Orthodontist in Cornelius NC

Jan. 17. By TL Bernthal. Piper’s at Galway Hooker closed this month, but a new concept is promised for this spring at 17044 Kenton Drive in Cornelius.

“We thank you for being a great guest. Keep a look out for a new concept this spring,” the message on its voicemail says.

The website explains it this way —

New Hours Of Operation:

Temporarily Closed:

Look for us Spring 2023

An email and phone call seeking comment were not returned on Tuesday.

Not funny

The space also houses the banquet room Waterford Hall and the Comedy Zone on the second floor. A message to Comedy Zone on its status was not returned, but no tickets are available for the Lake Norman location.

Galway’s original owners opened Galway Hooker in 2002 and sold the restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic. New owner Dan Reynolds changed the establishment’s name at Piper’s at Galway Hooker, in honor of his late sister.

The restaurant and pub were a bastion of Irish food and Guinness beer; it even had a small doorway for leprechauns.

Other drinking and dining news

—Bin 110, 19712 One Norman Blvd. Suite 110, Cornelius, will be taking a two-month hiatus, starting in March, to renovate and expand before re-opening this spring. The renovation will triple capacity and include a new sound and light system. Additional food items are planned as well. Owner Andy Upchurch did not respond to an email seeking additional information.

— Work is continuing at Red Rocks Cafe in Birkdale Village, Huntersville, with a mural completed by Charlotte artist Nico Amortegui , who was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. Some of the new awning will be up in early February. The expanded outdoor seating area and other renovations will mean the popular restaurant will close temporarily, probably in March. No work is being done in the kitchen so the closing will not be long, possibly a week, owner Ron Herbert says.

—Seven months after an early-morning fire at the Tropicana on West Catawba Avenue caused extensive damage, Cambridge Hospitality, the operator of the nightspot, says it will not reopen. After considering the costs of reopening and staffing, the owners decided to focus on the three remaining eateries they operate: Kat’s Seafood Kitchen, Peninsula Prime and Jack’s Corner Tap.

CORNELIUS, N.C. — If you ask Karen Capone and Eleanor Berry, life gets better with age.

"We like to drink wine," Capone said. "Playing cards and drinking wine.”

They both moved from out of state and retired in North Carolina.

“They call them the golden years," Berry said.

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But instead of worrying about whether to call or fold, they're left trying to figure out how to pay a much larger gas bill.

“I get my bill and I say 'oops I forgot to pay last month's gas bill,'" Capone said. "That's what I thought because normally my bills are $30-50. And then I was shocked. And then I’m looking and I see this notice, and it says 'by the way we are increasing you.'”

She noticed over the years, the gas rates climbed. Capone said in January 2020, the rate was 88 cents. In 2022, it was $1.06. In 2023, the rate went up to $1.64.

"We’re on a fixed income, most people in their 70s are on Social Security," Capone said.

Eleanor Berry said she tried to figure out why her bills were so high. She said she only heats her house to 68 degrees when she wakes up in the morning.

“I usually do lots of baking and lots of cooking," Berry said. "But I didn’t do any of that this year because I was having surgery on my back.”

Capone and Berry took their concerns to the North Carolina Utilities Commission. James McLawhorn, Director of the Energy Division of the Public Staff, told WCNC Charlotte the case of wholesale gas climbed drastically.

“The wholesale price of gas was in the three, four dollar range last year, and last year it went to the eight to nine dollar range," he said.

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McLawhorn said companies like Dominion Energy buy gas from sellers in the Gulf of Mexico, but those sellers saw a huge spike in demand following the invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia supplied a lot of the natural gas from Europe," McLawhorn said. "Companies started exporting that gas in tankers to Europe to help out.”

McLawhorn added economic struggles like labor shortages also drove up prices.

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore," Capone said.

Capone said she is doing fine, but worries for others in worse financial situations.

“I’m speaking out for the single mother with three kids," she noted.

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Berry said she fears for the later generations.

“They’ll never have enough to have a home to pay bills like this," she said.

The NCUC said if you are having difficulties paying your bill, you can contact your gas company. McLawhorn said if you aren't satisfied you are encouraged to contact the Public Staff Division about opportunities regarding deferred payments or programs.

CORNELIUS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Residents in a Cornelius neighborhood are organizing to save their community.

Some homeowners in Smithville are concerned a revitalization plan will push some residents out.

Gladys Henderson has lived in her Smithville home for decades, and now it needs critical repairs.

“It needs roofing all this stuff on my house and the bathroom,” Henderson said. “I’ve paid over $1,000 trying to get the bathroom fixed.”

Many houses in the neighborhood need repairs. Some homes have lead pipes. There are cracks in the roads and streets. The Smithville Community Coalition has a plan to help solve the issues with a revitalization plan.

Smithville Community Coalition has already secured over $7 million in funding, but some residents are concerned the plan could price out current homeowners.

“You ask questions, but we don’t get answers; they can only get back to you later, and they don’t get back with you later,” Henderson said.

Cornelius Town Board approved the plan in June of 2022, and residents say there hasn’t been much action since.

“What’s holding the process up for us actually seeing that,” resident Larry Cunningham asked. “We haven’t seen anything; all we do is hear.”

More than 30 addresses are listed on a petition outlining concerns from residents calling it a ‘glorified gentrification plan.’ The group wants to create a coalition of residents.

Queen City News took the document to Willie Jones, CEO of Smithville Community Coalition.

“There is a period where people get comfortable that it’s going to happen, and this is the impact on me,” Jones said. “But until you get to that period, there’s so many rumors floating around that it’s confusing to people.”

He says many moving parts open the door to confusion. Jones says they are working on a timeline to distribute to residents.

“We are trying to bring a higher degree of certainty and finality to the things that will affect the existing residents,” Jones said.

Henderson hopes SCC will make more of an effort to address concerns from residents.

“Since it’s supposed to be a community thing, I think everybody should have a say so,” Henderson said.

The coalition meets once a month publicly. Jones invites anyone with concerns to host a meeting and invite him. He says he hopes permitting and zoning process for some plans will be complete by the summer. If that happens, he expects some construction will start before the end of the year.

The deadline to spend the funding he has already secured is 2026.

The new off-price home store offers high-quality furnishings and home accessories for an extraordinary value.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass., March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Homesense, the latest retail experience from the HomeGoods family, will open its newest location in Cornelius, NC on March 23. The store is located in The Shops at the Fresh Market at 20615 Torrence Chapel Road, Suite 100.

Homesense features a wide array of furniture, a rug emporium, a wall art and mirror gallery, an extensive lighting department that includes hanging chandeliers, and a "work from home" section with everything one could possibly need for the home office of today. Customers can also shop for seasonal items, including décor and entertaining essentials, all at prices 20-50% less than full-price retailers, including department and specialty stores.

With new merchandise shipments arriving every week, customers will always see an exciting assortment of quality merchandise at can't miss prices. Shoppers can expect to be inspired by bold, statement-making pieces, without breaking the bank.

"Homesense brings customers even more of what we know they love – beautiful, quality home merchandise at incredible values," said John Ricciuti, President of HomeGoods and Homesense in the U.S. "We are thrilled that Homesense brings a vast and unique selection for customers to discover and curate the homes of their dreams and can't wait to bring this extraordinary shopping experience to the Cornelius community."

GRAND OPENING:

Local shoppers can enjoy the newest Homesense store opening on March 23 at 8:00 a.m. EST. All stores, including the newest openings, have updated health and wellness practices to help protect the health and well-being of customers and Associates. To learn more, visit: https://us.homesense.com/customer-info

STORE FACTS & FEATURES

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

In celebration of its new store location, Homesense will contribute to the Cornelius, NC community by presenting a $10,000 donation to Bags of Hope. An organization that brings hope to the Lake Norman and greater Charlotte area by supplying weekend food provisions to school children who experience food insecurity.

ABOUT HOMESENSE

Homesense operates more than 45 stores in the U.S. and is the newest retail banner of The TJX Companies, Inc., the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. As of October 29, 2022, The TJX Companies operated over 4,700 stores including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Homesense stores as well as tjmaxx.com, marshalls.com, homegoods.com and sierra.com, in the United States; Winners, HomeSense, and Marshalls stores in Canada; T.K. Maxx and Homesense stores, as well as tkmaxx.com in Europe; and T.K. Maxx stores in Australia. For a look inside Homesense, please visit https://us.homesense.com/360. For store locations and additional information, please visit www.homesense.com and www.tjx.com.

SOURCE Homesense

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Four apartments were damaged after a fire at a Lake Norman apartment complex on Friday night, according to the Cornelius Fire Department.

According to the department, the fire happened between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m. at the Bexley at Lake Norman Apartments on Sterling Bay Lane in Cornelius. Multiple departments responded including Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, and Mount Mourne.

This is the second time this specific complex has had a fire this week. Channel 9 brought you the story on Thursday when multiple apartments were gutted by a large fire, but no injuries were reported.

ALSO READ: Burke County tavern catches fire after parking lot shooting, owner says

Channel 9′s Glenn Counts spoke with a tenant who described the moment officers knocked on their door.

“All I heard was get out, get out. And I seen fire trucks and I seen smoke coming from the top,” resident De Harlem told Channel 9.

Harlem said he has lived at the complex for a little over a month and was notified about the fire by his doorbell camera.

He said he was at the store at the time and had to rush some to get his children.

“I was too worried, heart beating, my head bumping. It was just this moment of I may send the cops on a speed chase,” Harlem said.

Wyatt Maxey told Channel 9 that he has lived at Lake Norman Apartment for a couple of years. He said he is worried that there have been two fires at the complex in less than a week.

“It’s very concerning. A little harder to sleep at night, you know, ‘cause you don’t know when you will have to roll out of bed and run for the door,” Maxey said.

Firefighters were able to control the fire in 30 minutes and reported that four units suffered fire, smoke, or water damage. The department says that one person was evaluated by MEDIC, but no firefighters were hurt.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshall Office.

This is a developing story, check back at wsoctv.com.

(WATCH BELOW: Burke County tavern catches fire after parking lot shooting, owner says)