New Durham restaurant serves up Southern cuisine

A former Italian restaurant has been transformed into a casual Southern joint.

Posted 2:49 p.m. Oct 3, 2017 — Updated 7:15 p.m. Jul 13, 2018

Kathy Hanrahan

DURHAM, N.C. — Pete Susca didn't grow up drinking sweet tea and eating grits, but after moving to the Carolinas, he found his inner Southerner.

The New Jersey native opened It's a Southern Thing restaurant last week at 605 W. Main St. in Durham. Susca said he quickly learned that things like the grocery store clerk chatting you up while in line were easily explained as just "a Southern thing." The restaurant's name and menu is meant to reflect classic Southern cuisine, including pimento cheese, shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes.

It's a Southern Thing Fried Green tomatoes

One of the tastiest menu items has become known as the "Peteloaf," a meatloaf made with half beef and half house-made bacon. Susca came up with the recipe while doing catering for a Darius Rucker concert in Charleston, S.C. Rucker was hungry one night after a show, and Susca didn't have enough beef for a meatloaf, so he ground up some bacon. The dish was so good, Susca knew it had to be on the menu.

It's a Southern Thing is the third concept to be in the space. Italian restaurant Lucia opened there in 2015. Nearly a year later, Urban Food Group announced it was changing the restaurant's name to Motto. The farm-to-fork restaurant opened in late 2016 and closed in July.

Susca used to work at Motto and spent every day thinking about what he could do with the space. When he heard the restaurant was on the market, Susca decided to buy it. He took over the lease in August.

One of the first things Susca did was pull back the curtains that covered the restaurant's large windows behind the bar. The natural light helps showcase the restaurant's newly refinished bar and new tables. Susca wanted the restaurant to feel more casual, so he added more TVs above the bar.

The decor features old cow skulls, a "Tattoo" sign and various scenes of Durham shot by a local photographer.

It's a Southern Thing is open Monday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. until 10 p.m., Fridays 11:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. and on Saturdays 5 p.m. until 11 p.m.

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