Restaurant Regeneration

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0183 . . . OPEN:



This is something that happened back in May, if I'm not too mistaken. At least, I remember it happening around Derby time.

At the time, I was making a trip to Mid-City Mall. More than likely, I was going to the Highlands/Shelby Park branch of the library, which is located there. But as I was coasting up to the mall's entrance, I noticed something unusual at #1 Asian Buffet. It was closed.

No, I don't mean closed in the sense of "not yet open for the day." I mean CLOSED, as in "shut down for good."

I was a little surprised, because when I went to Mid-City Mall a few days earlier, they were open as normal. The closing was abrupt, to say the least. And a few days after that, I was again coasting up to the entrance of Mid-City Mall. I was talking briefly with someone, and for some reason, we were talking about the restaurant's closing. The other guy wasn't sure, but he told me that he thought he had heard something about the health department closing #1 Asian Buffet down after a routine inspection.

Well, that isn't out of the realm of possibility. The local health department does have the power to do that. Given that it doesn't happen often, I'm surprised that I didn't read or hear anything about it in the local news.

The space remained occupied through the summer. Then either in late September or early October, I saw a sign that a new restaurant would be opening soon -- Mid-City Super Buffet.

It finally opened last month, but I haven't had a chance to dine there yet. As best as I can tell, it's an entirely new restaurant -- new management and everything. I have stepped in a couple of times, to pick up their take-out menu, and it doesn't look as though the decor has changed.

I plan to go there for lunch before the end of the month. It will be interesting to see what changes have been made.

JANUSFILES2 . . . ENTRY #0183 . . . CLOSE