Popular Charlotte restaurant the People’s Market said it will close both its locations in both Elizabeth and Meyers Park. In a post on Facebook, the owner said the financial stress of running dual locations was part of it.
The full message from owner Cory Duran is below:
Hey everyone, I’ve got some sad news to share. When I started The People’s Market Dilworth back in 2017, my dream was simple: to give the people what they wanted. We wanted to create a space that was welcoming to everyone, no matter who they were or where they came from. In today’s world, it seems like big dreams like that are hard to come by, but we managed to make it happen! Unfortunately, the dream of The People’s Market is coming to an end. I’m so sad to say that we’re closing doors at both our stores in Elizabeth and Myers Park. There’s no single reason for this decision, but the financial stress of running the stores to our full potential became too much in the current environment. From the challenges of opening a new location to broken equipment, repairing an old HVAC, electrical fire in the summer, and the rising costs of food and labor. Top that off with a government shutdown that delayed an opportunity to inject some much-needed capital from the SBA. The sum of all these parts just made it too much for me to handle alone. It hurts me to my core to be forced to make this difficult decision as I tried everything to make it work. I’m so disappointed that we weren’t able to finish our goals of serving our community with our brand of “Good Vibes.” We did fight like hell but ultimately came up short. That said, I want to take this time to thank the communities of Dilworth, Elizabeth, and Myers Park, as well as the greater Charlotte community. As a Charlotte native, I love this city with all my heart, and it breaks my heart that we let you down. Lastly, I want to thank our amazing staff. Many of you weathered the many tough days with so much grace and dedication to the customer experience and loyalty to what we built. All of you are true rock stars, and I will always be there to support you any way I can. If anyone needs an awesome teammate for your restaurant or organization, please let me know! Again, I appreciate each and every one of you, and I’m so sorry I let you down. Godspeed and We The People forever!