New Restaurant, Henrietta’s, Coming to Charlotte’s Lower South End This Summer

A fresh dining spot will open its doors in Charlotte's Lower South End this summer. Henrietta's takes over the old Rally Annex building, right by the pickleball courts.

Rally's Meg Charity and Barrett Worthington joined forces with Customshop's Andres Kaifer on this project. "The restaurant is purposefully designed for guests to be a little nosy if something on the table next to them looks good, so they can ask what they ordered," said Charity to the Charlotte Observer.

Kaifer's kitchen will serve up plates meant for sharing. Diners can pick from fresh pasta made in-house, gnocchi topped with cream sauce, carrots paired with whipped ricotta, and raw hamachi dressed in blackberry ponzu.

The space features rich red and navy colors, illuminated by soft lighting. Laura Fusato brings her New York restaurant know-how as the head of food and drinks.

Wine choices mix well-known labels with unexpected finds, including white wines from South Africa, a nod to Charity's background. They picked the name Henrietta from an ostrich character who knows how to throw the perfect dinner party, linking back to Charity's homeland, where these birds roam free.

"If you live in that neighborhood, you really don't have a place to go on a regular basis that feels fresh in a price range that you can visit more than once a week," Worthington told the Charlotte Observer.

Reservations start soon. The spot fills a gap in Lower South End, an area with plenty of breweries and chain spots but few local dining choices.

Find Henrietta's at 117 Southside Drive. While the exact date isn't set, expect to see it open by mid-summer.