The Hunger Games
In spite of no-go zones, there are still some to-go eateries
By Billy Eye
In 1997, when I moved to the center of the city, downtown was a ghost town. The only things missing were the tumbleweeds. I remember taking friends visiting from Detroit on a tour of downtown Greensboro on a Friday at 5 p.m. They wondered if a nuclear bomb had gone off since there were no people walking around or cars passing by. When a car did finally appear, its occupants yelled obscenities at us; it was such an affront to see common people walking the streets, I’m guessing.
Downtown is again lacking in traffic, spiritless. Just in terms of restaurants, popular downtown eateries that gave to-go a go before shuttering in place include Liberty Oak, Bonchon, Grey’s Tavern, Europa Bar and Cafe, Chez Genèse, M’Coul’s Public House, Smith Street Diner, Poke Bowl, and Natty Greene’s.
Things are changing week to week but I was able to get takeout the other day from a couple of my fave eateries on South Elm, Cincy’s and Los Chico’s. Cincy’s has been around since 1986 and was unsure if they’ll continue takeout this week. Some days business is good I’m told, others dead.
I appreciate getting authentic Mexican food at Los Chico’s, despite the misplaced apostrophe in their name. They’ve only been open a few months and are offering their regular menu along with take-and-bake, family-sized meals. Smõhk’d, as the name suggests, serves up smoky meats in to-go manner after 3 p.m. Machete, another new startup, has adapted to changing times with sparkling plates of curbside global cuisine, I need to give them a try.
Pizzeria L’Italiano, Cheesecakes By Alex and Jerusalem Market are all keeping (somewhat) normal hours thank goodness, a glimmer of normality.
Outside of downtown, my regular spots for lunch have always been Saigon Cuisine on Gate City and Merritt, Freeman’s Grub & Pub and Jake’s Billiards on Spring Garden. All are operating, Jake’s and Freeman’s from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Like a daisy blooming from a crack in the concrete, there’s new life in an overlooked corner of downtown. Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed major excavation on a site along a side street that runs parallel to the 400 block of Spring Garden, behind the defunct Moorhead Foundry. It consists of what will likely be a large parking lot fronting an event space that I’m not familiar with called The Public that’s now been merged into a former office building. Could it be another brewery? I’ll drink to that!
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Billy Eye has his own Vlog, check out the latest episode here.
