by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Tobacco Road Sports Café

Tobacco Road Sports Café is the newest Glenwood South restaurant that has set up shop in the 222 Glenwood building. This is a great place to plan an outing around watching sports. The main room is very open and there are TV’s at every angle. They also have a private room which you can reserve for your party with its own huge plasma TV. Behind the bar, there are plenty of taps and beers for you to choose from as well as your local favorites.

Their website suggests that they are not a sports bar. In reality, Tobacco Road is more of a restaurant with a sports theme. The mobile broadcast booth is used by 99.9 The Fan on occasion and I think could potentially bring some buzz to downtown if used to interview sports celebrities.

TV’s and one very large projector
Arcade games
Non-smoking
Outdoor patio (not open as of this writing)
Private room

Website: http://tobaccoroadsportscafe.com

222 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27603
(go to map)
(919) 832-3688

by Leo Suarez

Digging at Green Square

The Green Square project has been under the radar recently but is moving along. They keep their progress well hidden behind wooden fences but there is a lot digging going on at the corner of McDowell and Jones St. Green Square was one of many projects that were fast tracked by the government in order to stir up the state economy so there is a good chance that this project will not slip. While some buildings had to come down, most of the project will be built on what was a parking lot especially west of the current construction site.

by Leo Suarez

Charter Square Rising

On Fayetteville St., two cranes loom out of a giant hole in the ground. Construction on the underground deck continues and is beginning to rise up to the street. Concrete has now met up with Wilmington and Fayetteville Streets, which are actually at different elevations on this block. Fayetteville St. is higher then Wilmington. See the side view picture below to get a better idea of it. The south parking deck does not have as much progress as the north so we’ll have to wait and see if Charter Square or more parking deck comes next.


Looking north from Lenoir St.


Heads up Bank of America, that sign will be blocked soon.

by Leo Suarez

Destruction at City Plaza

The 500 block of Fayetteville St. is getting a major renovation. City Plaza is now being constructed and should complete the street’s new makeover. With one corner untouched and left for access to Bank of America, the other three corners have been ripped up and stripped down. Work on the plaza is steady and if all goes according to plan, we could be dropping the acorn here come 2010.

by Leo Suarez

The Great Wall of Raleigh

There are two projects to discuss here. The Wake County parking deck looks very close to being complete. The L office building that will wrap the front of this deck has not started yet, leaving a nice big gray wall. The plan was for ground floor retail with office space above. I did notice something interesting here; the sidewalks are being paved. If there is still work to be done on the outside then why are the sidewalks being laid out?


The future

by Leo Suarez

Powerhouse Plaza Site

Powerhouse Plaza has not been talked about much but the site for this new Glenwood South hotel is now being fenced off. A couple small houses and buildings will be demolished to make way for the hotel, which helps my theory that West St. will become a building corridor and actually contain more density then Glenwood Ave. West St. is important because it is more pedestrian friendly when making trips towards Fayetteville St.


This house will soon be getting a much larger neighbor.