Don’t you hate it when a place you love to eat closes?
Especially if it’s popular?
Strange things have happened the past few weeks here in town. Three by all accounts very popular Savannah restaurants have shut down. Some quietly, others with a little fanfare.
Cafe 37, Sol and Chiriya’s Thai Cuisine all served their last meals recently. The crazy thing about the closings is that anyone who has been to these places will tell you they were popular.
I can tell you Cafe 37 was one of my favorites in town. I sent people there all the time. Never had lunch with less than a full house and servers running up and down those stairs earning every nickel. The food was wonderful at 37. I never made it there for dinner, but I heard it was equally as good.
The same could be said for Sol on Habersham. They shut their doors on Nov. 30. Sol was extremely popular. It certainly was different, and they had carved out something of a niche with their dishes inspired by the Middle Eastern “spice belt.”
Sol was actually the perfect spot for something different. They had a challenge, though. They had indoor seating, but they were largely an outdoor restaurant with a huge patio area. Great if you wanted to bring the kids along with some sidewalk chalk, but not so great if it was hot, cold, rainy, windy, sleeting or snowing (hey, you never know).
Chiriya’s on the southside was arguably Savannah’s best Thai. And we have a lot of Thai. Many people swore by that place, but unlike Cafe 37, the few times I ate there or grabbed some take out, there were only a few people there. It clearly wasn’t the food, though.
I never heard anyone say anything bad about Chiriya’s. All the opposite. Whenever the name came up, it was an homage to Mr. Food. “Oh, it’s so good!”
So what’s going on?
The windup essentially is simple. I have spoken to some people around town who gave me a little bit of insight. A few things apply here in some capacity.
Sometimes it’s a landlord/tenant issue. Sometimes you have enough business but not enough to continue to do things the way you’d like. Sometimes people get tired of the treadmill and choose to do something else. It’s not the first time I’ve heard a restaurant owner say something like, “Yeah, it was great and people loved it, but I’m ready to try something new.” It happens.
There’s a little bit of all of that at work here. So for now, despite all of the rumors of re-incarnations, Sol, Cafe 37 and Chiriya’s are closed.
There has been a lot of buzz around town about Chiriya’s re-opening downtown. Is that true?
Depends on who you ask.
I am told there is an on-and-off search for a new space, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. What is true is that Chiriya’s owners are trying something different downtown. The Bier Haus will be a German/Belgian-themed restaurant located at 513 Oglethorpe Ave., same area where Screamin’ Mimi’s and TaCa Sushi are located.
“I’m a beer man” says Marshall Urstadt, owner of The Bier Haus. “I’m going to do craft beers and a good bit of European food.
“I just got kinda tired of Thai food, really,” he admits.
Marshall tells me The Bier Haus is in demolition/rebuild phase right now, but he hopes to have it open by late winter.
“I’m just dealing with a lot of stuff with the city right now,” he says.
Good thing is, we have plenty of great food to go around in this area. And plenty of fun will be had trying to find it, Eat It, and Like It.
See you on TV.
Jesse Blanco is a local news anchor at WTGS and host of the Emmy-nominated “Eat It and Like It,” Savannah’s only TV show dedicated to its culinary scene. Visit him at www.eatitandlikeit.com or email jesse@eatitandlikeit.com.
QUICK BITES
• The 5 Spot is now open at the old Clary’s location in Habersham Village. Try the steak tip chili. I very much enjoyed that.
• Quick reminder of our 12 days of Christmas recipes. We’ve had tenderloin from Andaz, grits from The Mansion and Pecan Pie from Lulu’s. Many more to come at SavannahNow and eatitandlikeit.com.
• Finally, The Hilton Head Island Wine and Food Festival is a tremendous event — March 4 through 9. They asked me to mention that they are looking for wine entries for the 2013 edition of their show. You can find them here:http://www.hiltonheadisland.org/winefest.