TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.

Featured Restaurant News

• North Hills announced this week that Standard Beer + Food, a locally-owned and operated restaurant in Raleigh, will be opening in the North Hills Innovation District (NHID). Standard will occupy one of the two standalone food and beverage buildings with large dedicated outdoor dining space. The new restaurant will feature an interior of 5,600 square feet and more than 15,000 square feet of outdoor gathering space – the most of any other North Hills space to date. Visit Standard here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Rise Southern Biscuits & Righteous Chicken, which was founded in Durham, announced this week that it will celebrate the opening of its 10th Triangle location at Cary’s Waverly Place (575 New Waverly Place by Whole Foods Market) on Saturday, January 27th. Rise Cary will donate 20% of grand opening day sales to Penny Road Elementary School in Cary and Peak Charter Academy in Apex. Additionally, a limited-edition sticker will be given to the first 200 customers, and hold a number of drawings for free Rise food and prizes, including Free Rise for a Year for one lucky winner. Grand opening day festivities kick off at the store opening at 7am on January 27th. Visit them here.

• Reader Linda Stevens reached out to let me know that Che Empanadas, known for their handmade, Argentinian-style empanadas and pastries, is set to open a second location. It will be in the Duraleigh Corners shopping center in the former Papa’s Pizza & Wings spot (5800-111 Duraleigh Rd.). Their original location is in the Transfer Co. Food Hall. No word yet on an open date. Best to follow them on Instagram here for the pending announcement. Congrats to Anabel and Mark Rossbach.

• Down in Clayton, Heather Overfield Lindeen shared that Green Banana Restaurant, a new Honduran concept, held their grand opening this past weekend. They are located at 11471 US-70 Business in Clayton. Check them out on Instagram here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Over in Durham’s Brightleaf Square, it looks like any day now, possibly any hour now, before we get to enjoy the opening of Sanford-based Fonda Lupita, which Eater magazine named as one of the best new restaurants in America in 2021. In fact, they may already be open in soft mode, but nothing has been announced on social media nor their website. But you can call (919) 294-4773 and inquire. Might be best to follow along on Facebook for the pending announcement. If you simply can’t wait, head on down to Sanford (1952 S. Horner Blvd.) and get your fix!

Closings

• And Twittter (or X) buddy @burgeoningbaker brought it to my attention that Sam’s Bottle Shop in Durham is closing February 11th after nearly a decade in business in its current location (nearly 80 years total according to Indy Week if you include all of the various iterations of the family business). Indy Week also added that they will have a couple of closing parties this month and there is still plenty of time to stop by and have one last pour!

Food Trucks

• Looking to find your favorite food truck (or stalking them and simply don’t want to have to admit it)? We understand. Find them on Street Food Finder here.

Events

• RALToday brought it to our attention that Burial Beer, with a location in Raleigh at the Transfer Co. Food Hall, is celebrating 5 years in Raleigh on Saturday, January 20th. Festivities begin at 2 p.m. and last until 11 p.m. The day’s activities are highlighted by Local Makers Market (2-6 p.m.); Long Leaf Swine BBQ Pop Up (5-8 p.m.); Performance by Organ Failure in the Transfer Co. Ballroom (7-9:30 p.m.); and Nostalgic Hits with DJ Sellout (9:30-11 p.m.). Visit Burial here.

• The annual Triangle Restaurant Week event is set to run next week, January 22-28. During the event, participating restaurants within Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham and surrounding areas will offer a special 2 or 3-course prix fixe menu ($20, $25, $30,$35, $40, $45, $50) each day they are open. See the list of participating restaurants here.

• My buddy Neha M. Shah, director of the Pittsboro-Siler City Convention & Visitors Bureau, shared that the annual Farm to Fork Picnic, celebrating local food and local farms, will take place Sunday, June 2 from 4pm – 7pm, again at Fearrington Village. Get details and tickets here.

• Hard to believe, but tickets have already gone on sale for the 9th Annual Dinner in the Meadow which will take place on September 15, 2024 on a grassy knoll at Meadow Lane Farm, in bucolic Franklin County, offering beautiful pastoral views and clear, starry skies. Some of the region’s most sought-after chefs will be preparing delicious dishes using ingredients from local farms and food artisans. It is an annual fundraiser for the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2014 to support and cultivate small farms in our region of North Carolina. Get tickets and all the details here.

Food Bank Corner

• No doubt we live in a wonderful corner of the world. But here are some things to remember and not forget. Right now, one in five people in central and eastern North Carolina don’t have enough to eat. The Food Bank provided over 88 million meals to families and individuals last year. The Food Bank’s partner agency network has reported up to a 60% increase in neighbors visiting for food assistance. The need is real and right here in our backyard. Consider helping in 2024. See how here.

Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.

Featured Restaurant News

• Raleigh Magazine broke the news this week that there is new life coming to the former Midtown Grille spot in the Lassiter District in North Hills. Foxcroft Wine Co., which was founded in Charlotte, will operate as both a retail bottle shop and full-service restaurant. You will be able to enjoy bottles of wine in store or take them home with you. Wine by the glass will also be available for diners. Look for a total upfit of the space that will showcase wine selections from around the world, along with an enlarged patio space. Their full-service kitchen will serve small plates as well as full plates featuring pasta made in-house, burgers, steak, scallops and fish. This will be their fifth location (with a sixth on the way in Lake Norman). Start getting familiar with them here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Downtown Raleigh’s renowned Brewery Bhavana is expanding into Cary’s Fenton development with a second location. Look for them to open in early fall of 2024. This version will be about 1/4 the size of the current location, and will feature an expansive patio space. Like the original version, this location will also include a book store and a flower shop. This location will focus mainly on dim sum and the restaurant’s Belgian-inspired beers. Visit them here.

• And speaking of downtown, saw on the Downtown Raleigh Alliance website that Alex Ricci’s Prospects Craft Kitchen and Cocktail Bar has opened in the former Rainbow Luncheonette space at 911 N. West St. Best to get familiar with them on Instagram here. And Axios added that the former bar next door, the Pink Boot, is also being revamped by the restaurant into a new neighborhood watering hole called Devereux, a nod to the former downtown Raleigh baseball stadium.

• Got word this week that Playa Bowls is opening on Raleigh’s Hillsborough Street (2526 Hillsborough Street) this Saturday (January 13) at 11 a.m.! This marks the second Triangle location of the concept (the other is on Durham’s Ninth Street). The new shop will be offering free bowls to the first 50 guests in line, plus T-shirts and other swag on the morning of the 13^th! The Raleigh shop is owned and operated by local entrepreneur David Pokorny, who recently opened Playa Bowls Durham location and is set to open an additional location this year. The new shop specializes in bowls such as acai and pitaya, oatmeal, chia, smoothies, juices, cold brew and more. Pay them a visit here.

• RALToday shared that Mon Macaron will open their third location today (January 12) at 5249 Capital Blvd. in north Raleigh. They also have locations in downtown Cary and at Seaboard Station in Raleigh. Stop by today and get your macarons, espresso and wine!

• One of my readers anonymously shared with me that a new Mediterranean kabab spot called Mr. Kabab has opened in Poyner Place at Triangle Town Boulevard and Old Wake Forest Road in Raleigh (behind Triangle Town Center). Get to know them here.

• And one last Raleigh “note”…RALToday shared that the mobile espresso cart Quarter Note, has opened a permanent location just inside the beltline on Glenwood Avenue (3700 Glenwood Ave. – just across from the former Sushi Mon and Iron Oaks). Get to know them here.

• Over in Cary, reader Michael Hord shared with us that Rita’s Italian Ice is now open at 921 N. Harrison Avenue. They serve up three things there: ice, custard and happiness. Works for me! They now have over 600 locations across 31 states. Visit them here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Got word this week that Flying Bull Beer Company is opening their brand-new location on Morris Street in the Durham Innovation District this Sunday, January 14^th. Moving forward, Flying Bull will be open for full cocktail and dinner service, pub food/Bull Bites are available all day, and serving their award-winning beer as well. They will be open daily from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m., with their elevated menu running from 4 until 10 p.m. Keep up with them here.

• Also in Durham, Karl-Christian Vanmoerkerque shared with the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies Facebook group that there is signage up in the New Hope Commons shopping center for a KPOT coming soon (5454 New Hope Commons Dr.). They are known for providing a unique, hands-on, all-you-can-eat experience that merges traditional Asian hot pot with Korean BBQ flavors. They also have a location on Capital Blvd. in Raleigh. Check them out here.

• And over in Mebane, the Mebane Enterprise reported this week that Jay Starnes, owner and pit master for Fat Man & His Food truck, plans to open Pig Pin by Fat Man inside the Buffaloe Lanes Mebane Family Bowling Center. He is hoping to open by the end of this month. Best to follow along on Facebook to keep up with his progress and pending announcements.

Closings

• Chapelboro shared the news that Craftboro Brewing Depot in the South Green Shopping Center in Carrboro will be closing February 17. You have a little over a month to get by.

• Reader Michelle Canfield shared that the Arby’s at Fairbanks Road in Raleigh has closed. We still have 10 Triangle-area locations.

• Reader Zan Bunn shared that the Panera at Crabtree Valley Mall has closed.

Food Trucks

• Not a “food truck” exactly, but a mobile unit. The awesome folks over at 321 Coffee announced this week that they have launched a mobile version of their coffee concept. The 321 Coffee Cart is custom-designed and thoroughly equipped with a full service espresso bar to seamlessly bring the entire 321 Coffee experience to you (think conferences, kickoff meetings, weddings, parties, employee appreciation events and recurring office visits to name a few). Check them out here and book them for your next gathering!

• Looking to find your favorite food truck (or stalking them and simply don’t want to have to admit it)? We understand. Find them on Street Food Finder here.

Events

• My buddy Neha M. Shah, director of the Pittsboro-Siler City Convention & Visitors Bureau, shared that the annual Farm to Fork Picnic, celebrating local food and local farms, will take place Sunday, June 2 from 4pm – 7pm, again at Fearrington Village. Get details and tickets here.

• Hard to believe, but tickets have already gone on sale for the 9th Annual Dinner in the Meadow which will take place on September 15, 2024 on a grassy knoll at Meadow Lane Farm, in bucolic Franklin County, offering beautiful pastoral views and clear, starry skies. Some of the region’s most sought-after chefs will be preparing delicious dishes using ingredients from local farms and food artisans. It is an annual fundraiser for the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2014 to support and cultivate small farms in our region of North Carolina. Get tickets and all the details here.

Food Bank Corner

• This holiday season, families all over our community will be sitting down for delicious meals with their loved ones, enjoying good company, good food, and a good time. But for some, these meals may not be a given. Many of our friends and neighbors are having to decide between stocking their refrigerator and pantry or paying their bills. You can help bring comfort, joy, and hope by making a generous gift now to provide more holiday meals this year. Until December 31, compassionate friends are matching all gifts to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina up to $378,500. Give $10 now and have double the impact, providing 100 meals.