Lower Greenville is dead. Long live Lower Greenville!

A few weekends ago, BD posted a list of closed bars and empty retail spaces (Body count rising as bars close on Lower Greenville) on the Lower Greenville strip south of Belmont Avenue.

That story caught the attention of NBC5i, and they were out the following Monday (link and video) talking to BD, another Lower Greenville resident, and the owner of a new restaurant (Ibero Ultra Latin Cuisine) in the former Ali Baba's location.

This week, Lula B's announced they were expanding into the space formerly occupied by Ragwear at the corner of Oram and Greenville (link). And there's talk of a new Italian-style restaurant getting ready to take over the former Firehouse location in a few months.

There's a point to all this recitation, trust me.

A neighbor asked BD about Ibero, whereupon he was treated to a copy of the menu, a review of the food, and a very strong wish that more places like this will move to Lower Greenville. At which point, said neighbor asked BD -So why aren't posting this on your website???

Why not indeed?

Ibero Ultra Latin Cuisine owner Alex Salinas tells BD he wanted to build a quiet, friendly restaurant that neighbors could casually stroll to in the evening - no worries about valet parking or overpriced pay to park scams - and still be a destination when you want a very large hamburger at lunch. Alex sees a time when restaurants and boutique stores on Lower Grenville will outnumber the bars, and he does not mind being the first one to stake his claim.

His menu reflects this attitude: Burgers and sandwiches for the rushed but hungry lunch crowd, fine presentations of fish, beef and lamb to satisfy the appetite of serious diners in the evening.

While BD does not pretend to be a food critic, he can tell you without any hesitation that the Mediterranean Paella was a treat to the eyes and the palate.

Alex and his brother Cesar (who splits his time between a real job and Ibero) have flyer'd the neighborhood with their menus, with more to follow. Their biggest problem so far (besides over aggressive valets trying to rip off his customers): Getting the word out that there a few places on Lower Greenville that do not entertain drunken behavior, treat their customers with respect, and present a meal that leaves you satisfied and coming back for more (with your friends, they hope).

Ibero is listed on the BelmontNA website offering a 10% discount to card-carrying members. For now, meals include beer and wine while they go through the gauntlet of getting a TABC mixed beverages permit.

In 2009, the new Arcadia center (retail/restaurant on the ground level, offices on the top) will be open for business. Sunflower Supermarket will move into the old Carnival location in January 2009, filling the gap for a really healthy marketing alternative that Whole Foods gave up years ago (and moving to Lakewood only proves the point).

There are nearly 150 new townhomes (finished and in process) on the east side of Greenville Avenue, taking the place of what had been crackhouses and empty fields (ironically, there is very little new development on the west side of the avenue).

Gone are the days when superbars like Dragonfly and The Palace and Moonshine Cafe were considered the future of Lower Greenville. It only took ten years of drunks, drugs and bad owners to be killed off by pissed-off neighbors, activist websites, parking problems and a few drug busts.

Resident Parking Only is making it harder for the scummy bars to draw the crowds who counted on free parking in the neighborhoods, and they are getting tired of $20 and $40 (yes, $40) parking fees. The City's crackdown on valet parking and pay-to-park operations will make it very difficult for bar owners to pay the rent on parking lots that are supposed to be free spaces. Another dab of pink lipstick on some of the older buildings will not attract the fly-by-night drunks who think owning their own bar will make it easier to party for years after their college drinking days on Lower Greenville have long passed them by.

All this is good for new restaurants and low impact community retail businesses like clothing and furniture stores. Under current conditions, the area is nearly 1,500 spaces short of required parking (when you account for bars that claim to be restaurants). If the phony bars are gone, the pressure (and fight) for parking spaces goes with it. Daytime retail will have lots of parking, which will transition to the restaurants every evening.

As new restaurants open up on Lower Greenville, BD will sit down and interview the the owners. He'll pick their brains about what they want to accomplish, what kind of food they serve, and who they want as customers (saying Everyone is not realistic). He'll post his impressions and comments to this website.

And then the dining public will make their choices.