Dunkin' Donuts to open three new Charlotte area stores this year

Dunkin' Donuts has announced it'll open three new stores in the Charlotte area later this year. 

The first store will open this spring in Davidson's newly developed Two Harbour Place, which is at the corner of Griffith Street and Jetton Street.

The other new stores will open in Cornelius later this summer.One will be at 19116 West Catawba Avenue near Magnolia Plaza, the new developed anchored by a Publix that opened earlier this month. The second will be at the new Antiquity Town Center, which is under construction.

Joey Morganthall of MPV Properties represented the Dunkin Donuts franchisee with their site search and lease negotiations, according to a press release from the real estate firm.

New NoDa bar to feature arcade games and craft beer

A new Charlotte bar combines what might be the nostalgic millennial's dream: craft beer and arcade games in NoDa. 

Abari, Charlotte's first arcade bar, will open between NoDa Brewing and Birdsong Brewing in "mid to late April," according to Zach Pulliam, the bar's owner. 

The new bar will feature arcade games from the 1970s through the late 1990s in a slew of categories, from racing and fighting to classics like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. Pulliam said he also plans to host tournaments of console games, including Mario Kart on Nintendo 64.

Abari will sell locally made beers from breweries including NoDa, Birdsong, Unknown and Old Meck. Pulliam said he is hiring a bar manager and several bartenders who will also help build out a cocktail menu.

"Charlotte has needed something like this for a while," Pulliam said. "Of course, you have the uptown scene and then you have the NoDa and Plaza Midwood area, but there’s nothing really like this. It’s something I myself really can’t wait to partake in."

Located at 1721 North Davidson, Abari won't serve food but will allow patrons to bring their own. Pulliam said he's also hoping to coordinate with local food trucks to have them serve outside the bar.

Inspired by the arcade bar concept he first saw in Brooklyn in 2004, Pulliam, who works in IT, said opening the bar is something he's "always wanted to do."

Abari in NoDa will feature arcade games from the 1970s through late 1990s.

Walmart hiring up to 95 workers in Morganton

Walmart is hiring up to 95 full-time and part-time workers for its new Neighborhood Market store in Morganton that's slated to open this spring. 

To facilitate the hiring process, the retail giant has also opened a hiring center at 406-A West Fleming Drive in Morganton that'll be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Interested applicants can also apply on Walmart's career site. 

Walmart also said that it's offering jobs to qualified veterans who have been honorably discharged within the last 12 months. 

According to a statement from the company, Walmart offers, among other benefits, matching 401(k) contributions, health care coverage to full- and part-time associates who qualify and company paid life insurance. 

The Neighborhood Market concept is Walmart's answer to traditional grocery stores. They're typically about 41,000 square feet and offer a variety of grocery items, from meats to frozen foods and produce, as well as pet and cleaning supplies. 

Read more here: http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2015/01/walmart-neighborhood-market-on-harris.html#storylink=cpy

World of Beer in South End is now Helles & Dunkel

South End visitors may have noticed a change at the bar formerly known as World of Beer.

The bar has rebranded itself and is now Helles & Dunkel, German for "light and dark."

"We just wanted out of the corporate position of World of Beer to be able to be a little bit more creative and do what we want to do," said Rachel Sunderland, the bar's general manager.

The change took effect Monday and wasn't a response to bad reviews or poor sales. In fact, Sunderland said, sales are up about 20 percent from last year. 

World of Beer, a Tampa, Fla.-based chain with dozens of locations across the country, opened in Charlotte in 2012. The newly branded bar is still focused mainly on beer and has 60 rotating taps and 250 bottles, Sunderland said.

Because it doesn't have a kitchen, Helles & Dunkel doesn't serve food. But the bar has expanded its bar offerings to include a full selection of liquor (before it only had a few bottles) and will also have a selection of games, including a shuffle board table, darts and a pin ball machine.

"Basically we had to get everything approved before through corporate. Now we don’t have to do that," Sunderland said. 

The bar is maintaining its same staff and hours. But gift cards for World of Beer, Sunderland said, unfortunately will not be honored at Helles & Dunkel, though there are other World of Beer locations in Raleigh, Cary and Columbia. 

Chop't to expand beyond Park Road Shopping Center

Chop't Creative Salad Company's newest location in Charlotte is just the first of many to come in North Carolina, according to co-founder Tony Shure.

Transplants to the city may recognized the Chop't name: the company's new Park Road Shopping Center restaurant, which Chop't said last week is slated to open this summer, will be its first location outside New York and the District of Columbia.

"We want to open a bunch in North Carolina," including in Raleigh and Durham, Shure said. Plans are also already underway, he added, to expand into uptown Charlotte.

After several trips to North Carolina to meet with investors, Shure said the state appealed for a number of reasons. 

"It seemed like everyone we met was wellness-minded, fitness minded – the way we all are nowadays," Shure said. "We're trying to make Chop't, and vegetable eating in general, just part of peoples' everyday lives. So we're looking for the most convenient places to be."

Though the Chop't menu may not look it, Shure describes the restaurant as fast-food. At the same time, he said, it's also a "full-blown culinary operation" that, for example, makes its own dressing and doesn't use sugar. 

"The efforts behind the food are the same as what happens with tablecloth restaurants," Shure said. "All the hard work goes on behind the scenes, but when the doors open, we're as ready for speed as McDonald's and Chick-fil-A are."

Shure describes Chick-fil-A, an undoubted local favorite, as the In-n-Out Burger of the Southeast. The way Chick-fil-A operates, especially its friendliness, is "inspiring," Shure said, but "we just have different points of view on food." 

"Why not have a bowl full of vegetables – crunchy, farm-fresh, locally sourced vegetables with really well-sourced, sustainably-raised proteins and homemade dressing? To me, that's a way to live," Shure said. 

Shure and co-founder Colin McCabe, who met at the University of Wisconsin as undergraduates, started Chop't in New York in 2001. 

Read more here: http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2015/02/popular-salad-spot-chopt-to-open-in.html#storylink=cpy

"This is a really big deal to us, to go to Charlotte," Shure said. "To us, it's the same thing as opening our first store on 17^th Street. We're putting everything we have into it, and we’re really excited about it."

Chop't is a fast food, full-blown culinary operation, says co-founder Tony Shure.

Girl Scouts to sell cookies at SouthPark Mall today through March 8

For all of you who missed the sale of Girl Scout cookies from the kid down the street, from your coworker and even online: It's not too late to buy your Thin Mints and Samoas this year.

The Girl Scouts, Hornets' Nest Council will be selling cookies at the SouthPark Mall Center Court starting today through March 8. The booth sales will run on Fridays from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., Saturdays from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m.

The cookies sold include Rah-Rah Raisins, Samoas, Trefoils, Do-si-dos, Tagalongs, Savannah Smiles and Thin Mints. Each box of cookies sells for $4.

Girl Scouts, Hornets' Nest Council serves more 23,000 girls and volunteers in eight counties of North and South Carolina, including Mecklenburg County. 

Inner Peaks climbing center coming to South End

Charlotte businesses just can't get enough of South End.

Inner Peaks, the indoor climbing center, will open a second location this summer on South Tryon just past the intersection of West Tremont Avenue.

The popular fitness spot announced the new location a couple of months ago but look to be hard at work readying the former warehouse space. The new facility will include a 15,000 climbing wall (taller than the one at its other location) and super-thick boulder padding, according to Inner Peaks' Facebook page.

It'll also have a fitness room, a multi-purpose room for yoga, cross training and possibly even (very intense-sounding) Ninja Warrior obstacles.

The fitness center currently has one location in Charlotte on Monroe Road near the Sardis Road intersection.

The new site at 2200 South Tryon Street joins a handful of other workout spots close by including Ultimate Crossfit, Charlotte Martial Arts Academy and Charlotte Jr. Gym.