SerpApi.Org
Hey, Charlotte. 👋 If cheese-drenched chips have been living rent-free in your head this week, same. Today’s CharlotteFive newsletter is heavy on the food feels, and Heidi’s already sounded the alarm: the Readers’ Choice nachos poll narrowed from the Top 10 to the Top 5 at noon today. Translation? Stop scrolling, cast your vote, then come back for the rest. ⏰
Here’s everything worth knowing from today’s send. 👇
🧀 Charlotte’s best nachos: Round 2 ended at noon ⏰
Okay, this is the big one. Heidi’s Readers’ Choice nachos hunt started with 30 restaurant nominations, got narrowed down to a tasty Top 10, and now it’s reached the Top 5. It’s your turn to pick which ones make the next round. 🗳️
🌮 The vote isn’t scientific - it’s meant to be fun and shine a light on local businesses doing it right. You can refresh and vote again. No judgment here. 😉 📖 Check out the full nachos ballot.
🍣 An epic culinary collab lands Aug. 18
Save the date, food friends. 📅 Uchi and Uchibā Charlotte are teaming up with Guard and Grace for a one-night-only dining experience on Aug. 18, dropping just ahead of Guard and Grace’s fall opening in the Queen City. If you’ve been keeping tabs on new restaurants coming to Charlotte, this is the kind of cross-brand moment worth clearing your calendar for.
Details are still landing, but the pitch is a rare shared menu between two buzzy names before Guard and Grace officially opens its doors here. FOMO alert if you don’t grab a seat. 👀
🏝️ The Outer Banks just made a major 2026 travel list
Not food-related, but hear us out - this one matters for your next long weekend plans. 🚗 The report flags that North Carolina’s Outer Banks placed 10th overall on Travel + Leisure’s 2026 World’s Best Awards list of top islands in the Continental U.S., scoring 82.51 in the magazine’s annual reader survey. It was the only North Carolina locale to make the cut. 🌊
Readers cast 661,000 votes this year for their favorite cities, hotels, airlines and more. Editors described the results as a snapshot of the places resonating with travelers right now. Between the serene waterfronts, wildlife, historical spots and hiking at Jockey’s Ridge State Park - home to what’s billed as the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic Coast - it’s easy to see why. 🏖️ 📖 Read the full Outer Banks story.
👢 A Charlotte antique mall just got national love from Yelp
If your vibe is thrifting for a treasure with a story attached, this story by Evan is for you. 🎯 Sleepy Poet Antique Mall landed on Yelp’s list of 50 used furniture shops that “prove cheap can be chic,” and honestly, anyone who has ever wandered its vendor spaces knows why. It’s the kind of place you plan to swing by for 30 minutes and leave three hours later with a vintage record and a pair of cowboy boots you didn’t know you needed. 🎶
Owner Dickson Shreffler has been at it for more than 25 years, and the mall’s website promises “old records, retro furniture, vintage outfitters and jewels, cowboy boots, off the wall trinkets - you name it, we probably have it!” There’s even a Poet’s Vault section for new and vintage vinyl. 📍 6424 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28217. 📖 Read Evan’s full write-up.
🇵🇪 VIVA Chicken’s Peruvian Independence Day feast
Mark July 28 on your dining calendar. 🗓️ VIVA Chicken is honoring Peru’s Independence Day with a special VIVA Feast celebrating the country that inspired its recipes and identity. The spread is $36 and feeds up to five people, which is a legitimately good deal for a group hang. 👏
You get: 🍗 two whole charcoal-fired rotisserie chickens, 🍚 Peruvian fried rice, 🫛 green beans, 🍟 french fries, 🍌 fried plantains and 🥣 VIVA’s signature fresh-made sauces. Basically, bring your appetite and your favorite people.
🍨 Sweet July Cafe is open uptown
ICYMI: Ayesha Curry’s Sweet July Cafe is officially open inside The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte. ✨ Expect breakfast and lunch options, smoothies, coffee drinks and sundaes - a solid uptown option whether you’re squeezing in a morning meeting or treating yourself to something cold after work. 🍦
📍 The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte.
💬 Quote of the day
“It’s very difficult to make it in today’s constantly changing business environments.” - UserEB36AD3, weighing in on the closure of JackBeagle’s Morehead Street location. 😬
📰 News to use - more Charlotte reads worth clicking
A few extras the CharlotteFive team dropped into today’s send:
- 🫐 Krispy Kreme debuts a new doughnut, but it won’t stick around. When to get it.
- 🐂 “Top Chef” contestant’s Little Bull restaurant is on the move to a new space.
- 🧛🏼♂️ Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors is extending its run at Booth Playhouse through Aug. 16.
- 🕺 Derek Hough’s Dance for the Holidays comes to Charlotte on Nov. 29.
💌 Want this in your inbox every day?
This is the shortlist. The full CharlotteFive newsletter drops every weekday with more food, drink, things to do and local finds. 📬 Sign up for the free CharlotteFive newsletter here and don’t miss the next Readers’ Choice round.
📱 Follow CharlotteFive everywhere
Keep up with what’s new, what’s opening and what to eat: @cltfive on Instagram, @cltfive on Threads, @cltfive on TikTok and @charlottefive.com on Bluesky. 💙
Now go vote for your nachos pick. ⏰🧀
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists. To learn more about how The Charlotte Observer is using AI in our newsroom, see our policy here.
