Friday Fun Food Facts – February 6, 2015

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Dashi, a new ramen shop and Japanese pub, has opened in downtown Durham at 415 E. Chapel Hill St, just down from Rue Cler. The concept is the creation of Billy and Kelli Cotter of Toast and Nick Hawthorne-Johnson and Rochelle Johnson of The Cookery. Check them out here.

Just a week after Rise Biscuits and Donuts, which opened in 2012 near the Streets of Southpoint in Durham, announced their first franchise location in Morrisville’s Park West Village, we saw on their Facebook page that they have just inked a deal for mid-town Raleigh (could it be North Hills???). We’ll keep an eye on this one. In the meantime, check out Rise here.

It is time for you to get twisted! The Twisted Mango has opened in the same space (and owners) that was La Volta in downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville Street. The new bar and grill carries a Caribbean theme. Check them out here on Facebook.

My buddy Mend Iler tipped me off to the fact that Guacamaya (the restaurant formerly known as Chubby’s Tacos…and still is) at 101 Ledgestone Way (corner of High House and Davis) has a “Now Hiring” sign up. Getting close! We will keep you posted. Thanks Mendy! Check them out here.

The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that Rolesville is about to get its first tavern – Main Street Tavern. It is a sports bar with a light food menu, and geared toward creating a family friendly gathering spot in Rolesville. It is scheduled to open later this month on Main St. in the Food Lion shopping center. Check out their Facebook page here.

Got word from several folks on Yelp confirming that Ashee Ethiopian in Cary will be replaced by Awaz’e Ethiopian/Eritrean Cuisine. The store is located at 904 Northeast Maynard Road in Cary.

This past week, Gonza Tacos y Tequilla opened their third Triangle location in downtown Durham at 604 Fernway Avenue, in the West Village Complex. Check them out here.

We told you about this back in December, but got word this week that Ninth Street Coffee House will be opening in mid-February at 714 Ninth Street. It will be serving up all fresh fruit and veggie juices and smoothies, food and coffee. It is going in where Market Street Coffee recently closed.

Also on Ninth Street, we got word this week from our friends over at Ninth Street Watch that a new burger joint and gastropub called Burger Bach is looking at a March opening at 737 Ninth Street in Durham. Check out their Facebook page here.

Just after we released our issue last week, social media “blew up” with the news that Crowley’s, a Raleigh institution for decades, had closed. They were located over off Dixie Trail on Medlin Drive. As a Raleigh native, I’m sorry to see them go.

Also, got word from my buddy Tim Moore that the Golden Corral over on Walnut Street in Cary has closed.

Here’s a little something to get us through the dreary cold winter months…the schedule for the 2015 Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo Series. Check it out here and mark your calendars.

And we are just over a month from the Spring Food Truck Rodeo at Durham’s Central Park. Get March 8th on your calendar. Here are all the details.

This is pretty cool. The Carolina Inn over in Chapel Hill is celebrating their 90th anniversary on Saturday, February 28th. They will host a Commemorative Chefs’ Event beginning at 6:30 with a four-course wine-pairing dinner celebrating the cuisine of their executive chefs through the years including Brian Stapleton, Jimmy Reale and current executive chef James Clark. Cost is $90 per person. Get tickets and all the details here.

And then there were eight. Next week kicks off the next round in the “Got To Be NC” Competition Dining Series which began with 16 chefs. See who is left standing as we work our way toward the finals in March. Get your tickets here.

Our friends over at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina are encouraging folks to show their heart for hunger relief by making a gift in honor of a loved one as part of their Hearts for Hunger Valentine’s Day Honor Drive. Get all the details here.