By Ebony L. Morman

Before Jesse Fell and Brandon Camp owned one of NoDa’s neighborhood gathering places, they sold homemade teas and candles from a table outside their apartment.

The couple lived near North Davidson and 35th streets, where they spent weekends alongside other local vendors, getting to know the artists, entrepreneurs, and neighbors who gave the district its character.

“That was a really cool, enhancing experience, and really gave both of us a good feel for the spirit of the neighborhood,” Fell says. 

Nearly a decade later, Fell and Camp are opening their own doors to the neighborhood’s artists and makers.

They purchased the former NoDa Company Store in August 2025 and reintroduced it as Relic NoDa the following June. Now, alongside business partner Bridget Salter, they’re putting their own stamp on the familiar space while creating opportunities for the same kind of neighborhood vendors who helped them find their footing. Through a neighborhood vendor market, the owners now offer local artists and makers space to sell their creations, keeping vendor fees as low as possible. 

The pair had always imagined opening a place like Relic NoDa on their 22-acre farm in Shelby. But they also loved NoDa Company Store, where they’d spent years stopping in for groceries, attending free Sunday lunches, and getting to know their neighbors. The chance to bring that vision to a neighborhood they already loved was unexpected.

“We never could have imagined having the opportunity to do it in NoDa so soon,” Fell says.

Camp had spent about eight months managing NoDa Company Store when its previous owners approached the couple about buying it. Fell, who had worked as an interior designer, saw possibilities in the historic space. He and Camp began searching antique shops across North Carolina, collecting pieces that would make the space feel more like someone’s home than a typical bar.

The changes have given the old mill worker house a new kind of warmth. With more indoor seating, comfortable furniture, and antique finds throughout, the space has drawn comparisons to a grandmother’s house or a friend’s living room.

“That’s exactly the feeling that we wanted to go for,” Fell says. “It’s not too much of anything. It’s not too fancy. It’s not too pretentious. It’s not too relaxed.” 

Fell and Camp have given the property two distinct concepts under the name Relic and Riot. Inside, Relic honors the building’s history, offering an intimate, relaxed setting for wine and conversation. Outside, Riot embraces the livelier side of the property, with a patio that hosts live music, dance parties, weddings, and other celebrations. Together, the two spaces preserve the easygoing spirit that made the original company store a neighborhood favorite.

Some familiar touches remain, including the patio’s seating cabanas and swings. 

The owners have also made changes behind the bar. Fell expanded the wine selection to include bigger-name favorites and lesser-known bottles, with rotating options by the glass. The popular sangrias remain, but the team now makes its own fruit purees instead of relying on packaged concentrates. Some of the fruit comes from local farms, while herbs grown on-site and at the couple’s Shelby farm are added to drinks. 

As the weather cools, the menu shifts toward fall flavors, including an autumn spice red sangria, cranberry basil white sangria, and frozen apple cider. Guests can still order the frozen sake-based piña colada, known as the nodacolada, a longtime favorite that has survived the transition.

“We’re really trying to just evolve a little bit, as opposed to completely just change,” he says.

For now, the food menu remains small, with snacks such as bread and French butter and olives served with focaccia from Verdant Bread. Eventually, Fell and Camp hope to add a kitchen and bring more ingredients from their Shelby farm and other local growers to the table.

The couple’s ambitions extend beyond what’s on the menu. They want Relic NoDa to remain the kind of place where neighbors recognize one another, artists find an audience, and newcomers feel comfortable pulling up a chair.

It’s a feeling Fell and Camp know well, having spent their weekends behind a folding table outside their apartment. Only now, they’re the ones making room for someone else.

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