More on the Ambacco restaurant rumors

Last week, we reported the chatter coming out of the downtown rumor mill's about a high-end steakhouse for the Power Plant complex at American Tobacco.

An additional source has confirmed that negotiations are, in fact, underway for a Ben Benson steakhouse in the heart of downtown Durham. If consummated, this would represent the first such expansion by this restaurant beyond the borough of Manhattan.

Our story here last week speculated on whether Struever Bros. would be shut out of the restaurant biz in ATC by such a catch making its way to the Capitol Broadcasting-controlled portion of the complex. Not so: It seems SBER is themselves negotiating with restaurants to fill up to two slots in the ATC's Coal Shed, which would be glassed in or otherwise sheltered from the elements and converted to eateries.

Sources inform BCR that an additional restaurant with a Northeastern presence may be interested in a new Durham home. Add this to the planned unveiling of Jim Anile's new restaurant Revolution at the Baldwin Lofts -- the opening date of which looks to fall in early summer, if our reports are right -- and Dos Perros at Greenfire's Rogers Alley project, and you see a range of new dining choices on the horizon.

Durham's always had a range of fine dining options, with local bellwethers like Magnolia Grill, Nana's, Four Square, Anotherthyme and the like staking out prime culinary mindshare for decades in some cases. Still, the number of new restaurants in the Bull City that are at or close to that level -- including Piedmont, Rue Cler, Watts Grocery included -- has led to a marked expansion in dining options in recent years.

It's slightly mindboggling to imagine not a couple, but a full five new such establishments possibly opening shop in the next few years... with all of them spitting distance from the home of Durham's ancestral housing, to boot.

Comments

[Jessica]

This is wonderful news! I work at Duke and are offices are scheduled to relocate to the Durham Centre this summer - I'm looking forward to being part of the downtown scene and all that is on the horizon for downtown Durham!

[Jessica]

This is great news! My office is headed downtown this summer (with Duke) - I'm greatly looking forward to being aprt of the downtown scene and taking part of all the new offerings!

[Jeremy]

I'm actually a bit concerned by this - can we really support so many high end restaurants within the ATC, especially as it seems we're heading towards a recession? "Fine dining" has to be on the short list of cutbacks when people start worrying about economy.

Aside from that, won't this influx of new places cannibalize the existing business at locally owned establishments? I'd personally rather see more local places outside of the walled garden, rather than out-of-town chains springing up within it.

[barry]

Hey, when can i get a slice of pizza and a coke in walking distance of the See Say Be plaza?

You know, so i can sit there on a lunch break and listen to the street musicians' serenade.

[Allen]

I dont really mind all of this, as long as we can have a good balance downtown. Restaurants like Toast provide the people (like me) who are a little low in the pocketbook.

Luckily, we have the whole city and MSA to look for great dining options that won't break the bank.

[Phil]

Oh man, a slice of pizza and a (diet) coke downtown -- what a dream. I'd play my accordion on the plaza for that, for sure. But Barry, isn't that a long commute for your lunch?

Anyway, regarding eateries, I notice that the Gatsby's / 1xxx Main St. place is still not open, despite their assurances to me that they'd be open in February. Oh, to think I came back from my travels just for that! :-)

Regarding "too many nice restaurants," I wonder... I sometimes think that "too many, with some failing" is a stronger correlate to a steadily growing food scene than, say, just one or two adding at a time, with few failing. But what do I know, I'm just some guy who likes to eat. And who's glad that Nikos is back.

[durhamfood]

I'm not that excited about the steakhouse, partially because those places are far too expensive, and partially because I just had a fantastic lamb chop I made myself :)

Durham probably has some of the cheapest 'fancy' restaurants in the country - Piedmont, Vin Rouge, Watts etc are incredibly reasonably-priced. I was in Savannah, GA the other week and found that all the similar restaurants down there have entrees starting in the low $30's. It really made me appreciate Durham, where I can eat at a crazy-amazing place like Magnolia and almost nothing hits $30.

I was talking to a chef of one of the mid-priced ($15-$20) places here in town the other day, and he was complaining that it's hard to keep prices low enough to compete, but he still loves it and is planning on opening a new place somewhere else in town (sorry, rumor people, I can't give details).

We're amazingly lucky with food here. It's diverse, cheap and excellent. I love Durham!

[Allen]

I agree with Durhamfood. Places like Atlanta tend to have that same stipulation. You can't eat great food without shelling out 50-100 bucks. It's either that or Applebee's/KFC. There's no middle of the road.

[Barry]

Hey, i like Piedmont just fine, and they've got a decent 7 buck lunch. But if Mrs D & i go there for dinner, it's hard to keep the tab below 80 bucks for the two of us. The one time i ate at Magnolia, we dropped about $200, with wine, dessert, tax & tip. I can't do that more than once every year or two.

But seriously, where's the equivalent of Shanghai or Kim Son downtown? Where's the downtown Randy's Pizza? Where can i get barbecue in downtown Durham? Sushi? A grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee at 1 am? There's still so much empty space downtown that if rents are too high for people to make a go out of cheap eats, something's skewed in the marketplace.

(Yes Phil - i probably wouldn't come to downtown Durham for lunch too often. Its a long drive from Hillsborough. But maybe i'd take a cut in pay to go to work downtown if i could get a decent slice of pizza in walking distance.

Just kidding.)

[durhamfood]

Yes, Barry, and if you go to a similar restaurant in Atlanta, New York, Savannah, Chicago, LA, etc, you'll be paying $120 for Piedmont-class and $300 for Magnolia-class restaurants. No, I can't afford Magnolia more than once or twice a year, but that's why it's special. If it were $300 a meal for two, I couldn't afford it at all.

Sure, we're missing some late-night stuff (though Watts on the high end and Cookout on the low end do a great job), and some midtown cheap eats (excepting the various corporate fast food places), but that will come too. I just hope that those places don't drive up prices for the better food that we already have. Honestly, I'm really happy with places like Toast. I hope we get more like that, rather than random greasy pizza and yet another lousy bbq joint.

[Dan S.]

When I moved back down from D.C. about two years ago, one of my coworkers joked that I was sure to miss the upscale dining in the DC area -- then I showed him the latest issue of Gourmet, with the top 50 U.S. restaurants -- the D.C. area had one on the list (Michel Richard Citronelle), whereas the Durham/Chapel Hill MSA had two (Magnolia and Lantern).

http://www.slashfood.com/2006/09/27/gourmets-top-50-restaurants-2006/

[allen]

Dan, a co-worker of mine is a little too proud of her former DC stomping grounds. She used to complain of nothing being around here until I showed her places where she could get great food at half the DC price.

DurhamFood, I agree with the Toast thing. Hopefully, rising rent won't make them go out of business. I would like to see a downtown Randy's, chinese place (not in Brightleaf) or something of that nature that would have really good food.

I'm going to Atlanta tommorow (well, the southeastern subs). The only place in Atlanta that you can get something for under 10 bucks that's not a fast food joint is the Varsity! I plan on grabbing some greasy ass onion rings and a chili dog. Mmm..

[durhamfood]

I think Toast can survive. Their operating costs seem to be low, and people will still come if they made everything $0.50-$1 more expensive to compensate for increased rent, if that happens. We'll see.