Pork belly tacos from Earl’s Grocery. Kristen Wile/UP

Earl’s Grocery has a new executive chef, just the first shift of several taking place at the popular upscale market and bistro over the next few months. Former executive chef Marc Jacksina left last week after taking a position at Southminster, a retirement community. Obie Chisolm, who once worked at Carpe Diem and has been with Earl’s since its opening, is the restaurant’s new executive chef.

Bonnie Warford, who owns Earl’s and Carpe Diem with her sister, says the timing of Jacksina’s departure coincided with their desire to start making some changes to the menu. Once Chisolm has settled into the executive chef role, work will begin on the menu.

Several of the dishes will be taken off the menu in order to make more room for daily specials.

“We want to be a little more aggressive with that, because at Carpe Diem we run specials every day,” Warford says. “We’re used to the menu being the base and then having specials and that’s how you keep things new.”

Fan favorites such as the banh mi, chicken salad, and turkey on wheat will remain on the menu. Chisolm spent 18 years in New Orleans working in fine dining, and Warford says to expect some of his Creole influence hitting the menu. Richie Williams, the new sous chef at Earl’s, has a cooking style that leans toward Asian and Cuban cuisines, which will also start creeping onto the menu.

Several staff members and regulars still crave dishes from Carpe Diem’s lunch menu, like the falafel sandwich with curry mayonnaise and a mint and onion marmalade. Those sandwiches might make an upgraded comeback at Earl’s.

Other changes include tweaks to the prepared foods section, with more items available from the catering menu for guests popping in to grab something for a crowd without notice.

“We have a lot of people that come in and go, ‘I’m going to a party tonight, what can I take?’ And they want something other than a cheese plate,” Warford says. “So we’re going to start doing all of our chicken skewers that we have back there sized for catering so you can come in and get them for dinner or you can get them for a party.”

Cold fried chicken with slaw will likely be added to the snack pack options for grab-and-go types, and the catering menu is already becoming more adventurous — though still accessible — with its sandwiches, boxed lunches, and platters.

Diners also might see a shift in hours during the week, with Earl’s opening at 7:30 a.m. to allow folks to buy breakfast and coffee on their way in to work. Warford is considering closing in the mid-afternoon on Mondays and Tuesdays while the Hawthorne Lane bridge is closed. She says they’ve seen a 20 percent decrease in sales due to the closure, mostly during the evening hours.

It’s a lot of new for one of Charlotte’s favorite lunch and brunch spots. Earl’s opened back in the summer of 2014, so it’s certainly smart to consider a refresh. Warford says she’s excited to take advantage of a collaborative staff that’s been reinvigorated by new positions and possibility.

“We don’t have limitations here, so why not just do it, try different things?” she says. —Kristen Wile