WSTB

I too am perplexed over the decision to lease to Little Richards. I had eaten at the Five Points Restaurant three times since Christmas on Sundays, usually on my way through Winston-Salem, and usually for brunch. I have wondered what the real reason for closing would be....bad management perhaps? It certainly is not because there was the lack of business. The place was packed every time. One wonders why the landlord would lease to an average franchise rather than something a little more upscale, considering the location near bank offices, Thruway, and being right beside one of the finest ladies boutiques in the entire Southeast! I suppose the landlord is not discretionary in it's choices?

Happened to be on Thruway Center owner Saul Center's leasing website and noticed that they have identified Athleta as going into the 8900 sq. ft. previously occupied by Rite Aid.

www.athleta.gap.com

Wait . . . is there no more drug store/pharmacy at Thruway?

No. Rite Aid bought out by Walgreen's and moved out a while ago (over a year?)

A major shopping center w/o a drug store is an outrage!!! Parkway Plaza has lost its Rite-Aid as well. The space remains vacant. This must be the first time in over 50 years these centers have not had a drug store. Walgreen's should either convert these stores to their brand or get the hell out of this market. I will not be doing business with them.
There were two drug stores within walking distance of my house when I moved to the Washington Park neighborhood. Now there are none within two miles!

I remember the lunch counter at Eckerd's Thruway. Great hot dogs.

Drug stores all want to be located on corners, directly across the street or close to their competitors. They also all want to own their own property. I feel that Thruway is more of a destination shopping center for the city and not a community shopping center for the neighborhood. With that said, there is a drug store in Cloverdale which is more of a neighborhood center.

Over the past few years, Thruway has stepped-up to fill the upscale lifestyle center role in Winston-Salem's retail scene. Replacing a drug store with an upscale athleisure tenant is a part of that.

Revising my post about Athleta to clarify that apparently the 8900 sq. ft. former Rite Aid space was being marketed as 3 spaces and Athleta is taking 2 of the spots. CBL must be somewhat asleep at the wheel as this store is a division of the GAP which has all of their other brands at Hanes Mall where they did a major renovation not too many years ago. One would think that they would have been courting them hard to back fill some of the space that is coming back to them from all the retailers going out of business like Charlotte Russe, Charming Charlie, Brookstone, etc... Athleta's other locations in NC are in the enclosed malls such as Southpoint in Durham, Southpark in CLT and Crabtree in Raleigh. Granted they are in the open air Friendly Ctr. in GSO.

Thruway has done a good job in retaining & securing many of the clothing retailers that one would typically consider going into mall locations, such as Ann Taylor Loft, Joseph F. Bank, White House/Black Market, Talbots, etc...

Little Richard's has opened in the old Five Points space. While I had bemoaned the conversion of that restaurant space from a more upscale (dare I say sophisticated) space to something more "rustic", I'm having perhaps to rethink that and give it to the Karagiorgis' for creating a pretty awesome interior for this more decidedly upmarket Little Richards! Check out the pictures in the WSJ. They are also attempting to differentiate this Five Points spot for their other outposts by slightly altering the name to Little Richards Smokehouse and Bar*N*Que There are quite of few more items on the menu. Check it out at http://www.littlerichardsbarbeque.com

Little Richards is a huge upgrade. Five Points was...well...geared toward the retiree crowd is about as nice as I can say it. Wasn't a fan.

Maybe I’m tending toward the ‘retiree crowd’ but I remember Lucky 32 fondly. It was classy, had good food and a nice little patio. Nothing since has enticed me out to that strip mall

As a general rule, we try to ‘vote with our dollars’ and are pouring whatever we can into downtown restaurants to get them through the drought of closed B-40.

So, if BBQ is your thing, don’t forget Bibs on 5th and Camel City on Trade. Both make great food and have interesting (if quite different) dining spaces.

And from what I'm hearing, this is a huge upgrade for Little Richard's. It's the most posh BBQ joint anywhere.
Seats 200 - private dining room - outdoor seating - expanded menu - full bar.

Bevello, women's fashion boutique, has closed abruptly in Thruway. It was a sudden "Everything Must Go" sell last Friday and they closed up shop for good. The company had stores in the Triangle and Charlotte. All have closed up. I believe the one at Friendly Center closed earlier in the year. Sad to see another retailer go but Thruway does pretty well at filling up its spaces.

I would love to see an Apple store there. Otherwise, a retailer that sells womens and mens clothes would be nice. There are only a few stores at Thruway that sell mens clothes.

Nawab keeps me comin' back. I also used to visit Fleet Feet when they were out there, and now they're one of the few reasons I visit Hanestowne Village (or whatever it's called). But generally I'm with you on the pro-downtown bias.