I’ve heard a little tweet that an Irish pub is going in to the old art store (and furniture store before that) on the Eppies block (next to the permanently vacant A&N spot). There has been a lot of construction over the past few weeks and the space has now been divided into several spots.
Will there be a new Irish pub just behind the cab? Éirinn go Brách!
In possibly the most shocking news since Monticello admitted TJ slept with Sally (oh wait…did they ever officially admit to that?), the Virginia Senate approved several bills that will ban smoking in bars and restaurants here in the (un)commonwealth.
Now the bills will head off to the Virginia House which is “where bills go to die,” along with the babies of the politicians (primarily Republicans in the House).
If the house won’t pass this, I suggest all the members of the house get put in the Dulles “smoking chamber” for a few weeks along with their kids. And if at all possible, feed their kids a diet containing recalled milk products from China and vegetables grown with a heavy dose of DDT. Mmm….tasty.
Looks like the Blue Ridge Country Store will be extending its hours starting next week. The rumor is that it will remain open until 5pm, and keep the salad bar open until the same time.
Looks like my dinner time salads can now be bought rather than made! Sounds like a good deal to me.
From what I hear Rapture has now been sold. Rumor has it the club scene will be going, going, gone. It will also be closed for a month or two of renovation. Maybe they’ll find the giant 8-ball eagle (does anyone remember that?) deep down in a sub-basement while digging around, or maybe in a vat of oil beneath a layer of cigarettes.
Luckily it looks like the Crapshaw will try to open yet another music venue in our village of piss poor music. We need a good club scene on the mall so the gangs have a new place to hang out. Supposedly The Jefferson used to be a bit of a dirty vaudeville type of theater in the 20’s. Hoochie Momma. Will that become our new Hooters? Or can we only get private shows here in this conservative little village? “It is Charlottesville so it is a bit conservative,” adds Hurt. As they say, the truth hurts.
This commonwealth is one of the heaviest smoking places in the United States, and every single year the politicians of the commonwealth suck up money from tobacco lobbyists while refusing to institute smoke-free restaurant laws. I know Goode loves to keep constituents smoking like chimneys. That dumbs them down.
McGrady’s Irish Pub has decided to stand up to the money sucking politicians and go smoke-free. Always a great move. Now, will the outdoor seating go smoke-free? At least they have started with the first step.
The Local is smoke-free. They seem to be doing rather well and doesn’t seem to be going out of business. Boston, Ireland, California, Paris, Colorado, and NYC (to name just a few) have gone out of business since banning smoking. Right?
Why hasn’t every restaurant banned smoking. Come on South Street. Come on Blue Light.
This weekend I noticed Sal was out taking care of his own sidewalk. My guess is that he was threatened with a lawsuit since his servers have to walk on the “pedestrian” mall which is considered a true danger for women, pets, and old people. I’m willing to say I have been witness to at least one trip every single day I’ve been on the mall.
The city continues to say it will repair the mall, but we have yet to see that such a thing could get done. When they tried to do one block the 2 month job became 8, and the cost tripled. Now think about that for the entire mall.
Anyone feel like getting a class action lawsuit going?
And…believe it or not…a restaurant on the mall has now decided their outdoor seating is going smoke free. Erotica (aka Enoteca) had signs on their outdoor tables when I strolled by this weekend. They are also applying for a full bar license, so vodka may be showing up in the near future. When that happens I hereby pledge a minimum of $350 to their coffers for my summertime spending.
The Local seemed to be going for a bit of a “feel” of an Eastern European bistro when they opened (three days ago that is). They had two tiki torches out in front of the restaurant that gave the place a nice feel as you walked in. Very warm and comforting.
Perhaps a bit too warm. The Fire Marshal stopped by this evening and the torches were gone within a minute.
Will we ever see the torches again? Did The Local not have a permit? Were the torches too close to the sidewalk? Would Queen have been able to put out the fire so quickly as the fire marshal did? These questions and more will be answered…on the next episode.
The Local did their second soft opening this evening. Everyone and anyone that is someone was there. Food was half price. Mmmm….
Tomorrow is the official opening. I have a feeling this place will be around for awhile. The interior is gorgeous! It has a “date” atmosphere when the lights get dim and every table has a candle. Classic rock was playing at a nice subdued level. The menu/food could use a bit of tweaking. The wine I chose was quite good for the price. Service was superb, staff was very friendly. The bar is really nice, and when they get the upstairs bar/patio going later in the year it will be a great happy hour location (bar opens at 5, food at 5:30). Interior is smoke free. Not sure about the 2nd floor patio. Might be a few tables getting put out front when the weather gets warm.
A bit of construction going on at Sal’s. Rumor has it a few French doors will be going in. One set will be rather large so it can remain open when the weather is nice outside. This will certainly brighten things up on the inside.
This village is full of kids. Kids rule. All kids are perfect. All kids run around screaming at every establishment – including bars on Friday evenings. I really think all parents in this village snapped and no longer notice what their kids are doing. Once in Bodo’s a result started screaming and pulling napkins and silverware out of the dispensers. The parent said, “stop before I get to 10,” and started counting. The kid stopped at 9 after having removed every napkin. Between each number from 1 to 9 the parent just chatted with another parent.
I still haven’t forgotten the day when I walked in to a pizza place (that shall remain nameless…let’s just call it Christian’s for this blog posting) that is really popular among parents and got to see a parent changing a diaper on a table. I hadn’t really thought about it for awhile until a former C-Ville resident pointed out a blog posting to me.
The blogger talked about how inconvenienced he was when a chain store didn’t have a diaper changing area. The post was clearly by a C-Ville-ish sort of parent, but things don’t get interesting until the comments start up.
My favorite is by Doodle Bean:
Just imagine the idiocy of anyone daring to inconvenience you and your little family, the obvious center of the universe! How dare they!!!
And Starbucks was simply horrible! They should have had a special area set aside for such vitally important people as you and your little family! And why couldn’t they furnish it especially to your tastes?!? What is the matter with them?!?!
Why couldn’t they have a special area for you, perhaps hung with luxurious fabrics and furnished with soft Persian carpets. Perhaps with a selection of special emollients for your special little child’s behind?
How horrible of them to neglect you and abuse your little family so badly. Shame on them!
That of course was the polite/dry/sarcastic comment. Others aren’t quite as family oriented…if you know what I mean. So don’t let your kids read them. 1….2….3….
PS. If you want some books for your kids, here are 40 that are worth a read.
