WFU village vision blurry: Three Deacon Boulevard businesses are closed in target area of development

The Last Resort and Binky’s are among a number of closed businesses along Deacon Boulevard.

(By Fran Daniel; Winston-Salem Journal) - The first steps toward creating a mixed-use development on Deacon Boulevard appear to have turned into a stumble.

Developer David Parks started working with Wake Forest University last year to renovate three vacant buildings in a 67-acre area that Wake Forest hopes to redevelop, making it feel like a village.

What used to be The Pig restaurant at 613 Deacon Blvd. became Goober's 52 restaurant. Down the street, Parks turned the former Freddie B's building into The Last Resort club, and the former Pure Chrome Bar and Grill into Binky's Burgers and Fries. The businesses opened last fall.

They are now closed, along with the nearby Hero House restaurant.

And the fate of the area is unclear.

Kevin Cox, a spokesman for Wake Forest, declined to comment, referring questions to Parks and the Hero House.

Parks could not be reached.