Inside America’s New Boom Town

[blues music]
[Peter] So Bobby, this is
the rough neighborhood? Fair to say?
-Yeah. This is the hood, man.
The wealthiest hood.
Rumor has it Eastover,
adjacent to this neighborhood
was pound for pound
the wealthiest per capita neighborhood
in North Carolina at one time.
We can cruise there though right?
Absolutely.
So Bobby in a way
you’re an endangered species.
I’m a Native of Charlotte.
Because that is not an easy thing to find.
No you won’t find many of me anymore.
Most have moved to the suburbs
but most everybody else is not from here.
You’re not proud of your truck
fair to say?
I love my truck. I bought it like this.
I didn’t do anything to it
but this is full redneck baby.
So explain to those that don’t know
what’s the difference between redneck
and proud Southerner?
Probably about the same. Northern people
are going to label you a redneck
just when you start talking.
-Just by your accent?
-Just by my accent.
Is that annoying though?
People judge you for the accent?
It used to bother me
a little bit more when I went to school.
But you know I like to be southern.
I like my manners and chivalry
and considerate of others.
-You’re opening doors for ladies?
Absolutely. “Yes ma’am, please, thank you,
you’re welcome.
May I have another?”
[Peter] I love in
the old wealth neighborhoods
you see all the different architectural
styles and it’s not all uniform.
-They’re all different. What makes it…
If you go inside of these houses
it’s the furniture
that they’ve picked up on their travels
or antiques or family heirlooms.
The inside decor is
even more explosive than the outside.
-Well this is one of
the nicest neighborhoods I’ve been in.
-Oh yeah absolutely.
-Just the look of it.
And they’re all like this in the next
probably three square miles I would say.
-What’s the price of one of these? Say
this. You’re not going to know exactly.
Not exactly but two to three million.
Maybe topping at five million.
Two to five easy.
Now there’s some higher dollar houses
like I think Christian McCaffrey
the ex-NFL Panther player
he sold his for $22 million.
So even these houses
are still getting flipped and redone.
[Peter] So a lot of people moving to town?
-Oh yeah man. Bank, university, IT.
It’s a diverse industry for sure.
-Okay.
-That’s what keeps it sustainable.
-Right.
-Because it is so diverse.
[Peter] I was reading online
I think it’s the seventh or eighth
fastest growing city.
-That’s true man.
-Something like that.
So I build houses and I’ll stay on
one side of town for a year or two
and I cross over to another side of town
I haven’t been on in a while
and it changes in an instant.
I mean quick.
Okay.
See there’s apartments going up
on every corner everywhere.
You see cranes.
-So is it fair to say you can have
your average job here and afford housing?
That’s a little tougher question.
Housing is somewhat expensive
because there’s just such a demand here.
You will pay a premium.
-But compared to other big US cities
it’s not too bad?
No it’s not unreasonable
but the builders and the sellers
are getting every penny.
Right now it’s a seller’s market.
So we’re literally five minutes
from that super nice hood…
Yes.
-To this.
Yeah the lawyers and attorneys and doctors
all live back there, surgeons.
Easy travel downtown.
And the other thing about Charlotte,
we’re in the Piedmont.
You got the coast three hours that way
and you got the mountains
three hours the other way.
If you’ve ever seen the movie The Sandlot
that’s quintessential Charlotte
how I grew up.
-You doing all right?
-Yes sir. You guys have a good one.
Good to see you baby.
-You know that guy?
Yeah man. He’s my delivery dude.
So one thing I do wish
we had more of is food.
I wish we had a food scene
like Charleston.
That’s really what we’re missing.
There’s a lot of ethnicities around
but we need more foreign cuisine
from other places.
[Bobby] Here’s Trade and Tryon.
This is the center of town.
Trade and Tryon.
-What are these statues here do you know?
-Industry, gold flourishing,
the miner ’49er panning for gold.
This was an Indian trade route.
This is where the Catawba Indians
traded with the settlers.
This is the main hub
of Charlotte right here.
-What’s he preaching about?
He’s preaching against alcohol in Espanol.
[man speaking Spanish on loudspeaker]
[sports car passes]
A lot of that.
Mustangs with loud exhausts.
-And chargers man.
-I heard that all last night.
All right I’mma hang a louie here.
-You’re going to go louie?
-Hang a louie.
So you’ll see Johnson C. Smith
was a predominantly Black university.
And there’s a place
called the Excelsior Club over here
where prominent Black people
used to congregate back in the day.
And so this was some of
the struggling housing over here.
It’s kind of rough at times and run down
but man it’s moving quick fast in a hurry.
-It’s moving in quick fast?
What do you mean like developing?
People sucking up houses
tearing them down and building them back.
This is truly regentrification
over here on the West Side.
So now you’ll start seeing
some homeless tents.
A lot of people hang out here
that are homeless or down on their luck.
-What’s your homeless situation like?
-It’s not too terribly bad but you go to
certain spots and there’s a bunch of ’em.
And I hate that but they’re trying to
work on that situation
with affordable housing so to speak.
-Yeah but you’re a builder.
You know that’s hard to do.
There’s no cheap construction
these days right?
No and there’s no real answer.
And nobody wants to accept that
into their neighborhood.
And who’s going to pay for it?
Who’s going to cough up the land for it?
It’s a tough situation.
-Right. I mean I see it
all over the country.
Because you know there’s
can’t work and won’t work.
Won’t work’s a different situation
but can’t work,
that’s kind of the general problem.
-Okay what do you do with won’t work?
Like what can you do?
I don’t know if you can do anything.
I think that’s the state of mind
that they have to overcome themselves.
I’ve offered jobs to
plenty of people along my path,
“Come sweep, come clean up some garbage.”
But they’ll work hard for the two hours
as soon as you leave to go somewhere else
they’re laying down on the back porch man.
-It’s tough. Really pisses me off.
-It’s a short honeymoon period.
I try to help out but it’s a waste.
I mean you gotta be
self-motivated, self-starter.
So some people, it’s a mindset,
some people just can’t help it.
[Bobby] Alright this is
Five Points coming up.
This is regentrification at its finest
right here my friend.
-Okay so this was a rough hood?
-This is West Charlotte man.
They got some nice murals up.
-I really like that about Charlotte.
They’re investing money in a lot of this.
And they’ve hired my son
to do some art.
-Oh that’s cool. Look at that. Nice.
-I like the respect that…
well at least I’m seeing it here.
No one’s tagging that you know?
-Right.
-The artist respect.
Yep. So you see this
light rail’s coming back?
So that’s one thing about Dilworth,
the oldest neighborhood in Charlotte.
He brought the electric car to Charlotte,
Edward Dilworth Latta.
Okay here we go.
Let me get on through here.
This is Five Points.
This is Five Points intersection.
That’s Johnson C. Smith right there.
So this is what you’re calling
regentrification?
I’m getting ready
to show you right here brother.
-See the house on the corner?
-Yep.
Now look right beside it.
That’s probably $800,000 $900,000
and look at the truck.
-$800,000 $900,000 for that?
-Guaranteed.
-Come on.
Oh yeah dude. Every bit of $700,000.
You won’t get under $700,000.
I did some duplexes right here.
You see the duplexes there?
They were run down.
-We couldn’t keep sh*t in there.
-Past the flag?
-The Black ones.
-Yep.
We had a hard time even with plywood.
They would break in no more than
just to probably sleep in there.
But stuff would get missing
and they wouldn’t respect your privacy.
-So is crime bad here?
It can be man. But you got to be
aware of it you know?
If you got sh*t laying in the front seat
they’re gon’ take it.
But I don’t think they really
break in and steal stuff.
They’d rather just break in
and shake off the hangover.
See right here?
Look at the house beside it.
-Right.
-I built these right here.
-These ones?
-Yeah the white with the flag.
-Oh nice. That’s a cool home.
-Yep.
-Okay so how much is that right now?
-Probably $900,000, almost a million.
You could’ve bought that house out of the
Sears and Roebuck catalog back in the day.
That’s true to form
1920 Craftsman. True to form.
-Nice.
-I do like these houses man.
These are my pride and joys here.
See the shoulders,
the brick, the column taper.
-You did this?
-Oh yeah. Me and Charlie.
-That’s cool.
But this isn’t hood at all?
Like a hard-hitting hood?
-Used to be big time.
-Oh hell yeah.
[Bobby speaking Spanish]
How’s your Spanish?
Pretty good.
I know a lot of words
but my sentence structure sucks.
But I do it out of respect.
You get a little bit more out of honey
than you do with vinegar.
-They like it?
-They like it.
I won’t go hungry in Mexico.
Now these are the dudes right here man.
Mike and Mike, Jeff Chance.
These boys single-handedly
revitalized West Charlotte absolutely.
These boys got it going on.
They pay attention to detail.
-Look at their colors.
-Oh, that’s cool.
I mean I give them super kudos.
These boys knocked it out.
-Yeah. Beautiful homes.
-Look at the door,
the window trim, the open rafter tails.
See the rafter? That’s true to form
1920s craftsmen, the brick.
They kind of taught us how to do it.
Me and Charlie learned from Mike and Mike,
Jeff Chance, a couple others.
Daniel and Zach.
-Okay so the people that were living
here before where are they living now?
Man I don’t know the answer
but probably Gastonia, Belmont.
Out a little further
or just a different side of town.
[Peter] So how does this city
compare to other Southern cities
like Atlanta, Jacksonville?
-I’d say Atlanta’s a very good comparison.
Probably more predominantly Black
in Atlanta than here.
But they’re definitely two Southern cities
with Southern flavors.
Southern history,
soul food, country, rural.
You can get out of town pretty quick.
Get this Excelsior Club,
that’s got a lot of history.
That’s where all the prominent
Black folk used to congregate
back in the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s.
They’ve shut it down
but those were lawyers, doctors,
prominent influential people
on this side of town.
-Okay, so what do non-Southerners
not understand about you guys?
‘Cause there’s Southern pride obviously.
First thing I’d say is we’re not stupid.
We might sound stupid
but we aren’t stupid.
When you say bless your heart
that means you’re an idiot.
What’s happenin’? What’s happenin’?
We’re making a video of Charlotte.
You got time to speak?
I went to West Charlotte. I’m from here.
I invited him down
to come do a video of Charlotte.
We’re going all sides of town,
East side, West side.
-Grew up behind Garinger.
-Okay, okay.
We don’t want to interfere but he’s asking
if you want to say a few words
about Charlotte.
-[Peter] What’s your name, man?
-I go by Rio.
-Rio, Peter. Nice to meet you, bro.
-Nice to meet you.
So what’s life like? How are things?
What’s your story, man?
Life’s been alright. Just staying
out the way, stay working.
Stay focused, you know?
Set goals for yourself. As long as
you got goals, you be straight.
-Nice. What do people
not know about Charlotte would you say?
Um, I’d say it’s a little underrated.
Whatever you could do anywhere,
you could do it in Charlotte too.
-Okay.
You can make do
with the cards you been dealt here.
-People pretty cool overall?
People cool. People ain’t really
on nothing. Everyone just want respect.
-You give respect, you get respect.
-Right… Fact.
-How you doing, man?
-Yeah doing well.
Are you from over here?
Not necessarily here but pretty much
from the area I grew up down the street.
All right on. How are things?
Oh yeah, Charlotte, it’s getting there.
-It’s getting there.
What do you mean? It’s getting better?
Bigger. Bigger.
It’s getting bigger yeah. Crowded.
-Yeah definitely.
-I drive a truck man so…
Oh nice.
Yeah so traffic kind of reminds me of
being down in Atlanta when I come here.
-Atlanta’s known for some weird stuff.
-[laughter]
Okay is it safer here in Charlotte
than Atlanta?
That’s a good question.
I want to say so. I want to say so.
You like to think so since it’s home.
Yeah because it’s home but you never know.
You got to be careful everywhere.
You got to watch your six
no matter where you are.
-Okay. Thank you.
-No problem.
-Thanks for driving truck too.
I respect you guys.
Without you guys we wouldn’t be
eating or doing anything really.
-Appreciate it man.
Yeah I always like getting
as many people on camera as possible
’cause that’s how you learn about a city.
Everyone’s got a different perspective
and take on things.
If you’ll just take the time
to talk to somebody,
everybody has these premonitions
or reservations or anxieties.
If you’ll just smile
and be friendly and wave
you can talk to damn near anybody.
-Yeah true.
And you’ll know real quick whether
they want to talk to you.
Just right across the street, look.
-Okay yeah this is properly mixed up.
And gentrification,
it’s all about who you ask.
-That’s what I’ve learned.
-Yeah.
Here’s my thought on that.
If you ask my opinion.
-Okay let’s do it.
So what people think about gentrification
is you are pushing people out.
And I don’t know exactly
the dynamic of that
because if it’s a rental
then you don’t own the property.
Are you really pushing somebody out?
But what really hurts is taxes.
But… the building department
knows exactly which houses have permits.
Why would you tax everybody?
Just tax the ones
that have the building permits.
Why mess with this lady that’s
80 years old on a fixed income?
Why would you raise her taxes
because he decided he wanted to go up.
Right right.
Okay so the comps go up, the prices go up,
and then they jack
the tax bills on everyone.
-Yep.
-I do agree with you.
So that’s a touchy situation
but I mean let’s face it man,
we don’t know how much money
the government has.
They got a damn ton of it
and they send it everywhere.
And you can be selective on who you tax.
You gotta take care of your own people.
And damned if I’m gonna work
30 plus years
and then retire and can’t afford anything.
That ain’t right.
-Right. When you own the home
and then you’re basically renting it.
Especially if my neighbor decides
he wants to build a million dollar house
and I’m still in $300,000.
How fair is that?
My mom’s property tax
went up 12% last year
and they’re proposing 12% this year.
So 24% in two years.
-That hurts man.
-That hurts.
She’s retired, fixed income.
Exactly.
These are generational homes as well
as the high dollar ones in Queens
and Dilworth and Myers Park.
So are these.
These people have been here
a long time too man.
-And all of a sudden you’re like
can I stay in my home that I own?
-That’s messed up.
-Yeah. And health care.
I’m dealing with aging parents.
My mother’s in assisted living and we’re
struggling trying to find her housing.
-Right.
-Nothing to do with gentrification.
I’m just saying the system’s broke
and it needs to be fixed.
I don’t have the secret sauce
or the magic answer.
-But it does need to be
talked about and addressed.
-I see it all over the country.
-Yeah.
[Peter] Okay. So you’re saying
this is about as bad as it gets here?
-Yeah.
-Really?
There’s no like real rough looking
part of town?
I mean not during
the broad daylight on Saturday
but it can get pretty rough at night man.
Let the sun set on your ass
you might be in trouble.
-All right. Are we going
North Korea tour Bobby?
When people travel to North Korea
the government puts them on this tour.
-And makes everything look great?
-[laughs] No we’re not.
This is it.
-This is it? Come on man.
I’m telling you man there’s probably
parts that I don’t know about
but this is about as bad as it gets.
I don’t mean to disappoint you.
You got to understand man
this town’s making money brother.
Everybody’s eating.
Like I said can’t work, won’t work but
around here man you can make a dollar.
This is West Charlotte High School
That’s where I went.
This is when integration…
They bussed us across town.
I grew up behind Garinger
but they shipped us 45 minutes
to West Charlotte.
-Oh interesting.
So that was the way to integrate the city?
Yeah.
-Did it work do you think?
Oh you know man, I was…
I’m very appreciative of my education.
And I was an athlete.
Played baseball and pretty much
get along with everybody man.
But I was very thankful for it.
We were the minority.
-So you’re the White kid
in the Black school.
60% Black, 30% White, and 10% ESL.
-So how was that?
-It was great.
What did that teach you?
Just everybody’s the same
but everybody’s different.
And it’s how you treat people man.
You get you get back what you put out.
We all got along man.
So it used to be pretty rough
down through here too man
but it’s really not anymore man.
-Fair to say the city’s gotten better?
-I think so.
I honestly do.
I quit watching the news intentionally.
I got tired of waking up
to the news as my alarm clock
and rape, kill, kill, rape,
every damn day.
I told Tracy we’re not watching
this sh*t anymore.
I don’t have social media.
I don’t keep up.
I’m not naive.
But somebody who doesn’t get that
in my head every day.
You don’t see it. You don’t see it.
-You don’t watch the news,
don’t have social media.
No sir.
-You were a wild man.
-Hell yeah.
Damn straight.
One of the wildest.
Fraternity guys would call me at NC State
and say hey bring it on.
They would call me.
And I’m not bragging or proud about that
but I ain’t scared of a party.
I calmed my sh*t down
and I stayed at the house.
So I’d stay out of trouble.
Quit drinking, quit spending money,
quit pissing my wife off.
Not paying attention.
And YouTube, baby.
So I think I found you
when you were down with the two
Cajun people, the guy and the girl.
-Oh yeah.
-That was a cool episode.
-They were great.
So I watched you and then I jumped over
to their channel and watched them.
And then I recently came back to you.
And so when I watched your segment
on the Forgotten Coast
I’m like man I can get behind that.
-Oh that’s cool.
-So I told Tracy I said watch.
I’m going to call this old boy
and tell him to come to Charlotte.
-That’s the West Charlotte marching band.
-Oh nice. We gotta turn around.
We had what you call “soul”.
We would get down like a hound.
Nobody would be sitting down
when West Charlotte playing.
-What do you got going on?
It’s United House of Prayer.
Bands from all over the country,
East Coast primarily.
And we get together
and march for our founding fathers
of the United House of Prayer
in their honor.
So yes sir.
So this is one of the practices
where I’m pushing them
so we can be our best.
-How are they doing?
-They’re doing good.
-Nice.
-They’re doing good.
[band playing and cheering]
[band leader] Let’s go. Let’s go.
Up tempo. Let’s go.
One, two, one, two, three, go!
Get ’em up.
Let’s get it right.
C’mon three.
Let’s go.
Here we go. Let’s go.
[drummers playing cadence]
[music and cheering]
There you go, baby!
I need y’all.
Let’s go. Let’s go.
Push and move. There you go.
Push. Let’s go.
Come on y’all. Get on it.
There you go, baby girl.
[woman] Let’s go!
[Peter] You pretty proud of ’em?
I’m proud of ’em.
Nice.
We got established in June of 1999
and we still here.
We have a lot of kids. They start here.
I’m proud to say that we have kids
that have graduated from this band
and from what we taught them
the basics of music theory.
They go off to high school
and march in high school bands.
I’m just doing my part
to help young people stay out of trouble,
stay out of the streets
and be productive citizens out here.
Right on.
And give back and…
This helps a lot right?
Having this structure, discipline.
It does.
Your name sir?
I’m Dimitri Samli.
-Dimitri, Peter Santenello.
-Nice to meet you sir.
-You too.
-Y’all have a great one.
-Thank you.
[Peter] Cool guy.
Well upon further review
I guess that was too young
to be the West Charlotte Marching Band
but there’s the future
West Charlotte Marching Band.
I’m telling you West Charlotte’s
a sight to behold brother.
You ever seen the movie Drumline,
that’s about right.
I’m seeing a little more
of a resurgence of religion.
I know it’s going away
and the churches seem emptier
but I don’t know,
I meet more maybe it’s just serendipity
but meeting guys like you
or Dimitri that are…
Listen man
you can’t go wrong doing right.
You can’t go wrong doing right.
And you don’t know there’s a straight line
unless you have a crooked line.
And you have to have a baseline.
And for me personally it’s the Bible.
And I don’t always
and haven’t always lived it.
I’m human so I’m not better
than though or not judging anybody.
It starts with me on the inside.
When you fully surrender
to a higher power man
you kind of understand that this is love.
Everybody’s a person.
There’s no reason for hate
or animosity or anxiety or cussing.
You just got to be patient man.
That’s the biggest thing.
Love, peace joy, faithfulness, kindness,
gentleness, patience, self-control.
That’s biblical.
And so I’ve decided
to live my life like that.
-It seems to be a little less painful man.
-Okay.
Every dumbass thing that I’ve ever done
is a direct result of alcohol.
-Then alcohol leads to other dumb sh*t.
-Yeah.
Don’t mean to get heavy on you man.
No it’s true. I agree.
Quitting alcohol was the best thing
I ever did in my life.
There’s no judgment
against anyone that drinks.
My wife has a glass of wine or whatever.
Nah man. You be you baby.
Live and let live.
I’m not going to Bible thump
but when you love somebody
love is long suffering and patience.
So you just kinda speak the truth.
And I think that’s what
really gets people upset a lot of times
because they feel like you’re
condemning them and shutting them down.
And it’s really not.
My only problem
with religious people is this,
when they look down at you
for not being religious.
That’s when I have a problem.
Religion sends a lot of people to hell
my friend.
Yeah exactly.
I respect anyone’s beliefs.
I’m not a religious person.
I pray to a higher power.
Do I know what that is?
And to religious people
that sounds crazy.
But whatever.
I try to do well in the world.
I don’t follow the book word by word.
I don’t go to church. I’m not religious.
But I admire it and I respect it.
And I see how it adds a lot of value
to a lot of people’s lives.
That’s my take on it.
As long as people are cool to me
I’m cool to them. You know what I mean?
When somebody passes away they’re not
going to be standing in front of me.
They’re going to be standing
in front of their maker.
I’ll tell you when everyone’s religious,
when the plane is going down.
You’re damn right. And what do they say?
-God help me.
-Oh my God.
And then it does flash before your eyes.
All right. Hang on my brother. We’re going
to have to take a hold right now.
Okay.
You know I want to see
all sides of Charlotte.
You’re saying we got one place
that’s a little rougher.
-Yeah so…
-What’s it called?
-Hidden Valley.
-Hidden Valley.
There’s an expose or documentary
on the Hidden Valley Kings.
I guess it was kind of the gang bangers
back in the day.
And they were unassuming.
I think nobody would
have found out about them
until there was a fight in a pool hall.
Then they found out what they were doing.
They were kinda slick about it.
Running drugs and stuff.
[blues music]
[Bobby] All this is Hidden Valley.
This neighborhood is huge.
This was quintessential
real American middle class.
-Okay.
-This particular neighborhood
was predominantly Black.
And then kind of late ’80s early ’90s
the change started happening.
People started moving
out through the suburbs.
Too much traffic. High taxes.
And so these started
becoming rentals and flipping.
But they’re very unassuming.
This is how we live man.
We had three kids, and two…
Mom and dad, five people.
Three bedrooms two bath
and we all didn’t know any better.
But you’re saying Hidden Valley
is known as the roughest–
-Yeah.
-So if someone from Bangladesh
sees this video
and there will be some people
from Bangladesh which I’ve been to.
It’s a wild country.
Very interesting. Nice people.
They’re going to be like “What?
This is as bad as the city gets?”
The infrastructure, the roads are good.
There’s sidewalks.
-Yeah.
-How’s business?
-Business pretty good.
Yeah? You’re jamming?
Yes sir. Yes sir.
-How’s hiring these days?
Not good.
-You can’t hire?
I can but it ain’t good.
-Why?
-People don’t want to work no more.
-They don’t want to work?
-No.
-You got these guys over here.
-Yeah they’re my sons.
-Take care.
-All right boss.
[Peter] Sixty-five bucks to do your car.
That ain’t bad.
-Inside and out.
-Yeah.
That’s all his kids making a buck.
-Those are his kids?
-Yeah. That’s what we’re missing.
-But he’s like–
-That’s real work.
Yeah. But they’re his kids.
He said he can’t find workers.
Yeah. And that’s bad.
Really bad. Like when I was that age–
I don’t know what’s going to happen
if it keeps trending that way.
Right.
-Like–
-Heads up brother.
That was super important to have a job
when you were that age.
Yeah.
-I was mowing lawns.
-Yeah I was too.
I went to work
with Mecklenburg County when I was 15.
Yeah.
A lot of young people
don’t want to work. I don’t get it.
All I wanted to do was buy a car.
Save money, buy a car,
have freedom. Right?
And also have my own money
to spend on things.
My mom who lives in Vermont
says a lot of the restaurants
they can’t find staff.
Yeah.
They said some of them
are closed certain nights a week
because they don’t have enough staff.
It’s going to come to a head man.
Yeah. What does that look like?
5, 10, 15 years?
Probably won’t be going out to eat
because we don’t have
people to cook the food.
It will happen.
This big machine will not turn or churn
without labor force.
Right.
At some point, you know,
not everybody can go to college
and not everybody can be
a YouTuber or a computer geek.
Yeah.
And I think it could be
labor force from other places
and then people will start
complaining about that.
Just so on and so forth man.
[Peter] Yeah. People around the world
want to work. That’s for sure.
But this is NoDa, North Davidson.
This is the new trendy place to be,
36th Street.
This is where all the bars and yuppies
hippies, tattoos, artists, musicians.
It’s a melting pot for sure.
-It’s where you hang on your off time?
-Where I used to hang a lot.
You were a hipster Bobby,
back in the day?
No I wouldn’t say I’m a hipster man
but I just liked to get into trouble
dand drink a couple
beverages every now and again.
So this is one of the hangout spots
’cause all the houses I build
were right around here.
Matter of fact
the Johnson Y is right over here.
1975 is when I learned how to swim.
And back then they would take you
to the end of the diving board
and throw your ass in
and you’d swim to the side.
It ain’t like that anymore.
That’s why there’s probably no work ethic.
Everybody’s a trophy baby.
[Peter chuckles]
Not now man. You either sink or swim.
And damn I learned how to swim.
And mighty thankful for it.
Some people will say that’s abusive
but man I can swim like a fish.
There’s Amelie’s, little French bakery.
That’s where you’ll find
a bunch of eclectics.
So the tough love was good for you?
-Yeah.
-I had tough love parenting for sure.
I got spanked.
You feel a different feeling
in your bottom and it warms up a bit.
You think about
what the consequences were gonna be.
There’s a light rail right there.
That’s a new implementation
from University.
All the way through downtown
to South End.
South End’s another area man.
I don’t know if you
want to go there
but that’s a whole nother vibe
on the South Side of Charlotte.
This is it.
No doubt right here in its finest.
It’s a nice place
to spend a Saturday man.
Hanging around,
shopping around, seeing what’s what.
-When did this take off?
How many years ago?
-It’s always kind of been a thing
but it’s kind of gained glamour
in the last 15, 20 years.
My mama used to work off of 36th Street.
My mama used to pick up
all the old people around here
bring them to church and feed them
and take them back home.
There’s Cabo Fish Taco.
I know the owner Rob Crenshaw.
He’s in there.
We got an open invitation to…
-Get some tacos?
-Do a Cinco de Mayo.
-[woman] I love your truck!
-Thank you very much.
There’s the Johnson Y.
That’s how I learned to swim like a fish.
You couldn’t drown me
if you waterboarded me.
I haven’t been in there since 1976.
And I’m glad they didn’t sell it.
That’s OG Charlotte there buddy.
And this is Heist Brewery.
That’s an old…
They used to take all these mills.
That’s one of them.
I would love to do that myself.
Take an old mill
and turn it into apartments
’cause of the character
in there and the hardwoods.
-Yeah.
-That’s slick.
See these mill houses?
So that’s the mill
and those are the mill houses.
Oh right up there?
-All these on the front street here.
-Oh nice.
-So it’s like a lumber mill?
-Probably a cotton mill.
Cotton was a big thing.
That’s kinda how this all came about.
Van Landingham Estate is in Plaza Midwood.
He was a cotton broker.
-So that’s back to
the plantation times right?
-Yeah. Latta Plantation Park.
Yeah so it’s still the South.
So cotton and corn, moonshine.
So yeah man.
My mom used to drive all these streets.
She worked on Johnson Memorial on 36th
and she worked for
Mecklenburg County for over 30 years
as the hot lunch program director.
-Okay.
-Meals On Wheels so to speak.
Yep.
I’m telling you five foot two
and had a big old school bus
and would ride all these streets.
And this was old mill,
old people, nothing eclectic about it.
This was the poor side of town
’cause it was older people.
And she’d pick ’em all up,
feed ’em lunch
that she had prepared with her staff
and take them all back home.
-And so these homes here,
they all have a uniform look.
These are all mill houses right here.
It’s the Heist Brewery
so it’s probably the Heist Mill.
The mills had it kind of figured out.
Cannon Mills in Kannapolis,
Springs Mills in Fort Mill.
Those guys are pretty slick.
They had the mill and they had
the houses and they had the store.
They had everything you need.
-Okay.
-You pretty much work, live, right there.
[woman] Every Sunday–
-Hey how are y’all?
-Fine.
-So did they use–
-They supplied all your needs.
So they paid in scrip so you could only
buy at the company store. That story?
Yep. I wouldn’t say they were slaves,
maybe indentured slave maybe.
-If I was going to label it.
-Right.
But it was all races working in it
or is it just Black or who’s doing it?
I mean it’s probably mostly White
but I’m sure it was mixed.
A lot of European immigrants are there.
Scottish, Irish is a lot
of the flavor here.
Yeah.
[Peter] Yeah.
I’m a video maker. I make YouTube videos.
Oh I can tell. And I’m going to be in it?
-You’re going to be in it. You’re cool?
-Yeah. I’m a star.
-You are?
-Yes. [laughs]
No sir. I’m not as cool as you.
I’m just a college student.
-No I’m not that cool.
I’m going to be an ultrasound tech
if you know anybody having some babies…
-That’s what you’re gonna do?
-Two years when I’m out I got you.
What we’re doing, the reason why
we’re stopping everyone today
is because nearly a billion people
are still living in extreme poverty
off a dollar a day.
-My question for you is this.
-Yes sir.
With so many organizations
you give money to
a lot goes to administrative costs
not to the actual cause.
Yes sir. 75% goes to the actual cause.
-75%?
-Yes. I can show you.
-All right.
-On our website I can show you.
Now what we’re doing we’re giving these
families that are in poverty livestock.
As in cows, chickens, goats, and bees,
but not to eat or harm sir,
to raise so they can
live off the byproducts.
Whatever they don’t use
they get to sell back for profit.
And it’s like us making
small business owners
or the philosophy
teaching a man how to fish.
Do you do anything in the US?
Get people with cows?
We’re actually based
in Little Rock, Arkansas.
-That’s where we started.
-Cool.
Then we started branching off
in the US then became international.
-That’s cool.
-We started in the US.
-You like his truck?
-Yes. I want it.
-You want his truck?
-Yes. I told him I want his truck.
[Bobby] Dude.
See that’s redneck.
That’s Southern redneck.
[Peter] He’s going German luxury
with some Southern necker right?
-Yeah.
My brother. This is Peter.
-How are you doing?
-Nice to meet you.
He’s the owner of Cabo Fish Taco.
-Oh nice. Should we get some tacos?
-Yeah.
-Yeah let’s do it. I’m hungry.
-Take a right.
So this is a 1905 building.
That’s the original tin.
This was like a pharmacy.
-Oh it was a pharmacy? Oh right.
-The doctor’s office was upstairs.
It’s got that pharmacy feel.
Nice and long.
It was like a soda shop kind of thing
back in the whatever, ’70s ’60s ’50s.
However they used to…
When they had soda shops.
All right let’s get the tacos.
-Bobby how is it?
-Good man.
Fire? Can you go cameraman for a second?
I’m going to show this.
Some shrimp tacos.
Nice steady hand Bobby. Good work.
Mmm.
-What do you think there Peter Santenello?
-Very good. I like them.
-Can I go in on your calamari?
-You have anything you want my brother.
You are my guest.
Mmm.
[Peter] That’s fire.
And a lot of calamari with chilli peppers.
[Peter] Top it off with a dessert Bobby?
-Want to get something to go?
-Are they good?
She said they’re amazing.
We smelled it coming up.
-You want a donut?
-I’m gonna try one if the girls are.
-It’s my birthday.
-Happy birthday.
Thank you.
-Twenty-two?
-That’s it.
Looking good, looking good. Mind reader.
Girls… girls are drugs.
You like my hat?
-Addictive? Highly addictive?
-We highly addictive.
-Dangerous, bad for my health?
-Dangerous, bad for your health.
Oh.
-But we’re so good though.
-Fact.
Okay talk to me.
This is amazing.
This is the best doughnut I have ever had.
I’m so sorry Dunkin’ Donuts
but this doughnut
is like melting while I’m eating it.
This is amazing.
-Made to order?
-Yeah.
-So you just run through that machine?
-Yeah.
-Can I put my camera in here?
-I don’t care.
She’s dipping around.
-Amber’s a good worker?
-Yes.
One of the best workers.
I can tell. I can tell.
Bobby, go camera mode.
You’re actually pretty good
with the camera I gotta say.
Sometimes I give it to people
and they just start moving it everywhere.
-Okay.
Fresh chocolate burning hot doughnut.
Mmm.
[Bobby] This nobody really knows.
If you know where this is,
you from here.
So this is Plaza Midwood.
I would say it’s its own thing.
These are where
the richer eclectic people live.
They’re not in the Eastover Family Wealth
or the Myers Park Dilworth.
These people got money too.
They just choose to live over here
a little bit more laid back, artistic.
Here’s the Country Club.
This is the hidden secret.
They might kick us out of here
but let’s give it a whirl man.
Probably cost you a good $125,000 to join.
Probably $5,000 a month and I’ve never
personally been in here but it is nice
and you pay a hefty entry fee
and it’s probably got a 10 year wait.
-This golf course is
right in the middle of the city.
-Right in the middle.
Quail Hollow, that’s where they really…
you know Tiger Woods and all them boys
play over here in Quail Hollow.
That’s going more South Charlotte
but this is probably more family
old school Charlotte money here.
[Peter] Wow. This is beautiful in here.
It is nice. Mature trees.
That you can’t build.
-Yeah.
[Peter] So what we’re not seeing today
’cause we can’t see it all
it’s over 2 million, the metro population.
We’re not seeing
like the house farm areas.
-You’re not seeing subdivisions.
-Yeah.
-You’re seeing established neighborhoods.
This is the heart of Midwood.
This is the Plaza.
Common market’s a trip. You’ll see.
So you’re saying this is definitely
a rarity that I found this guy.
Pretty much.
There’s nobody really from Charlotte.
-Virginia?
-Yeah. I’m from Virginia.
It’s a big transplant place.
You’ve got the bank,
a lot of headquarters that are here.
And during pandemic everybody woke up
to the fact that it was cheap.
They all kinda…
you know working remote
making Boston rates to come
and live in Charlotte for half the cost.
-How’s this place?
Oh this is a staple man. Common market.
-Is that where we’re going?
-Yeah.
All right. Let’s check it out.
So look at all the stickers.
Grateful Dead baby.
That’s from Vermont ain’t it?
-So check it out.
-Oh this is a cool place.
-Yeah man.
-Look at that old card.
That’s probably somebody’s family.
Everybody donates stuff in here.
I mean it’s all over the place dude.
Everywhere.
Let me show you something else.
So we remodeled these bathrooms.
The very next day it was like that.
I mean we did the floors and everything.
Toilets, paint, handicap bars,
and it was like that–
-You remodeled this?
-I mean it was fresh white.
And and he wants it like this.
This is the flavor I’m telling you about.
So then you can come in here
and do these craft beers.
A lot of singles.
You can come in here and get a six pack.
Man it’s everything.
You can buy singles, get you a sandwich,
-Hang out.
-This is a funky store.
[Peter] I’ve never been to
a store like this.
-It’s pretty cool.
-It’s quite unique.
And duplicated it several places around.
-All the graffiti and the art.
-Oh nice.
-Shows here at night?
-Yeah. There’s been music here before.
-Sick.
Little deli.
All the little drunk snacks. Check it out.
Smoke a little weed and get the munchie
grab a little Cheez-It bag baby.
-Cheez-It bag?
-I mean look at it.
Swedish Fish, Gummy Bears.
I mean Animal Crackers.
Old school Santa Claus.
Old school beer cans.
Italian ice.
Used to get my coffee here
in the morning when I was building.
This is a Bosnian place over here.
That’s a Bosnian market.
This is predominantly Vietnamese
through here.
And then it’s going to break
all kinds of Latin up here.
That’s House of Pizza there.
They shut down
for about a year to remodel
but that is absolutely a staple.
They’ve been there since the ’70s.
A bunch of Greek families,
generational family.
And so now we’re crossing over
to the East Side.
Right here that way,
that’s central Charlotte.
Now this is East Side.
So this is all
Latin restaurants through here.
Every country
in Central America represented.
[Peter] You want to get some fruit?
Yeah.
-Delicious.
-Delicious. Yeah.
-Delicioso?
-Yeah.
Okay. Do you like it on the cup
or in a coconut with a straw?
-I’ll do the coconut with a straw.
Yeah. Yeah.
Just one. Do you want one Bobby?
I got this Bobby.
[chopping]
Bobby do you mind taking the honors?
[Spanish]
-Six dollars.
-Six?
Yeah.
He’s got the style.
He’s just chugging them huh?
Yeah. Nice.
So these neighborhoods
just change literally…
-[snaps]
-Like that?
I had my first piece of pizza
down here, Pizza Etc.
Twelve years old. So that was ’82.
I went to school in ’88.
Come back 10 years later…
Whoop… whoop.
[Bobby] They throw the fruit
in the bucket.
[Peter] You think
they bring those up from Miami?
-Yeah. Got to be down South.
Probably Miami because brothers
are working in landscaping down there.
This whole area is flipped man.
I mean since the ’80s and ’90s.
Used to be people my color in here.
And then it’s all Latin.
-How do you feel about it flipping?
I’m okay with it.
They’re hard workers man.
I mean look. They’re on every corner
making a dollar man.
The change is…
I don’t know if drastic is the right word
but it’s just funny how everybody left
and a whole different
group of people came in.
Total different language.
Total different culture.
I’m not sure if I feel
good or bad about it.
-It’s just different.
-Right.
This isn’t what Charlotte used to be.
That used to be Eastland Mall.
Everybody went to Eastland Mall.
This was Miss Donna’s Dance Club,
House of Pizza.
Miss Donna trained half the girls
in this town how to dance.
And now it’s just
totally Spanish speaking.
Different kind of food, cultures,
all the way down for a couple of miles.
So that’s the story
of American cities right?
The groups come in.
They establish themselves.
-They leave. Someone else fills.
-Yep.
-That’s usually how it goes right?
-Yep.
It’s never original to anybody.
Here Latinos, Blacks,
stay totally separate
or do they integrate much?
-The neighborhoods?
-Pretty much. Three different classes.
Three different not classes
but everybody’s kind of sectioned out.
There’ll be neighborhoods that are
well integrated and diverse
but usually everybody, birds of a feather
flock together kind of thing.
Okay. So in Charlotte
you’re saying most Whites, White area.
Black, Black area.
Hispanic, Hispanic area.
I would say the Whites
and the Blacks are integrated.
Latin’s kind of new phenomenon
and getting a feel for how things work
and where everything is.
But they’re starting to move
to the suburbs too man.
There’s a bunch of concrete guys
that pour concrete
and makin’ bank
and they’re building big houses.
So that’s how it goes.
Once you make enough money you go to
the burbs for a nicer home, more space.
Pretty much and you can tell
the Latin guys, it’s kind of funny.
Anybody that’s got columns
and an iron fence,
they’re Latin.
-It’s kind of funny.
-They got the big fence?
Iron gates, fences, metal.
That’s how they roll.
They’re just used to security issues.
I guess. I don’t know
where that really stems from but…
Well I think it does.
And if you have a lot of money
in most of Latin America
and especially Peru.
When I was in Lima you have a wall
razor wire, electrical wire.
Some people had electrical
on top of their razor.
I know my Brazilian friends said that.
They’ll bust glass
on top of the brick wall.
Yeah.
In case anybody tries
to come over, get cut.
I hope it stays that way in America.
But what’s beautiful is all those
neighborhoods we went through today
nobody has fences and walls
around what they’re living in.
Because they’re not worried.
That’s a cool thing about the culture.
‘Cause if that neighborhood was in
Peru or Mexico
it would be gated in.
-Yeah.
-Fully.
That is the oldest house
right there in Charlotte, Mecklenburg.
-That wooden barn structure?
-No the one behind it.
-Oh okay.
-That’s the Hezekiah Alexander House
my friend.
This is the original oldest building
in Mecklenburg County that we know of.
Or that’s what they say, 1774.
Hezekiah Alexander House
built by his slaves.
They say it’s 5,000 square feet
but that ain’t right.
But anyway just there it is man.
He’s the guy who helped found
Mecklenburg County.
[Peter] The log kitchen.
-This is where slaves
would cook their meals.
-“Wealthy landowners in the
18th century
typically had separate buildings for
their kitchens. Fire was a real threat.
Kitchens often burned down.”
So they used
a separate building for that. Okay.
“Through historical documents we know
of at least 17 people were enslaved.”
For some
history only tells us their names.
For others available sources
suggest their skills and roles
but our information remains limited.”
These men and women helped build the site.
-I know Bet’s name.
And that’s where they got
the term hush puppies.
There’d be a bunch of dogs
and they’d make up corn batter
and fry it up and throw it to the
dogs and shut them up, hush puppies.
-Smells like they were
cooking there recently.
-It’s that old wood man.
A lot of history in that wood buddy.
Now this I do know something about.
This is what my mom and daddy did.
That’s a tobacco barn.
They’d hang it up in there to dry tobacco.
-Your parents did that?
-Oh absolutely. My mom and dad.
At home?
I never experienced it.
Where they grew up.
-Okay.
-Rural North Carolina.
That’s hard work man.
And you get sticky and hot.
They’re called tobacco staves.
They hang the tobacco leaves
and plants over a stave.
They just keep stacking them
up and the heat cures them out.
They grade them for quality
and roll cigars,
and cigarettes, and chewin’ tobacco.
“Barns like this were used
for storage of crops and tools.”
This property once included 600 acres.
That’s 454 football fields of land
that was farmed
primarily by enslaved people.
At this scale
the Alexanders would have had
at least three or four barns to store
corn, tobacco, and farming equipment.”
-Yeah.
That’s why you got
the big double doors right there
for tractors and stuff.
Growing up in the ’80s
you didn’t really see a lot of
interracial dating so to speak.
You’d catch a lot of flack
for it really if you did.
Now it’s pretty much commonplace man.
Proms and boyfriends and girlfriends
are hanging out playing sports.
It’s pretty damn integrated now man.
Which I’m happy to see. ’cause my kids
they don’t see color
like we did back in the day.
It’s just different. And that’s good.
That’s from communities coming together
and people communicating
and really finding out
there’s really not that many differences.
When you stereotype and your heart
won’t love it’s hard to change man.
[Peter] This guy’s got pupusas for sale.
[Bobby] Yep, so that’s
won’t work, can’t work.
That’s somebody who’s making a dime.
They’re out here on a Saturday
doing what they do.
And making money man. Dos for cinco.
Mamacita!
-She’s got the pupusas.
Hey!
-Hola!
-Buenos Dias.
[Spanish]
You got mas pupusas?
-You want one?
-Si. Dos.
-Dos por cinco?
-Okay.
[Spanish]
-Queso.
-Queso.
-Only cheese.
-Only cheese.
Oh it’s fresco.
[Spanish]
-Oh she makes them fresh.
-She’s making them now.
-Whoa.
-[snaps] Hey.
Honduras or El Salvador?
El Salvador.
-Como te llama?
-Reina.
Reina. La Queen. The Queen City.
That’s right. Charlotte’s the Queen City.
-Queen City baby. La Reina.
-Queen. Nice.
-Mucho gusto. Gracias.
-Reina it’s okay if I record?
-Okay.
-Okay. This is Reina’s operation.
[Bobby speaking Spanish]
[laughter]
So cool.
She’s got the lounge going on here.
[Spanish]
I mean all my neighbors literally…
I live two blocks that way.
Shane, Crystal, Andy,
Jeff, Darlene, Jamie.
They’ve all gone.
Now it’s theirs to raise their families.
[Peter speaking Spanish]
[Spanish]
[Spanish]
[Peter] No mas MS-13?
-No mas.
You know the story of El Salvador?
It went from being one of the most
dangerous countries in the world I think
and now it’s the safest
in Latin America I believe.
-They’re all locked up.
They’re locked up.
A lot of people say it’s controversial
because they’re not doing it in a…
Mass rush them off the street.
But there’s no place
for troublemakers man.
I know that’s a product
of the environment with poverty
but man you can’t go around…
-You can’t let them get what they want.
You got to have love
in your heart man, not hate.
[Spanish]
[Peter] Oh man. I’m going to
save these for later. I’m so full.
But at least you guys saw the process.
-Gracias.
-Muchas gracias.
Muchas gracias.
[Spanish]
[Bobby] So unfortunately
a couple of months ago
some police officers came to serve
a warrant on this guy on the left
and it was a mass, mass shootout.
-Where?
-This one right here.
I’m telling you bullets were flying.
I’m telling you high powered.
That guy was perched up
on the higher ground.
He saw the cops coming.
I mean bullets were flying everywhere.
That whole front was shot up.
You see the brick where
they busted in the new door.
It was insane.
-What were they coming for the guy for?
-Some kind of warrant.
I don’t really know what the charge was
but that white house over there,
see the new window stickers in the window?
-Yeah.
I feel like some stray bullets came
and that house burned down
two months later.
So something probably penetrated a wire
and it caused a house fire.
Now I’m just speculating but…
Look see the char?
-Oh yeah the bricks
didn’t burn obviously.
Something probably got skint
and caused a short circuit
and burned it down.
But that was a very unfortunate day.
My son knows a girl over here.
She was live feeding from the backyard.
I mean there was cops everywhere.
They had the whole plaza shut down
transporting people to the hospital.
They had the city on lock.
-How many people died?
Four cops.
And the two occupants,
the man and I think his wife.
But my city excites me.
And I was so happy
that I had an opportunity to build
in the neighborhood
me and my wife grew up in.
I’ve built ten houses
right here in Shannon Park.
-So as a builder when you
come back and see your creations
how does it feel?
It warms my heart.
It warms my heart that I made something
that’s going to last for generations.
So when I’m long gone
somebody can come back there
and say man I like that.
Or my kids can bring their children here
and say your granddaddy built that.
“That sucks.”
[chuckles]
“Why?”
-He’s like, “That sucks.”
“I hate that house.”
“It’s ugly.”
Just look how beautiful it is.
Beautiful people, beautiful buildings.
Nice day. Thanks for coming.
No. Thanks for showing.
I like showing contrast
and getting to as many
different types of places as possible.
-You did a great job.
-Yeah man. Thank you.
And congrats on what you do.
-Your homes are awesome, beautiful.
-Thanks man.
I’m going to leave your… You didn’t ask
for this at all just so you all know.
Bobby didn’t ask for this
but I’m going to
leave your link down below.
I don’t do social media baby.
Oh. What about your website?
-Wolfpack Builders.
-Website down below.
-Thanks man.
-Thanks Bobby. That was awesome.
I had no idea what to expect in this city.
-Yeah.
-And impressed.
‘Cause when I stayed uptown
here last night I was like meh.
And then what I saw today was like, yeah.
Yeah. I mean there’s nice houses.
It’s a cool place.
-Thanks for coming.
-Thank you.
All right guys, thanks for coming
on that journey.
Until the next one.
[blues music]