An old factory becomes a popular restaurant and brewery.
New York City has South Street Seaport. Chicago has Navy Pier. Baltimore has the Harbor. Dallas has the West End. And now Charlotte has South End.
All of these represent formerly run down city neighborhoods that were changed into popular entertainment districts with restaurants, shops and theaters. What makes Charlotte's South End different is the fact that, thus far, it consists of only one restaurant, Southend Brewery & Smokehouse.
The story goes that the restaurant's eventual owners both came to Charlotte, NC, looking for business opportunities. Both men individually met with Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA, co-founding principal of Shook Design Group. Kelley and partner Terry Shook, AIA, had already relocated their firm to Atherton Mill, a renovated cotton mill located one mile south of downtown Charlotte. Believing wholeheartedly in the area's potential and Charlotte's need for an entertainment and arts district, Kelley convinced the two men to jointly invest in his vision. Hence was born Southend Brewery & Smokehouse, complete with its own microbrewery in the center of the restaurant.
"Talk about putting your career on the line," says Kelley. "I had persuaded them to invest in converting a completely nondescript building into the area's first major attraction. But I knew it would work. Everyday 60,000 people drive right past here. The potential for business is incredible."
Incredible, indeed. One year after opening there is usually a two-and-a-half hour wait at Southend. This in a restaurant that has 14,000 square feet of interior space and a 3,000-square-foot patio. Plus, in the year that Southend Brewery has been open, some 250 other restaurants have come to look at the area.
Southend is located in what was previously an unused warehouse facility built in the 1930s. The building encompassed 26,000 square feet on two floors. Shook Design Group eliminated the second floor in order to create a more approachable 14,000-square-foot restaurant. Once the second floor was gone, a partially unpainted ceiling and raw wood trusses were visible. Although the owners thought at least one coat of paint was called for, Kelley once again persuaded the men to take a risk and leave the ceiling as it was.
"People don't want to be over marketed," says Kelley. "They like a comfortable, worn feel. So, we painted small parts of the ceiling white to contrast and emphasize the unpainted wood."
The existing concrete floor was stained an amber color, but does not hide characteristic cracks and spills. Steel columns throughout the space are painted, but complementary ceiling beams were left untouched, much like the rest of the ceiling. The plaster and stucco walls were left in an existing state of disrepair and painted over. On the service mezzanine, the building's air conditioning and industrial machinery is exposed, as well as sacks of barley, rye and hops used to brew Southend's five different beers. Thus, the workings of the building and the restaurant are visible to patrons.
Perhaps the most obvious working feature of the restaurant is the brew house. Located in the center of the space, the copper jacketed equipment can be seen from anywhere, including the outdoor patio. The brewery is entirely glass enclosed to keep the line of sight open from one end of the restaurant to the other and to prevent the smell of brewing beer from infiltrating the food and visa-versa.
The glass wall rests on top of a canted concrete wall that wraps around the brew house. The wall serves as makeshift seating when the bar is full. Directly above the brew house there is a catwalk where brewers are regularly seen checking the brew. Behind the brew house and also glass enclosed is the keg room where the beer is stored in holding tanks.
Intimate Dining, Warehouse Style<
Despite Southend's size, diners are made to feel as if they are in their own secluded space. Demi-partitions make the huge restaurant feel intimate. Plus, custom designed hanging light fixtures and spot lighting hits every table for a greater sense of focus. Additional track lighting brightens the overall space.
Likewise, the dining side of the restaurant is carpeted for a more comfortable and cozy atmosphere. Warm wood tables are draped with white tablecloths for a touch of sophistication in an otherwise rough space. Banquettes and chairs are upholstered in a fabric that pictures grains and plants in earthly shades of green and brown. This hint at growth and life is an intentional contrast to the restaurant's warehouse setting.
The pizza bar and kitchen are both exposed in order to heighten Southend's entertainment value and bring the smell of food cooking into the dining area. The pizza bar's bulkhead was faux finished not by an artist, but by ordinary painters coached on the spot. Seating around the pizza bar was designed for single diners, such as business travelers, who can pull up to the bar, have a casual conversation with others passing through Charlotte and not feel like they are eating alone.
The main bar is situated to offer a view of the interior space as well as the patio. The bar's hanging light fixtures, which are vaguely organic in design, seem to bridge the gap between the interior and exterior of the restaurant.
Alongside the bar is a short stair that leads out to the patio. The patio is approximately three feet above the floor of the interior, thereby affording patio diners an easy line of sight through the bar's windows and into the restaurant.
The patio is located where a red brick extension of the warehouse previously existed. To enclose the patio, the architects cut the outside wall of the brick building down to hip height and capped it. This area is only 60 feet from the main road that passes by Southend. Although this close proximity initially made the owners a bit apprehensive, they were assured by the sight of commuters flocking to the patio where they can see and be seen.
The gymnasium-style curved window and synthetic facade was added after the brick portion of the building was removed. The windows are basic hollow metal frames and the arch and vertical stripes were painted a different neutral than the rest of the building for accent. Inside, light coming through the curved windows creates a dramatic effect that recalls the canted light that might enter a windowed wine cellar.
The beer vat at one end of the patio is authentic, but is no longer operational. Now, it offers excellent space for signage.
The entrance to Southend Brewery & Smokehouse faces the main road's curving traffic and a large parking lot for the mill area. The entry's overhang, supported by oversized steel I-beams, subtly refers to a barrel vault and provides a much needed "eyebrow" to the building's flat front. Sheets of metal that had been applied in the 1960s to contemporize the building's exterior were removed to reveal gray stucco. The stucco was painted a natural buff color. Reveals at the upper edge of the building and a couple feet off the ground add scale and definition. The existing windows and glass block were left as is and framed to match the new windows on the patio side of the building.
Signage and merchandising items, including everything from matchbooks to steak sauce, were designed by Shook Design Group. The restaurant's logo is slightly different from place to place. According to Kelley, logos for authentically old places are never the same. Therefore, to enhance Southend's sense of history -- both the restaurant's and area's -- the designers varied the logo.
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