Thursday, February 22, 2007

New sports bar in uptown Charlotte

Many bars and restaurants seem to be thriving in uptown Charlotte, but there’s one spot that’s been a revolving door for failed restaurants. Last night I visited to see if its latest incarnation might be the one that finally sticks around.

It’s called Daddy’s American Bar & Grill, and it’s in the multi-level spot at the corner of Church and Fifth streets, in the back of the Ivey’s building. If you’ve been around a while, you may recall it has previously been home to restaurants called Twist, City Tavern, Palladian and Quasimodo’s, among others.

Daddy’s is a straight-up sports bar, with wings, burgers, pizza, flatscreen TVs and video games in the back. (Southern touches included spicy pimento cheese melted onto the chicken wings and fried dill pickles on the burgers). It’s the least upscale concept of any of its predecessors, and it has two things going for it that none of them had:

First, its owner is Stefan Latorre, who’s proven his ability to keep uptown spots open (In addition to Latorre’s Latin Cuisine Restaurant, he owns Aquavina and its neighboring wine bar, Menage nightclub and Belle’s BBQ). Since three of his other properties are in the same block of Fifth Street, he’s got some chances for synergy.

And second is the upcoming opening of the Avenue condo project next door. The residents of its 386 units will no doubt consider Daddy’s their neighborhood joint when they start moving in later this year.

It wouldn’t be the first stop I’d recommend to anyone checking out the restaurant scene in uptown. But for those looking for a sports bar, it can certainly hold its own against comparable nearby spots Stool Pigeons, Graduate and Fox & Hound.

No doubt the VIPs in attendance for last night’s grand opening celebration, including Charlotte Center City Partners honcho Michael Smith and several county commissioners, hope Daddy’s hangs in there so they won’t have to contend with a prominent blank spot in uptown’s landscape.

12 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

yet another sports bar in up/down town charlotte... am i the only one who thinks that more sports bars are the LAST thing charlotte needs right now? a slightly higher-end lounge (or five) is what charlotte really needs in order to contend with other medium-sized cities. sports bars galore just don't do the trick!

12:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Charlotte is still too redneck for a high end lounge.

5:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How about a thirty and forty somethings martini bar ?
Almost every place I go is packed with 20 year olds.
We really didn't need another sports bar. Did we ?
I will be moving into the Avenue this year but I can't see this being my hang out.

3:51 PM  
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7:21 AM  
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7:24 AM  
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7:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to see a political bar called " stars and stripes" where speakers could so speeches and People would talk about Washington and their doings; This bar would have documents and the washington times , guests like lower level Republicans and Democrats and the new "WTP"( We the People) party thats forming; The bar would have teleprompting from C-span and live washington coverage. week end speakers from our Government on the Old soap box, stump speech.

7:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Daddy's" is not the most attractive name for a sports bar; it sounds like a totally different kind of bar, if you get my meaning.

But nevertheless, let's hope it works out. Charlotte is short on neighborhood bars, and even though 4th Ward already has several this one can't hurt.

5:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with the first anon, up/downtown Charlotte needs several higher-end lounges. The low budget sports bars are getting old. I also agree with the seventh anon, a political and bankers lounge would be good for the area. I just hope the NY Daily News would be available there as well.

12:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aparently Daddy's offers $1 drafts and 25cent wings on weekdays... FYI. Pretty good deal if you ask me!

12:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Try out the new TILT on Trade. It has a little bit of everything people are discussing here from flat screen High Def TV's for sporting events, to a huge martini list, to an upscale wine bar feel. This place has really taken a different approach to nightlife in Charlotte.

6:26 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Try out the new TILT on Trade. It has a little bit of everything people are discussing here from flat screen High Def TV's for sporting events, to a huge martini list, to an upscale wine bar feel. This place has really taken a different approach to nightlife in Charlotte.

6:26 AM  

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