Out and about

Whether at Biff Burger or Boar & Castle, Jack’s Corner or New York Pizza, there’s been something to satisfy any culinary craving. All that studying makes a person hungry. And the Caf sometimes doesn’t have what you want – such as a change of scenery or a chance to hit the town for a few hours.

Great Tate Street

“When my 11 o’clock classes were finished, I made a bee-line for Tate Street and the Hong Kong House. Back in my UNCG undergraduate days in the mid-1980s, it was a much-needed place of refuge and strength,” says LEIGH TYSOR OLSEN ’88, ’95 MEd. “No matter how difficult my young adult life seemed at the moment, all it took was one good whiff of the huge bowl of Amelia Leung’s famous rice noodles soup, and all was well again. I always wondered what type of magic the HKH staff practiced behind that curtain. The food was healing food for body, mind and spirit, and the restaurant itself had an almost mystical quality about it. When you walked in the door, you were home and surrounded by an unmistakable sense of peace and community.”

— Leigh Tysor Olsen ’88, ’95 MEd

Leigh Tysor Olsen near former site of Hong Kong House

HONG KONG HOUSE owners Amelia and Robert Leung

THE CORNER With its classic counter serving chocolate malts, lemonade and more – plus stationery, cards and flowers – the shop anchored “the corner” of Tate Street and Walker from 1950 to 2011.

photo of the Corner Clock which was originally in the Victory Theater to promote The Corner on Tate Street

THE CORNER CLOCK was originally in the Victory Theater to promote The Corner.

photo from inside the Tate Street Coffee House, showing two people seated at a table in front of the window

Window seat in Tate Street Coffee House, site of Friar’s Cellar

The last day of The Corner at Tate Street

On Feb. 25, 2011, The Corner, loved by generations of UNCG students, closed its doors. UNCG Magazine was there as Grant Snavely, owner, and Tiffany, talked about their last day at The Corner.

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Did You Know?

Before “The Caf” expanded near the Fountain in 2012, the atrium had palm trees. An open-air balcony now overlooks the Fountain area.

“THE CAF”

a photo of the Soda Shop circa 1949, which is now the Faculty Center

SODA SHOP, now the Faculty Center, c. 1949

a 1920s photo of a trolley on Spring Garden Street

1920sTrolley on Spring Garden took students downtown.

a 1956 photo of The Boar and Castle on West Market Street

1956The Boar & Castle on West Market Street

1990sYum Yum, long known for hot dogs, ice cream and soft drinks in glass bottles

a 2017 photo of people at an event on the lawn at a park in downtown Greensboro

2017Resurging downtown Greensboro is popular with students.