May
27
Spize Cafe Coming to Fayetteville Street
The former America’s Pita Grille space will soon be gutted to prepare for the Spize Cafe. The restaurant will feature a menu of Pan-Asian flavors in baguettes, soups, salads, and fresh rolls. There will be a “Free Tasting day” in late July, just before the restaurant’s grand opening.
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May 27th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I wonder what happened with America’s Pita Grille, but I am glad that another eatery is going to occupy this spot. Sure, it is more competition for existing destinations, but more people may end up on that side of the street. Decent outdoor seating would be nice, particularly since we have those ultra-wide sidewalks. To this day, outdoors seating along Fayetteville Street leaves much to be desired, in my opinion.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I agree about the outdoor seating. To me, it’s a no-brainer. Hay Street businesses in Fayetteville knows how to do it so why can’t Fayetteville Street businesses figure it out. I’m not big on Fayetteville, but that section is so much nicer with the big sidewalks and outdoor seating for just about every bar/restaurant.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Jay, I am one of the few people who praise Fayetteville’s work, and I am glad to see that you mentioned it, as well. I would love to see outdoor seating identical, or at least comparable to what you see in big cities (i.e. Paris, NYC). I am not suggesting it will happen overnight, but we have no indication thus far that anyone is truly interested in doing so, either. As an example, we can use Monticello Restaurant, in Uptown Charlotte. Caffe Phoenix, in Wilmington, isn’t bad, either, but I would look for a more upscale look for the outdoors.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I agree outdoor seating would be nice…whenever I go next door to Crema for ice cream, I eat it outside if the weather is good! It’s a nice wide sidewalk perfect for outdoor dining.
Anyone know if this place will be lunch-only like the Pita place was, or will it offer dinner? That’s what F-street really needs is more dinner!
May 28th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Not to pile on, but I totally agree on the outdoor seating. What is available downtown has been given little thought and to me appears uninviting – what little there is. Places that come to mine are The Burrough (stark, but then I stopped eating there after the menu has stayed the same since they opened, not to mention the stale funk inside), Remedy – same just chairs crammed on sidewalk, Everyplace on Fayetteville Street that bothered to put outdoor seating, Busy Bee’s Mezzanine.
Just about the only places that come to mind downtown that has good outdoor seating are Solas. I love it, but it is a bit pricey to be a regular place for me. 18 Seaboard’s Mezzanine, and J. Betski’s.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:37 am
The owner wrote me and said “Hours will be better, opening later into evening and Saturday”.
As for current outside seating, HUMBLE PIE has fantastic food and a really good patio.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Sitti has great outdoor seating in its courtyard. The Mint also has great outdoor seating on Fayetteville St.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:54 am
I wish Spize well with their venture on Fayetteville St. A problem with America’s Pita Grille to me was their lack of any welcome shown to their customers. They weren’t rude exactly, but very indifferent. The people taking the orders could have been robots with no concern for courteous customer service. I ate there several times, but really got turned off by the utter indifference.
February 18th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I finally made it here for dinner. Both my friend and I thought it was excellent. Everything we ordered was very tasty, well prepared and overall wonderful. Especially when you consider their prices, I think this is a great little restaurant. The service was great as well – both attentive and very positive about the restaurant.
I highly recommend checking it out. It is also nice that they are now open for dinner W – Sat until 9:30.
As an entree, I recommend trying one of the Thai Fondue dishes. If you like eggplant, the eggplant appetizer is also worth checking out.