TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

Featured Restaurant News

• Over in Durham, the Triangle Business Journal reported that Zweli’s Piri Piri Kitchen owners Leonardo and Zwelibanzi “Zweli” Williams will launch Zweli’s Ehkaya, a more upscale version of the restaurant, at a site in downtown Durham. They are close to signing the lease at the yet-to-be-released location and expect it to be open by May 2022. The new concept will be a Bantu fusion of eclectic cuisine from southern Africa in addition to soul food from the South according to TBJ. The original location is in Oak Creek Village shopping center on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard and they have a cafe at Duke University’s Divinity School. Until they open, visit those two locations here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• PFS Sales’ Jason Mace shared the news with me this week that the folks behind Scratch Kitchen & Taproom, The Mason Jar Tavern and The Mason Jar Lager Company are bringing their newest concept, TapStation – Brewery, Burgers & Bourbon, to 320 S. Salem Street in Apex. It will be a two-story, family-friendly brewery and restaurant featuring shareable appetizers, elevated burgers, hot dogs, beer brats and chicken sandwiches as well as salads and handcrafted cocktails. The space will feature a ton of outdoor space including a firepit, playground and a rooftop bar. Look for them to open in the Spring of 2022. Follow their progress on Facebook here.

• Raleigh Convergence reported this week that the folks behind Pelagic Beer & Wine (in the North Person Street business district) will open Riparian Beer + Wine at 1408 South Saunders Street (near Slice Pie Company and Earp’s Seafood). The larger space will feature open air seating as well as a tasting bar. Look for them to open in early 2022. Follow along on Instagram here.

• Also in Raleigh, The Raleigh Wine Shop, founded in 2011 and currently located in the Glenwood South district of downtown Raleigh, announced that they will be moving to a larger space in a newly renovated, historic building in the Moore Square district of downtown Raleigh at 317 S. Bloodworth St. They will continue to operate at 126 Glenwood Avenue until they move in the spring of 2022. Learn more about the new spot and their timeframe here.

• And if that is not enough drinking news for you, the folks at RalToday shared that Glenwood South just got a new bar, Glenwood Social Club, which hails from the team behind Milk Bar, Dogwood Bar & Eatery, and MOFU Shoppe. The spot, located at 510 Glenwood Ave., features craft cocktails and shareable bites. Get familiar with them here.

• In Raleigh, got word from reader Katie Page that a Jamaican concept called Golden Krust is coming to 6260 Plantation Center Drive (the BJ’s shopping center) near the intersection of Capital Blvd. and 540. They will be serving up Patties, Jerk Chicken, Oxtail, and other Jamaican meals. They are looking to open in November. Follow along on Facebook here.

• Over in Cary, the folks at Raleigh Convergence shared the sweet news that Mon Macaron, located in downtown Raleigh’s Seaboard Station, will open a second location in the Chocolate Smiles building on W. Chatham Street in downtown Cary. Look for them to open in the Spring of 2022. Check them out here.  

• Also in Cary, Zambrero, located at Parkside Town Commons at 1151 Parkside Main St. in Cary, will hold their grand opening celebration this Saturday, October 23. The fast-casual restaurant serves healthy options in the form of customizable burritos, bowls, tacos and more. They have another location in Durham (University Hill), and plan to open more in the Triangle (the Raleigh location closed during the pandemic). They’re offering 1,000 free burritos and bowls for the first 1,000 customers during grand opening weekend. Visit them here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau and Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership announced this week that Seafood Destiny, a Greensboro-based business that serves made-to-order crab legs, lobster, shrimp, and more, is opening on the corner of Columbia and Franklin Street in the site formerly operated by Lotsa Pizza. Owner Anthony Knotts and his son, Jalen, hope to be open by the end of 2021. Follow the restaurant on Facebook. Thanks to Chapelboro.com for bringing this to our attention.

• A few doors down (and across the street) in downtown Chapel Hill, the Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Momo’s Master is set to open at 110 N. Columbia St. (formerly Savor Eatery & Bakery and before that Sakura Xpress) near West Franklin Street this November. The concept, owned by Ramesh Dahal, will feature various kinds of made-to-order momos, a type of dumpling that is popular in places including Tibet and Nepal. Follow their progress here.

• This week saw they opening of Coco, Tamara Lackey‘s new coffee shop, restaurant, and bar located at The Gwendolyn in the historic Glen Lennox area. For now they are just serving up espresso drinks, coffee, tea and delicious baked goods and pastries. Now we just have to be patient for them to announce their breakfast and lunch plant-based menu. Visit them here.

Closings / Cancellations

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

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

• Voting is open in the WRAL Voters’ Choice Awards, presented by M&F Bank. Finalists have been announced in over 130 categories. Vote now on for the Triangle’s best businesses through Nov. 21. There is an entire section on Food & Drink, so vote for your favorites!

• Downtown Durham Inc. announced that The Streetery scheduled for Saturday, October 9 at Geer Street has been rescheduled for this Saturday, October 23rd. The Streetery happens on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Get all the details here.

• 580 Craft Beer in Pittsboro will host the first ever Chatham County Beer Festival this Sunday, October 24 from 3 – 6 p.m. at their location at 354 East St. They will be hosting 15+ beer vendors as well as food trucks and live music. Preorder and get all the details on their Facebook event page here.

• Along with the crisp fall weather, sweet potato season has arrived, and Empire Eats is joining the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission’s 2021 Eat Sweet Restaurant Week to celebrate! Visit Empire Eats restaurants (Gravy, Sitti, The Pit, The Raleigh Times, The Morning Times, and Square Burger) the week of October 29 – November 7 to enjoy a limited time only sweet potato recipe unique to each cuisine. In addition to these, a total of about 18 Triangle-area restaurants are participating so far. Get all the details and see which restaurants are participating here.

• LouElla in Durham will be hosting a natural wine tasting event on October 29th from 6-8 p.m. to benefit Duke Cancer Institute’s Sarcoma Disease Center. It is a $25 tasting fee with all proceeds going towards the center. There will also be raffles with some great prizes. Get all the details on Facebook here.

• Drink Durham. Ok, I’m on board with that – give me more details. The Drink Durham Festival will take place next Saturday, October 30 from 2-11 p.m and combines beer, live music, food trucks, and local vendors to raise money for the CNOTE Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which provides scholarship funds to HBCUs in North Carolina. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the CNOTE Foundation. Get all the details here.

• Our friends over at RalToday reminded us that Raleigh Veg Fest 2021 originally scheduled for April 4 has moved to October 31 in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square. Details here.

• After having to cancel the 2019 and 2020 events, the Town of Cary will hold Fest in the West on November 6th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and will feature food and beer vendors, entertainment, a kids’ zone as well as arts and crafts. Get all the details here.

• And there is a new event in the works for the Triangle – our first Triangle Vegan Restaurant Week which is scheduled for November 1-7 this year. Organizer Karen Pullen has lined up 16 participating restaurants so far and is looking for more. So if your restaurant is interested in participating (a special menu for that week–at least two creative vegan options, or a three-course fixed price meal) reach out to her at [email protected] or visit the site here for more details.

• This week the Downtown Raleigh Alliance announced that this year’s Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week will run from November 5th through 14th. During the week, local restaurants will offer pre-fixe menus at special prices. Visit their event site here.

Food Bank Corner

• Students Against Hunger — If your school community came together to raise meals for our food-insecure neighbors, how many people could you feed? Find out! In the last year, the Food Bank distributed food to almost 500,000 children facing hunger in the 34 counties we serve, and unfortunately, the number of children in need is increasing. With COVID-19 closing schools and school systems struggling to make the adjustments required to serve children, we saw the devastating impact. No child should have to worry when he or she will eat again, and no parent should have to skip a meal, water down drinks or risk not paying a bill so they can put food on the table for their children. Since its inception, Students Against Hunger has provided hundreds of thousands of meals to families with the support of local schools. Now your school can join the mission to nourish, build, and empower our community! Get the details here.

Featured Restaurant News

• Fair Food! Need I say more? NOW through October 24th. And they are doing their Weekday Lunch Pass Program again this year. Here’s how it works. Go to Gate 1 or Gate 9 after 11:30 a.m. on any weekday (i.e. not weekends). Pay $10 cash. Gain access to all the food vendors ($10 does NOT include food). Leave before 1:30 p.m. and you are refunded your $10. Want to see what is new at the Fair this year? Check it out here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Alright, need to set the record straight on some mis-information that has been circulating out there. I’ll keep it simple. Ole Time Barbecue in Raleigh DID NOT get sold. I repeat, DID NOT. Ownership remains the same. The only thing that sold was the land that it sits on. That’s it. Get in there today and visit Charlotte and Ben and the rest of the crew! That is all. Enjoy the rest of the blog. Oh, and visit Ole Time here. Thanks to Whitney Payne for the tip on this.

• North Hills shared the news this week that Cucciolo Terrazza Raleigh will officially open this Sunday, October 17th. Cucciolo Terrazza Raleigh is the sister restaurant to the Cucciolo Osteria in Durham and also offer modern Italian cuisine with a twist. Their menu is small by design, serving a rotation of seasonal dishes with the focus on pasta. Congrats to Jimmy and Julian Kim! Visit their website here.

• In downtown Raleigh, Matt Coleman is continuing on his success at The Davie by opening a bar and small plates spot called The Darby just a couple of doors down on Davie Street (180 E. Davie Street to be exact). Check out their menu and all the details on their website here.

• Up in North Raleigh, reader Katie Page shared that new signage has gone up for Yaba Mediterranean Grill coming soon in the former Peña Grill (and before that, Chronic Tacos) in the Olive Park development (think Sprouts) on Falls of the Neuse Road near the intersection with 540. Looks like they have a location in Greenville, NC. Get familiar with them here.

• Continuing north into Wake Forest, reader Michael Burger noticed that at the former Buku location there’s a sign up for Beer & Wine 101 Gastropub. Looks like the Beer & Wine 101 (wine store and bar) next door is expanding to start serving food. Keep up with any announcements on their Facebook page here.

• In Cary, Zambrero, located at Parkside Town Commons at 1151 Parkside Main St. in Cary, will hold their grand opening celebration on October 23. The fast-casual restaurant serves healthy options in the form of customizable burritos, bowls, tacos and more. They have another location in Durham (University Hill), and plan to open more in the Triangle (the Raleigh location closed during the pandemic). They’re offering 1,000 free burritos and bowls for the first 1,000 customers during grand opening weekend. Visit them here.

• Down in Apex, reader Adam Fisher shared that Kylin Asian Cuisine has recently opened on Ten Ten Road, just off the US 1 exit (just beyond the Sheetz gas station). Taking a look at their picture gallery got my mouth watering! Looks like a nice addition. Check them out here.

• If you are from Southern California, you will be excited to hear the news that reader Peter Egeghy shared with me this week that Del Taco has signed a franchise agreement to bring 5 locations to the Triangle area. That is all we know at this point, so stay tuned. Start getting familiar with Del Taco here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Sean Umstead and Michelle Vanderwalker, co-owners of Durham’s award-winning Kingfisher Cocktail Bar and soon-to-open Queeny’s (a restaurant and bar to be located above Kingfisher) announced this week the first brick and mortar location for their wildly successful backyard burger bar, QueenBurger. It will be opening in Durham’s American Tobacco Campus (Diamond View III) in early 2022. Visit them here.

• Tamara Lackey shared this week on Facebook that Coco, her new coffee shop, restaurant, and bar, is going to be officially open for espresso drinks, coffee, tea and delicious baked goods and pastries on Wednesday, October 20th. Coco is located at The Gwendolyn in the historic Glen Lennox area of Chapel Hill at 101 Glen Lennox Dr. You’ll remember they closed Coco Bean at East 54 a few months back to make this move. Once they have finalized all the details in their new kitchen, they will announce their breakfast and lunch plant-based menu. Until then, visit their site here.

• Speaking of the former space at East 54 where Coco Bean was located, their former neighbors at Old East Tavern shared via Facebook this week that they will move into that space with a coffee shop of their own. The yet-to-be-named hangout will share some space with Old East….lots of comfy places, office space, and outdoor seating areas. There will be breakfast, lunch, and bakery options as well. Currently they are looking for ideas on what to name the new venture. Visit their Facebook page here to share your ideas. No word on an open date.

Closings / Cancellations

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

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

• This Saturday, October 16, The Pit in downtown Raleigh will be celebrating the first National Whole Hog Barbecue Day, where they will honor the history of the Old North State’s signature cuisine on the third Saturday in October (also, the first Saturday of the N.C. State Fair!). They will be celebrating National Whole Hog Barbecue Day by rolling the cooker out front and slow cooking a whole hog! Stop by to “view the ‘cue” and chat with their pitmasters about the age-old tradition of whole-hog barbecue in North Carolina. If you’re hungry for more, don’t forget to try their dine-in features inspired by the N.C. State Fair, including Fresh Street Corn on the Cob, Fried Oreos, and more. After the event, the ‘cue will go to Raleigh firefighters and first responders located in the Warehouse District to thank them for their dedication to the community. Keep up with the event on their Facebook page here.

• Downtown Durham Inc. announced that The Streetery scheduled for Saturday, October 9 at Geer Street has been rescheduled for October 23rd due to rain in the forecast. The Streetery happens on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Get all the details here.

• 580 Craft Beer in Pittsboro will host the first ever Chatham County Beer Festival on Sunday, October 24 from 3 – 6 p.m. at their location at 354 East St. They will be hosting 15+ beer vendors as well as food trucks and live music. Preorder and get all the details on their Facebook event page here.

• Drink Durham. Ok, I’m on board with that – give me more details. The Drink Durham Festival will take place on Saturday, October 30 from 2-11 p.m and combines beer, live music, food trucks, and local vendors to raise money for the CNOTE Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which provides scholarship funds to HBCUs in North Carolina. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the CNOTE Foundation. Get all the details here.

• Our friends over at RalToday reminded us that Raleigh Veg Fest 2021 originally scheduled for April 4 has moved to October 31 in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square. Details here.

• After having to cancel the 2019 and 2020 events, the Town of Cary will hold Fest in the West on November 6th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and will feature food and beer vendors, entertainment, a kids’ zone as well as arts and crafts. Get all the details here.

• And there is a new event in the works for the Triangle – our first Triangle Vegan Restaurant Week which is scheduled for November 1-7 this year. Organizer Karen Pullen has lined up 16 participating restaurants so far and is looking for more. So if your restaurant is interested in participating (a special menu for that week–at least two creative vegan options, or a three-course fixed price meal) reach out to her at [email protected] or visit the site here for more details.

• This week the Downtown Raleigh Alliance announced that this year’s Downtown Raleigh Restaurant Week will run from November 5th through 14th. During the week, local restaurants will offer pre-fixe menus at special prices. Visit their event site here.

Food Bank Corner

• Students Against Hunger — If your school community came together to raise meals for our food-insecure neighbors, how many people could you feed? Find out! In the last year, the Food Bank distributed food to almost 500,000 children facing hunger in the 34 counties we serve, and unfortunately, the number of children in need is increasing. With COVID-19 closing schools and school systems struggling to make the adjustments required to serve children, we saw the devastating impact. No child should have to worry when he or she will eat again, and no parent should have to skip a meal, water down drinks or risk not paying a bill so they can put food on the table for their children. Since its inception, Students Against Hunger has provided hundreds of thousands of meals to families with the support of local schools. Now your school can join the mission to nourish, build, and empower our community! Get the details here.