by Kristen Wile

Dogwood Southern Table is returning this month, with a scheduled opening in its new location in The Westin Charlotte scheduled for Jan. 22. While the new space doesn’t share much visually with the original Dogwood, Rare Roots Hospitality’s Director of Operations Tim Buchanan says he hopes guests will notice what he believes was the most important part of the restaurant: its hospitality. 

“I think the biggest thing is going to be how you’re made to feel,” Buchanan says. The interior has shifted from the worn wood tones and more rustic touches of the original Dogwood to a more modern style fit for a restaurant in a chic hotel, with a larger dining room, high ceilings, and a 36-seat bar.

“It definitely feels like the next evolution of Dogwood more than a revival of the Dogwood brand,” Buchanan says. 

Several menu favorites will make a return, including the duck and dumplings (a personal favorite) and the bacon jam. The menu will have the same Southern tinge as Dogwood, with dishes like shrimp and grits, pork shank, and trout, and change seasonally. Boy & Girl Farm, a local farm that frequented the original Dogwood and was featured in images on the walls, will also provide ingredients for The Westin. The restaurant will be open from lunch service til late night, with limited menus on offer between lunch and dinner service and following dinner until midnight.

“I would describe it as more of a grand take on Southern Table than Dogwood’s kind of warm embrace Southern Table,” Buchanan says. 

Brittany Kellum, who opened the original Dogwood with longtime Rare Roots mixologist Brian Lorusso, will oversee the cocktail program and develop the drink menus. A cocktail on the menu will honor Lorusso, reviving his beloved Legends of the Fall cocktail. Buchanan curated the opening wine list.

With the transition from SouthPark to an Uptown hotel, Dogwood leaned into its position as a first impression of Charlotte for out-of-town guests. They’ll provide a magazine-esque menu, allowing diners to learn more about the city while dining and paying homage to MeckDec Day and the Mecklenburg Resolves.

The partnership with Westin means the hotel will manage and operate the restaurant, while Rare Roots will develop the menus and help ensure consistency. Jay Spungin, a Rare Roots alum, will be the general manager.

The return of Dogwood is especially sentimental for some of the key members of the restaurant group, including Buchanan; its opening a decade ago was the first the newly formed leadership group developed and opened together.

“It was the step that was moving us from being a Dressler’s restaurant into being more comprehensive with this Rare Roots group, which will always be special and it’s great to see it come full circle and to see Dogwood exposed to a bigger audience.”