I’ll be on KFRU tomorrow at 9:15 am to discuss restaurant comings and goings around Columbia (among other shenanigans). And while the traffic on this alleged blog has been light lately, the news regarding local restaurants has not. It’s basically restaurant dominoes up in here. So let’s just jump in with a full run-down of what I/we know:
- Chim’s Thai Kitchen (downtown) is closed. It wasn’t as good as her locations in Peachtree and Cooper’s Landing and the overhead was probably higher, but still sad. In related news…
- Trey Bistro – Trey Quinlan’s lease at the Red & Moe/Trey space has run out (and been sold to Coffee Zone’s Osama Yanis) and Trey and his brother are working full speed ahead to get a new place – an Irish gastropub called Wolf’s Head – open “by August” in the former Chim’s Thai Kitchen location downtown. I’m sorry, but an HGTV reality tv show couldn’t turn that place into a (proper) Irish pub and get it open by August. Seriously, wish In related news…
- In case you haven’t heard, the guys behind (arguably Columbia’s best restaurant) 44 Stone are opening a more casual venue in the former Trey Bistro location. It’ll be called 44 Canteen and offer smaller plates – tacos, sliders and an ever-changing menu according to Dave Faron – as well as a craft beer and cocktail bar. They hope to open by “late summer.”
- FlyOver Restaurant, featuring Adam Wells-Morgan and something called “Midwest regional cuisine” is on tap for the fall in “one of two locations.” Guy can cook, so there is definitely hope here.
- The ill-advised name and menu of Be My Guest Bistro – featuring everything from pho to Philly cheesesteaks – is no more. They have reopened as Ichiban Sushi Bistro, and now focus on sushi but also Vietnamese and Thai food and good grief pick something oh who cares at this point?
Show Me Eats 
Does anyone know anything about what happened to Rooten Tooten BBQ at the corner of Garth and the Business Loop? Their little shack has been repainted from white to red, and the smoker and all the signage is gone. Hope this doesn’t mean they are gone for good. After Lonnie Ray’s, this was our favorite bbq in the area.
Meechu’s is closed, too, in case you didn’t know. 😦 Replaced by some sort of chain Vietnamese that I haven’t tried yet.
Hey, I answered my own question about the old Rooten Tooten shack. There is now a sign that says “Coming Soon, Big Daddy’s BBQ, and it gives a number. Can’t remember the prefix, but the last four digits are 2BBQ. Glad to know it will still be a local BBQ place. Big Daddy’s was the food truck that parked in the old Gus’ restaurant on the Business Loop beside Taco Bell on Friday’s. Never got to try it, but now I’ll have my chance! 🙂
I saw that Meechu’s had closed. So a Vietnamese place went in? Wonder if it will last? I have my douibts, unfortunately. 😦
Chimm’s Peachtree was closed again this last Thursday. It’s our lunch out day so I’m wondering f it is a lunch every day closing or maybe just a lunch Thursdays thing?