by Jacqueline Pennington

Local Loaf has been a faithful part of Charlotte’s local culinary scene since its inception at The Market at 7th Street in 2013. Since then, the concept has moved to a charming space just off the main strip in NoDa, starting as a bottle shop in 2016 and transitioning to a restaurant in 2019. The patio was zoned in 2022 and after years of work and enlisting friends to help bring it together, the patio officially opened in early September.

Chef/owner Adam Spears sees the back patio opening as a natural next step for the concept. The patio emanates the cozy neighborhood feel of the restaurant with picnic tables, string lights, and greenery. The new space has already been busy as a place for the community to gather for special events. “We’ve had a couple proposals happen, we’ve done a couple of parties, and I would like to have some wine dinners out here,” Spears says. There will also be some planting done in the patio for ingredients like micro greens that are used in staples like the Chicken & the Egg sandwich.

Spears treats his kitchen like a culinary playground and pulls from his many cookbooks and travel experiences to add to the menu. Some of his favorites include his spin on classics like their mac and cheese and burger. Others lean outside the box like the roti canai and crab hush puppies, both inspired by dishes he ate while dining out. “I’m really having fun with creating,” Spears says. “We have a pasta extruder, so creating pasta dishes and working on ravioli and sauces for dinner service has been really big for us. The menu itself is just kind of, honestly, whatever the heck I want to make.” 

Local Loaf takes their name to heart and focuses not only on local ingredients, but also on creating a welcoming space for the neighborhood it calls home. Spears prides himself on knowing which customer just walked in before even seeing them. “I spend a lot of my time prepping behind the front counter in the bakeshop area and I know people’s voices when they come in,” Spears says. “I tell people, “No, there’s no camera, there’s no mirror, I just know people’s voices.’” Spears and his team take pride in knowing their customers’ names, their kids’ names, and remembering them even if they haven’t been to the restaurant for a while. 

Spears resides in NoDa with his partner of eleven years, Kristen Ford, who also runs marketing for the restaurant. “We live in the neighborhood, so we see a lot of people out walking their dogs or on a bike ride with their kids and we’ve seen these kids grow up,” Spears says. “Some are even working for us.” They have also become popular for some of the events they bring to the community, like their Thursday night Farmer’s Market and monthly wine tastings. That connection with the neighborhood is what Spears references as the coolest thing about the spot he chose to open his restaurant. 

Local Loaf is open for breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday and has added dinner service Wednesday through Friday. Spears notes that a few things will be coming down the pipeline as the restaurant continues to evolve, like finishing the patio along the side of the building, and hopes all will lead to a larger update next year.