Local Flavor

LOCAL FLAVOR RUM AND POKE

The Royal Tot brings tiki tastes to the Belmont neighborhood

BY ANDY SMITH

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 e ciency required now that the individual’s tasks in ships are concerned with complex, and o en 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 ctional 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 roo op 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.

This new “getaway,” as CFO Scott Gadd calls it, slings cocktails cra ed by beverage director Larry Suggs and served from three bars. The team has collected more than 100 rare rums over the past year, many through global travels. Expect twists on classic tiki cocktails like Mai Tais, Painkillers, and Hurricanes, along with six frozen-drink machines and a dispenser of Dole Whip so -serve. Amanda Cranford of fellow HUB 933 tenant Paper Plane Deli & Market created a food menu with appetizers and entrees that, as in Hawaii, make liberal use of SPAM, along with Kona co ee-rubbed chicken wings, ceviche, and tuna poke. Gadd says The Royal Tot hopes to bene t from its proximity to other HUB 933 businesses, like Paper Plane, Advent Coworking, and its closest neighbor, Catawba Brewing.

Suggs said in May that he plans to found a “rum club” at The Royal Tot in the coming months. The club’s regular rum rations will allow members a taste of the sentiment expressed in one of the restaurant’s slogans: “Everyone’s a sailor.”

(Opposite) The cocktail line-up includes, from left, a Jungle Bird (Kraken 94 Proof Black Spiced Rum, Campari, fresh pineapple and lime, and Demerara syrup); a Pearl Diver (Bacardi Ocho, El Dorado 5-Year, Don’s Gardenia Mix, lime and orange, and Angostura bitters); and a Painkiller (Pusser’s, cream of coconut, orange and lime, and grated nutmeg).

(Left) A mermaid tiki mug contains an On a Beach Somewhere (Rumhaven Coconut Rum, passion fruit, lime and orange, and cinnamon); a barrel tiki mug holds a Royal Grog (Appleton Estate Signature Blend, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, grapefruit and lime, soda water, Demerara syrup, and grated cinnamon).

(Below left) Amanda Cranford of neighboring business Paper Plane Deli & Market crafted a menu that includes this tuna poke bowl.

(Above) Expect SPAM in multiple forms, including this Togarashi honey-drizzled plate served with spicy mayo, scallions, and puffed rice.