte
Tip Top Market
2902 The Plaza
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Scott Nurkin
Based in: Chapel Hill
Tire Maxx
2609 The Plaza
Charlotte, NC 28205
Artist: Pucho
Based in: Miami
Tryon Street Alley
200 South Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28202
Artist: McMonster
Based in: Portland
Five Charlotte History Facts
- Stand on the intersection of Trade and Tryon in Uptown Charlotte and you’re standing at the birthplace of trade and commerce for this area. But it isn’t what you think. A large group of Loyalists (colonists who were still loyal to King George) decided to colonize the area that would become Charlotte because it was already the intersection of two Native American trading paths. These paths are now, you guessed it, Trade St and Tryon St.
- Did you know the original branch of the United States Mint was actually located in Charlotte? This was back in the gold standard days and in 1837, when The Charlotte Mint opened, it created more than $5 million in gold currency. During the Civil War, it was used as a hospital and military office for the Confederate government. In 1931, when the building was set to be demolished, a group of citizens came together to have it moved to its current location in Eastover and turned the building into the Mint Museum Randolph—the state’s first art museum!
- The Ballantyne neighborhood almost had another name. See if you can guess what it was going to be, based on the story. The development was first reported on in 1991. The area was farmland along the city’s planned outer belt. The plan was to transform 1,756 acres of mostly undeveloped land in south Mecklenburg County into offices, shops and residences in a community of 10,000 to 12,000 people. The second choice, “Ballantyne,” was also of Scot-Irish origin. Figured it out yet? It was almost named “Edinborough.”
- Ever wondered why our downtown is actually called “Uptown”? The Native American trading paths (now Trade St and Tryon St) was the highest elevation point in the city, so everyone had to go up to reach this point. Hence. . . Uptown. This never faded, but it wasn’t until the 70’s that the City Council decided that the shopping and business district in the center city area be officially declared “Uptown Charlotte.”
- The “Queen City” nickname comes from the name of King George III’s wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Would you like to go on a tour of some of the locations mentioned below? Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in checking them out in person!
Photo by Cody Hughes @clhughes21
10 Ways to Use Charlotte’s Libraries
It’s easy to forget about the library. The library isn’t offended. It knows you buy your physical copies of books at your local indie bookstore. It knows there is nothing easier than the “One Click Buy” button for your Kindle. But it would also like to remind you, maybe with a polite throat clearing, that the library is still here. Waiting. With books and also more than books.
Here are ten ways to use the library you might not have thought of just yet.
- Place a hold on almost any material and have it delivered to a library branch of your choice. The limit is 99 items out at once which is more items than anyone needs at any point in time anyway!
- Access the library of instructional videos—covering business, technical and creative skills, there are more than 3,000 courses with 129,942 video tutorials.
- Learn a new language using Mango Languages, a language-learning software with over 70 world language courses and over 17 ESL/ELL courses.
- View old pictures of Charlotte neighborhoods at The Carolina Room at the Main Library or at The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story, the library’s local history and genealogy website.
- For those who qualify, you can request Outreach Services which bring the library experience to a person who is home-bound, in senior housing, within correctional facilities, living with disabilities, living in transition, or new to this country.
- Read digital versions of current magazines. There are hundreds of magazines to view on your computer, tablet or smart phone through library services. Just ask your nearest friendly librarian.
- Download five free songs a week!
- Visit the “Idea Box.” Located on the first floor of the Main Library, the Idea Box has 3D printers, sewing machines, laser & vinyl cutters, knitting machines, and more.
- Attend free classes. Charlotte Libraries offer more than 22,000 programs open to the public. Topics include: job skills, how to download items from the library’s collection to an e-reader or smart device, etc.
- Have a quiet moment in any of the reading rooms, surrounded by the smell of old books and magic 😉
Photo by Cody Hughes @clhughes21
