Here are are a couple of tidbits I’ve picked up today:
First, the restaurant Jae in the Westgate Shopping Center next to Earth Fare is dead and gone. It’s been closed for awhile, with a sign in the window saying something about the restaurant getting new floors or something. Now the space is up for rent.
Once an upscale vegan eatery, and then a fancy Thai place, it seems that Jae just never caught on.
Next, somebody on Twitter says that Cook Out restaurant is coming to Tunnel Road. Here’s what wiki has to say about the Greensboro-based restaurant chain:
Cook Out is a fast food privately owned restaurant chain in North Carolina. Founded in Greensboro in 1989, the chain has since expanded throughout the state and now has drive-thru restaurants in over twenty cities. Most locations consist of a double-thru and lack indoor seating – many only offering limited outdoor seating. The restaurants specialize in grilled hamburgers and hotdogs (cook-out style), chicken sandwiches, and North Carolina barbecue. Cook Out is also known for its variety of 41 different “Creamery” Premium milkshakes with choices like “Banana Pudding” and “Chocolate Cherry“.
That’s all I’ve got on the local restaurant scene. What about you?
21 Comments
I have to say I am thoroughly saddened at the loss of Jae's Thai food. Such a lovely restaurant with great atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was second to none as far as Thai goes. Sad… just sad. Nice economical recovery O man.
I have to say I am thoroughly saddened at the loss of Jae's Thai food. Such a lovely restaurant with great atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was second to none as far as Thai goes. Sad… just sad. Nice economical recovery O man.
Tunnel Road Asheville The Cookout is really pretty good. BBQ has a slight kick to it, assuming they use Texas Pete.
NOOOOOO JAE WAS MY FAVORITE RESTUARANT! AND THEY’RE PUTTING IN A FUCKING COOK OUT? THAT SHIT IS DISGUSTING! I AM SO DISAPPOINTED… JAE WAS THE BEST THAI FOOD IN AVL AND NOW IT IS GONE FOREVER.
So I tries Cookout about 3 weeks ago. Let’s forget for a minute that they got my burger order wrong. The burgers themselves were terrible. I had been told how good they were by several friends who so pleased they were coming to Asheville. They were basically course patties of tasteless meal. Absolutely inedible. I called the number on the bag to complain about the order being wrong, figuring I would give the replacement coupon to one of those friends who liked Cookout. Is anyone surprised that it never arrived? No, not really. Really terrible hamburger, incorrectly made with inept follow up service. Want to guess how many people who have never tried Cookout I told about my experience? About 10 to date who will never bother trying the place. I won;t be surprised when they end up like Krystals in Asheville….gone and forgotten.
worked at Jae when it was a certified organic vegan place – the rub about its failure was it was really a laudromat like its sister restaurant in swananoa. Owned by a buddist burmese family the deed title kept changing hands and they we’re up to their elbows in sneaky money and loan arrangements. They secured loans to open 5 places in as many years and floated just enough cash to start the projects while the bulk of the money went elsewhere. I’ve seen this swindle LLC rip off happen before. Just go to Canada for a couple of days as another name gets put on the deed . We had so many hopes for that place, a lot of energy and talent ripped off by the small and greedy. Karmas a bitch and they are black loaded for a couple of lifetimes.
Cook Out is supposedly opening on Tuesday, the 29th!
Is Cook Out open yet? I drove by there yesterday, but due to traffic wasn’t able to get a good look.
Steak and shake would be awesome! Aren’t they open 24 hours?
i really want "steak and shake" to come to asheville, maybe we can get it right beside walmart in weaverville, 😀
I drove by it today, and it looks like Cook Out will definitely be across the side street from IHOP on Tunnel Rd.
I went to collegel in Greensboro, and Cookout was a regular staple of midnight marauding. I regularly invented 10-ingredient milkshakes which succeeding in both angering the staff as well as the line of cars behind me. I can’t wait for their seasonal thick and creamy Egg Nog milkshake. It’s kind of ridiculous. Waistbands, beware!
I was never that crazy about Jae, and I’m not surprised it’s gone. It’s a nice space though. Maybe an authentic Korean restaurant could take it’s place! A girl can dream, can’t she?
Ash, do you know what’s up with the Paris Bakery folks? There’s a puff of smoke where their lovely little cafe used to be, and although I’ve been campaigning Creme to offer almond croissants, they won’t bend to my demands. Word on the "street" is the Paris Bakery owners, a married couple, were deported. Can this be true???
Prior to being an "upscale vegan eatery, and then a fancy Thai place" Jae was a Thai place with very good food and inexpensive prices, attached to some run down motel in Swannanoa. It was kind of a dump but the food was consistently good and it was always busy.
So Ash, is this what is going up on the old IHOP property?
Love the cookout milkshakes!
Awesome! I’ve been saying for years that Asheville could use a Cook-Out. Great burgers and killer milkshakes.
work has been going on at the old location of the hop on merrimon- would love to know whats being planned for that space.
Jae was hit or miss. It’s hard to get really excited about a place that could gross you out, even if it could also be fabulous.
Cook Out is amazing and wonderful. I would live at the Raleigh Cook Out if it didn’t rain. I think other people live there anyway.
oh man! Cook Out is coming! It is really cheap and pretty good (it’s not 5 star dining but for the price, I think it beats out the mega-national chains). The shakes are de-lish too, try the peanut butter chocolate shake, sinful!
A sign in the window of the long-abandoned Domino’s pizza building on North Merrimon says The Sisters McMullin Bakery is coming to that location.
That’s according to the signage…
Anybody else heard that news?
Cookout has killer shakes. Their burgers aren’t bad either. Looking forward to them opening. Plus, if I remember correctly, they are open till like 3am.
Wow, definitely looking forward to Cook Out opening in Asheville. Finally.