Sunday, January 18, 2009
Events / News Alleycat Closing
Posted by Carrington Fox on Sun, Jan 18, 2009 at 8:17 PM
So long, Fat Ball. Alleycat Lounge, the popular East Nashville hangout known for its fiendishly delicious and artery-busting fried avocado--a.k.a. The Fat Ball--is closing. Steve Muller, who co-owns the Five Points landmark with his wife Shelley, says changes in the economy and the neighborhood are driving them out just short of the restaurant's sixth birthday.
Comments (31)
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Noooo! I loved the Alleycat. It always reminded me of some place like La Zona Rosa in Austin. The food was just what I wanted every time I went, including that deep-fried avocado, but it's the atmosphere on that patio I'm really going to miss.
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Aw, crap. So far in 2009, we have seen 1 or 2 local restuarants close every week. This is getting depressing.
"Two Thousand and No Place To Dine"
That makes me really sad. I loved their laid-back ambience and their yummy chicken sandwich. I'm glad I just went there the other night for a drink with friends. They will be missed in this neighborhood.
I always felt Alleycat was the heir to the old 12th & Porter (original incarnation) vibe, and I mean that in the best way. So it makes me sad a little that they're closing.
Oh nooo!! I loved having drinks and munchies on the patio there! I was just thinking the other day, I can't wait until it warms up more so I can go back. I hope this isn't a sign for other restaurants in 5 Points.
Seem Amerigo is circlin' the toilet too?
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/1/15/courtappointed_receiver_takes_over_amerigo_chain
Really liked the food, but despised the triple serving of secondhand smoke that came with it, so stopped going. Still, never good for a solid local option to go under...
super bummed. no more chicken sandwich? that's some bullshit. don't go alley cat!
Dang it! And they had the best burger that I've had in this town. The people there were always friendly -- first place I've been *ever* that actually remembered my name the second time I was in there. After that they had me. I hate to see them go.
Customer service was consistently horrible. I know of at least three instances where they misplaced/lost customers credit/debit cards. Sorry, but some of this was their own doing.
Such a shame. It was a good place to hang with friends, good music & good food. What next?
When Alley Cat owners decided to go 21-up it was a decision to become just a bar. A bar for smokers. No one wants to eat good food -- and the Cat had good food -- in a haze of stinky smoke. If the Cat's owners had decided to build on the direction of the neighborhood -- more young non-smking professionals and more families with young children -- its future would be a better one. . And that's too bad.
They changed the chicken sandwich a couple years ago and I never went back. It seemed as if they lowered the quality of the food to compensate for off sales. At least we still have beyond the edge!
You still have Beyond the Edge? That's the crappiest consolation prize I ever heard.
another harbinger of doom for those that choose smoke ? Why wouldn't they at least try non-smoking and all ages (even if all ages only to a certain hour, non-smoking throughout) just to see if there's a difference? I don't get it...
Gold Rush seems to be doing just fine, and they're still smokin'. Same for 3 Crow and Red Door.
Ryan, your point isn't without merit.
But there's a difference: I don't think anyone ever went to 3 Crow or Red Door for the food. Alley Cat had good enough food to be an actual dining destination, and smoking can be a turn-off for people eating lunch or dinner.
I'm not a militant anti-smoker, and respect an establishment's right to make its on policy. But I know from reading the East Nashville listserv that a lot of people loved the food but would only go in the summer when they could sit outside, because it was too smoky inside.
It's hard to say what impact that had, and of course maybe some smokers would have stopped going if they had a non-smoking policy. But it's all a moot point now, I guess.
It used to be a great place, but I quit going soon after they opted to go '21 and over'. Too smokey. That's about the same time their quality and service started tanking too. Pity.
Unless you're on a pineapple juice diet, I don't know many who go to Red Door for food...
Ok, I never say anything on here, but I will miss the BEST cheese dip in town - with or without smoke!
Alleycat's website has an "Adieu" page up now, with the news that they closed. You can also sign the guestbook and leave a note for the owners and staff. http://alleycatlounge.com
The chicken sandwich was great but the best thing on the menu was the Tortas...
This sucks.
I understand, and I would never go to Gold Rush, 3 Crow, or Red Door just for food, I just don't agree that it's the smoking policy that's causing the place to shut its doors.
Ryan,
I'm not saying it definitely is a cause and effect relationship (smoking/closing), I'm carrying forward the question posited on another thread about whether any economic impact analysis has been undertaken by anyone now that the option exists, as it seems, albeit anecdotally from my peanut gallery view only, to be having some effect on the overall long-term health of the businesses themselves. And I wonder, if that decision is having this impact, if these business owners would experiment with a change for a trial basis if they had that sort of analysis at hand.
This goes in my never-ending list of courses I would like to take if college were only as it always seems to be in my mind. Some eager Owen school type should be thesis-izing on this, shouldn't they?
I would think it would be worth a shot to see if it makes a difference. Even though I smoke, I would not want to eat at a restaurant that allowed smoking. If I owned a restaurant, it wouldn't be a 21 and over restaurant. I definitely think it makes a difference. I was just beating the point to death that I didn't think it made much of a difference in this particular case.
