Cherryville experiences revitalization and growth
Cherryville’s resurgent downtown symbolizes the upward trajectory of this small North Carolina city. Not long ago, storefronts along Main Street sat empty, with roofs falling in and pigeons living inside. That has changed after a five-year, $8.5 million renovation project, says David Day, Cherryville’s downtown and economic development director. “If you wanted a business to die, downtown was where you went. That whole block has been revitalized.” Today, the improved downtown area draws restaurants, apartments and, most importantly, shoppers to the row of 100-year-old brick buildings. Similarly, the community is attracting new residents who don’t mind the 40-mile commute to Charlotte. While Cherryville is growing, it maintains its small-town atmosphere. For example, the co-owner of Home Folks Cafe on Main Street sends more than 1,000 Christmas, birthday and anniversary cards to people around town every year, and the community has continued the same New Year’s tradition since the 1700s. “You go to ball games, and you run into people you know and sit with them,” Day says. “Most everybody knows everybody. It has that Mayberry feel.”
Businesses, events breathe new life into the century-old downtown
The revitalization of downtown replaced aged water and sewer lines, added new sidewalks and splashed bright murals on the sides of brick buildings. New businesses followed, with a dilapidated storefront becoming The Cherry Pit, downtown’s first spot serving alcohol. Meanwhile, a shuttered Belk department store was converted into a business incubator with upstairs apartments. Amid the wave of renovations, Cherryville Family YMCA relocated downtown. “They went from 500 members to over 1,200 members in just over a year,” Day says. Downtown also hosts many of the community’s events, such as the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. About 15,000 people turn out in April for the festival, which starts Friday with live music and the Miss Cherry Blossom Pageant and continues on Saturday with a car show, games and a 5K. On Thursday mornings, the Cherryville Farmers Market comes to a pocket park on Main Street.
Downtown welcomes new businesses, but Cherryville also has longstanding staples around the community. For more than 50 years, people have flocked to The Shake Shop for a Lottaburger, the joint’s signature double burger served on a hoagie bun. East and west of downtown, stores such as Walmart, Food Lion and Ferguson Ace Hardware handle day-to-day shopping needs.
Houses vary from downtown bungalows to lakefront homes
Small bungalows and minimal traditional homes line the blocks north and south of Main Street. Ranch homes fill subdivisions farther out from the center of the community, and new homes are under construction on the outskirts of Cherryville. Day says the community expects nearly 1,000 houses to be built by 2030. Outside the city limits, a few farms are still in operation, and large new traditional houses line the shore of Moss Lake west of Cherryville. The median home price is $250,000, lower than the national median.
Chanting and shooting on New Year’s for more than 250 years
Cherryville claims one of the country’s oldest New Year’s traditions: the New Years Shooters. Beginning 250 years ago, the area’s German and Scotch-Irish settlers would shoulder their muskets and go house to house, performing a chant to welcome the new year before firing their guns. Today, about 500 Cherryville residents keep the tradition alive when they set out at midnight on January 1, gathering in people’s yards or popular spots around town to holler the three-minute chant. It’s customary for homeowners to stay up and welcome the shooters with snacks or breakfast. At the end of the night, they go to the high school football field and fire their muskets. “For a lot of people, it’s been in their family since they moved here,” Day says. “A lot of kids get the muskets for Christmas when they get old enough.”
Several Gaston County Schools in Cherryville
Children can complete kindergarten through 12th grade without leaving the community. Prior to fourth grade, kids can go to Cherryville Elementary School, which gets a Niche grade of B-plus. W.B. Beam Intermediate School teaches fourth and fifth graders, while John Chavis Middle School handles sixth through eighth grade. Both schools get B grades. B-rated Cherryville High School in 2025 opened a new science lab, which includes a touchscreen table for virtual dissections, interactive physics experiments and more.
Recreation includes mountains to the north and Moss Lake to the west
Cherryville’s nearly 10 green spaces include Andy Hovis Community Skate Park and Aaron B. Moss Municipal Park, home to tennis courts and softball fields. Cherryville Golf & Country Club is open to the public, but members pay discounted rates. In 2024, Cherryville expanded its recreation options when it opened a splash pad next to its public swimming pool.
To the west, boaters can use a ramp on the south shoreline of Moss Lake to set out on the water or fish from a nearby pier. Hikers can access more than 40 miles of hilly trails at South Mountains State Park, 15 miles north of the community.
Growing number of residents commute to Charlotte
North Carolina Highway 150 runs through the heart of Cherryville, connecting to the slightly larger communities of Lincolnton and Shelby. Drivers can reach Charlotte in about an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic. The commute from Cherryville to Charlotte is more palatable for people as hybrid work schedules have become more common since the COVID-19 pandemic, Day says. The recent addition of fiber-optic internet makes remote work in Cherryville even more attractive, he says. Meanwhile, manufacturers in the community employ hundreds.
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Alex Soderstrom
