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takeOUTside is proudly presented by Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, our partner as we (safely) explore Charlotte-area restaurants, parks and green spaces.
Our pairing:
Restaurant: Mad Dash
Outdoor Space: Frazier Park
Distance between them: 1.3 miles – 4 minute drive
To Corey Jones, there’s nothing better than a good burger and fries. Which is why his restaurant, Mad Dash, specializes in burgers, sandwiches, tacos and house-cut french fries.
“I’ve always enjoyed cooking for people. When you leave here, you’ll want to make a mad dash back, because the food was so good,” Corey said when asked to explain how he came up with the restaurant’s name.
The restaurant is located near Wesley Heights, in Historic West End. It’s inside The City Kitch West End, which is a ghost kitchen — a shared cooking space that multiple restaurants can rent out. To order, head to their website, order and pay online, then pick your food up inside the lobby of The City Kitch West End. Mad Dash also offers delivery.
“It’s very Covid-friendly” Corey said, since it’s meant to be picked up or delivered and eaten at home or at Frazier Park, just a four-minute drive away.
[See other Black-owned restaurants with nearby green spaces perfect for takeout]
The Menu
Chef Jones’ favorite menu item is the Mad Dash Burger. He also takes pride in his fries — as he should. They are salty, flavorful and have a mix of both the crispy and soft kinds. They went well with the Mushy Goat Melt, which features roasted mushrooms, caramelized onions, goat cheese, arugula, and horseradish aioli on sourdough bread — a healthier choice for those avoiding meat.
Mad Dash Burger
- Angus beef patty
- lettuce
- tomato
- caramalized onions
- garlic aioli
- fried egg
- crispy bacon
- muenster cheese
The menu also offers four different taco choices, including the Thrifty Shrimp Tacos — blackened shrimp, caramelized onions, tomatoes, avocado, jalepeños, Dash Sauce, and crema.
Chef Corey Jones’ story
Jones is originally from Alaska and grew up cooking with his grandmother. In high school he got a scholarship and headed to Charlotte to attend Johnson and Wales University, where he graduated in 2012.
He always dreamed of owning his own business and originally was working toward a food truck. But start-up costs were a little steep. After getting laid off from a chef job at the airport, Jones thought it was the perfect time to figure out how to start his own restaurant. As he learned more about ghost kitchens and their lower start-up costs. Mad Dash was opened in October of 2020.
Opening in a pandemic
“It’s been a little ride, a little roller coaster,” he said. His business so far has been relying on local traffic, word of mouth and social or news presence — his chicken sandwich was voted No. 1 by the Charlotte Observer.
Jones is hoping that as the weather gets warmer and the pandemic fades away, people will start coming out more. His long-term goals for Mad Dash are to become a staple in the community, have a food truck and brick & mortar, and employ people who need jobs.
About Mad Dash
- Address – 2200 Thrift Road, Charlotte NC 28208
- Menu – https://www.maddashkitchen.com/menu
- Hours: Mon 11 am-5pm; Tues-Fri 11am-9pm; Sat 2pm-7pm
- Phone: 704-750-9507
- Facebook; Instagram
TakeOUT
Mad Dash is Covid-friendly, and so is enjoying the food in a local park. There are many surrounding green spaces, including Bryant Park, Martin Luther King Neighborhood Park, or Frazier Park. The latter is only a four-minute drive from Mad Dash, and has ample parking and seating to enjoy your meal.
On a Wednesday afternoon, the weather was cooperating and the community was taking advantage. People were playing tennis, walking the dog, throwing the football and, of course, eating lunch.
The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority is committed to delivering unique, memorable experiences for visitors and residents while supporting Charlotte-area restaurants, shops and attractions.
My granddaughter and I love to try different restaurants, and have been to Mad Dash twice since this article appeared. We met Corey who turned out to be a quite pleasant young gentleman. He’s from Alaska, his grandmother from Chicago. Trust me, you really do want to give this place a try: the only French Fries I have ever heated up the next day that were just great! The hamburger is a must!
Please school me, this is going to sound dumb” but a black man from Alaska”In my head I thinking there’s only about a 1,000 African American or Black people in Alaska; I know better. I’m 74 years old and Alaska is on my bucket list to visit.Okay we have had a good laugh, I hope.
It’s great to see a young black man taking that opportunity of loss and making something positive out of it. I am so proud of you ,God bless you and keep up the good work I haven’t taste of food but I planned to.