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It was only us

July 30, 2014 by Dave Knadler

uptown market jacksonville

The dining room at 7:45 p.m.

When the wife and I go out to dinner, there are two conditions I hope to avoid: (a) Not being able to find parking, and (b) being the only customer in the place. Last night it was the latter. We went to the Uptown Market, partly because we really like the food and service there, and partly because they had recently announced new expanded hours and we wanted to show our support. Also, it’s only a few minutes from our house.

First: the food was very good, as it always is. They use all fresh ingredients from the Black Hog Farm CSA, and you can definitely taste the difference. The service was friendly and attentive. I’ve long thought the Uptown Market is one of the better restaurants in Jacksonville. I still do. Put it in a tonier neighborhood like Avondale, and customers would be lined up out the door.

It’s a problem though, when you spend an hour and a half surrounded by empty tables. A couple of people came in for takeout, but that was it. I realized that if we’d not decided on dinner out, the restaurant would have had nobody show up for table service on a Tuesday night. So much for expanded hours. That’s a depressing thought, given all the Facebook enthusiasm it created. Yeah, it’s just one night. But you want things here to thrive, not just survive.

This week a bunch of us were also cheering the news of several new businesses opening in Springfield. Any new business, any new house, any renovation project gets a lot of likes on Facebook because this neighborhood needs all the help it can get. Springfield fell on some tough times in the ’70s and ’80s, and while it’s a lot better now, it still feels, sometimes, like things could go either way. I’m reminded of that funny Onion piece a few years ago: “Sometimes I Feel Like I’m The Only One Trying To Gentrify This Neighborhood”. I don’t mean that, of course; a great many people here do a lot more than we do when it comes to fighting the good fight. Let’s just say I’m starting to think hitting the “like” button on Facebook is not really all that’s required.

We live a couple of doors from Three Layers and sometimes go there even though the wine is cheaper at our house. If you like a business, and think it’s good for the community, you should probably spend some money there once in awhile. I call it the Springfield Improvement Tax. Completely voluntary, but probably just as necessary as fixing up these old houses.

More along these lines:

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  • Speaking of luck …Speaking of luck …
  • jacksonville fireworks fourth of julyHappy Fifth of July
  • Pick your poison

Filed Under: american life, Other Stuff, Springfield

Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    July 30, 2014 at 11:34 am

    Just a side note…Uptown hasn’t ordered anything from Black Hog Farms or really any local farm in quite a long time. It’s all from Sysco.

  2. Hayley says

    July 30, 2014 at 11:48 am

    Ouch. That’s a bummer. I love Uptown, and I agree it’s a Jacksonville gem. I was rooting for their expanded hours to be an success… But maybe there’s just not the customer base for it in the ‘hood, and Springfield isn’t likely to be destination dining anytime soon. Their dinner service was slow to catch on too; maybe this will pick up eventually.

    • Dave Knadler says

      July 30, 2014 at 1:49 pm

      Yeah, I hope so. Remember that Seinfeld episode about the Pakistani guy and the Dream Cafe? Every time I’m the only person in a restaurant, I feel somehow responsible.

  3. John H. says

    July 30, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    My wife’s family used to own a restaurant. She says some nights were just like that – hardly any business at all. They would make up for it on weekends and especially Mother’s Day and the like. I hope that’s what’s happening here.

    Also, they need to update their hours on their Yelp page.

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