Local News - April 2003

New restaurants coming to town

Italian eatery to open at courtsquare

By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

Memorized most of the menus at Lincolnton restaurants? Tired of the same old tastes? Longing for a new local lunch spot?

Look no further than downtown Lincolnton.

Two new restaurants are on the way, promising a variety of food and drink to tempt the tastebuds.

Officials expect the restaurants to lead to a business boom downtown.

Major renovations have been taking place in the former SubStation II building on the courtsquare, which is being transformed into Court Street Grille, a casual Italian/American eatery.

 The restaurant will serve pizza, subs and other Italian fare, said Brad Guth, director of Business and Community Development in Lincolnton. Owner Osama Yousef also plans on serving beer and wine.

Since SubStation II did not have ovens, major changes were required to make the building suitable for a restaurant, Guth said.

Yousef had to put in a grill and pizza ovens. And since the kitchen basically opens up to the dining room, an air-conditioning system that could cool off the entire area was required — also at considerable expense, Guth said.

The oven hoods had to be vented through the highest point in the roof, requiring duct work through the second floor.

A grease trap also had to be installed.

Black sheeting hides the indoor improvements from the public, but what is noticeable from the outside are the new windows on the second story.

Yousef has opened windows that had been closed up by bricks and expanded smaller windows to their full opening, Guth said.

Detailed painting adds another aesthetically pleasing touch.

“He’s really done a lot of work to that building,” Guth said.

Court Street Grille should be open by the end of this month.

Details on the second downtown restaurant are less concrete, Guth said.

An English pub is tentatively planned for the old Lincoln Drug building at the corner of Academy and East Main streets, Guth said.

Extensive remodeling will have to take place, Guth said, so the opening date is at least a year away.

There are also several other prospects looking at downtown buildings, but nothing is for sure yet, Guth said.

The new restaurants will open up downtown to new possibilities, Guth said.

“I think they’re going to compliment the existing businesses down here and enhance the retail opportunities downtown,” he said.

“One of the best things is that it’s going to bring people here after hours.”

Guth cited a study that showed 70 percent of retail sales in the U.S. is done after 5 p.m.

“If you look at downtown and the retail environment after 5 p.m., most of the stores are pretty much closed,” Guth said. “If 70 percent of shopping is being done after 5, it’s not being done downtown.”

Guth hopes the extended hours of the two future restaurants will lead to downtown businesses staying open later.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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