First Four Results

The First Four Results presented by The Greenville Piedmont Newspaper.

Cowboys Night Life v. Al’s Pump House

We'll let King George start us off with the results of the very first play-in game between these two locations on the edge of town…

🎶Cowboys on Cedar Lane, sure did have fun
Making the play-in, surprising everyone
Drew people to Berea had downtown on the run
Til they ran into Al from out by Furman
Since then it's been like 10 things, many police calls and such
For Cowboys like us🎶
​
Result: Al’s Pump House advances.

Seafood Shanty v. The Palms at The Phoenix Inn
It was a great first four match-up of beach themed restaurants in awkward locations. While I am sure in the minds of the owners opening a fine dining restaurant in a motor lodge by the downtown airport seemed like a good idea at the time, the free HBO marquee and the Krispy Kreme next door will only lure so many people to your location. The Palms did host many prom dinners in the nineties and just like prom night they did not live up to the hype. The Seafood Shanty leaves the Palms in the ashes of the Phoenix.

Result: The Seafood Shanty advances.

Local Taco v. Smokin Stokes
What can I say about the Local Taco that has not been said?  I wanted it to work.  It had history (the old Campbell’s Pharmacy, err Shane’s Rib Shack), location (convenient to all of Augusta Road), concept (inexpensive Mexican with patio seating and a bar), not much competition in the same class, cool name and vibe - most of the things many people look for in a restaurant.  But the one thing it could never get right was service - both accuracy and speed.  And consistently bad service will get you bounced from the play-in.

Result: Smokin Stokes advances

Never on Sunday v. Spaghetti Warehouse
Like many entries in Yeah That Bracket, Spaghetti Warehouse was in the right place at the wrong time. You now know it as the address of Northampton Wines and DP3 Architects, but the old trolley barn (circa 1890) on East Broad Street used to be a Spaghetti Warehouse in the 1990s.  SW had a thing for opening restaurants in downtown historic buildings in an attempt to rehabilitate an urban area.  But this often meant they were too soon and too big into a fledgling market where additional development did not come fast enough.  By 1996 the chain closed a number of locations nationwide.  Here is what the senior VP of finance said about one of the closures: ``It never got to an acceptable level of sales.  Even with the honeymoon period [four to eight months after opening], it didn't get anywhere near that level, and since then it has continued to decline.''  Could not have said it better myself.

PS Don’t shed a tear for the company - it bought the trolley barn for $175,000 in March 1992 and sold it for $825,000 in April 1996.  This building is as good a benchmark as any for people trying to peg when downtown Greenville started really getting legs.

Result: Never on Sunday advances