Hidden gem in Charlotte’s Oakhurst neighborhood where the menu is as creative as the food
April 9, 2026
Painted Rooster keeps a beloved neighborhood corner spot alive
With a former Futo Buta chef at the helm, the Plaza Midwood restaurant adds new flavor to a beloved staple
by Michelle Boudin
The Painted Rooster may be the newest wing shop in Charlotte, but even owner Zach Current admits the chicken tenders have stolen the show.
“The tenders are the real story, and I know the reason why,” Current says. “It’s because we’re using the best ingredients you can use, with Springer Mountain chicken tenders, and marinating them in buttermilk and seasoning the breading ourselves. The chicken nuggets and the tenders have totally taken over.”
Painted Rooster is the newest concept from Charlotte hospitality duo Current and his wife Crissy Oliver, who are about to celebrate ten years with their first concept, Moo and Brew. Last summer, the couple took over the iconic corner at Thomas and Central avenues that was home to Zada Jane’s for 17 years. The Painted Rooster opened in June with the idea that everyone loves a good chicken wing.
“We put a lot of energy into making good chicken,” Current says. “We have the best chicken wings that you can make. We have traditional crispy, double fried wings. You cook it and then you cook it again and that’s how you get that crispy wing and then our second way is charbroiled. We fry the chicken and then sauce the chicken and then put it on a char grill. And then you get all these great sauces to choose from.”
Current brought in former Futo Bata John Moyer, saying the chef is behind all of the creativity with the sauces.
“We hired a chef for a chicken wing, chicken tender, and salad place and that chef has done an amazing job of putting together 15 sauces that aren’t straight out of the jug,” Current says. “He’s taking the intricacies of what they put into their ramen bowls at Futo Buta, and we’ve pulled stuff from that to use on our wings. The guy is back there like a chemist putting things together. A month ago, we introduced our red dragon sauce and it’s got 14 different ingredients.”
Current says another standout menu item is the fried pickles, estimating one out of every third table orders them. But he admits, that may have as much to do with the house-made ranch dip that comes with them. “People love that stuff. This one guy comes in and orders a pint of ranch every time he comes in. We brought back a Plaza Midwood classic with the fried pickle and we’ve elevated it. It’s the best fried pickle in town.”
There are some more inventive starters as well, including a nod to one of Current’s favorite foods. “We have buffalo chicken wontons. It’s a buffalo dip wrapped in a wonton, served with our homemade ranch.”
If you’re looking for a healthier option, the Painted Rooster has you covered there as well.
“We’ve dedicated a third of the menu space to salads. When we were first dreaming this up it was chicken and cheap beer. It’s buckets of beer. We have a lot of bottle beer from all over the country. So we’ve got wings and beer and what was missing was to have a really strong salad selection so we source our lettuce from Adrina Farms, an urban farm at the Innovation Barn off Louise Avenue. You can also build your own salad with more than 40 ingredients.”
On the off chance you have room for dessert, there’s a Cheerwine float and a fried apple pie made from scratch.
“This really is a dream. It gives us an opportunity to do something we think is a real need, to have places where people can congregate, enjoy each other’s company and have food worth paying for and at a price point where we can welcome all kinds of clientele but quality still comes first. We measure our success by the level of happiness in the dining room and the patio. The feedback so far is that we’re doing things mostly right.”
