Article and Photographs by Dick Bourne,
Mid-Atlantic Gateway
Part of the Gateway Series on
Great Food for Your Great Wrestling Road Trip
I have been collecting old wrestling
programs from Charlotte for many years, including programs from
Crockett shows going back to the late 1950s. Charlotte being the
home-base for Jim Crockett Promotions, they went all out here in
providing wrestling fans with a printed program for each and every
weekly show at the
Charlotte Park Center (now the Grady Cole Center)
and the Charlotte Coliseum (Independence Arena/Cricket Arena, now
Bojangles Coliseum.) This lasted well into the early 1970s until
around the time of Jim Crockett, Sr.'s death. After that time, the
office began producing a magazine (originally monthly, later
quarterly) under the watchful eye of Les Thatcher and sold in all of
Crockett's towns.
The
weekly programs were full of photos (usually shot by veteran area wrestling
photographer Gene Gordon) from the previous week's shows, as well as
posed photos with many of the top stars that had been or would soon
be appearing in Charlotte. There was also a list of matches for the
current week's event, promos for the upcoming weekly TV matches on
WBTV-3, sometimes a mystery wrestler contest, and occasionally a puzzle.
There would also usually be a letter from promoter Jim Crockett Sr.,
and sometimes guest columns by wrestlers or managers. Arguably the
most memorable of these was the controversial "Likes and
Dislikes by J.C. Dykes", the author being the manager of the hated
Infernos.
Another common item in the programs
were advertisements from local Charlotte businesses. The National
Hat Shop was a regular, where fans could buy advance tickets to the
weekly shows. But the majority of the ads were food establishments,
and throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, these rarely changed. Such
places as Kofina's Snack Bar on West Trade Street, Little Italy
Restaurant on Central Avenue, and the self proclaimed "world
famous" Open Kitchen on Morehead Street. But flipping through
those old programs, the ad that always
caught my eye was for the South
21 Drive-In (ads seen at the top of this page.) I think it was the
graphic rendering of their famous trademark bulb-lined neon sign in the
ad (the same art that was featured on their food boxes) that
announced "Curb Service" and the declaration of "Delicious Food".
I came to learn that South 21 Drive-In
was a Charlotte cultural and culinary institution. But for thousands
of fans from the 1960s through the 1980s, it was a Charlotte wrestling
institution as well. Ironically, fans attending matches on either
Sunday night at the Coliseum or on Monday night at the Park Center
couldn't grab a South 21 burger on the way to or from the wrestling
show because they were closed on those two days. But the loyal
support of the establishment in the form of sponsorship helped earn
them the loyal support of Charlotte wrestling fans, and the iconic
South 21 logo is forever connected in the minds of fans from those
old printed programs.
The original South 21 was opened
by three Greek brothers in 1955 on
South Boulevard. The "No.2" location opened in 1959 on
Independence Blvd., across and down the street from the old Charlotte
Coliseum. It is this second location which has become the
flagship. Maria Housiadas, a daughter of one of the founding Copsis
brothers, and her husband George still own and operate the
restaurant to this day. Over the decades, thousands of
wrestling fans enjoyed burgers, hotdogs, and fried chicken at South
21 as a result of being directed there by those ads all those years
in their weekly wrestling program.
A recent book called "Hamburger
America" (by George Motz, published by Running Press) listed South
21 as one of the top 100 burger joints in the entire United States.
And so after having seen all those ads in those old Charlotte
wrestling programs, and reading the article in "Hamburger America",
I recently headed to Charlotte for a burger at South 21. At first glance, there doesn't seem to
be much to
this old drive-in, especially during the day, but at night it
transforms into something like a small county fair, with its
colorful neon sign and blinking lights and wonderful smells.
The article in "Hamburger America" got me to thinking about how very little
of this
place had changed over the half century it had been in existence. In
fact, practically nothing is different, from the trademark neon sign
that blinks "Curb Service", to the big cardboard boxes used to
deliver the food ("All our food boxed to go"), to the old metal
speaker boxes used to call orders in to the kitchen from your car.
The huge wooden painted signs behind the drive-in were particularly
nostalgic, boasting of "Southern Golden Fried Chicken", Steak Strip Sandwiches,
the "Fish-O-Burger" (served with a Cherry-Lemon Sundrop) and their
famous "Super Boy" hamburger, touted as "a meal in itself!"
One of the large boards now boasts a photograph of the drive-in from
1967, before Independence was a divided highway, with the dome of
the Charlotte Coliseum seen in the distance. Backlit signs hang
under a covered walkway touting Fried Speckled Trout, Delicious
Homemade Onion Rings, and the Super Boy. One of my personal
favorites on the menu, besides the burgers of course, is the jumbo
fried shrimp plate served with a mountain of hot fries. Those
beautiful shrimp are fried to tender crispy golden perfection!
South 21 is a throwback to the days before golden
arches dominated the landscape. It is the
real deal, a step back in time. And over the years I've learned that
small locally owned independents like these don't stay open for over
50 years if they aren't doing something right. In the case of South
21, they do two things right: good food and fast friendly service.
Add to that the fact that this place is decidedly old school, and it
is a winning combination.
It's always such a nostalgic rush
driving east on Independence Blvd. and spotting the majestic domed
roof of the old Charlotte Coliseum rising up above the trees. So
many great wrestling events were held in that building, so many
great names performed there. There were great tag teams like Johnny
Weaver and George Becker, Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson, Ric Flair and
Greg Valentine, and my favorites the Minnesota Wrecking Crew - Gene
and Ole Anderson. Great champions like Wahoo McDaniel, Jack Brisco,
Harley Race, and the Four Horsemen, they all did battle in the
hallowed halls of the Coliseum. It was the house that
Jim Crockett
built. Old man Crockett and his crew did more business in that
building than any other series of attractions, events, or
performances.
A big tip of the hat goes to South 21
and the Copsis brothers for their long time sponsorship of Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling through their weekly advertisements in the Charlotte
wrestling programs in the 1960s and 1970s. That, along with their proximity to the old
Charlotte Coliseum, make them a Mid-Atlantic Wrestling tradition all
unto themselves.
I waste a lot of time wishing I could
go back in time and see Jerry Brisco wrestle Rip Hawk for the
Eastern title or Blackjack Mulligan battle Masked Superstar in a Texas
Death Match, or the Anderson Brothers go another one hour broadway
with Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel for the tag team championship,
all just once more in the jam packed Charlotte Coliseum. And maybe
after the matches, we'll stop by South 21 Drive-In for a burger.
Sadly, we'll never see Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling again,
but we can go have that burger in almost the exact same
circumstances we did all these years ago. This is a grand tradition
that has stood the test of time and resisted the tides of change.
That's an opportunity I ought to take
advantage of more often.