Resident Culture
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
My name is Marissa. I am the general manager of Resident Culture’s uptown location, located in the Market at 7th Street.
Resident Culture has been a brewery in Plaza Midwood for almost nine years, and we’ve had our taproom in the uptown location for a little over two years. We’re known for hazy IPAs, but we also expand to everything. We love doing imperial stouts, barrel‑aged beers, funky sours, and light lagers that are approachable. Our motto is where your weird is welcome, and we like to show that through our beers.
I was first introduced to breweries when I was younger. I grew up in Minnesota, and my parents really enjoyed Surly, which is now a really big brewery. But back then it was just getting started, and they loved the Surly Darkness. The cans had these crazy graphics, and there were only limited releases. You had to go and stand in line and try to get the beer you wanted. It was such a small, niche community that really enjoyed craft and quality beverages.
So when I started being able to drink, I had quite a high quality—was a little bit of a snob about my alcohol. I was destined to look for breweries, want to enjoy craft beers, and know what a quality beer is.
When I started, I came to Resident Culture. I’d seen our Lightning Drops in a local bodega deli spot, and I saw the can artwork was amazing. I walked into our doors in Plaza Midwood, and the team was so welcoming. I asked about what it’s like to work here, what they do day‑to‑day, what their events are like. The people behind the bar were so excited about where they worked, and I felt so welcomed and felt genuine excitement from those people. That’s something I always want to convey to not only our guests, but our staff and community partners as well.
Something we try to curate at Resident Culture is making sure we leave the door open for ideas—nothing’s too crazy. Last year, I was able to work with my gynecologist to create a panel of women for International Women’s Day to give some free healthcare advice. That was so fun because it was an idea I had and got to work on, and the brewery, the owners, and the staff gave the space for that. We always want to make sure we’re doing events that align with our values and that support and welcome the community.
When you walk into our Central location, we’ve got a parking lot, an outdoor area, funky stuff hanging from the ceiling, decorations, eclectic seating. When you walk in, you see all of our barrels and tap systems. We set up our back‑of‑house brewery to look kind of like an organ. When you walk in, you’re almost welcomed into this production, and you get to actually see where everything is brewed and made. You feel a connection—the stuff I’m about to drink was made two feet away from where I’m standing right now.
There’s a beautiful outdoor area with room for kids playing. And when you walk into the 7th Street Market, it’s in uptown, in the heart of the Queen City, so it’s a bustling place. There’s always something different going on depending on whether there’s a basketball game or a concert. You get a mix of different people, which is very key to our base. The aromas are a bunch of different foods and great beer, and we love that you get to mix them all together. Each time can be a different experience, but you’re still going to get really quality and great stuff.
I came to Resident Culture after I picked up my life and moved to North Carolina, knowing only the one person I moved with. I felt so welcomed when I went into Resident Culture. I felt at home. I got along with the people I met there, and they became some of my closest friends here. I was able to build such a strong community and family from Resident Culture, and that will always have great meaning and fulfillment to me.
People who work there and people who patron there try their best to give each employee the opportunity to not only grow within themselves but grow within the company. I started off as a bartender, then I was a floor manager—like a bar manager—at our Plaza Midwood location. I heard our owners were looking to open the uptown location, and I said, “I’m interested in running that. Would you take a chance on me?”
And they took a chance. Now it’s been two years later. They didn’t know what was going to happen because I hadn’t previously opened a bar or had experience like that. I’d managed people and been in the service industry for quite a while, but it was powerful that they gave me that chance and have continued to give me that chance.
I’ve been able to make a lot of great connections in the community. The ability to constantly meet new people from all different walks of life and see them get excited about Charlotte is amazing. The city center partners who help run the Market at 7th Street are very excited about Charlotte and uptown and reviving it—creating it into a culinary, art, and social scene of economic growth. It’s really exciting to be part of something that feels like it will be bigger in the future and to be on the ground floor of that.
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