ETS Gets A Cut Stone Facade
After weeks of being boarded up, the changes to the facade of the former Burger King on Elmwood can now be seen. The lower section of the building (new home of Elmwood Taco and Sub) looks to have the same windows dimensions and placement as the old facade. The major change in appearance so far is the cut stone that has been added. A comment from MisterChips sums it up from a previous BRO post:
How cool is that? A locally-owned business resurrects a dead national chain store. It may be a bland box but it has virtues that were hard won through a neighborhood battle: it mimics a two story building, like its neighbors; it is built to the sidewalk; it has parking to the side rather than in front; and it is clad in authentic materials (brick) rather than vinyl or dry-vit (fake stucco). This fight, which I'd call a preservation battle, paid off in exactly the kind of building cities need: ones that are endlessly reusable when the first occupant moves on.
And with Evans National Bank moving into the corner (where ETS is currently), there will be no vacancy on this block. Even the old Soda Bar space is filled (see post).
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Comment Options
ktl2277
Much improved, especially removing that hulking plastic awning, slow methodical improvements like this are IMHO more important than people give them credit for.
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rogerschroeder
The cut stone will certainly give my taco that old world feel !
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BetterThanDetroit
I love ETS! They are the only taco joint that gaiges how hot your taco is, not by the kind of sauce (hot, medium, mild) but rather by how much they out on. I got straight up hot. Yum! Drive throughis an option at the new location, too!! Can I have an ArtVoice with that?
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Joshua
Having ETS at this new location will also boost their sales. Having more parking and a drive through are added bonuses. I'm sure ETS is doing great that their current site, but I'm sure with their added business they will need to put up a "Employees Wanted" sign. Great work!
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uptownnc704
ETS sucks.. Jims Rocks.
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BetterThanDetroit
uptown north carolina - your screen name sucks and your comment lacks backup. What do you know? Jim's is great, indeed. Dave M and Jimmy are fantastic. You college kids need that place. It's a Buffalo staple. What you have to keep in mind is that we are talking about a place more or less based on taco sales v. subs (I know they each carry both) that has moved locations. ETS is very addictive as is Jim's. However, all that bread on Jim's subs is not healthy wth fatty steak. Now go ahead and make a wise-ass crack and I will locate you through your email and, if you are lucky, will only give you 20 lashes.
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buffaloed
This looks great! I can't wait to see what signage or lighting will plug into those exposed wires. As far as comparing Jims and ETS, they are both in first place in my mind. It's like getting a cupcake from delish or a cupcake from dolci. It's whatever you are in the mood for.
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Joshua
Does anyone know when the Burger King on Elmwood was built? There must have been some standards for the street, since it was built up to the street, with parking in the back, etc... etc.... Was this building built for the Burger King or was it something else before it?
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RisingDamp666
Let me put this to you gently, Joshua, when Burger King built their restaurants from the ground up, they chose a kit quite similar to Nc Donalds which featured a drive-thru, ample parking to the side or rear, and a "patio" seating area in front which, in later versions, were transformed into delightful salad bar solariums or even enclosed play areas. Nowadays, this chain has adopted a more upscale-seeming portfolio of variegated plans and styles-all compliant with Burger King standards for signage and auto accessability. So no. This dump came onto the market and a sleazy franchisee snapped it up in hopes of filling a "niche" in an urban neighborhood. The awning said it all.
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AtwaterLouse
Good to see no complaining about side parking, drive thru, or curb cuts. The BR comment gallery might be maturing before our eyes here.
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platt4
Wasn't this originally built as a Wendy's?
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uptownnc704
BetterthenDetroit - LOL. I'm not going to give you a fight because that's obvious what you want. Anyway, After living on St James for 4 years and Buffalo for 33, I know a hell of alot about both Jim's and ETS. Second, i'm not a college kid. Third - JIm's has the best Chicken Fajita - Hands down. Fourth, i'm sorry if you can't find better things to do with your time then to try and hunt someone down from a public blog site. Ffith, feel free to rag on Charlotte all you want. I don't live there anymore, but i'll tell you maybe I should change my screen name to BetterthenBuffalo.Cheers.
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uptownnc704
BTW.. I do like what they did with the facade.
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DanielSack
The building was constructed in the late 1970s by Wendy's. Previously there was a gas station there.
Neighbors insisted on a better building than what Wendy's proposed built to the sidewalk.
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BfloHighRise
I wonder how Pano's new parking lot is coming along!
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JiminyCricket
It's funny, I've lived off and on Elmwood my whole life and I think I ate at ETS once. Wasn't too impressed but at least that derelict magnet Burger King is gone.
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mjman4
i think the stone looks aukward. also when you rusticate the base of a building there is usally a seperation between materails, like a freeze. the scale of the block is all wrong too. Maybe they should put the awning back up.
other than that...great news! can't wait to get sopme nachos there!
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bison716
Congrats to ETS and Elmwood for that matter. But imma still miss my whoppers!
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P525
Well, at least Daniel Sack is old enough to remember. This was originally proposed as a convetional Wendy's restaurant and it recieved as much local controversy as the proposal to site a Starbucks next door several years ago. It was on the news for several nights and in many BN articles. Back then -- just a cadre' of people that saw it as the beginning of losing the zero-setback neighborhood fabric that had evolved on Elmwood. No Forever Elmwood or EVA back then -- also no design standards or even site plan approval at the City level. Wendy's came back with the current design as a compromise -- placing the bldg at the streetface, using brick as its primiary material and screenign the parking areas with a complementary brick wall to match the bldg. Didn't address the "local vs. chain" issue, but it was cutting edge at the time...they even added the "blue neon" strip that was "defining" the district back then... :-)
Wendy's closed in the late 1980s as part of the local franchisee closing all of its WNY outlets -- for exmaple, Mighty Taco on Delaware is another former Wendy's -- then a Burger King franchise picked up the property and added those lovely red awnings...never really took off as a business. I wish ETS well there, at least the product will be fresh.
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RisingDamp666
Thank you, njman, that stone just adds another layer of hideousness to an already quite hideous building, All it really needs is the bulldozers blade to 'perk up' that exterior, but as a taco stand, it does retain some dignity. Think about it, in L.A., this would have been a limo agency with a detailing canopy in back and a kooky Iranian expat in the front.
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buffaloed
I agree that the stone looks unfinished, with no good transition to the original brick. Due to the way it was terminated, I expect for ETS to add something. It is obviously not done, as evidenced by the exposed wires.
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RisingDamp666
...or IS done, as evidenced by the exposed wires.
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RisingDamp666
...or IS done, as evidenced by the exposed wires.
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uptownnc704
I smell awning... but I havn't seen it since this picture.
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