couple has opened a new spot in Greensboro that combines their love of food and music.
A’leurer opened May 30 at 1500 Mill St., Suite 101, in the space formerly occupied by Taste of Thai. It’s in a strip center that also houses Saffron Indian Cuisine.
Donnell Charlton and his wife, Natasha Charlton, said they wanted to open a restaurant where they also could support local artists by hosting their performances.
Donnell has been in the music business almost 20 years, starting out in gospel and eventually moving into soul music, recording under the name Donnell Isaac.
He also eventually moved into a career in the food business, working his way up to management positions with fast-food chains. “I’ve been in the restaurant business off and on for 20 years,” Donnell said.
Natasha’s background is in business and management, and she has helped Donnell manage his music career.
And it was Natasha who came up with the idea of starting their own restaurant. “Initially, it was going to be a platform for artists – and it still is,” she said. “But after we found this space, we wanted to have a restaurant. Donnell had always worked for other (restaurants). We thought, ‘Why not do it on our own?’”
Donnell initially balked. “I was reluctant – because I’ve seen all the industry’s woes.”
But she convinced him. “She had a vision,” he said. “You perform at so many places – wineries, jazz places, all kinds of places – and she saw, ‘Hey, we can do this better.’”
“I said, ‘You take care of the kitchen. I’ll take care of the rest of it,’” Natasha said with a laugh.
Despite Donnell’s background, A’leurer is not fast food. “It’s soul food reimagined,” Donnell said, served in an upscale environment.
“It’s like good home cooking, but it’s a little upscale, too,” Natasha said.
The name looks like French, but it actually is a made-up word that’s a phonetic play on “allure.”
“We want you to be enticed,” Natasha said.
The sign out front includes a slogan, “Elegance in every bite.”
The menu has plenty of comfort-food, soul-food classics, including fried chicken, collard greens and yams. But it has a lot more, too, including lamb chops, steaks and even lobster.
The Charltons hired Kiara Harrison, the owner of D.O.P.E. Lifestyle Catering, as executive chef. Harrison said she has worked in catering at High Point University. Assisting Harrison in the kitchen is the Charltons’ 19-year-old son, Jaleil.
Appetizers start at $10 for hand-breaded mozzarella squares with marinara and go up to $17 for crab cake. Other choices include chicken wings, firecracker shrimp bites, meatballs, and shrimp and grits.
Baked chicken or pork chops run $24. Both also are available fried, as is fish.
Meat entrees start at $15 with meatloaf and beef tips and gravy. There’s also ribs, pot roast and ribeye steaks.
There also are oxtails ($19), turkey wings ($15) and lamb chops ($27).
Pasta dishes ($18) include shrimp scampi, chicken scampi, Cajun Alfredo and spaghetti.
Seafood items include shrimp, salmon, crab legs and lobster – the latter the most expensive item on the menu at $29.
The large selection of sides includes collards, green beans, kale, broccoli cabbage, baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes and mac ‘n’ cheese.
There are chicken strips and hamburger sliders for kids, plus such desserts as lemon cake and apple crumb pie.
The restaurant has a full bar for beer, wine and cocktails. The Charltons also are selling their own wine brand, a sweet muscat under the label Sensuel Amour. They hope to expand that line in the future with more wines, they said.
L’Aleurer