WSTB

Bull’s Tavern - 408 W. Fourth St. - will close permanently on August 27 after nearly a decade.

Pretty good run for a bar. Danielle Bull ran a great business and contributed mightily to the vibrancy of DTWS over the past several years. Apparently the space has already been spoken for so can't wait to see what the new operators have in store. She seemed pleased with what is coming.

I'll seem pleased if it's anything other than another alcohol-related business. We have more than plenty of those already.

I really wish the current Linville | Team Partners Building (206 W. Fourth Street) could be renovated into a live music venue and bar. The second floor almost appears designed for a music venue. It's large enough, you could see the band though the windows, and they could have two different bars and maybe a restaurant space or two? Maybe Linville | Team Partners can lease space at Bailey South and sell their current building to someone interesting in taking-on a project like that? Looks at Simon Burgess / Mayfair Street Partners.

It would be great if the Morris Building could be converted to a space for live music, film, and maybe a restaurant/bar? Is there any way to take this property from Front Street Capital? It's boarded-up and that isn't a good look for the Innovation Quarter. It's also a great space for something interesting. And the current owner likely won't do anything with it for a few years. It would be great to have that building contributing to downtown as soon as possible and remove the boards from the windows!

I know, right?! The Contempo furniture store was the first thing to freshen that space up and Jim Painter installed the grand staircase. It never ceases to amaze me that these supposed “creatives” and other lovers of downtown bogart street-level and storefront properties preventing them from being used, y’know, like downtown properties!

Tucker’s Tap Yard is now opened on N Liberty Street. Check out their Facebook page for some great pics of what they have developed there.

And there is so much available office space for lease or sublease that needs to be filled. It's likely easier to lease prime retail spaces along the major downtown streets than it is office space. Local businesses that want to help downtown could do so by moving their offices from retail spaces to some of these available office spaces in downtown. I love having Linville | Team Partners downtown. I just wish they would look into moving to some of the nice available office spaces in downtown. There are interesting office spaces around downtown, such as the top two floors of 131 West Fourth (with those beautiful windows, high ceilings, and hardwood floors), just a short walk away from their current building or Bailey South in the attractive Bailey Power Plant Complex. 206 West Fourth should be a live music venue for local bands or maybe a dance club with stage (dance floor on the first floor and bar/restaurant in the mezzanine, if possible).

206 West Fourth reminds me of an old Art Deco "former" cafeteria space in my hometown of Asheville. It had a large ground floor and a mezzanine, but was more ornate. If K&W is still around, it would be interesting to see how they would do in a location like that. It changes from something our grandparents would visit to a cool retro 1930s theme downtown attraction at a reasonable price. This would also be something very connected to Winston-Salem's past and it's a business that started downtown during the Art Deco / Art Moderne age. Their success could encourage other local businesses that once had downtown locations to maybe return? Looking at Dewey's. It wouldn't surprise me if the downtown community would be open to donating to help make that possible, with the company struggling. If there was some type of investment from the public with a donor wall, that may make the space theirs and encourage the donors to visit more often and promote the space. The more I think about this: What about combining K&W and Dewey's into that space? It seems big and it could be a two-in-one, with both helping each other in a retro 1930s Winston-Salem attraction. And there aren't many affordable restaurants downtown to compete with K&W. The large space could also have historical photographs and items from the two businesses on display. It's also possible the space could have a small stage for jazz performances (fitting the Jazz Age interior). Maybe find a way to allow people to share their K&W and Dewey's memories and display them? It could also allow K&W to have a location with a profitable ABC Permit? I would try to make both businesses as 1930s as possible and unique from their other locations, so this becomes an experience. Maybe K&W could bring back an item no longer on their menu, each month, at this location, to make it different and fit with the museum part of the space? This is an example of an idea that could be worth exploring... but only if that large and beautiful space is available to retail/restaurant tenants again.

Seems K&W is pretty much a dead brand here among anyone under 75. The one on my side of town recently closed for good. My last visit to the [older] Healy Drive location was dismal in every respect. I fear its days are numbered.

I much prefer Golden Corral. The one behind Hanes Mall is great.

It appears that Sunshine Beverages is moving from their headquarters on Trade Street. Any ideas what’s going to fill that space and/or where they’re moving their headquarters.

Since Sunshine is backed by Teall Capital, perhaps they are moving into 500 West Fifth, where Teall’s operations are based.

I can remember visiting Winston-Salem to take photographs on Thanksgiving, many years ago. I was all-over the city, taking photographs, and didn't eat anything. Keep in mind that I'm not from the area and don't have any family there. Home was a long drive away. I noticed the sun had set and I had no where to go. Everything was closed for the holiday. I drove all-around downtown and finally down Peters Creek Parkway. I found K&W and it was open. I think I was the only person under 65 there? It was packed, but it was an older crowd. Today, that location is being renovated into a Chipotle, if I remember correctly? That is why I said if they are still around?

At one time, going to the airport, taking a train, shopping at Kresge five and dime, taking Greyhound buses, and even visiting many of these affordable cafeterias was, architecturally, an amazing experience and many of these buildings looked upscale, even if the prices weren't. Over the years, the architecture became bland and even cheap. Cheap finishes, dark spaces, cold appearances, no interior stone, and no time spent designing much of anything. Now, we are trying to return to amazing architecture for travel-related buildings. What would happen to the cafeteria if it was in a nice upscale building with stone, a grand staircase, a stage for live music, a separate bakery, and a feel of wow. It would become an experience. An experience you can really only get with adaptive-reuse. I'm thinking if the IP is purchased and used to create a new downtown restaurant with the old name, it will likely lose the affordability and become an upscale remake. If they are still around, it could be possible, with community financial involvement, to bring an affordable experience to downtown that anyone can enjoy. Maybe it's too late to try, but it would be interesting to see it. This could also be an interesting building for the proposed (but never built) Krispy Kreme museum with a downtown doughnut factory. If that is a project the City and Krispy Kreme are still interested in? It could also be used as just a downtown live music venue and mezzanine bar, which I think is more likely.

Triad City Beat is reporting that Brian Ricciardi is closing down both of his vegetarian restaurants, Doms on Spruce St in DTWS & Radici on S Elm East of Colfax. I hate to hear of unique food offerings not making it. He had what I thought was a pretty good run with Mozzarella Fellas on the northside. His transition to a all plant based menu was bold, but I assumed his veg. items had tested well in the original restaurant. One wonders if opening the second spot in GSO just months after opening Doms spread his resources too thin, thus bringing everything crashing down. If that is actually the case, then this news is really regrettable.

Food was wonderful, but exorbitantly expensive - even before the recent impact of inflation. Neither were particularly well-advertised either. Dom's never installed signage which was visible from Spruce St. - and certainly not from Fourth St. No one passing would even know it was there. I never saw it open for lunch either. Very limited hours!
That Spruce St. location has never been good for a restaurant anyway. Radici was far better situated on S. Elm St.

With the closing of Mystic Ginger and now Dom's, DTWS has lost its best options for vegan/vegetarian dining.

Off the Rack clothing store has opened on Trade. Features vintage clothing from the 90s/early 2000s (side note: I feel old). It actually looks pretty cool, definitely may attract some younger people to Trade.

Heff's Burger Club also opened this weekend. It was packed. It should be a great addition to downtown. The opening featured a DJ. This isn't your father's burger joint.

And the Journal has finally reported on this: https://journalnow.com/entertainment/di ... 6e449.html

It's described as a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community and a bar that will not just serve alcohol, but also serve mocktails. This will also be an entertainment venue for downtown:

A quote from the article: