One of Raleigh’s more interesting restaurants closed abruptly this week: The Rockford on Glenwood, after a 15 year run. Long before Glenwood South became full of cheesy bars, Rockford was serving great sandwiches and affordable beer.
We ate there on many occasions and frequently filled half of their dining room with our crowd. The food was always great, nicely priced, and the beer selection branched beyond the Anheuser-Bush offerings (unlike most of Glenwood South). Like others on the web have written, Rockford had a secret hideout feel to it, with only a nondescript staircase visible from the street. Some have pointed to that as its Achilles Heel but I see it as part of the charm. Judging by the crowd that seemed always present, Rockford didn’t hurt from word-of-mouth business.
Rockford wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t trendy, but it was real, and that carried it through fifteen years. It stayed true to its roots and gained a loyal following. With The Third Place, Stingray Room, and The Rathskellar closed before it, Rockford’s closing hits especially hard. Where will we take out-of-towners for a unique Raleigh experience now?
how about the Raleigh Times? Thaiphoon Bistro? The Remedy? Sithi? Gravy? Village Draft House? Lily’s? Vivace? Amedeo’s? Cameron Bar and Grill? The new Natty Greeen’s (I know there’s one in G’boro but it’s NC only)? Sono? Zest? Hibernian? J Betski’s? 18 Seaboard? The Busy Bee? I loved the Rockford but there’s more to the story than it just went out of business…It had plenty of customers. This coming from some decent inside knowledge. Don’t be overly sentimental. It happens…Just like friends moving on!
Forgot Hayes Barton which is friggin awesome!
Oh yeah, then there’s the 42 st Oyster bar and the Angus barn! And the Peddler! Need I go on?
Oh and one more thing….the Rockford was DEFINITELY trendy!!! It had the hipster quotient out the wazoo.
Yeah, there are others but Rockford was reliably good. And inexpensive. And I figure there is more to the story and hope to find that out sometime but for now I’m missing it. It’s not just any place I go to celebrate occasions like birthdays and the like, but Rockford was definitely on that list.
I guess I was responding to the “unique, raleigh experience”. Many of the things I mentioned are very reasonable and consistently good. Especially, The Raleigh Times.
From what I know, it has to do with a certain Gummint organization that well, checks out your books and sees what you owe them. Another case for smaller gummint…