Restaurant news: More Fayetteville-area restaurants that closed in August

Taylor Shook, Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read

The dog days of summer have been difficult for Fayetteville-area restauranteurs.

A downtown lunch spot, a longtime barbecue joint, a late-night drive-thru, a chain seafood eatery and another barbecue restaurant have closed in recent weeks.

At least another three restaurants have closed in August. Among them are a lunch spot on Trade Street in Hope Mills; a bake shop that opened downtown in May; and a Mongolian barbecue restaurant on Skibo Road.

Here’s a look at some of the Fayetteville-area restaurants and food trucks that closed last month.

Luis Irizarry, owner of Got Chew Grill at 5463 Trade St. in Hope Mills.
Luis Irizarry, owner of Got Chew Grill at 5463 Trade St. in Hope Mills.

Got Chew Grill

Got Chew Grill, located at 5463 Trade St. in Hope Mills, opened in March 2022. It closed from November to February for repairs after an upstairs apartment flooded. Now, owner Luis Irizarry said, the lunch restaurant is closed for good. The last day in business was in early August.

Known around Hope Mills as “Chef Lou,” Irizarry also has a catering business, Elite Catering. He said it was too difficult to find and retain staff for both businesses.

Related: Chain seafood restaurant in Fayetteville closes after more than two decades

“We didn’t want to close, but we had no choice,” he said.

He said he plans to continue catering, and might fire up his food truck again, too.

Jane Cakes

Jane Smith, owner of Jane Cakes at 107 Gillespie St.
Jane Smith, owner of Jane Cakes at 107 Gillespie St.

Jane Cakes, located at 107 Gillespie St. in downtown Fayetteville, closed on Aug. 5. Jane Smith, a mom of three and military spouse, opened the shop in May.

She sold cake slices, mini loaf cakes, cupcakes and cake parfait cups at the pint-size shop, but said she had to close because of a change with her husband's job.

In the meantime, Smith said, she is still baking custom cakes.

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Crazy Fire

Crazy Fire Mongolian Grill at 1800 Skibo Road closed for good on Aug. 15, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Burnin99, a regional all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue and hot pot chain, is taking over the space, a manager told The Observer in late July.

Food, dining and business reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com, on Twitter, or Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: August restaurant closings in the Fayetteville, NC area