The Rockford Lives: Restaurant will Return This Summer
When The Rockford closed very abruptly in April, it was a huge shock to all the loyal patrons in the Raleigh area. A beloved institution, The Rockford held a dear place in many locals’ hearts and its demise meant the end of an era. Fans of the hidden restaurant took to the comments section of our site and a Facebook group aimed at saving The Rockford.
There was speculation on who would buy the building and/or the business, with rumors of deals already in the works. These rumors turned out to be false.
Fast forward just over a month and we now have true facts and answers. The Rockford, its name, aesthetic and menu will be returning to the Glenwood South area later this summer. Michael D’amelio still owns the building but has sold the business (along with the naming rights, which weren’t originally for sale) to a group of local entrepreneurs who saw the outcry from the community (on here and the Facebook group) and thought it was a shame not to keep the restaurant running. We won’t mention who just yet, because the deal is still in the works and some things are being ironed out. The space will stay the same. No sign will be added. The menu will stay the same and some of the original kitchen staff may return.
The above image of James Garner from the original Rockford Files
(edit: the image was used for viral marketing only and is not the official imagery of the new Rockford) and considering The Rockford Files is slated for a remake in 2010, with “Dermot Mulroney playing the titular character”, the new owners saw it as a sign for renewing the lifespan of the beloved institution. What you will see is the old Rockford, with new people….kinda like the new television series.
UPDATE: The Rockford will be reopening in mid-June.
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Sea Bass
05/14 01:01 PM
too bad.
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150
05/14 01:29 PM
Happy for everyone that the Rockford will return. Wish they could do better than using The Scrounger’s image though.
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ballz
05/14 01:49 PM
new people? as in, new staff? off to a bad start already. a large part of the appeal was the staff. wake up “group of local entrepreneurs”, before you waste your money.
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Jon
05/14 02:20 PM
great news
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michelle
05/14 02:23 PM
I loved the Rockford, and I hope to love it again. It would be great if they will keep some of the staff, however I had gotten one particular waiter the last three times I went and its a wonder after the first time that I ever went back. Had that been my first time, I certainly would not have returned.
I gave him credit - “Maybe hes having a bad day! It is kinda busy!” - the first time but the next two times it was the same story. Unfortunately those were my last three times at The Rockford before it closed. In his case - out with the old and in with the new! -
becky
05/14 03:18 PM
woot!
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corey3rd
05/14 04:17 PM
Why can’t someone open up a bar in Raleigh with Otis Campbell as the figurehead?
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Daniel
05/14 04:31 PM
oh, I’m glad they now have “true facts and answers”. So much different then the way they usually report shit. I hope Michael reopens his wonderful Stingray Room as well.
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rt
05/14 05:16 PM
Yep. I told you so.
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C
05/14 05:29 PM
Corey, I’ve always thought the same thing re: Otis. It is a damn shame, someone in Missouri of all places beat us to it: OtisCampbells.com
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Ashley Sue Allen
05/14 06:32 PM
Hell yeah! I mean, I get it, for all of you concerned about new staff and new ownership… but an attempt to revive The Rockford in matching glory?! SO worth the effort if these investors took note that it was so loved.
And if it bombs? Or they get commercially? Or the staff isn’t as wonderfully, well, wonderfuly? Well, people’ll not go and they’ll lose their money. Not us. So haters, get over yourself. For those of us who loved… it might just work! Can’t wait to give it a chance!
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Kate
05/14 06:39 PM
Yay!! I hope this works out well. Wish they would consider a sign but having the Rockford back would be great and my family and I will visit it!
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Dan from Detroit
05/14 06:44 PM
This makes me happy - I used to have lunch there at least once a week and was always the place I took visitors to show them my favorites spots in Raleigh. Viva la Rockford!
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Tab
05/14 10:42 PM
Very happy to hear this- I hope it works out!
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Micah
05/15 02:15 AM
Daniel, Mike D’Amelio did not own the Stingray Room! Bill Mooney did. Why do so many think this?
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Dreadnought
05/15 10:35 AM
“Huge shock to all the loyal patrons”, not to mention the staff!
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riot.raleigh
05/15 12:56 PM
maybe they should start calling this site “New Raleigh Gossip”. if NR can’t “mention who [the new owners are] just yet, because the deal is still in the works and some things are being ironed out” then it’s not news. it’s unsubstantiated noise. if the rumors are true however and the Rockford is reopening, and what we - the patrons - will see is “the old Rockford, with new people”... well that’s not really the Rockford at all, now is it?
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INSTIGATOR
05/15 12:56 PM
“No sign will be added”
That’s a good idea, because signs are really overrated….I mean, what good would a sign do, anyway? No one ELSE with a successful business uses a sign or any other sort of indication that this is a restaurant or bar…so why should the Rockford ?
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Micah
05/15 03:04 PM
Sheesh, Riot. You’re right. It won’t be the OLD Rockford at all! I have now decided that the best thing would be to gut the place and turn it into a nail salon.
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Michelle
05/15 05:00 PM
Let me go ahead and make it so any further comments are not even needed.
Choose your own adventure:#1
Newsflash: The Rockford is closing” Wahhhhhhh! But I love the food!”
Newsflash: The Rockford is reopening with the same food under new mgmt: “Wahhhhhh! But ONLY the original staff was fit to serve my food!!”#2
Yay! Someone is making an effort to save the Rockford and promised to keep all the food we like! We should give them a chance! Horray for local businesses and local business owners!#3
I never went to the old Rockford, I’ll never go to the new Rockford, but I’m gonna jump on this hipster bandwagon and pretend it was the best place ever and choose one of the above! ......... Gosh my beard is itchy… -
Ashley Sue Allen
05/15 10:14 PM
Hehah Michelle, that was funny.
I choose #2. Legitimately. But whatever. Hehaehhe -
Ashe
05/16 07:27 PM
“Why can’t someone open up a bar in Raleigh with Otis Campbell as the figurehead?”
I’d rather have a hangout that had BRUCE Campbell as the figurehead. But, then, I’m not a tragic hipster.
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ninstaller
05/17 02:07 AM
I’m with Ashe! just don’t read the Book of the Dead out loud!
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C
05/17 09:37 AM
Referencing ANDY FUCKING GRIFFITH is “hipster” now? I can’t even keep up any more.
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Tony Orlando
05/17 10:01 AM
Psshaw, Bruce Campbell…. I am waiting for a place that has Glen Campbell as the figure head and a 70’s variety show vibe!
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frank
05/17 11:45 AM
I hope it’s not in the same place. Glenwood South is such a bad location for anything!
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Richard Slater
05/17 12:27 PM
“Glenwood South is such a bad location for anything!” - Yes Frank, it was so much better 20 years ago. The Pine State creamery had just closed. Homeless people sleeping on all the side streets. Nothing open from Askew-Taylor all the way down to Sunflowers (On corner where Hibernian is). Place was a dump until 518 and Rockford moved in 1994-1995. Now there are restaurants of all sorts and bars everywhere. So much choice. Yes Frank it is such a terrible place (?@??)
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raleighgirl
05/17 12:28 PM
OOH. So excited. I hope this news is true. Love the Rockford!
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Lisa Jeffries
05/17 12:28 PM
Hopefully service will become one of the main features as that is the only part that was lacking in the past!
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Brian
05/17 02:02 PM
I am so opposed to this James Garner/horrible font idea, I’ll call Universal just to draw their attention to it if it happens.
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Clark
05/17 03:47 PM
Brian the Whistleblower- don’t be hater- it’s just a
Graphic/logo- that hearkens back to the “ORIGINAL”
Rockford (James Garner)....you don’t necessarily have to like it….
But you don’t have to be a bitch about it….
not everyone can have your keen design sense…
Wait a minute - who the f@ck are you? -
Amos
05/17 05:35 PM
‘Referencing ANDY FUCKING GRIFFITH is “hipster” now?’
Laughed way too hard at that.
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unreliable
05/17 05:55 PM
i heard it was going to be the same people that opened Brooklyn Heights are taking over the Rockford
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Brian
05/18 05:03 AM
Clark,
You are welcome to do as you please, but we all know where the name Rockford came from. The same goes for the Jackpot and the Five-O. No one needs a tacky picture of James Garner, on par with the garbage on the walls of the Diner, to hammer the point home.
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Daniel
05/18 02:14 PM
Micah, I guess people think Michael owned Stingray because that’s what NR wrote. When I said it, I was using sarcasm. Get it? Sarcasm.
And to Brian, bravo, sir. Couldn’t agree more.
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mwbsc
05/18 05:03 PM
I’m so glad to hear it’s coming back!
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Clark
05/18 09:20 PM
Brian,
Thanks….
And you are clearly entitled to your opinion, no matter how jaded it may be….
If you have anything intelligent to say-and have any balls whatsoever- let’s meet face to face, continue this conversation and see what happens…. Fair enough? Let me know….... -
T-Plain
05/18 11:03 PM
Seriously? Fisticuffsmanship?
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Brian
05/19 12:21 AM
Who knew that a joke about a graphic could inspire such vitriol? I’d hate to see what would happen if my opinion had any merit; remember, I’m a nobody.
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JX
05/19 01:40 PM
Hmmm… James Garner doesn’t like anyone messin’ with his image (remember this? :http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-young/james-garner-files-suit-a_b_124997.html), so the “Rockford” should probably tread carefully here…
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JX
05/19 01:43 PM
^ ‘tis satire, y’all…before you go off the deep end….
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GentleReader
05/21 10:26 AM
If I’m too much of a poseur to go to Cherry Bomb, can I hang out at new Rockford and hate too?
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