Newk's Express Café

Newk’s Express Café is an “express casual dining” experience in the Ballantyne shopping complex known as Blakeney Crossing in south Charlotte.

Newk’s is one more casual dining experience in the vein of Panera Bread, Dean and Deluca and McCalister’s Deli. In fact, the founders of Newk’s are the same people who created McCalister’s Deli, a very popular national restaurant with more than 290 locations in 23 states. The original founders sold McCalister’s Deli to see if lightning could strike twice with Newk’s Express Café.

So far the company has opened up 29 locations — the majority of them in Mississippi — and the café in Ballantyne is the first one in the state of North Carolina.

Like many casual dining experiences, diners order at a counter and have a seat. A number is put on your table, and a server eventually finds you and brings you your meal. 

Newk’s Express Café serves up giant salads with shrimp, artichokes hearts, grilled steak and more; thin crust pizzas with BBQ or spicy chicken; and big bowls of soup. Newk’s specialty is their toasted sandwiches like their Shrimp Po’boy, a Vegetarian Club, and an Italian.

The highlight of the entire menu is the Newk’s “Q,” a grilled chicken, bacon and Swiss cheese sandwich covered in a special white BBQ sauce. If Newk’s bottled this sauce and sold it in grocery stores it would quickly rival some of the most delicious sauces on the market.

Sandwiches come with a choice of coleslaw, pasta salad, fruit, chips or “Tippah County” caviar — a mix of vegetables and black-eyed peas. Most entrees cost between $7 to $9.

HelloMetro Tip: All drinks purchased come with a plastic souvenir cup that you can take home with you.

- by Mike D'Avria, Charlotte Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Mike D'Avria

Mike D'Avria graduated with a Journalism Degree from Indiana University in 2003.

He worked for the daily newspaper, The Athens Banner-Herald in Athens, Ga. before turning to freelance writing and video production.

Mike is the Executive Editor of CampLeadership.org, and has lived in Charlotte for four years.