Harper’s Restaurant, a staple of SouthPark since 1992, is closing. Last service will be July 20.

This closure was not planned, says Tom Sasser, founder and owner of Harper’s Restaurant and Burke Hospitality Group. Although the team at Harper’s fought for a lease extension, Sharon Corners’ landlord ultimately chose a different path.

The new direction, Sasser told CharlotteFive: a bank.

This is disturbing news for the owners and employees of Harper’s Restaurant, as well as the entire Charlotte community who have known and loved this restaurant since the original location opened in Woodlawn in 1987.

(RELIVE MEMORIES: Harper’s Restaurant has been a favorite spot for Chicken Supremes in Charlotte for 35 years.)

How it all began

Harper’s was an early pioneer of chef-driven, locally-sourced restaurants in Charlotte.

“Nobody really ran a restaurant where they made everything from scratch,” Sasser said. “There was Gus Sir Beef, and he brought stuff from his farm … but it was mostly chains.”

(REMEMBER: Gus’ Sir Beef Restaurant has closed for good after 54 years in Charlotte.)

Here Sasser, who was already working for a restaurant group, saw an opportunity and, with the help of longtime friends and some business partners, brought Harper’s to life. “We thought Charlotte was about to explode,” said Sasser.

His instincts were right. Charlotte’s population has grown by more than 15% every decade. In the 1990s, this growth reality was optimistic for small business owners like Sasser.

Yet more than 30 years later, that sentiment has somehow reversed. In many ways, Charlotte’s “explosion” has negatively impacted dozens of small businesses as larger companies come to town with budgets big enough to buy up those properties. It’s an age-old story here in the Queen City, especially for food entrepreneurs.

“We’ve been there from the beginning, there’s no doubt about that,” Sasser said. But it’s clear he’s not looking for recognition as an early pioneer of Charlotte’s culinary scene.

Currently, Sasser’s attention is focused – as it has been for 35 years – on the community he has built in his restaurant: his current and former employees and long-time customers.

As Harper’s employees become unemployed, Sasser is offering job openings at his other concepts – Mimosa Grill in Uptown, Taco Molino in Fort Mill, Horace’s Hot Fried Chicken and One Catering.

Sasser is extremely proud of the people who have walked through the restaurant’s doors. “We’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of great people who worked for us in the restaurants… cooks, bartenders, dishwashers, servers or managers who went on to run some of the best restaurants in the city and throughout the Southeast,” Sasser said. “That’s what we pride ourselves on… being a place where people can learn about the business.”

And at the end of the day, if his staff and guests had just a little bit of fun or enjoyment from this 35-year journey, “Boy, that’s all I need. That’s a good time,” he said.

Harper’s is a place of many firsts

Over the years, many guests at Harper’s experienced something for the first time – new parents, Charlotte newbies, business partners closing deals over the breaking of bread, Sasser said.

It was actually one of the first restaurants I ate at without my parents. A 7th grade birthday party, a chevron dress, and a skillet cookie were the ultimate unbridled freedom back then.

Sasser said real estate agents also bring their first-time buyers to Harper’s. Once the home is purchased, “Harper’s would be the first place (the homebuyers) would come back to… They raised their kids here,” Sasser said. “We certainly raised our kids here.”

Sasser’s son Holden worked at the restaurant as a child and eventually returned to his culinary and hospitality roots, as he now operates the Union Barbecue Truck in Charlotte.

“My kids saw how much fun people had with the experience and how much joy they had with it. It just rubs off on you,” Sasser said.

He describes the satisfaction that comes from doing good service as an “incredible feeling,” comparable to the exhilarating feeling of performing on stage—a reference to Sasser’s previous life as an actor.

“You’re only as good as the service you get today… the curtain goes up at 5 p.m. and you have to perform,” Sasser said. As with any good performance, there’s a lot at stake. The ultimate satisfaction comes from empty plates and smiles on customers’ faces, he said.

“It’s hard and it might feel like running a marathon every day, but it’s not rocket science,” Sasser said. “It means bringing a little bit of joy to someone.”

Sasser developed a hospitality training course for his employees, describing how hospitality is not just about providing great service, but that it is “about a feeling. It’s an emotional thing. It’s about making the other person feel like you’re on their side,” Sasser said.

Regulars are forever

This gracious hospitality has manifested itself in many different ways at Harper’s Restaurant since 1992.

Mr. Hall Turner, a regular who has been coming to Harper’s weekly for 20 years, calls the restaurant ahead of time to make sure his favorite chef, Shon Harris, is working and then places his order.

There is loyalty everywhere here – even between a customer and a chef.

If you dine at Harper’s and sit at the bar, you might notice a few plaques on the edge. Sasser said the occasional drink on the house doesn’t quite do justice to longtime customers — Mark Rollison, Art Secor, Macon Jordan and former employee James Zang. Instead, “their names are etched into the bar,” Sasser said.

The predictability of the entire Harper’s experience – the generally unchanged menu, the timeless wood-and-brick ambience, the service – is a hallmark of this restaurant. Reliable classics we’re all missing include the burger with Betty’s pimento cheese (Sasser’s mother’s special recipe), the Danish ribs and the chicken supremes – a recipe Sasser has changed only once in 35 years.

“Some things change, but a lot stays the same and people don’t want anything to change,” Sasser said. He laughed. “Maybe that’s an old people problem.”

But perhaps this feeling is timeless and actually just reflects the desire for security and safety in a world that is as fickle and unpredictable as ever.

As Sasser told me the stories of Harper’s Restaurant regulars, I couldn’t help but think of a quote from “The Bear” (which I devoured last week). In Season 3, Chef Andrea Terry says, “I think what I’ve learned over the years at all the places I’ve worked is that people don’t remember the food… They remember the people.”

This certainly seems to be true for Harper’s.

The future of Harper’s Restaurant

While the forced closure is disheartening for the Harper’s team, “we are exploring other opportunities,” Sasser said, pointing to an upcoming cafe project.

In the meantime, Sasser encourages guests to make a reservation or stop by and say hello before July 20.

If former Harper’s patrons have an appetite for Chicken Supreme after that time, the Harper’s restaurant in Greensboro will remain open and One Catering will “continue to prepare Harper’s food upon request,” Sasser said.

Looking back on running that restaurant, Sasser told CharlotteFive that the business taught him a lot about making mistakes.

“As far as I know, we are all human… and we make mistakes… It all depends on how you react to the mistake, how you deal with it. You don’t run away from it, you face it,” Sasser said.

And that’s exactly the attitude Sasser has adopted in the face of this major, unexpected setback. He’s not running from it, he’s facing it, not for himself, but for the people who come in and out of Harper’s every day, the ones etched right into the bar.

Harper’s Restaurant

Location: 6518 Fairview Rd. Charlotte, NC 28210

Menu

Cuisine: American

Instagram: @harpers_southpark

Unique Charlotte: Uniquely Charlotte is a collection of moments, landmarks and personalities for Observer subscribers that define the uniqueness (and pride) of our lives in the Charlotte region.