The lights, which have been off for so long in Raleigh Joe’s building, are now on for good. Two weeks ago, the restaurant opened its doors for business.

Johnny Fontanez, the new manager of Raleigh Joe’s, said the restaurant is ready for customers.

“We haven’t had our grand opening yet because we wanted to work out the kinks,” Fontanez said. “But we’re catching on and are looking forward to the grand opening in January.”

According to one student who eats at the restaurants on Hillsborough Street, Joe’s reopening is something to smile about.

“Anything opening on Hillsborough is a good thing,” Katherine Ragland, a sophomore in international studies, said.

Joe’s has gone through a change of owners, and a better group of workers now runs the restaurant, Fontanez said. And the new owner, Anthony Sather, promises to have a better vision than than the last owner.

“This is my first restaurant, but I’m putting in at least 100 hours a week to get it right,” Sather said.

Fontanez said changes to the restaurant include a cheaper menu, better service and upgraded equipment.

“Our goal is to have you from the front door to eating in five minutes,” Fontanez said. “There are a lot of similarities in the type of food we serve, but if you look at the quality of food we’re serving in comparison to other places, there’s no competition.”

The restaurant located on-site prior to Joe’s, the Q-shack, closed because the food was too expensive, according to Fontanez. But he said fans of Q-shack barbecue need not worry, Joe’s is still selling it.

Stores like Q-shack aren’t alone in having to close its doors. The owner of Sylvia D’Italia, an Italian gelato cafe, moved locations last week when she set up shop inside Conti, another Italian eatery downtown.

Some students think restaurant closings and lack of patronage on Hillsborough Street have more to do with the atmosphere than what’s being served.

“Those bums are aggressive on Hillsborough Street,” Ben Ogorek, a doctoral student in statistics, said. “They also have to do something about the way the street looks if they want businesses to stay open.”

Whether it survives or not, the owners of Raleigh Joe’s are giving the street a chance and adding a secret weapon, too.

“We plan on getting an alcohol permit sometime next year,” Fontanez said. “And that seems to help with some of the restaurants on Hillsborough.”

While the lights of some businesses on Hillsborough Street have been cut off, for Raleigh Joe’s, just having them on is the most important step forward.