Review Archive/September 2012
Updated September 1, 2012


Nana's Soulfood, Charlotte, NC
Close to the Real Deal!

By Jay Whipple/Trend Magazine Online™

I stumbled upon this new eatery after dropping a few of our QCT Charlotte Daily City Tour™ guests off at one of the nearby hotels off Tyvola Road in the airport area of southwest Charlotte. It is located in a relatively new shopping plaza which is in a very remote area of the Queen City, however, it sees a lot of commercial traffic from the airport and area businesses like the Belk Department Store headquarters ---just across the street -- and many more nearby corporations. In fact, rode through that area years ago and could not believe the many businesses that were tucked away in the woods and out of sight from the through traffic off Tyvola and Yorkmont Roads.

Just down the street from their location used to be the now defunct Charlotte Coliseum which was completed in the late 1980’s shortly after George Shinn was awarded the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise in 1988 – known today as the New Orleans Hornets. Back in the day that place was jumping with NBA games, concerts, the circus, and it even served as a shelter after Hurricane Hugo displaced many from the New Orleans area in 2005. Some of my most memorable moments in that place was watching the old Hornets beat the Chicago Bulls with the now legendary Michael Jordan at the helm, and attending the Feel the Heat concert tour featuring the late great R&B recording artist Luther Vandross. I also remember getting into a playful fight in the parking lot with my ex-business associate; that had to be broken up by the CMPD (Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department). It was a shame when the City of Charlotte decided to implode the $25 million-dollar building only two decades later in favor of the new arena in Uptown Charlotte, now home to the NBA Charlotte Bobcats. I actually have pictures of the demolition and will include them in my upcoming book entitled “More Charlotte From A Tour Guide’s Perspective.” It will be part two of my first book “Charlotte From A Tour Guide’s Perspective” currently available via amazon.com.

Now, back to the matter at hand; my first impression of Nana’s was that it was indeed very new, in fact just 2 ½ months old when I visited in May of 2011. I have recently gone back – August 2012 – and the interior still looks very new. The sanitation code, on my first visit, was 98.5, the dining area and patio were also clean, and the men’s room very clean. The staff was very friendly and cordial but I had to request a receipt for my meal. The service is cafeteria style and I ordered a small buffet, which comes with a fountain drink, and dessert was extra.

I selected the baked chicken which was delicious and just the way that I like it; not overcooked, light brown in color, and tender. The greens were tasty but not too soggy -- just the way they should be; the yams were sweet but not too syrupy, and the cornbread okay but fell short of the homemade quality. The banana pudding was good but tasted store bought an in my opinion a bit over-priced at $3.50 plus tax. My total meal, with taxes, came to $12.57 which is borderline pricy due to the extra cost of dessert. All in all I was quite pleased with this new start-up and my return trip over a year later exceeded my expectations; and this time I did not have to ask for a receipt.

Nana’s Soul Food is located in southwest Charlotte at 2908 Oaklake Blvd., Suite 106, Charlotte, NC, 28208. Their phone number is 704-357-3700 and their menu and discount coupons are online. Tell them that Trend Magazine Online™ sent you!




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