Monthly Archives: January 2014

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Triangle Restaurant News

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

•  A year after a fire closed its doors, Gregoria’s Cuban Steakhouse recently announced that it will reopen next Monday (January 13th) at 2701 Hillsborough Road. The new digs will feature both old menu favorites as well as new dishes. Initially the restaurant will be open for dinner only from 5 to 10 p.m., but Sunday brunch and daily lunch service is expected to begin in several weeks. Our best to Fares Hanna. Get all the details here.

Wake County Restaurant News 

• Got the official word from our friends over at WRAL that Gringo A Go-Go has finally opened their doors in downtown Raleigh. The taqueria, featuring authentic Mexican cuisine, is located in the old home of Ruben’s Downtown Diner on Person Street. It is the latest project from Ben Shelton, the chef behind Lilly’s Pizza in Five Points. Their hours are 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Check them out here.

• Located at 14 W. Martin Street in downtown Raleigh, Garland has expanded and opened its doors to include a stylish dining room and full bar (the restaurant began as a walk-up window). The dining room is open Tuesday – Saturday from 6 p.m. to 11p.m. The return of the take out window for lunch and late night will be coming in the future. Get more details here.

• My friend John Huismann (aka Triangle Explorer) confirmed this week that Craig Heffley opened the doors to Raleigh’s newest wine store, Wine Authorities, located downtown at Person Street Plaza (211 East Franklin Street). Heffley will host an Open House this Saturday (January 11th) from 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. featuring at least two food trucks, beer & wine tastings, and local product demos. There will even be a magician for the kids. Get all the details here.

• The News & Observer reported this week that Ken Yowell, owner of the empanada and tequila bar Calavera, has opened Oak City Meatball Shoppe which is in the former Wild Ginger space in the Red Hat building. Right now they are only slinging meatballs in the evening, but hope to open for lunch in about a month. Get all the details here.

• And it is official – Clyde Coopers BBQ has a new home. They were handed the keys to their new digs this week and they quickly began working on the new space. It is located right around the corner at 327 South Wilmington Street. They will remain open until they move. Keep up with them on Facebook here.

• The News & Observer reported this week that Groucho’s Deli, a sandwich chain that got its start in 1941, is opening near the N.C. State University campus in March. While this is the first location in the Triangle for Groucho’s, plans call for additional stores if all goes as planned. Groucho’s will be at 10 Horne St., in the old U.S. Post Office building, behind Jasmin Mediterranean Bistro. Learn more about them here.

• Thanks to an initial tip from our friends over at New Raleigh, we learned that Chile Bomba on Hillsborough Street (formerly El Rodeo) is going through another rebranding and will become La Rancherita. According to owner Charlie Ibarra, it should be open in a little over a week. We’ll keep an eye on it.

• We got word from our friends over at North Hills that Saxby’s Coffee will hold their grand opening this Saturday (January 11th) from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Enjoy free yogurt all day! And the first 10 people in line get free coffee for a year (and the next 10 get free coffee for a month)! Check them out here.

• The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that a new dumpling and noodle shop is coming to Hillsborough Street near the roundabout at Pullen Road in Raleigh. Called Marco & Luca Dumpling Store, it plans to open by March of 2014. There is a Marco & Luca Dumpling Store in Charlottesville, Va, but not sure if the two are related. We’ll keep an eye on it.

• Just this morning, The News & Observer is reporting that First Watch, a breakfast, brunch and lunch chain, has signed a multifranchise deal and plans to open five Triangle restaurants in the next four years. The first is expected to open in Raleigh by the end of 2014. No word yet on the location. Check them out here.

• We already reported this, but it was confirmed this week on a Yelp message board that a new seafood and steak house, Faire, is going in at the Crescent Cameron Village. Faire will be the newest addition to the Eschelon Experiences restaurant group which operates 5 other restaurants in the Triangle. Joining Faire on the “food front” in that building will be Brixx Wood Fired Pizza and Benelux Coffee. Check out Eschelon here.

• Good friend Michael Stickney was able to confirm this week that Bali Hai, which was recently closed by a fire, will in fact reopen in Raleigh. No word yet on the location or timeline. Just happy to know it will in fact reopen.

• Thanks to a tip from my buddy Gregory Ng, I got word that Chuy’s will be opening another Triangle location in Cary at the Parkside Town Commons development coming to the intersection of Hwy. 55 and 540. Joining Chuy’s in that development will be Tijuana Flats, Taziki’s, Toby Keith’s Bar & Grill, Jersey Mike’s and Panera Bread.

• A new German restaurant over in Cary called the German Grille opened on December 27th. It is located at 243 Grande Heights Dr. in the Harrison Pointe Shopping Center where the Great Mongolian Grill used to be. Thanks to my friend Wendy Ransbury for this tip!

• Also over in Cary, we learned on a Yelp message board that starting January 21, the Cary location of Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano will become a locally-owned and operated restaurant called Lugano Ristorante. Same management, but the store was purchased by the 2 managing partners and they’re separating from the chain. We’ll keep an eye on this.

• And in Morrisville, we got word this week that Mami Nora’s, which has bright yellow and red locations in Durham & Raleigh, will soon be taking its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken menu to Morrisville. They will be setting up shop in the Park Place shopping center near the Carmike theater on Chapel Hill Road. We will keep an eye on this. Check them out here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Bull City Burger and Brewery’s sister-restaurant Pompieri Pizza has started serving their wood-fired pies in downtown Durham. Pompieri is located in the historic fire station number 1 across from Durham’s city hall on Mangum Street. While initially only open for dinner, owner Seth Gross plans to add lunch service in February. Check them out here.

• Over in Carrboro, we got word this week that Hickory Tavern Carrboro will open their doors on Monday, January 13th. Hickory Tavern is located on the ground floor of the new Hampton Inn & Suites at 300 E. Main Street. Get more information here.

• Next door in Chapel Hill, The News & Observer reported that Toppers Pizza, a Wisconsin-based pizza chain, has opened. The restaurant, the third Toppers in North Carolina, is holding a grand opening Saturday (January 11th) at 10 a.m., and the first 50 customers will get food vouchers that can be redeemed for one predetermined menu item each week for 52 weeks. Toppers is located at 306 W. Franklin Street next to Jimmy John’s in the former Gumby’s location. Check them out here.

• The Herald-Sun is reporting that a YoFresh Yogurt Café location has opened at the corner of Chapel Hill Road and Page Road in the Imperial Center. The new shop is open at 5410 Page Road from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Check them out here.

Closings 

• In case you have been under a rock, Hillsborough Street’s legendary Sadlack’s Heroes ended a 39-year run on New Year’s Eve. That’s the bad news. The good news is that they will reopen in the Berkeley Café location in downtown Raleigh. Stay tuned.

• Thanks to a tip from my buddy David McCreary (aka Lunch Boy Says) Chevy’s Ale House at 1402 E. Williams Street in Apex has closed its doors. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, the owners are looking for another location.

• According to WRAL, Hibachi Xpress has closed its brick-and-mortar location on Walnut Street in Cary. They will continue to operate their food truck and are in the process of completing their catering kitchen.

• Also in Cary, it appears as if The Loop Pizza and Grill has closed their doors.  The Durham and Chapel Hill locations remain open. Visit them here.

• New Raleigh has confirmed that Zydeco, in downtown Raleigh’s City Market, has closed.

• Also in Raleigh, New Raleigh was the first to report that Turkish Delights, a specialty grocery and café at 125 Glenwood South, has closed.

Food Trucks 

• Some of the best baristas in the region will face off in a friendly competition at this region’s version of the US Coffee Championships. It will take place in our very own downtown Durham January 17th through the 19th in The Cotton Room on East Main Street. It is open to the public. Get all the details here.

• Triangle Restaurant Week returns this year January 20-26, 2014 offering a chance at three courses of lunch or dinner at area restaurants for a fixed price. The price is $15 for a three-course lunch and $30 for a three-course dinner. It does not include drinks, tax or tip. Get more information here.

• Here is an event you are definitely going to want to get on your calendar for 2014. Two words: Beer. Bacon. That’s right, a Beer and Bacon Festival is coming to Cary’s Booth Amphitheater featuring at least 75 craft beers and 10 varieties of bacon (did you know there were 10 varieties?). The event will be held on March 29 from noon until 6 p.m. Get all the details and ticket information here.

Food Bank Corner   

• There is someone I would like you to meet. Her name is Kate. But chances are pretty good, you already know her. You see, in our area (just 34 counties) more than 560,000 people live at or below the poverty level: 191,000 are children. Read here to learn more about what the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina is doing to help those children. Do me a favor, and take the two minutes to watch the video. You’ll be glad you did.