Tent on 13th Street

Well, I did it. After months of seeing signs in front of a big tent on 13th and 16th (across from where Guthrie's used to be, in front of where Mochanow used to be, next to Citgo) telling me they sell hot dogs and hamburgers 24 hours a day, I called the phone number found on the car reading "Delton's Auto Detailing" that is frequently parked outside the tent. The man on the phone told me that they were a (and this is a direct quote) "food and auto detailing establishment" and that they serve breakfast and lunch 24 hours a day, telling me that "there is no cutoff." I didn't have the cojones to ask WHY they were in a tent or why an auto detailing service would be open 24 hours or why an auto detailing service would serve food, but I'll leave that to someone else.

Sababa

Word on the street, sadly, is that Sababa Kosher Food and More will be closing by the end of this week. Hope for them to reopen somewhere in the future.

Nero's Pizza and Pasta: Closed

Loyal reader Grahamuscript has pointed out that Nero's Pizza and Pasta (5240 NW 34th St) has closed. Calls to the phone number have turned up a busy signal consistently.

Yet Another Beef O'Brady's

The Red Table Bar and Grill, located inside the Holiday Inn on University and 13th, has become Beef O'Brady's. The Red Table was formerly the Dill Deli and, of course, was the site of the last Denny's in Gainesville, circa 2005. Signage on the outside has been changed to represent the takeover, and the Holiday Inn's website represents the change as well.

http://www.theuniversityhotel.com/Red_Table_Bar___Grill.html

Steak and Pasta Works appears closed

It appears that Steak and Pasta Works, located on 39th and 13th has closed down. I heard that there were signs on the door and, although the website is still functional, calls to their phone number went answered. Steak and Pasta Works is owned by Gainesville Restaurant Group, who owned Grill Masters, which closed last summer and is now the new PizzaVito location. GRG also owns Northwest Grille and Joe's Place.

Mellow Mushroom update

Here's an update, courtesy of The Gainesville Sun: Mellow Mushroom has closed and will supposedly reopen in a different location somewhere near campus. I have a feeling that this will be like the Tony and Pat's saga; for those of you who don't remember Tony and Pat's, they were open for 30+ years on Archer Road, where the Kohl's is now located. Kohl's bought up all that property and T+P swore they'd reopen in a location to be determined, told everyone to check their myspace, and then disappeared off the face of the Earth. Given that the Mellow Mushroom twitter and facebook pages are gone, and that people have confirmed that traffic was slow, I think saying that the restaurant will reopen is paying lip service to people here until people forget about Mellow Mushroom.

Anyway, here's the whole article: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091008/ARTICLES/910081057/1002?Title=Mellow-goodbye-Univ-Ave-pizza-joint-closes

10/7 Update

I've neglected this blog as of late, but I realized that I have a duty to the internet that reaches beyond food reviews. I will still be reviewing local food places but I will also post any important information I hear or discover about restaurant changes, openings, or closings. Here are two important nuggets, to be updated when more info is available:

• Mellow Mushroom (1209 West University Ave) has apparently closed down. Lights are off, the location's facebook and twitter pages have disappeared, and phone calls to the number went unanswered. This appears to be only the Gainesville, FL, location, and not all Mellow Mushrooms.
• According to an interview on 10/6 on 92.5 WIND-FM, Sonic is reopening in Gainesville. Details on locations and dates will follow.

Got any info about restaurants, local or chain, in Gainesville? Email me at polakoff at gmail dot com.