Featured Restaurant News
- ACME’s Kevin Callaghan announced via his own restaurant’s weekly email that he has joined his sister, Lisa Callaghan,in opening Plum Southern Kitchen & Bar at 501 Washington Street in downtown Durham (you’ll find Kevin in the kitchen there as well!). It is a concept, which opened on Thursday, that features a big bar and small plates – like Presbyterian Deviled Eggs, Southern Pan-Fried Pork Chop, Blackened Catfish, and of course, Chicken & Dumplings. Get to know them here. Can’t wait to check it out!
Wake County Restaurant News
- In Morrisville, Sister Liu’s had their grand opening at their second location this past Wednesday in the former Buns Barn spot at 3524 Davis Drive. For those not familiar with Sister Liu’s, they serve up handmade dumplings and Chinese hamburgers from their original location in Durham’s Straw Valley shopping center (near the intersection of Interstate 40 and 15-501). Congrats to Cuiying Liu Blythe and her husband, John Blythe! Check them out here.
- Stephen from Apex notified us that Big Mike’s BBQ in Apex just expanded into the storefront next door and is renovating it into a sportsbar. The sign on the window indicates it will be Big Mike’s Sports Bar. Stephen notes their smoked potato salad is killer. They are located at 2045 Creekside Landing Dr. and you can visit the BBQ site here.
- Stephen also tipped us off to the fact that another First Watch is opening up on Highway 55 in Apex, across from Beaver Creek. We don’t have an exact address or a timeline on their opening, but we will ask Stephen to keep a “watch” on it (see what I did there) and let us know. Visit First Watch here.
- And in Raleigh, it looks like we are going to have to wait a little longer for the renovations to be complete, and the opening of Sam Jones BBQ – blogger Eat Raleigh shared that their PR people had indicated that there had been construction delays at 502 W. Lenoir St., in the former Dusty’s Garage near Boylan Heights. Sam Jones BBQ has a location in Winterville, NC and their Skylight Inn BBQ in Ayden, NC. No new opening date (was originally November) has been provided. Go ahead and start getting familiar with them here.
- Looking for all the outdoor dining options in Downtown Raleigh? The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has put together a great list of those options, and they even divided it up by district. Check out that list here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
- Looking for a fun, and possibly a little different, Thanksgiving Day option? Look no further than Durham’s newest restaurant – Honeysuckle at Lakewood where they will be offering a “Creole” option as well as a traditional option for your Thanksgiving day feast. Both will be available for pickup on 11/24 and 11/25. Visit them here.
- And here are a couple of wonderful resources for those looking to dine in downtown Durham or downtown Chapel Hill – Downtown Durham Inc. has an up-to-date listing of the status of each restaurant in downtown Durham. Check out the list here. And the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership has put together a similar list for Chapel Hill here.
Closings / Cancellations
- Mike DePersia with DePersia & Associates notified us that after an 18-year run, family-owned Cheerz Deli in RTP has closed their doors.
Food Trucks
- Triangle on the Cheap shared the news that Food Truck Flix is a recurring event that combines drive-in movies with food trucks, for a safer entertainment experience just announced their schedule for the upcoming weekends (Friday and Saturday nights). The events will be taking place at Frontier RTP, 800 Park Offices, Durham, and at Focus Church, 7000 Destiny Drive, Raleigh. You can purchase tickets in advance for any of the drive-in movies. The price is $25 per car. Of course, you’ll also want to bring money for the food trucks. Get the movie schedule, purchase your pass and get all the details here.
Events
- Many people are looking to Thanksgiving dining options this year – it is a great way to support our local restaurants. Look to the News & Observer and WRAL to provide links to restaurants offering Thanksgiving packages. And the Downtown Raleigh Alliance has a list of downtown Raleigh restaurants offering Thanksgiving meals – check it out here. Again, this would be a GREAT way to support your favorite, local restaurant. Visit your favorite local restaurant’s social media pages for menus (for instance, here are Boulted Bread’s holiday offerings and here is the offering from ACME in Carrboro).
- Tomorrow, Saturday, November 14h from 2-9 p.m., Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro will hold their Third Annual Oyster Roast with live music by Tommy Edwards and Carolina Lightning. Visit Carolina Brewery here.
- As The Pit in downtown Raleigh celebrates its 13th birthday, the restaurant will be cooking up Thanksgiving again this year, offering guests the opportunity to dine in at the restaurant or order the meal to-go. Guests can also order from an a la carte menu with all the meats, sides and desserts to fill in any gaps on the Thanksgiving table. Their dine-in family-style Thanksgiving dinner is $34.99 a person ($19.99 for kids 12 and under) from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26. See their menu here. The Pit’s sister restaurants, Gravy and Sitti, also have Thanksgiving packages.
- RalToday shared the following event: Tickets go on sale today for The Black Farmers Market’s second farm-to-table dinner, Grazefully Rooted. The dinner will be held November 28 at First Fruits Farm (~45 minutes outside downtown Raleigh) and will explore cultural and culinary connections across the African diaspora. Get tickets here.
Food Bank Corner
- Since 2013, community members have celebrated their Thanksgiving at Plates Neighborhood Kitchen. To celebrate the restaurant’s eighth annual Thanksgiving charity initiative, Plates Neighborhood Kitchen is partnering with Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina on “Plates for the Community.” This year, Plates wants to make sure they can still provide the same level of satisfaction while keeping everyone safe during this unprecedented time. Through Monday, November 23, chef David Mitchell is offering Thanksgiving meal packages designed to feed six to eight people in the comfort of their own homes. Owners of Plates, Steve Day and Justin Gallus, have pledged to provide a $20 donation to the Food Bank for each package sold. The donation from each package purchased is enough to provide 100 meals for those in need right here in our local community. Get the details on their Facebook event page here. #noonegoeshungry
