West Charlotte applauds plans for resurrecting Excelsior Club: ‘Long time coming’
Inside First Baptist Church-West on Thursday evening, it felt less like a fundraiser and more like a family gathering, a sentiment immediately recognized by those who remember the iconic Excelsior Club that was being honored.
“It’s like a family reunion in here tonight,” said Angie Drakeford, whose uncle, Jimmie McKee, founded the club.
About 150 people filled the church space to celebrate the history and potential new beginning for the Excelsior Club. The latest plan to revive the site includes knocking down the building and rebuilding a near-replica that will be part community gathering space and restaurant and live music venue.
The church is about a half-mile from the historic two-story, white and black-trimmed building at 921 Beatties Ford Road.
The “Celebration of Life” event honored the landmark that has sat vacant for a decade, its roof caved in, while looking ahead to a promised resurrection.
“The room is filled with not only the history of our community but the people who have continued the vision. The vision of their families, the west side and our community,” said neighborhood leader Roslyn Dixon introducing sponsors of the redevelopment project.
Excelsior Club, a cornerstone of Black history in Charlotte
Founded in 1944 by James “Jimmie” Robert McKee and his wife, Minnie, the Excelsior Club served as Charlotte’s first exclusive nightclub for Black residents.
During the Jim Crow era and beyond, it was a vital social and cultural hub, hosting iconic performers like Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong. Beyond entertainment, the club was a cornerstone of nightlife and a primary gathering place for Black political and community leaders to network and develop strategies related to the civil rights movement.
The club also was recognized nationally as a travel sanctuary for Black Americans, having been listed in “The Negro Motorist Green Book” from 1963 to 1967.
Architecturally, the building is one of the last remaining Art Moderne-style structures in Charlotte.
But following integration, club attendance declined. The building closed for repairs in 2016, and never reopened. In 2019, it was added to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of 11 most endangered historic places.
The site has faced multiple failed revival attempts, and is now listed as not being fit for occupation in city property records.
“I’ve watched it decay, and it’s time for it to resurrect,” said Thelma Byers Bailey, a former school board member who held her bridal shower at club. Her parents, including her father were longtime members of the club. Walter G. Byers Elementary School is named for her father, who was a principal of Fairview School, an all-black elementary school during segregation.
The $8.3 million vision for Excelsior Club
Local developer Shawn Kennedy of Kennedy Properties & Development, in partnership with Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, is determined to be the one to bring the Excelsior back.
Ken Koontz, one of the club’s former owners, called Kennedy’s plan “bold” and in the “right direction” following in the same spirit of past generations. The goal is ambitious: to build Excelsior back into an arts, civic engagement and hospitality destination.
The developers have determined the original century-old structure is no longer salvageable. The plan involves demolishing the building and constructing a near-replica on the same Beatties Ford Road footprint.
The replica building will include the second floor and awning, with the addition of rooftop seating, Kennedy said Thursday. While the building footprint is the same, two back lots will provide additional parking, helping to solve an issue that had stalled a previous boutique hotel plan.
Kennedy, who has had site control of the property for about a year, recently filed a rezoning petition through his nonprofit, Historical Excelsior Inc., to develop the site.
The property is currently owned by Kenwood Investments, which purchased it in 2019 for $1.35 million. Kenwood also bought two lots behind Excelsior on Sanders Avenue for $325,000 in 2022, Mecklenburg County property records show.
Kenwood Investments’ plan was to establish a 1950s-designed boutique hotel and museum. Those plans failed following a May 2023 community meeting, primarily due to a shortage of parking spaces.
The total reconstruction cost is now $8.3 million, up from an initial $7.8 million proposal. The project is backed by $3 million in public funding, split evenly between the city and the county, and includes $2.3 million the developers are placing into the restaurant.
With most of the funding raised, Kennedy said Thursday that $300,000 is still needed to fill the gap to “restore the lighthouse on Beatties Ford Road.”
“This is a long time coming. We all who we’ve been waiting for,” Kennedy said. “We were waiting for somebody else when it was this community that needed to bring back Excelsior.”
A new purpose for the Excelsior Club
The rebuilt facility, expected to open in early 2028, is envisioned as having a dual purpose.
During the day, it will operate as a living museum, offering free meeting space for nonprofits, John C. Smith University and West Charlotte High School.
In the evenings, it will revert to its social function as a restaurant and live entertainment venue.
Marcellie Johnson of the University area said she misses the club’s food and dancing. She’s excited for the new vision.
“They need to go ahead and tear it down and rebuild it,” she said.
Before filing plans to demolish the building within the next two weeks, Kennedy planned Thursday night’s event to honor the structure. “I would just like to take a moment to think back and remember and pray for what the structure was and all the beautiful members we had,” Kennedy said.
The sentiment was echoed by others eager to see the revival succeed.
Charlotte attorney Jay Ferguson, son of iconic civil rights attorney James “Jay” Ferguson III, called it a very important vision. “We need to support this. This is the beginning of something new,” he said.
Stanley Wade, who moved to Charlotte 21 years ago, recalled visiting the club for Thirsty Thursdays and Tuesday Fish Fry.
“I have fond memories of the Excelsior Club, especially during the CIAA (basketball tournament) to get some fish and grits.” He added: “It was a wonderful establishment, and everyone talked about it and what it meant to the community. I’m excited about the development.”
City Councilman Malcolm Graham lauded Kennedy for succeeding where others have stalled.
“We’ve been at this door before trying to get it done. Shawn has gotten it done. I want to congratulate him, and thank him for believing in us. Our history. Our traditions. Our corridor. And he’s not by himself,” Graham said. “It’s we the people.”
Shamaiye Haynes, a former nonprofit leader and CMS board member, said the work doesn’t end with the building. “It’ll be up to us to make sure that it remains.” Haynes said, “and that it is what we want it to be.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 11:40 AM with the headline "West Charlotte applauds plans for resurrecting Excelsior Club: ‘Long time coming’."
