Downtown Huntsville moving in the right direction (food, county)

[HsvMike]

I totally agree sinfree.

[Reactionary]

Five Points restaurant Sazio closed. I think that the employees will be offered jobs within the group (Humphreys, Masons, Chophouse).

I know the neighborhood objected to Zestos, but I hope that they open a pub at the location.

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Five Points restaurant Sazio closed. I think that the employees will be offered jobs within the group (Humphreys, Masons, Chophouse).

I know the neighborhood objected to Zestos, but I hope that they open a pub at the location.

Wow I heard they had great food I had never been but was planning on going soon.

[rnc76]

I hate to hear that but I feel it was no one's fault but their own. For some reason, I could not get consistent food quality or service there. The first year we lived here we were borderline regulars, then things started becoming very hit and miss. Sometimes the food was excellent and the service was great, sometimes mediocre, sometimes bad. I had an incredible chicken marsala there one night, went back 1 week later just because of that dish and it was bad. Not just mediocre, but flat out bad. I had several experiences like this, but that was the most pronounced. About 1 year ago, I wrote them off. I'm not going to pay $50+ for a dinner for two and settle for a 50% chance of enjoying it. I have never understood this because the other Washington Square group restaurants are very consistent.

[NicoleC]

That's too bad. I ate there the other weekend with my Mom. I have to say, after all the good things I have heard, I wasn't impressed. Service was good, but the chicken piccata was heavy and greasy and should be anything but. Mom's dish was equally so-so.

Still, I was rooting for the restaurant in my new neighborhood. It's a nice space; I wonder what's going in there?

[clamoore]

The re-launch of Zesto's, after the fire, was a public relations nightmare! The nearest neighbors were really concerned with the place being an all-nite establishment. The bar would close at 1:30 or 2:00 A.M., per city ordinances, but the adjacent diner would stay open all night. The amount of noise was a big complaint from the neighbors. Allegations of illegal after-hour alcohol serving was rampant in the neighborhood. I live a couple blocks away from the location, so I don't have a big dog in the fight. I guess I am a fence straddler, because I can sympathize with the neighbors, but I desire having a neighborhood pub to socialize at (i.e. walk home after having a few pints). I know that the Washington Square group is very persistent and the location is too good to pass up.

A possible cause of the quality irregularities in Sauzio was the change in management. The man responsible for guiding the launch of the establishments took a step away from the day-to-day about a year after Sauzio opened for business.

[NicoleC]

I can sympathize with not wanting a pub there -- it's right there across the street from residential housing with no kind of noise barrier or anything. But I'd like to see a small neighborhood pub in Five Points.

[Reactionary]

I used to 'socialize' at Zesto's and didn't see them serve alcohol after hours, but it was noisy. I know that the neighborhood (esp. Zeke) worked hard to bring the issue to the City's attention, so kudos to them for taking a stand. I'd like to see a pub there, or an open air / window cafe with weekend brunch.

clamoore "The man responsible for guiding the launch" - that's why I recommend Pauli's on University at Slaughter Rd

I've always had great food / great service if Paul Thornton is involved.

[clamoore]

At this point, the only pub I think the neighbors will accept will be Emma's Tea Room! I personally know that a firestorm will be unleashed if any type of biergarten is implemented. Open-air dining will pass smoothly by the neighbors. The southern section of the Five Points Historic Distric, IMHO, is turning very gray. The business will have to pass through an aging boomer filter to be accepted. That means rowdy will be accepted from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. No real bikers welcomed, only the weekend variety will be tolerated. No young folks, beyond the age of 15, will be welcomed, especially if not in the presence of non-tatooed parent. Live music will be shunned. All these restrictions still would not guarantee a bad time. I would still enjoy tossing back a few pints, especially if the silly beer alcohol cap is lifted! I'm just sayin'...

[NicoleC]

It would probably fly over directly on Andrew Jackson/California, because that gives a bit of a buffer to the residential impact, particularly the noise but also the traffic overflow.

Let's face it, alcohol + live music gets noisy and most folks of any age don't want it in their backyard when they are trying to sleep so they can get up and go to work in the morning.

I have seen venues manage very near residential areas, but it means herding people out of the parking lot who aren't actively walking to and from cars, noise ordinances, tons of soundproofing and enforcing zero-tolerance security practices with security staff outside at all times.

The owners might be able to make a case with the local residents if they put together a similar package and specified it as an acoustic music only venue. Or maybe a darts/pool table kind of pub instead of live music. But if the previous bar there was loud, it would be a tough row to hoe.