For the past month my family and I have gone out to eat at the new Five Points Public House every Thursday. There is a large vintage neon Pontiac sign out front that you can’t miss. The service has been fast and friendly. The food has been good, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is unique. Another perk to this restaurant is that it is one of the few places downtown where parking is not a problem as there is plenty of room to park directly behind the restaurant.
The former Pontiac Dealership at 304 East Main St. in downtown Albemarle was converted into Five Points Public House and boasts an extensive menu. The drink offerings include a full list of domestic beers you would expect as well as a wide variety of wines. The restaurant’s wide selection of craft beer is a rarity in Stanly County. North Carolina, and our region, is a growing hub of large and small craft brewers, so it is great to see some local flavor in Albemarle.
One of my favorite dished so far is the Buffalo chicken tacos. Monday night is family night where kids eat for half-price. Wednesday is wine night with half-priced bottles. And sticking with their love for craft beer, Thursday night features a $3 North Carolina draft beer special. If you are interested in just getting together with a few friends to have drinks one evening there is a large patio behind the restaurant, and there are fire pits in preparation for the cooler months ahead. There is also a large meeting room in the upstairs portion of the restaurant which is available to reserve — another amenity that was needed in Stanly County.
We are blessed with have plenty of great breakfast and lunch spots downtown, but it’s nice to have some more variety in our downtown dinner options. Five Points also brings more needed attention to downtown Albemarle — an area of Stanly County many citizens don’t typically frequent unless they are regulars at the courthouse.
Albemarle has exciting downtown potential and evening food and drink spots have been the foundation of many downtown improvement projects. Hopefully Five Points will bring more people from surrounding areas to downtown Albemarle and we will see a snowball-effect in terms of growth. There is a tremendous amount of vacant space in our downtown and it would be great to see that change with the addition of more businesses like this new restaurant. A ride through neighboring towns such as Salisbury and Monroe give an indication of what downtown Albemarle could look like. Shops, bars, small breweries, boutiques and restaurants of many varieties fill the towns.
In both Salisbury and Monroe vacant spaces downtown are less common. I hope that Albemarle can follow suit. Until then, I am happy to have a new place to gather and enjoy a good meal.
