[gentle upbeat music] - We are a community hub, so we wanted to create a destination for downtown where all of our friends and families and community can meet under one umbrella and experiencing the building throughout the day.

- And it's the only two-story shopping, entertainment, and dining experience in Cabarrus County.

- [Narrator] Tristan and Kristen Adamczuk are the owners of The District Exchange, and chose a historic property in the heart of Concord's historic district to become a gathering place.

- [Tristan] It's an old movie theater.

It goes back nearly a hundred years.

- [Narrator] It was called the Cabarrus Theater.

When it closed, it became a bank, and when the bank closed, it sat empty until Tristan and Kristen decided to give the old historic structure another chance.

- For this to have a new life as The District Exchange is really exciting for us.

- It feels amazing.

It brought Concord downtown back to life.

- [Narrator] The way they did that was to create something for every interest.

- We have clothing, hamburgers, coffee, retail, a sewing company, a popcorn company, a microbakery, a barbershop, a vinyl record store, well, nail salons in here.

It's just an eclectic group of people.

- The majority of them are micro retail tenants.

Three of them are anchors for the building.

So we have coffee, burgers, and a bar.

- [Narrator] Right in the middle is Bae's Burgers.

[bright upbeat music] A name given in honor of the owner's wife.

- It's just like a way of saying kind of babe, but Bae.

- [Narrator] Their burgers are valued just as much, and it's what customers expect.

- Honestly, has to have some good flavor.

- Did this have good flavor?

- Yeah.

- So our burgers are smash burgers and they're brisket, short rib, and chuck.

Then we have our regular fries and we have our garlic Parmesan fries, which is a fan favorite.

- [Narrator] At the end of the building where the theater screen used to be, is First-N-Flights for beer, wine, and spirits.

- So First-N-Flights is a tie into the North Carolina aviation community, with North Carolina being first in flight.

Also, my husband and I are retired air traffic controllers, so we have directed a lot of flights in our life, and so now we're directing flights of beer, flights of wine, flights of whiskey and tequila.

- [Narrator] And that homegrown connection of all the businesses is important.

- [Tristan] Absolutely.

Majority of them are from this area.

It brings a lot of people together that believe in the same passion that this beautiful town has.

- They have really exceeded our expectations to what they have done here.

- [Narrator] Like Decadence Popcorn, with over 60 flavors.

- We make everything fresh every day.

- [Narrator] That includes everybody's favorite, Carolina Blend.

- Caramel and cheddar cheese all in one bite.

It's addictive.

- [Narrator] And not only are they all North Carolina businesses, they are unique.

- [Tristan] Yeah, we look for personalities, small businesses that are looking for an opportunity to grow their business and eventually, maybe, the traditional storefront never worked out for them, where 2 to 3,000 square feet isn't what they're trying to sign their life away for.

[gentle inspirational music] - [Narrator] Thanks to the variety of businesses, The District Exchange has something for everyone.

- It's very unique.

So in the morning you may come in here and experience coffee at 8:00 AM, it's more a relaxed feel, where people are just starting to begin their day in downtown Concord.

And then throughout the day, it morphs into an energetic lunch crowd that will continue their shopping, get a burger, get some food, and in the afternoon it turns into a live music concert hall with bar, food, friends, family, the community comes together and become a great hub for everybody.

- [Narrator] In other words, life at this historic property has come full circle.

- What's really special for us is that knowing that these bricks were laid and these beams were put in by people that knew this place was going to be built for community and connection and entertainment, and yet this building sat for 50 years with no one in it.

It's exciting for us to see the community back in here and connecting and giving it that energy again.

[gentle inspirational music swells] - [Narrator] The District Exchange is at 22 Union Street North in Concord.

For individual store hours and information about upcoming events, visit thedistrictexchange.com.