‘All the best to our neighbors’: After 5 years, Optimist Hall Charlotte restaurant has closed

Chyna Blackmon
·2 min read

One of Charlotte’s most popular food halls has lost one of its biggest restaurants.

Nearly five years after opening its doors at Optimist Hall, El Thrifty Social Club closed over the weekend.

Charlotte’s location of El Thrifty Social Club is the second; the first opened earlier this year along the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, South Carolina.
Charlotte’s location of El Thrifty Social Club is the second; the first opened earlier this year along the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville, South Carolina.

“It has been an honor to serve our loyal customers and create lasting memories at El Thrifty,” Joe Lariscy, El Thrifty Social Partner, said in a statement. “All the best to our neighbors at Optimist Hall going forward.”

“We want to thank the El Thrifty team for bringing their original concept to Optimist Hall and look forward to activating this space this holiday season to further provide our guests with the fun, family-friendly experiences they’ve come to know and love,” said Erik Johnson, Optimist Hall Partner.

El Thrifty has a cantina feel — a different vibe from the food stalls in the rest of Optimist Hall.
El Thrifty has a cantina feel — a different vibe from the food stalls in the rest of Optimist Hall.

The 6,391 square feet cantina, bar and gaming venue opened in October 2019, CharlotteFive previously reported, by the team who also opened Queen Park Social.

Nestled on the lower level of the food hall, El Thrifty was known for its scratch-made Mexican food, craft cocktails, DJs, and long list of indoor and outdoor activities, including duckpin bowling, shuffleboard, board games and more.

Bowling is among the games offered at El Thrifty Social Club.
Bowling is among the games offered at El Thrifty Social Club.

The Optimist Hall restaurant was El Thrifty’s second location following its flagship spot in Greenville, SC — which previously closed back in 2020 due to a drop in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greenville Journal reported.

At this time, it’s unclear whether or not there are plans for the team behind El Thrifty to open another location soon and if there are any plans for another restaurant to take over the space at Optimist Hall.

“We want to thank the El Thrifty team for bringing their original concept to Optimist Hall and look forward to activating this space this holiday season to further provide our guests with the fun, family-friendly experiences they’ve come to know and love,” said Erik Johnson, Optimist Hall Partner.

CharlotteFive is working to gather more details. Keep an eye out on this space for more updates.

El Thrifty Social Club

Location: Optimist Hall, 1115 N Brevard St UNIT 100, Charlotte, NC 28206

Instagram: @elthriftysocial

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