After all these years, I still think these are the best blueberry pancakes in Charlotte.

Melissa Oyler
·4 min read

Around a decade ago (2012-2015), I spent three years working as Creative Loafing Charlotte’s creative director, and our offices were in walking distance of the best blueberry pancakes in the whole city.

You probably know the AvidXChange Music Factory (then known as NC Music Factory) as an after-hours place. It’s full of bars and concert venues. But during the weekday during that time, it was basically us Loafers, a handful of other office workers and Mattie’s Diner.

Sure, there were other places, but:

  • VBGB didn’t serve lunch (yet).

  • Bask had an amazing lunch until it closed — R.I.P. to the French press coffee served with heavy whipping cream.

  • The Saloon had $5 burgers on Wednesdays, and our staff kept going even when the quality got bad — the price stayed right. It eventually closed and reopened as a Mexican spot that closed and reopened as another Mexican spot.

But through it all, Mattie’s Diner remained.

Mattie’s Diner: Where memories were made

My then editor (who is now one of my best friends) and I often sat at the bar and ordered grilled cheeses and talked through story ideas while owner Matt King cooked for us on his griddle. I held freelancer meetings in the booths, where community was formed over shared plates of fries. The grilled cheese was a staple, and the Hunka Hunka Burnin’ Toast was always an option.

But for me — the blueberry flapjacks were where the memory was made.

When work stress dissolved me to tears, Mattie’s blueberry pancakes made it better. After running the neighborhood’s Rock ‘N Run 5K with yoga friends, the celebration included coffee and blueberry pancakes for me, please. When visitors arrived from out of town, I took them to Mattie’s. After a drunken evening at the bar, Mattie’s. When a colleague once confided he hadn’t eaten in three days because he had no money, I took him to Mattie’s for a filling meal.

For a moment in time, Mattie’s Diner was our Third Place.

Matt King, owner of Mattie’s Diner, pours syrup over a stack of blueberry pancakes.
Matt King, owner of Mattie’s Diner, pours syrup over a stack of blueberry pancakes.

[MORE FLAPJACKS: Here’s a short stack of places to get pancakes in Charlotte]

Big changes at the Music Factory

And then one day, without warning — my job was eliminated. The publication had been purchased a few months prior, and the new owner made swift and abrupt changes. It happened the day after my birthday in 2015, and I’d brought in red velvet birthday cake leftovers for my colleagues.

I was dumped out into the parking lot minutes after I sent the paper to press — the owner waited to clear deadline before breaking the news — and he did it just before lunch.

I didn’t go to Mattie’s that day. I couldn’t. I was too hurt.

Instead, I went for a run uptown, then went to my yoga studio in South End (my other Third Place). I was too shocked to cry. I was too shocked to feel.

I didn’t go to Mattie’s for a long time after that. The memory was too imprinted, the association too close. The thought of Matt’s blueberry pancakes made me too sad. Even the thought of my birthday and of red velvet cake made me sad.

Later that year, Mattie’s diner was moved to make room for new development. My diner, full of comfort food and comforting memories, was closed.

The 1940s diner car that was Mattie’s Diner was moved to the new location and incorporated into the property’s existing building (a former Tire Depot)
The 1940s diner car that was Mattie’s Diner was moved to the new location and incorporated into the property’s existing building (a former Tire Depot)

Mattie’s reopens

Most Charlotteans know how this diner story ends, and it’s a happy one: Mattie’s Diner found a new home in Plaza Shamrock. The 1940s diner car was moved to the new location and incorporated into the property’s existing building (a former Tire Depot). Construction began in 2021, and the diner reopened in Summer 2022.

A new birthday memory

A few months ago, on my birthday, it occurred to me that I had not had Mattie’s blueberry pancakes since my Creative Loafing days. I missed them.

So I placed an order for delivery, as I am still avoiding dining in restaurants due to the ongoing pandemic, and I tempered my expectations. The flapjacks surely wouldn’t hold up to my memory. My palate has probably changed. Delivery would make them less fresh. All the reasons.

I was wrong.

One bite, and I was right back at the diner, sitting at the counter, circa 2012. I was in the memory of watching Matt work magic on his griddle while brainstorming story ideas, talking about the weather with waitstaff, smiling at strangers.

Waitress Rossi Trotter walks by as customer Pierce Cook glances at the food during opening night on August 6, 2010, at Mattie’s Grill.
Waitress Rossi Trotter walks by as customer Pierce Cook glances at the food during opening night on August 6, 2010, at Mattie’s Grill.

For these blueberry flapjacks, the taste held up (even outlasted my former publication, but that’s another story).

The pancakes are just the right amount of sweet. With warm syrup drizzled over them (I cheated and used Vermont maple syrup I had at home) and the butter melting between the layers of pancakes, a new birthday memory had been made.

Mattie’s Diner blueberry pancakes with syrup poured on top.
Mattie’s Diner blueberry pancakes with syrup poured on top.

Who serves the best pancakes in Charlotte?

Now that you’ve heard my pancakes story, I want to hear yours. Which is your favorite restaurant to get pancakes in the Charlotte area? Send us an email or fill out our poll below to let us know! We might use your answers in an upcoming story.