West side fast-food update

Spotted on a westside drive:

Taco Bell near Jackson and Zeeb is closed for renovation. (Above, a Google Street View of the exterior from ten years ago — it remained this way with only color and logo changes until now.) It’s stripped to the frame now. Expect big interior and exterior changes that play off of T-Bell’s current “something instagrammable could happen at any moment” aesthetic, while still being pretty easy to clean.

Meijer exterior with “Quiznos Sub” sign, May 2017. (C) a2retail.space

Meanwhile, across the street:

The Quizno’s inside the Jackson/Zeeb Meijer has been closed for a minute but the sign is still up there. I can’t imagine the disappointment of a weary I-94 traveler who enters this Meijer looking for a toasty sammie, mostly because I’m uncomfortable imagining anyone “looking for a toasty sammie.” If this hypothetical sammie-looker is you, happening to read this right now, please know that Jimmy John’s is in the outlot here next to Starbucks, Subway and Arby’s are within a block, and the Eastside Meijer at Packard and Carpenter still has a functioning Quizno’s (but it seems to close pretty early).

When we were young, and Quizno’s was the brash upstart, their first store in the area was at Fifth and Liberty. They offered delivery back then, as well as being only three and a half blocks from campus.

Quizno’s Classic Subs, Nov. 1993, Agenda Publications (CC-NC-SA)

The Fifth and Liberty store eventually closed. Quizno’s later returned to the area in a few other locations, most of which have closed again. Fifth and Liberty, of course, is now a Which Wich sandwich shop. The more things change… Below, find a Street View from last summer where Mitch Ryder was performing at Sonic Lunch, a block up Liberty. I call it “Which Wich and Mitch.”

Another thing about the OCBC building…

…it was originally built as a single Pier 1 imports store in the 90s. Pier 1 left the area for a while, and the building was quartered into the restaurant spaces occupying it now. With Tony Sacco’s replaced by Blaze Pizza, that makes Potbelly the grizzled veteran that will presumably “show the ropes” to whoever the new tenant is. I cannot wait for this area to finally get the Jamba Juice it deserves.

Old Carolina Barbecue is “in transition”

The Old Carolina Barbecue Company has closed their storefront on Eisenhower in the Whole foods outlot. Signage is down and their Facebook page promises a “one step at a time transition.”

I’m as interested as you are as to what that means. I suspect scaling back to catering, or to a food truck/outdoor location. You may remember their residency at Mark’s Carts a few summers back.

OCBC were fine and relatively inexpensive as BBQ goes, especially if you used the popular-with-students Hooked Deals app. They had offers every day, though it seemed sometimes the phone-order help didn’t understand what that was. I tried to explain it three times on the phone one night and gave up when they kept telling me it would be full price.

There are a number of great BBQ options around town:

  • Satchel’s (near the other Whole Foods) is probably the cheapest now, and very reliable.
  • Westside BBQ (next to Fingerle Lumber) is tasty and they’re always testing new stuff, like a burrito-style rolled BBQ sandwich.
  • Ricewood (behind Morgan & York on Packard) is very popular with my friends. Last time I asked them to leave the tomato out and it was the best bowl I’ve ever had. Gonna try the sandwich next time.
  • And of course there are the well regarded table-service BBQ restaurants like Blue Tractor, Red Rock, Zingerman’s Roadhouse.

I still miss the BBQ places of my youth like Mr. Rib and DeLong’s. A side of bbq-soaked fries was pretty much my ultimate indulgence as a Community High School student. I remember how annoyed the fellow at the counter would get when I asked for a second fork to share with a friend.

One thing I really enjoyed at OCBC that none of the other local places have is Cheerwine, a super-sweet cherry soda that’s not commonly available north of about Tennessee. I’m nearly positive I’ve noticed glass-bottle Cheerwine four packs at Cracker Barrel in the merch shop. Next time you go, please bring me some back.

The group that franchised OCBC here also owns Black Diesel Coffee on Packard. BDC hasn’t posted any recent items on their Facebook, but I assume that’s a good sign. They always seem to be busy when I drive past.

A long time ago, in a nearby neighborhood…

“Star Wars Etc.” feature from Ann Arbor News, May 1983. © The Ann Arbor News.

It’s no surprise that Ann Arbor loves Star Wars, and always has. This saga, that crosses generations, has Ann Arbor woven into its DNA. Darth Vader, one of the handful of characters who spans the entire series, is voiced by U-M graduate James Earl Jones. Another U-M graduate, Lawrence Kasdan, wrote several of the best-loved Star Wars films. And, a small Lucasfilm crew filmed many of “Star Wars'” corridor scenes in the Hatcher Graduate Library.

Lucas’ body of work started with THX-1138, a feature of the closing night of the 1968 Ann Arbor Film Festival.

A few years later, Rich Quackenbush of the Ann Arbor News tried to warn viewers away from “Star Wars:”

“‘Star Wars’: Some Slick Tricks That Entertain,” June 1976. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

His words went unheeded:

Star Wars line at Briarwood, June 1977. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

Here’s the old ticket booth, in the hallway outside the theater. This is where the line would start to buy tickets. It stretched out to the court in front of JC Penney:

Star Wars line at Briarwood, June 1977. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

(Standing in this spot today, you would find Cinnabon where Thom McAn (yesteryear shoe store) was. and Bakers was where Claire’s Accessories is now. Happy Hero, down the hall, was a regional sub-sandwich restaurant also found in other area malls.)

Even nearly a month after its release it was pulling lines like this and compelling theatres to set up special policies for sales:

Star Wars ad, June 15, 1977. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

It was showing at the Campus Theater on South University too, at that time the largest screen in town.

When “The Empire Strikes Back” hit screens, South University was ready with a tie-in:

South University Merchants Association. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

I implore you, click on the above ad to see both pages. Even Rich Quackenbush, who’d panned the previous installment, praised it, due in large part to beloved U-M professor Ralph Williams’ supporting role as the hero’s mentor, Yoda.

“‘The Empire’ is a winner.” June 20, 1980. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

By 1983, Commie Kids and MYA Miscreants were all camping out to be the first to see “Jedi:”

“Getting ready for ‘Jedi’: a long night,” May 25, 1983. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

I was in third grade, so on release day, I got the the junior novelization in my school book orders, and of course I immediately read it to spoil the story.

Briarwood countered South U and Community Newscenter with their own Darth Vader appearance. WAS IT THE REAL VADER? Click the photo below for some of that smashmouth journalism you won’t get in a “mobile app.”

“Guess Who,” June 26, 1983. (C) The Ann Arbor News.

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! The next scheduled Star Wars film screening in town is “The Force Awakens,” at Top of the Park on June 29.

  • CORRECTION: “Star Wars” was not filmed in the Hatcher Graduate Library. The film in question was “Answer This!” (2011). A2R.S regrets the error.
  • CORRECTION STRIKES BACK: Professor Ralph Williams did not play the hero’s mentor in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1983). He played the hero’s mentor in “Answer This!” (2011). A2R.S regrets the error.