Opening night menu**
Original menu (proof-copy--note there are no prices!)**
Second menu (replaced the original menu--this was a more casual menu)**
1980 cartoon map showing the restaurant**
Newspaper ad**
Bar shot**
1978 bar napkin pushing for liquor-by-the-drink**
Liquor license**
Original matchbook**
Print ad for neighboring clothing store that used restaurant for backdrop**
1980 above photos all showing the interior of MacArthur's
1980 ad (with blowup of the bar photo)
Cafe on the Park**
1985 interior shot of Moxie's
Currently occupied by Manzetti's
Located across the street from Southpark Mall at the Specialty Shops on the Park, MacArthur's was created and run by the Balsley Brothers. They had had much success with Arthur's (Downtown and at Ivey's (later moved to Belk)) so they expanded with a full service restaurant.
Opened in August 1979, MacArthur's featured a distinctive European style-- a 33 foot bar (with a tin ceiling), a sunken solarium-type dining area, ceiling fans, and several skylights (all unheard of at the time in Charlotte--as well as the bar menu of appetizers). It seated 150 diners. They also opened and ran the Cafe on the Park (a small cafe that seated 60) in the same shopping center. They ran the restaurant and cafe until the fall of 1980 when they sold the restaurant and the cafe to the Cork 'N Cleaver Co (the parent company of the Barley & Rye-a restaurant also located in the Specialty Shops at the same time). Cork "N Cleaver would open Moxie's in its place throughout the '80's. It is currently the location of Manzetti's Tavern. The interior has changed very little since the days of MacArthur's.
**Much thanks to Steve Balsley for allowing access to his extensive collection for this post. His assistance is greatly appreciated!
REVISIONS-- 8-2-2008
Original etched-glass that hung in the bar area (courtesy of Steve Balsley)
That's a great vintage ad. It seems like everything that was "contemporary" i the early '80s looked like this place: the solarium look.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this place, but I'm a fan of Arthur's. Design-wise, the one in Belk SouthPark seems almost an afterthought with the most recent (2002) remodel, but the food's still good.
I also remember Arthur's at Ivey's Four Seasons in Greensboro. It didn't last long, but it was one cool looking place.
Does he always wear glasses? He does actually look vaguely familiar to me...
ReplyDeleteAnd what's the story behind the Ivey's to Belk move? I remember seeing an ad for Arthur's downtown in Ivey's, and I had always assumed that once Dillard's bought Ivey's they didn't want to mess with that sort of ancillary activity, and so Arthur's moved to Belk at SouthPark -- please fill me in with the correct story. Did the Ivey's at SouthPark have an Arthur's? If so, where was it?
And yes, Steven, I agree that the one in Belk seems like an afterthought.
By the way the downstairs area was set up at Belk SouthPark when I went in '92 and based on pictures I saw before, I'm thinking there was another restaurant that Arthur's replaced.
ReplyDeleteFrom 1986 until 1991, the downstairs was the "Newmarket Restaurant"--a semi-high end restaurant run by Belk in conjunction with Harris-Teeter. Also part of this partnership was a bakery, flower shop, candy counter, and coffee counter--all downstairs in the center area.
ReplyDeleteI figured as much, though I wouldn't have guessed they had a flower shop, too.
ReplyDeleteI remember there was a bar area towards the rear of that central space that I never saw active, which would have worked pretty well with the upscale Newmarket concept.
Pretty funny, when you think about it - same guy pictured in the top as well as the bottom photos, being depicted as having an an intimate dinner with two different women on two different occasions! He didn't even bother to change his coat or tie! Either the guy gets around, or this ad advocates cutting-out on your wife or girlfriend (btw, the woman in the top photo is scorching!)
ReplyDeleteGreat website, Pat, a lot of hard work went into it...I remember frequenting quite a few of these establishments (including McArthur's).
When did Manzetti's open? I love that place!
ReplyDelete