Sweet carpeting. I was around when Finch’s was there but never made it in.
I never had been and I’ve lived here since 2009. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really gravitate to those kinds of places. It’s also not what attracted me to the area in terms of the food scene. Just my personal preference.
The carpet totally had an old Florida hotel vibe.
1 Like
For me it was basically diner breakfast…which Raleigh doesn’t have enough of.
3 Likes
You guys got me deep-diving Midwood’s design decisions and trying to make sense of it lol!
So it looks like Midwood started in Charlotte and opened up in what looks like a sort of hole in the wall, tucked under some staircase. Their interior was pretty basic, but I"m guessing the BBQ is pretty good.
For the looks of the interior, they didn’t hire any kind of big branding firm or design firm, despite being a part of a restaurant group. They just got your basic seating, hung up a bunch of signs and hubcaps , and put some fake brick wallpaper up.
It was their only location and it was kinda tucked away, so i guess they got away with it, as people likely thought it was some mom-and-pop operation.
But the more they grow, the more the lack of cohesion and brand is going to hurt them. Because you’ve lost the context that you had with the initial place, people are judging what they see during their first experience with your brand.
Midwood looks like they are just trying to recreate that first spot they had. I’d assume they are thinking, hey, if it works, don’t mess with it. But that’s not really how this game goes.
They also opened their second location in a former “Sticky Fingers”, and the aesthetic they brought over probably “worked” there as well.
However, now you’re seeing that decor try to fit into a modern urban-industrial designed building, and it’s just not working (based on these pictures). Sometimes a juxtaposition like this can be pulled off (Clyde Coopers did it decently), but it has to be done reallllly well. But this is the big leauges. People have choices, and sense of space and design play a role on whether or not people dine at your establishment. Clyde Coopers has a story here in Raleigh. When you walk in, they tell that story.
Midwood doesn’t have roots here. So you have to hope they have some story to tell. Based on the website, I don’t see that being a major theme in their branding, but I’ll go eat there to find out. If the aesthetic is part of telling that story, then maybe they can make it work. But if not, if the aesthtic is on it’s own, then I’m worried.
I hope I’m wrong, but with the new BBQ options all around us, unless Midwood’s BBQ is THAT good, this whole confusing interior design is going to create confusion with the brand, and it’s going to be a subconscious deterrent for people.
I kind of made this same post about High Horse when it first opened. This isn’t old Raleigh. This is a tough market where people aren’t just going out for food, they are going out for the scene (especially in districts like Smokey Hollow), and places that don’t take that into consideration are in trouble.
PS. Check out their Instagram. It’s been active since 2013 and the only post showcasing the interior of any of their 6 locations is one from last year where they were seeking interior design help.
*I have not eaten at Midwood. Maybe their BBQ is awesome. Go try it! I’m just commenting on the criticism of the interior photos from Smokey Hollow and giving my take on whats going on.
3 Likes
Who knows, maybe that awful carpet will become as iconic as the Portland airport’s ultra-90s carpet?
4 Likes
FWIW I saw this on the Triangle Food Blog today. Apparently their pitmaster is an NC State alumni so maybe that’s why they’re giving it a go here in Raleigh?
- RalToday reported today that Midwood Smokehouse in the Smoky Hollow development (524 N. West St.), is opening this Saturday, Feb. 11. This all-wood barbecue restaurant is opening its first Raleigh location this weekend, with limited seating. Pitmaster and NC State alum Matthew Barry is heading this Tex-Mex barbecue spot with FS Food Group’s Frank Scibelli . Get familiar with Raleigh’s newest BBQ spot here.
TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG | Be The First To Know The Latest Triangle Restaurant News.
3 Likes
“Thank you for coming to my TED talk on barbecue restaurant interior design”
5 Likes
Finch’s had that Wilburs vibe to its interior and it definitely would’ve benefitted from the sweet smell of barbecue adhering to its paneling and ceiling substrates instead of the years of cigarette smoke that I feel like I recall from going in there. T’was a good greasy spoon, tho and those are in short supply these days.
I’m enjoying the discourse on what makes a good Que joint - because for me, that’s changed as I’ve gotten older and into cooking barbecue styles from around the world as opposed to the eastern NC BBQ we grew up eating. Still love that style but definitely enjoy the variety and craft that’s out there at this point. Interior vibe doesn’t matter as much to me as the product so whether its old school or new school, I could care less. Sounds kinda like a few folks really enjoy the nostalgia of the older spots - totally understand, but that is tough to recreate - think of how Waffle House strives for that in its new builds yet think how different the one on Hillsborough feels versus say the one out near Millbrook High off Spring Forest…heck, Rainbow Luncheonette is kinda like an homage / mashup of a Waffle House / Finch’s kinda vibe if you think about it…
All that to say, give Midwood a shot - maybe it’s your thing or maybe it’s just your closer to me thing (since I feel like the best spots aren’t necessarily the most convenient sometimes…) and hopefully that blue carpet mellows as they settle into their spot in the marketplace. 
BTW, the best BBQ around Charlotte is in Peachland not Midwood…
2 Likes
I miss Finch’s. They definitely filled a spot that will likely be forever empty in the downtown food scene going forward. Good ole greasy spoon breakfast diner. Carpet in a restaurant, however, is just gross from a sanitation standpoint.
Being a So FL transplant, my idea of a barbecue joint is much more rustic and definitely does not involve carpet. In fact, you’re lucky if it involves glazed windows or air conditioning. Rough hewn wood floors, screened holes in the wall for windows, located nearly in the Everglades or on a busy stretch of US1: weirdness guaranteed. (Have you ever been to The Pit or Shorty’s in Miami?)
That said, I definitely prefer eastern style NC 'cue, even if they think carpet in a greasy meat restaurant is a good idea. I’m willing to try it.
3 Likes
I guess that the only thing that I don’t mind about the carpet is the acoustical quality that it will bring to the space. Too many restaurants these days are just loud as hell with reverb, which only makes people talk more loudly.
5 Likes
LOL. Well, design and branding is how I make my living, so seeing what I’d consider some of Raleigh’s top-tier restaurant space being upfitted like this is baffling and took me down a wormhole of trying to understand how Midwood got it start. What aesthetic they were trying to tap into and why. And if I was potentially missing something.
I dumped all of that on you guys to save you time in case your brain works like mine.
13 Likes
I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis, tbh
6 Likes
Yeah… my brain does not work like that, but I’m glad yours does so I could learn something today!
1 Like
Ate there a lot in my youth. I hadn’t been in over 20 years went back “one more time” shortly before it closed. It was okay diner food, but I haven’t cried or started screaming over its loss. Smokey Hollow is an excellent replacement.
2 Likes
Yeah I went there once and it was … cheap/shitty diner food in a shitty building lmao. Probably supplied by USA Foods aka garbage ingredients. Do not get me wrong, I totally understand the charm of places like it - but the amount of whining from people that it was this huge loss for Raleigh def had me chuckling.
2 Likes
I just lament that we lost a diner, and Raleigh doesn’t have enough of them.
6 Likes
As someone born in Texas, that’s a disturbing amount of brisket and Tex-Mex for a Carolina bbq joint.
4 Likes