“Top Chef” on Bravo puts the Charlotte culinary scene on center stage. Plus, a new initiative makes music education accessible to NC kids and a fan-favorite NC beer mascot returns.
This month marks a year since the Carolina Theatre reopened in Uptown Charlotte following an eight-year construction project. Originally opened in 1927, the theater was shuttered in 1978 and sat empty for nearly half a century.
For all the anticipation and hype, it would have been a letdown for the reopening that followed the historic building’s restoration to fall flat or maybe just feel … underwhelming. But I have to give credit where it’s due, Carolina Theatre has become one of the city’s most trendy venues thanks to the thoughtful curation of cool events there.
The theater hosts music concerts, movie premieres and all sorts of other events. I had a great time at the premiere of Roofman there last September. While I couldn’t make it to this week’s Top Chef premiere, which leads off this week’s Good News Friday column, it looked like a great time for those in attendance.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Queen City’s culinary scene is highlighted during the new season, which premiered on Peacock this week.
‘Top Chef’ places Charlotte in the spotlight
The best and brightest of Charlotte’s media and culinary scenes were on hand at Carolina Theatre on Monday night to catch the premiere of Top Chef’s 23rd season, which was filmed largely in Charlotte. The event featured a panel discussion with the show’s host, Kristen Kish, along with head judge Tom Colicchio and perennial judge Gail Simmons.
Following the discussion, attendees watched the first episode of Top Chef Season 23, which sees the season’s first Quickfire event take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway, featuring NASCAR legends Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Other episodes this season will include Belmont native Fortune Feimster providing comic relief and actress Melissa Benoist celebrating Queen Charlotte’s birthday.
As for the contestants themselves, the only North Carolina representative on the panel of 15 participants is Chef Brittany Cochran of Stagioni in south Charlotte’s Eastover neighborhood.
“What a thrilling time for Charlotte’s culinary scene — and we loved seeing our beautiful city on such a fun, exciting show,” read a post from the team at Tonidandel Brown Restaurant Group, which owns and operates popular Charlotte restaurants like Supperland, Haberdish and Ever Andalo. “We’re pumped to watch how the season unfolds (and we’re rooting extra hard for CLT local [Brittany Cochran]!)”
The season premieres on Bravo at 9 p.m. on March 9, though, as of Tuesday, the first episode is available on Peacock and Bravo’s YouTube channel.
New initiative makes music education accessible to NC kids
K-12 students in North Carolina will be the first to benefit from a new multi-state pilot initiative that aims to make music education more equitable in schools.
Supported by a $2-million grant from the Let Music Fill My World (LMFMW) organization, the Music Impact Coalition will work to ensure that students in North Carolina’s most underserved schools still have access to music education.
“We are on a mission to ensure that every student in America, starting in North Carolina, has access to and the ability to participate in music and arts education regardless of circumstance,” said Cayley Tull, president of the Tullman Family Office, which helped found LMFMW and is part of the Music Impact Coalition alongside 20 of the nation’s top music and arts organizations.
“We know that music and arts education improve academic performance and reduce disciplinary infractions, strengthening empathy and engagement,” Tull told WNCN in Raleigh this week. “Access to music and arts education should not depend on a student’s zip code, and in partnership with North Carolina, we’re building the systems to make sure that it doesn’t.”
The coalition is currently in the preliminary stages of the initiative, identifying districts around North Carolina where organizers feel they can have the most impact.
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A fan-favorite mascot of craft beer in western NC returns
Folks who have been drinking craft beer in North Carolina since before it became the hip thing to do may recognize an old favorite on shelves and in taprooms around North Carolina in the coming week.
Highland Brewing, a pioneer of Asheville’s craft beer scene since it opened in 1994, unveiled a new look this week that reintroduces an old friend named Scotty. Described as “a cherished part of Highland Brewing canon,” the bearded beer drinker in Scottish garb serves as a nod to the ancestry of western North Carolina, home to Scotch-Irish immigrants since the mid-1800s.
Scotty was retired during a previous rebranding in 2018, “but fans never stopped requesting an appearance by the region’s first beer mascot,” read a release from Highland Brewing this week.
Scotty will appear on the packaging and cans of Highland’s Gaelic Ale, its original and flagship flavor.
“Gaelic Ale’s new look brings Scotty back with all his original charm and our flagship’s classic flavor,” stated CEO and President Leah Wong Ashburn. “It’s a nostalgic moment for us that honors our history and looks forward with a fresh take on Scotty’s role that is perfectly placed with Gaelic Ale.”
