by Michelin Boudin

Counter- chef/owner Sam Hart admits to being a huge crier, but says he hasn’t cried over his restaurant’s newly awarded Michelin star yet because he can’t quite wrap his head around it.

“It’s surreal,” he says. “It hasn’t really hit yet. It’s pretty cool. I haven’t processed it yet, I feel like I’m in a dream.”

But he has processed the immediate impact of the announcement about his Wesley Heights tasting menu concept receiving Charlotte — and North Carolina’s — first ever Michelin Star.

“We sold out all the way through February within 36 hours,” Hart says. “We normally sell 20-30 future reservations a day, and we sold 1,100 reservations in the first two days after the guide was released. We have around 100-200 people on our waitlist for every weekend day and around 60-100 people on our waitlist for weekdays.”

Hart says what shocked him most was the San Francisco-based influencer who reached out as soon as it leaked and flew out the next day for dinner. “It’s all just so surreal.”

Jamie Brown co-owns Haberdish, Supperland, and Ever Andalo; all three restaurants are in the guide as recommendations. Brown says while they haven’t seen the same response as Counter-, they can already feel the buzz and are excited about what’s to come.

“People are coming in and they’re chatting about it and they’re excited for our team. Ever Andalo is a small dining room with just 18 tables and we’ve had the same staff there for a very long time, so the team gets to know the local crowd, the regulars, and that’s been really fun because the regulars are so proud and so happy for our team. That’s what’s feeling really nice right now.”

Brown believes the entire city will soon benefit. 

“I think the impact is going to be twofold. For locals who live here in Charlotte, I think people will have more pride in the food scene here and when they have friends and family come in, they’ll be able to tell them —  because everybody recognizes the Michelin Guide — and they can say ‘Let’s go to this place, it’s in the Michelin Guide.’ For outsiders, ideally, it brings in more tourism traffic, and that’s everything. That’s shoppers to shop at little retail shops, people staying in hotels, who can use Uber. It’s just increasing the spending in our city with tourism dollars and that’s huge across-the-board.That’s a gigantic impact for the city.”

“Earning Michelin Guide accolades is a remarkable milestone for Charlotte,” agrees Laura White, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority’s Chief Brand and Strategy Officer. The local tourism board was a big part of the efforst to bring the guide to the city “The Michelin Guide’s recognition underscores the excellence, creativity, and passion that define our city’s culinary community. This honor affirms Charlotte’s place among the Southeast’s top dining destinations and reflects the dedication of our chefs, restaurateurs and hospitality professionals.”

For Hart, who originally planned on opening Counter- in Chicago but switched to Charlotte because of the pandemic, the award is justification he made the right decision. 

Hart says, “There is a lot of validation for the concept and how we operate and being irreverent and staying the same as we always have been,” the chef says. “We made a decision at the beginning of the year, we weren’t going to change who we are just to go after a Michelin star. This validation allowed us to say we’re going to be more of who we are and not change who we are.” 

The Counter- team is actively working to earn two Michelin stars next year. 

“Being from here and half the team being from here, it’s really a showcase of the farms we grew up around or on and to see them get the recognition through the Green Star has also been really awesome,” Hart says. “To have validation for the team that we have, all of them were wondering, ‘Am I good enough?’ and this tells them that they are.”