Why Lulu’s Maryland-Style Chicken and Seafood closed its Plaza Midwood location
The news spread Tuesday like a brush fire via Twitter, and it started with a single word: “Yikes.”
Charlottean and P.R. specialist Nikki Wolfe tweeted a screen shot of Lulu’s Maryland-Style Chicken and Seafood’s Instagram page for its Central Avenue restaurant. In the bio, it stated: “PERMANENTLY CLOSED!!!!”
It was the latest in a series of changes by restaurant owners Jay and Miketa Davis:
- A few months prior, Jay told CharlotteFive the reason he’d recently closed his bar Hideaway (“Tucked away on Tuckaseegee” Road, a staff member once lovingly told me was her idea for a slogan) was to reinvent the Lulu’s Maryland Style Chicken & Seafood’s original location, also on Tuckaseegee Road.
- Lulu’s on Tuckaseegee had closed temporarily over the summer to undergo renovations.
- When it reopened, it was as Lulu’s Express Fry House — no longer serving crab cakes (gasp!) due to difficulty sourcing crab meat for both the Tuckaseegee Road and Central Avenue Lulu’s locations. Instead, it would continue to serve seafood and chicken baskets — and it would also add a breakfast service Friday-Sunday.
LaToya Evans, a representative for the restaurants, told CharlotteFive on Wednesday that the decision to close the Central Avenue location was based on challenges with supply chain, staffing and other operational roadblocks.
But back to Twitter, and the news that the Midwood area had seemingly lost its Lulu’s.
“Nooooo. Also this is like the third place we’ve liked that’s closed in a week. What is happening?” posted @PiecesofRees.
“Oh no. I wonder why? I wanted to go there!” said @cards_fan75.
And one pun for the road: “As long as Ru Ru’s doesn’t close I’m good,” quipped @SrrvantMusic.
May we offer one silver lining? Lulu’s Express Fry House announced its reopening on Tuesday via Facebook: “We’re back!”
“The focus has shifted to its original location on Tuckaseegee Road, which will also begin serving many of the original menu items that made LuLu’s a Charlotte favorite, including their famous crab cakes,” Evans told CharlotteFive.
And as of this writing, Evans confirmed that the crab cakes are already available.
Lulu’s Express Fry House
Location: 2400 Tuckaseegee Road Charlotte, NC 28208
This story was originally published January 4, 2023 at 8:51 AM.
