CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte restaurant has had to change course several times because of the pandemic. 

Jimmy Pearls started in 2020 as a brick-and-mortar at The Market at 7th Street. Last year, it transitioned to a food truck, and now the restaurant is back to its original spot. 

What You Need To Know

  • A restaurant that started in Uptown Charlotte pivoted several times during the pandemic

  • Jimmy Pearls is returning to its original spot at the Market at the 7th Street 

  • The number of visitors to Uptown Charlotte has already surpassed numbers from 2020

This fall, the restaurant, which specializes in seafood, returned to The Market at 7th Street in Uptown Charlotte. 

Friends Daryl Cooper and Oscar Johnson are behind this casual eatery where they honor their home state of Virginia.  

“We want to give a new meaning to Southern food of the African American culture,” Cooper said. 

Their passion for cooking comes from their families, and Cooper said they are paying homage to them with Jimmy Pearls. 

Cooper and Johnson opened Jimmy Pearls at the beginning of the pandemic, doing mostly takeout. Back then, they shared a stall with another business. 

According to Charlotte Center City Partners, in 2020 over 24 million people, including residents, employees and visitors, visited Uptown Charlotte. Back then, many Uptown employees were working from home. 

This year through September, nearly 28 million had visited Uptown Charlotte. 

In May of 2021, the chefs decided to take their menu on the road with a food truck to grow their clientele. 

“We were trying to pivot due to this pandemic. We were at a standstill, and we were trying to find a way to keep generating revenue,” Johnson said. 

Cooper said the food truck worked for a while. 

“We were going to neighborhoods, and they would appreciate that. They showed us love, but after a while, it gets old,” Cooper said. 

They kept the food truck going for a little bit over a year before transitioning to a brick-and-mortar. 

“We found out a lot of people who enjoy our food were people who wanted to sit down and chill and actually converse over it,” Cooper said. 

In mid September, they returned to the market to their original spot and their own stall. 

“It’s great to be back, we are going to make the most out of it,” Johnson said. 

They are also grateful to have more foot traffic, which makes the lunch rush busy. 

At the brick-and-mortar, Cooper and Johnson said they no longer have to worry about weather affecting sales or people being confused about their location. 

They still have the food truck but plan to use it only for large catering events.