🟢 Uchiba Power Move

Presented by:

By Ted Williams

Hello Thursday. The Business Journal just published country club initiation fees in Raleigh. Feels like it should have been a Tiny Money collab 😉

Old Chatham Club – $100K
Carolina Country Club – $95K (my No. 1 pick)
North Ridge Country Club – $90K
Governors Club – $60K
Raleigh Country Club – $44K

As a big-time former North Ridge Member Guest flight winner, it’s wild to see the club 3x its initiation fees over the last few years. All are inexpensive compared to top clubs here in Charlotte! Anyways.

💼 Hot job: Marketing Lead at The Health Club ($45K – $60K). Manage email, SMS, and content. Free membership. Hiring manager Kyra Dickie. Badass CEO Addy Collett.

🏠 For sale: Classic Myers Park home on rare double lot asks $6M. 7 beds. 10 baths. 1 acre. New pool house. $342K under Zestimate. Listing agent Valerie Mitchener.

👨 Shout-out: Andy Smith, founder of Andy's Print Shop, for growing so fast in his first 8 weeks that he just purchased a second $100K machine. Clients include Truist Championship, Mint Museum, and MPCC!

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

S&P 500

7,023

+2.40%

Nasdaq

24,016

+3.36%

NOW OPEN

Irish-themed gastropub opens in SouthPark's former Rusty Bucket space

My 8-year-old daughter holding the $15 “Craic-style” pepperoni pizza

Now open: The Craic, a new Irish-themed gastropub, opened yesterday in SouthPark’s former Rusty Bucket space.

With 20 monster TVs, it’s a Duckworth’s-like spot located across from DTR SouthPark, which does a sneaky big business.
“Consistency matters more than flash,” says Chef Danny O’Connell. “We’re focused on doing familiar food the right way.”

Menu: Comfort food and Irish classics. Highlights👇

$18 Irish Nachos with short rib, bacon, and Dubliner cheese
$15 Signature Pretzel served with house-made beer cheese
$23 Fish & Chips with beer-battered cod and tartar

PRESENTED BY PEARL DENTISTRY

Pearl Dentistry leads cosmetic dentistry transformation movement in Charlotte

Pearl’s team performs complete smile transformations

Pearl Dentistry, founded by Dr. Jenny Gandhi, has 3 modern locations around Charlotte. It's beautiful inside!

Services: Range from low-key Invisalign aligners to meticulous cleanings to ultra-custom, no-prep veneers that deliver instant main-character energy.

"Every treatment, whether cosmetic or general, is led with precision and aesthetics," Jenny told me. "Patients are investing in smiles that are effortless, elevated, and unmistakably theirs."

Book it: Schedule a cleaning or book a virtual cosmetic consult

OPENING HYPE

$850K LA-inspired sushi spot gets ready to open in Optimist Park

Bar area with 24 seats, total investment $850K to open

Opening soon: Sharigato, a chic hand-roll sushi restaurant from chef-owner Shari Lynne Robins, plans to open within the next few weeks.

How it works: You'll enter and wash your hands. Then grab a seat at the 24-seat counter, where you can watch the chef. Order a set of hand rolls (3-6 pieces).

“The blue crab roll seems to be everyone’s favorite so far, but I have lots up my sleeve,” Shari told me. “Stay tuned!”
The hand rolls are meant to be eaten immediately with your hands.

Price check: Set menus range from $18 to $34 per person. Individual hand rolls are also available at $5 to $9 each.

Limited "Snacks" like miso soup, edamame, shishito peppers, cucumber salad, and tempura fries round out the menu.

Takeout: There's a separate window with maki-style rolls and a signature $120 DIY Handroll Kit with everything needed to make 20 hand rolls — toro, crab, yellowtail, salmon, warm rice, and seaweed.

Bullish: Shari built momentum with pop-ups over Charlotte and given the interactive experience, it’ll be buzzy.

TINY MONEY JOB BOARD

Who’s hiring in Charlotte? 5 Trending jobs

Senior Specialist, Corporate Strategy at Scout Motors ($130K – $160K). Plaza Midwood HQ. 25 PTO days.
Leadership Giving Officer at Charlotte Latin School. Relationships of $25,000 or more. HR lead Sara Onstad. Go Hawks!
Director, Marketplace Growth at Red Ventures ($140K – $180K). Hybrid. Drive P&L outcomes. Equity grant eligible.
Manager, Digital Publishing at Written Word Media. Remote. Startup that works with 30,000 authors. CEO Ricci Wolman.
Event Planner at Charlotte Country Club. Free meals. 401(k) match. Hiring manager Taylor Oikemus. GM Priscilla Eich.

Hiring? Post a job

Hunting? View all 116 open jobs on the Tiny Money Job Board💰

MONEY TALKS

47-year-old takes $215K pay cut to stop existing as "shell of a human"

$28 Mozzarella Present at Little Mama’s, this guy’s No. 1 spot

Money Talks is a weekly series showcasing how real people in Charlotte approach money. Participate.

Living situation: “Own. Downsized to townhome from country club living. Put 60% down to keep bills lower. Learning that HOAs are like former execs on a power trip, but without a required kindness period.”

Job: “Head of a department for a PE-backed FinTech firm. 100% virtual. Salary is $235K.”

Pay cut: “I was paid $450K at my previous job, but I was a shell of a human. I changed jobs and took a $215K pay cut. My life is much better now.”

On your mind: “Charlotte's rat race is hardly the real world. Financial aspirations here are unlike anywhere else I've lived. Don't fall for it.”

Net worth: “$2.5M or so. I’ve been pretty lucky. I have $1.5M in retirement accounts, $200K in cash, plus home equity and other assets.”

Rich in Charlotte: “I’m not rich, but I’m also not poor. Rich here is $5-8M in assets with at least $1M readily accessible.”

Full story: 47-year-old with $150K in side hustle revenue eyes second home up north

MONEY SNACKS

5 other financial headlines I’m snacking on

PostScript opens in Plaza Shamrock. Neighborhood spot in former Letty's space. Focused menu. Order the $28 pork chop.
Shuckin' Shack Oyster Bar sells 3,839 oysters in first week. And 105 pounds of shrimp. Located in Promenade on Providence.
All Purpose Bar opens across from Ever Andalo in NoDa. Specialty cocktails $12-$18. Intimate. Congrats Larry!
Mental Health clinic for sale asking $595K. Revenue $1M. Total income $215K. Owner retiring. 11 years old. Good SEO.
People on LinkedIn calling themselves "founders" increases 69% YoY. Starting a business is cool again, especially with AI.

HOUSEKEEPING

I told our waitress “We’ll take the entire Uchiba menu” which horrified my friends

Uchiba's $8 Okonomiyaki Fries with tuna sashimi lurking in the background

Instructions: If you love sushi and Japanese small plates, go with a group of 4 and order the entire Uchiba menu. They’ll course it out for you.

It’s a total of $812, which is expensive but less than Prime Fish’s $325 per person Omakase Experience.

Catch up: Uchiba, a rooftop sushi lounge, opened 2 weeks ago in Plaza Midwood. It’s the sister concept to award-winning Uchi.

Confession: As an aging influencer, I can’t handle tentative orderers. So when I saw my friends Trevor and Ashley studying the Uchiba menu like a calculus textbook, I got triggered and pulled a power move telling the waitress, “We’ll take it all.”

They were shook. I didn’t ask permission. But at the end of the meal, they complimented my aggressive strategy.
Unclear whether we’ll ever do a double date again.

Happy Thursday! Wish me luck, I’m going camping with my 8-year-old and 5-year-old daughters on Saturday. I purchased a $299 Coleman 4-person tent from REI because it said “1-minute setup.”

– Ted