TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

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

Featured Restaurant News

• Raleigh Magazine reported this week that business partners Alex Ricci, Jonny Ennis and Justin Tatnell are set to open two new concepts in the spaces of recently closed Pink Boot and Rainbow Luncheonette. In Rainbow Luncheonette’s place, Ricci and his partners will be opening Prospects, a diner-esque eatery serving food that Ricci has cultivated with, by and for Raleighites, according to the magazine. As for the bar concept, aka The Devereux, the trio will overhaul Pink Boot to give way to a more sleek and modern design. A post on Instagram suggested that the Pink Boot might be looking for a new downtown location. Stay tuned. Thanks to Raleigh Magazine for sharing this news.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Kudos to downtown Raleigh’s Videri Chocolate Factory! They just landed at No. 9 on USA Today’s list of the best chocolate shops. If you’ve never been, make that happen and sample their “bean to bar” chocolate while sipping on Black & White Coffee or enjoying soft serve ice cream! Congrats on their continued success! Stop by today!

• Over in Cary, buddy Ray Dory shared the news that after just over 4 years, Pizzeria Veritas owners Mike Martin and Steve Gill are “no longer affiliated with the Pizzeria Veritas name or product.” They have sold the shop and will be opening a new shop in Washington, North Carolina later this year. Keep up with the new developments on their Facebook page here.

• And in Fuquay-Varina, saw on the Today in the Quay Facebook page that they will soon be getting a new Mexican restaurant – Fiesta Time, Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill will be opening next month at 1063 E. Broad Street. We were unable to locate an online presence. Stay tuned.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• As most know, downtown Chapel Hill’s Mediterranean Deli suffered a devastating fire this past Saturday. In the aftermath, an extremely successful GoFundMe effort was put in place to support the employees in the interim. Med Deli has also secured a kitchen space that will allow them to continue fulfilling their catering business beginning next Monday, July 31. For those with outstanding catering orders, please email them at [email protected] with contact information and the date of your event. Visit Med Deli here.

• Well-known Pittsboro brewery, Carolina Brewery & Grill, will celebrate their 16th year in business with a traditional Carolina Low Country Crab and Shrimp Boil on August 5, 2023 from 12:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. This special event will feature Royal Red Shrimp and Snow Crab Legs, along with live music throughout the evening. Durham Ukulele Orchestra will perform outside on the patio stage from 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. and Big Fat Gap will take the stage from 5:30p.m. to 8:00p.m. Admission is free and special 16th anniversary glasses will be given to the first 300 customers. There will also be a featured Anniversary IPA on tap for the celebration. Visit Carolina Brewery here.

Closings

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

Food Trucks

• The next Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo is Sunday, September 3 from 12-4 p.m. The final rodeo of the season will be October 29. All the rodeos are from 12-4 p.m. Giddyup! Here is the link.

• 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

• Hey Tim CoyneSmith, look what’s back! The 16th Annual Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival returns to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre August 4th and 5th. Get ready to enjoy all those pleasures that true Southerners live by – Beer, Bourbon, Barbeque, Boots, Bacon, Biscuits, Bluegrass and Smoked Beasts! It’s two great days of beer sippin’, bourbon tastin’, music listenin’, and barbeque eatin’. Your admission buys you a sampling glass so you can enjoy an ALL-YOU-CARE-TO-TASTE sampling of beer and bourbon. Get tickets and all the details here.

• Also on August 5th, head to downtown Raleigh’s City Plaza on Saturday for Taste of Soul NC – a family-friendly event featuring a DJ, live performances, a bounce house, games and a variety of cuisines. Get all the details here.

• On August 10th at 6:30 p.m., the folks over at Prohibitive will hold an “All About Pinots” wine pairing as they taste through varieties of Pinots paired with tapas. Prohibitive is located at the historic Matthews House in Cary (317 W. Chatham Street). Cost is $85 per person. Reserve your spot here.

• A taste of old becoming new, cider and mead! The NC Museum of Art and Catering Works are partnering with NC Wine for a delicious and thoughtful pairing of beverages, tasty bites, and art. What’s the buzz about cider and mead? Come find out on August 17 and learn more about the NCMA’s “paired” works of art while sipping local NC cider and mead. This event will be held in the West Building from 6:30 pm through 8:30 pm. Tastings begin at 6:30 pm. Over 10 different makers and multiple tasting stations will be featured. Docent lead tours connect art to these historic libations, and are scheduled at 6:45 pm, 7:30 pm, and 7:45 pm. Please arrive at 6:30 pm, in order to enjoy the whole event. Join them here.

• And then on August 24th, The NC Museum of Art, Vitis House, and Catering Works present “The Art Inside the Bottle”. Together with NCMA curator Maya Brooks, Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, and Vitis House owner and wine educator, Doreen Colondres, we will dive into Identity, Place, and Power as themes that contextualize works of art and wine in specific and inspiring ways. Join us from 7pm-9pm for a very special evening to explore history, tradition, and process behind winemaking and artmaking at The Art Inside the Bottle. You will foster new insights in an immersive, sensory experience! Seven wines with custom-designed food pairings will be served as Maya speaks in person to share her expertise on seven important works of art from the Museum’s Collection. Details and sign up here.

• The 10th annual Sola Hot Mini 5K race is Saturday, September 16 at Sola Coffee in North Raleigh. Thus far, the race has raised over $450,000 in the fight to end ALS with a goal to raise $200,000 more this year. Get details and register here.

• The USA TODAY Wine & Food Experience is coming to Raleigh on Saturday, September 16th and will be held at Dorothea Dix Park (Flowers Field). Attendees will explore a Raleigh culinary adventure that celebrates the best local food and drink, enjoy endless food and drink samples, attend demonstrations and interact with exhibitors in a beautiful outdoor setting for a single admission price. Get tickets and all the details here.

• The folks over at Acme are bringing back Salt & Smoke on Saturday, October 28th. This year’s event will be held at The Barn at Sonark Media (located just off of Old 86 in Hillsborough). If you are not familiar with the event, it is a full afternoon and evening of live music, whole hog barbecue, raw oysters, roasted clams and plenty of the right beverages to wash it all down – local beer, wine and cocktails. And if you get your tickets now, through the end of this month there is a $25 discount for all tickets purchased (just use the code FINALLY when checking out). Get all the details and tickets here.

Food Bank Corner

• Right now, one in five people in central and eastern North Carolina don’t have enough to eat. Your tax-deductible gift helps provide food and hope to families, children, and seniors right here in our community. Together, we can help people in our community during their greatest time of need. Give here. Every $10 you donate provides 50 meals! #noonegoeshungry

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

Featured Restaurant News

• The Triangle Business Journal shared this week that Collected Hospitality of Charleston, South Carolina, is planning a new restaurant at The Streets at Southpoint shopping mall in Durham. The location will be under the group’s CO brand, serving Southeast Asian cuisine. The Triangle is already home to a CO restaurant, located in Raleigh’s North Hills. CO will fill the former Zinburger space in the mall’s “Main Street” outdoor plaza. Get familiar with them here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• RalToday shared this week that Winston-Salem’s Incendiary Brewing is bringing its craft beer to Raleigh’s Bloc (83) later this year. The downtown taproom will offer specialty IPAs along with other craft brews and a private patio. Incendiary estimates a late summer or early fall opening. Get familiar with them here.

• Also saw on RalToday that Blackbird Books & Coffee is celebrating their grand opening today (July 21) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Raleigh’s City Market. Lots going on all day today – especially coffee! Check them out here.

• Heard from Mike DePersia at DePersia & Associates that Mike Montgomery, owner of Abbey Road Tavern & Grill in Cary and Apex, will be opening a new restaurant, the Dugout Tavern & Grill, in the former Glory Days Grill location in the Publix shopping center at 1413 Kelly Rd in Apex. He plans to open early August after re-branding and a light remodel.

• Also in Apex, Triangle Business Journal shared the news this week of more tenants that have signed on to the Sweetwater Town Center development at 2775 Core Banks Street. The new food and beverage tenants include Mamabirds Ice Cream, Mi Cancun Mexican Cantina and SoBol. An Indian restaurant will be filling a 5,000-square-foot space, but the name of the concept is not yet announced. They are joining the previously announced food and beverage lineup of Southern Peak Brewery, Fratellis Deli and Sushi Yaki. The retail portion of construction will be complete in the first quarter of 2024

• And if that is not enough Apex news for you, here is another one that is kind of fun. I don’t normally mix food and politics, but this seems like a good exception. Apparently Jacques K. Gilbert, Mayor of the Town of Apex, made a campaign promise that he would work to get a Cook Out to Apex. Well, he shared this week that it is in fact happening! He didn’t share all the details, but said it is “in motion.” See, there are some political positions we can all get behind. More Cook Outs!

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Flying Bull Beer Company will open a second taproom at 300 Morris St. in the Durham Innovation District downtown (321 Coffee recently opened in the same building). The original location, which opened in 2020, is at 752 Ninth St. Construction on the new space begins this month with a grand opening expected in December. Congrats to owners Joel Miles and Anna Bloch on their continued success! Get to know Flying Bull here.

• My Twitter buddy Burgeoning Baker shared that Bapu Teahouse, serving Bubble Tea, Smoothies and Fresh Fruit Smoothies, is moving into the space next to Harris Teeter in the Hope Valley Commons shopping center. No word on an open date.

• Reader Phil Jakes notified us that the former Pad Thai restaurant on Guess Road in Durham (just south of I-85) will soon become La Casita Restaurant, serving up Dominican and Latin cuisine. No word on a timeline nor could we find an online presence. Stay tuned! Thanks Phil!

Closings

• According to multiple sources, Cary’s Ko.an has closed permanently. It remains a possibility that a new concept from Sean Degnan will open there, but that remains to be seen. Ko.an opened in 2019.

• Also got word from Mike DePersia at DePersia & Associates that Sost-Raleigh (3800 Glenwood Ave.) has closed.

Food Trucks

• The next Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo is Sunday, September 3 from 12-4 p.m. The final rodeo of the season will be October 29. All the rodeos are from 12-4 p.m. Giddyup! Here is the link.

• 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

• They have been open for a few months now, but Lula & Sadie’s Grand Opening Celebration is today (Friday, July 21st), from 6 to 10 p.m. at their new location in Lakewood at 2022 Chapel Hill Rd. They are inviting guests to enjoy an evening featuring their beautifully crafted menu, stylish ambiance and exceptional southern hospitality. Secure your spot here.

• This Sunday, July 23rd, Craften Food Hall will host The Smoking Bull – a fundraiser for Randy Lewis, an Alamance County dairy farmer that was recently attacked by a bull in the pasture. Participating chefs will be: Ricky Moore of Salt Box Seafood Joint; Preeti Waas of Cheeni Indian Food Emporium; Tie Whittaker of Buttermilk Boutique; Steven Goff of Tastee Diner; David Mitchell of Plates; Jay Vetter of UNCW; and Gerald Hawkins of Strangebird Pastry Co. Tickets are $45. Get details and tickets here.

• On August 10th at 6:30 p.m., the folks over at Prohibitive will hold an “All About Pinots” wine pairing as they taste through varieties of Pinots paired with tapas. Prohibitive is located at the historic Matthews House in Cary (317 W. Chatham Street). Cost is $85 per person. Reserve your spot here.

• The 10th annual Sola Hot Mini 5K race is Saturday, September 16 at Sola Coffee in North Raleigh. Thus far, the race has raised over $450,000 in the fight to end ALS with a goal to raise $200,000 more this year. Get details and register here.

• The folks over at Acme are bringing back Salt & Smoke on Saturday, October 28th. This year’s event will be held at The Barn at Sonark Media (located just off of Old 86 in Hillsborough). If you are not familiar with the event, it is a full afternoon and evening of live music, whole hog barbecue, raw oysters, roasted clams and plenty of the right beverages to wash it all down – local beer, wine and cocktails. And if you get your tickets now, through the end of this month there is a $25 discount for all tickets purchased (just use the code FINALLY when checking out). Get all the details and tickets here.

Food Bank Corner

• Right now, one in five people in central and eastern North Carolina don’t have enough to eat. Your tax-deductible gift helps provide food and hope to families, children, and seniors right here in our community. Together, we can help people in our community during their greatest time of need. Give here. Every $10 you donate provides 50 meals! #noonegoeshungry