Meet and eat

Not surprisingly, 2009 and 2010 were slow years for Reggie Daniel.

The economy was creeping along and construction projects weren’t exactly waiting around every corner. For Daniel, owner of Daniel Design, a Charlotte-based foodservice consulting and facility design firm, such work wasn’t easy to come by.

But this year, he’s experienced a spike in restaurant jobs, and he attributes at least some of the uptick to three letters: DNC.

Indeed, as the Democratic National Convention gets closer – it will run Sept. 3-6, and organizers say more than 35,000 attendees are expected to flock to Charlotte – architects and other industry officials say restaurant-related construction projects have been picking up as eateries owners push for their new or renovated businesses to be ready to reap convention cash.

“I’ve had at least 10 design or upfit projects in the past 6 months, and without a doubt some of that is due to the DNC,” Daniel said. “If they (restaurant owners) can get additional business or some free press due to a famous person gracing their doors during the DNC, it’s obviously a plus for them.”

Among the new restaurants Daniel has helped design this year: Brazz, on College Street, Levant, in the Duke Energy Center on Church Street and City Smoke, a barbecue restaurant – all three Uptown – and Zucca Bar and Pizzeria in South End. He’s also working on two yet-to-be-named wine bars, one in Ballantyne and one at the Metropolitan.

Charlotte restaurateur Pierre Bader is behind City Smoke, which is set to open in March. The 3,100-square-foot restaurant will be Uptown in Founders Hall next door to Aria Tuscan Grill, another of Bader’s eateries.

The thought that convention-goers will swarm Uptown has Bader salivating.

“It’s going be great for business,” he said.

Bader is hardly alone when it comes to launching new dining establishments in Charlotte. This year has produced other projects to open or revamp eateries, and that has meant work for architects and contractors.

According to the Mecklenburg County Health Department, 208 permits were issued for new restaurants in 2010. As of Dec. 14, 180 permits had been issued for new restaurants this year. Last year, there were 103 transitional permits, which are issued to existing restaurants that are either renovated or changing owners, compared with 116 such permits issued this year as of Dec. 14.

While Daniel is designing City Smoke’s kitchen and food-preparation areas, Charlotte-based Little Diversified Architectural Consulting is designing the main section of the restaurant. Dallas-based Balfour Beatty Construction is handling construction, which started in November, said Little’s senior project manager, Raleigh Cline.

“I expect a lot more restaurants to start doing renovations and rebranding projects as we get closer to the DNC,” Cline said.

Mohammad Jenatian, president of the Greater Charlotte Hospitality and Tourism Alliance, said the DNC is helping to bring restaurant developers to the Charlotte area.

“The DNC sends a message that Charlotte has arrived, and it’s put the city on a lot of people’s radars,” he said. “And despite our economic challenges, Charlotte’s population continues to grow, and along with this influx of people comes an increased demand in nightlife, entertainment and dining.”

In the SouthPark area, Will Drennin, associate principal with Charlotte-based LS3P Associates, an architecture and land-planning firm, is renovating Marriot SouthPark’s restaurant, expanding the dining and bar areas and revamping the interior design.

He said the renovation, which includes the hotel’s rooms and ballroom, is part of an overall rebranding strategy Marriot started in 2007. The restaurant was scheduled to be the last component of the rebranding project.

“But once the DNC was announced, the hotel’s owners and managers wanted to get started,” he said. “Initially it was nothing urgent and it was put on hold, but now the owners want the restaurant ready by the summer. They want to make sure we’re not halfway done when the DNC starts.”

Drennin said he’s also starting to hear from other hospitality clients.

“We’re getting requests from hotels in Uptown who are saying it’s time to do a study to see how we can improve,” he said. “They all want to look their best in time for the DNC.”

Christopher Byers, president of RBA Group, a Charlotte-based hospitality design and architectural firm, said he’s also experienced a jump in restaurant jobs this year, including upfits and new restaurants moving into former office and retail spaces. Byers said that so far this year he’s worked on about 25 such projects, which is nearly double his volume from the past few years.

“The DNC is certainly a trigger for all this activity,” he said. “There’s a push to get things permitted.”

Byers said some of the projects RBA Group has worked on this year include Park Lanes Bowling Center, where they’ve helped the owners overhaul the bowling alley’s kitchen.

Jamie Muir, Mike Schornivacchi and Adam Williams, known collectively as Montford Bowling Partners, are renovating the bowling alley on Montford Drive.

RBA has also designed Privilege, a new nightclub in Uptown, and World of Beer, a bar and nightclub in SouthEnd scheduled to open in January. The company is also working Uptown on designing the kitchen at Buckhead Saloon, which previously only served alcohol. RBA also helped design Toast, a new restaurant that opened on Park Road in November.

“And the proposals just keep coming in,” Byers said.  “We keep thinking it’s going to slow down, but so far it hasn’t.”

BOYKIN can be reached at [email protected].