24 thoughts on “Eye on the Street”


  1. This one may just stick around, Never been to the other locations, but from what I’ve heard they’ve been successful in areas that have good lunch crowds. Does anyone remember how long ABC was in that location?

        1. Pretty sure it was ABC in 1994 when I first moved to Decatur. And it didn’t close until 2009 or 2010, so it was there at least 15 years, no?

          1. The grime that covered the place before it closed definitely looked at least 3-4 years old. 3-4 years before it closed was likely the last time ABC put any effort into the building’s cleanliness and upkeep.

      1. ABC was there much longer than 3-4 years. I’m pretty sure it was there for more than 10 years. After that, the turnover was more rapid, at least every 1-2 years for Decatur Diner and then Hola.

          1. No, the building was always there. I defer to the folks who remember that ABC was longer lived and now that you mention it, I do recall a particular occasion when I ate there around 1993.

            1. RE: Always there;
              Pretty sure there’s a photo here on DM that shows that corner (looking toward an old hotel) vacant. I believe you commented there as well.

              1. In 1991 the building that was there looked to be an abandoned dry cleaners, but was stuffed full of broken furniture. ABC was one of the first bright spots in Decatur for lunch or coffee. Church Street Coffee was another. Before that there was only the scary sub shop (where Cakes and Ale now sits) and the Chinese place we just called the Red Door. Shields was there as well, but I was never a big fan.

  2. The one in Midtown is pretty good – great salads and sandwiches. The one OTP off Roswell Rd is meh. I think it was more the service than the food.
    I’m hopeful

  3. I think it was some kind of flea market in the 1980’s. And Leon’s was a defunct auto seat cover place.

    1. That corner was a Western Auto back in the 1950s and 1960s. Of course, you have to be old enough to know that there was ever such a thing as Western Auto in order to know what I’m talking about.

  4. I’m starting to give up hope that we will ever get an authentic Asian restaurant of any ethnicity in this town. …or any surrounding towns. I mean, we are relatively open-minded here, I think there’s enough people who can appreciate cuisine that hasn’t been Americanized past the point of any identification with the country of origin.

  5. My theory, derided here before, is you’ve got to have a sufficient Asian clientele nearby to support it. And as for Decatur specifically, my theory is there are too many kids, making authentic ethnic food a harder sell.
    That said, what do you think of Makan?

    1. We also are dying for authentic Asian in Decatur. Loved Makan, but with the price of the bill (something like 70 pp) it will have to be special occasion only. My husband said it has “hotel restaurant prices” like everyone is there on a business account. But again, loved pretty much everything we ate and drank.

  6. Yeah, our group loved it too, while also thinking it was too expensive for regular visits. And I guess one should not ignore that they claim to be “inspired” by a certain cuisine rather than claiming to be an “authentic” take on that cuisine.

  7. As I remember it it was a Firestone store. Western Auto was in the block west of firestone next to Dakalb theatre. I think Western auto then relocated to the Eastern corner of Church St.
    at E. Ponce

Comments are closed.