Three more downtown dining updates

A few nuggets of news and speculation about the downtown dining scene:

• From the N&O's Bulls Eye blog, the old Joe and Jo's space just inside the Loop is supposed to reopen on March 5... but in any event, "by St. Patrick's Day," says new owner Malachy Noone, which of course is a necessity given the new space's spin as an Irish pub.  Jim Wise reports that some of the old Joe and Jo's staff will return to the space, which is good news; if Noone (and Durham) are lucky, so too will the space's rep as the center of the downtown culture and social scenes.
• Just down the street, a storefront at Five Points is heralding the "coming soon" arrival of Five Points Cafe.  No word on what the cafe will be; the web address listed in the window isn't yet active (in fact, isn't even registered... yikes!)
• In less happy news, the old Bread & Kabob has been stuck in renovations for ages, and now the rumor from the Duke Park listserv is that their plan to convert the space to a sports-pub named Gatsby has run into the small problem that the owners have run out of cash.  Unconfirmed, but it would explain the purgatory-like limbo the West Main St. restaurant has been stuck in for months now. Update: A Trinity Park resident reported that there's been activity inside the restaurant over the last week so things may be back on track.  Find out more at this update post.

Comments

[JDC]

Some clues regarding the Five Points Cafe at fivepointscafe.blogspot.com. Looks like it's being run by (former?) school board member and editor of the short-lived Durham Community News, Steven Matherly.

[Bull City Rising]

Thanks for the great tip! I'm going to post this on the main page in case folks miss this as a comment.

[JDC]

The Irish pub (working name I've heard is "Five Points Irish Pub") that's taken over the Joe & Jo's space still hasn't opened. No idea if they're opening up tomorrow for St. Patty's. Looking through the windows, the place looks like it could open any day - no more ladders, tools, etc. strewn about. But then the sidewalk is largely unfinished and there's a 6-foot-tall mound of dirt right beside the place. It's creepy how silent Five Points is at night without the hum of voices and music coming from Joe & Jo's.

[Bull City Rising]

Heh, I was wondering the same thing based on the calendar today. I really hope they can come up with a more exciting name than "Five Points Irish Pub"...?

The torn-up sidewalk brings back to mind memories of the Ringside nightclub's public disgruntlement with the City last year, after the sidewalk in front of the Main St. establishment was torn up for a reputed six months before being re-installed. http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4136147 for more.

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