NoDa is getting a new bar and concert venue as The Chop Shop holds its official opening celebration this weekend. The Chop Shop is being brought to life by an experience group in the local music and arts scene.

Jay Tilyard, Bob Davis, Tracie Nasta, and Matt and Doug Gerin have worked the past year converting 17,000 square feet of warehouse space into a music hall complete with bar, pool tables, and (eventually) two separate stage areas and an outdoor “playground.”

“NoDa is the arts; freaky and free-spirited,” says Tilyard. He sees The Chop Shop as a local hangout and creative space, and wants artists to display and sell their work without having to pay a commission. Not only does Tilyard want to host concerts, but also art nights, parties, video shoots, and other creative events. “We want to bring back the old NoDa,” says Tilyard.

The Chop Shop will open Friday and Saturday, May 13th and 14th, at 8PM, and will feature Tara Riley on aerial silks, a jazz trio, Kristine Navarro with Dan Wall, live art with Tim Schaeffer, and more.

Nearly everything in the venue has been repurposed and recycled. The mens bathroom counter is a former truck tool box, with lighting provided by the front end of an old Dodge Challenger. Elsewhere, Harley-Davidson exhaust pipes hold lights and an old warehouse breaker box shelves liquor bottles.

The Chop Shop is part of what is being labeled the “NoDa within Noda.” It is a phrase used by Tilyard and repeated by Max Wallace, one of the founders of Hackerspace Charlotte.

Hackerspace Charlotte, along with The Chop Shop and Ultimate Gym, share a home in the former Newco Fibre warehouse complex located across train tracks and behind North Davidson businesses. In addition to a used tire business and appliance shop, the warehouse also provides practice space for the Charlotte Rollergirls and, for a time, was home to the Dugg Dugg art gallery.

Hackerspace Charlotte, founded in September, offers space for members to work on projects in addition to hosting meetings almost every night of the week. Topics range from lock picking and hardware hacking to programming and dry ice Jenga.

Ultimate Gym is another major tenant in the Newco warehouse. They gym, which moved from its Tryon Street location five years ago, occupies 25,000 square feet and has several boxing and sparing rings. Training is available in twelve different martial arts as well as aerial silks, Pilates and more.

As the area changes with old shops closing and new bars opening, the old Newco warehouse continues to mature into its new role as the NoDa within NoDa — recapturing the creativity and free-spiritedness that made the neighborhood what it is today.

Read more about The Chop Shop in the NoDa Neighborhood Association.

photos: James Willamor; view this video on Vimeo

One hundred, twenty-six photos of Charlotte taken in 2009, more or less in chronological order. The majority of the photos were taken for CLT Blog and Crossroads Charlotte. The song is Brand New, released in 2009 by Charlotte area artists One Big Love. A list of events and people featured in the slideshow is after the break.

First Night Charlotte, Uptown
Tailgating at Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers, Uptown
Pecha Kucha Night Vol. 2, Alive in NoDa
Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, Uptown
Barcamp Charlotte Pre-party, Uptown
Barcamp Charlotte, Area 15
March 2nd snow, Uptown, Southend
Blake Edwards and Chris Crutchfield work on the short film “Fait”, Uptown
Amazing Race Bar Crawl, Uptown
Art Social night, Area 15
Saturday on Sunday, Saturday Skateboards
St. Patrick’s Day parade, Uptown
Trips for Kids/The Recyclery. Area 15
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport
Dugg Dugg gallery opening, NoDa
Jonathan Reed filming “Guys Night Out,” Eastway
Sharazad Improv, Wine Up, NoDa
Streetwise Drift, Metrolina Expo, Derita
Postgig Charlotte, Green Rice Gallery, NoDa
Art and Soul, Southend
CLT Blog town hall with Anthony Foxx
CLT Blog Sky News Team, Uptown & Southpark
Duke Energy Center construction, Uptown
Richard Thurmond, Charlotte Magazine BOB Awards party, Southpark Mall
June 5th flooding, Mallard Creek Greenway, University City
Taste of Charlotte, Uptown
“Southern Holiday” at Dugg Dugg, NoDa
Uptown Amphitheater opens at NC Music Factory, Uptown
Plaza-Midwood Gallery Crawl, Plaza-Midwood
Wheelie Man, Uptown
NASCAR Hall of Fame construction tour, Uptown
Culture Initiative Show and Tell, Neighborhood Theater, NoDa
Heroes Convention, Charlotte Convention Center, Uptown
CLT Blog town hall with John Lassiter
Bill Fehr, Charlotte bike messenger
William Puckett and mural at 3213 N. Davidson, NoDa
Sharazad Improv, Dugg Dugg, NoDa
Cobbler at Latta Arcade, Uptown
Wedding photos, NoDa
24 Hours of Booty, Myers Park
NoDa Gallery Crawl
Carlos Espin, Parkwood Green, Villa Heights
Pride Charlotte, Gateway Village
Charlotte Caribbean Festival, Independence Park
Nationwide Kiss-in, Freedom Park
Battle Slam Jam, Grayson Skate Park
Pat McCrory, Charlotte Transportation Summit, Convention Center
Sprinter Enhanced Bus unveiling, Wilkinson Rd. service center
Mario artist, NoDa
Emerging Artists tent, Festival in the Park, Freedom Park
Charlotte Greek Festival, Dilworth
Ghandi Park dedication, Uptown
Charlotte OUT Parade, Uptown
Charlotte Zombie Walk, Uptown
Dr. Richard Dawkins, Queens University
Barcamp Charlotte 2 pre-party, roofless building, Villa Heights
Barcamp Charlotte 2, Area 15
August 22nd thunderstorm, NoDa & Derita
Dios de Los Muertos, Levine Museum, Uptown
“American Children’s’ Home,” Dugg Dugg, Southend
John Lassiter campaign election night, Blackfinn, Uptown
Puerto Rican Festival, Plaza Fiesta, Carowinds
Firebird Statue (Disco Chicken) unveiling, Uptown
Bechtler Museum of Modern Art prepares to open, Uptown

View this photo on Flickr.

Wedding photo shoots were taking place in NoDa two weekends in a row. Apparently NoDa is popular with wedding photogs who want to use worn brick facades as backdrops. Fancy. Oh, oops, they spotted me…