{"id":3703,"date":"2021-07-30T17:43:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T17:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaisconstruction.com\/?p=3703"},"modified":"2024-04-26T18:48:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:48:28","slug":"charlotte-biz-journal-article-big-ben-pub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaisconstruction.com\/charlotte-biz-journal-article-big-ben-pub\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Ben Pub- Charlotte Biz Journal Article"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Jennifer Thomas<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Senior Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal<\/div>\n
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Big Ben\u2019s take on a modern British pub opens in Charlotte\u2019s Elizabeth neighborhood on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The restaurant and pub is located at 1535 Elizabeth Ave. \u2014 formerly home to Carpe Diem. The move to Elizabeth came after Big Ben was displaced from its home at Atherton Mill in South End after a nearly decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everything worked out how it should have. I\u2019m happy we found this space,\u201d says owner\u00a0Neel Gandhi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He and his business partners are also behind Caswell Station, Clutch Kitchen & Pour House and Graham St. Pub & Patio.<\/p>\n

Big Ben will be serving food on Thursday but is still waiting on its liquor license, he says.<\/p>\n

The new location offers more space, ample parking and is close to the Charlotte Independence soccer club\u2019s headquarters. It\u2019s also roughly 1.5 miles from Big Ben\u2019s original Providence Road home, which was destroyed in a fire in 2010.<\/p>\n

Big Ben has built a following for its English fare. It has become a gathering place to watch professional soccer and enjoy live music.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to be that neighborhood sports bar and pub,\u201d Gandhi says.<\/p>\n

Staples such as Scottish Meat Pies, sausage rolls, Bangers n\u2019 Mash and the fish and chips remain menu staples. A traditional English breakfast will be served on weekends.<\/p>\n

But a larger kitchen will support an expanded menu, Gandhi says. The extra room provides opportunities for creativity, with monthly chef specials planned to test new menu items.<\/p>\n

Sixteen taps will offer a mix of English beers as well as some local craft options.<\/p>\n

The roughly 5,500-square-foot space has been transformed. Instead of a traditional-style English pub, Big Ben delivers a modern spin with an open-concept offering. Its footprint is twice size of the South End restaurant, making that possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put a lot of work into it,\u201d Gandhi says. \u201cWe\u2019ve modernized Big Ben, but we\u2019ve kept the flavor of an English pub.”<\/p>\n

Hand-crafted wood tables as well as eye-catching copper ones, with copper seats and tufted leather booths, are tucked in the space. Pops of red and blue \u2014 drawing inspiration from the British flag \u2014 can be found throughout. The red bar front just inside the entrance serves as a focal point, offset by blue bar stools.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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