Pic of the Week

It doesn’t look exciting but I AM excited for the renovation work taking place at the corner of Edenton and Person Street. The former Oakwood Café space at 300 East Edenton will become home to Longleaf Swine. The food can be had today, and it’s delicious, but the upcoming space will be a treat for sure.

Their socials state a Spring opening which will be perfect for the kind of outdoor seating they have planned. Just take a look at the rendering below.

Glenwood South’s Tin Roof Bar Overlooks Lane Street

Glenwood South is getting a Tin Roof bar at the corner of Glenwood and Lane. The live music bar has over 15 locations in the US and you can see the second floor and outdoor space coming together in the photo above.

Having never been but eager to check it out, I see the place also serves food as well. The bar plans to open “late summer” which is great timing for the nice fall weather.

Pic of the Week

The space next door to Poole’s is being worked on. This is the spot for another one of Ashley Christensen’s restaurants, Poolside Pie. The timing of this post was on purpose as Christensen just won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in the country this year. She’s the only chef in the state to win it.

Congrats to her and her entire team behind AC Restaurants!

Pic of the Week

Morgan Street Food Hall. August 2018.

The Morgan Street Food Hall is now open! There are plenty of dining options for lunch and dinner throughout with a little retail on the side as well.

Make sure to check out the vendors on their website ahead of time to avoid getting stuck in the crowds when it’s busy. Lunch and dinner have been packed from what I hear and with the cool weather about to show up, the food hall is sure to be pretty lively.

The place looks great and is a far cry from the club/bars that used to pack this warehouse years ago. Kudos to the team behind it and I look forward to many visits!

We’re chatting about Morgan Street Food Hall on the DTRaleigh Community. Join us.

Winter 2017 Restaurant Roundup

Vidrio

Vidrio is now open in Glenwood South

For this restaurant update, the energy seems to be building in and around Moore Square. There are a few delicious places to try now as well as ones to look forward to this year.

For a complete list of eats, drinks, and coffees in and around downtown, make sure to bookmark the DT Eats page. Try something new!

  • We’ll first start out in Glenwood South as LM Restaurants has delivered a very unique experience in Vidrio. Located at the corner of Tucker and Glenwood, Vidrio is one of LM’s platinum restaurants and a truly Mediterranean experience. The place impresses for sure.
  • The Cardinal, a house turned bar on West Street north of Peace Street, is now open. In addition to drinks, they serve cheap hot dogs, which are pretty good actually especially with a great view of downtown Raleigh.
  • Cafe Helios has closed and in its place, the folks behind Jose and Sons, a Mexican restaurant in the warehouse district, are creating a new concept called The Cortez Restaurant.
  • A craft beer bar, with the sign suggesting it will be called, “Craft Beer Bar”, is going into the former Eden Lounge and convenience store near Glenwood and Hillsborough Street.
  • Work continues on a new bar called 616 Glenwood in the former Harry’s Guitar Shop.
  • Tobacco Road Sports Cafe has now reopened on Jones Street, where Natty Greene’s used to be in the Raleigh Electric Company Power House.
  • In their former location in the 222 Glenwood building, La Santa Modern Mexican is planned. You can follow their progress on their Facebook page.
  • On Hillsborough Street, The District is now open in The Dawson.
  • Hopping over to Fayetteville Street, the quick turnover of Bolt Bistro into Pizza La Stella is finished and the new restaurant is now open.
  • Tir Na Nog is back! After closing from their long-time home on Blount Street, the bar is back open on Hargett Street next to The London Bridge Pub. Last I was there, it was a bar only with plans for additions and a small food menu in the near future.
  • The Busy Bee has closed but quickly changed concepts to Trophy Tap and Table, which is now open.
  • Another change on Wilmington Street, Joule has closed and a new concept is in the works. St. Roch Oyster + Bar is being worked on and you can follow them on their Facebook page.
  • Cursed location? The restaurant space in the bottom of the Progress Energy building is turning over again and Tulum Restaurant and Bar, a Mayan-themed restaurant, is close to opening. You can check them out on their Facebook page.
  • Scott Crawford’s new place, Crawford and Son, is now open on Person Street.
  • Ending the tour at Moore Square, Royale, an American bistro, is now open at the corner of Blount and Martin Streets. Check out the Royale burger below.

This burger. My goodness!

A photo posted by Leo Suarez (@dtraleigh) on

  • You can now get gelato, and crepes and waffles all at the same time by the way, in downtown at Amorino, which is now open along Davie Street in The Edison.
  • City Market Sushi has opened on Blake Street in City Market.
  • The Outpost, a tiki-themed bar at the corner of Hargett and Person, is now open.
  • The segway shop Triangle Glides moved out of their large space along Blount Street. A new restaurant is coming there from those behind the Pho Nomenal Dumpling food truck called Mofu Shoppe. Follow them on Facebook.
  • Sitting empty for years, the retail shop in The Edison parking deck facing Blount will now have a tenant. Growler USA is craft beer pub chain that is rapidly expanding and will open their first Raleigh location here.
  • Brewery Bhavana, the brewery and dim sum restaurant, continues to come along.

So proud of this project! A true collaboration with friends. Can't wait to see @brewerybhavana come to life!!!!

A photo posted by nicolenalvarez (@nicolenalvarez) on

  • Raleighwood Provisions, a local foods store located in The Edison, continues coming together. You can follow them on Instagram and if you haven’t, read about them in this N&O article.
  • A new coffee shop called Sir Walter Coffee is planned for, you guessed it, The Edison building. They claim to be a coffee, tea, and bottle shop.
  • Downtown’s Taz is getting close on Oak City Market House of Fresh in the Skyhouse Tower. The place will be a small market and deli. They are now hiring. Take a look here.

Fall 2016 Restaurant Roundup

Email readers: This blog post has a virtual reality image in it. I recommend you click through to the site to see it.

New eats are tasty but what can also be exciting, to me anyway, are reasons to revisit some places as they are doing new things or new folks are bringing a new twist on it. This season’s update shows a lot of new concepts in old places, hopefully bringing you back in for a fresh take.

For a complete list of eats, drinks, and coffees in and around downtown, make sure to bookmark the DT Eats page. Try something new!

  • Kicking things off are new brews from Oak and Dagger. The pub is now opened, shown at the top of this post, in the former Tyler’s space in Seaboard Station. In addition to their already running bottle shop, the brewery has a small menu of eats and lots of space for large parties.
  • Sort of near the Person Street area, Brewerks, a cafe and bakery in the former Quality Grocery space, is now open.
  • Scott Crawford’s new restaurant, Crawford and Son, in the former Piebird space was on schedule to be completed by the end of October. The place seems to be close to opening and you can subscribe to updates on their website.
  • In the Warehouse District, Parkside is now open on the corner of Martin and Dawson. They are open for lunch and dinner every day.
  • The Morgan Street Food Hall has a running website and is taking applications for those interested in setting up inside. It was reported that Ed Mitchell is bringing Que to the location as one of the first ones to sign up.
  • In Moore Square, Empire Eats was chosen to run the food kiosk in the upcoming Moore Square redesign. Called Square Burger, they will be serving burgers with (wait for it) square patties on potato buns.
  • City Market Sushi is planning to open in November. Located in the former Troy Mezze space, the folks behind the new restaurant want to offer a more casual, and less expensive, approach to sushi.
  • Amorino, the gelato shop coming to The Edison Lofts, is still being worked on. Last I saw, it looked like there is a lot of work to be done.
  • The Outpost will be a tiki-themed bar located in the house at the corner of Hargett and Person. In addition to their casual atmosphere, the space will reach out to non-profits looking for space for events. They should open very soon.
  • Even though Niall Hanley is busy with the Morgan Street Food Hall, he’s working on a new concept for the basement under Caffé Luna. Named Watts & Ward, you’ll enter the 6,000 square foot bar from the steps facing Blount Street under the Montague Building.
  • Raleighwood Provisions is a new project from those behind Bittersweet. Located in The Edison Lofts, the shop will sell a wide variety of high-quality, local foods. The plan is to open before the end-of-year and you can follow them on Instagram.
  • The new restaurant in the former Battistella’s space will be called Royale and hopes to open by the end-of-year.
  • On Hillsborough Street, Dram and Draught is now open, serving beers and whiskey out of the old Esso gas station.
  • The District, going in the former Hadley’s space in The Dawson, is now hiring. They will serve “asian-inspired cuisine with a southern influence” and hope to be open mid-November.
  • In Glenwood South, Vidrio, the Mediterranean restaurant for the corner of Tucker and Glenwood Avenue, is now hiring.
  • In the West at North building, Little City Brewery is now open.
  • Remember the Tobacco Road Sports Cafe? Well, they were supposed to be open sometime soon but still no update on their new location in Powerhouse Plaza where Natty Greene’s used to be. They were doing some hiring about a month ago so hopefully it’s any day now.
  • On Fayetteville Street, Bare Bones is now open and serving up beer, burgers, and ribs. The new restaurant from Eschelon Experiences is located in the PNC Tower where Zinda was formerly located.
  • Nearby, Carroll’s Kitchen, the non-profit restaurant with a mission to help homeless women, is now open at the corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets.
  • Living Kitchen, the raw and organic restaurant, has now opened in Charter Square.
  • Wahlburgers, a burger chain started by actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, is coming to The Hudson where The Oxford was formerly located. It’ll be the first in North Carolina.
  • Bolt Bistro is changing concepts. In a month or so, the place should reopen as Pizza La Stella, serving pizza to Fayetteville Street patrons.
  • The London Bridge Pub is adding a kitchen. With their expansion into the next door space, they have plans to add a small menu and build from there. The food should start cooking in mid-November.

Summer 2016 Restaurant Roundup

Downtown continues to add new places to drink and eat. The outdoor seating options coming in the next few months will make you start wishing for Fall. (if the current heat hasn’t already done that)

For a complete list of eats, drinks, and coffees in and around downtown, make sure to bookmark the DT Eats page. Try something new!

  • Starting on Fayetteville Street, Eschelon Experiences has opened The Haymaker, pictured above, in Charter Square. The menu has fancy cockatails, wine, beer, and even champagne on draft.
  • Again from Eschelon, Bare Bones, a ribs and burger restaurant in the PNC Tower, is close to opening. Follow them on their Facebook page.
  • Carroll’s Kitchen plans to be open in August. The non-profit restaurant that aims to provide job training to women facing homelessness will be located in the former Square Rabbit space on East Martin Street.
  • Living Kitchen, the raw and organic restaurant opening in Charter Square, looks very close. Check out a preview from a few weeks ago on Raleigh Agenda.
  • In Glenwood South, the Gramercy Pharmacy and Market is set to have their grand opening on August 2. The market will include “full service pharmacy, groceries and produce, freshly made sandwiches, household staples and beauty items, as well as a range of beer and wine.” Read more about it on this blog post from the Raleigh Downtown Living Advocates.
  • It looks like Little City Brewing is already making beer. The brewery and market is located in the West at North building, facing Harrington Street, and keeps saying it will open this Summer.

6 pounds of mango ready to go into our Mango IPA! #craftbeer #littlecityral #raleighbeer #raleigh

A photo posted by Little City Brewing (@littlecityral) on

  • Vidrio, the Mediterranean restaurant planned for the corner of Tucker and Glenwood, plans to open soon.
  • With no activity for awhile, the former Benelux Cafe location in City Market has a new restaurant. Cafe Lucarne, with the backing of those behind The Stanbury restaurant, is now open.
  • The same folks want to open something else nearby, in the former Battistella’s space at the corner of Blount and Martin Streets so look out for that later.
  • A gelato shop is opening in the Edison Lofts building, facing Davie Street. Amorino is an international cafe with US locations in Chicago, New York, Vegas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco and soon, Raleigh!
  • James over at the Raleigh Public Record noticed a permit for a new bar on Hargett Street called The Volstead Bar. There’s nothing much outside of that so we’ll keep an eye out for it.
  • The paper is down and 42 and Lawrence is now open in the Skyhouse Apartment tower. The organic coffee bar and juice rail is quite a unique experience.
  • On Hillsborough Street, the whiskey bar Dram and Draught might be open as soon as you are reading this as they are very close. The space looks well done and it’s good to see some activity on the old gas station that was empty for many years.

  • The Person Street area got some big news recently as chef Scott Crawford announced a new restaurant for the former Piebird space on Person Street. Crawford and Son will be a 60-seat restaurant serving modern southern food.
  • Nearby, a new speakeasy is planned by Jason Howard, formerly of The Rockford in Glenwood South.
  • Over near Nash Square, Parkside is now hiring.
  • There have been lots of photos of Whiskey Kitchen‘s new outdoor seating. (see below) They plan to open very soon.


Spring 2016 Restaurant Roundup

Raleigh Raw on West Hargett Street

Raleigh Raw on West Hargett Street

I’m excited to share a new addition to my seasonal updates. Leading up to each restaurant roundup, there is extensive note taking going on behind the scenes. Now, my notes are yours!

You should already be familiar with the DT Eats page but now I have DT Tips. The page tries to consolidate every upcoming, talked about, and gossiped item out there when it comes to eating and drinking in downtown Raleigh.

You can dive into the Tips list here. A few more tweaks are in the works but it’s basically ready to share at this point.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s dive into our latest updates.

  • Starting in the Warehouse District, the former Brewmaster’s space at the corner of Martin and Dawson Street will become Parkside, a southern farm-to-fork restaurant.
  • There’s progress being made at Whiskey Kitchen.
  • Mentioned back in March, the Hibernian Company wants to open a food and market hall in a warehouse along West Street. (former Buckhead Saloon, former former Jillian’s space)
  • The upcoming brewpub Oak and Dagger, located in the former Tyler’s space at Seaboard Station, has opened their bottle shop. The pub is still being worked on but they are brewing their own beer now. You can follow their progress on their Facebook page.
  • Brewerks Cafe and Bakery is coming to the former home of Quality Grocery in the Oakwood neighborhood.
  • Pelagic Beer and Wine is planning to move a few doors down to the corner of Pace and Person Street.
  • Provenance is now open in the Skyhouse Raleigh tower.
  • According to eatRaleigh, the house at the corner of Person and Hargett will become The House, a bar and bottle shop with some bar food.
  • Progress continues on Dram and Draught, the pub in the former gas station at Hillsborough and Boylan. You can follow the progress on their Facebook page.
  • Hadley’s is now open in the former home of The Borough in the Dawson building.
  • In Glenwood South, Harry’s Guitar Shop will become 616 Glenwood, a night club owned by Dan Lovenheim who also owns a few other bars on the street.
  • Along Peace Street, the former Mr. Pizza and Salad is now TLC Wings and Grill. This is the second location after first opening in Pineville, NC.
  • Mentioned in a post about West Street, The Cardinal will be a bar and lounge on North West Street.
  • The former home of Duel Lounge in the Creamery Building is now The Milkbar.
  • Blue Mango has changed their name to Indio.
  • Raleigh Roadhouse, a live music and barbecue restaurant, has opened in the 510 Glenwood building.
  • Since our last restaurant roundup, the 222 Glenwood building has seen a lot of action. The space where Bruegger’s Bagels used to be was turned into International Breakfast and Burger by the owner of next-door Sushi O. That only lasted a few weeks. In what seemed like no time at all, the place reopened into China O, an authentic Szechuan and Chinese restaurant.
  • Tobacco Road Sports Cafe is relocating to the Raleigh Electric Powerhouse, where Natty Greene’s used to be, on Jones Street.
  • On Fayetteville Street, the former home of Zinda in the PNC Plaza is going to be a new concept from Eschelon Experiences. Bare Bones will have a menu of comfort foods like house-ground burgers and ribs. They will also throw in some beer, pool tables, and shuffleboard.
  • The TBJ has a first look into Living Kitchen, the raw and organic restaurant being worked on in Charter Square.
  • Also in Charter Square, the b.good is now open.
  • Carroll’s Kitchen will be opening in the former Square Rabbit space at the corner of Martin and Wilmington Streets. The non-profit restaurant has a mission to help homeless women, “empowering them with job training, life skills, and even housing,” their website says. It’s a great cause and they are always looking for volunteers.
  • Isaac Hunter’s Tavern is back on Fayetteville Street, this time at 414 Fayetteville where Common 414 used to be.
  • The Twisted Mango in the Progress Energy building has closed and changed over to San Lorenzo Bistro and Bar.
  • Raleigh Raw (pictured above) has opened their juice bar and cafe on Hargett Street.
  • Local Icon Hospitality has opened their latest spot, Virgil’s Original Taqueria, on Salisbury Street.