Friday Fun Food Facts – March 11, 2022

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

Featured Restaurant News

• “Top Chef” alum Katsuji Tanabe is back and opening his Mexican restaurant A’Verde Cocina and Tequilla Library on Friday, March 18th at 5 p.m. at 2300 Walnut Street in the former Wild Wing Cafe space at the Centrum at Crossroads shopping center in Cary. You’ll remember Tanabe became the Chef in Residence at LM Restaurants’ Vidrio in downtown Raleigh, joining the team after his first North Carolina restaurant, High Horse, closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. With A’Verde, Tanabe will draw on his Mexican heritage. The menu is full of memories and stories of family recipes and experiences…so, don’t expect traditional Mexican fare. While the dishes will be familiar and comforting, the flavors will be on trend with North Carolina’s best seasonal ingredients or the latest hot culinary or beverage movement. Start getting familiar with the new concept here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Staying in Cary, reader Hugh Autry shared with us that Buck’s Billiards will soon be relocating to 932 NE Maynard Road and rebranding as Benny’s Billiards and Sports Bar. New amenities will include a dining area and an outdoor, dog-friendly patio seating. The Buck Jones location only had bar seating and a few high tops and no outdoor seating. They are planning to start opening at 12 on weekdays for lunch at the new location (currently opens at 2 on weekdays and 11 on weekends). An opening date hasn’t been set yet, but they expect to be moving by May/June 2022. Best to follow their Facebook page as they make the transition.

• Also in Cary, reader Jennifer Buchholz tipped us off to the fact that IngenuiTea (pronounced in · ge · nu · i · ty) is having their grand re-opening on Saturday, March 12th at 305 Ashville Avenue. They are a kombucha brewery, café, and taproom focused on kombucha as well as an array of hard cider, craft beer, small vineyard wines (by the glass or by the bottle), locally roasted coffee and loose leaf tea. They are pet friendly and have outdoor seating. Reacquaint yourself here.

• One final note in Cary, the Triangle Business Journal shared the news that Brent Webb, founder of Cotton House Craft Brewers and Triangle Beer Co., has taken over Tony’s Taps & Oyster Bar, a restaurant known for its live music in Cary’s MacGregor Village shopping center. He has plans to convert the space into a new restaurant called Salt, with the goal of keeping the space’s live music reputation while elevating the menu. Following interior renovations, Salt will open as a steak and seafood concept at the end of April. Keep up with all of Webb’s progress here.

• RalToday shared the news this week that Jubala Coffee’s third store and roastery is now open in North Hills. This new location has more seating and offers a larger menu featuring biscuits and waffles. This marks Jubala’s third location, with locations already in North Raleigh and on Hillsborough Street.  Visit Jubala here.

• Also in North Hills, PrimoHoagies, known for their gourmet hoagies with high-quality meats and cheeses piled high on fresh-baked rolls, will hold their grand opening on Tuesday, March 15 at 10 a.m. The franchise is located at 141 Park at N Hills St. and is owned by local entrepreneurs Amanda Wolsky and Allison Engle. Get familiar with PrimoHoagies here.

• On March 12th, over in Morrisville, Jennifer Buchholz also let us know that Goshen Feeds, a food court and grocery store with a focus on Nigerian cuisine, is opening at 4000 Bear Cat Way. Food tasting and cocktails will begin at 1:30 p.m. Get to know Goshen here.

• Down in Fuqay-Varina, we will soon see the third location of My Way Tavern, which already has locations in downtown Raleigh and Holly Springs. The Triangle Business Journal shared this week that they will be the anchor tenant in the new Bengal Towne Center mixed-use development at 1000 NE Judd Parkway near the Fuquay Crossing shopping mall. Visit My Way here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• Alpaca has brought their Peruvian charcoal chicken and sides to Chapel Hill, as they are in soft open mode at 237 S Elliot Rd. Their “official” opening is this Saturday, March 12th. But if you time it right, you can get in early today. This will mark their 10th location, all here in the Triangle. If for some reason you are not familiar with them, check them out here.

• Staying in Chapel Hill, next Saturday, March 19th is the date for the opening of the next location of Rise Southern Biscuits and Righteous Chicken. They are located in the Eastgate Crossing shopping center on Franklin Street. This marks the 9th Triangle area location and the 18th location throughout all Rise locations. This location will not have indoor dining, just “to-go” options and online ordering. To celebrate, Rise Chapel Hill will donate 10% of its grand opening day sales to the Ephesus Elementary School PTA. Rise will also be giving away free t-shirts at the grand opening for up to 100 customers starting at 11 am. Don’t know about you, but I will make a special effort to get by as a tribute to Tom Ferguson, their founder who passed away recently. Here’s to you Tom! Check them out here.

• One last note in Chapel Hill, The Poplar Cafe held their grand opening yesterday in the East 54 development next door to Old East Tavern (same owners). Check them out on Facebook here.

• Moving over to Durham, but staying on the March 19th date, Jennifer Buchholz informed us that Wayback Burgers will have their grand opening at 4104 Surles Court (out in front of WalMart near the intersection of Hwy. 54 and 540). That opening happens at 11 a.m. The chain originated in Delaware and now has 156 total locations, with one in Raleigh, one in Mebane and another on the way for Morrisville. Check them out here.

• The folks over at Bites of Bull City shared the news that Durham chef Shawn Stokes, owner of the popular downtown Durham restaurant Luna, as well as the live music and event bar, Rubies at Five Points, opened their sister bar and restaurant, Remedy Room, in the space downstairs this week. It is a bar with a small menu. They are located at 347 W. Main Street in downtown Durham’s Five Points area. Get to know them here.

• Friday, March 25th is the opening date for the next round of BB’s Chicken from Ashley Christensen and MDO Holdings. This second location (the first location opened in Raleigh out in front of Wegman’s on Wake Forest Road) will be in Durham’s University Hill (the exact address is 3109 Shannon Road). A third location will open in Cary soon. Best to follow them on Instagram for announcements and updates.

• And down in Chatham County, the Chatham Foodie posted that signage has gone up for Greek Kouzina in the Mosaic development (part of Chatham Park). Their location at 964 East Street in Pittsboro is still open. Looks like this will become their new location once it does open. No word on the timeline. Follow them here.

Closings / Cancellations

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

Food Trucks 

• Raleigh Convergence shared the news that a Korean corn dog food truck called Golden K Dog is rolling around the streets of the Triangle now. You can find them on Street Food Finder here.

• Happy to share that the Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo has announced the dates for 2022 rodeos. They are as follows – May 1st, June 12th, August 7th, Sept 25th or Oct 2nd and November 6th (Alternate/Rain Date). The rodeo is set up on downtown Raleigh’s Fayetteville Street featuring a half mile of food trucks and restaurants spread out over 10 city blocks. Details here.

• And not to be outdone, Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo has also released their 2022 schedule and it is as follows – March 20, June 5, September 4 and October 30. Mark your calendars. Get all the details here. And if you are food truck, you can get information on participating here.

• 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 Sunday, March 13 from 1-5pm, Locals Seafood will host their 8th annual Winter Seafood Jubilee at Trophy Brewing Maywood, located at 686 Maywood Ave in Raleigh NC. The 2022 Jubilee will feature roasted oysters, catfish po’boys, cider from Botanist and Barrel, and the launch of the Oyster Nipper Gosé, a beer brewed by Trophy with Core Sounder Oysters and named for the tongs historically used to harvest oysters. Representatives from NC Coastal Federation, NC Sea Grant, NC Catch, Carteret Catch, NC Oyster Trail and others will be in attendance to answer seafood questions and share their work with the local community. There are no tickets required for the event, but guests are encouraged to RSVP on Facebook here.

• The Bull City Food & Beer Experience, where 30 Triangle restaurants are paired with 30 craft breweries at Durham’s DPAC, will take place on Sunday, March 27th beginning at 4 p.m. See who is participating and get all the details (including ticket information) here.

• April 2 will see the return of a very popular food festival in Cary. Let me warn you, this is “nacho” average food festival – it is the Tacos ‘N Taps Festival from 12-5 p.m. at Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre. The event features over 15 taco trucks, taquerias, and Mexican restaurants with over 30 different types of tacos. Each taco vendor will offer a wide variety of tacos and Mexican inspired dishes. Additionally, they will have over 60+ craft beers, mezcals, margaritas, tequilas, wine and ciders. Get tickets and all the details here.

• Cary’s Downtown Chowdown food truck rally returns this year on Sunday, April 10th where you can enjoy a food-filled afternoon along Academy Street tasting some of the best food in the Triangle, enjoy cool beverages from craft beer and wine vendors, and relax to the music of great local performers. See you downtown! Get all the details here.

• On Saturday, April 16th (I think it is in honor of my birthday on Sunday)The Pit’s 12th ‘Cuegass Festival returns to downtown Raleigh. The event will once again support SAFEchild. For the event, they close down the streets around The Pit and fire up the pig cookers to serve plenty of their famous Eastern North Carolina-style barbecue and a selection of locally made beers. And on the stage they’ll have your favorite bands. Get all the information here.

• And we are just under three months away from this year’s edition of Shop Local Raleigh’s Brewgaloo (April 22-23) – NC’s largest craft beer festival and 2nd biggest in the US! Voted #1 Best Beer Festival two years in a row by USA Today’s 10Best. The weekend of events features craft breweries from NC and partners with local food trucks, local vendors and local bands. Friday night will be a sampler event from 6-10pm. Tickets are $45 per person. Saturday’s event is 2-10pm and open to the public. Beer is sold by the pint or the taste. The day will feature over 75 NC breweries, over 50 food trucks, dozens of local vendors and bands. Drink tickets will be sold in advance and available for purchase at the festival. Food trucks and vendors accept cash and credit options. Get tickets and all the details here.

• The folks over in Cary are proud to announce that Fest in the West, western Cary’s signature event, is back at Thomas Brooks Park on Saturday, May 7th from 11am-5pm. There are two stages with entertainment featuring some of the best talent in the Triangle. Food trucks will be in three areas, a centrally located beer garden and a fun Kids Corral with activities for families along with a petting zoo. Mark your calendar and get all the details here.

Food Bank Corner

• You can make a difference every month! Despite a record amount of food being distributed to individuals, seniors, children, veterans, and families of all kinds who are facing hunger last year, the food bank is still not meeting the increased need in the 34 counties the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina serves. Their partner agencies on the front lines are still reporting a sustained 35% increase in need over pre-pandemic levels. They need your reliable support to nourish all their neighbors in need. Sign up this January and your 1st monthly gift can be matched up to $2,500! Start giving today! #NoOneGoesHungry