Built on Hospitality, the group behind NoDa restaurant The Goodyear House, is opening a new concept in Rock Hill. Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails will be in the University Center area in the historic Lowenstein Building. The restaurant’s menu will highlight classic American fare, including smoked meats, sides, sandwiches, flatbreads, and salads. Its casual dishes will maintain the focus on local sourcing that The Goodyear House is known for.

Executive chef Chris Coleman at an Unpretentious Palate exclusive event. Photo by Peter Taylor

With Built On Hospitality founder A.J. Klenk, executive chef Chris Coleman and general manager Sean Potter will oversee the new concept as well as The Goodyear House. Diners can look forward to Coleman’s playful personality showing through on the menu, with dishes such as fish camp catfish and a pork loin sammie. Coleman says the team has focused on planning for growth through the pandemic, and though the pandemic still lingers, they felt the time was right to open a second concept.

“It’s kind of a big risk, big reward,” he says. “It’s a good time to start looking around and say, ‘What are we gonna do next?’ while rents are fairly affordable in some areas around town, and this Rock Hill space became available. We think it’s a great area. To me, Rock Hill is about to explode.”

Coleman says they hope Old Town will become a popular spot among their Rock Hill neighbors, as Goodyear House has done in the NoDa neighborhood.

With strong sous chefs on his team at The Goodyear House — chefs Tyler Long and Raquel Arreola — Coleman says he has been able to leave the kitchen mostly in their hands as he plans for the opening of Old Town. One of those chefs will likely move to the new restaurant as Coleman continues to oversee both concepts.

Old Town Kitchen & Cocktails is scheduled to open this summer, a time when hospitality professionals hope we’ll see a restaurant boom.

“I think we might finally be getting on the right side of things,” Coleman says. “The numbers are going down. Vaccines are readily available. The three of us, the partners, we’ve all gotten our first shots already. We see that as a possible turning point in Covid, and we’re very optimistic that we’ll be out of the woods with Covid come fall/winter time in Charlotte.”