Instead of taking a holiday vacation to relax toward the close of 2010, the heads of A.J. McMurphy's spent December giving the restaurant “a little facelift.”

“We basically just took the opportunity to close down at Christmas time to give our employees time with their families, and we came in here and gave her (the restaurant) a little polish and shine,” said Shannon Neuhoff, co-owner with Bill Stom.

The restaurant, located at 1914 Turnbury Drive, closed on Christmas Eve and reopened at 3 p.m. Jan. 12. What patrons will find now is an expanded bar, hardwood floors upstairs, bar-height chairs throughout the bar area, more TV sets and a new paint job. In the back, the kitchen has been refinished and is more open to the cooks.

At the bar, they also increased the number of beer taps from nine to 14.

However Neuhoff says that even though it's been renovated, the atmosphere of the bar remains the same.

“I feel like it's still A.J. McMurphy's,” she said. “It's always going to be the neighborhood pub that it is. The comments I've received, is people come in and say, ‘Wow, I feel like I'm in Raleigh,' or ‘Wow, I feel like I'm in Charlotte.' The bar is double the size (it was before).”

“The entire staff has stayed through the process,” Neuhoff added. “Our goal was not to change the image; it was just to give her the attention she needed. Because she's been around for 15, 16 years.”

Live music will continue to be provided on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as karaoke on Thursdays with DJ Captain Morgan Ahlers. In addition, an acoustic revival of local band Those Meddling Kids will perform Sundays from 6-9 p.m.

“For if you're not really ready for the weekend to be over but you don't want to blow it out again,” Neuhoff said.

Call 355-7956 or visit www.ajmcmurphys.com.

Hot dish

Carolina Ale House

Raleigh-based LM Restaurants has leased the Kirkland's home decor store on Greenville Boulevard in front of Greenville Mall and plans to redevelop it as Carolina Ale House.

Renovations will include expanding the existing building and adding a second, covered level for an open-air patio and bar.

The Greenville location is expected to open in summer 2011.

Win Coleman, an East Carolina University graduate who is an associate with Coleman & Associates Commercial & Investment Real Estate Services, represented Carolina Ale House in the identification and acquisition of the site.

“We believe we've arranged for the best possible location to serve Greenville's permanent families, ECU students and people living in the surrounding area,” Coleman said. “We're very excited about introducing Carolina Ale House to the Pirate Country.”

Carolina Ale House features family-friendly food, an extensive selection of draft beers and a sports-viewing atmosphere with 46 TVs at each location. The menu includes wings, ribs, sandwiches and burgers, steaks and entree salads, The restaurant also has a game area with pool tables, video games, foosball tables and pinball machines.

Carolina Ale House has 15 locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Basil's

Basil's Restaurant and Pizzeria, 675 Fire Tower Road, has introduced some new chef's specials.

They include loaded baked potato soup ($3.95 for a cup and $6.95 for a bread bowl); Buffalo Chicken Dip ($7.50); Basil's Cobb Salad ($9.50; Spicy Lettuce Wraps ($8.50); Pesto Chicken Fettuccini ($14.95); and Buffalo Chicken Stromboli ($9.95).

Call 353-5800 or visit www.itsbasils.com.

ECU's Croatan

East Carolina University's newly renovated Croatan opened Monday.

The new Croatan houses two food-service offerings: Chili's Too, which will open at 11 a.m., and an expanded full-service Chick-fil-A, which will begin serving breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Built in 1970, the former Croatan facility was demolished in June 2009 to make way for the two-story building that stands on the site today. The two restaurant spaces can seat approximately 400 student, faculty and staff customers, approximately five times more than the former Croatan.

The structure is the first building on campus that is LEED certified for its environmental sustainability. Bricks used on the building's exterior were reclaimed from a demolished North Carolina tobacco warehouse.

The building also features special lighting, water cisterns in the courtyard and ecologically friendly landscaping.

Cheddar's to open at

11 Galleria

Site work has begun on Cheddar's Casual Cafe, on Memorial Drive at 11 Galleria shopping center, in front of the Fresh Market.

Senior Vice President of Development Joe Mutti said the stand-alone restaurant, which will seat 288 patrons, will be constructed with brick and such natural materials as stone and wood.

When it opens in early summer, the company-owned restaurant will be North Carolina's third Cheddar's; there are locations in Asheville and Charlotte.

Mutti said Cheddar's features “American casual cuisine handmade in its scratch kitchen.” Dinner entrees range from $7.99-$13.99 and include homemade chicken pot pie, hickory-smoked baby back ribs, Key West chicken and shrimp, baked “Spasagna” (a cross between spaghetti and lasagna), grilled tilapia with mango salsa and steaks. Half-pound burgers are also offered, and entree salads are served with honey-butter croissants made fresh in the kitchen. A kids' menu is available.

Cheddar's Casual Cafe was founded in 1979 in Arlington, Texas. There are locations in 19 states, primarily in the South and Midwest.

Coming soon

A sign at the former location of La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, 315 E. 10th St., notes that La Hacienda Mexican Grill is coming soon.

The Two Brothers New York Pizzeria, which operated for nine months on Main Street in Farmville, will be relocating to the former Alfredo's location at 4320 E. 10th St. (N.C. 33), according to a story in the Farmville Enterprise newspaper. Owner John Kelly said he didn't get the clientele in Farmville that he anticipated.