How would you like games such as duckpin bowling and pool paired with locally inspired cuisine and great cocktails and, on certain nights, live music? It’s something Brad Byrd and Andrea Niven wanted — and so they created it, with SupperClub SouthEnd in Charlotte, North Carolina, which they opened in October 2023. The two business partners aspired to a space that delivered a good time but didn’t leave the food quality lacking. “You have a bowling alley and you just throw some food out. That’s not really your draw. We flipped it and made the food central,” explained Byrd.
Executive Chef Nolan Blake upped that challenge by creating a menu that celebrates local North Carolina ingredients with generous portions. “All of our dishes come from the kitchen as they’re prepared, and are meant to be shared,” said Byrd. This focus can be seen on the menu with its entree offerings listed as “Large Format,” including items such as a Whole Fried Chicken and Tomahawk Ribeye.
The appetizers burst with tasty tidbits as well. Dips & Spreads have their own section, as well as Flat Breads and Small Plates. Byrd likes to pair the Wild Mushroom Flat Bread with the Que Sera Sera cocktail, a combination of Southern Star bourbon, yellow chartreuse, Amaro Montenegro, and orange bitters. “That’s going to be the most spirit forward of the bunch,” he said. “It’s one of my favorites.”
The drinks menu contains signature and classic cocktails, along with an entire section of boilermakers. Niven’s favorite is the Champagne Supernova in the Sky, a vodka and passionfruit combination that comes with a sidecar of prosecco. “I really don’t have anything that I don’t like on the cocktail menu,” she said. “It covers all the bases.”
“A lot of times when you have a concept, it doesn’t work out how you saw it in your mind. My vision was that people would come in, get a drink at the bar, have dinner in the dining room and then move to bowling or pool. And I have been surprised at how many people actually come in and experience the place exactly how I envisioned it,” said Byrd. “People are here for three or four hours, which was the concept from the beginning. It says on the website, ‘We want you to stay all day.”
AUTHOR
LA Bourgeois is a writer and creativity coach based in the eclectic food enclave of Ithaca, New York. Her enthusiastic embrace of food and business led her to run a cafe/bar and wine shop in Colorado for a little over a decade. Now, she uses her words to delight her readers and share her adventures at Housewyfe.com.
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