Red@28th — Restaurant in Charlotte

Respectable food, eclectic atmosphere, and nice staff. Upon entering, the first thing you'll notice is a lounge area filled with a multitude of books to read and purchase (if desired). Across from that is the bar area that is in the same place as it was when operated by People's Market (previous venue). At the bar area it appears you can order drinks along with hookah items, though we went for lunch so we didn't try either of these options so I can't speak to them.

When walking towards the back of the restaurant, they have a blast from the past with some old school retro video games and some sweet video game paraphernalia on the walls (see images attached). They also appears to have kept the same area that People's Market had in the back when ordering food, but note that this is only where food comes out and is not where you would go to order food like it was with People's Market. Instead, you can sit down at a table and be served individually by the wait staff.

The staff was friendly, helpful, and attentive, but I can't really speak to how they would have been when busy since we went right after it opened so we were one of the few in the restaurant at the time.

The food is standard american food with some different options from the standard (like both a Philly Cheesesteak and a NY Cheesesteak). I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak while my colleagues ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and the chicken tenders. All the food was what you'd expect it to be and of decent quality. It wasn't necessarily what you'd get in Philly as a Philly Cheesesteak, but I only expect that from a few Charlotte based restaurants so I wasn't expecting that (especially since my dad's family is from Philly so I am rather particular in a quality Philly Cheesesteak). That said, the meat was juicy and well seasoned. The cheese and veggies were also well done with the correct combination of cheese to veggies (for a standard Cheesesteak), and the quality of ingredients and seasoning overall was respectable.

My colleagues both started their food was what was expected, nothing more, but nothing less from a chicken tenders and as grilled chicken sandwich. The fries aren't my favorite, simply because crinkle cut fries aren't my preference since I prefer a thinner, crispier fry, but the seasoning of the fries was well done.

The left side of the restaurant had a completely separate area separated by glass (which used to be fully open when owned by People's Market), but they did a good job of updating it and making it appear comfortable. We decided to eat on a retro couch in the front of the restaurant by the windows, which I found to be rather nice and unique, similar to the eclectic seating at an Amelie's Bakery.

The hookah bar is not really my thing, but I'm sure for others is a great option. The alcoholic beverages also appear to be popular but again, being that it was lunch, I unfortunately can't share any opinions about either. That said, if you want a unique experience with live music (at night supposedly), or a live poetry reading, while smoking some hookah, getting some drinks and eating some decent food, then this would be a place worth...

The experience was lackluster. I will say there were no unfriendly interactions and the DJ was great but the staff themselves were uncaring and slow. We weren’t served until nearly an hour after arriving. The waitress whose section we sat in told us she got off at ten after waiting 15 minutes for her to show up and stop by which lead to my confusion about how exactly we were SUPPOSED to be served. Then she took my company and I to a different section with servers that were still active. After another 24 minutes of seating. My server finally showed up to take an order. We got a hookah and some alcohol. The alcohol then came ANOTHER 15 min later which wouldn’t have been bad had we not already been there nearly 45 minutes. The hookah arrived another ten minutes after. And after finally getting settled with what we asked for the only interaction my server gave was him walking past me quickly giving a thumbs up in corespondence to my table instead of ACTUALLY stopping and addressing our needs. We saw him double the times in passing but less than half that time were our needs actually addressed. The coal in our hookah nearly reduced to complete ash before it was replaced BOTH TIMES. We were asked if we wanted more drinks and he didn’t take a new drink order he quickly said okay and then brought us the same thing. He said alcohol was out of stock on minute then took a drink order for the alleged out of stock alcohol the next (when we could flag him down to ask for something different.) The staff was taking shots and dancing together which may have added to the distraction. I watched them take at least 3-4 I cannot say this was staff on or off the clock but it was very public and added fuel to the fire of frustration when the service was SEVERELY more than lackluster.

But hey. At least THEY had a good time. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Oh yeah my company and I later ordered food that never came. We ordered food before the 2nd hookah coal. We were done with the hookah completely and ready to leave before it came but if we could’ve gotten a hold of our server. Perhaps we could’ve addressed that issue before it was time to...

Red has the true potential to be the best spot in Charlotte to hang out and just eat, socialize, hookah, or any combination of those things.

There is such a vibe here they created with how it's set up with sitting pods of couch chair mixtures all throughout the building. The furniture is worn out yes but it's an intentional vision. The bar seating is pretty large and the music volume isn't on 10( which is plus). The food is impeccable. They also have AMAZING WEEKLY SPECIALS that are just impossible to beat and truly keep customers coming. Theres alot of natural light and its feels safe. They are never out of hookah flavors and they replace coals in a timely manner.

The Wait staff and service times is a big issue. They don't have a good system to keep watch on who comes in. I can't stand having to go find someone to take my order if I don't sit at the bar. Don't offer alternative seating options if you cant handle them. The food is great but the turn around time is crazy on some days just like others say. I don't always have a long time so I would love to come in grab a hook and dinner, and be out in an hour, but kitchen too slow. It has outside patio and a shop of smoking supplies in the back. It has so much potential they could take over with the right leadership and some TLC. So to recap:

Food-9 Hookah-9 Atmosphere-10 Wait Staff-3 Wait time for food-2 Bathrooms-6 Aesthetics-7 ( would be a 9 if seats had cushions and I could be sure the tables and chairs were cleaned or sanitized periodically).

You guys can easily fix the stuff that's off. You have a strong framework...