Last night the owner of Spize Cafe, the new restaurant filling the place of the defunct America’s Pita, said the restaurant is set to open this coming Monday with a free tasting of their menu items for two hours during lunchtime, then again for dinner.
Their menu looks delicious.
Does anyone know if the two guys (cashier and cook) that worked/owned? American Pita are involved with this place at all? They were always friendly in the Pita.
Glad to hear they will be open for dinner. That block of Fayetteville needs more activity after 5. For a while, only Crema has been open evenings, and that was only Fridays & Saturdays.
This looks yummy! I’ve been feenin’ for a replacement to Pita grill for a while.
Is this a part of Empire Properties? Who is running this new place? Does anyone know their history?
^Pretty sure it’s not Empire. They tend to put restaurants into their own buildings. This building is Alexander Square, which is owned by Spectrum Properties (according to the Downtown Alliance website), who also manages the Wachovia Tower.
Is it pronounced “spies” or “spice” or maybe, “spiezzz”? I think the spelling’s a little silly, honestly.
11:00-1:00 I imagine???
woohoo! more chiggin soop! i don’t care how hot it is out, i love chiggin soops!
The owner (whose name I am completely blanking on) said he wasn’t sure of the times yet… just lunch time and dinner time. I’ll ask again closer to the day.
Yeah, it’s not an Empire, and I don’t think the Pita guys are involved.
The free tasting day will be hosted on Monday 17th during lunch (11:30 - 1:30) and dinner time(6 - 8). We’ll be offering 5-6 items from our menu.
Management,
Spize Cafe
This is great…I eat dinner on Wednesdays with some friends and we’re always trying to find inexpensive, yet good, food downtown. This sounds perfect so far.
Where are you located? I was not familiar with Amercian Pita…
CCR- It’s on Fayetteville Street next to Crema. On the block between East Morgan and Hargett. (Facing the Wachovia tower.)
MK- are you still hiring for kitchen management?
Really enjoyed everything at the free tasting. The hot bean steak baguette was my favorite I think. It’s great to have a counter service restaurant downtown that is actually open at night. I will be going back.
Went in at 11:45 am. Ordered spring rolls to go. My friend ordered a salad. Waited 45 minutes. Finally inquired about the order. Come to find out, they didn’t even have any rolls. Waited all that time for nothing. “Sorry” was the only thing they said or did. Manager meekly looked on but did not offer anything. Furious people in line asking for their money back. There is one thing to be working out the kinks but this was unacceptable.
I had lunch there today and all went pretty well, a bit disorganized, but not too bad for me. I did see others that waited a very long time for their lunch and looked unhappy. Also the music was too loud and very annoying. Food was very tasty. Good baguette bread. Kinda like Dalat Subs but not quit as good.
Food win, service fail.
Unacceptable? It is a soft opening and yes, we should point out problems. They have to train the staff and get their processes down just like any other restaurant. I believe the Grand Opening is in a week and I plan on waiting a couple of weeks before going in.
@davai
So just because it’s a ‘Soft Opening’ they can’t say they are out of something at 11:45am? I call that unacceptable. It’s a small restaurant so I don’t see how hard it could be to realize you are out of a main menu item.
The first couple of weeks are extremely important when opening a new restaurant. Word of mouth is their best advertising right now.
I ate there for lunch today and completely enjoyed it. I had the lemongrass pork baguette, which was delicious. Got my order quickly, and found the service to be very friendly and helpful. Granted, I went at a time when it wasn’t terribly busy. I don’t think you can truly judge a restaurant when it first opens, because there inevitable kinks to be worked out. For those of you who had bad experiences there, I encourage you to give them a little more time to settle in, then try them again.
wow - knock something down before it even begins. that type of attitude will keep alot from happening. give it a few weeks to go through the natural process. the menu looks great and can help fill a void for the grab and go market. Gordo never has a smooth opening, why should anyone else?
i had lunch there yesterday and it was delicious, and they are using compostable containers which i appreciate. i also like that they are open for dinner- as someone posted above we dont have much counter service in the core of downtown at night. lemongrass pork noodle salad for dinner, $8 and within walking distance- maybe even carry it over to the foundation and get a cucumber and vine to go with it? i’m sold!
@bird
knocking? So you want a discussion but you don’t want to hear the bad with the good?
I’m glad folks are posting about the problems and I’m glad they are posting about the great food.
So much for dinner. They now close at 6 PM, except on Wednesdays when they are open until 9. Also, closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
People that talk down on establishments in their first couple of weeks of opening are people that have never worked in the business. It’s natural for these things to happen, it’s what they do in order to fix it. Go back to your cubicles, people.
08/17/2009
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