No doubt, I just wonder why Blowfish closed in the first place? I guess they weren’t doing too good during the day…cause they were always packed on the weekends (but who on that strip isn’t packed on the weekends)
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I had two where basically no one showed but maybe a new place will get people out. Restaurants are hard though, we’d need a headcount?
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I never thought of them as a place to get food, tho I did know they had tacos. Always thought of them as a bar/club. Something about the street presence of that spot needed to be changed for them to succeed as a go to spot to eat.
Yeah most people only knew of them/went there because of the bar/club aspect instead of the food. Which probably contributed to their dimise tbh. The times I went there during the day to get tacos it’d always be pretty dead, which is a shame cause like I said the food was great.
They could’ve/should’ve marketed that aspect of themselves alot better instead of relying on the weekend crowd as much as they did.
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Five Points Wine appears to be nearly open on Fairview next to Hayes Barton Pharmacy. Tables and seating inside but no information online that I can find.
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Already been there. Great place!! Its a MD in Raleigh who owns it. He has $2000 bottles all the way down to $25 but overall a very nice selection. Place was renovated well. They plan to host tastings. I believe a French one is on tap soon.
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Supposedly the current head chef at Vidrio, Saif is leaving in a few weeks to start his own restaurant in downtown Raleigh. Not sure where tho, but he’s already got a location and hopes to open end of year.
Katsuji Tanabe is also coming back to Vidrio for a bit once Saif leaves.
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Bojangles would do well there. Take some heat off of New Bern Ave location. Settle for a Popeyes. Figure out the drive through window location .
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Nothing about that opening seemed to work at all. With the Durham location closing too, it feels like it was a mess front-to-back.
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Wow. Actually felt like they were starting to pickup some steam. Last few times I went in, there was a decent crowd of people. Maybe that it’s built out, will lend to someone taking it over fairly quickly with a new concept.
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I don’t get it. Agree with you, @Deekay93 that lately I always saw people outside/inside and while I’m sure it could have been better, who starts up a business and only has ramp for a few months. We’ve seen this happening several places and with bigger name businesses. Doesn’t seem like sound business to only have budget to keep the doors open for a few months with less than desirable revenue. What would have resulted in success here? Lines out the door 80% of their open hours?
I guess the upside here is something better can come in, but it’s not like there’s a lack of available space for a “better option”.
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I walked by the unit this morning and saw the same sign.
This caught me by surprise for the same reasons. Why not just delay your opening until more units in the Hollow were open, and the weather was warmer, too?
I still wonder if they felt some impact from being an “interior unit,” i.e. not having prominent signage on West or Harrington. Something tells me that won’t be as much of a barrier for New Anthem, but I could see the Hollow maybe adding a (larger than current) display on each street with units/logos listed.
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Having to pay rent, labor, utilities, etc. at that location you have to sell a lot of whatever they were selling even at a high profit margin. I don’t see how the math works out for most of these small non chain eateries. Need a big national chain operator with lots of other franchise outlets to spread out costs to,open here. Economic climate not favorable to small time players right now.
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I mean J. Lights couldn’t even invest in real signage. Not sure why they thought that was a good idea. They really needed something to grab your attention and they never did. If you didn’t know what it was, you’d think it was just another empty space.
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Gotta agree w/ @Boltman on this one. How did J. Lights expect to survive in a damn-near recession charging $18 for mediocre hot wings and fries? Not trying to slander them, but the food simply wasn’t good at Smoky Hollow (but was weirdly much better at the Durham location for some reason - R.I.P). And judging by the news of their closing…most people felt the same way.
A national tenant wouldn’t have a problem maintaining/bringing additional traffic to a prime location like this. Not to mention the fact that the food/prices would be much more competitive for the area.
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They should put a fast casual in there. Can’t go wrong with Cava or Chipotle
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I think a Cava would be printing money basically if they landed a spot there. The one at Crossroads seemed to be always packed whenever I stopped in there.
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This is what I think. With all the young yuppies in Glenwood South, that seems like the move. Would keep the somewhat upscale vibe of the area as well.