Featured Restaurant News
- Looks like August is the target date for Young Hearts Distilling Co. according to the Triangle Business Journal. The distillery will occupy the space previously home to Busy Bee Cafe / Trophy Tap & Table (225 S. Wilmington Street). It will open as a restaurant and distillery operated by the same team as Busy Bee, Trophy Tap & Table, State of Beer and Trophy Brewing Company. They also shared that they have they have teamed up with chef Alex Ricci, who previously served as executive chef at Guglhupf Artisan Bakery, Restaurant & Café in Durham, and master distiller Mena Killough. Congrats to business partners Chris Powers, David Lockwood, David Meeker and Les Stewart. The group has two Trophy Brewing locations in Raleigh – the brewery and taproom at 656 Maywood Ave. and the brewing and pizza place at 827 W. Morgan St. – as well as State of Beer at 401 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh. Follow along with their progress on Facebook.
Wake County Restaurant News
- Over in Cary, the Triangle Business Journal shared that Cotton House Craft Brewers will open Triangle Beer Co. at 320 E. Durham Road in the former Jordan Lake Brewing facility on June 26. They will have 16 taps with a broad range of current and new beers. It’s situated less than a mile from the original taphouse, Cotton House, at 307 S. Academy St. The new space will also feature the company’s newly launched Craft Concepts @ TBC, a permanent mobile food kitchen and catering service that will serve the Triangle area. Visit their website here.
- People who live, work and travel through Wake Forest can now experience Dunkin’s store of the future. Dunkin’ will open its new restaurant at 12612 Capital Boulevard today, Friday, June 18. To celebrate, the restaurant will award free coffee for a year to the first 50 guests in the drive-thru at 6 a.m. In addition, guests can enjoy appearances by a Dunkin’ mascot and swag giveaways. Visit Dunkin’ 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
- Bigger is better. And so it is in the case of Brandwein’s Bagels in Chapel Hill as they announced this week that they are expanding their existing shop at 505 W. Rosemary to also include the former Bread & Butter Bakery space next door and the huge parking lot that comes with it. Follow along with their success and progress on Instagram here.
- And more big news coming out of Chatham County this week. Restaurateur Greg Lewis announced via Facebook that his much-anticipated steakhouse, The Sycamore at Chatham Mills, will open next Thursday, June 24 when they will begin serving dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. They are not accepting reservations at this time, but will soon. The Sycamore is in the space formerly occupied by The Pickle Jar Cafe and before that, Oakleaf. Lewis also operates Forest Hall at Chatham Mills, an event venue, as well as his catering business, 39 West Catering, operating out of a newly renovated space also at Chatham Mills. Follow their progress on Facebook here.
- Also in Chapel Hill, forgot to include in last week’s update, but noticed a sign for Flying Biscuit Cafe up at the spot between BarTaco and Hawkers at University Place in Chapel Hill. This will be the 3rd Triangle-area location for the franchise. Website here indicates that will open this summer. Stay tuned.
- 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
- With the announcement above about the expansion of Brandwein’s Bagels, comes the news of the pending closing of Bread & Butter Bakery. The Chen family owned and operated this business since 2011, having run Oriental Garden for 20 years before that.
Food Trucks
- Our friends over at RalToday shared the news that Waves Shave Ice is bringing a taste of Hawaii to Holly Springs — the food truck plans to open in July according to their Instagram page. Their syrups are both locally sourced and organic.
- 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
- The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has brought back their extremely successful Dine Out Downtown program that they began last year. It continues every Saturday through June and highlights a different district in downtown. This Saturday (June 19) from 5-9 p.m. This weekend’s focus will be City Market. Complimentary parking is available throughout downtown. Get all the details and see which restaurants will be participating this Saturday here.
- Downtown Durham Inc. announced that The Streetery will return Saturday, June 26 at Five Points with added outdoor seating and buskers. Join them from 12 – 9 p.m. to shop, carry out, dine in or dine out. The Streetery happens on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Get all the details here.
- Created on the North Carolina Food and Beverage Podcast, ‘Bubbles and Brisket’ is a collaboration of chefs, pit-masters, wine producers and sommeliers, pairing sparkling wine with a variety of cooking techniques and side dishes that feature everyone’s favorite: brisket. The event will take place on June 26 from 2-6 p.m. at V Pizza on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. The event will feature brisket by: Toriano Fredricks of Boricua Soul; Carrie Schleiffer of Alley 26 and Crooks Corner; James Johnson of Skippers; Marc Russell of Longleaf Swine BBQ; Kyle Sutton of Butts for Babies; Anthony Rapillo of V Pizza; and Derek Wilkins of the Butcher’s Market. And bubbles by: Triangle Wine Company; Vintage 59; Broadbent Selections; and WineSellers. Tickets are $65 and you can get those and all the details here.
- Durham Summer Wine & Food Festival, a 4-day wine and food festival will debut this year July 1 through 4th. The event will showcase the contemporary cuisine, music, and independent arts in Durham. Tickets grant you 20% off participating restaurants, access to exclusive tasting and pairing events and all the entertainment. Visit their website to see a list of participating resturants and other activities here.
- You might want to go ahead and plan on spending your Labor Day weekend in Pinehurst for the inaugural Pinehurst Barbecue Festival – a three-day event, staged in and around the historic Village of Pinehurst from September 3-5, 2021. The event will offer a unique culinary sampling experience of various barbecue meats and traditional sides. Choose to experience the entire three-day festival, or attend just one signature event. A multi-ticket VIP package, as well as individual tickets for each event are available. The pitmaster lineup includes: Ed Mitchell, The Preserve (Raleigh); Christopher Prieto, Prime Barbecue (Knightdale); Adam Hughes, Old Colony Smokehouse (Edenton); Joe Lumbrazo, Backyard Bistro (Raleigh); and Ashley Sheppard, Pik N Pig (Carthage). Get tickets, schedule and all the details here.
- Our friends over at RalToday pointed out a few events you might want to go ahead and get on your calendar. So exciting to think of some of our favorite events actually happening in 2021! First up, Raleigh Veg Fest 2021 originally scheduled for April 4 has moved to October 31 in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square. Details here. And Brewgaloo is now scheduled for September 17 & 18 in downtown Raleigh. Details here.
Food Bank Corner
- When school is out, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina knows families struggle to keep food on the table. Budgets for so many families are already stretched thin from the pandemic, with job losses and hours being cut. Thankfully, our generous corporate and individual donors are matching gifts up to $132,000! Every $10 you give can help provide 100 meals… feeding twice as many kids, teens, and families in need. Can you chip in? Click here if you can!
