OMB’s new Ballantyne site will be south Charlotte’s biggest brewery
Charlotte’s oldest brewery’s expansion has been delayed by about a week at The Bowl at Ballantyne, even as the sounds of electric saws and hammering on a recent afternoon flashed signs of progress toward finishing construction.
Olde Mecklenburg Brewery had expected to open for Memorial Day weekend but instead will debut June 1 at 15119 Bowl St. due to weather-related and other construction delays, Chief Operating Officer Jim Birch told The Charlotte Observer during a recent tour of the site.
OMB will be the largest brewery in south Charlotte with 14,000 square feet of indoor space, a 7,000square-foot patio, and second-level mezzanine balcony and patio for private events.
Like OMB’s lower South End brewery, it will be family-friendly and include a playground.
The stand-alone building anchors Northwood Investors LLC Bowl at Ballantyne development overlooking a 1-acre, treecanopied beer garden. It’s part of Ballantyne Reimagine mixed-use development that includes an amphitheater, greenway, retail and apartments.
The first restaurant to open is Phoenix-based Flower Child on Tuesday, followed by North Italia on May 29. Other restaurants including The Salty doughnut shop, Bossy Beaulah’s Chicken Shack, Harriet’s and Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen. New York grocer Wegmans plans to open in 2026.
This will be the 14-yearold brewery’s second Charlotte location. OMB moved from its original 215 Southside Drive 10 years ago to 4150 Yancey
Road in Lower South End.
The red brick building at Ballantyne has several free parking options including a shared lot, a nearby garage and other spaces nearby. It’s also close to the greenway.
A PEEK INSIDE OMB BALLANTYNE
Inside OMB Ballantyne is a mix of wood, brick, concrete and tile with soft lighting.
“Anyone who has been to OMB will recognize the atmosphere here. It’s just brighter and more airy,” Birch said.
The floors are stained concrete against white walls lined with large windows letting in natural light. The focal point of the open room is the wraparound bar with seating for about 44 people. A brick wall with shelving offers some separation.
Large copper piping towers from Germany feed the draft beer taps. There are 36 taps at the inside bar, 12 more at the bar upstairs, and 20 in the beer garden. The fullservice bar also will have wine bottle service.
The light-colored ash wood on the bar top is the same wood used in in the ceiling. Birch said the slats of wood are meant to help with sound dampening.
A shelf rail in the main seating area will display a collection of German beer steins will be added, Birch said.
Along with the fullservice seating is a front lounge area. There will be several eight-foot, doubledecker iron chandeliers with hop design above the lounge area, plus barrel stave double-tiered iron and copper bottomed installed upstairs. The chandeliers each weigh up to 300 pounds, Birch said.
The upstairs has a private outdoor patio.
Outside in the front is a patio with 66 full-service bistro beer garden tables covered by umbrellas from Germany. In the back is a large patio for more seating with metal work of hop vines in the deck skirting and rails.
Just off the patio is a window for food pickup off the kitchen to serve the beer garden.
In the beer garden are two shipping containers creating the beer hut. There’s a separate outdoor building for garden restrooms. Six large wooden benches will be installed, similar to LoSo, that can seat about eight people. There’s also a playground in the back and an outdoor rental space, Birch said.
With this design, a customer doesn’t have to come inside the full-service restaurant, Birch said.
The fully automated kitchen has a main line, plus an overflow kitchen area. The German-inspired food, like sausages and Reuben sandwiches, complement OMB’s beers, Birch said.
Hiring is underway for about 100 full- and parttime employees at the new location. The LoSo brewery has about 150 workers.
MORE OMB LOCATIONS OPENING
Olde Mecklenburg Brewery also plans to open two breweries just outside of Charlotte.
The third OMB location will open in Mount Holly at 725 Elm St. inside a former water treatment plant space in December 2025. “It’s such a cool space. It’s literally right on the Catawba River,” Birch said. It will be smaller but has room to expand as needed, Birch said.
The fourth OMB brewery, taproom and beer garden will open in Cornelius in 2027, Birch said. It’s near the Northwood Ravin development.
OMB also is opening a beer garden this year at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
PART OF ‘BALLANTYNE REIMAGINED’
Northwood owns and manages 535 acres, 4.4 million square feet of office space, four hotels with nearly 600 rooms, a 212-unit luxury apartment building and 2.5 million square feet of LEED-certified space.
In 2017, Northwood Investors bought the Ballantyne corporate park for $1.2 billion from local developer the Bissell Cos. Dubbed “Ballantyne Reimagined,” the 25-acre Northwood Office LLC development between Ballantyne and Aloft hotels will create an “urban, walkable” community.
Northwood has invested $100 million in infrastructure, including roads and stream.
OMB and nearby retail will complement the nearby office buildings, Birch said. “I honestly think it’s going to be one of the top destinations in Charlotte,” he said.