North Carolina

A new upscale southern comfort food restaurant is expanding to uptown Charlotte.

Kitchen + Kocktails’ newest location in Charlotte is located at 210 E Trade St.
Kitchen + Kocktails’ newest location in Charlotte is located at 210 E Trade St.

You’ll soon have another spot to get a taste of Southern comfort food in uptown Charlotte.

Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley, a Texas-based restaurant, is opening its new location at Queen City Quarter on June 1.

The “elevated Southern comfort concept” originally opened in 2020, and this will be the first in North Carolina.

Kitchen + Kocktails has over 50 combinations of elevated soul food.
Kitchen + Kocktails has over 50 combinations of elevated soul food. Courtesy of Kitchen + Kocktails

“We are beyond excited to bring Kitchen + Kocktails to the Queen City,” founder Kevin Kelley said in a statement. “I’ve always enjoyed connecting with people I’ve met from Charlotte over the years and am deeply humbled for the opportunity to join the city’s culinary community and deliver America’s greatest comfort food. Get ready!”

Kevin Kelley, founder of Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley.
Kevin Kelley, founder of Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley. Courtesy of Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley

[READ NEXT: Fried chicken, cornbread and cake — what brings you back to this Charlotte restaurant.]

While K+K is a restaurant known for its Southern soul food, the vision for the restaurant actually stems back to when Kelley lived in Europe — when he realized just how much he “missed the food that reminded him of home while overseas.”

Kitchen + Kocktails has a wide variety of specialty items, dinner dishes, small bites and more.
Kitchen + Kocktails has a wide variety of specialty items, dinner dishes, small bites and more. Courtesy of Kitchen + Kocktails

Once he was back home, K+K was born in Dallas, and it wasn’t long before he opened locations in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Kitchen + Kocktails newest location will be located at Queen City Quarter in Charlotte, NC.
Kitchen + Kocktails newest location will be located at Queen City Quarter in Charlotte, NC. Courtesy of Kitchen + Kocktails

K+K’s menu features 50+ combinations of dishes and hand-crafted cocktails, including:

  • Southern Fried Hot Honey Chicken

  • Surf and Turf featuring fire-grilled Caribbean jerk lamb chops

  • Lobster tail

  • Southern fried catfish

  • Shrimp and Grits

  • Peach D’usse Frozen, a peach flavored frozen cocktail

  • True Flame cocktail made with Don Q Puerto Rican rum

A cocktail from Kitchen + Kocktails, a Dallas-based Southern restaurant.
A cocktail from Kitchen + Kocktails, a Dallas-based Southern restaurant. Courtesy of Kitchen + Kocktails

Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley

Location: Queen City Quarter, 210 E Trade St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Cuisine: American, Southern

Menu

Instagram: @kitchenkocktailsusa

This story was originally published March 13, 2024 at 11:49 AM with the headline "A new upscale southern comfort food restaurant is expanding to uptown Charlotte.."

Chyna Blackmon
The Charlotte Observer
Chyna Blackmon was a service journalism reporter for The Charlotte Observer. A native of the Carolinas, she grew up in Columbia, SC, and graduated from Queens University of Charlotte. She’s also worked in local television news in Charlotte, NC, and Richmond, VA. Support my work with a digital subscription
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