Hello All,


Thanks to all for the kind notes of encouragement on trying to keep our 'little' event afloat! Yes I hate that we have to move such a good thing due to a few hiccups but it is what it is now. All things happen for a reason and we hope to find a new local that is bigger and more accepting overall. It has taken us three years to get the word out to grow this event so I don't expect it to transform overnight. I informed the North Lake Commons property manager that many have heard of this via word of month and the internet postings do little to drive them to the event. I guess that this may take 2-3 months to really get around that this has moved so the pressure is on to find a new home.


This is proving to be a bigger bear to move than I originally thought. The suggestions that some of you have given has been good and are a tremendous help to this cause. The challenge is that none of them have been able to fit the key criteria (this may be a root cause of the issue of finding a place, maybe no place is perfect!).


-it needs to be near a main artery of the city. (I-85, I-77, 285, etc). Too far into the interior and logistics gets to be an issue.
-it has to be a location that has facilities open early enough to purchase coffee, breakfast foods, and be able to use the restrooms on site. Also our presence can't be a hinderance to traffic, existing businesses or public safety.
-it has to have property owners or managers that are accepting of the concept and willing to be a host (bigger issue than many of you can imagine)




Not a long list but one that has proven to be a bit challenging to fill. Please continue to send suggestions my way and I will check them out. I do not claim to be an expert on all things Charlotte so your help is appreciated greatly. Be patient and we will have a solution very soon. Please forgive me if I don't respond right away, I have managed to post this on around 40+ different sites long with Facebook and Linked In which has created an administrative surplus as you can imagine.


Thanks again,
Michael

Hello All,

Good new and bad news: The good news is that the Charlotte Area Cars and Coffee group has a new home! We have been invited by the owner of the NC Music Factory and Mattie's Diner to use their facility to host our monthly event. After several locations and site visits this is going to be the best location for us. It has all of the criteria plus some. We have a centralized location in Uptown Charlotte (off of Graham St/NC Music Factory Blvd- corner of Hamilton St and 12th), a very large parking facility, multiple outlets from the property, a great Diner to serve hot coffee and food, and a owner that is also caught up in the car craziness!

Bad news is that with the deal just inked at the last minute there are several things that need to be completed before we start. We need to give Mattie's a chance to prepare for the influx, to establish our event with the Uptown division of Charlotte's Police Department and to complete a new list of compliance rules that need to be approved that we must follow in order to get started. (As you know the poor decisions by a select few lead to this change, so to insure that this does not happen again, we need some rules laid out). I am going to postpone April's event and resume it in May. Thank you for understanding and I know we are probably going to miss a wonder day weather-wise but to insure that this is a long term home for us it is necessary.

I am glad this slight blip is over in our history but on to greater things at our new home!

See you in May,

Michael

We're back! Cars and Coffee has found a new home! Thank you for your patience and desire to keep this now Charlotte staple alive in this car crazy community. I believe all things happen for a reason and our new location will fit us better as it is accessible to more of Charlotte, as well as it is a space more conducive for us to grow and prosper. I'm excited about the new location because we are working with locally owned and operated businesses. The main lot is huge as it has ~700 spaces. That being said the spaces closest to the Diner should be reserved for regular diner patrons. If local car clubs or groups want to park together there is amble space to do so, there are four separate entrances to the lot, the closest to Mattie's may not be 'low car friendly' so try the other three. If needed their are additional lots that we can use if we happen to fill this one (highly doubt it but there are options).

Mattie's Diner is a fantastic old school eatery that is located at the front of the property. Matt has made some slight changes to accommodate the size of our crowd so bare with them as they learn our needs. There will be coffee as expected, carry out baked items and sit down full breakfasts if you desire, the space is cozy so be prepared. The owner of NC Music Factory has graciously offered the use of this property and in order to respect the jester we need to do our part. Below are a few bylaws we have to follow in order to continue to use the facility. If we ware out our welcome here we are pretty much without options! I can not begin to tell you how much of a challenge it has been to relocate and find a new car friendly location!

Here are the very simple rules:

- Absolutely no burnouts or horse play in the lot or the roads out front. It is irresponsible and safety is a huge concern for us. We trust your car is fast and you have unbelievable skills, there is no need to show us!

- No vendors will be allowed to set up tables, booths or tents. As before you can hand out fliers if you wish but no signage or structures allowed.

- The Uptown division of the Mecklenburg police department are well aware of our event and will patrol the area. Speeding and unlawful behavior will not be tolerated.

- We need to leave the facilities better than we find them on each visit. NC Music Factory is letting us use this facility free of charge so we need to respect it There are trash cans throughout the property please do please do not litter.

- Parking nearest to the Diner is reserved for regular restaurant patrons. We have the other 662 spaces!