The Ballantyne Daily

Einstein Bros. Bagels coming to Conlan Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Uptown Charlotte and SouthEnd have Einstein Bros. bagels - and now Ballantyne can too!

According to an article in the Charlotte Business Journal, the national bagel chain will be soon be occupying the stand-alone store at 13736 Conlan Circle. The building was previously the Ikos Aegean Grill and before that Back Yard Burger. Einstein Bros. expects to be open in late March or early April.

Link to the BizJournal article for more info.

Mellow Mushroom and Terrace Cafe Coming to BV

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Mellow Mushroom, an Atlanta-based chain offering pizza in "an eclectic, art-filled environment," is opening a 6,800-square-foot restaurant.

Terrace Cafe will open its second restaurant in Charlotte, adding a 3,900-square-foot store. The restaurant currently has one Charlotte location, at Piedmont Row at SouthPark.

Read more: http://obswhatsinstore.blogspot.com/2011/06/magic-mushroom-terrace-cafe-head-to.html#ixzz1PXxnbimU

CMPD Announces Construction Blasting in Ballantyne Fri. April 29th 3pm

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:56:00 +0000

Passing on an update from CMPD South Division:

Today there might be questions and rumors about noises heard in the Ballantyne area today. Due to construction in the Ballantyne Business Park area, at approximately 3:00pm they will be blasting to clear an area for further construction. We wanted to make you all aware in an attempt to reduce 911 calls for service.

Officer P.M. Grant
South Division, Response Area 2
Community Coordinator
8050 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, NC, 28226
pgrant@cmpd.org
(704) 544-4835

Mix at Six 2011 Kickoff Cancelled due to Bad Weather Forecast

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:46:00 +0000

The first Mix at Six in Ballantyne Village for the 2011 season has been canceled due to a forecast of rain and storms for Wednesday evening. There will be an additional Wednesday added to the end of the series to make up for it. Find more info on Ballantyne Village's Facebook page

City to Apply for Grant to Design N. Community House Rd Connection

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:12:00 +0000

Check out this interesting tidbit from the June 28th City Council Agenda (paraphrased a bit). Note it is purely for design and planning, construction would be a different story ($$$).

Item: Authorize the City Manager to submit six preliminary applications to compete for funds from the federal National Infrastructure Investment Grants Program.

None of the projects listed are currently funded for construction. Receipt of a grant would permit a project to begin construction several years ahead of when it otherwise would have occurred without the grant.

North Community House Road Bridge over I-485 ($800,000) (planning/design grant only)

CDOT proposes to plan and design the missing segment of North Community House Road, a bridge over I-485 in Ballantyne. The street would be an alternate, lower-speed route parallel to the high-speed, controlled-access Johnston Road. This bridge would allow bicyclists and pedestrians to cross I-485.

Local Matching Funds: Street Connectivity Program in the Transportation Capital Investment Plan.

Each preliminary application will request up to 80% of the project cost from the federal grant program and identify the source of local matching funds.

The Blushing Bakeshop

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:57:00 +0000

In a tiny storefront in Ballantyne Village next to Villa Antonio, there is a new bakeshop open called The Blushing Bakeshop. The store specializes in fresh-baked "couture" cupcakes, featuring six permanent offerings (think vanilla cake, chocolate, red velvet, etc) as well as six other rotating flavors of cupcakes each week of the month. Some notable items on the menu: blueberry cake topped with lemon buttercream, spice cake topped with cinnamon infused buttercream, and vanilla cake with apple caramel filling topped with vanilla caramel buttercream.

Usual hours are Mon.-Sat., but they were open for Valentines Day on a Sunday, selling a display case full of lucious red velvet cupcakes with pink vanilla cream cheese frosting. The cupcake was very good: perfectly baked, with moist cake and a very slight crunch to the top of the cupcake, topped with delicious frosting. The store also serves coffee and espresso. The Blushing's website, theblushingbakeshop.com explains that the owners started a small catering operation in DC area that made cupcakes for jewelry photo shoots, and eventually opened this Ballantyne store as their first retail operation. They can do pre-orders for large orders of cupcakes for parties, catered events, showers, etc. If you're in BV, give The Blushing a try for a decadent treat!

Follow The Blushing bakeshop on twitter: http://twitter.com/blushingbakery

Buffalo Wings and Rings

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:37:00 +0000

Buffalo Wings & Rings is set to open this week in the retail center of Cedar Walk near Ardrey Kell Rd and Marvin Rd. The restaurant is part of a national chain based in Cincinatti. With a sports-bar theme, they offer wings and other pub food. More details in this CBJ article.

See the menu at the Buffalo Wings and Rings website:
http://www.buffalowingsandrings.com

Photo of the day: Ballantyne Gateway Arch

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:55:00 +0000

Extreme Pita in Ballantyne Village

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:55:00 +0000

More quick, healthy food choices for BV! A new tenant upfit is underway for Ballantyne Village in the space next to Moe's...the signs on the windows indicate "Extreme Pita" is on its way. The international franchise serves up customized pita sandwiches with a healthy approach. According to their website, they will offer "Lunch, dinner and late night menu items includ[ing] our Extreme Club, Philly Cheese Steak, Grilled Chicken, Gyros, and Falafel, all combined with a choice of different vegetable varieties served fresh or sautéed to perfection right in front of your eyes." Freestyle pitas are simple pita sandwiches customized to your liking, but they also offer "Chef Inspired" pitas such as Chicken Caesar, Rustic Italian, Thai Beef or Chicken, and Meatball. What really caught my eye on the menu was Flat Baked Pitas, which are basically pita pizzas - Hawaiian Luau, Buffalo Chicken, Meditteranean Chicken all sound very enticing.

Aloft Hotel Ballantyne

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Aloft Hotel is now open in Ballantyne Corporate park! The hotel is a "vision" of the parent "W Hotels" brand associated with Starwood Hotels. Just like its sister hotel in uptown, the Ballantyne Aloft includes swanky cocktail spot "W XYZ Lounge." Along with an exciting decor and bar drinks, W XYZ appears to have a cozy outdoor patio area. Aloft Hotel bills itself as "a setting that combines urban-influenced design, accessible technology, and a social scene that’s always abuzz." It offers amenities such as an indoor heated pool, re:fuel refreshment stop, re:charge gym, touch screen info terminals, hotel-wide Wi-Fi, camp Aloft for kids, dog-friendly policies, and more. They also have green programs to help conserve water, energy and other resources in place at the hotel. The photos on the Aloft website show that the Charlotte hotel falls right in line with the Aloft chain's typical funky, colorful decor and hi-tech feel. A quick check of rates shows a 1 King sized bed room ranges from $80-130. All in all, Aloft seems it will be a great alternative for business and leisure travelers to the Ballantyne area.

Check out this link to the Aloft Charlotte website.

Libretto's Pizzeria

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:27:00 +0000

According to Scott Martin's Ballantyne Weekly e-mail newsletter, Libretto's Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen is coming soon to Ballantyne Commons East. They currently have two locations, one in New York City and another in the EpiCentre in Uptown Charlotte.

Visit their website for a preview of what is to come!
http://www.librettospizzeria.com/charlotte/index.html

More Great Food in Ballantyne: Big Daddy's Burger Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Charlotte Business Journal reported this week that Partners Frank Scibelli and Dennis Thompson expect to open Charlotte's second Big Daddy's Burger Bar in Ballantyne this July. Big Daddy's original location is on East Blvd. in the Dilworth neighborhood. Big Daddy's website sums up the restaurant, "we do exactly what our name suggests - we have amazing burgers, a killer bar, and it’s all very, very good... we love serving you amazing food in a lively, laid-back atmosphere."

I've enjoyed a great burger at Big Daddy's in Dilworth. The beer selection was good too. The restaurant space itself is very small though, so it will be nice to see them open up a bigger space here in Ballantyne. The place definitely draws a crowd, so look for it to become a welcome addition to the Ballantyne restaurant scene. No word on exactly where in Ballantyne they plan to open, however.

http://www.bigdaddysburgerbar.com/

D'Vine Wine coming to BV

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:44:00 +0000

Fans of wine are well aware that Ballantyne Village's Under the Grape winebar closed and has been vacant for a while now. Good news, however: Ballantyne Village website indicates a new shop coming soon called D'Vine Wine.

From their website, "D’Vine Wine is a boutique winery specializing in custom wines made from the highest quality varietals. By the glass, by the bottle or our vintners will guide you through the process of customizing your very own wine. Personalized labels add a great finish to your creation. D’Vine Wine, Your Personal Winery is truly a unique experience for the wine novice or the wine expert. Our winery produces many award winning wines from the finest juices. Starting from the juice, rather than growing our own grapes, allows us to offer a wide variety of wines from the bold reds, to crisp whites, to fruit and desert wines."

http://www.dvinewinecafe.com/

Farmers Markets are Still Open!

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:33:00 +0000

With the weather changing from warm to cold, people tend to forget fresh fruits and vegetables are still available at the farmers market. Delicious fruits and vegetables in season during November and December include apples, broccoli, oranges, mushrooms, pears, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and much more! Stop by your local farmers market to pick up the freshest food for your healthy lifestyle.

• Charlotte Tailgate Farmers Market located at 100 West Park Avenue (South End), hours are Saturday 10am-1pm, Tuesday 3:30pm-6pm until the weekend before Christmas.

• Matthews Community Farmers Market located at 105 N. Trade St, hours are Saturday 7:15am-noon through November. Hours change to every other Saturday starting December 6th 7:15am-noon.

• Charlotte Regional Farmers Market located at 1801 Yorkmont Rd, hours are Tuesday – Saturday 8am-5pm all winter.

Noodles & Company opens in Arboretum

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:52:00 +0000

The Arboretum shopping center at the intersection of Hwy 51 and Providence Rd has a new restaurant option, Noodles & Company. A favorite of kids and adults alike, Noodles & Co. offers Asian, Meditteranean, or American noodle dishes as well as custom made-to-order noodle dishes.

Ballantyne area Starbucks' are Safe!!

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:20:00 +0000

By now you might have heard about Starbucks closing 600 stores nationwide. I stumbled upon a news site that listed all 600 of them, so I couldn't resist the urge to check North Carolina and see which stores were slated to be closed. Of course I had my fingers crossed that the Starbucks at Conlan Circle in Ballantyne and the 'drive-thru' Starbucks at Hwy 51 & Park Rd (...both of which get a good amount of business from me!) wouldn't be on the list. I can rest easy! Here is the NC list below. Looks like the Wilkinson Blvd. Starbucks (wasn't this funded by Magic Johnson and wasn't it supposed to help revitalize the area?) and the Starbucks at Providence Plaza on Providence and Sharon Amity Rd (brand new?!?) didn't fare so well:

North Carolina
11525 CHATHAM DOWNS 141 CHATHAM DOWNS CHAPEL HILL NC
10420 WILKINSON BLVD 3220 WILKINSON BLVD CHARLOTTE NC
10836 NORTHLAKE COMMONS 9335 CENTER LAKE DR CHARLOTTE NC
11056 PIEDMONT TOWN CENTER 4620 PIEDMONT ROW DR CHARLOTTE NC
13533 WORTHINGTON 1520 OVERLAND PARK LN CHARLOTTE NC
14141 PROVIDENCE RD & SHARON AMITY RD 2921 PROVIDENCE RD CHARLOTTE NC
14183 FIRETOWER RD & ARLINGTON BLVD 1889 E FIRETOWER RD GREENVILLE NC
11136 VALLEY HILLS MALL 1960 HWY 70 SE HICKORY NC
11925 NASH STREET 2113 NASH ST WILSON NC
8716 HARPER HILL COMMONS 4912 COUNTRY CLUB RD WINSTON SALEM NC

Under the Grape

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:06:00 +0000

Vanessa Willis of The Observer reports:
"Under the Grape is moving from Ballantyne Village to a new location, to be determined.

Owners Barb and Henry Tyree could not be reached for comment. But they sent an e-mail to customers last week that said their lease had been terminated and they planned to relocate elsewhere in Ballantyne. It also said they had been asked not to keep their bar doors leading to the patio open while music was playing inside.

Village leasing agent Christy McQueen could not comment on the terms of the separation, but said another wine bar will likely move into the space."

TABLE Restaurant Closes

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:32:00 +0000

Rumor has it that TABLE Restaurant in Ballantyne Village has closed its doors to business and is potentially relocating to another place around town. A friend's daughter had pre-prom dinner there over the weekend and heard from servers there that it was the last weekend of operation. As a quick check, I tried to make a reservation on Opentable.com, but the listing for Table is no longer available on that site. So it seems that this might really be the loss of a great restaurant in BV.

Ballantyne Elementary School!

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:03:00 +0000

CMS Board Meeting on 5/13 to Discuss Name of New Elementary School

Please join Principal Sharon Damare at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, May 13th. The naming of the new elementary school will be on the agenda. Principal Damare and parents will be proposing the new name be Ballantyne Elementary School. Please help provide your support!

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 13th at 6pm at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. 4th St.

Questions? Please see one of the following web pages or contact Princial Damare, sharon.damare@cms.k12.nc.us.

http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/gems/lancaster/DamareNewsletterMay.pdf

http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/boardeducation/boardagenda.asp

Good things are coming to Blakeney

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:36:00 +0000

Developer Crosland has posted a current expected tenant list for the Blakeney Crossing retail center currently under construction. Best Buy heads up the list as the anchor, along with PetSmart. Also mentioned are Asian Fusion, Omaha Steaks, and Just Fresh!

Check out the tenant list and site plan here.

Parkway Crossing development taking shape in Pineville

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:32:00 +0000

A village-style community is currently being developed along Sam Meeks Rd. in Pineville. If you drive on Carolina Place Parkway, you might have seen the signs for the coming development but the work is being done over the hill out of sight from the major thoroughfares around the mall. The proposed village center is to include a mix of single-family and townhomes, with a close-knit layout that includes walkable streets and on-street parking. The residential component will wrap around a village retail center with a mix of shops and offices. Arden Homes has built a handful of homes so far, with classic southern architecture, inclduding hardi-plank siding and wide front porches.

See a site plan of the retail and townhome portion here.

Hotels coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:56:00 +0000

We've got the famous Ballantyne Resort of course, but the Ballantyne area is long overdue for more hotel rooms. Two new hotels are soon to be added to capitalize on demand for rooms in the area.

You may have noticed while driving by, a Springhill Suites is already under construction at the corner of N. Community House Rd and Johnston Rd in Toringdon. The hotel is in a great location with close proximity to the EarthFare and other shops as well as the Streets of Toringdon shopping area and restaurants.

Another recent discovery is an ALOFT hotel proposed in the Ballantyne Corporate Park (phase II) down the street the new LEED certified 10-story office towers being built. ALOFT is not a new brand to the Charlotte area. Their first Charlotte location is currently being built in the EpiCentre project in Uptown at College and 3rd St. The Ballantyne ALOFT will overlook the Ballantyne Resort golf course and Dana Rader golf school, and will include a lounge and fine dining restaurant. Views of the Charlotte skyline in the distance will undoubtedly be available from the rooms on the upper floors of the building. The ALOFT hotel is a boutique hotel with a hip and modern feel - read more about it at their website: www.alofthotels.com

Superior School of Real Estate coming to BV

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:28:00 +0000

As reported in the Charlotte Business Journal:

A 4,600-square-foot classroom will provide space for 131 students. Superior School's headquarters will be above the Villa Antonio restaurant.

The Charlotte-based school had previously operated out of offices in SouthPark.

"We chose Ballantyne Village to give our students a unique setting for pursuing their real estate education," says Steve Connell, the school's director of operations. "There's a campus-like atmosphere here at Ballantyne. Students can make a day of it, sitting down for coffee with their laptops and taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi throughout the village or enjoying lunch at the many specialty restaurants."

Superior School will begin classes at the new location July 1. It offers continuing-education courses statewide at hotels and conference centers. Attendance last year exceeded 18,000 students.

http://www.ssore.com/

Big View Diner

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:10:00 +0000

An application has been filed with the City for permits for one of the retail spots at the Shoppes At Ardrey Kell, the new shopping area at the corner of Hwy 521 and Ardrey Kell Rd. The application is for "Big View Diner," and is filed by the Stratos Restaurant Group. Per their website, "Stratos Restaurant Group is a national restaurant conception and management company based in Charlotte, NC. Specializing in casual fine dining, with a focus on guest experience, excellence in food preparation and design, hip, open atmospheres, and outstanding service, Stratos Restaurant Group currently owns and operates two Charlotte restaurants, Nolen Kitchen & Crescent Bar Lounge and Ilios Noche". No further info is available at this time on exactly what Big View Diner will be like, but if it is anywhere close to the experience that Nolen Kitchen and Ilios Noche provide, Ballantyne residents will enjoy it.

EDIT: Added 2/11/08 - We discovered the above rendering of "Big View Diner." Still no website available or menus, but we'll keep searching!

TOPZ Healthier Burger Opens!

noreply@blogger.com (Brendan) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:06:00 +0000

Topz "Healthier Burger Grill" just opened in the Old Lancaster Towne Center at the corner of Providence Rd. West and Lancaster Highway near Harrison UMC.

Topz features burgers made of high quality ingredients such as 100% Black Angus Chuck, ground white turkey meat, Ahi tuna, boneless chicken breast, and lean turkey and beef franks. Also, they serve air-baked french fries, onion rings, and chicken nuggets. To go with your burger, Topz provides gourmet salads and fruit shakes made with real ice cream.

In addition to the healthier fare, TOPZ offers an enhanced ambiance for families seeking something other than fast food, plastic trays and playscapes. While customers order at the register, TOPZ food is brought to the table on real plates with silverware.

Visit their website for menus and other info here.