Night Life/Cheap Eats First Round Results

First Round Results presented by Greenville Memorial Auditorium

Night Life

Corner Pocket (1) v. Al’s Pump House (16)
Al’s Pump House was a road side live music venue on Poinsett Highway near Furman.  In its heyday it attracted Widespread Panic and Toy Caldwell (the Spartanburg native who was the heart and soul of The Marshall Tucker Band that he founded) for live shows.  Thus birthing the concept “if a downtownie doesn’t know that a concert is happening in town, did it happen?”  Bit of trivia here: Widespread opened their Pump House set with Fire on the Mountain, one of MTB’s biggest hits.

It also catered to Furman students back when the Baptists were riding herd and the campus was bone dry.

Despite the boost from dispatching Cowboys, Al’s just cannot find the gas to move on.  Get it? Ha.

Result: Corner Pocket advances
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Dempsey’s (8) v. Kincaid’s (9)
Einhorn is Finkle. Finkle is Einhorn. Einhorn is a man!

We had a similar Ace Ventura moment when we realized Dempsey’s was Kincaid’s.

Result: Dempsey’s advances.

Bailey's (5) v. Joe’s Den (12)
On paper Bailey’s should easily advance to the second round. They had a central location on Laurens Road, TVs everywhere, NFL Sunday Ticket before everyone had NFL Sunday Ticket, pool tables, fights, but they could not overcome Joe’s Den secret weapon...the lazy eye.  At Joe’s Den, 21 was the suggested age required to drink and in the end that was enough to push them through to the second round.

Result: Joe’s Den advances.

Diamond’s (4) v. Characters (13)
Characters was the ultimate spot to show off that new Hilfiger gear that your mom picked up for you at Belk’s.  If you bumped C+C Music Factory in your CRX with a Bazooka bass tube, you were definitely here a lot.  Speaking of a CRX with a tube, RIP Cam Icenhour, great guy.  Anyway, there is a Characters Night Life page on fb and the pictures are totally 90s.  And then it became Platinum Plus.

Result: Diamond’s advances.

Henni’s Late Night (6) v. Cotton Bottom Club (11)
Henni’s Late Night’s bus tires were slashed by a rival fan who felt the original Henni’s downtown deserved to be dancing, and the Late Night team had to forfeit.

Result: Cotton Bottom Club advances.

Handlebar (3) v. The New Sand Flea (14)
Amazingly enough, there used to be private beach music clubs in this state.  And if you want to know everything there is to know about The New Sand Flea, check this out: http://carolinashagclub.org/sand-flea-history/

Result: Handlebar advances.

The Silver Fox (7) v. Casablanca (10)
Another of the late night spots on the outskirts of town, the Silver Fox made a run by being between Greenville and Greer, staying open super late, and heavily promoting itself on the radio.

“The Fox kicks til six.”  But not the second round.

Result: Casablanca advances.

Fiddler (2) v. East Court (15)
East Court had a meteoric rise to be THE place to be for people who are now about 40 when those people were in their early 20’s.  Nice way of saying the place didn’t last long and has been gone for a while.  Next tenant was Deveraux’s.

Result: Fiddler advances.

Cheap Eats

Hot Dog King (1) v. Smokin Stokes (16)
Barbeque is king of the South, but not the bracket.

Result: Hot Dog King advances.

Patelli’s (8) v. Shakey’s (9)
If you are between the ages of 40 and 50 and grew up in 29607, these two pizza joints on South Pleasantburg are places you know well.  I remember first hearing “Mickey” by Toni Basil on the jukebox at Patelli’s and being mesmerized.  Patelli’s later became El Sombrero, Shakey’s later became Joe’s Den.

Result: Shakey’s advances.

Zaxby’s in the house (5) v. Charlie’s BBQ Too (12)
The original Charlie’s BBQ is still smoking strong at the intersection of Hwy 14 and Pelham Rd. Charlie’s BBQ Too operated in the mid-nineties at the Augusta Rd/Faris intersection in the space that later became Corona’s and then a beautiful CVS parking lot. The son of the original Charlie’s ran the second location and while the ‘que was good, it is tough for an eastsider to make new friends in the 05.

Result: Zaxby’s in the house advances.

Gourmet Pizza (4) v. El Sombrero (13)
The El Sombrero was your basic combination Mexican restaurant on South Pleasantburg. Even fishbowl margaritas and prayer vigils by their neighbors at Eastlan Baptist could not keep this place from being bulldozed (combined with the stand alone Pizza Hut up the road that also got razed, 291 food history is under assault).

The vacant lot is now home to a couple used cars and perhaps a 4-pack of knock-off chiclets. Please leave a nickel.

Result: Gourmet Pizza advances.

Sprout’s (6) v. Pete's (11)
Which Pete's are we talking about?  We here at NMB had that conversation more than once. Probably explains the failure to advance.

Result: Sprout’s advances.

Charlie T’s (3) v. Aussie Bush Burgers (14)
One of the biggest challenges city planners have is how to deal with once prosperous areas that fall into disrepair as preferences change and tenants move on.  One option has been to put go kart tracks into the empty big boxes.  A second option was to drop a playhouse sized take-out only restaurant in the empty parking lot and dish out first quality burgers and hand cut fries with special seasoning.  Why again did this not work?

Result: Charlie T’s advances.

Showbiz (7) v. Del Taco (10)
Showbiz gave birth to Chuck E. Cheese’s and for that alone they must exit in the first round.  While they will not win a championship ring, they did cash in 13,473 tickets for a plastic spider ring.

Result: Del Taco advances.

Campbell’s Pharmacy (2) v. Meadors Sandwich Company (15)
The Meadors twins are good dudes, but there can only be one spread sandwich place in Round 2 and we defer to the pharmacy counter.

Result: Campbell’s Pharmacy advances.