Restaurant openings

Two new restaurants have opened or will open in Athens this week.

Little Bull is now open at 259 E. Broad Street in the old Grilled Teriyaki space. The new Puerto Rican restaurant's opening sneaked (or snuck) up on us. They have a limited menu for now with sandwiches and appetizers. They also have a daily special, which was yellow rice with chicken, pinto beans, and a side of plantains yesterday. Looks promising. Updates to come.

Also, Grindhouse Burgers is opening up on Friday at 1553 South Lumpkin Street. They have a menu up on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/grindhousekillerburgers/app_160363220729661

Looks like a great burger addition to Athens.

Free Yogurt at the Main Library

Yoplait has a display set up at the snack bar (Tween the Pages) at the Main Library on north campus. They are giving out free large cups of Greek Yogurt. Flavors include strawberry, pineapple, blueberry, and vanilla. No commitment or secret identities required for this freebie. Special thanks to our food ninja correspondent for this one.

Terry College Party

The Terry College of Business is throwing a party for their new students in front of Brooks Hall as we speak. A party for them is a party for you. There will be food and drink and freebies. They do this every year and it is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of. All you have to do is "be" a Terry student.

Free Jimmy John's Samples

Free Jimmy John's samples at the arch. Run, don't walk.

Snacks with Jere

Meet the new UGA president, then fill your pockets with finger foods: 

The UGA Alumni Association will host a welcome reception for Jere W. Morehead, UGA’s 22nd president, July 9 at 10:30 a.m. at the Abraham Baldwin statute in front of Old College. Refreshments and tours of the Administration Building and the Gordon Jones Gallery will be provided. Parking will be available in the North Campus deck.

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Groucho's Deli in Athens

Groucho's Deli will be opening soon at 396 Baxter St. This is the location that once housed Sudz laundry mat and where Butt Hutt was at one point planning to move in to. Groucho's is a chain establishment with locations in Statesboro, Georgia and the Carolinas. The menu, which can be found here, is mainly comprised of sandwiches and salads, as you might expect from a deli. They seem to be pretty famous in South Carolina for their Formula 45 sauce. Might be worth checking out. According to the restaurant's Facebook page, they are planning to open up for business in mid-July.

New Puerto Rican Restaurant on Broad Street

Grilled Teriyaki (259 E. Broad Street) has closed down, making it the second short-lived Japanese restaurant (remember Tokyo Sushi Rock?) in that space since Mellow Mushroom moved over to Clayton nearly a decade ago. Renovations have already begun to make room for a new Puerto Rican restaurant. I spoke with the owners and they told me that the new venture should be open in about a month. I don't believe Puerto Rican cuisine is currently offered in Athens, so this restaurant should be a nice addition to the downtown lineup.

So Long and Thanks For All the Meatloaf

Surprisingly, Five Star Day Cafe closed its doors this week. Until yesterday, there hadn't been a hint that the restaurant planned to shut down after 15 years of service. The decline of southern food in downtown Athens has been a troubling trend over the past few years with the closings of Peaches Fine Foods and Wilson's Soul Food, along with the perilous status of Weaver D's. The space occupied by Five Star is one that receives heavy foot traffic and it will be interesting to see who moves in this fall. I fear that yet another generic chain restaurant will take its place. Regardless, Five Star will be missed. Below are images of the restaurant and their farewell sign. To read more about the closing, check out Flagpole's article at http://www.flagpole.com/blogs/grub-notes/posts/five-star-day-cafe-closing

Free Jittery Joe's Coffee at the Main Library

A group of students are giving out free cups of Jittery Joe's Coffee in front of the main library on north campus to promote their online web series as part of their capstone project. They have cream and sugar, but bring your own stirrer. More students should hand out free coffee I think.

Free Arby's Fries

Arby's fast food restaurant is giving away free curly fries or potato cakes for tax day today (April 15th). All you have to do is go to their website and print out a coupon. The coupon is available at: http://coupon.arbys.com/AprilArbysTaxday04152013/

Weaver D's for sale

You may remember back in October that Weaver D's owner Dexter Weaver told the Athens Banner-Herald that his restaurant was struggling and they may have to close if business doesn't pick up. Well, I just got word that he has put the business up for sale. The restaurant (located on East Broad Street) remains open for now, but its future seems perilous. More to come.

Herschel's Famous 34 Pub & Grill Menu

Here are the scanned pages from Herschel's Famous 34 Pub & Grill takeout menu, which is holding its grand opening on Super Bowl Sunday at 1pm.

 



Herschel Opens Early

According to news reports, Herschel's Famous 34 Pub & Grill in Athens is supposed to open up Super Bowl Sunday (February 3) at 1pm, but in actuality the restaurant held a soft opening on Friday. From first glance, it appears the Heisman Trophy winner has dropped a pile of cash on renovations. Everything in the place is brand new and state of the art, including touchscreens at every table for ordering.

The six page long takeout menu (not to mention the separate wing, drink, and dessert menus) is extensive and includes burgers, turkey meatloaf, ahi tuna, pasta, steaks, chicken, oysters, crab cakes, ribs, soups, six kinds of potatoes, Mexican food, and even a Doritos salad (you guessed it: a salad with Doritos crumbled over it). The place certainly can't be charged with a lack of ambition. After looking at the menu, one downtowner commented: "This motherfucka got an omelet!"

We spoke with an employee who told us that Herschel would be at the restaurant in person on Saturday for a VIP event and perhaps on Sunday, but made no promises. I have included images below of the interior of the restaurant, along with the chicken wings menu which includes 29 different varieties (why not 34?). I'll post the entire takeout menu tomorrow.

Free Breakfast Reception (and speaking event)

The Terry Leadership Speaker Series is hosting SCANA Corp. chairman and CEO at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Library tomorrow (Friday, February 1st). For those of you interested in free campus food (like I am), there will be a breakfast reception at 9:30am. Free food opportunities are few and far between these days, so it might be worth a visit. Check out the announcement here: http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/ceo-of-scana-to-speak-at-uga-on-feb-1/