A snug sandwich shop near Charlotte with only 14 seats inside and almost as many picnic tables outside made this year’s Michelin Guide American South as a recommended restaurant, surprising foodie followers used to seeing avant garde tasting menus and fine dining steakhouses on the list.
But probably no one in North Carolina was more caught off guard than the owners of Pump Social, Rachael and AJ Donner, who opened the restaurant in a former gas station in Concord just last August.
She thought the September email sent by the French tire company’s little red travel guide was spam. At least she did until checking with friends whose Nashville restaurant was listed as a Bib Gourmand last year by “sheepishly” sending them a screenshot — and hearing they believed it was real…