Charlie King is 35 years old and lives in Old Town. He is the owner & chef of Lou’s Place.
Hi everyone! I’m Bea and this is Charlie. I’m super excited to be here! Under the cut is a pretty long-winded, bulleted version of his bio. I’ll replace it with his actual bio later. But yeah. Like this post or come to me if you want to plot!
(trigger warnings: illness, death, pregnancy, bad parenting, brief mention/implication of alcoholism or heavy drinking)
BULLETED BIOGRAPHY
Charles James King was born and raised in Westminster, London on January 28, 1986.
He is the oldest of the King family, having one little sister a few years younger than him. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his sister. (wanted connection, maybe, perhaps? sleep on it!)
The same cannot be said for his parents. His parents were not the paternal type. They had kids to check it off the list, to fit into the stereotype of being perfect.
The family moved to Bayview in 1994 due to Charlie’s father being promoted and relocated with work.
The kids were left to fend for themselves most of the time. Money was never in question. The King family was very well off. But where their allowances ran over, the love and affection children need fell short. Charlie would be the one to look after his younger sister.
Dinners were always Charlie’ responsibility. He didn’t know how the food got to the fridge, the thought of his mother in a grocery store seemed so out of place in his mind, but the fridge was always full. Charlie would find meals to make from that week’s groceries - cooking creative plates for him and his sister. He felt more at home in the kitchen than anywhere else. Every night he would leave two plates in the oven for his parents, and every morning he would find them still in there, untouched. While the task was big for a kid, this is where Charlie’s love of cooking came from. He felt more at home in the kitchen than anywhere else and loved coming up with new dishes to show his sister. He was only 13 when he knew he wanted to own his own restaurant one day.
When his younger sister turned 18, Charlie cut his parents out of his life and never looked back. He thinks they’re doing well. He could only assume that if they drowned themselves in liquor by now, he would have heard about it.
His best friend and saving grace through his childhood and teen years was Eloise Jennings. She was the first friend Charlie made when he moved from London and the two became nearly inseparable. The two dated all through high school and even managed to make long distance work when Elle went off to college and Charlie chose a school closer to his sister in case she needed him. After college, the couple moved into Charlie’s apartment together and by the end of that year, he was engaged to the love of his life. Two years later, the couple finally tied the knot and settled into their new home in Old Town.
The Jennings Family had been Charlie’s second family since meeting them. They never hesitated to invite the King children over to their house for dinners and special events - the family typically hosted each kids’ birthday party and the kids spent nearly every Christmas with the Jennings family instead of their own parents.
Cathy Jennings is much more than a mother-in-law to Charlie. He considers her the mother figure in his life. She is always one of the first calls he makes when he has news to share.
Lou Jennings was Charlie’s father figure. He looked up to him the way a son looked up to his father and always wanted to make Lou proud. Every game Charlie played in school, Lou was on the sidelines cheering him on, even volunteering to coach a few seasons of his middle school baseball team. Lou also had a hand in Charlie opening his restaurant. The two decided to be business partners. Charlie would handle the kitchen and all the funding, Lou would run front of house in his new found retirement. Lou was always a people person and was looking forward to getting to talk to every patron who walked through the door of Buon Cibo’s.
When Lou got sick at the end of 2013, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion. Charlie had to watch the man he had admired his entire life slowly deteriorate in front of him. However, Lou was determined to keep the restaurant on track. September 4th, 2014, exactly one month away from the grand opening, the world lost Lou. And, in Charlie’s mind, the days are just not as bright anymore.
After Lou’s passing, Charlie and Elle couldn’t find the energy in them to keep with the restaurant’s original schedule. Deciding to put the place on hold for a little bit, they took the time to be there for each other and their family. However, Charlie knew Lou wouldn’t want the restaurant to fall through because Charlie was too busy grieving and not celebrating all that was his father-in-law’s life. Exactly a year after the originally scheduled grand opening, Buon Cibo (Good Eats in Italian) finally opened on October 4, 2015 with a new name - Lou’s Place - in honor of the restaurant’s biggest supporter.
The opening of Lou’s Place came with more exciting news. Elle didn’t make it to the Grand Opening party after feeling sick most of the day. A few days later, she would find out she was expecting the couple’s first child together. Charlie could not be more excited and utterly panicked for this next stage in their lives.
The couple decided not to find out what they were having. Elle always loved surprises. Charlie was the planner of the two. So not finding out was Elle’s idea and one that Charlie begrudgingly, but lovingly, went along with. Elle had decided that if it was a girl, she would like the name Olivia May King. And, if it was a boy, his name should be Charles James Spencer Jr., CJ for short. Charlie had never thought of having a junior before. With the relationship with his own father, he couldn’t imagine having to go through his life knowing he was named after the man who didn’t deserve to call himself a dad. But as the pregnancy went along, the idea started to grow on Charlie. He knew he would never be like his father and the thought of having a mini-me tagging along to inspire Charlie to be the best he could be became a favorite thought of his.
On April 22, 2016, the couple found themselves in the hospital a few weeks early, getting ready to welcome their baby into the world. The baby was early and the delivery proved more complicated than was foreseen. The complications would prove too great and Elle would not survive the delivery. The loss of his wife shattered Charlie. His person was gone. The person who was by his side since he was a kid was suddenly gone without warning and without the chance to even attempt a goodbye or see their beautiful daughter.
The first few weeks of the baby girl’s life was touch and go, spending all her time in the NICU. The thought of losing his daughter right after losing his wife made growing close to the baby nearly impossible for Charlie. The baby spent the first two weeks of her life known only as “Baby Girl King”. It wasn’t until a long heart-to-heart filled with lots of ugly crying with his sister on the kitchen floor of his apartment that Charlie pulled himself up to be there for his daughter.
Spending every possible second he was allowed in the NICU, right there next to his daughter, Charlie could see the improvements in her health right before his eyes. While Olivia May was Elle’s idea, Charlie decided to veer from the track slightly and name their daughter Eloise after his mother. Charlie hoped he wouldn’t screw up the raising the child part of parenthood too much that the baby could grow up to be the best of his parents and the absolute best of her own person. So Eloise James - affectionately known as EJ - finally got her name and a father whose biggest priority has and always will be his daughter.
Nowadays, Charlie is still running Lou’s Place as well as being their head chef. The restaurant is incredibly successful and Charlie loves seeing the regulars grow as well as seeing new faces walk through the door for the first time. EJ is a happy and healthy almost five-and-a-half year old, and the tiny family grew by four paws when they adopted their wolf dog, Jack-Jack. And yes, EJ did name him based on the youngest Parr child from the Incredibles - a movie that is almost always on at the King household.
CHARACTERISTICS & OTHER FACTS
Charlie is quiet when you first meet him. When he feels comfortable around you, he will not hesitate to be completely sarcastic and make fun of you. But it all always comes from a very loving place.
Charlie is a lovable teddy bear. He’ll give you a hard time and then a big hug, if you like hugs. He respects that not everyone likes hugging. He’s also the kind of person you can call to bail you out of jail at 3am or come pick you up if your car broke down somewhere.
If you’re his friend, you have a friend for life. Charlie is super loyal and would do anything for his friends.
He really finds it hard to hate anyone. He’s also never really mean unless someone hurt or threatened those he cares about. So the man does not walk around with a list of enemies.
He has only had maybe two relationships since Elle passed and nothing has been serious. He never introduced EJ to either of them. While they knew about EJ, he didn’t want to bring someone into her life until he was sure he was ready for something serious and he never got there with either woman.
He is open to meeting people. He just takes a new relationship slow because there is so much there. One night stands and casual hook ups are not Charlie’s thing.
Every Friday night at the restaurant, Charlie puts away all the tables from their outdoor patio space and lays down a stage for live music. It is definitely the most hectic of nights for Lou’s Place but he loves it and knows his father-in-law would have loved listening to people who were passionate in playing music. They also recently had the addition of comedians on their Friday night set list.
The menu at Lou’s Place seems a little all over the place. At its core, it’s an Italian restaurant. But Lou wanted the restaurant to be a reflection of its customers, a storybook with a chapter for everyone who has ever walked through the door. So customer-suggested plates are frequently specials at Lou’s Place, no matter what cuisine the dish is.
TLDR
Charlie is a really good guy with great sisters and not-so-great parents. He lost his wife almost six years ago. Now it’s just him, his daughter, and their dog trying to make the best out of life. He owns and is the chef at Lou’s Place. If you’re good friends with Charlie, you might have unlocked the secret menu there where just because the building is closed doesn’t mean the kitchen is closed and there’s no such thing as a time limit on breakfast foods. He has been putting his life back together over these last few years, but is really just taking one day at a time these days.
WANTED CONNECTIONS
His Sister - His younger sister was born anywhere from 1987-1993. They could have never left Eureka or recently moved back, maybe they moved back when his wife passed, it’s completely up to you!
Neighbors - The King Family lives in Old Town and probably see a lot of their neighbors with walking Jack-Jack often.
Lifelong Friends - Charlie has lived in Eureka since he was eight. Give me the friends that have been there since the grade school days and made it all the way to standing by his side in his wedding party or still being one of the people he wants to spend the weekends with.
New Friends - Maybe your character just moved to Eureka and was looking for a friendly face and found Charlie. It may only be a matter of weeks or days that they've known each other, but they get along pretty well.
Regulars at Lou’s Place - The relationship doesn’t go far past the front door of the restaurant, but the two love when they see each other. Charlie probably also makes sure their order always comes with a few extra fries.
Performers at Lou’s Place - One of the bands or solo acts to play or do stand up at the restaurant. These are Charlie’s favorite nights at the restaurant so he’s bound to talk to the performers and get to know them.
Past Relationships (0/2) - These were more serious than a one night stand or hook up, but neither woman was serious enough to meet his daughter. I would say they were probably together around two-three months each.
Current / Future Relationship - This is more chemistry based than anything else. But Charlie is definitely putting himself out there a little more these days. This can also be maybe a blind date or something a mutual friend hooked up but just didn’t work out and maybe they know they’re better off as friends.
His Parents - The only really angsty relationship Charlie has! The family is from Bayview so his parents could have just never left meaning they’re within walking distance to Charlie at any point of his day, which has to be a terrifying thought for Charlie. So if you want to play just a terrible terrible character, this one might be for you!