by Leo Suarez

BeerCon: Woody’s City Market

Woody’s is a sports bar and restaurant with a neighborhood feel to it. Located in City Market, it is off the main strip and is a fun place to bring a group of friends. You can definitely see the local touch that Woody’s has with all the ACC and Canes gear filling the shelves and covering the walls. There are plenty of TV’s for you to watch the event of your choice and a stage for music and karaoke. If you have not been, I recommend getting down there on a Monday and sign up for the cornhole tournament.

Food
Plenty of TV’s
Stage for live music select nights

Website: http://www.woodyscitymarket.com/

205 Wolfe St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(go to map)
(919) 833-3000

by Leo Suarez

The Tucker Construction Update

Two cranes are being used to build what will be the largest apartment building in downtown Raleigh, The Tucker. The renderings on the website suggest that the building will have 3-5 floors depending on which corner you are on. This fits in well with the surrounding houses and shorter buildings. The floor plans also suggest that there will be no ground floor retail, rather apartment units that have sidewalk entrances. Last I heard The Tucker would open up in two phases with the first coming in summer 2009.

Location

The parking deck will be hidden behind the building.
by Leo Suarez

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.

by Leo Suarez

RTP Startup Weekend In Downtown Raleigh

July 11-13th is the weekend for RTP Startup and its goal is to create a company or two (or three) in this short range of time. The idea is to throw together people with different talents and see what happens. Here’s a good explanation from the official website:

Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, business managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects.

Founded in 2007 by Andrew Hyde, the weekend is a concept of a conference focusing on learning by creating. It is known for its quick decisions, ‘out of the box’ thinking, unique facilitation technique and letting the founders show what they can do. The program has already met with success in Boulder, Toronto, New York, Hamburg, Houston, West Lafayette, Boston, DC and more.

Edge Office in Glenwood South will play host to the event. The office furniture retailer is a perfect setting for anyone with big ideas to brainstorm with others that want to create and invent. A $40 fee gets you in for the all weekend event.

I’m new to the idea but really intrigued as to what we may create with a bunch of people in a room with different skills. If you are at all interested, the RTP Startup website has all the details. This is a great opportunity to network with people, start thinking outside the box, and just socialize with motivated people. If you are going, I’ll see you there.

Edge Office
400 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27603

by Leo Suarez

Blount Street Commons Ground Breaking Ceremony Tomorrow

Please join Mayor Charles Meeker, Members of the Raleigh City Council and Other Dignitaries for History in the (re)making.

Groundbreaking Ceremony and Celebration for Blount Street Commons
Thursday, June 26
10:00 AM
540 N. Blount Street at the corner of East Peace and North Blount Streets in Downtown Raleigh

Sponsored by:
LNR Commercial Property
Vanguard Homes
Legacy Construction Group
YSU New Homes

Blount Street Commons is a unique revitalization project involving the complete re-development of 21 acres in historic downtown Raleigh. Once Raleigh’s most prestigious address, Blount Street is undergoing a renaissance that includes the construction of a wide variety of homes including row and carriage homes, urban residences over retail as well as 25 turn-of-the-century historic homes. A limited number of single family homesites are also available for the construction of custom homes.

by Leo Suarez

Summer Restaurant Wave

This follows up the “Winter Restaurant Wave” written about 7 months ago. Here is, I hope, a complete list of new openings in downtown. Fill in the blanks for me and let’s get them all.

The Present

  • Champa Cafe opened about 3 months ago and is serving lunch, Mon-Fri from 11-6. They are located at the corner of Salisbury and Martin St.
  • 101 Café and Lounge is open in Palladium Plaza and is open everyday with different hours. They are at the corner of Blount and Davie St.
  • Peace China has now opened in Seaboard Station. The best part about them are their hours as they are open from 11am-10pm every day.
  • Cody’s has now been renamed to Thaiphoon. Need help on this one as I’m not sure if there is new management or what.

The Future

  • Waraji’s downtown location still has not opened and does not look close. However, it is moving along and they will be at the corner of Salisbury and Hargett St.
  • Solas is close to opening and rumor has it they will be up and running this summer.
  • Tobacco Road Sports Café is brought to us from the guys behind Amra’s and have landed space in the 222 Glenwood building. I recommend you follow their blog and give them feedback as they are trying to gain ideas from the community.
  • The upscale Neomonde restaurant has been quiet at the corner of Hargett and Wilmington St. lately. It sort of looks like there is activity here but there is nothing to really get excited about just yet.
  • Tyler’s Taproom will create a location at Seaboard Station between Peace China and Ace Hardware.
  • Boylan Bridge Brewpub continues work as we all wait patiently.
  • The Marriott Hotel’s early opening in July may present a new retail option to all of us. According to the site plan, there is a space for a “coffee shop” and “restaurant” right on Fayetteville St. No news yet on what may be in these two spaces.

Lots of retail space on the ground floor of 222 Glenwood