Restaurant Bites: What's new and what's coming to a menu near you

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Concord brewery and an uptown wine bar are among the newest establishments to open in the Charlotte area in recent weeks, while a restaurant in the Cotswold neighborhood closed its doors for good last month.

As of September, Southern Strain Brewing Co. is now pouring and producing beer from its 15,000-square-foot brewery and taproom that’s located near downtown Concord, and veteran restaurateur Pierre Bader’s Venetian-inspired eatery has replaced City Smoke in the Bank of America Corporate Center. Meanwhile, Fresh Chef Kitchen has closed its Cotswold location after less than three years in business.

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Optimist Hall, the $60-million adaptive-reuse project at 1115 N. Brevard St. in Optimist Park, has also added another restaurant with the first bricks-and-mortar location for grilled cheese food truck Papi Queso opening there on Tuesday.

And still to come in the local culinary scene is a new concept from the owners of The Fig Tree Restaurant in Elizabeth and another brunch option for uptown — which is the second Charlotte location for Tupelo Honey.

Check out this photo gallery for a full look at September's recap of the latest restaurants, breweries and drinking spots to open — or close — across the Charlotte area as reported by CBJ staffers last month.

Cox Media Group