🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3o611b$42e@news.duke.edu>,
Joel K. Furr <jfurr@acpub.duke.edu> wrote:
}As for Kroger, yes you can go there in the middle of the night to buy 
}food, but not prepared food served restaurant-style.

Yes, but do't you think the healthy supply of 24-hour groceries (more here
than in Boston!) is one reason all the convenience stores close early? Why
stay open if your potential customers are just gonna head for Kroger or
Harris Teeter to get a better selection and lowerprices?

}In other words, we have six restaurants that serve truckstop-style food 
}to truckstop-style clienteles, but no place that you can go to to get a 
}cup of coffee and a sandwich and sit and linger for an hour or two.  Just 
}_try_ lingering for an hour or two with your textbooks (note: I am not a 
}college student -- I cite this merely as an example) at a Waffle House.  
}They'll badger you to vacate the booth the minute you're done eating. :)

OK, I must speak up for the Pan-Pan here. 

First, the clientele is *NOT* truckers. Head there on Friday night from
11pm-2am sometime, and you'll be amazed. It's packed with families, all
dressed up like they just came from church. Judging from some of the
conversation I overhear, they *did* just come from church.

The Pan-Pan may be a truckstop at other times, but during Friday nights
it's the happiest purely family-oriented restaurant I've ever seen. Last
night the owner was even hanging around as ususal, even though it was so
late, enjoying his customers.

How family-oriented? Read the notice on the door next time: it prohibits
any foul language.

And how many places are there in Durham where you'll be seated by a
courteous off-duty cop?

As for lingering: one night my friends and I got there about 11:30 and
left at 4 or so. One reason was we kept ordering a little bit at a time,
but it's not like we spent five hours just eating. We also sat and
talked, and I don't recall EVER feeling pressured to leave, even though the
place was fairly crowded the whole time.

And if you're looking for "a sandwich and a cup of coffee," you really
should head back there. They have NY-style deli sandwiches, everything
from turkey to tongue, and each sandwich is so big, you'll have to linger
just to finish it.

One other thing about the Pan-Pan attracts me: its diversity. When I'm
there, there sems to be a healthy mix of black and white, northerner and
southerner, even among the staff. For me, it helps contribute to the warm
atmosphere.

I hope I've made my point.

Tristan "Love the Patty Melts" Davies