Another bar/restaurant bites the dust

[ontap]

I went there once.  Really bad experience too.  Our order somehow vanished and after an hour of waiting they offered up an app.  Food was OK, but saw no reason to ever return.  

[KickinChicken23]

Went there a few times, never a good experience. Not surprised it closed, never met anyone who liked it.  What are they going to say in an article "yeah we lost tons of money we sold it to some suckers"? Chances are it was doing 'ok' at best or they wouldn't have ditched it.  

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, lefty23 said:

Went there a few times, never a good experience. Not surprised it closed, never met anyone who liked it.  What are they going to say in an article "yeah we lost tons of money we sold it to some suckers"? Chances are it was doing 'ok' at best or they wouldn't have ditched it.  

Actually I know the owner and his brother for the past 15+ years. The restaurant was doing very well. I enjoyed the few meals I had there, when I've been in town. Service was only decent though.

[CLTProductions]

The Mandrake closed (in trademark). I guess that's what happens when you virtually copy the concept from the previously failed 2 restaurants and just hope it magically works this time. 

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/67773/uptowns-mandrake-restaurant-closed-mexican-restaurant-will-take-place/

for as much over saturation of Mexican there is outside of uptown, uptown is lacking big time (I think vida stinks). At least they're trying something new with the space. 

[grodney]

On 9/29/2016 at 10:17 AM, grodney said:

I think a raw bar or something like that would go nicely there.

When life imitates internet clown posting.

[CLTProductions]

Bella Fresca in the Carillon building is closing soon. Welp, that didn't last long

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Bella Fresca in the Carillon building is closing soon. Welp, that didn't last long

BAHA, cursed. Not enough residents and office workers to support it. Hows the Irish bar doing over there?

Edited October 28, 2016 by Guest

[alb1no panther]

More businesses moving to SouthPark?  Simon may have something to say about that!  God I hope Charlotte leaders don't cave to a stupid mall.

[CLTProductions]

Murphys is actually doing pretty damn well. 

[tozmervo]

I saw on Twitter earlier that East Blvd Bar and Grill is closing. I haven't been there in many years, but even then I don't remember it being a terribly busy place.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, tozmervo said:

I saw on Twitter earlier that East Blvd Bar and Grill is closing. I haven't been there in many years, but even then I don't remember it being a terribly busy place.

Late teen to early 20s it was my favorite place to hang out. (Probably because they never asked for my ID) so sad, loved their French fries.

[Crown]

Crisp - Elizabeth is now closed. 

https://www.charlotteagenda.com/73142/crisp-in-elizabeth-is-now-closed-after-10-years-in-that-location/

[Crown]

Bojangles - Southpark has closed

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/whats-in-store/article123514444.html

[InSouthPark]

1 hour ago, Crown said:

Bojangles - Southpark has closed

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/whats-in-store/article123514444.html

Such a poor concept.  Lets put a bunch of below average restaurants in a building with about 25 parking spots across from a high end mall.  

Their building next door (that houses Roosters) is in serious need of some sprucing up.  For gods sake the corner sign for the building has been half knocked over for over a year now. Garden Secrets is so faded you would never know what was there if you trying to read the building. Those red/white awnings are atrocious. 

[SouthEndCLT811]

Kind of a bummer but I tried to go to the loading dock bar at the Marriott last night and was told the fire marshall shut it down.  Such a cool concept, hopefully they get whatever is needed done to reopen!

[CLTProductions]

4 minutes ago, SouthEndCLT811 said:

Kind of a bummer but I tried to go to the loading dock bar at the Marriott last night and was told the fire marshall shut it down.  Such a cool concept, hopefully they get whatever is needed done to reopen!

They're working on some kinks and some aspects of it to adjust for the crowds and to satisfy the powers that be. It'll be back. 

[ScottCLT]

Phat Burrito's last day is Saturday, closing at 3:00. Apparently the construction across the street took most of their parking away from them.

For the longest time, Phat Burrito was one of my favorite lunch spots. I have to say, it went downhill over the past couple of years. The staff seemed to be completely replaced, the burritos just weren't as good, and they did away with the salsa bar. For me, it was always the salsa that really made the food, so to take away the salsa bar in favor of tiny pre-filled salsa containers irked me. The funky neighborhood vibe that it had, though, will be tough to replace.

[nonillogical]

23 minutes ago, ScottCLT said:

Phat Burrito's last day is Saturday, closing at 3:00. Apparently the construction across the street took most of their parking away from them.

For the longest time, Phat Burrito was one of my favorite lunch spots. I have to say, it went downhill over the past couple of years. The staff seemed to be completely replaced, the burritos just weren't as good, and they did away with the salsa bar. For me, it was always the salsa that really made the food, so to take away the salsa bar in favor of tiny pre-filled salsa containers irked me. The funky neighborhood vibe that it had, though, will be tough to replace.

Supposedly they are just closing for "at least a month", so maybe a slim hope that they will figure something out. The removal of the salsa bar single-handedly removed it from my lunch rotation, so I wonder how many others were like me. I always got quesadillas there, and those were still just as good the last time I went. I think they got a decent amount of spillover crowd from Common Market in the evenings though and couldn't survive just on lunch rush alone anyway.

Who owns the building? It seems like redeveloping that sliver of buildings with no parking is unlikely so if they don't bounce back in some way hopefully another local restaurant can take the space. 

[cjd5050]

24 minutes ago, ScottCLT said:

Phat Burrito's last day is Saturday, closing at 3:00. Apparently the construction across the street took most of their parking away from them.

For the longest time, Phat Burrito was one of my favorite lunch spots. I have to say, it went downhill over the past couple of years. The staff seemed to be completely replaced, the burritos just weren't as good, and they did away with the salsa bar. For me, it was always the salsa that really made the food, so to take away the salsa bar in favor of tiny pre-filled salsa containers irked me. The funky neighborhood vibe that it had, though, will be tough to replace.

How is parking, or lack of it, being accepted as the reason for closing?  Phat Burrito is a 2 minute walk from the Bland Station and the nearby population has at least tripled since they opened.  Including several large apartment complexes that are a very short walk from the location.  

I agree with you that the quality went south and that's mostly likely the reason for closing.  If they had a good product or maintained their product I don't think they would have closed.  

1 minute ago, nonillogical said:

Who owns the building? It seems like redeveloping that sliver of buildings with no parking is unlikely so if they don't bounce back in some way hopefully another local restaurant can take the space. 

The CO says the building is owned by an estate and references a former Greek place.  Maybe the estate is looking to cash out?

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:

How is parking, or lack of it, being accepted as the reason for closing?  Phat Burrito is a 2 minute walk from the Bland Station and the nearby population has at least tripled since they opened.  Including several large apartment complexes that are a very short walk from the location.  

I agree with you that the quality went south and that's mostly likely the reason for closing.  If they had a good product or maintained their product I don't think they would have closed.  

The CO says the building is owned by an estate and references a former Greek place.  Maybe the estate is looking to cash out?

Such a small awkward Plot, I've been trying to figure out how to develop it for years as an armchair developer. You could barely put a parking deck on it.

[cjd5050]

2 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Such a small awkward Plot, I've been trying to figure out how to develop it for years as an armchair developer. You could barely put a parking deck on it.

I don't think it needs to be developed at all personally.  I would keep the building as is and actually remove the parking spaces at the corner.  I would then build a covered patio or partially covered patio in its place.  If the food/drink and service is good, a place like this could clear what it needs just in a couple of spans.  Lunch, happy Hour and evening drinks.  

[CLTProductions]

Yeah they are saying the construction across the street killed foot traffic and the parking. I don't buy that for one second. I live on Camden and with Blaze, Fidelli, Central Coffee, Price's and everything else incoming, there is more noticable foot traffic than ever. Beyond that, there is always plenty of parking on Camden and yes its TWO SECONDS from bland station.

Beyond, that there are more people living and working on Camden now than ever, I just don't buy that they were fine for 19 years then all of a sudden they can't take it anymore because of construction across the street.

Something else is definitely at play here (not necessarily development, but maybe internal). 

[KJHburg]

6 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Yeah they are saying the construction across the street killed foot traffic and the parking. I don't buy that for one second. I live on Camden and with Blaze, Fidelli, Central Coffee, Price's and everything else incoming, there is more noticable foot traffic than ever. Beyond that, there is always plenty of parking on Camden and yes its TWO SECONDS from bland station.

Beyond, that there are more people living and working on Camden now than ever, I just don't buy that they were fine for 19 years then all of a sudden they can't take it anymore because of construction across the street.

Something else is definitely at play here (not necessarily development, but maybe internal). 

I agree I think parking may have been a part of it but there was mention of 7000 hours worked or something like that. I think the owner is just ready to move on. And I agree the pedestrian traffic is great now in that area and the office building with its 100s of workers and the construction crew in the meantime it would have had  plenty of business. I think it was just time to retire. (And I agree it was better when it opened and since did not seem as good)  I think the location would be a great location for a small bar or eatery. Maybe even a street taco joint that way you can keep the colors etc. 

[Spartan]

15 minutes ago, Jayvee said:

Yeah they are saying the construction across the street killed foot traffic and the parking. I don't buy that for one second. I live on Camden and with Blaze, Fidelli, Central Coffee, Price's and everything else incoming, there is more noticable foot traffic than ever. Beyond that, there is always plenty of parking on Camden and yes its TWO SECONDS from bland station.

Beyond, that there are more people living and working on Camden now than ever, I just don't buy that they were fine for 19 years then all of a sudden they can't take it anymore because of construction across the street.

Something else is definitely at play here (not necessarily development, but maybe internal). 

I'm not inclined to believe conspiracy theories on this one. The owner said their business had dropped since the construction started. I agree that their food has been increasingly inconsistent, and generally not as good as it was 8-10 years ago. That said, it was still excellent, even on their off days.

[lewy2000]

It ALWAYS comes down to quality of food. Speaking of awkward locations, Futo Bata has been consistently packed lately.