CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Epicentre — one of Charlotte’s hot spots for eating, drinking and entertainment — has cooled off.

What You Need To Know

Epicentre's lender could foreclose on the commercial property next spring

The lender filed a lawsuit in June claiming Epicentre defaulted on its $85 million loan

James Mack opened Epic Times six years ago. He said foot traffic at the Epicentre went from thousands a day to zero

A foreclosure could be on the horizon, putting many businesses like Epic Times in jeopardy.

James Mack opened Epic Times in Epicentre six years ago as a small kiosk outside of CVS and then worked his way up to renting an enclosed space. He says back then, business was booming.

“At any given time you would have thousands and thousands of people rotating and gallivanting in this establishment,” he said.

Then, the pandemic hit. 

“Literally the streets turned into a ghost town,” he said.“Literally the streets turned into a ghost town,” he said.

Just this summer Deutsche Bank Trust Co. — Epicentre’s lender — filed a lawsuit claiming the property owner was delinquent on its $85 million loan. 

Mack attributes that to plummeting daily sales.

“(We) definitely were bringing in thousands of dollars, and that is reduced all the way to zero. Some days we see zero dollars,” he said.

So, he’s bracing for the worst. 

“We’ll have to figure it out when the time comes, but we don’t want to close,” he said.

He says as a Black business owner, it’s not that easy to pick up and move to a new location. 

“We’re not being allowed the access to premium retail spaces where we can flourish,” he said.

But he’s not giving up that easily. 

“Something is going to come out of this situation. We worked too hard for it to just go down the drain,” he said.

According to The Charlotte Observer, Epicentre could be officially foreclosed on in the spring. Mack is hoping the new owner will allow him to stay.