A cocktail bar with a hookah menu and a live DJ most nights has taken over a First Ward storefront once occupied by an axe-throwing venue. Peace & Saint, the Raleigh-born lounge brand, is now open at 350 E. 6th St. #1 in Uptown Charlotte, just blocks from Spectrum Center.
From Axe-Throwing to Martini Towers
According to Axios, Peace & Saint expanded into First Ward earlier in 2026, joining existing locations in Raleigh and Durham. The space previously housed Bad Axe Throwing, an entertainment venue that operated near the Spectrum Center before closing, according to Axe Tossers. The storefront now sits within walking distance of First Ward Park and ImaginOn in addition to the arena, placing the lounge squarely inside one of Charlotte's most heavily trafficked urban corridors.
The menu leans into both ends of the brand's identity. Per Axios, Peace & Saint offers around ten cocktails starting at $14, including key lime martinis and margaritas, alongside beer, wine and nonalcoholic options. The lounge also serves flavored hookah and features specialty items like a $65 six-person martini tower and an $18 Strawberry and Hennessy cocktail called “Henny Thing Goes,” per the Peace & Saint menu.
A Brand Built on Day-to-Night Flexibility
Peace & Saint's layout is designed to shift personalities throughout the day. The brand operates as an elevated café with coffee and pastries before transitioning into a nighttime cocktail and hookah lounge with live music, according to Downtown Durham Inc. The Charlotte location currently has lounge seating, and Axios reports patio seating is planned for the future.
In Uptown, the lounge is open Tuesday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and again from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., per the same Axios report. It's closed Mondays.
Roots in Raleigh, Growth Across the Triangle and Beyond
Founder Yama Ahmadi launched the original Peace & Saint in the summer of 2021 as a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired café, craft cocktail bar and shisha lounge, according to a 2023 Dreamville Fest guide. The flagship still operates at 616 St. Mary's St. in Raleigh's Glenwood South nightlife district, one of the Triangle's primary dining and entertainment corridors, per Eventbrite listings for the location.
The brand later expanded into Durham, taking space at 618 Ramseur St. #105 inside the historic converted Borden Brick II building in the Golden Belt district, where it shares the revitalized industrial corridor with other craft beverage and dessert concepts, according to Enrich Realty. That multi-city footprint across Raleigh, Durham and now Charlotte reflects a broader pattern of Triangle-born hospitality concepts pushing into Charlotte's Uptown market.
Already Plugged Into Charlotte's Social Calendar
Peace & Saint's Charlotte location has wasted little time integrating into local event programming. The lounge hosts “DopeBrunch Sundays,” a daytime event featuring mimosas, hookah and live drumming alongside DJ sets blending hip-hop, R&B and Afrobeats, according to CLTure. The venue was also folded into UNC Charlotte's October Homecoming weekend social programming, serving as a host site for day parties and evening gatherings as part of the university's multi-day schedule, per a Facebook post from event organizers.
The Raleigh flagship has played a similar community-hub role. In August, Peace & Saint's Raleigh location hosted the closing networking social for the three-day Monumental Experience Wellness Weekend, a mental health and community-connection event that brought together local entrepreneurs, fitness leaders and creatives, as Hoodline previously reported. With the Uptown Charlotte doors now open, the brand appears poised to carry that same social-hub formula into a new market.
