Elizabeth Avenue's Restaurant Block Turned Over This Year. Here's Where It Stands This Fall.

"The front-of-house renovations are changes I've wanted to make for years," Customshop's Kaifer said in a release quoted by CharlotteFive when the restaurant at 1601 Elizabeth Ave reopened in August. He put new money into the room he already had. Two doors up the block and one door down, the past twelve months went differently.

The short run of addresses between 1535 and 1617 Elizabeth Avenue shows something a single opening announcement can't. The buildings here outlast the businesses in them. Over the past year, each of the block's three main storefronts ended up somewhere different. One got a new tenant, one was rebuilt by the business already there, and one is still waiting.

Three Doors, Three Outcomes

Viva Chicken's locator still lists the restaurant at 1617 Elizabeth Ave, which rounds out the stretch. Taken together, the table is a better map of the block than any single storefront.

1535: A Pub Leaves, and an Indian Kitchen Moves In

When Big Ben Pub moved into 1535 Elizabeth Ave in 2021, it already had a long history in Charlotte. The pub started in Myers Park, lost its first location to a fire in 2010 and later ran in South End before it came to Elizabeth, according to Axios Charlotte.

It closed on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. Business had been solid, and the outlet reported a different reason for leaving. Owner Neel Gandhi told Axios Charlotte he wanted the feel of a traditional English pub rather than a full-scale restaurant, and he was looking for a smaller, quainter location in Charlotte. So the move was about the concept. The pub's own website still says "New location coming soon" and calls the closure a pause while it searches for its next home.

Taj House now fills the space. Axios Charlotte reported it open in July 2026. Lunch is mostly curries and rice bowls. At dinner the menu adds tandoori dishes like Tandoori Lamb Chops and Tandoori Lobster, plus biryanis such as Hyderabadi Goat Biryani and Royal Dum Chicken Biryani. The bar has nine cocktails, including a mango rum lassi and a chai espresso martini, along with mocktails, beer and wine.

Axios listed these July prices:

• Chicken 65 rice bowl, crispy fried chicken with curry leaves and green chilies over jeera rice, $14
• Chicken Tikka Masala, $15
• Goat Curry, $17, with basmati rice, butter naan and a choice of soup or salad

As Axios published the hours in July, Taj House serves lunch and dinner Tuesday through Thursday until 10 p.m., stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, and runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. That schedule doesn't include Monday. A pub became a restaurant with a midnight weekend close, so the address still serves late diners in a new way.

1601: The Business That Stayed and Rebuilt

The middle of the block is where the money went back into the same space. CharlotteFive's reopening coverage describes changes at the Michelin-recommended Customshop that are mostly structural:

1. The bar is new and enclosed, and the split that used to run through its middle is gone.
2. A green velvet banquette replaced the booths, which Kaifer said he never liked, and the new seating fits larger parties better.
3. The room has new light fixtures, a new sound system and an upgraded HVAC system.
4. In the kitchen, walls moved, an oven went in and other equipment was upgraded.

Kaifer told CharlotteFive the kitchen renovation was "designed with collaboration in mind" so the restaurant can keep bringing in outside partners for special dinners and events. Fairwood Construction, which also built the sister wine bar Emmy Lou's in Dilworth, was the general contractor.

The menu changed along with the room. The Arroz Meloso pairs Carolina Gold rice with blue crab and Oishii shrimp. The Mamey Pie costs $12 and comes with Chantilly cream and white chocolate on a Maria cookie crust.

Pizza Baby East also lists 1601 Elizabeth Ave as its address. It has built a strong track record since opening in 2023. CharlotteFive reports that owners Trey Wilson and Steven De Falco tried nearly 30 doughs before they opened. In October 2025, Tasting Table named Pizza Baby the best pizza in North Carolina, after the pizzeria placed No. 41 on the 50 Top Pizza USA 2025 list. It has also grown into more of a bakery and now sells bread wholesale and retail. That gives the address a daytime reason to stop in alongside Customshop's dinner service.

1609: The Address With the Longest Memory

The storefront at 1609 Elizabeth Ave has changed hands more often than any other on the block. Earl's Grocery was there until it closed in July 2021. The People's Market signed a lease that year, as Axios Charlotte reported, and opened in August 2022, according to QCity Metro.

In November 2025, Axios Charlotte reported that The People's Market had closed both its Elizabeth and Myers Park locations, with no plans for another location at the time.

None of the local coverage reviewed for this post names a successor at 1609. That is a gap in the reporting, and it doesn't confirm the space is vacant. Both of the last two businesses there ran a food counter more than a sit-down dining room, and the space has gone from Earl's to The People's Market in about a year once before.

Using the Block This Fall

Here's what that turnover means for a weeknight or a Saturday:

• Late dinner on a weekend: Taj House, open until midnight on Friday and Saturday based on its July hours.
• A larger group: Customshop, whose new banquette was built to seat bigger parties.
• Bread to take home, or pizza: Pizza Baby East, at the same 1601 address.
• Fast and casual: Viva Chicken at 1617, still listed by the chain.
• Pub night: Big Ben is still looking for a new home, so for now its website is the place to check.
• What's next at 1609: Watch for a lease announcement.

Before going, check current hours with each business. The figures above come from reporting in July and August, and the block has shown how quickly its details change.

If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of Taj House, Customshop and whatever comes next at 1609, Jessica Grier would be glad to walk the block with you and talk through how it's changing. Let's Connect.