This coming weekend was supposed to be a big blowout for Durham’s Blue Note Grill, as the restaurant renowned as a hub for excellent blues celebrated its fifth anniversary. But owner Bill Whittington says delays in construction at the Blue Note’s new space closer to downtown will disrupt moving plans, leaving them without a place to host the celebration they’d scheduled for Saturday.
“I’m not sure exactly when we’re going to open at the new place. It might be a week, a week and a half,” Whittington says.
The celebration was supposed to feature the Cyril Lance Band, longtime friends of the Blue Note, and several special guests. Whittington says there was little he could do to prevent the delays.
“He had some good, big-name folks that he’d played with in the past. It was going to be a good day,” Whittington says. “But things happen when you’re dealing with construction, and it will happen another day.”
The Blue Note’s final day in its old space at 4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard happened last weekend. When the new location at 709 Washington St. opens, the digs will put the Blue Note near the old Durham Athletic Park.
