Most of what changed in NoDa this year happened in buildings people already knew their way around. A cocktail parlor became a day-to-night bar. A doughnut shop became a deli. A wine bar in an old mill house got new owners and a new name. A brewery and a music venue reopened in their old spaces after long closures. Even the most unusual arrival of the fall, a magenta locomotive bar, is parked on 35th Street. Its operators call it a preview before regular rides start. This fall, NoDa is changing slowly, inside its existing buildings, and on a trial basis.
Four addresses on North Davidson, new names on the door
Walk North Davidson between 30th and 33rd and the storefronts look mostly the same. The names are what changed.
3024 N. Davidson St. Chief's Modern Cocktail Parlor held its final service on Sunday, Aug. 23. Four days later, on Thursday, Aug. 27, Goodyear Bar opened in the same spot next to The Goodyear House. It serves coffee and espresso during the day and cocktails after dark. Chris Coleman, executive chef and partner at The Goodyear House, described it as a place that can "evolve with you throughout the day."
3120 N. Davidson St., Ste. 100. Olivelli Deli took over the former Reigning Doughnuts space. It announced a July 1 debut and now posts regular hours. The deli belongs to the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group. The opening menu includes Italian-meat sandwiches on housemade benne-seed rolls, breakfast sandwiches and soft serve. Owner Jamie Brown said the goal was to serve NoDa "in a new way."
3221 Yadkin Ave. NoDa Company Store is now Relic NoDa. Relic is the indoor room, and Riot is the garden patio. The original company store opened in a restored mill house in 2016, as a nod to the mercantile shops that once served mill families in the area. Founders Scott Lindsley and Joey Hewell ran it until 2024, when John and Heather Brinsfield took over. Jesse Fell and his partners now run the third version.
3100 N. Davidson St. This is the one room on the list without a new name yet. Provided Coffee served its last NoDa customers on June 21. The Concord location and the company's event coffee cart are still running. As of early October, no replacement tenant has been reported.
Rebuilt in place
Two of NoDa's longest-running businesses spent 2026 rebuilding in their own buildings.
Heist Brewery reopened at 2909 N. Davidson St., Ste. 200, over Memorial Day weekend, two years after a kitchen fire forced it to close. Owner Kurt Hogan said the remodel moved brewing to Barrel Arts and added more than 100 seats overall. Moving production off-site freed up space for customers in the same building.
The Neighborhood Theatre at 511 E. 36th St. closed on June 16 for an eight-week renovation. It reopened Aug. 11 with a sold-out Franz Ferdinand show. According to the Charlotte Ledger, the work included new sound and lighting on both stages, acoustical treatment throughout, a new draft beer bar, new balcony seating, updated restrooms, and a second backstage dressing room.
The building has been reinvented before. It opened as the Astor Theatre, a movie house, in 1945 and closed in the 1970s. It reopened as a live music venue under new ownership in 1997. In February 2025, Nashville-based Stage Right Venues bought half of the venue. A group of Charlotte investors owns the other half. It was the first time the theater had not been entirely locally owned. General manager Justin Fedor said, "This theater belongs to the community." The venue turns 30 in 2027 and holds 956 people.
Building it in stages
The new owners have something in common. Instead of opening a finished concept, most of them launched a smaller version with plans to grow.
Relic NoDa is the clearest case. CharlotteFive described it as a three-phase plan. Phase one covers wine, local beer, house-made sangria, bar snacks and aperitivo bites. A full coffee and cocktail program comes next. The last phase adds a full kitchen, which Fell said will turn the space into a farm-to-table restaurant "featuring everything we grow on our farm." Relic's website mentions movie nights and vintage vinyl dance parties on the Riot patio but doesn't list fall dates. It also hasn't posted an update on the coffee and cocktail phase. Check its social channels before planning an evening around it.
Several other newcomers started small inside someone else's business:
- Vivienne serves Nordic street food from inside Free Range Brewing. James and Cameron Barker co-founded it with the slogan "Bringing the Far North, South." Free Range's food page lists kitchen hours of Wednesday through Friday 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free Range's own pages list Sunday opening at both 1 p.m. and 11 a.m. The brewery gives its address as 2330 N. Davidson St., and CharlotteFive printed 2320.
- 777 Coffee runs a cart outside Local Loaf at 800 E. 35th St., serving specialty lattes and matcha Wednesday through Sunday.
- Safe & Sound Rugs has a permanent rug-tufting workshop at 3205 N. Davidson St., behind Jugo Bar. Owner Christian Davis told Axios the classes are "beginner-friendly" and "date-friendly."
Goodyear Bar uses the same idea within a single day. One room serves espresso in the morning and cocktails at night.
The train that isn't going anywhere yet
Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway is the furthest along with this test-first approach. The family-run short-line railroad started in 1987, when founder Robert Menzies bought a small North Carolina freight line after spotting a newspaper ad. Over the years it has restored passenger cars, some more than a century old, with an Art Deco look. In Pinehurst it runs murder mystery, brunch, dinner and Christmas rides.
Its first step in NoDa is Engine Room 87, a magenta locomotive bar parked at 409 E. 35th St. The three-car setup holds about 100 people. It includes a 24-tap self-pour bar with beer from NoDa breweries, plus wine and cocktails, a lounge with couch nooks, and a rooftop deck above the bar car. With more cars attached, it can hold up to 250 people, and a former baggage car can become a dance floor.
The railway is holding a free open house on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. It plans to use feedback from that night to shape future events. "I keep saying it's like a little appetizer," spokesperson Hayley Coleman Forgo told Axios. "Try it out and let us know what you want to have here." The full fleet currently splits its time with Pinehurst. It is expected back in Charlotte for regular rides in spring 2027, and themed trips are planned later, including a Christmas train to Mint Hill. Those are still plans, and the dates could change.
Late October, in order
The rest of the month mixes long-running NoDa traditions with the new and reopened spaces. Theatre dates below come from the venue's ticketing listing. Check neighborhoodtheatre.com before you buy.
- Mon., Oct. 5. Weatherday at the Neighborhood Theatre, with Slugline, Phantomology and Jelly Diver opening. Doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.
- Oct. 15 to 21. A busy week at 511 E. 36th St. The Infamous Stringdusters play Oct. 15, bunii Oct. 18, L7's Last Hurrah Tour Oct. 19, Andrew McMahon solo at the piano Oct. 20, and Abbie Gamboa Oct. 21.
- Thu., Oct. 22. Engine Room 87 open house, 4 to 7 p.m., 409 E. 35th St. Free.
- Fri., Oct. 23. Sign-up deadline for the NoDaWeen House Decorating Contest.
- Sat., Oct. 24. The NoDa NBA's Freaky 5K starts at 5 p.m. at Great Wagon Road Distilling, 610 Anderson St., with costumes and a post-race party. The free Ghosts & Legends walking tours start at 6:30 p.m. at Stu's Barrel House, 3215 N. Davidson St. They cover about a mile, and walk-ups are welcome. AJ Lee & Blue Summit play the Neighborhood Theatre the same night.
- Sun., Oct. 25. The NoDa Downtown Candy Crawl, 4 to 6:30 p.m., around downtown NoDa and the Johnston YMCA at 3025 N. Davidson St.
- Oct. 29 and 30. Yung Gravy's Joyrider Tour, 18 and up, plays Oct. 29, followed by Ethan Regan on Oct. 30.
- Sat., Oct. 31. NoDaWeen house decorating judging, 5:30 to 10 p.m., with a $200 prize.
Expect construction around the station if you're heading to the 36th Street stop. The City's $10.1 million North Tryon/36th Street streetscape was still under construction in its latest update, dated April 14. Paving and sidewalk work was underway, and construction was expected to run through the end of the year. The City hasn't posted a completion date.
Turning an old building into something new while keeping what made it worth visiting is the same work we do with NoDa's older homes. If you're weighing a renovation or a sale and want to talk through what to keep and what to change, The Laws Collective is glad to walk the property with you. Start the conversation.
