It might be a god time to re-commit to passing through other towns on the way home from work. It's better to spend a few more of what dining dollars we still have (most are now gas dollars), in Lowell.

I try to do this as best as I can already, but haven't found Chinese food as good as Billerica and Hot Wok in Tewksbury. But other than that, I'm sticking to Lowell!

Wah Sang in Lowell on Chelms. street rocks! Lomein all the way.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. We've tried 4 other ones in town and so-far 2 have been passable in a pinch and 2 were just plain bad.
They're not "Chinese" food, but I love Southeast Asian and the Mrs. enjoyss Viet Thai when we want something Asiany.

I'm not in the rest. biz but it looks like these people bought high and with the pending recession can't take the heat and want out of the kitchen. In order to make it they must work harder AND smarter. The cream will rise to the top. Lets hope the established restaurants/bars will be able to weather the storm.

This weekend is Comencement and so many schools in the area will have celebrating families in town. Have restaurant been reaching out to bring them DTL? Also, Summer classes started with a crop of new students same question.

Have just started reading this blog and LOVE IT.
Anticipating the new places opening - sad to see others on the block. Trying to locate a chocolate vendor friend to join with the fro yo folks. Hope Counterpart and Onto Um will continue on as their temp spaces go away.
E~

Not enough downtown dwellers yet to support a grocery store or a major restaurant chain for that matter. There's a reason the big boys won't move in, even in a spanking new store front space with a parking garage directly on top of it. Not enough foot traffic to support a legitimate business with a long range plan, never mind amateurs learning on the fly without enough funds to weather the storm every new business must endure.

Pray long and hard the JAM plan begins moving forward at a more rapid pace or you'll be lucky to see any of the new businesses survive till the project gets finished.

BTW GG, keep digging and you'll discover more than just four dining destinations for sale.

You know what they say about when in Rome?

Just an FYI, Olive That & MORE (thanks for the slight) is NOT for sale and is doing just fine. Like most succuesful businesses, we have attempted to tailor our business to what the demand is and will be in the future. We apologize if we cannot be everything to everyone. Regards, Matthew

I give a thumbs down to Wah Sang, and to most Lowell Chinese eateries. Mediocre at best.

I'm glad Olive That is not for sale! yeah!

If the restaurants did any more reaching out, their arms would fall off. People are still afraid of Lowell after all this time. You have to get people physically here and make them see Lowell before they believe. Until then, forget it.

Not all small business owners can survive a recession, and it has nothing to do with the "cream of the crop". Sometimes non-business circumstances will do in even the best business.

Isn't Boston Beer Works a "big boy"? I believe more people willl come in from N. Andover, Salem Nh, Nashua, Burlington, Acton, and beyond than ever before once they open. Beer Works has a great reputation and will signal to those skeptics out there that Lowell has made it. If those struggling restauarants can just hold on a little longer, the foot traffic will come from out of towners AND city dwellers.

I like Gold Star on Fairmount St.

I guess if an act of God or natural disaster happens you won't survive a recession. But all things being equal the cream does rise to the top.

OK, besides the fact there's a few unsubstantiated and false rumors floating around here, there may be some natural selection going on, so what. Meanwhile we've gotten a lot of new biz lately and more in the pipeline. I don't understand the HKelleys sale, every time I've been there (typically on a weekend eve) it's packed (mostly students) and has symbiosis with Angelinas. That sale must be circumstantial, and $1.25 mill sounds like a lot. I may be missing something but why do we assume there is a problem? Quick Pickens I can understand. OTM has character, great sandwiches, serves beer, and is one of the few places open on Sundays in this otherwise bizarre town. Glad it's not going anywhere. When is someone going to open up a bar in "The Bar" next to Bad Dawgs?

I feel like we've been pretty damn lucky with the restaurant scene - only a few of the new joints have shut down in the past 2-3 years (and for me personally, none of the ones I like have closed). That's a pretty good track record considering the normal failure rate.

There is a recession going on, and still new places are opening up...i just hope this trend can continue.

Etsogo on Merrimack has very good chinese food. The downtown business owners need all of our support. Lowell has come so far in the last 5 years but need everyone's support to continue its renaissance. It amazes me more residents don't venture downtown and eat at one of the local restaurants rather than go to a big chain. Good to hear Olive that and More is still going to be around, Matt was one of the first to take a chance on Lowell and he has done a fantastic job.

Olives is one of my favorite places!!! My husband and I go there for our weekend breakfast sandwiches, which are delicious!!

Agreed - the breakfast sandwiches there are unbeatable. It's great to sit down with one outside on a quiet Sunday morning and just people watch. But, I'd find it hard to believe that Sausage, Egg, and Cheese does not a successful establishment make. Nor does $7.50 sandwiches, no matter how good they are.

The grocer concept they started with is a needed market in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, I don't know if we hit the "critical mass" of residents that we need for a successful small-time grocer to operate. My largest monies to Olive That and More stopped flowing when they stopped selling beer retail. Beer, wine, basic fruits and vegitables (a tomato!), cream, sliced bread, simple dinner options for two or fewer...this is what we need downtown, and we need it till 8:00 or so. OTAM used to sell most if not all of these. I don't go in for their meats because I can't get anything else I need there, so I still end up at Hannaford either way.

On Mother's Day, when the owners of C'est on Merrimack opened their doors to talk to people, these are the sort of things they promised us - Good, old-fashioned Yuppie Chow at hours we are all home. If OTAM couldn't do it, I don't know how these guys plan to do differently. Especially with their core business going against the one Ricardo is opening up downtown as well.

Last time I checked, the Brewery wasn't considered part of downtown.

No, the Brewery is not downtown, no matter what those city maps in the garages say. If you have to walk through the Acre to get to any other "downtown" hangout, you're located in the wrong neighborhood for a late-night scene - sorry.

I would disagree that a great breakfast sandwich can't make a restaurant successful. Anyone had a boott mill sandwich? mmmm.... Sure, 7.50 can seem like a lot for a sandwich, but they're tasty, and overall reasonably priced compared to the rest of downtown. Plus, it's a unique place with lots of different sandwiches and soups available. Fortunado's and Paradiso will cost you much more than 10 bucks for lunch, and will probably make you late coming back to work from your lunch break. There are three different mexican restaurants competing for your dollar. Bad Dawgs only sells one thing, and I don't know anyone that wants to eat hot dogs every day for lunch. Hookslides and the Dub offer pub food, but the quality at Hookslides is awful and the service is less than stellar at both in my opinion. So if I had to recommend a place with variety and quality, I'd tell someone to check out Blue Taleh, Olive's, and Cobblestones. And if you've seen Olives at lunch time, or Cobblestones and Blue Taleh at night, you'll agree that many people are doing just that.

My husband and I stopped in to Sangria's earlier this week. The menu has been revamped a bit and we were told they have a new chef. I surely hope this is only a rumor about the business being up for sale.

Now on to Bad Dawg's. Love the dogs but the bun needs a major overhaul. We now bring our own knives and forks to eat them.

Olive That And More is not handicapped accessible to my husband and i. What a shame. Going downtown with my husband in our electric wheelchairs we notice how many businesses we still can not get into. The sidewalks and the wheelchair ramps are horrendous!

Hong Kong Treasure on Roger's Street is where we order our Chinese food from. We have never been disappointed.

I for one would love to see some sort of grocery store in downtown.

Brian and Nascar... Hong Kong Treasure and Gold Star are within a stone's throw of each other and both are filthy. Hygiene is far from a priority at either place. "Fresh" food all over the floor in open containers and not stored or refrigerated properly. Buckets full of chicken wings left out in the open in a dirty sink... Hong Kong has three small kids hanging around all the time touching the food with their dirty litte hands. I am suprised the city hasn't caught up with them yet.
Did I kill your appetite yet?

Anonymous,

No.

Anonymous,

I always have had my food delivered from HKT. Love their food and will continue to order from them. You might be surprised at the number of restauraunts that lack hygiene that the city has not caught up with and we all eat at these establishments. How's your appetite now?

Imagine my surprise when I read in the Gourmet Girl blog published in the Steppin Out guide in the Lowell Sun that there is a rumor floating around that Sangria's is up for sale.

Not True! Not Even Remotely True!

We just purchased the restaurant last October, have spent a ton of money in renovations, released an expanded menu just a week ago, have expanded the amount of live music...are those the characteristics of a place up for sale?

Business continues to build rapidly here because we offer great food at very affordable prices, professional entertainment without cover charges, and have a very clean but active nightlife.

We love this place and are very happy with how business is building, and very happy with downtown Lowell.

Maybe a competitor started the rumor, I don't know....all I can say is it has never even been discussed or considered and we're committed to the long haul.

Well, that is unless someone stops in with a ton of money and makes me an offer I can't refuse :)