Special Sauce, a culinary bookstore focusing on cookbooks and chef memoirs, will open next month in Charlotte, N.C., Axios Charlotte reported.
The bookstore will reside in a 500-square-foot space in Optimist Hall, a food hall at 1115 N. Brevard St., and will officially open on Monday, November 9, with a grand opening to follow on November 14. In addition to books, food-related merchandise like pantry items and kitchen accessories will be available.
Owner Kat Skeen will place a major emphasis on highlighting local and regional chefs. Beginning next month, Skeen will create an Instagram Reel series called Chef's Shelf, which will feature cookbooks chosen by members of Charlotte's culinary scene; the titles in those videos will be displayed in-store. Skeen will also work with a company called Bonnie + Bud to create gift boxes that include cookbooks as well as culinary items sourced from North Carolina.
Looking further ahead, Skeen will launch a monthly cookbook club in early 2027 and create a bookstore subscription that will cost $200 per year and offer subscribers a cookbook every quarter along with access to a special happy hour. She also intends to host pop-ups around Charlotte in collaboration with local chefs.
Originally from Charlotte, Skeen spent about 20 years living elsewhere around the country, including in New York City and San Francisco. After returning to Charlotte and seeing the growth of its restaurant scene, Skeen decided to open a culinary bookstore. She told Axios she was inspired in part by Omnivore Books on Food, a culinary bookstore in San Francisco.