e ast e rnwake ne ws.co m http://www.easternwakenews.co m/2014/03/31/3747797/latitudes-o wners-want-to -establish.html?sp=/99/586/648/649/650/
KNIGHTDALE: Latitudes owners want to establish long-term presence in Knightdale | Knightdale By Mechelle Hankerso n
Sandy Delgado, one of the owners of the soon-to-be-open Latitudes restaurant, shows of f the new bar in the building. Since it was built in 1985, the building has hosted several businesses. MECHELLE HANKERSON — mhankerson@newsobserver.com Buy Photo KNIGHT DALE — T he property at 7425 Knightdale Blvd. has seen its share of businesses and owners since it was constructed in 1985. According to Wake County real estate records, the property has changed hands nine times in 29 years, hosting a variety of restaurants including a pizza place, Knightdale Ale House and a Mexican restaurant, El Fogón. In some ways, it’s seemed cursed. Knightdale planning staf f have tried to guess why a business can’t seem to stay open at the property f or more than a f ew years. Maybe it’s because it’s on the wrong side of the road; f amilies coming home in the evening aren’t seeing it so it’s not an option f or dinner. Maybe it’s on the wrong side of the town. Ever since Interstate 540 connected to Knightdale, retail centers have clung to the western side of town. T he reasons, Sandy Delgado said, don’t matter to him. Delgado, Imelda Castro and Doris De Paz signed a lease f or the property in December and plan to open a new restaurant, Latitudes, in the coming weeks.
With exterior improvements, including adding trees and a sidewalk near the property and a new interior, Delgado said he thinks Latitudes might be able to break the curse. “It’s going to be what we f eel is a dif f erent kind of place,” he said. Learning the land T he building at 7425 Knightdale Blvd. has seen it’s share of dif f iculties, which have been more than just f inding a permanent tenant. In 2006, the location was called Highbeams. In March of that year, a drunken driving accident killed one man in the parking lot. T he driver and the victim had both been drinking at Highbeams bef ore the accident. Highbeams later became Knightdale Ale House, but the business shut down shortly af ter. It’s not clear if the closure was directly tied to the f atal accident and the legal f allout, which included attorneys ref erring to Highbeams as a “watering hole” and saying the restaurant was partially responsible f or the accident. In 2008, a new Mexican restaurant, El Fogón Grill, was getting ready to open in its place. Delgado f irst came across the property when it was El Fogón. Delgado works f or U.S. Foods, selling f ood to restaurants and El Fogón was one of his clients. He helped behind the bar on Saturday nights to get back to his restauranteur roots (he owned a restaurant in New York in the mid-’90s) and watched the business f lounder. El Fogón closed, the bank took over the property and the current landlords, a group called Indigo Investors, held on to the property f or about a year bef ore Delgado and Co. made a move to lease it. In the time he spent helping with El Fogón, Delgado said he developed a pretty good idea of what the property needed. “I f elt like this place had a lot of potential,” he said. “(T he) f irst priority was to make the improvements. No more 'Let’s patch it up,' let’s do what we can within our budget.” So f ar, those interior improvements include a new all-oak bar, new paint, new f looring and a new plan f or using the space. Right now, the restaurant is divided into a bar area, a dining area, a second dining area that can be used f or private events and an entertainment area with two pool tables and Delgado said some dartboards will also be put in bef ore opening day. Taking ef f orts outside Outside the building though, is where Delgado’s venture is really branching away f rom past ef f orts. T he town required a sidewalk be put in near the property as well as more f oliage, like trees. T hey were requirements the building’s landlords have willingly taken on, Delgado said. Knightdale Planning Director Chris Hills said there was nothing technically wrong with the property to explain why a business hasn’t been able to f ind long-term success in it. At the Citizens Planning Academy in February, where Knightdale residents could go to learn more about planning the town, Hills said the site improvements may make the property more appealing to customers, but it’s not a guarantee. T he building is on a side of town where retail and housing have been slow to crop up compared to where I-540 connects the town to the rest of the county. But Hills said there is progress toward Latitudes’ way, with more
housing slowly going up in the east. Right now, Delgado said there are still a f ew renovations to be made so they haven’t set an opening date. Af ter all, it might take a bit of time to undo a 29-year-old curse. Hankerson: 919-829-4826; Twitter: @easternwakenews Copyright Š 2014 www.easternwakenews.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.easternwakenews.com