After a long time with scaffolding covering the sidewalk of Martin Street between Fayetteville and Wilmington Streets, the Mecca Restaurant sign is now visible again.

I went here for breakfast today, so I thought it would be appropriate to post a photo of it I’ve had lying around for a little while. They just recently began to open on Saturdays, so I was able to make it in. It was delicious.

I had a conversation with our server about the bustling nature of downtown recently because of the Earth Day celebrations near the Capitol. I mentioned how when I moved here four years ago, downtown was not a very happening place to be. It was a virtual ghost town on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and night life isolated to a few small corners. She said she has lived here over thirty years and had never seen activity in the area like there is today. She mentioned the familiar story of closing down Fayetteville Street to auto traffic as the nail in the coffin to retail and social activity downtown. It comes as no surprise that a good part of the upswing has been shortly after the resurgence of Fayetteville Street after being reopened to auto traffic. It is very much likened to opening a main artery that was once blocked. Life returns to normal.