*Charlotte rapper DaBaby has officially entered the restaurant business, and if opening day at No Knife Chicken & Waffles is any indication, folks are plenty curious about what he’s cooking.
Hundreds gathered outside the new Charlotte restaurant Sunday ahead of its 10 a.m. grand opening, braving sweltering heat, sporadic rain and a line that barely moved for stretches.
The restaurant, located at 700 Atando Ave., is DaBaby’s first. Local station WBTV previously reported that the he had been showcasing his cooking through videos under his No Knife/Cooking with Kirk brand and played a significant role in developing the restaurant’s menu.
And that menu definitely gives customers something to talk about.
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$45 For a Waffle?
No Knife serves plenty of waffles, but the chicken is extra.
Waffles range from the $15 “Plain Jane” to dessert-inspired options such as birthday cake, banana pudding, red velvet and strawberry shortcake for $25. The priciest item is the $45 “Soulfood Cornbread” waffle, topped with collard greens, candied yams and mac and cheese.
The opening-day menu also included fried fish, lobster tail, mini crab cakes, egg rolls, grits and $7 sides. Bottled water was listed at $6, alongside several lemonade flavors.
Charlotte Observer/CharlotteFive reporter Evan Moore got the full opening-day experience after arriving around 9:30 a.m. By his account, the first hour passed fairly easily, but customers became restless as the wait stretched on and the line barely budged.
Servers eventually began offering drinks to people waiting outside. After roughly three hours, Moore finally made it inside.
The $45 Taste Test
Moore ordered a $25 strawberry shortcake waffle and six lemon-pepper wings, which were priced at $10 on opening day. With tax and tip, his final tab came to around $45.
So, was the food worth waiting three hours?
“No,” Moore wrote.
But here’s the twist: He actually liked what he ate.
Moore said the strawberry shortcake waffle immediately reminded him of Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake ice cream bars and praised the fresh strawberries on top. He also described the lemon-pepper wings as packed with flavor, despite being smaller than wings served at some other popular Charlotte restaurants.
In fact, he said he’d order the wings again.
The problem wasn’t necessarily the food. It was the combination of opening-day wait times and prices. Moore acknowledged that three-hour lines aren’t likely to be the everyday experience once the initial excitement settles down.
Hundreds Came Out for DaBaby
The turnout also showed the pull DaBaby still has in his hometown.
Some customers weren’t only waiting for chicken and waffles. Moore reported that many hoped to catch a glimpse of the rapper himself.
DaBaby didn’t appear during the four hours Moore spent at the restaurant, but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from showing up.
WSOC-TV separately confirmed that No Knife Chicken & Waffles opened Sunday and features 10 waffle varieties, along with a health and wellness bar offering items including açaí bowls, smoothies, yogurt parfaits, oatmeal bowls and wellness shots.
The restaurant’s debut adds another venture to DaBaby’s Charlotte footprint, and opening-day demand certainly wasn’t the problem.
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