A Road Trip Through North Carolina’s Reinvented Core
The cities of Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte are innovating a cool future through art, food, and a celebration of the past.
North Carolina’s Piedmont region is becoming known for reinvention. Its former textile mills and tobacco warehouses are being transformed into innovation hubs and food halls, and many people have flocked to the area to live. I’m contemplating moving myself. Would I have new places to put on my list? So last October, when I headed to Charlotte for the inaugural BayHaven Food & Wine Festival—a three-day, Harlem Renaissance–themed culinary event with Black chefs, mixologists, and Black-owned wine and spirit brands from around the United States—I arrived early to explore.