It’s been one year since Johnny Fly opened a brick-and-mortar store in NoDa, and the sunglasses and leather bags retailer is ready to celebrate with some nearby friends helping out.
To ring in its inaugural year, Johnny Fly is throwing an all-day-and-night event Friday, beginning at the store and ending next door at Neighborhood Theatre with a free concert featuring three bands as well as a special beer from Legion Brewing.
“We’re excited to put this on,” says John Freeman, who founded the brand along with his wife, Tara. “Direct contact to customer has been amazing for us. Being in the eyewear game, that’s important because it allows the customers to put their hands on the product. Having a brick-and-mortar store really takes it to the next level.”
Johnny Fly’s party will start at the store at 11 a.m., with anyone visiting in the first hour receiving 30 percent off along with an exclusive gift. For each hour following, there will be different sales up until Johnny Fly closes at 8 p.m. From there, everyone will take a few steps over to Neighborhood Theatre for the concert that will have performances by Brandon Berg, Millennial and The Whit.
As part of the celebration, Legion is rolling out a special version of its ever-popular Juicy Jay IPA, with this one dubbed “Johnny Juicy Jay” and brewed with mangoes.
“I’m a big fan of Legion and definitely Juicy Jay in general,” Freeman says. “We’ve done some pop-up events over there so when this (party) came about, if there was a beer to do we wanted them to do it.”
Johnny Fly had a similar event with a free concert during its grand opening, and Freeman says he’d like to see this become an annual thing.
“We don’t want this to be just about us,” he adds. “My wife and I both have a passion for music, and we want people to come out and learn about these bands and see what’s happening in NoDa.”
VIA CHARLOTTEMAGAZINE
