Renovated retail spaces popping up on Wilmington Street. One will be a flip-flop shop, Feelgoodz, and the other a jewelry store, Moon & Lola.
Category / Retail
BeerCon: Tasty Beverage Company Coming To The Depot
The website for Tasty Beverage Co. says it all:
There is a lack of a dedicated beer store in Raleigh and we plan to fill that gap. We plan to offer an impressive selection of beers from the American craft beer industry as well as the world. Tasty Beverage Company will also feature a selection of wines, high quality sodas, local meats, and cheeses.
The new beer store will go in the space between Jibarra and Tuscan Blu in the historic depot building and the current outlook is for them to open their doors this summer.
Seldom Seen Vintage Open On Salisbury Street
A guitar and amp shop, Seldom Seen Vintage, has opened on the 100 block of South Salisbury Street. The space, directly behind Isaac Hunter’s, has been empty since the arcade games were taken out of the Fayetteville Street Tavern a few years ago.
With the growth of the local music scene, a vintage guitar store could definitely find its niche in downtown Raleigh. Good luck to the store owners.
Taz’s Tobacco and Wine Is Fantaztic! Opening Soon
According to a banner inside “Fantaztic” Taz’s new place on Martin Street, the wine and cigar shop will open this Friday March 26th directly across the street from RBC Plaza. Wine and tobacco products look to be the main focus but you’ll find a few other items here also.
A Collection of Fine Art Galleries
I recently took the time to visit The Mahler Fine Art gallery and was shown around by one of the owners, Megg Rader. For those that are not familiar, the history of the gallery starts with The Collectors Gallery that was in City Market since 2004. With the revitalization of Fayetteville Street and the opening of City Plaza, the owners made a move to one of the plaza’s pavilions. The Collectors Gallery on the plaza focuses on crafts such as pottery and jewelry from North Carolina artists. In May of 2009, The Mahler opened at 228 Fayetteville Street in the renovated Mahler Building. This gallery features a wide variety of abstract and representational works.
The space in the Mahler building is beautiful and the history is well preserved. Built in 1876, the Mahler Building was owned by the Mahler family, who lived on the third floor. Below the family of silversmiths was a watch repair shop on the second floor at one point in time in the building. The storefront is not original but the upper floor facade resembles the original design with the round arch windows. If you are a sucker for those few buildings in downtown with the original walls exposed, they have one and its gorgeous!
Stop by the Mahler and the Collector’s Gallery during their opening hours or on your First Friday tour. Their next event is on Thursday, February 4th. They will be open from 6-9pm with cocktails and a special Valentine’s day treat.
The Mahler Fine Art
Website: www.themahlerfineart.com
228 Fayetteville Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
Tues-Fri: 11am-5pm
Sat: 12pm-4pm
919-896-7503
The Collectors Gallery
Website: www.thecollectorsgallery.com
443 Fayetteville Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
Tues-Fri: 10am-6pm
Sat: 12pm-4pm
919-828-6500
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“Raleigh officials are in the midst of a nine-month study about how to encourage retail growth…”
“
Raleigh officials are in the midst of a nine-month study about how to encourage retail growth downtown.
In a preliminary report that will be released today, New York analyst Michael Berne said developers will be better off if they focus on meeting the needs of downtown shoppers rather than trying to attract a big-name tenant.
”
– Report: Target retail to downtown – Business – News & Observer
The State of the Warehouse District
By day, the warehouse district of Downtown Raleigh is quiet and sleepy. By night, it wakes up and comes to life, exploding on the weekends. This nightlife hotspot has seen some problems in the past, but with a convention center only a few steps away, why can’t it enjoy some traffic just as Fayetteville St. will be getting? Here is some recent updates if you have not been down there recently.
- Penrod’s Antique Warehouse has opened up next to White Collar Crime and makes use of the entire 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse. They have very old furniture and all kinds of random plates, paintings, silverware, etc. They are open seven days a week.
- Jibarra is re-locating to The Depot but work there has not yet started. The place is still filled with the old bars from the trio of clubs that left back in November of 2007. Jibarra seems confident on opening up this fall.
- Renovation of a warehouse for the Contemporary Art Museum seems to be continuing. A recent ‘Pic of the Week’ entry had some good discussion from readers.
- Discussion on the Multi Modal Transit Center is picking up and the city wants your ideas. Read their ‘Call For Ideas’ on the Transit Center and submit them by July 24th. I have not read the entire document yet but may post my thoughts later this week.
The warehouse district will need more shops and the museum to open for activity to rise during the day. The transportation center, I think, will define the warehouse district in the near future and when (if) built, this area will explode during the day.
Plenty of parking at The Depot
Taz’s Super Market Coming Soon
I really think CVS is missing a big opportunity here and their hours have not adjusted to the night and weekend crowds at all. Taz’s Super Market is almost fully stocked and it looks like they will be opening soon on the 200 block of Wilmington St. If their hours are anything like the smaller store two blocks down the street then we will all be able to grab some essential items at any convenient hour of the day.