The Forum featuring Jamie Brown
April 4, 2025 | 6:30 PM | Mccoll center
How might we preserve the city’s history in the places we eat?
Savoring History: Preserving Charlotte’s Past Through Food & Hospitality
On April 4, 2025 The Charlotte Center host the Forum featuring Jamie Brown, co-founder of Supperland, Haberdish, Ever Andalo, Growlers Pourhouse, and Reigning Doughnuts, for an intimate conversation about how food and historic preservation intersect. With a passion for restoring historic buildings and transforming them into beloved dining destinations, Jamie has reimagined old spaces—like a former church turned award-winning steakhouse and a textile mill reborn as a Southern kitchen.
In this discussion, we explored the challenges and rewards of breathing new life into Charlotte’s historic spaces, the balance between innovation and authenticity, and how thoughtful design and storytelling can deepen our connection to a place.
The evening included live music, a sampling of food, conversation, and art – all in the historically repurposed McColl Center. Whether you’re a foodie, an architecture enthusiast, or simply passionate about Charlotte’s evolving identity, this conversation inspired us to see the city’s past – and imagine its future – in a whole new light.
Connect. Consider. Ignite. The program runs from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM including time for conversation, connections, and Q&A.
The Forum has a three-part structure:
• First third: Participants connect and build relationships in small break-out groups prompted by a question;
• Middle third: Participants consider a presentation that ends with the speaker posing a community-facing question;
• Final third: Participants discuss the question, igniting new ideas and interactions.
THE HUMANITIES | Languages | Literature | History | Philosophy | Religion | And More!
Participate in the important questions of our time. The Forum is a conversation and speaker series that brings people together to explore challenges and opportunities that affect human flourishing through the lens of the humanities and civic imagination.
