LO C AL F L AVO R
RUM AND POKE The Royal Tot brings tiki tastes to the Belmont neighborhood BY ANDY SMITH
46
ON JULY 31, 2020, the British raised glasses to commemorate a bleak anniversary. It had been 50 years since Black Tot Day, when the Royal Navy issued the last of its daily rum rations to sailors—their “daily tot.” The tradition began in the 17th century, as had complaints (and, a little later, sea shanties) about drunken sailors. In hindsight, the Navy’s ban was sound. The Admiralty Board concluded, “the rum issue is no longer compatible with the high standards of efficiency required now that the individual’s tasks in ships are concerned with complex, and often delicate, machinery and systems on the correct functioning of which people’s lives may depend.” During last year’s anniversary, plans were underway for The Royal Tot, a new Belmont neighborhood concept with island vibes and named for the departed daily ration. The joint’s website even provides a fictional backstory based on Black Tot Day, in which a “nameless, worldly man of ports and people” comes to Charlotte via a shipwreck that “brought him to shore.” (Forget that the nearest ocean is 176 miles away.) The business, with both a lower level and rooftop space with a view of the skyline, opens at HUB 933 (933 Louise Ave.) this fall. It’s the second ETA Group “eatertainment” concept in as many years; ETA opened the indoor miniature golf course-bar Stroke in neighboring Plaza Midwood in January 2020.
CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE.COM // SEPTEMBER 2021
COURTESY PLAID PENGUIN: LUNAHZON PHOTOGRAPHY
FOOD+DRINK
