Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.
Featured Restaurant News
- Saw a tweet from Ted Boyd sharing the news that Annelore’s German Bakery, owned by Norbert and Annelore Gstattenbauer, opens today, Friday, December 15th, in their new building at 308 W. Chatham Street in downtown Cary. The Gstattenbauers have been operating their home-based bakery since they moved to the area in 2008. Prior to today’s opening, they have sold their goods at the Western Wake Farmers Market and State Farmers Market (and they will continue to do so!). Keep up with them on their Facebook page here.
Wake County Restaurant News
- Thanks to a post from friend Jimmy Schmid, I learned of the soft-opening of Your Pie in Cary this past week. The grand opening is today, December 15th. They specialize in personalized/customized pizzas, paninis and chopped salads. They are located at 685 Cary Towne Blvd. in the Cary Village Square shopping center. Congrats to Jack Fladeland! Keep up with them on Facebook here.
- Also in Cary, got word from Matthew Bettinger about a new bar he is bringing to the downtown scene. SideBar is a neighborhood bar with a strong spirit focus that shares a wall with Pizzeria Faulisi and an outdoor space with Pro’s Epicurean Restaurant and Bond Brother’s Brewery. Keep up with their progress on their Facebook page here.
- Over in Raleigh, got a note from Joey Guarglia about a new spot opening soon next to Chow’s in Brennan Station at the intersection of Creedmoor Road and Strickland. The sign in the window says Creedmoor Cafe “coming soon” and “under new ownership.” I couldn’t find anything online, so we’ll just have to stay tuned. Thanks Joey!
- Looking to make a difference this holiday season? Carroll’s Kitchen has been open a little over a year, offering opportunities for local women to escape homelessness by providing job training at the restaurant as well as housing. Recently, the project announced a second location, and they need your help to bring it to fruition! Carroll’s plans to have a spot in the Morgan Street Food Hall in downtown Raleigh and they’re looking to raise $150,000 to pay for equipment that will help them expand the non-profit restaurant. So this holiday season, consider giving a gift that will keep on giving while making Raleigh a better place for all. Click here to lend them your support.
- And a HUGE congratulations to Ashley Christensen and Vivian Howard on being named the News & Observer’s 2017 Tar Heels of the Year! Read the full article here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
- So you’ll see below the announcement about the closing of Heavenly Buffaloes at The Bullpen in downtown Durham. But the good news is that Heavenly Buffaloes is opening another location in the former Sandwich spot on Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street. Sandwich closed back on September 21st. No word as of yet on when Heavenly will swing open their doors. Congrats to Dain Phelan and Mark Dundas. Keep up with them on Facebook here.
- Also in Chapel Hill, friend Karis Jackson noted the signage on the doors of the former One Restaurant in Meadowmont. It reads “Fusion Fish Sushi & Bar” but I have been unable to dig up any additional information. We will keep an eye on it.
- Over in Durham, Karis also informed me of a new sushi place coming to the Food Lion shopping center near the intersection of Highways 54 and 55 (next to Brig’s). Sushioki is a new fast-casual concept specializing in burrito-sized, hand held sushi rolls called sushi burritos. Lawrence Yoo, Jeff Carter and Jiyun Bulcken are behind the concept. Yoo and Bulcken bring years of kitchen/restaurant experience to the venture. Sushioki will open in January 2018. Keep up with their progress here.
- Congrats to my friends over at Durham-based Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours on their expansion to two new cities, Charlotte and Asheville. That makes nine cities overall in which they operate walking food tours: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill/Carrboro, Hillsborough, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Charlotte and Asheville. A fun holiday gift idea is a Taste Carolina gift certificate, which allows recipients to choose any tour in any city on any date! Check them out here. Kudos to Lesley Stracks-Mullem and Joe Philipose!
Closings
- Heavenly Buffaloes announced via Facebook that their location at The Bullpen in downtown Durham was closing (December 9th was the last day). They noted that their contract (just one year) was not renewed. It was on the ground floor of the American Tobacco Campus’ Diamond View III building. The Bullpen’s Facebook page notes a “new menu” coming in January. Stay tuned. Heavenly Buffaloes still has their original location, “the shack,” at 1807 W. Markham Ave. in Durham. Keep up with them here.
Food Trucks
- Got word from Ed Hall that he is bringing a new franchise to the Triangle called Mr. Stickys. It’s a food trailer that serves up sticky buns. Wha?? Sign me up!! Mr. Stickys is operating in PA and NY and has a big following. Welcome to the South! We wish you much success Mr. Sticky! They are targeting a January 20th launch. Stay tuned.
- So if you love food trucks and are looking for a good cause to support this time of year, do I have the opportunity for you. Carly Erickson is in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign (halfway there!) to fund the next phase of her Boro Beverage business – a “beverage camper” that will allow her to mobilize her dream of bringing healthy drinks to the Triangle. Consider helping her Kickstarter campaign here. Thanks to Julie Albert for bringing this to our attention!
- So, with the cold months upon us there simply aren’t many “official” food truck rodeos happening. So, you will have to act like a squirrel and really work to find your food trucks for the next several months. Here are a couple of online resources to help you do just that (please note, this is not an endorsement of any of these sites, just an effort to help my readers find their favorite trucks). Street Food Finder is one, check them out here. And another is aptly named Roaming Hunger and you can find them here.
Events
- The new WRAL.com Voters’ Choice Awards voting is under way now through December 17. The awards allow you to vote for your favorite North Carolina people, places and businesses, from the mountains to the coast. Vote here. And while you are there, if you love my blog I would be greatly honored if you’d throw a vote my way for Best Blogger! 🙂
- Here is a great event to kick off your 2018… Can you say sausage!?! Durham’s first Sausagefest invites meat-lovers to taste and stock your fridge with locally crafted sausages from your favorite restaurants and butcher shops! VIP tickets include early entry from noon – 1pm with passed appetizers, T-shirt and an exclusive sausage making demo. General Admission entry from 1 – 4pm. Sausages of all kinds will be available for take home from First Hand Foods, Left Bank Butchery and more. Restaurants providing bites to include Gocciolina, Dashi, The Root Cellar, Black Twig Cider House and more. VIP tickets (Noon – 1pm) are $45; General Admission (1-4 p.m.) are $25. Get all the details and tickets here.
- Also, the dates for the Lucy Daniels Center 2018 version of their popular Cooking for a Classic have been set. This year’s event consists of three rounds and eight chefs vying to win a restored ’49 truck. It is gorgeous! The first round kicks off on Monday, January 22 and continues through the week. The semifinals are the following week and the final showdown will be on Wednesday, February 7th. This year’s competing chefs are Trey Cleveland of Top of the Hill, Chapel Hill; Matt Hannon of Ironwood Café, Southern Pines; Jonathan Ballard of Dean’s Kitchen and Bar, Cary; James Patterson, McConnell Golf Dining; Troy Stauffer, City Club Raleigh; Aaron Matyac, Whiskey Kitchen, Raleigh; Dean Thompson, Raleigh Renaissance Hotel; and Nick Fay, Coquette, Raleigh. Get a peek at the truck and all the details here.
Food Bank Corner
- No child or family should go hungry during the holidays… and with your help, they won’t! That’s the power of your giving when you share a meal from your table to theirs. Help reach the goal of 2.5 million meals before December 31!
- A gift of $35 will feed a child for twoFOUR months
- A gift of $85 will provide groceries to an elderly couple for over twoFOUR months
- A gift of $120 will provide enough food to sustain a familyTWO FAMILIES through the winter months
- A gift of $210 will provide more than 1,0002,000 piping hot holiday meals to local families
And your gift goes even further this winter. To help make sure our neighbors have enough to eat, friends of the Food Bank have generously agreed to match donations, up to $56,000, now through December 31st. Help ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season…Share a meal today!
