9 minute read
Restaurants to Watch in Charlotte
5Black-Owned Restaurants to Watch in Charlotte By Rosanny Crumpton
The next time you’re looking for food that will excite your taste palate, try one or more of these notable and, in some cases, new eating spots.
facebook.com/clarence.boston
Hippin Hops Brewery CEO, Clarence Boston
Hippin’ Hops Brewery
Clarence Boston, CEO of Hippin’ Hops Brewery, is one of the less than one percent of Black-owned brewers in the U.S. Boston has three Hippin’ Hops Brewery locations in Atlanta, and his fourth is coming to Charlotte in August 2022. While it was difficult for Boston to find real estate in Charlotte, he ultimately found the right space in NoDa. Each of his breweries offers a unique culinary experience. Boston said: “Our vibe and the service we provide is what attributes to our success.”
With encouragement from his friends in Charlotte and being a North Carolina native, “it was only right to bring Hippin’ Hops to Charlotte.” Boston’s inspiration to brew beer came from his grandmother, a winemaker. He jokes that making wine was not his forte, so he experimented with his first beer kit at 22, and the rest is history.
Boston said he’s looking forward to being one of three Black-owned breweries in North Carolina and one of two in Charlotte. While Hippin’ Hops doesn’t focus on sour beers, they are excited to bring some of their sours and new flavors to town along with their specialty craft beers.
The brewery opens occasionally and offers free beer, Boston said. “We don’t promote it on social media. We sit a sign outside that reads ‘Free Beer Today.’” Charlotteans can look forward to a soft opening before the Grand Opening. Boston said they’ve offered free beer at their other locations sometimes and the community joins in the excitement.
Photo by Peter Taylor
Interior of PARA restaurant
PARA
Yashira “Yoshi” Mejia is the bar manager at Charlotte’s PARA. This South End innovative restaurant and bar offers globally influenced small plates and whimsical cocktails. The eclectic atmosphere and R&B sounds round out the pleasant PARA experience.
Mejia proudly represents women and Afro-Latinas as a manager and leader in the industry. She’s passionate about her role as she explains the continuous work and studying that goes into being a mixologist. Her cocktail creations are the product of ongoing dedication and invention, from the PARA Old Fashioned that is smoked table-side to the thoughtful tropical cocktail, Tropic Like It’s Hot, which she calls “a vacation in a cup.” Interested in non-alcoholic options? Ask for one of Mejia's creations made with alcohol alternatives.
“I’m proud to be put in a position to lead … I’ve chosen to lead with compassion,” Mejia said. Working behind the bar and in the service industry, one literally pours out [drinks], but she also considers the teamwork it takes to “pour back in,” she added. She encourages members of the PARA team to make sure self-care remains important in each of their lives. This helps create an overall pleasurable experience for everyone.
Cuzzo’s Cuisine
Known for their “world famous lobster mac and cheese,” Cuzzo’s is also popular for its shrimp and grits, chicken and red velvet waffles, and several other lowcountry style delicacies.
When Chef Andarrio Johnson graduated from Johnson & Wales University, he dreamed of opening a food truck. “It took me 14 years to put it together. I kept pushing and pushing and never quit until I got it,”
he said. The Cuzzo’s Cuisine food truck business started in 2014. In November 2016, Johnson’s first brick-and-mortar restaurant opened on Tuckaseegee Road. In February 2022, Cuzzo’s Cuisine opened its second location in University City.
Andarrio explained that his goal is to offer quality food at affordable prices with
Cuzzo's Cuisine Chef Andarrio Johnson
exceptional customer service. He wants customers to feel like they’re at home, or better yet “at grandma’s house … like they’ve been there before, eating food that touches your soul.”
Johnson realized this profession was his calling and purpose at age 14 when he first entered the restaurant business. Johnson and his close cousin Anglee Brown have worked side-by-side in business for many years. The name Cuzzo’s Cuisine honors their partnership.
As a way of paying it forward, Cuzzo’s Cuisine offers children 12 and under free meals from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays. He began this practice at the start of the Covid pandemic and it still continues.
Photo by Alvin C. Jacobs Jr.
Photo by Jonathan Cooper
Jimmy Pearls
Every dish created and served by Jimmy Pearls has a story. Co-owners and Chefs Daryl “Coop” Cooper and Oscar Johnson are doing what they set out to do. They not only want to offer tasty meals, they also want guests to develop a personal connection with the food at their casual street food truck.
The two chefs bring a fresh new take on regional seafood. “We offer our story with our southern seafood. The African American culture and influence on seafood has been forgotten,” Coop said. “Not too many people are telling our story when it comes to the African American food of coastal Virginia, so we decided to pick up that baton and become storytellers through our food.” Their menu, inspired by the Tidewater and Piedmont Foodways of Virginia, gives an “ode to Virginia soul.”
On the menu you can find items like fish bratwurst, smoked chicken sausage, steamed oysters, fried catfish, stewed greens and more.
Follow Jimmy Pearls on Instagram @jimmypstreetshackclt and @jimmypearlsclt for food truck updates and hours.
Jimmy Pearls co-owners, Daryl Cooper (left) and Oscar Johnson (right)
The Fried Crocker plate available at Jimmy Pearls
Hip Hop Smoothies
Shamika and Roberto Brooks, the husband and wife owners, launched the Hip Hop Smoothies trailer in Charlotte in 2018. They began the business to bring healthy options and choices to customers. They visited schools, churches and YMCAs with their smoothie truck. After experiencing success with their traveling smoothie business, they opened their first storefront in 2020 on Mt. Holly-Huntersville Road and another in March 2022 on N. Sharon Amity Road.
Unlike many other smoothies, Hip Hop Smoothies have no artificial flavors, added sugar or ice. The only sweetener in some smoothies is honey, which is optional. There are two cups of fruit for every 20 ounces of smoothie. In other words, these smoothies are packed with fruit, nutrition and flavor.
After much research and loads of tastetesting trials, the Brooks came up with unique offerings that support a healthy lifestyle while honoring the Hip Hop era of the 80s and 90s.
Among their appropriately named smoothies are I Got 5 On It, which tastes like peanut butter and jelly; Nuttin’ but Love, which resembles a Reese’s cup; and Gin and Juice, named for its main ingredients of ginger and orange juice. Their number one selling smoothie is Gangsta’s Paradise, the Brooks’ take on a traditional strawberry-banana smoothie. Shamika said customers often sing the songs when they order or “choose a smoothie based on the name alone.” P
Photo by Natasha Hartley
Shamika and Roberto Brooks, Hip Hop Smoothies Owners
Photo by Natasha Hartley
Hip Hop Smoothies
Black women now have a place to focus on themselves with Myers-Galloway Counseling
‘P arentification’ is a little-known term to the public, but it is a phenomenon that is pervasive throughout the Black community. In general, our community embraces strong cultural values of family reciprocity and role flexibility. Due to external factors, racial and economic disparities being the most prevalent, black children are often forced to complete instrumental and emotional tasks around their home as a means of survival. Black women are parentified and adultified at higher rates than their male counterparts and by unfair circumstances, have been groomed to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. According to a 2017 study done by Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality (Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood) American adults think that black girls as young as 5 need less protection and less nurturing than their white peers. Later a follow-up study was conducted in 2019 (Listening to Black Women and Girls: Lived Experiences of Adultification Bias) and concluded that adultification bias can lead educators and other authorities to treat black girls in developmentally inappropriate ways.
Photo courtesy of The Scout Guide Charlotte
What is parentification?
Parentification is the process of role reversal and/or distorted boundaries within the parent child relationship. In other words, children take on adult responsibilities before they are developmentally ready to do so. There are two types of parentification. First, instrumental parentification is when a child physically cares for a parent or a family member who is disabled, ill or struggling with addiction. Emotional parentification is when a child becomes responsible for the emotional well-being of a parent or others in the family. For example, being a secret keeper or confidant. In these environments, often the parent(s) tend to check out of
Montina Myers-Galloway - Owner & Creator
their parental role, leaving the child to feel abandoned and neglected.
Benefits: Research has shown that parentification in single parent households can be a source of support, contribute to an increase in family function, promote independence, increase self-esteem and allow children to develop a high degree of empathy and altruism. Parentified children gain valuable life experience on how to navigate the world. Depending on the context, you probably have an inner motivation, tenacity and resilience that has gotten you through difficult times. Black women remain highly ambitious despite many obstacles and unrealistic expectations placed on them over the course of their lives. Many times, black women find themselves in careers like nursing, counseling, childcare or other support roles.
Drawbacks: However, when parentification occurs in an unsupportive family dynamic, the expectations go beyond a reasonable time frame and what the child is capable of, it can cause long-term negative effects lasting well into adulthood. A few common issues in adulthood include chronic fear and self-doubt, financial strain due to family responsibilities, lack of preparation and readiness for college and/or professional work environments and ending up in codependent relationships with those who need care (i.e., alcoholics, workaholics, or someone who has a substance abuse issue).
How to Heal:
Grieve. Allow the woman you are today to be sad and disappointed for your younger self. Explore some inner child work with a licensed mental health provider.
Understand Your Personal
Needs. Take some time to make a list of the things you really enjoy doing and do them. It may take some trial and error but it’s worth it.
Create a support system.
Research has shown that groups like “sister circles” or communities have a positive impact on the mental health of Black women.
Myers-Galloway Counseling understands the unique yet valuable experiences of Black women. The company nurtures the positive aspects of parentification and works with clients to address areas like boundaries, assertive communication and creating core values. Since 2016, Myers-Galloway Counseling has been dedicated to treating anxiety and depression in Black women forced to grow up too soon. The company provides online counseling for women across the state.
Book Your Appointment or Join our Team
To learn more about Myers-Galloway Counseling visit www.myersgallowaycounseling.com 1218 East Blvd., Suite A Charlotte, NC 28203 (704) 750-1889
