Lee Street Studio

(1950's signage and aesthetic, inside and out. The UNCG physical plant is in the background along with train passing by.)

On Friday afternoon around lunch time, Matt (site), Eric (precedent), and myself (programming) went to the Beef Burger on Lee street to refresh our memories (and taste buds) of the fine cuisine they have to offer. I made the mistake of thinking they took debit cards, which they don't. Eric made the mistake of believing me. Matt was the only one with cash so he payed for all of us. We all got the special which was a hamburger, fries and a drink for $3.99 (add 25 cents for cheese or 65 cents for bacon). There were other exciting fried items on the menu but the funds were limited so we went with what was cheap. The place is almost a half century old (if not older) and still running strong. We got there around 1 pm right before a rush of about 15-20 people from all walks of life got in line behind us.

The Beef Burger is part of a strip of land our studio is focusing on this semester between the Tate street and Aycock street intersections on Lee street. While most other places along the strip are for sale and/or are abandoned, the Beef Burger and a few other sites still maintain business (specialty rims, recycled batteries, gas station/auto body shop, army/navy surplus and various other strip stores).

I've always been aware of UNC Greensboro's master plans to acquire parcels to expand the university since there is no more space to build new buildings. This strip is included in that plan and they've already been successful in demolishing a lot and developing it into an overflow parking lot for the park & ride near the coliseum (fenced and gated of course). I've only recently become more aware of the city of Greensboro's Lee Street/High Point Road corridor plan through our initial studio meetings (first heard about it in an urban planning class last semester). I haven't thoroughly read into the information but I wonder how the two separate entities, the city and the university, are going to work with each other on this project.

And what will happen to the Beef Burger? Yum Yum's has been a staple in many students' daily meal rituals (you can only survive for so long off of $1 pink hotdogs). It is my hope that the university develops around Beef Burger so that it becomes part of campus life as Yum Yum's has. It stays open later which makes it a perfect match for a nearby architecture building with students working long days and nights.

If anything, we have a strong case to include Beef Burger in our program for the new studio.