Darryl's on Hillsborough finally being reoccupied

[Justin6882]

The same guy that owned Est est est and Cuba has decided to open a new restaurant in the old Darryl's space at the corner of Hillsborough St. and Oberlin Rd. I didn't even realize he had closed down the other two this past weekend...Its kind of sad since they were downtown way before anyone else, but the construction on Fayetteville Street shuttered their doors.

New restaurant on Hillsborough

[reed]

I'm glad to see something finally going in this space.... but it really sucks that we're losing two places downtown.

[capitalapts]

Uggh...I wasn't ever a fan of est est est. I found their food to be quite mediocre considering the price, and the service to be just about god-awful. I'm glad they're vacating the valuable space they had downtown. Hopefully the new restaurant at Darryl's will catch on with the students.

[Justin6882]

The last time I ate at Est est est (about a month or so ago) I had literally the best food I've eaten in years...it was amazing. That said, the services was pretty bad and the interior definitely was dated back to at least the 80s. I hope something great fills that space as well, it does have a pretty prime location.

[RaleighLover]

*sigh* I just wish Darryl's would come back to the location.

[Eastwestrob]

*sigh* I just wish Darryl's would come back to the location.

I second that...Darryl's was always one of my favorites. Never ate at the Hillsboro st. location though....it was always wake forest rd. and the hwy 70 location.

[Justin6882]

Oh the Hillsborough St. was the best, especially since they took the Bus and the Jail out of the one on Wake Forest Rd.

[reed]

Uggh...I wasn't ever a fan of est est est. I found their food to be quite mediocre considering the price, and the service to be just about god-awful. I'm glad they're vacating the valuable space they had downtown. Hopefully the new restaurant at Darryl's will catch on with the students.

Oh, I agree. I was only in est and cuba a handful of times & wasn't very impressed by either, especially the service.

I was just glad that something was open in that vicinity after 5pm & on the weekends.

[dmccall]

The old Darryl's was the best. Prohibition special, spaghetti, pizza, steak sandwich, hamburger's, awesome blue cheese dressing (the AB's) and the pizza crusts - jail cells, carving your name in the table, pong, the elevator, and a GOOD jukebox! When they sold out to General Mills it all went downhill. (Of course that event is precisely why the Winston's have a Figure Eight house worthy of being featured in Metro magazine. Everything they do has so much taste and class).

[Subway Scoundrel]

Bring back "Free Advice" !!!!

[pack-man]

I'm just glad something will be in that space on Hillsborough. I'm mad something better didn't jump at that chance considering all the street improvements to the area scheduled.

[RaleighLover]

The old Darryl's was the best. Prohibition special, spaghetti, pizza, steak sandwich, hamburger's, awesome blue cheese dressing (the AB's) and the pizza crusts - jail cells, carving your name in the table, pong, the elevator, and a GOOD jukebox! When they sold out to General Mills it all went downhill. (Of course that event is precisely why the Winston's have a Figure Eight house worthy of being featured in Metro magazine. Everything they do has so much taste and class).

How about stealing the shot glasses?

[ChiefJoJo]

OK, with any luck, THIS TIME... it looks like Darryl's will finally be reoccupied!

Looks like it's Red Hot & Blue. That's cool with me, as I absolutely love BBQ and ribs.

[ncwebguy]

After going to the Carrboro Elmo's on Saturday, hearing Red Hot and Blue is going into that space is a letdown...

RH+B is ok but nothing special... i like their non-barbecue items more -- sausage, ribs, etc.

But would rather have them than an empty space.

I don't like this quote:

He is considering changes including building a deck for diners along Hillsborough Street. "I plan to redo the whole facade," Hill said.

[Jones_]

After going to the Carrboro Elmo's on Saturday, hearing Red Hot and Blue is going into that space is a letdown...

RH+B is ok but nothing special... i like their non-barbecue items more -- sausage, ribs, etc.

But would rather have them than an empty space.

I don't like this quote:

There is a little sidewalk space there, but not much. A deck wouldn't leave much space, unless the road realignment will add sidewalk space. Unfortunately, extra space will probably go to parking before it will go to the sidewalk. Ugh.

[orulz]

I've always thought that the building with Cycle Logic, et al further up Hillsborough is similar architecturally to the Darryl's building, with the clay tiles and all. It's not the only example of similar architecture in Raleigh, but it is quite rare and definitely worth preserving.

When I read the article, I took that to mean that they would be redoing just the ground-level, getting rid of the ugly curved, tinted glass sunroom area that juts out slightly onto the sidewalk. That can't be original in the first place. They might also include a door that opens up onto Hillsborough rather than just the corner of Hillsborough & Oberlin. Perhaps the deck area would be something akin to Porter's. Anyway, that's just what I imagined, and I have no problem with that.

I agree, though, with the words "completely redo" there's definitely a danger of some hideous modernization or disneyfication going down which will only cheapen this very cool building.

The article also mentions that Weatherman's will be closing soon, but the landlord has not started recruiting another tenant yet. Wonder what will go in there?

[RaleighRob]

Well I'm glad something's going in there...particularly something that should do well in that area. I'm not crazy about the type of restaurant it'll be, since I'm a vegetarian I guess I won't be eating there, but anyways, glad to see it filled. And I think it'll mesh well with Players Retreat nextdoor.

When I read the article, I took that to mean that they would be redoing just the ground-level, getting rid of the ugly curved, tinted glass sunroom area that juts out slightly onto the sidewalk. That can't be original in the first place. They might also include a door that opens up onto Hillsborough rather than just the corner of Hillsborough & Oberlin. Perhaps the deck area would be something akin to Porter's. Anyway, that's just what I imagined, and I have no problem with that.

[ChiefJoJo]

Keep in mind, "redo the whole facade" could mean a lot of things, and it's also worth noting that Hill is the tenant and not the owner of the building. When you read the previous statements of the owner's affiliation and memories of NC State, I'd think it would be more likely that he would allow a rehab of the existing facade.

[tjoad]

Living right down the street from there, I am pretty disappointed RH+B is going into this space. I guess I was hoping for a more unique/distinct restaurant to go there. I've been to the RH+B at the Falls of Neuse location and have never been back. Better than nothing I guess...

[dmccall]

This is good news to me. I like RH&B's bbq. Their fried okra is good, too.

I don't know of any historic properties that Disney has remodeled, so the term "Disneyify" seems like incongruous in this instance. I get what you're saying, but I don't see why Disney got picked on here. (If I were given a chance to return to New Orleans or Disneyworld I'd pick Disney any day)

[orulz]

Disneyland is an artificially created theme park, built with often cartoonish interpretations of historical architectural styles carefully crafted to follow a specific theme, designed and ordered to give atmosphere to an area that was just a swamp before Disney showed up.

These overblown architectural caricatures are what people expect and demand at Disney, and it works really well down there. It's a theme park. It really does have a pretty fun atmosphere.

However, the point of the term "disneyfication" is not to rag on Disney. The point is to illustrate that such architectural caricatures have no place in a real city. This building represents a genuine historical era and a style that was popular at the time it was built. No need to graft a false sense of history and atmosphere onto a building that already has a genuine, distinguished history of its own. Equally true is that there's no need to whitewash the building's history to turn it into something "modern" like everything else that's getting built downtown these days.

[ncwebguy]

Does anyone know when the "greenhouse window" was installed? Was it there before Darryl's? After the General Mills/Pillsbury buyout?

If it goes and something better replaces it, I won't complain. But having been to two RH+Bs (Waverly Place and Falls of Neuse), if they follow the "design" of those locations (which Sugarhill Barbecue owns and operates), it won't be good. With that location, will it have to go through an appearance commission? (fingers crossed)

This doesn't bode well for the restaurant operator either -- "Hill was unaware of the city's planned street work when he signed a 10-year lease, but he said he will benefit." I guess the parking lot across Oberlin was enough of a draw for him, but how much research would it have taken to find out about the Hillsborough Street revamp?

[tjoad]

Does anyone know when the "greenhouse window" was installed? Was it there before Darryl's? After the General Mills/Pillsbury buyout?

[rooster8]

Here is the aforementioned greenhouse window:

[Jones_]

I've always thought that the building with Cycle Logic, et al further up Hillsborough is similar architecturally to the Darryl's building, with the clay tiles and all. It's not the only example of similar architecture in Raleigh, but it is quite rare and definitely worth preserving.

When I read the article, I took that to mean that they would be redoing just the ground-level, getting rid of the ugly curved, tinted glass sunroom area that juts out slightly onto the sidewalk. That can't be original in the first place. They might also include a door that opens up onto Hillsborough rather than just the corner of Hillsborough & Oberlin. Perhaps the deck area would be something akin to Porter's. Anyway, that's just what I imagined, and I have no problem with that.

I agree, though, with the words "completely redo" there's definitely a danger of some hideous modernization or disneyfication going down which will only cheapen this very cool building.

The article also mentions that Weatherman's will be closing soon, but the landlord has not started recruiting another tenant yet. Wonder what will go in there?