– Wow, Ed Mitchell’s Que in Durham has closed after less than a year at its American Tobacco Campus location
Mitchell explained that his Durham restaurant did not have any space for private dining for corporate events and only had capacity to cook one whole hog at a time, which was not enough to meet the demands of the restaurant and catering operation. “I fell in love with the space,” said Mitchell, adding that he should have had a better understanding of the space’s limitations compared to his business needs.
– In other closing news, could the River Arts District of 12 Bones Smokehouse be forced to leave its current location in favor of a new “redevelopment plan” along the river?
Now with the start of a multimillion-dollar project to redevelop areas along either side of the French Broad River, the 12 Bones site may have to make way for a new roundabout that is part of a plan to move Riverside Drive to the west, a city official said Friday. It’s a move that’s being contested by the property’s owner, former Asheville Vice Mayor Chris Peterson.
– More coverage on the upcoming Stonecrest location of Smoke Modern Barbeque, which opened its Huntersville location last week
– The Barbecue Festival received won 3 excellence awards at the 2015 North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events ShowFest conference and trade show held in Charlotte on Jan. 24 and 25
– A location of Kansas City chain Gates Bar-B-Q in Missouri burned down Monday night
– From last month, Garden and Gun’s 5 unusual barbecue spots
– Robert Moss’ list of 10 Must-Visit Carolina Barbecue Joints includes several Barbecue Bros faves
I’m sad about Ed Mitchell’s place closing. I was hoping to make it up there to try it out. But with this not being the first time this has happened, it makes me wonder about his business acumen. Does he have any partners?
Also, I hope the place that’s supposed to open in Stonecrest is decent, or if it’s just another restaurant group trying to cash in on the BBQ trend.
I’m sad too, because it really was that good. Are you referring to Mitchell’s former place in Wilson closing? Because as I understand it he was forced out of The Pit in Raleigh once they took his recipes. So that makes two closings and one force out if I am remembering correctly. That doesn’t mean that maybe he doesn’t need some help on the business side. It’s just crazy that it failed so quickly, because man that guy can cook a hog.
We’ll see about Smoke, but I am not too optimistic. May try to check out the Huntersville location sooner rather than later though.