Main Street Carolina: Belmont’s food scene in the spotlight

BELMONT, N.C. — People in Belmont say they’re seeing a lot more people from outside the city, and many are coming to eat.

Belmont’s food scene is reshaping the city, and it has changed quite a bit over the last 25 years -- there’s a lot to to taste in just a few blocks.

“I have seen huge changes,” said Joanna Brown of Kings Mountain.

Channel 9’s Ken Lemon met Brown while she was waiting on a hot plate at The String Bean. She said it’s her first time visiting.

“I think Belmont is the cutest town ever,” Brown said.

She said Belmont was always a city with a lot of charm, quaint buildings with a historic vibe. It’s still that, mixed with a lot of food.

The String Bean is one of the first restaurants you see coming into downtown, a block away from city hall. Manager Nick Burns says the restaurant also reaches out to neighboring towns.

“We are a small business, and we like to support other small business. We like to keep it pretty local,” Burns said.

The barbecue is from Kings Mountain, and scores of other items they sell and serve come from farms and businesses nearby. They’ve been in Belmont for about 18 years, serving everything from the dish that delivered their name, to something called the “cowpig burger.”

“Yeah, 70 percent of that certified Angus beef chuck mixed in [with] applewood smoked bacon,” Burns told Lemon.

We watched them put it together in the kitchen, and Burns said a changing clientele has changed the menu.

“Belmont as a whole is starting to boom, and more people are coming in, so that means more business for everyone,” Burns said.

The new guys on the block are the owners of the New York Butcher Shoppe. It opened in January, about half a block down Main Street, and it may have the largest selection of meats of any restaurant in town. It’s not just for serving customers in house, people get this stuff to take home.

“This part is grocery store, we do a lot of prepared items for easy pickup. People come in, it’s already prepared, they go home, reheat,” said general manager Virginia Ray. “You can come pick lasagna up, chicken picattas; we’ve got dips.”

People who decide to eat at the restaurant can watch the cooks prepare their order. Almost anyone in the front of the store can walk by and see cooks stirring on the grill.

“There’s not a wall in between you,” Ray said.

This is the sixth store in a chain. Ray said they waited years for this spot in the city to become available.

“What did you guys see in Belmont that you said, ‘Let’s come here’?” Lemon asked.

“I mean, Belmont is definitely growing,” Ray said. “It’s accessible to [Interstates] 77, 85, 285. It’s a walkable town. People park and go wherever they want.”

The New York Butcher Shoppe is near the southern end of downtown Belmont, while The String Bean is on the northern end. In between is our next spot to visit, but we’re also going to spoil a secret for you.

“We’re standing in a 100-year-old building,” said John Bailey.

Bailey owns Sammy’s Neighborhood Pub, which was established in 2005. It’s a restaurant and bar, but there’s something else that draws people back to a quiet corner.

“This isn’t a telephone booth, is it?” Lemon asked.

“Correct. No, it’s a speakeasy,” Bailey said.

The phone doesn’t dial; instead, there are stairs leading to a basement.

“This space for us, in this particular type of use, is about 5 years old now,” Bailey said.

The ceiling of the speakeasy is lined with cans of beer, and it’s a throwback to the early days of the building during Prohibition. The beer is a big part of the restaurant’s identity.

“We’re kind of known as Belmont’s ‘Cheers,’” Bailey said.

They reinforce the concept that everyone knows your name with their Wall of Foam. It shows the names of their regulars.

“The first Monday of each month, we have what’s called a Brew Crew Soiree,” Bailey said.

Sammy’s moved downtown as the craft beer scene exploded. That drew dedicated customers, and they help decide what’s on tap.

“The taste of our regulars, our customers, are certainly what drives our offerings,” Bailey said.

Those are just a few of the places that have put downtown Belmont on the map, and there are others like Cherubs and Nellie’s, and about a dozen more in what’s become one of the Charlotte region’s favorite food cities.

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