
Hauntings of Alexander Michael’s Restaurant
Posted: 10.26.2024 | Updated: 10.26.2024
Unexplained anomalies have existed in The Queen City since Charlotte was founded in 1768. One of the most curious mysteries is the lone diner at Alexander Michael’s Restaurant. Located in the oldest standing commercial building in the city, this American Tavern, influenced by European-fare establishment, is quite famous. So, it should come as no surprise that a solo guest may appear from time to time.
But it comes as a shock to the staff and other patrons of the most haunted restaurants in Charlotte when this mystery man simply disappears. It’s as if he was never there at all. Or is it that he never left?
Opened in 1897, this Uptown (which is actually downtown) building on the corner of 9th and Pine has served several purposes. Originally, it was a grocery store owned by Ernest Wiley Berryhill. Berryhill passed away in 1931, but many believe he was unwilling to give up his life’s work.
Join Queen City Ghosts as we dive into a delicious plate of deeply disturbing details hidden within Alexander Michael’s restaurant. If you ever find yourself in the Queen City, then be sure to join us on a Charlotte ghost tour for more spooky tales!
Who Is The Ghost of Alexander Michael’s Restaurant?
Alexander Michael’s is known around the city for its European-style food and the mysterious “lone diner” that haunts one of the dining booths. He appears many evenings sitting alone and dissapearing as soon as he is noticed. Staff report feeling a tap on their shoulder or hearing someone calling their name in the distance.

History of Alexander Michael’s Restaurant
The Queen City has always attracted business and bustling energy since the tumultuous days of the Revolutionary War. Alexander Michael’s Restaurant was originally a series of grocery stores. The most well-known was the Crowell-Berryhill Store. Opened in 1897, this grocery store served the busy people of Charlotte for almost one hundred years.
The late 19th century was one of many periods of growth that Charlotte experienced. The first came in 1799 when a young boy discovered gold 25 miles outside the city. It was one of America’s first gold rushes, and a US Mint Building was even built in the Queen City to accommodate the city’s new-found wealth.
Charlotte and its economy grew at an extraordinary rate as the railroads that ran through the young nation expanded. In the 1880s, Charlotte was at the center of the Southern Railway, the “Main Street of The South.” Mining, Cotton, and textile productions were steadily growing in the Queen City, and the atmosphere was ripe for anyone willing to provide their services.
This is where Ernest Wiley Berryhill steps into the picture. The Charlotte native, born in 1865, saw his city rise to prominence after the Civil War. He married into the wealthy factory-owning Newcomb family in 1893 and soon went into the grocery business with his new brother-in-law. While he was already a store clerk, he decided to move to ownership in 1907.
The Star Mills Feed Store occupied the store on 9th and Pine when it was built in 1897. From there, it changed hands, eventually following into the ownership of William M. Crowell as a grocery store.
Berryhill bought it from A.M. Beatie and, from then on, served the community with grace and pride.
The Death of Ernest Wiley Berryhill
Ernest Wiley Berryhill passed away in 1931, at the start of the Great Depression. He left the store behind to his wife, Gussie Newcomb Berryhill. She ran it to the best of her abilities, and it functioned in profitability despite the first year’s economic hardships. But, in 1932, she asked her son, John Newcomb Berryhill, to come home from Michigan, where he worked for Standard Oil, and take care of the store.
When Gussie died in 1940, John sold the grocery store while renting out the rest of the family properties. The property became various grocery stores, The Charlotte Paint and Body Supply Company, multiple apartments, a private gym for English Wrestler Ramon Daniel “Tinker Todd” Napolitan, and a laundry mat, and experienced a few years of vacancy.
However, in 1975, the Charlotte Junior League purchased the property from John Berryhill and handed it over to the Berryhill Preservation Organization. In 1982, the building went through a series of renovations to become the tavern and restaurant we see today.
Hauntings At Alexander Michael’s Restaurant
Alexander Michael’s Restaurant, or Al Mike’s as it is better known to locals, was opened in January 1983 by A. Michael Troiano Jr. and Alexander Copeland III. The Deli and Tavern have been serving anything from London Broul sandwiches to black bean sandwiches ever since. It has become a neighborhood staple and does not accept reservations—unless, of course, you have been haunting the building for decades.

Alexander Michael’s Restaurant prides itself on treating its patrons like family and being a neighborhood go-to. The Crowell-Berryhill prided itself on the same motto. Perhaps that is why many believe that the phantom diner is Ernest Wiley Berryhill. It seems he finds comfort in the afterlife in the warm embrace the restaurant offers its patrons.
Mr. Berryhill is said to haunt the restaurant in the building to which he devoted his life. An apparition of a man in 20th-century clothing is often spotted in the same booth. He appears when it is slowest and generally around closing time.
Employees often approach him to either take his order or ask him to leave. But as soon as they get there, he disappears. Staff that have been around for a while know better, however. They simply smile and wave at the friendly spirit of Charlotte’s historic 4th Ward. Sometimes, he’ll even give them a friendly nod back before dissapearing back into the ether of the unknown.
Staff also often report their name’s faint and almost indistinguishable whisper when no one else is around. It floats through the restaurant as if carried in by the wind. When they go around to see where it came from, they are met with nothing but the cold silence of the night. Some have even felt the presence of Mr. Berryhill following them around.
Haunted Charlotte
While Alexander Michael’s may be renowned for its food, hospitality, and hauntings, it is far from the only spirit-infested building in the Queen City. Charlotte has a past that stretches back past the foundations of the nation. It has seen the horrors of two wars, the power of the railroads, and a slew of horrendous murders along the war.
Do you dare step past the hauntings of Charlotte, NC? Take a walking Charlotte ghost tour with Queen City Ghosts the next time you find yourself in North Carolina’s most haunted city. We take an unflinching look at the horrid history of this historic city. You’ll find that there are more frightening terrors than the ghost of Mr. Berryhill waiting for you around every corner.
If you can’t get enough spook Charlotte stories, then keep reading our blog for more Charlotte haunted history. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for the spookiest content around 24 hours a day.
Sources:
https://www.charlottesgotalot.com/articles/history/the-history-of-charlotte
https://www.charlottemagazine.com/entree-bo
http://landmarkscommission.org/2016/11/01/crowell-berryhill-store/
https://www.northcarolinahauntedhouses.com/real-haunt/alexander-michaels.html
https://www.wbtv.com/2024/02/05/legendary-its-own-right-introducing-alexander-michaels-restaurant
https://www.charlottemagazine.com/entree-boo-5-charlotte-restaurants-said-to-be-haunted/
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