Local Flavor

LOCAL FLAVOR Carbonation Nation

Kristin Cagney opens Charlotte’s first seltzery, one of the only taprooms of its kind in the U.S.

BY TAYLOR BOWLER PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER TAYLOR

THREE YEARS AGO, Kristin Cagney sat poolside, sipping spiked seltzers with friends, when she joked that she wanted to open a seltzery. “But my friends were like, ‘Do it,’” the 29-year-old Illinois native says with a laugh. She did some research and learned about the huge market for bubbly beverages. “White Claw alone did billions last year. I don’t think it’s a trend drink. I think it’s here to stay.”

Cagney developed a taste for seltzers during the decade she spent in Colorado. “I’d reach for it on the boat or when I went skiing,” she says. “On hikes or

SUMMIT SELTZERY

2215 Thri Rd., Ste. B summitseltzer.com (Left) Summit’s wild berry seltzer garnished with muddled berries. (Below) A mimosa seltzer and a skinny seltzerita with lime seltzer, muddled jalapeño, and a splash of lowcalorie lemonade.

ski trips, you don’t want a heavy beer. But if you have a few seltzers, you can still get back to the slopes.” A er three years working in wealth management at Fidelity Investment, she had what she calls her “quarter-life crisis” and quit her job to move back to Lake Norman, where her parents live. In 2016, she enrolled at UNC Charlotte to pursue her MBA and wrote the business plan for Summit Seltzery.

But she struggled to secure a loan when lenders didn’t understand what a seltzery was. As of July, only two hard seltzeries operated in the United States— one each in Colorado and Washington. “We’re the only one to start as a seltzery from the ground up and buy all seltzer equipment,” she says. “The others all started as breweries.” Cagney ultimately decided to make it a family business—her mother is her CPA, and her father is an investor—and opened in Wesley Heights in August.

Summit brews in-house using a fermentation process. Guests can choose from 14 avored hard seltzers of varying ABV on tap, as well as cra seltzer cocktails, nonalcoholic seltzer, wine, local beer, and bar snacks.

The 3,880-square-foot space has seating for 64 in the taproom and 32 on the patio, plus activities like shu eboard, badminton, and foosball. Once gatherings can safely resume, look for an attached 750-square-foot event space for yoga and tness classes, silent disco parties, and charity events. (COVID-19 restrictions