The Southeast’s ‘best chef’ from an unlikely place

Good morning! Today is Monday, June 22, 2026. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

Hi readers, Lindsey here. Tonight’s the night: City Council will decide who will take over as Charlotte’s mayor after Vi Lyles’ resignation, effective June 30. Keep scrolling to learn more about the five candidates.

But first, in light of Charlotte’s increasing interest in our own culinary scene, today’s newsletter starts with a short piece on the chef who was recently named best in the Southeast by the James Beard Awards. It’s a really high honor, and the chef and his restaurant are not in a place you’d expect. Keep reading to get the full dish.

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Today’s Ledger is sponsored by The Village on Morehead. Join The Village on Morehead for a seated luncheon and engaging panel discussion featuring Jim Gray, Founder and CEO of The Aspenwood Company. Discover the top ten reasons residents choose this premier retirement community. RSVP: 704.831.8000 or [email protected]

by Lindsey Banks

Two hours west of Charlotte — and two hours west of Charlotte’s emerging culinary scene that has spent years debating if it’s a real food city and tracking awards — something interesting happened last week. 

Taylor Montgomery, co-founder and executive chef of Montgomery Sky Farm in Leicester, N.C., won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Southeast,” one of the highest honors in American dining, at the awards ceremony in Chicago on June 15. 

Leicester (pronounced “Lester”) is an unincorporated community in Buncombe County about 15 miles from Asheville with a population of around 12,500 people. It’s known for its mountain views and deep farming roots. Now, James Beard can be added to that list. 

The James Beard Awards are considered the Oscars of the culinary world. There are several categories that each produce 20 semifinalists for things like “Outstanding Restaurant” and “Best New Restaurant” and “Best Chef” across different regions. The Southeast category covers six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.  

(This cycle, Robin Anthony of Omakase by Prime Fish in Charlotte was also nominated in the “Best Chef: Southeast” category.)

“I want to thank the James Beard Foundation not only for recognizing us, but for finding us,” Montgomery said in his acceptance speech at the Chicago ceremony. “We’re just a small farm in Leicester, N.C.” 

Founded in 2018 by Montgomery and his wife, Fran, Montgomery Sky Farm is a 50-acre working farm that was “created as a place where land, food, and care are deeply connected, bringing together regenerative agriculture, intimate dining, and animal rescue in a way that is both thoughtful and enduring,” according to their website. 

Among the James Beard Award-winning dishes and home-grown produce are Highland cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens and even two rescue Capybaras, named Cornbread and Crouton.

Montgomery Sky Farm is private-dining only, meaning you can’t just roll up to the barn for dinner; you have to make a reservation for your group. There are a few packages to choose from: 

In his acceptance speech, Montgomery said he left the mainstream restaurant industry over two years ago to work on his farm and create a dining program that “focuses on heirloom vegetable varieties that we’re losing. There’s a lot more vegetables in the world than what we find on those grocery shelves.”  

Win for ‘Foodtopia’: Asheville has claimed Montgomery Sky Farm’s James Beard award as a win for its “nationally recognized food scene,” to which it has given the name “Foodtopia,”  according to a press release from Asheville’s tourism group, Explore Asheville. 

The Montgomerys were also nominated for a 2026 James Beard Media Award for their documentary about their work on the farm called “The Soil Remembers,” according to the press release. 

With all that being said, there might be a lesson here for Charlotte. 

Great work can happen and be awarded in the unlikeliest of places. It doesn’t have to be flashy or happening in a trendy, up-and-coming city to be recognized. It can be in a barn. With Highland cows grazing outside. 

But we also can’t forget that we had some recent wins, with Charlotte’s first and only Michelin star recipient, Sam Hart of Counter-, which recently announced a 10-to-12-course dining experience for $1,505 per person in October. The city also has numerous Michelin-recommended and James Beard-nominated restaurants and chefs, and Bravo’s “Top Chef” recently filmed at several Charlotte restaurants.

More awards will come in time. But maybe adding a Capybara experience would help. 

Lindsey Banks is assistant editor for The Charlotte Ledger: [email protected]. 

Today's supporting sponsor is Arts+:

The 60th mayor of Charlotte is expected to be named tonight, with the City Council choosing among five finalists to replace outgoing Mayor Vi Lyles.

The outcome of key City Council votes is usually known by insiders ahead of time, but as of Sunday night, there still seemed to be no leading contender among the finalists, each of whom has a long resume of political or civic experience.

The five are:

All five are Black. Four are men. The finalists range in age from their early 30s to mid-60s. They are all Democrats, as required by law, since Lyles is a Democrat.

Council members were said to still be weighing interviews they conducted on Thursday, with Cook and Mitchell believed to have support from multiple council members. It is unclear what effect an endorsement of the influential Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg might have. It endorsed Cogdell.

The winner will be sworn in July 1 and serve until December 2027, completing the term of Lyles, who is stepping down to spend more time with family. All candidates pledged not to run next year. Several sitting council members are said to be interested in running in 2027.

Council members agreed last week that they will vote on printed ballots put inside envelopes. If they are divided on the initial vote for mayor and no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a second round of voting, with the others eliminated from contention. The winner will need at least six votes from the 11-member council.

The council will then hold an additional vote to affirm the winner in a show of unity. —Tony Mecia

The Charlotte region adds roughly 150 new residents every day, but beyond the statistic are thousands of individual stories about why people choose to make the region home.

Local filmmaker Duvale Murchison was once one of those people.

After relocating from Michigan over a decade ago, Murchison, 63, quickly became fascinated by Charlotte’s growth and the people fueling it. Now, in his retirement, he’s turning that curiosity into a new micro-documentary series, “150+ A Day: Everybody’s Moving to Charlotte.”

On a recent episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Murchison discusses the inspiration behind the project, which captures candid conversations with transplants from across the region. Armed with a camera and a handful of questions, he approaches newcomers at festivals, community events and neighborhood gathering spots to learn why they moved here, what surprised them about Charlotte and how the city has shaped their lives.

He’s still learning, as he plans to post more episodes, but the one question he has yet to find an answer to: Where do transplants from New York get pizza in Charlotte?

🎧 Listen to the conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you stream our podcasts.

And you can catch the latest episode of “150+ A Day: Everybody’s Moving to Charlotte” on Murchison’s YouTube channel.

As commercial rent prices continue to rise across Charlotte, local independent booksellers are shifting gears to stay afloat.

Instead of locking into expensive brick-and-mortar leases, shop owners like Hannah Emme of Mood Reader Books and Sonyah Spencer of Urban Reader Bookstore are getting creative and taking their businesses on the road. Transitioning to mobile bookstores allows these entrepreneurs to avoid high monthly rent pressures, stay flexible with their inventory and bring books directly to readers at local breweries, book fairs and pop-up markets.

Ledger intern Taylor Douglas spoke with bookshop owners to learn more and visited one of the mobile set-ups in her latest video. Check it out:

Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:

TOMORROW: “Coffee with the Chamber,” 8:30-9:30 a.m., at Coast Personnel Services, 9813 South Blvd. #103. Join the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce for an invigorating morning event that brings together coffee lovers and business professionals from across the Charlotte area. Whether you're a startup founder, a seasoned executive or just a morning person, this event is the perfect opportunity to brew new connections and spark innovative conversations. Registration required. Free for members. $5 for non-members.

JULY 1: “Democracy Happy Hour,” 5-7 p.m, at The Market at 7th Street, 224 E. 7th St. The Levine Museum of the New South’s annual Democracy Happy Hour returns as part of its Civic Season 2026 programming. Enjoy wine from Assorted Table and bites from vendors on site, while engaging in conversations on the meaning of “We the People.” Registration encouraged. Free. 

JULY 24-25: “24 Hours of Booty,” at Queens University of Charlotte, 1900 Selwyn Ave. Join the movement and be part of Charlotte’s charity event of the summer. Ride, walk, run or volunteer at the 25th edition of 24 Hours of Booty (July 24-25) to support our local cancer community. The event takes place from 7 p.m. on Friday, July 24, until 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 25. $75 registration fee + fundraising minimum.

➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.