After months of delays, Tommy's... Rubs, Grubs and Suds will open today in the McClendon Tower space formerly occupied by Rick's Diner.
Most renovations to the location, however, have been postponed until after Winter Break, said Tom Meyer, the new restaurant's owner and owner of the Q-Shack restaurant in Raleigh.
Because of constraints imposed by the current layout of the kitchen, the entire menu will not be available until the fully renovated restaurant re-opens in January.
"We're doing a soft opening so we can train on the fly," Meyer said. "We're going to call it 'Not Quite Tommy's' for the first month so people understand it's not quite the way we intended it to be."
Some of the food may be prepared off-site because the old kitchen at Rick's is not suitable for much of Meyer's barbecue fare, he said.
"I think people are going to be really impressed, I know the food will be great-students just need to struggle with me through the service things," Meyer said.
There will not be a beer license in place until January at the earliest, he added.
Alcohol distribution at the restaurant has been a point of controversy, since Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, overruled plans for a 10-foot beer bar in October.
The University anticipates receiving the beer license soon, said Jim Wulforst, director of dining services.
"Since we had one before, it's not a big deal," he said.
The late opening of the restaurant-originally slated to open in September-was not due to the change of plans regarding the bar, Meyer said.
"The delay comes in just the time it takes and the permitting process that happens with the city," he said, adding that permanent cabinets, table tops and kitchen equipment are currently being constructed off-site.
Wulforst said he and Meyer decided less than two weeks ago to open without renovations, and approval from the state Health Department came on Thursday.
"I'm just anxious about being criticized for not having a dining operation open [earlier]," Wulforst said. "We felt that we could do a reasonably good job even without the renovations."
He added that Tommy's is opening "under the radar" because Meyer needs time to train his 15-person staff and work through the opening kinks.
"I have a lot of faith in Tom and his ability to react to what students are looking for," Wulforst said.
Meyer confirmed that he will be on-site everyday for the first month to get student feedback, experiment with the menu and prepare the restaurant in anticipation of its grand opening in January.
"If there are things we need to change, I have a whole month to make it right," he said.
Tommy's will be open from 5 p.m. until 12 a.m. Monday through Wednesday, with hours extended until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant will close Sundays at 10 p.m.
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