by Kristen Wile

Jon and Amy Fortes, owners of The Flipside Cafe, Flipside Restaurant, Salmeri’s, and now FM Eatery. Photo courtesy

Amy and Jon Fortes have been a power couple in Charlotte’s dining scene since before they opened their first restaurant, The Flipside Cafe, in Fort Mill. Now, their empire is even larger: their restaurant group, The Flipside Restaurant Group, expanded to include its fourth concept over the weekend.

Fortes Mill Eatery, or FM Eatery, opened last week on Main Street in Fort Mill. The concept is a departure from the style of cooking the Fortes’ do at their other concepts, which lean more toward comfort food. The Flipside Cafe brings classic Southern, while Flipside Restaurant does so in a higher-end manner. Salmeri’s, which opened just a few days into the pandemic, features a menu of hearty Italian fare. FM Eatery gives the couple a greater chance to show off their culinary talents, with a menu of small plates and several entrées that aren’t centered on a single style of cuisine. 

“We want to do something different in Fort Mill,” Jon Fortes says. “We’ve always done very approachable food at Flipside and Salmeri’s, and I wanted to get back to some of the stuff I was doing before in Chicago and even when I first came to Charlotte.”

On the menu, guests will find dishes that focus on local ingredients, something the Forteses are known for. Options include things such as an Urban Gourmet Farms mushroom handpie, bacon-wrapped dates, mussels, scallops, and New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp. Aside from focusing on tapas-style dining, the restaurant also has a wider selection of wines by the glass and bottle, and craft cocktails. It will seat 52 guests. 

“Amy and I have no backing as far as other people in this world, as far as money goes, so each restaurant has been built off of our funds, and it always hasn’t been a lot,” Fortes says. “We actually spent a little bit more building out this restaurant and thinking of the small details that before we weren’t really able to think about because we didn’t have those funds.”

The restaurant is starting with dinner service only, with brunch likely starting at the end of the month. Lunch is also a possibility later on, once permitting for the addition of a walk-in cooler is approved. 

The couple will also be opening a burger spot, Flip Out Burger, in the upcoming Rock Hill food hall Powerhouse. 

Following opening Salmeri’s at the start of the pandemic, the Forteses are opening their newest concepts amid the current labor shortage. In order to combat that, the duo is in the process of adding health insurance plans for their employees and paying more, as well as hiring even if they don’t have a position open when given the opportunity. Unlike the start of the pandemic, however, the demand for dining out is high. 

“The part that’s not a good time is certainly the staffing woes that everyone has, and I think everyone kind of knows that,” Fortes says. “But the business is there, the growth is there. Charlotte’s growing. The outskirts of Charlotte are growing as the inner city fills up; people are moving outward.”