to-table movement in Charlotte, and at his King’s Kitchen, Southern classics rely on local ingredients prepared with a modern spin: “Aunt Beaut’s Skillet- Fried Chicken” appears on the menu alongside beet risotto.Another nice twist:The restau- rant operates as a non- profit, donating pro- ceeds to food programs and creating jobs and training programs for workers considered unemployable.
Gold–certified.Loaded with green initiatives, such as a plant-topped “living” roof that’shome to honeybees, the 146- room,18-story hotel also offers 12,000 square feet of meeting space, includ- ing a 7,035-square-foot ballroom and eight func- tion rooms.
holds sleek and stylish spaces for events, including a multistory atrium with a 60' x 60' glass-curtain wall, a 240- seat auditorium, and a rooftop terrace.
ed within walking dis- tance of 4,200 hotel rooms and scores of restaurants, is a visual treat, with light-filled concourses, arched entryways, and a collec- tion of large-scale public art.The center offers 280,000 square feet of contiguous and divisible exhibit space, 37 meet- ing rooms, a 35,000- square-foot ballroom, and the new, 40,000- square-foot Crown Ball- room.
NASCAR,the nation’s second most popular spectator sport.The
NASCAR Hall of Fame mixes meeting space with interactive exhibits, including racing simula- tors, and race- and driver-related artifacts. Connected to the con- vention center via a walkway, the Hall of Fame offers a 40,000- square-foot ballroom and award-winning catering.
pcma convene March 2012 27
MAP BY JIM McMAHON
May 24–26
FoodLionSpeedStreet www.600festival.com InMay,Charlotte celebrates its famous tieswith motor sportswith livemusic,exhibits ofNASCAR showcars and simulators,and appearances by some of the biggest (and fastest) drivers on the track.The festival is bookended by the NASCAR SprintAll-Star Race onMay 19 and the Coca-Cola 600 onMay 27—both at the CharlotteMotor Speedway.