Last-modified: 2007/9/16
RALEIGH AREA RESTAURANTS TRAPPED IN TIME
This file lists restaurants in vicinity of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA,
that are "trapped in time." The WWW version of this file can be found at
http://users.vnet.net/rch/misc/raleigh-restaurants.html. Suggestions and/or
corrections are always welcome.
Copyright 2000-2007 by Richard Butner. You may redistribute this file in
any way as long as the content is not changed and this notice stays on
it.
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1. The Concept
2. The Places
3. Credits
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The Concept:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE "TRAPPED IN TIME"?
This file is about restaurants that have been around for several decades, at
least since the early 70's, and that have preserved at least some if not all
of their original decor or ambience. These places do not necessarily serve
good food; do not take this listing as a recommendation for fine dining.
This is merely an appreciation of places that value history and tradition
over trendiness. Note: most of these places only serve lunch.
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The Places:
2.1) MAJOR PLAYERS
Angus Barn, 9401 Glenwood Ave. A benchmark steakhouse in the area.
The yuppies have moved on, but old school fatcats still dine here
regularly. The prices are high, but you can still get a drink in
the Wild Turkey Lounge and take in the collection of Wild Turkey
decanters and vintage revolvers.
Ashworth Drugs, 105 W Chatham St, Cary. Yet another drugstore with
a food counter.
Burger Hut, 829 W Morgan St. Burgers, shakes, a bar with stools.
Now serving breakfast.
Char-Grill, 618 Hillsborough St. The definitive hamburger joint.
Feed your order through the slot into the glass-enclosed kitchen
populated by a wide variety of characters, all wearing paper hats.
Cooper's BBQ, 109 E Davie St. A solid downtown barbecue joint in
a land full of barbecue joints. Now threatened by downtown greedhead
development.
Elliott's Pharmacy, 202 S Main St, Fuquay-Varina. Old school drug
store with a soda fountain. A (sadly) dying breed.
Finch's, 401 W Peace St. It hasn't been a drive-in in ages, but
you'll still find good diner food once you step inside.
Jerry's Grill, 813 E Whitaker Mill Rd. Next door to Northside Billiards.
Try the steam table lunches before you delve into the burgers and dogs.
Mecca, 13 E Martin St. Sit in a booth or on a stool at the bar—this
place appears not to have changed much since it opened in the 40s.
Plus, you see lots of legislative bigwigs in here for lunch.
Morrisville Cafe, 10123 Chapel Hill Rd, Morrisville. A cinderblock
bunker next to the railroad tracks, happy to fry up a lunch for you
and sell you a tall-boy Budweiser too. There are also videogames and
pool tables to take your mind off of your Research Triangle job.
Occoneechee Farm Steak House, 378 S Churton St, Hillsborough. The
waitresses don't dress up like Indians, but the place is a huge (and dark)
log cabin, and the bathrooms are labeled "Squaws" and "Braves." Full bar.
Players Retreat, 105 Oberlin Rd. Old school bar/restaurant for, um, sports
enthusiasts. The walls are lined with a massive beer can collection. The
jukebox waxes and wanes depending on the cool factor of the current kitchen
staff.
Roast Grill, 7 S West St. Hotdogs, beer, and baklava, the triumvirate of
Greek cuisine.
Sadlack's Heroes, 2116 Hillsborough St. Subs during the day, beer at night.
Rednecks, punks, hippies, and drunks all the time. Update: Sadlack's has
been renovated. Actually, Sadlack's has been rebuilt from the ground up,
and probably should be considered a "lost site" at this point.
Some longtime denizens of the place look down on the changes, some embrace
them. Caveat drinker.
Sutton's Drug Store, 159 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill. Another old-timey
soda fountain and grill inside a pharmacy.
Watkins Grill, 1625 Wake Forest Rd. A greasy spoon that saw its heyday in
the 1980s. The cooks moved back to Greece and it hasn't been the same since.
But hey, it's old!
Western Lanes, 2512 Hillsborough St. The whole bowling alley is trapped in
time, except for the weird Christian cafe. Teresa will slide your beer to
you down the length of the bar. Be ready.
2.2) NOT QUITE SO OLD, BUT IN THE PROPER SPIRIT
Bali Hai, 2414 Wake Forest Rd. Mongolian Barbecue. The arcane ritual of
packing the bowl qualifies this place.
Crowley's, 3071 Medlin Dr. A hangout for theater types and other drinkers
since before the yuppie boom. The interior has been completely renovated
from the original design, but the place is still full of doubly retro
posters: 1980s prints of old Hollywood stars.
Farmers Market Restaurant, 1240 Farmers Market Dr. New, and chock full of
rustic junk. The "trapped in time" vibe goes all the way back to the
Civil War, thanks to the disturbing pictures of Happy Slaves in the foyer.
The Farmers Market itself, also built recently, is worth a stroll. (Update:
there's been a management change. The Civil War memorabilia is gone from the
foyer, which is good. But the quality of the food has declined.)
42nd Street, 508 W Jones St. The structure has nothing to do with the
original Oyster Bar on this spot, but they did save a booth from the old
place. You have to sit at the bar to get the steamed oysters, though.
IHOP, 1313 Hillsborough St. They redecorated a few years back, but the
peaked blue roof is still a late night beacon for those in search of the
Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity.
Mitch's Tavern, 2426 Hillsborough St. As with many places near North
Carolina State University, renovation and redecoration are not a top
priority here (that's a good thing). Beer and sandwiches.
Two Guys, 2504 Hillsborough St. NCSU professors and students eat here every
day. Really.
Waffle House, several locations. Always get your hash browns scattered,
smothered, covered, chunked, topped, and diced. Also, play all the Waffle
House tunes on the jukebox. The staff will love you.
Your House, vanishing in several locations. The prime downtown location is
long gone, sadly, and the one on Glenwood Avenue is shut down and for sale.
2.3) LOST SITES
Bourbon Street, 1303 Hillsborough St. "Fast Eddie" Felson shot pool here
once. The place is now the Jackpot bar, a fine place to hang out.
Brothers, 2508-1/2 Hillsborough St. One of two long-time Italian places
near State, now gone.
Colonial Inn Restaurant, 153 West King St, Hillsborough. Currently closed
and rotting away, sadly. The legend is that this Inn dates to 1759, but it's
more likely that it was built in the mid-19th century.
Glenwood Village Pharmacy, Oberlin Rd & Glenwood Ave. Once an
old school soda fountain in a pharmacy, now completely disappeared.
Hartman's Steak House, 1703 E Geer St, Durham. Opened in the 40s, this
place was recently sold to a yuppie who destroyed some of the ambience
(he took down the decades old collection of business cards tacked up in the
foyer). In May 2001 they closed down completely.
Hayes Barton Cafe, 2000 Fairview Rd. This place used to look like the kind
of pharmacy counter where Philip Marlowe would grab a bite to eat (except
pharmacies in North Carolina can't serve whiskey). Now it's a spruced-up
"dessertery" with faux 40s decor replacing much of the original charms.
Knightdale Seafood and Barbecue, 7201 E US 64 Hwy, Knightdale. The
business still exists, but in a brand new (ugly) location after they
abandoned the cool old joint to highway-widening.
McDonald's Drug Store, 732 9th St, Durham. Opened in 1914, gone now.
Murray's Bar-B-Q, 4700 Old Poole Rd. The walls were covered in 60s and 70s
NASCAR photos, the sanitation rating was on average a B, and the barbecue was
tasty. Probably the last log-burning barbecue joint in Wake County. RIP.
Oak City Diner, 2305 Wake Forest Rd. Once the Ham 'N' Egger, this used
to be one of the few non-chain 24 hour diners in the area. First they
dropped round-the-clock service, then they went under completely.
Old Fashioned Hotdogs, 2706 Hillsborough St. Old. Hotdogs. The Man-Mur
Barber Shop next door is still there, still trapped in time, but Old
Fashioned Hotdogs is gone, its space taken over by the Man-Mur Shoe Shop.
Rathskeller, 2412 Hillsborough St. The Rat was trapped in the 70s,
especially if you sat in the back where you can't see the street. Now it's
just plain gone.
Starlite Drive In, 2523 E Club Blvd, Durham. The only drive-in movie
theater left in the area, now closed and for sale. It's doubtful that any
grassroots movement to save the drive-in would be able to defeat the big
dollars from the greedhead developers who want to build box stores there.
The blockhouse in the middle sold snacks and guns.
Tippy's Mexican Restaurant, 808 W Hodges St. Open since the 70s, it
featured a 70s idea of what Mexican food is supposed to be. The food was
terrible, but they did have cold beer and woven pictures featuring
scenes from ol' Mexico. Now the place is just a memory.
Top of the Tower, 320 Hillsborough St. In the top of the round Holiday
Inn, this place is still worth a trip for the view (be prepared to pay a lot
for drinks), although a recent remodel has managed to make the place both
hideous and cramped. The Oh-Mighty-Isis diaphanous green costumes once worn
by the cocktail waitresses are sorely missed.
Upstairs, 135 S Wilmington St. No longer will the elderly matrons of the
Upstairs Restaurant serenade you with their description of the "Bishop's
Pie." This downtown Raleigh institution closed in May 2000 because the
ladies couldn't find good help anymore.
2.3) NON-RESTAURANTS
The Barn, 2407 Garner Rd, Garner. A bar that looks like a barn. (Update:
the bar is still there, but the old barn is now gone.)
The Cave, 452 1/2 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill's oldest tavern,
it actually looks like a cave on the inside. If you are tall, wear
protective headgear.
Hartsfield & Son Auto Repair, 234 S Boylan Ave. Supposedly, this repair
shop sells beer.
Jeffries Bait & Tackle, 4232 New Bern Ave. An ancient bait shop and hangout
joint. Horseshoe pits out back. Go there now; developers will probably buy
it soon.
Met-Tech, 105 S Wilmington St. Not good for much unless you're in the
market for billiards equipment, but chock full of oldness nonetheless.
Pipes By George, 1209 Hillsborough St. A tobacco shop that's been open for
quite some time. Pipes, cigars, darts, and friendly conversation.
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Credits:
People who have suggested places:
Ben Barwick
Jennifer Childs
Chris Shumake