Business districts like Plaza Midwood and South End have strong collections of gay business owners and gay bars. Census data shows LGBT folks are spread across Mecklenburg County. They've become famous worldwide as true gay villages - cities within cities where LGBT people comprise the majority of residents and business owners and rainbow flags are hung even outside non-gay-owned businesses.Ĭharlotte has plenty of gays, there's no doubt. These gayborhoods, many of which formed decades ago, contain heavy concentrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) residents and clusters of gay-owned-and-operated businesses, bars, restaurants and shops. San Francisco has Castro, and New York has Greenwich Village, Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen. He's seen each area transform and their popularity ebb and flow - especially among his gay friends and acquaintances.īut he doesn't think the city has a true 'gayborhood.' He has lived in some of the city's hippest neighborhoods, including Dilworth, Uptown and, now, Plaza Midwood.
Tom Warshauer has called Charlotte home for 23 years, moving here in his early 30s to take a job with the city.
