Category / Restaurants

by Leo Suarez

The State of Fayetteville Street

Inspired by the popular post “The State of Glenwood South”, I decided to hit Fayetteville St. and break down “North Carolina’s Main Street”. With the weather warming up, there has been more activity on the sidewalks and restaurants are serving it up outside. Also, I’ve noticed a jump in nightlife and weekend activity this year as compared to last. There is still a bit of a problem; a significant amount of places are not supporting downtown traffic at night and the weekend hours. Here is a block by block summary.

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100 Block

The 100 block of Fayetteville St. offers a random assortment of shops for pedestrians. You can park here, get your eyes checked, plan a trip to that exotic country you’ve always wanted to go to, and all with a coffee in hand. The work week keeps this block alive, with lunch traffic and the Alexander Square parking deck full to the brim.

But when rush hour traffic dies down, this block mostly closes shop. Crema is a great place to for some food and coffee with the best hours here, open everyday. Café Carolina and America’s Pita Grille have yet to experiment with night and weekend hours. The Justice Building, Court of Appeals building, and Wachovia tower eat up a lot of space too, offering nothing to those walking by.

This block needs work.

200 Block

We are now getting into the meat of Fayetteville St and its 200 block is shaping into something really exciting. So far The Big Easy, The Mint, and Port City Java are open close to everyday. If you still have not been to the Raleigh City Museum, take the time and get out there. There is plenty of room for more and there are two renovation projects currently underway.

CVS still does not have a clue what is going on and has the worst hours. I have really noticed a significant amount of people that walk up to the door and are surprised that it is closed on the weekends (no, 9-1 on Saturday does not count). No kidding, I e-mailed them about this location’s hours, the downtown growth, and the constant complaints. Here is their response:

Thank you for contacting the CVS/pharmacy website. I am in receipt of your e-mail regarding the store hours at our Raleigh, NC CVS/Pharmacy. I am forwarding your comments to James Barefoot, the District Manager. He will review this with his staff at their next meeting.

We appreciate the time you have taken to share your comments with us.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Azevedo

CVS/pharmacy
Customer Relations

This was three months ago and I see no changes. Come on CVS, get with the times.

This block is improving and showing growth.

300 Block

The 300 block is the tallest block in Raleigh all thanks to RBC Plaza. This building offers a lot of ground floor retail space and will hopefully be occupied when the building switches on later this year.

The 300 block is also the brightest block with the ABC news station on the ground floor of The Hudson. Sono and Yancy’s also add to the activity inside.

The weekday work crowd will always own this block because on the opposite side of the street, the courthouse and post office are buzzing during the work week only. On nights and weekends, you get a one-sided view with lights and activity on one side and closed up buildings on the other.

This block has shown the most growth.

400 Block

Right now, Fayetteville St. ends here as we wait for the Marriott Hotel to open and then it will continue to Lenoir St. This block supplies a lot of visitor traffic from the Sheraton. Chick Fil A offers weekday lunch and the Sheraton also has a restaurant and bar inside.

City Plaza will hopefully save this block from being voted most boring block in downtown. The barber and flower shop are in a very small building on prime land. I would not be surprised if this small parcel along with some of Progress Energy’s land behind it is razed for something tall but that is just my prediction.

Besides the NC Opera Company moving here, there has been little change. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens throughout the year.

This block has shown no real change.

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So there it is, covered fully from end to end. To sum it up shortly, I think the government buildings are an obstacle to downtown growth and pedestrian activity. Still, Fayetteville St. is growing, slowly, and going through a painful process to get away from the 9-5, Monday to Friday scene that it has become so accustomed to for over 30 years.

by Leo Suarez

Spring Deadline For Solas

Spring is here and we should all have our eyes on Solas. The three story restaurant/entertainment building was reported back in February of 2007 as having a spring 2008 opening. Progress has been steady over the past year and I’m looking forward to this one.

Use your downtown connoisseur skills to imagine the view from the top. You should get a wide view of Glenwood and be able to look over The Creamery across the street. I think the nightlife will eat this up. However, if I’m looking at this right, the core of the downtown buildings along Fayetteville St. will be southeast. If you look southeast from the top floor, you will get a nice view of a gray, brick wall. Did not think that one through did we now?


Thank you Solas for not putting up a boring wall. This one is subtle and not as bland as other walls around DT.

by Leo Suarez

Sono Now Open On Fayetteville St.

The space next to the WTVD studio on Fayetteville St. has now been taken over by Sono, downtown’s newest sushi restaurant. The owner and I shared a couple common interests; we both are not into sushi and are excited about being downtown. The food seems to speak for itself however. I was out last Friday with a group of Campbell law students and they all gave the sushi two thumbs up. Make sure to check out their website if sushi is on your mind this weekend.

by Leo Suarez

Metro Beats Its Way Into City Market

Metro Café and Lounge had their opening party Friday night and will be adding a new beat to City Market. I went over on Saturday and became an instant fan when I walked in. The owner, Mauro, has set up a hip and comfortable lounge that is perfect for a glass of wine or a casual cocktail. You can take a seat at the bar, grab a table or relax on some of the couches. Metro will play house music during its parties and on some weekends host fashion shows, wine tastings, and other local events. If you are craving something outside of the beer realm, make sure to give Metro a try for a coffee or a good wine. For all you First Friday-ers, make a stop at Metro this week and check it out.

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by Leo Suarez

Where Can I Get A Slice at 2 a.m.?

I know some readers were with me on Saturday night and were able to hear my raw, un-edited, and passionate (not so sober) rant about the need for late night pizza in downtown Raleigh. I wish I had that recorded so I’m now bumping an HD camcorder up on the toys-to-buy list. I’ve mentioned this before but every time the topic comes up I usually start ranting. I believe that pizza is a market that has not been fully tapped.

Moonlight Pizza and Mellow Mushroom are great but the type of place I’m talking about will specialize in staying open all the time and slaps the pizza in front of you the moment you order it. I can imagine this hole in the wall pizzeria, with huge ovens and counters taking up most of the space. The people running it are so busy that they come off as being angry at the world; if you’ve ever ordered a cheese steak in Philly, you know what I mean. There are very few tables, but lots of standing room. The line forms out the door and people wait even in cold weather or rain for a slice. You are not supposed to be comfortable, you just get a slice and find some space on a high table, bench, curb, car, anywhere and enjoy. Walk and eat if in a hurry, the pizza is travel friendly.

The cut and dry version of what I am proposing is a by the slice pizza place, open for lunch, dinner, and especially for late night strugglers trying to close the night out. Right now I’m asking for Friday and Saturday nights but if it was every night, I’d buy stock. A place like this could easily set up shop in City Market. I can just imagine a bunch of people at lunchtime or 3am sitting on the street, benches, standing around with slices in hand.

I am patiently waiting for this to open and of course you’ll see it right here on RalCon. Too bad I do not make pizza and am a horrible cook or I’d open it myself.

by Leo Suarez

Winter Restaurant Wave

In case you have not noticed, we are in the middle of another wave of restaurant openings. The convention center may be the reason for fueling the increase of downtown food choices over the last few years. Here is a list of recent openings; some are talked about in the new downtown news section added to the left sidebar.

  • The Pit has opened up in the former Nana’s Chophouse location in the warehouse district. I’ve tried it out and the “upscale” BBQ has such a different feel that in no way does it compete with Cooper’s. I highly recommend it to any fans.

  • Raleigh Times has expanded next door with the creation of “The Smoking Times”. From what I’ve seen in passing, the place has a different feel and look then its neighbor but will easily become a downtown favorite.

  • Poole’s diner has now re-opened with a different look. This N&O article breaks it down. I have put it on the to-do list.

  • The Mint looks very close to opening and their website claims it will open this month. If you pass by it on its Fayetteville St. location, take a look inside.

  • There are plans to split up the old Greenshield’s spot at City Market in order to encourage smaller tenants, rather then a large one. No news yet on who might be moving in.
  • Work on the future sushi restaurant, Waraji that will be located at the corner of Hargett and Salisbury St., has started. Rumors say they will open in February of 2008.

I really think that this wave of restaurants is mostly the result of the convention center. They are preparing for the fall 2008 opening and should see a lot of convention traffic. I’m glad the convention center has helped spur growth downtown but the next wave of growth that I want to see come around are stores and food places that cater to the residents of downtown, not visitors. I’m hoping that the number of condos opening next year will help encourage more shops to open for the new rise in population. This will also go along with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s plans for more shopping downtown.

by Leo Suarez

The State of Glenwood South

The weather was great this weekend so I took the time to go through Glenwood South and check up on all the projects. You get a different view of things during the day compared to at night when I usually have a few pints in me. This list should cover all the highlights and take us into next year.

222 Glenwood

Remember how this seven story condo project was a flat wasteland for so long and progress seemed so incredibly slow last year? Those days are done and 222 Glenwood keeps on taking a new form. We’ve come a long way and the outer façade is being built all around the building. Windows and balcony doors are in place. The parking deck, for the most part, looks finished with a second entrance now off Jones St., next to 518 West. Brick has been going up for the past few weeks and should finish on the Glenwood facing side. Take note that the exterior is not entirely brick. Here is the building rendering off their website.



630 North

This one kind of fell off the radar and the church still sits on the site. The poster for the condo/office building is there so maybe one day we’ll see this one rise up. And yes, this is a church that will be destroyed but read up on the situation first. Sounds like a good deal to me. Website info.

West at North

I reported earlier about the progress at West. It is cool to see this one top out before the end of the year. See for yourself!

Solas

You know, I’m a fan of the dark, gray brick. Once the glass gets put in it will really start to look like the rendering. If I was the developer I would get this thing up and running before it starts to get warm in the spring.

The Lofts at Glenwood South

I posted before that no activity was happening. I guess I spoke to soon because there is now foundation work occurring at the site. I think they were planning for phase I to open in summer of 2008. I would bet against this unfortunately. Website info.


Glen on Peace

Nada.

Peace Street

Peace St. still looks like crap. The Streetscape project cannot come any sooner.

Retail

  • A nutrition store has opened right on glenwood, very convenient to anyone that works out at Peak Fitness. All Pro Nutrition has opened this newest location at 402 Glenwood.
  • I’m really not into fashion or trendsetting but if you are, Catch 22 seems like the place for you and I believe this store recently opened up. This sort of reminds me of the late night boutiques on south beach Miami or what I would imagine in trendy Los Angeles. After researching a bit, I was right. The website states, “Inspired by LA boutique style, Heather Long bridges the gap between Raleighwood and Hollywood.” I think Heather Long is bold for opening up her shop here in downtown. At this point, any retail in Glenwood south is a pioneer and I hope success for Catch 22.
  • I have always thought that The Paramount was a condo only building. I stumbled upon a very small retail store, maybe 250-300 sq. ft., on the corner of Boylan and Johnson St. I have no idea what kind of store could work here. It is currently empty. Maybe if RalCon takes office space, this might be something worth looking into.

Bars/Restaurants

  • The restaurant, Globe, has opened up in the space next to Red Room. From what I can see, it looks very nice. They do not have a website but the Downtown Raleigh Alliance describes them as “Eclectic, New American”. I’ll add it to the to-do list.
  • The George still has an “Opening Soon” sign. Zspotlight claims that they will have a New Year’s Eve party. Not sure where to go with this one.
  • The Pourch and The Bassment have taken over the old Aura and Rush spaces. Every night I’m out there, I continue to see emptiness. Has anyone seen differently?