‘A sweet, sad time.’ Zada Jane’s cafe in Plaza Midwood set to close this Sunday

Plaza Midwood staple Zada Jane’s Corner Cafe will permanently close on Sunday, its owner confirmed Saturday afternoon.

As word filtered around the community, the Central Avenue restaurant was packed throughout the day Saturday.

“We’ve loved our customers. I’d see them for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” owner Marcia Hurst said in a brief interview with The Charlotte Observer. She said she wanted to thank them for all of the support over the years.

“It’s a sweet, sad time,” Hurst said.

In the ever-changing Charlotte restaurant landscape, Zada Jane’s is the latest to close its doors . Last month, for instance, seafood restaurant Rocksalt in the Park Road Shopping Center announced it was closing after a decade-long run.

Hurst declined to say what will come next for the Plaza Midwood site, but said she’d have more to share about its future soon.

About Zada Jane’s Corner Cafe

Zada Jane’s was known for its hearty, locally sourced food. Its website said the restaurant opened in 2008 although Hurst said she actually opened it in 2007.

The restaurant aimed “to bring a unique and eclectic vibe of culinary creations to the close-knit suburb feel of Plaza Midwood in Charlotte,” it said on its website. “We have different specials for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You’ll never see the same thing twice.”

In 2022, the Observer detailed how rising rent in Plaza Midwood was changing the artsy, funky character of the community. At the time, Hurst told the Observer she wanted to find a way for the neighborhood to remain quaint and quirky.

On Saturday, Hurst recalled how she’d make all the deserts for Zada Jane’s. She may try to make one final cake before the restaurant closes Sunday at 4 p.m., and give it away to her customers.

Hurst also plans to do one other thing for them, hand out small mason jars with roses in them. “Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

‘Sad to hear this’

Customers of Zada Jane’s took to social media to lament its imminent closing. Here’s a sampling from the Observer’s Facebook page :

▪ “One of the first restaurants I ate at when I first moved to Charlotte. Sad to hear this.”

▪ “This is where my husband took me on our first date. Good memories”

▪ “Charlotte being booji wiping out all the culture.”