Every student feels the urgency to take a break from the grind from time to time.
ETSU students are fortunate to have an amazing haven from the too-much-to-do blues.
Mid City Grill has been serving Johnson City since May 1, 2003.
David Queener, an ETSU student who has been going to Mid City regularly since August 2003, said that the character of the restaurant is what draws him.
“[It’s] definitely the atmosphere,” he said. “Namely the music in that it’s not the typical stuff, but it is recognizable and memorable. The selection is courtesy of the employees, and not in the way that Barnes and Noble is a sponsor thing and they choose what they like from the sponsor.”
Queener also said that the food range was appealing. “Carnivore to vegetarian to vegan and you can eat for under five bucks.”
What more could a college student want?
For several months, the campus has been buzzing with rumors that Mid City is closing or moving. On May 1, 2004, the lease on the building expired.
Jeff Pike, the owner, operator and creative mind behind Mid City, received an eviction notice last September. The eviction notice gave him 120 days to vacate, which would have closed Mid City’s doors at its current location in the middle of January.
Pike’s landlords told him later that the notice was only given “for his benefit,” and that he could stay until spring. He was offered a lease, but it dictated the end of Mid City’s late night hours. Pike refused. “Anywhere I look, I look to preserve the late night,” Pike said.
He is currently considering the old Shaker’s Lounge location, which is across the train tracks from Pug’s Subs restaurant on Buffalo Street.
Pike has considered having live musicians.
“I thought about it when the late night picked up,” he said. “A large percentage of my customers are musicians, but they like to come here to relax. I tried an open mike, but the musicians couldn’t even get their friends to come up from the bars on Main Street.”
Many students and community members are upset by the idea of losing Mid City Grill. The restaurant symbolizes local entrepreneurship, local talent and a great time.
The loss of Mid City would be a great loss to Johnson City and to ETSU.

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