Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.
Featured Restaurant News
- Axios reported this week that The Optimist now has a second brick and mortar location. The Oakwood-born coffee shop took over Fiction Coffee’s space near Crabtree Valley Mall (4509 Creedmoor Road – near Perry’s Steak House). The Optimist opened its first location in May 2020 (1000 Brookside Drive) and has since opened a cart at PNC Arena and plans to open a third location in The Exchange, a mixed-use development coming to North Hills. Check them out on Instagram here.
Wake County Restaurant News
- WRAL shared the news this week that Heavenly Buffaloes is opening a location in Raleigh on Glenwood Avenue. They are going into the former Hungry Howie’s spot, across from Chick-fil-A and Chipotle (6701 Glenwood Avenue). They tout themselves as, “The Wing Joint You’ve Been Looking For!” They have two locations in Durham and one in Chapel Hill. Don’t have an exact date, just sometime in 2024. Get ready Raleigh! Follow along on Instagram here.
- Umbrella Dry Bar, a nonalcoholic cocktail bar that has been doing pop-ups around Raleigh for the past year, will open its first permanent space on New Year’s Eve. The bar will be taking over the former Garland spot on Martin Street in downtown Raleigh (14 W. Martin St.). Congrats to owner Meg Paradise! They will host a ticketed New Year’s Eve party for the bar’s opening and will open to the general public on January 5th. Pay them a visit here.
- RalToday shared that Piada Italian Street Food opened this week at the spot of the former Gusto Farm to Street at 3088 Wake Forest Road (just behind Trader Joe’s). This fast-casual eatery offers build-your-own salads, pastas, and Italian wraps called piadas with a variety of Italian-inspired fillings. This marks their second Triangle-area location with their first local location being in Park West in Morrisville. If you are not familiar with them, do so here.
- The Triangle Business Journal shared the news that Cary is getting a new watering hole this weekend. W.E.L.D. Wine & Beer, a bar and bottle shop, is opening this weekend at 2425 Kildaire Farm Road near Lochmere Golf Club. W.E.L.D. will offer 13 rotating beers on tap, a variety of wines served by the glass and bottles and cans available for take-home purchases. The shop will host its grand opening on Saturday, December 16th at 2 p.m. Congrats to owners Darin and Laura Bernaert (and children Waylon and Esme…with the initials of all four resulting in W.E.L.D.). Get to know them here.
- Up in Wake Forest, reader Merrick McKeig shared that it looks like a place called CHA House (tea and snacks) is going in Wheatfield where Chick’n Cone was originally slated to be. They have locations in Raleigh and Cary as well. Get familiar with them here.
- And down in Southwestern Wake County, reader Paul Fletcher shared that Jet’s Pizza is now open in in the former Little Caesars Pizza spot in the Stonebridge Village Shopping Center in Cary (3430 Ten Ten Road) and cranking out the Detroit goodness. Thanks Paul! Visit Jet’s here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
- The News & Observer shared that today (Friday, December 15th; 6-9 p.m.) Durham will welcome its first Black-owned brewery, Proximity Brewing Company. The brewery specializes in IPAs and will celebrate its grand opening with live music, Utensilz Optional food truck, and more fun (491 S Driver St.). Check them out on Instagram here.
- Got word this week that this Sunday, December 17th is the grand opening of Lakewood Social which will be located in the former Honeysuckle at Lakewood spot (1920 Chapel Hill Road). It is being brought to us by Durham restaurateur Reed Frankel and his former crew at Old North Meats which was in the Durham Food Hall. They will be an indoor/outdoor communal restaurant focused on small bites, sandwiches, and shareables featuring draft beers, wines, and crafted cocktails. Best to keep up with them on Instagram.
- Sally Bond posted in the Pittsboro Eats! Facebook group that we are getting closer to the opening of JDub’s PoBoys which will operate out of The Plant at 193 Lorax Lane in Pittsboro. Until they officially open, look for them to continue doing “pop-ups” around town as they finalize their menu. Keep up with their progress and pending announcement on Facebook here.
Closings
- None to report. Keep eating local, folks!
Food Trucks
- 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
- Sera Cuni, owner of Cafe Root Cellar in Pittsboro and Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill, will host her first Chef’s Table Event on Friday, December 29th, from 6 to 8 p.m, in honor of Cafe Root Cellar’s Fifth Anniversary. This special dinner will center on food, family and fun and will offer participants the chance to dine with Chef Sera, who will share her creative process for her revolving weekly menus and more. This special dinner will include plated and family-style dishes, including vegetarian options. Beer and wine will be sold separately. Tickets are $125 each and will go quickly. Reserve your seat here.
- Hard to believe, but tickets have already gone on sales for the 9th Annual Dinner in the Meadow which will take place on September 15, 2024 on a grassy knoll at Meadow Lane Farm, in bucolic Franklin County, offering beautiful pastoral views and clear, starry skies. Some of the region’s most sought-after chefs will be preparing delicious dishes using ingredients from local farms and food artisans. It is an annual fundraiser for the Leonard-Mobley Small Farm Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2014 to support and cultivate small farms in our region of North Carolina. Get tickets and all the details here.
Food Bank Corner
- This holiday season, families all over our community will be sitting down for delicious meals with their loved ones, enjoying good company, good food, and a good time. But for some, these meals may not be a given. Many of our friends and neighbors are having to decide between stocking their refrigerator and pantry or paying their bills. You can help bring comfort, joy, and hope by making a generous gift now to provide more holiday meals this year. Until December 31, compassionate friends are matching all gifts to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina up to $378,500. Give $10 now and have double the impact, providing 100 meals.
