‘It’s going to be great’: Midnight Diner moves to Uptown Charlotte

Excitement is growing for people passing by the corner of Caldwell and East Trade Street, after seeing their favorite Charlotte staple popup overnight in a new spot.
The Charlotte staple officially has a new location in Uptown and to say it caught people’s attention is an understatement.
Published: Nov. 3, 2022 at 6:08 PM EDT
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Whether Charlotte is your new or long-time home, you know what Midnight Diner is.

The Charlotte staple officially has a new location in Uptown and to say it caught people’s attention is an understatement.

Excitement is growing for people passing by the corner of Caldwell and East Trade Street, after seeing their favorite Charlotte staple pop up overnight in a new spot.

Angela Herbert said, “That’s going to be phenomenal.”

Lindsey Smith added, “It’s easy to get to, there’s a lot of condos in both directions.”

Read: Popular ‘Midnight Diner’ moving to new location across from Spectrum Center

The Midnight Diner is already drawing the attention of people in Charlotte less than 24 hours after the building moved.

“I was amazed because I was just on the train and looked at Carson Street and I didn’t see it there, I just saw all of this dirt and I was laughing like what happened to it?” said Herbert.

The old location sits mostly bear with bulldozers clearing the area. The only sign of the diner is the entrance to the diner sitting in the back parking lot.

Herbert added, “so when I got off the train, I noticed that it was here.”

A short walk from the light rail station near the Spectrum Center.

The new location for the diner is 420 East Trade Street, at the corner of Caldwell Street.

“I think it’s a great idea to have a diner down here in Charlotte that’s going to open up,” said Smith.

People living and working in the area are hopeful it will help transform the area and draw more businesses.

Herbert said, “That’s going to make more money, they already have one diner, the Red Eye Diner at the Epicentre, now they’re going to have this one, and all of the functions that they have down here, it’s going to be great, really great.”

The former location closed in September because that lot is now slated for redevelopment, an area that will transform into residential and retail shops. Although gone, memories remain from the old location.

Herbert said, “That was amazing because I used to eat there when I would go to the panther’s stadium, or when I would go out to party, it was a nice little spot to eat.”

With the new location in Uptown, Midnight Diner already has one new customer waiting for it to open. “I didn’t get a chance to go there before it moved, but now that it’s literally three blocks away, I’m going to frequent it once it’s open,” said Smith.

WBTV reached out to Midnight Diner but has not heard back from the owners on the move. A manager at the sister restaurant, Red Eye Diner told WBTV they’re not sure when the new location will open.