Dual-branded Le Méridien, Sheraton to open bar and restaurant

Two bar and restaurant concepts will make their debut in uptown Charlotte, N.C., next month.

Plans call for rooftop bar City Lights and Craft City Social Club to open on June 2. Those concepts will be located at the dual-branded complex that houses Le Méridien Charlotte and the Sheraton Charlotte hotel.

That 605-room hotel is located at 555 S. McDowell St.

These additions will provide different outlets for guests as well as those looking for an experience in uptown, says John Thompson, hotel manager.

“We want to be a destination unto our own,” he added. “This is going to be a place that will be distinctive.”

Craft City Social Club was designed to be a social hub, Thompson said.

It will be located on the ground floor of the Sheraton.

That venue for 200 will meld outdoor dining and cocktails, with private cabanas and a game area that includes billiards, darts, foosball, life-sized Jenga and shuffle board.

Executive Chef Oscar La Fuente has created a menu of Nuevo Latino cuisine that can be grilled poolside and includes options, such as Argentine skirt steak, Mahi Mahi with peri peri sauce, grilled jerk chicken and Cuban sandwiches.

“We wanted to bring something that was evocative of that emotional connection you get in the summer with the sizzle of the grill and smell of smoke,” Thompson said.

The beverage program will feature by-the-pitcher service, offering a spin on traditional recipes, such as the freshly-muddled raspberry and mint mojito, cilantro and jalapeño margarita or white peach and basil sangria.

In addition, the social club will offer a cask barrel program, with limited-edition spirits and infusions that are aged in whiskey and bourbon barrels. It will be possible for guests to create a personalized recipe as well.

Craft City Social Club will serve brunch on weekends between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. It will offer dinner poolside Monday through Saturday starting 4 p.m. On Sundays, it will close at 6 p.m.