Who Took Over Greensboro's Old Restaurant Spaces This Year, and Why Some Reopened So Fast

Elm Street Grill served its last meal at 3606 N. Elm St. on June 13, after 15 years in business. A little over a month later, on July 15, Melt Kitchen & Bar opened its second location in the same space. At the other end of the calendar, Liberty Oak at 100 W. Washington St. went dark before last Christmas, and local outlets reported the closure as permanent in early February. As of early October, we couldn't find an announced replacement in local coverage.

The difference between those two addresses runs through this whole year in Greensboro dining. Spaces refilled quickly when the person taking over already had a hand in the building, a business on the block, or a dining room ready to reuse. Spaces that needed a newcomer to build from scratch ran on a clock closer to a year, and some haven't started that clock yet.

Here's where each familiar address stands as of October 4, 2026.

The month-long turnaround on North Elm

When Elm Street Grill's owners announced the closing, they cited rising costs, changing consumer habits and economic uncertainty. They also said they'd be open to a restaurateur continuing at the location. Bob Haberer, who owns Melt along with two Homeslice Pizza and Subs locations and a food truck, moved on the space shortly after that mid-June announcement.

The speed came from the building itself. Ron Smith, Melt's director of operations, told the News & Record that the old Elm Street Grill was in good enough shape to convert in about two and a half weeks. He changed a few things in the dining room and bar but kept much of the existing decor. So if you were a regular at Elm Street Grill, the room will feel familiar even though the menu is different.

Opening day wasn't smooth. A semi-truck accident on July 15 knocked out power to businesses in the area, and the new Melt had a rough first couple of days. The original Melt, which Haberer bought from founders Kim and Jeff Brewer in 2021, is still at 1941 New Garden Road. Smith said business there has doubled since the purchase.

A bar that changed names but kept its bartenders

The changeover at 300 W. Gate City Blvd. happened even faster, because the new owner was already running the place. Lentz Ison had been the longtime managing director for the Dram & Draught chain of North Carolina bars. This year he approached the company about buying the Greensboro location, even though it hadn't been for sale, and on Sept. 10 it became Amity.

Ison told the News & Record that Amity was a concept he and his friend Rolando "Rolo" Pettigrew dreamed up together while both worked at the Gate City Boulevard bar. A mural of him by local artist Brian Lewis, who goes by JEKS, is already on an outside wall of the building.

If you stop in this month, here's what to know:

• Same faces behind the bar. Jo Winall and Ty Smith are co-lead bartenders, and Anna Foster is general manager.
• Same focus. Ison expects the drink list to stay at about 80% cocktails.
• The look is coming later. The room hasn't been redecorated yet. Ison has talked with woodworker Nate Shockley about new high-top tables and with Joy Allen about an Amity sign and a mural. Allen co-created the new Reynolds American Tobacco Co. mural in Winston-Salem.
• Grand opening in November, once that work is finished.

Two doors down on South Elm

Downtown, the operator taking over 312 S. Elm St. already runs a business on the same block. Cille & Scoe opened in October 2021 and decided not to renew its lease when it expired in July 2026. Co-owner Tara Reaves said the owners wanted to step back and spend time together.

Curtis Royal opened The Crown, a social venue, at 318 S. Elm St. in April, six weeks after signing the lease. His sports bar, Sideline Social, is going into the former Cille & Scoe space two doors over. In an Aug. 28 report, Triad Business Journal and FOX8 said it would open in September. We couldn't find confirmation that it opened by early October, so check before you go. Royal also plans an event venue called Boston's at 1011 Arnold St. According to YES! Weekly, The Crown runs karaoke on Thursdays and themed nights on weekends.

What building from scratch costs in time

Battleground Butcher Bar shows what happens when nobody is reusing an existing dining room. Taylor and Jordan Armstrong took the old Ready Auto & Ready Gas garage at 1013 Battleground Ave. and started renovating in early 2026. They worked with interior designer Libby Langdon, and the doors opened Thursday, Sept. 10. That's roughly eight months to turn an auto shop into a restaurant, bar and butcher counter.

The couple's own description of the gap they wanted to fill is specific. In their words, the stretch of Battleground between downtown and Westerwood, Fisher Park and Latham Park lacked a place close enough to walk or bike to for a meal and dinner ingredients. Taylor grew up in Greensboro working in kitchens and grocery meat departments. Jordan comes from an eastern North Carolina produce family, and her dad is a sweet potato broker.

Other new openings ran on the same long clock. WFMY reported that Rocca's Bakery, which moved from Randolph County, opened its northwest Greensboro location at the end of May after nearly a year. Owner Debra LaRocca had planned to open the previous September, but permitting, construction and unexpected costs pushed the date back by months. Downtown, Toast Bar and Grille co-owner Ruben Torrellas said he and his partners expected to open within four months. Renovations and permitting stretched it to nearly a year.

So two newcomers took close to a year and one took about eight months. Melt and Amity, both taken over by operators who already knew the business, opened within weeks.

The openings still on the calendar

Two more projects are in that slower group, and both have already missed earlier targets.

1. Three Rabbits Brewing, 214 Commerce Place. A July Triad Business Journal preview said the downtown brewery was aiming for August after construction delays. WFMY later described it as preparing to open in the coming weeks. The most recent YES! Weekly coverage we found said no exact date had been announced.
2. Pita Press, 301 Pisgah Church Road, Suite B102. Kyle and Audrey Hill's Mediterranean concept had been expected in August. As of mid-August, the owners hadn't announced a date. The space next door has been busy. Chipotle opened its eighth Greensboro location at 303 Pisgah Church Road on Sept. 16, with daily hours of 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. and no drive-thru.

The addresses still waiting

The spaces with no announced successor are the ones where nobody already in the building or on the block stepped forward.

Liberty Oak is the clearest example. It closed after 46 years at 100 W. Washington St. In early February, FOX8 reported that the building owner expected a replacement within 90 days. That window closed in May, and we found no tenant named since.

Around the corner, M'Coul's Public House at 110 W. McGee St. closed in late January after nearly 24 years. Dame's Chicken & Waffles closed at 301 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. on Jan. 26 after 12 years. A co-founder pointed to declining business, including fewer student customers and less dinner traffic, and the owners are focusing on their Triangle location. Positano had been on Lawndale Drive since December 2000 when it served its final meal in late April. Moshi Moshi Boba Cafe on Spring Garden Street closed Sept. 4 after more than six years, and its owners cited financial struggles.

Based on this year's pattern, watch who signs those leases. A successor who already runs a kitchen nearby or can reuse the existing dining room could have doors open within weeks. A brand-new concept building out from scratch will probably take most of a year.

At Integrity Realty Group, LLC, we track what opens and closes on the blocks our clients call home, because that's part of knowing a neighborhood. If an empty storefront on your street has you wondering what comes next, give us a call. We're always glad to talk through what we're hearing. Make Every Move With Integrity.