Black Tastemakers: FSU alum and Fayetteville native to open late-night restaurant downtown
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An Atlanta-based restaurant and lounge franchise is opening in downtown Fayetteville on Friday.
Cru Lounge, which is one of the largest Black-owned nightlife chains in the country with 23 locations throughout the South, is bringing elevated bar food, specialty cocktails and brunch to a 4,000-square-foot space at 114 Gillespie St.
The soft opening is Friday through Sunday, and the Labor Day weekend grand opening kicks off Sept. 1.
Nestled between a hookah lounge and a barbershop, the two-story property was home to Sherefe, a longtime Mediterranean spot, then Bourbon New Orleans, a Cajun restaurant that lasted less than a year.
Now, neon-style signs and black walls, many of them covered in decorative leaves, give the place a garden vibe, co-owner Terrance Jones, 35, said.
“You can get lost in it,” he said.
Jones, a Fayetteville native and software engineer, is at the helm of the new venture alongside Fayetteville State University alum Dimitri Parker, 32, who hails from Rocky Mount. The two oversee a staff of 38 in Fayetteville.
Parker said the Cru Lounge he's run in Charlotte since 2020 has been so successful he was ready to open another. Jones said that after experiencing the food and nightlife scene in Atlanta while living there for the last five years, he wanted to bring it back to his hometown.
“We want to stop people from going to Charlotte and Raleigh every weekend to get something to do,” Jones said. “One of our main goals is to keep people in the city on the weekends.”
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Keeping food at the forefront
While a nightly DJ, live sports playing on huge TVs and two fully stocked bars create a vibrant ambiance expected to draw a crowd of young professionals, the franchise focuses on food, Parker said.
At the epicenter of Cru is the kitchen, which serves dishes like lamb chops, salmon, garlic shrimp and lobster macaroni and cheese.
“The universal factor is good food,” Parker said. “That’s where our energy will be.”
The best part? The scratch-made dishes are served well into the night: until 1 a.m. Monday-Thursday; until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday; and until midnight on Sunday.
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Cru also serves Sunday brunch starting at noon. Shrimp and grits, steak and eggs, French toast, a brunch burger, and chicken and waffles are all on the menu.
Tables have a time limit of two hours. Reservations, which are available online at resy.com, are encouraged.
Jones and Parker said they hope Cru Lounge will be their first step in invigorating Fayetteville’s nightlife, with the goal of eventually opening other entertainment venues.
The details
Location: 114 Gillespie St., Fayetteville
Hours: 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to midnight Sunday.
Contact: 910-824-3745
On the web: Search “Cru Fayetteville” on Facebook
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cru Lounge to open downtown Fayetteville location Aug. 25
