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Crowds packed downtown Concord on Saturday as the city continued its celebration of the holidays with trolley rides, Santa and Mrs. Claus visits and Small Business Saturday specials.

Families frequenting restaurants and shops on main-drag Union Street and nearby roads were a welcome sight after two years of barricades and road-closed signs for a streetscape project. Businesses closed or moved as sales plummeted, CharlotteFive reported in August.

With most construction complete, shoppers are returning, buyers and business owners said Saturday.

“Downtown is alive again, and we’re loving it,” said Matt Peterson, manager of The Mullet thrift store.

“Downtown Concord people are starting to feel the energy again,” Lori Konawalik said. “They see the light at the end of the tunnel, that the streets were paved, and the sidewalks are so welcoming. There’s definitely a different energy now.”

Konawalik and her husband, Nick, opened the downtown Concord location of their Charlotte-based Mac Tabby Cat Cafe a year into COVID.

They endured construction of three condo towers beside and across from their 1863 building on Market Street, two years before the start of the nearby Union Street project.

Work on the condo towers came with street closures, water issues, outside debris and large cranes, Lori Konawalik said. “Literally anything that comes with being in the middle of construction,” she said.

“I’m a little bit stubborn,” Konawalik said as customers continued streaming into the cafe around 3 p.m. A band hired by the cafe played outside as customers relaxed at tables near a fire pit.

“I knew the potential of this town,” she said. “We knew it from the very beginning. We knew they’d do the remodel on Union Street. “

As a business owner, “you’ve got to keep walking past fear,” she said. “You have to step over it. You persevere.

“Do you love this enough that whatever happens — COVID, road closures — you just have to want it bad enough that you see it through to the other side,” Konawalik said.

Some businesses, however, saw sales plummet so much they couldn’t survive. Others moved or temporarily closed.

Anchor restaurant Gianni’s Trattoria left downtown at the end of March. The Cigar Loft closed in June, and Tokyo-Hanoi Fusion temporarily closed in early August, CharlotteFive previously reported.

Cabo Winery, Table 11 restaurant and Union Street Nutrition also closed in August.

“It was sad a few months ago,” Amelia Sexton, an 18-year-old Concord native and freshman at UNC Chapel Hill, said as she relaxed with her sister, brother and dad at Press & Porter Coffeehouse on Union Street South on Saturday.

“I saw shops open and close within three months,” she said.

The scene is different now, she and sister, Claire, a 21-year-old senior at UNC Chapel Hill, said.

“It’s been transformed,” Claire Sexton said. “I haven’t been on this street in years. I’ve never seen it this busy, and with so many young people.”

“It’s really like ‘Gilmore Girls,’” Amelia Sexton said, referring to the 2000s comedy-drama TV series. “It feels warm and cozy.”

Union Street Cafe opened in October and was packed with diners Saturday. Luxury salon Luxe at the Loft had its grand opening Nov. 2 at 11 Cabarrus Ave.

And more businesses are on the way to Union Street, including Charlotte homemade ice cream maker Two Scoops Creamery early next year and Charros Mexican Restaurant soon.

Garrett Paslo, a bartender at Lil’ Robert’s Place craft beer bar on Union Street, has witnessed the transformation.

“Everything being shut down here really put a hurtin’ on business in general,” he said. “The past week, things have been opening up, they’re getting everything squared away, and it’s been amazing to see people out enjoying the social district, enjoying downtown Concord. The past couple of days, business has been amazing.”

Roger and Paula Werth drove the 15 or 20 minutes from their home in Harrisburg to walk the downtown Concord social district and sit in the sun Saturday with porters from Lil’ Robert’s Place, a longtime favorite haunt.

“This is the first time we’ve been back since they opened the street,” Paula Werth said. The crowds impressed her, she said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s going to be like once the weather gets warmer” and restaurants put tables outside, Paula Werth said. She predicts even bigger crowds.

Cathy Jones likewise sees success for downtown Concord.

“I think it’s going to rebound,” the real estate broker and developer said as she enjoyed a Moroccan mint tea with lavender at Press & Porter. “I’m optimistic. I’m in real estate.”

Further down Union Street, 2 Gals Kitchen, which seats about 65, was nearly full with diners at 2 p.m. Saturday. Its street block is still under construction.

“We just want people to know downtown Concord’s alive, we’re thriving, there’s lots of businesses still down here,” owner Mary Niemeier said as she worked the kitchen. “And it’s beautiful down here. We got nice places to walk, places to eat, drink, shop. So we want people to keep coming.”

“We’re definitely seeing a light at the end of the tunnel,” Niemeier said. “We’re on an upswing over here, and it’s going to be great for everybody downtown.”

Visitors see it’s now easy to get around, and parking decks and garages offer plenty of spaces, she said. “People are ready to serve them,” she said. “We want people to know we’re open and ready to roll.”

In August, as the streetscape project dragged on, Robert Burrage told CharlotteFive that he closed Lil’ Robert’s Place during much of the construction and only recently reopened on Fridays.

Burrage, whose family has lived in the area for seven generations, also owns The Mullet, which adjoins Lil’ Robert’s Place and also has a bar.

Lil’ Robert’s Place looks forward to its 15th anniversary in February, Peterson, manager of the thrift store at The Mullet, said Saturday.

“So long as we make it to spring, I don’t see what’ll stop us from another 15 years,” he said.

This story was originally published December 2, 2024, 5:00 AM.

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Valor Preparatory Academy in Concord quietly voted Friday not to renew its charter for next year in a move that clears the way for another charter school to move into its building — a decision state officials called “unprecedented.”

The Math and Science Academy of Charlotte, which currently has two locations in the university area and affiliated schools elsewhere in the state, plans to move its secondary school campus for grades six through 12 into Valor’s campus, which is larger and will allow TMSA to expand. Parents and staff either found out about the move after a presentation to the state on Monday or after formal notifications went out Monday afternoon, according to statements made during the North Carolina Charter Schools Review Board meeting Monday.

The Charter Schools Review Board voted Tuesday to allow TMSA to move its campus to the location in Cabarrus County. The new location is about 8 miles from the current one.

“(TMSA’s) limited capacity currently restricts enrollment and prevents the development of a robust and competitive high school program,” Ashley Baquero, director of the North Carolina Office of Charter Schools, told the Charter Schools Review Board Monday. “Essentially, they’re looking to expand their program, make it better and have the resources that they need to fully live out their STEAM mission.”

TMSA currently serves more than 800 students across both of its Charlotte campuses. With the expansion into Cabarrus County, the school projects a total enrollment of around 1,460 students.

Valor Prep, which has been open since 2014, received a D from the state last year in its annual school performance grades. However, it was not in danger of being shut down by the state. TMSA Charlotte received a C.

Valor Prep’s board voted to voluntarily relinquish its charter, effective June 30, 2025. It’s a move the Charter Schools Review Board said was unusual.

“It’s just never happened before where there’s such a big school that’s not at risk of major financial or compliance issues just giving up its charter,” Charter Schools Review Board member Alex Quigley said Monday.

“Most closures, at least in my memory, tend to be schools that are smaller and kind of in the death spiral,” he said.

So, why did Valor Prep’s board vote to close it?

The school is currently managed by Charter Schools USA, a for-profit company that’s one of the largest education management companies in the nation. Charter Schools USA also owns the land used by Valor.

Claire Porter, Charter Schools USA’s deputy director of school support and compliance, said the closure allows Charter Schools USA and the school’s board to “focus resources and energies on other schools.” Valor’s board currently oversees three other charter schools in the Charlotte area.

Valor Prep didn’t tell students’ families about the closure prior to bringing it to the state Charter Schools Review Board. Staff were notified at 3:30 pm on Monday, and families were told at 4:30 pm, Porter said.

“The summary is that 800 to 900 students and families who have not been directly told yet are going to be losing or not being a part of their school, Valor Prep Academy, because it was more profitable or better strategically for the company to sell those buildings to direct resources elsewhere?” board member Eric Sanchez asked Monday.

“It was a strategic business move, and we’re attempting to facilitate that to cause the least displacement for those families as we possibly can,” Porter said.

Porter assured that current charter school students will receive priority in enrollment when TMSA opens at its new location, including current Valor Prep students. Valor Prep staff can be interviewed for roles at the new school, TMSA superintendent Ben Karaduman said Monday.

Board members held off voting on the expansion until Tuesday morning, after Valor Prep families and staff were notified of its closure and they had ensured all legal requirements had been met. The board voted to approve the expansion Tuesday after a brief discussion.

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It’s a chance to give back to a woman who gave so much to the Concord community

CONCORD, N.C. (WBTV) - Former Concord City Councilwoman Ella Mae Small was honored on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Small, who served on the Concord City Council for 15 years and the new electrical building in town was named in her honor.

However, her senior community is honoring her with a special makeover at Brooksdale Senior Living.

On Tuesday morning a design team came and cleared out Small’s room for a one day transformation.

The former councilwoman was chosen out of hundreds of residents for this upgrade. It’s a chance to give back to a woman who gave so much to the Concord community.

It doesn’t take long to realize this 90-year-old is someone really special.

“I don’t feel like I’m 90. I really don’t!” said Small.

Small served the Concord community for decades. She dedicated 42 years of her life to kids as a teacher earning Teacher of the Year for Concord Schools, gave 50 years at the Logan Community Child Development Center, was recognized by the NAACP of Cabarrus County for her work, and served on Concord City Council for 15 years.

“You’ve got to really be devoted and remember that you are there to serve the people,” she said.

“I miss it, but I know that I need to pass the mantel. You know, when you’ve done all that you feel like you can do, and I had reached that point,” She continued.

In 2022, she moved into Brookdale Senior Living continuing to be a friend to all.

“She’s always helping around here. She’ll help any resident that needs help. All they have to do is ask,” said Kim Easley Resident Engagement Coordinator. “Sometimes they don’t have to ask, but she goes out of her way to help other people.

So much so that she was chosen out of hundreds of residents for an apartment makeover.

“I cannot wait till she walks into that room and she sees she sees her, she sees her story. She sees this beautiful life journey through esthetics. I can’t wait!” Indigo Pruitt Design Studio Owner and Principal Designer Marie Cloud said.

At 90 years old, she is still serving on several committees at her church and bringing joy to her neighbors at Brookdale Senior Living.

While Small will see the big reveal on Tuesday tonight, she’ll be featured in the ‘Make it Mine’ interior design show made especially for Brookdale residents, which you’ll be able to watch her episode on YouTube in February.

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