By Tony Mecia | The Charlotte Observer | June 222, 2007

With a decrease in customers, South 21 Curb Service on South Boulevard may close at the end of the month. In the '50s and '60s, South 21 was open till midnight on the weekends and drew young couples and families.

The South 21 Curb Service on South Boulevard, a Charlotte landmark that's been serving burgers and fries at its drive-up booths since 1955, has until the end of the month to find a new owner or will close.

Owner George Katsanos told the Observer on Thursday that construction related to the nearby light-rail line has hurt his business and that he wants out. He says he's been in discussions with a potential buyer to assume an option for an additional three years in the restaurant's lease, but that it's uncertain that will lead to a deal.

The other South 21 locations, on Independence Boulevard and Brookshire Boulevard, are independently owned and unaffected.

The drive-in restaurant, known for its "Super Boy" double hamburger, is the latest in a string of old-time Charlotte restaurants that have recently faced closure. In the last year, venerable restaurants including Andersons, near Presbyterian Hospital, and The Athens, near Central Piedmont Community College, have closed. The Coffee Cup is still open, but its future is uncertain.

With uptown continuing to boom, development pressures have sometimes led owners to find more lucrative uses for their land. Other times, owners simply tire of the businesses.

In the case of South 21 Curb Service, Katsanos says it's been tough to persevere in recent years. Competition from other restaurants, such as a new nearby Chick-fil-A and other spots in South End and Dilworth, has been "ferocious."

In addition, he said, the "in-crowd" -- young professionals -- are "not interested in eating a burger on their lap in a car."

But the final blow, Katsanos said, was the city's new light-rail line. Because of it, the city realigned South Boulevard and converted it into a divided highway in front of the restaurant. Customers coming from uptown for lunch could no longer turn left into the burger joint.

It's a big switch from the '50s and '60s, when South 21 was open till midnight on the weekends and drew young couples and families. Back then, the restaurant had seven runners taking food to the cars -- all African Americans dressed in red jackets, bow ties and hats, recalls Lawrence "Shorty" Massey Sr., who started working there in 1964. He's now one of two runners.

People would drive to get a burger, then catch a show at the Queens Drive-In Theatre across the street.

Employees say one couple celebrates their wedding anniversary there each year, because it's where they used to go on dates. Other customers recall going there as children.

Nick Copsis, who owns the South 21 land and co-founded the restaurant with two brothers in 1955, said he'd like to see it continue operating.

He said: "I don't want it to close, but if I don't have a choice. ..."

When it opened, South 21 was the 11th curb-service restaurant in Charlotte, but it differed from others because it offered a greater variety of food, according to a 2000 research report by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

Dan Morrill, the commission's director, said he doesn't expect a groundswell of support to preserve South 21. It's different from the Coffee Cup, which longtime Charlotteans rallied to save in the last year. That restaurant was an early place for blacks and whites to eat lunch together, Morrill said.

Still, he said, people have strong memories of going to drive-up restaurants.

"It might have been where you kissed your first woman."

Originally published online here: http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-south-21_close.3e5db52.html