CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If there was a movie poster to promote the summer of 2020 this may be it, an empty shell of disappointment.
"it's a bit of a ghost town," said Hunter Vaughn, a patron of the Epicentre.
On Thursday at the Epicentre was empty, WCNC had to wait a moment before someone walks by, someone like Hunter Vaughn.
"I've been in Charlotte for about 4 years, and when I moved here it was a center, lots of night clubs, lots of restaurants," Vaughn said. "You know I think it's just people kind of grew up and moved out to the suburbs."
WCNC has covered several high-profile crimes at the Epicentre.
"it's your worst nightmare to see on the screen everything you've worked for being burglarized," said James Mack the owner of Epic Times Watches and Chains.
The popular spot has also been targeted by violence
Dr. John Holaday was killed by gunfire while walking on the sidewalk here.
WCNC's defender's team got state law changed after a local woman was drugged at an Epicentre bar. It's now illegal in North Carolina to tamper with anyone's drink.
But there have been good days here as well.
The NBA Allstar game was a huge success. But for Vaughn, that big win feels like so long ago.
"I certainly feel for the businesses that are trying to pay rent here," Vaughn said. "When I got in the elevator and you see all the little closed signs on 95% of those businesses."
Charlotte's City Council is likely to set to approve more office space and less nightlife in the coming weeks. But the Epicentre's sequel hasn't been scripted just yet.
The Charlotte City Council's business taskforce meets again in mid-September.