‘This is where we want to be’: Diner reopens in new location after 7-year hiatus

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte restaurant has new life after a seven-year hiatus, but it was quite the journey to get there.

Now, Mattie’s Diner is back along Matheson Avenue and The Plaza, offering familiar favorites.

The diner’s grand re-opening was on Monday -- which was seven years to the day since it closed.

It was a homecoming of sorts for customers and for many of the staff, like one server whose name depends on the situation.

“Tina, unless the service is bad -- then, it’s Pam,” said Tina Slater.

Slater drives 50 miles a day to work at Mattie’s Diner, and did so even before the original diner at the Music Factory closed on April 25, 2015 when the land sold.

After a seven-year hiatus, the man behind the name is back, too: Matt King. King packed up the original shell and had been looking for a new site ever since. But with an ever-growing Charlotte, it took longer than expected.

“We tried four other locations but they all fell through. Thank God, because this is where we want to be anyway,” King told Channel 9.

He ended up in Plaza Shamrock, where he has started offering familiar favorites again to his customers.

Despite a pandemic, construction costs, and hiring challenges, King said he’s there to stay. It’s like time stood still, with former regulars like Charlotte Firefighter Travis Phillips sitting at the countertop.

But some things are different.

King is now using the change from jukeboxes inside the diner to donate to various Charlotte charities. And Tina Slater now gets to work alongside her daughter at her dream job. She said there is a strong sense of community at the restaurant -- you can’t help but love it.

“You can be yourself, you don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not here and we’ll accept you... because we want your money,” she joked.

(WATCH BELOW: Developer, owner make strides to keep NC Music Factory diner alive)

Developer, owner make strides to keep NC Music Factory diner alive An original 1940s diner at the N.C. Music Factory will have to go to make room for businesses, apartments and hotels.

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