They’ve done it again.  A great piece of downtown real estate has been transformed into a dark and depressing space.  We recently visited the newly opened Sam Bucca’s Pizza Pub (formerly Max’s, formerly Carmella’s Trattoria) and what a disappointment.  DowntownAfterDark’s signature is all over this one too.  From the giant signs advertising cheap beer on the outside, to the catchy new name, to the not so well thought out interior space.  This crew really knows how to kill an enjoyable nightspot when they get the chance. Before my visit to Sam Bucca’s, I started out my evening at Scott’s Grille with a group of people for after-work drinks.  Scott’s has been around for a long time and used to be a great “pre-game” spot before going to the Vault nightclub (yeah, that’s a long time).  The bar and deck area outside Scott’s is always popular for happy hour.  While their menu has ranged from good to average over the years, it has remained consistent enough to continue attracting patrons night after night. Later, the party changed direction and we ended up down the street at Bourbon Street Saloon.  While sipping my $2 Blue Moon draft, I remembered this space from a while back…

A Bit of History

Bourbon Street Saloon originally was home to Dewey’s Dry Dock in the late 1990s.  After Dewey’s closed, the owners sold it and it became 5:01 Downtown - a small, but clean bar/nightclub/seafood restaurant that was one of the first before the big 2nd Street explosion.  A lower level held a small dance floor to fill the void after the Vault had closed in 2001.  5:01 was also one of the first places downtown to institute a dress code at night similar to Level 2. They tried to keep it classy and keep the riffraff out. Once the Vault was remodeled into the Hardware Bar/Eclipse there was no need for a second dance floor on the same street so they changed gears and tried comedy shows and poker tournaments in the basement. When that formula was no longer working, it  changed and became Bourbon Street Station before going with the “Saloon” theme.  The kitchen from 5:01 was removed to make room for the beer pong tables. Now that beer sales, not food, is the focus, this could be one of the few bars that will allow smoking after the ban next month, but that’s another story. A block away, Max’s was the first shiny new restaurant to take up space at the newly constructed office tower known as Market Square Plaza in 2005.  Right off the main crossroads of downtown, this Italian restaurant had high hopes and was in a prime location.  Only problem was the food didn’t live up to the expectations of this urban centerpiece. When Max’s started to lose money, they rebranded it Carmella’s Trattoria, another Italian restaurant.  At the time we already had a few good places to get Italian style food downtown anyway, so why change a good thing?  Fast forward a few months and they stopped serving lunch because of the slow crowds.  With the number of business people downtown every weekday, a simple lunch in a clean restaurant should be a no brainer (especially with several floors of government employees right above you). Nope, it couldn’t survive much longer, time to call in the “cleaner” for help…

From Stylish Restaurant to Gritty Sports Pub

So what did Carmella’s do?  They brought in DowntownAfterDark to perform their standard gut and paint job we’ve seen before at places like Mars, Tom Sawyer, and the Hardware Bar.  The high backed restaurant booths were moved to the ceiling-high glass walls which overlook the sidewalk. The view of Market Square is now completely blocked from the rest of the restaurant. The original space from the booths made room for a bocce court (ok, original, I’ll give them that), but the rest was filled with old coin-op pool tables, some old retro arcade games, and more flat screens. Someone commented it looked more like an 80s-style roller skating rink than a “pizza pub”. This is your typical warehouse-style sports bar created to attract people before they turn the corner for the Gingerbread Man or Kokomos now open on Market St. The decor showcases every popular Italian mob movie ever made.  The main dining area is pushed to the back and covered with hideous tablecloths.  With the small menu I don’t think food is the focus here anymore. This could be a possible attempt to remain exempt from the smoking ban. I don’t recommend anyone waste their time in this place except to witness a great downtown space ruined once again.