Category / Restaurants

by Leo Suarez

The Glenwood South and Carolina Ale House Saga Looking Positive

500 Glenwood Avenue, soon to be demolished for the new Carolina Ale House on Glenwood South

You almost don’t want to believe this until you see it. The story that has really turned me, and others I talk to, into pessimists is the one about the upcoming new building at 500 Glenwood Avenue. It is planned to house, in addition to other businesses, a Carolina Ale House and after almost five years, it looks like this project will finally get started.

In the coming days, we should see the building at the corner of Tucker and Glenwood Avenue come down and make room for a new, three-story building for a rooftop Carolina Ale House restaurant and additional retail space in the other floors. Some construction fencing is now up and even the R-Line stop at this corner has been moved down a bit along Tucker Street.

I have no doubt that the Ale House here will do some pretty good business as the brand has over 20 other locations to bring experience from. If you’ve never been, the Ale House is a sports restaurant with a “something for everyone” menu and an extensive beer list with enough choices for safe beer drinkers to try something new but not enough to satisfy the craft palate.

500 Glenwood Avenue, soon to be demolished for the new Carolina Ale House on Glenwood South

The beginning of the demolition to the building.

Let’s hope for smooth sailing ahead on this project so that doors will open in late 2014. Jump to this link to the Triangle Business Journal for a rendering of the upcoming building.

by Leo Suarez

Paddy O’Beers Bottle Shop Coming To Fayetteville Street

The downtown Raleigh beer drinking scene is a varied one and the next group to step in are the folks behind Isaac Hunter’s Oak City Tavern and Coglin’s. They are planning to open a bottle shop for the retail spaces in the Alexander Square parking deck facing Fayetteville Street, across the street from Isaac Hunter’s, a popular weekend spot.

Paddy O’Beers (Patio beers???) will sell craft beers in bottles and kegs. They also plan to set up some outdoor seating in front (a Paddy O’ perhaps?) and a tasting bar so drinkers can hang for a bit.

The beer options in downtown Raleigh are extensive and continuing to grow. Expect Paddy O’Beers to open within a few months.

by Leo Suarez

Gringo A Go-Go Coming Soon to North Person Street

Ben Shelton, the chef behind Lily’s Pizza in Five Points, is opening up a new place at the corner of Person and Edenton Streets. Gringo A Go-Go will be a taqueria with some pretty authentic Mexican dishes.

Finally, this space is being given some real TLC as the former convenience store and Reuben’s diner kind of put in half the effort. I wonder too if the new thing to do is build a unique bicycle rack out front that represents your place a bit. When I walked by to take the above photo the place looks almost finished so expect it open sometime in the near future.

As always, you can see the ever growing list of downtown food and drink on DT Raleigh Eats.

by Leo Suarez

Summer 2013 Restaurant Roundup

Crank Arm Brewing on Davie Street

It could be just me but the summer seems like a great time to open a restaurant in downtown Raleigh. Need to work all the kinks to get ready for the cooler temperatures. It could just be the timing though.

Anyway, with us deep into the summer season, here is the latest bit of restaurant news.

  • We’re still waiting on something from Cafe de los Muertos, a coffee shop planned for a space along Hargett Street in The Hue building. Progress is happening though.
  • Joule Coffee, opening in the former space occupied by the Wilmoore Cafe on Wilmington Street, hasn’t opened yet but articles keep coming out saying that should happen soon.
  • Garland has been serving food from their take-out window along Martin Street. Sandwiched between King’s and Neptunes Parlour, Garland is still working on their indoor space but have set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk.
  • The lobby of the Sheraton Hotel on Fayetteville Street has been under heavy renovation the last few months. In it, Jimmy V’s Osteria & Bar will be opening soon.
  • Cognito Bar and Grill has opened where the former Joel Lane’s Public House was in Glenwood South.
  • Pop Up Ice Cream Parlour has opened a second location. The original location on Wilmington Street will still be open for the summer while the second one, at 616 North Person Street, is opening.
  • Stanbury, a restaurant being set up where Market’s original location was on Blount Street, looks almost finished and ready to open any day now.
  • Ashley Christensen is working on a new restaurant called Death and Taxes for the bottom floor of the recently renovated Raleigh Industrial Bank building.
  • The Ohio based pizza chain, Donato’s, has brought a location to Seaboard Station.
  • Crank Arm Brewing will be opening up their taproom in the next few weeks.
  • The food space in the Marbles Kids Museum is now Pogo creating a kid-friendly (and adult) menu ran by a company that buys food from nearby family-owned farms and ranches.
  • There are signs for a restaurant called Oak City Meatball Shoppe in the retail spaces along Davie Street in the Red Hat Building.

    • And finally, I don’t know anything about it but the last retail space in the PNC Plaza has some paper covering up the windows. There aren’t any signs but instead symbols of food. Take it with a grain of salt as to what could, or won’t, be coming in that space.

by Leo Suarez

Pop-Up Ice Cream Parlour Sets Up Shop Through August 31

Pop-Up Ice Cream Parlour

A new ice cream shop with the simple name of Pop-Up Ice Cream Parlour is now open on the 100 block of South Wilmington Street. The owners only have a lease through August so make sure and enjoy it on a hot day this summer. Opening hours are:

  • Sun-Thu – 12-10pm
  • Fri/Sat – 12-11pm

I read that the owners want to see how the concept works before possibly opening up a permanent location.

by Leo Suarez

Spring 2013 Restaurant Roundup

I hope everyone is spending as much time as possible outside before the heat kicks in. This is one of the best times of the year in downtown Raleigh for walking and outdoor eating.

Here’s the latest list of restaurant news.

  • Dos Taquitos Xoco is now open in Glenwood South. Besides sitting outside on the outrageously decorated patio, the booths with the toy train serving chips and salsa are pretty enjoyable.
  • Kimbap, a Korean cafe, has opened in Seaboard Station. There is a lot of sustainably grown food served here as well as a very gluten-free friendly menu. The dumplings are excellent!
  • They have been open for some time now but Trophy Brewing has been making progress on their new kitchen and outdoor space. Expect that to be open soon.
  • The Videri Chocolate Factory in the warehouse district has added a coffee bar.
  • Fiction Kitchen has now been open for two or three months and is 100% vegetarian. The tinga tacos are way tasty!
  • Cafe de los Muertos is opening a store in The Hue building and should be open late this summer or early fall.
  • Another coffee shop, Joule Coffee, is still being worked on in the former Wilmoore Cafe spot. According to the (silent) Twitter account, it’s still planned for a Spring opening so expect it soon.
  • This fall, a doughnut shop, Donut Theory, is planning to open in a space near the intersection of Saunders and South Street.

Also, a little bird has told me that the space between Neptune’s Parlour and King’s on Martin Street may be serving food out of the window this weekend. Is The Garland finally going to open? Perhaps we’ll know in a few weeks.

by Leo Suarez

Goodnight’s Turns 30

[This guest post comes from Joseph Havey who represents Travelhost Magazine of the Triangle, which seeks to “help visitors to the Triangle area make memories to cherish a lifetime.” Contact me to put your original content about downtown Raleigh on DTRaleigh.]

This past weekend, Drew Carey headlined at Goodnight’s Comedy Club in celebration of the club turning 30 last October. As you can imagine, every show sold out.

Aside from cheesy high school talent shows, Goodnight’s hosted my first experience with live comedy. I went with a couple of friends: They paid, and who was I to turn down a free laugh? We ate at the Old Bar downstairs (Goodnight’s is sandwiched between two restaurants) before heading up to enjoy the JJ Walker show. It was Dy-no-mite! At 20 years old, I waited a while to join the ranks of the club’s audience — a decision I’m kind of regretting. I left that night with stomach pains induced by my bellowing laughter.

JJ Walker with a crowd at Goodnight's

JJ Walker and my friends at Goodnight’s

The atmosphere is what you’d expect in a comedy club—brick walls, dim lighting and free-flowing alcohol. The staff was more than accommodating and the food was delicious. Goodnight’s owners Brad and Shannon Reeder have done a great job ensuring that the experience is top notch.

The Reeders actually met at Goodnight’s (back when it was called Charlie Goodnight’s), in the middle of one of Brad’s comedy tours. They dated, and eventually married, while Brad was on the road, but decided they wanted to settle in Raleigh. The couple bought Goodnight’s several years ago and have been running it ever since.

This past weekend, I got to talk to Shannon about the club’s 30th birthday. She was happy to point out that Goodnight’s is one of the few independent comedy clubs still standing, which makes its age a pretty big deal. It’s also scored a spot on several “Top 10” lists, including that of The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

“One of the top comedy clubs in the country is in Raleigh’s own backyard,” Shannon told me.

Thinking back to my aching abdominal muscles, I undoubtedly agree.

by Leo Suarez

Café de los Muertos To Open In The Hue This Summer

Café de los Muertos

Look out for a new coffee shop in downtown Raleigh this summer. Confirmed by a sign on the space and some chatter on their website, Café de los Muertos will be setting up along West Hargett Street in the Hue building.

Their site has everything you need to know about these guys:

We are Café de los Muertos (Coffee of the Dead), and we are supremely dedicated to the perfect coffee cup, the perfect espresso, the perfect coffee experience. Café de los Muertos is a artisan coffee roastery that specializes in organic Fair Trade and Direct Trade coffee. We hope to promote coffee sustainability by supporting truly beneficial relationships among coffee bean farmers and our customers.

*Café de los Muertos – Who

Currently, this coffee shop is online only but the space in the Hue gives them a new home.

Reading through some of their material, it sounds like they will be keeping things local and open to collaborating rather than competing. I’ll sip to that.