Plus, King of Fire to open soon.
 
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73º | 80% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. | Sunset 7:28 p.m.
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🛫 Passengers, prepare for takeoff

New concourse at Charlotte airport set to open
An empty airport concourse that opens up to a refurbished plane tail.
Concourse A provides travelers an interactive experience as they travel to their gates. | Photo by CLTtoday
The newly-constructed Concourse A at Charlotte Douglas International Airport will open to travelers tomorrow.

The $241 million, 200,000-sqft-expansion of the concourse brings an additional 10 new gates to the airport, now totaling 124. The gates will be used primarily by Delta, Frontier + one additional gate for any airline.

“We are a very high-volume airport here,” said Jack Christine, Chief Infrastructure Officer for Charlotte Douglas International Airport. “The number of turns on each one of our gates typically is eight to nine, sometimes 10 turns a day. That’s about double what most airports would have.”

Pro tip: It’s about a 10-minute walk from the terminal lobby to Concourse A.

Three rows of seats by two airport gates and windows.

Travelers will find ample seating in Concourse A + the windows automatically tint to lower the temperature and reduce glare.

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Photo by CLTtoday

✈️ First in Flight

Travelers will be instantly greeted by nods to the famed Wright Brothers while walking to their gates. While using the moving walkways, people will hear sounds from the Wright Flyer.

On the ground, four gold terrazzo lines illustrate the distances of the Wrights’ first powered flights, each marked by a bronze plaque.

“The length of this connector, back to Concourse A Phase One, is 852 ft. That’s the exact distance the Wright brothers flew on their fourth flight on December 17th,” Christine told reporters. “We didn’t design it that way. Sometimes divine intervention helps.”

A gold medallion highlighting the first powered flight of the Wright Brothers in a long hallway.

Walking through Concourse A, travelers will see gold medallions on the ground, paying homage to the first flights of the Wright Brothers.

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Photo by CLTtoday

Nearing Gate 31 is a refurbished tail of the McDonnell Douglas MD80 — an airplane once used by American Airlines — which has been salvaged and reimagined to be a centerpiece for CLT’s newest gates.

“We’re very excited to have that as an interesting piece of aviation history,” added Christine.

Fun fact: MotoArt, the company behind the refurbished tail and 777 desk in the terminal lobby, will be adding new desks in baggage claim as early as next month.
Airport upgrades ahead
Asked

How often do you travel out of Charlotte Douglas per year?
A. 0-2 times
B. 2-4
C. 4-6
D. 6-10+
Take flight
 
Events
Monday, Sept. 16
Tuesday, Sept. 17
  • SkillPop: Get Started Sewing | Tuesday, Sept. 17 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | 201 Camp | $38 | Can’t sew? Sew what. Learn the basics around a sewing machine for your next great project.
  • Tuesday Evening Book Club | Tuesday, Sept. 17 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. | Union West Regional Library | Free | Discuss “Weyward” by Emilia Hart with fellow book lovers.
  • Full Moon Kayak Tour | Tuesday, Sept. 17 | 7-9 p.m. | Lake Haigler Entrance | $28+ | Spend the evening on the moonlit water surrounded by the sounds of nature.
Wednesday, Sept. 18
  • Sycamore Run Club | Wednesday, Sept. 18 | 6:30-8 p.m. | Sycamore Brewing | Free | Choose your running distance before enjoying a post-run brew.
  • Summer Soundbath Series in the Park | Wednesday, Sept. 18 | 6:45-7:30 p.m. | Freedom Park | Free | Escape the city bustle to be immersed by soothing sounds and vibrations in this bi-weekly workshop.
  • Heart Breaker - A Heart and Led Zeppelin Tribute | Wednesday, Sept. 18 | 7 p.m. | Middle C Jazz Club | $28-$35 | You won’t feel “Alone” jamming to the classics of these two iconic groups.
Events calendar here
Click here to have your event featured.
 
News Notes
Weather
  • Here’s news to fall over — it’s almost time to watch leaves change color in the North Carolina mountains. WCNC meteorologist KJ Jacobs shared what makes the leaves change color every season. (WCNC)
Transit
  • Town commissioners in Mint Hill support a referendum for Charlotte’s one-cent sales tax hike + new transit authority. The town would receive roughly $6 million from the new tax, with revenue going to road-related projects. (Queen City News)
Ranked
  • Charlotte ranked No. 23 as one of the hottest hiring markets in the country. ADP’s study factored pay growth, starting wages, and hiring rate for 15 million workers. Charlotte ranked higher than Atlanta and Raleigh. (Charlotte Business Journal)
Real Estate
  • A Lake Norman home is on the market for nearly $19 million. The six-bedroom home is on Peninsula Point Drive in Cornelius and is the second most-expensive home listing in the Charlotte region. (Charlotte Business Journal)
Announced
  • Smalls Sliders, a cheeseburger slider chain, will be coming to the Charlotte area in 2025. The Louisiana-based chain plans to open 12 locations over the next six years. Exact locations are TBA. NFL Hall of Famer Drew Brees is an investor. (The Charlotte Observer)
Coming Soon
  • Salad chain Sweetgreen is moving into Birkdale Village. The location on Sam Furr Road is expected to open in 2025. It’s the second location to open in Charlotte — the first is scheduled to open this month at 101 N. Tryon St. (Charlotte Business Journal)
Eat
  • Did you eat breakfast at a restaurant this morning? If so, you’re not alone. Eating out for breakfast is up by 4% in Charlotte, according to a recent study by Toast — a good excuse to check out our brunch guide.
Try This
  • Carowinds officially kicked off SCarowinds and Oktoberfest festivities over the weekend. New this year, a separate ticket is not needed for admission. CLTtoday got a sneak peek of the scares — take a look. (WCNC)
Sports
  • The Panthers fell 26-3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Where does the team go after starting 0-2? Go beyond the scoreboard for the biggest stories on the Carolina Panthers with Locked On’s daily, team-focused podcasts.
Wellness
Number
  • 22%. That’s how much auto insurance rates have increased over the last year. Stop overpaying + find a better rate when you get a free, no-obligation quote from Savvy.*
 
Coming Soon

🍕 King of fire? King of pizza

King of Fire closer to opening first stand-alone pizza restaurant in Uptown
A woman's hand holding an open box of pizza in front of a black food truck.
King of Fire is a family-owned, mobile brick-oven pizza food truck. Siler Chapman, the owner, is a four-time world pizza champion. | Photo via King of Fire
You may remember this post, announcing King of Fire‘s expansion to two brick-and-mortar locations in the Charlotte area. Get ready to feast, King of Fire will soon welcome its first guests in Uptown.

“I’ve always had a love and passion for sharing and making great pizzas for the community,” said Siler Chapman, King of Fire owner and four-time world pizza champion.

At its new location, guests can expect menu favorites, like the Honey Pie, and new additions + different styles of pizza. Think: Sicilian style or Chicago cracker crust.

“I just thought that his style of pizza would be a perfect fit for Uptown,” said Evan Gentile, owner of King of Fire’s Uptown location.

The restaurant at The Green will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The team will expand their hours to fuel the late-night crowd. An exact opening date is TBA.
The Buy

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6AM City In-house
 
The Wrap
 
Headshot of CLTtoday author Maria Delgado

Today’s edition by:
Maria
From the editor
City Editor Jack and I toured CLT Airport’s Concourse A expansion before it officially opens to the public. Take a look at everything we saw.
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