Friday Fun Food Facts – September 11, 2015

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

  •   The big day is upon us…The #FoodBank24 New Media Telethon is today and tomorrow, September 11th and 12th. It will kick off today at noon and will run for 24 hours straight until noon on Saturday. The Food Bank and host Gregory Ng are coming together once again to raise $50,000 to provide 250,000 meals to children, families, and seniors in need during Hunger Action Month. Find out how to get involved, how to contribute and all the details here.

Wake County Restaurant News

  • WRAL shared the news this week that North Raleigh has been anticipating. The Duck Donuts location in Cary shared on Facebook this week that they are coming to North Raleigh. They will open their next location at Towne North (Creedmoor & Strickland) in December 2015. Check out their announcement on their Facebook page here.
  • The News & Observer noted this week that Garner has its first bottle shop. The Beerded Lady Bottle Shop opened this week at 1350 Fifth Avenue near the intersection of Vandora Springs Road and U.S. Highway 70. Congratulations to Shannon Cummings and Antares Nicklow. The bar and craft beer bottle shop, where people can grab a brew and hang out or shop and take a six-pack and growlers for the road, has 12 taps that will rotate. To start, six North Carolina breweries – Mother Earth, Wicked Weed, Fullsteam, Mystery Brewing, Star Point and Haw River – are included in that mix. Check them out here.
  • The News & Observer reported this week that Blackjack Brewing Co. is leaving Raleigh and moving its operations to Wilmington. But don’t worry too much, Blackjack’s space near the Five Points area won’t be empty for long. Lynnwood Grill and Brewing Concern plans to take over the space as a brewery and taphouse. Blackjack will close at the end of this month, and Lynwood should be up and running in the space by the end of October. Get more information on Lynwood here.
  • It’s been one year since World of Beer-Cary opened its doors and to celebrate the tavern is hosting an anniversary party for the community on September 16th. Beginning at 5 p.m. that day, Wicked Weed Brewing will take over the taps. There will also be live music and special food offerings. World of beer is located at 2036 Renaissance Park Place. Get more details here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

  • Saw in the Shelby Food Service magazine that Cara Stacy, Gray Brooks and Jay Owens, the team behind downtown Durham’s Pizzeria Toro, will open a diner in the soon-to-be-renovated Jack Tar hotel about a block from the pizzeria. The opening is projected for summer 2016. While the hotel is likely to be renamed, the diner will be called Jack Tar Diner. We will keep an eye on this one!
  • Also in Durham, Duke University announced that the folks behind Geer Street Garden and The Boot will be will operating the pub space in the new West Union on campus. The casual dining restaurant, known as The Devil’s Krafthouse, will serve as one of the the premier venues for social gathering on campus. The restaurant will offer classic pub fare alongside a variety of beverages to include local microbrew selections. The Devil’s Krafthouse is scheduled to open in February of 2016. In the meantime, check out Geer Street Garden here and The Boot here.

Closings 

  • Got word from friend Amy Ising that Merlion Restaurant in Chapel Hill’s Southern Village has closed their doors. Sorry to see them go.

Food Trucks 

  • John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) informed me about the fact that every Thursday from September through November, the Town of Knightdale is hosting “Food Truck Thursdays” with a new food truck scheduled each week. The weekly truck will be parked at Knightdale Station Park near the amphitheater each Thursday from 11am to 2pm. Check out the schedule here.
  • For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art’s page, The Wandering Sheppard on all things food truck related here.

Events

  • It is the season of church-sponsored fish fries and barbecues and my buddy Andrea Weigl over at the News & Observer has compiled a great list of upcoming events sponsored by a variety of churches in the area. Enjoy!
  • Beericana, a craft beer & music festival in Holly Springs, is this Saturday, September 12th. Beericana is in its second year and all signs point to it being even better than last year. The festival will feature over 60 breweries from across the state and beyond, more food trucks than last year with at least 20 trucks. General admission tickets are $45 and VIP tickets are $75. Get all the details and information on tickets here.
  • One of my kids’ favorite events each year is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Bugfest which will be held this year on Saturday, September 19th. And one of their favorite parts of this event is Cafe Insecta where the brave can sample buggy dishes prepared by local chefs. Yummmm!?!?! Get all the details here.
  • Felicia Perry-Trujillo sent word over that Kim Hunter of Kimbap Cafe and Brent Hopkins of Empire Food Group are doing a pop up supper club dinner in Nash Square on September 20th. You can see the full menu, get all the details and purchase tickets here.
  • It is that time of the year again for the Southern Ideal Home Show at the NC State Fairgrounds. This year it will be held Sept. 25 – 27 and it will again feature their popular Brews and Bites event each day which highlights food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Lots of great choices and giveaways each day. Get all the details here.
  • The Carolina RailHawks will be hosting the 4th Annual RailHawks Homebrew Soktoberfest on Saturday, September 26th. The pre-game festivities will begin at 5:30 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park and will run until 7:15 pm, followed by the RailHawks NASL match against Ottawa Fury FC. Soktoberfest is the RailHawks take on a German Oktoberfest, but with a focus on local craft and home brewers. A combination of German-themed food samples and traditional North Carolina fare, live music presented by ReverbNation, local craft beer, and homebrewed beer. Get more details here.
  • Academy Street Bistro and TOPO Distillery are partnering to host a cocktail party to benefit the Interfaith Food Shuttle on October 1st at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy four different cocktails, each with a different aged spirit from TOPO and heavy hors d’oeuvres. The cost is $20 per person. Make reservations by calling 919-377-0509. More details here.
  • On Sunday, October 4th from 1-4 p.m., the guys behind the soon-to-open Picnic in Durham (Wyatt Dickson and Ben Adams) will be joined by Texas (and soon to be South Carolina) pit-master John Lewis on Green Button Farm for a Sunday afternoon picnic. This is an opportunity to get up close and personal with these barbecue legends! In addition to the whole hog and beef brisket, they’ll also serve up seasonal sides, alongside chilled wine & beer from Wine Authorities, Ponysaurus and Fullsteam. Get tickets and all the information here.
  • You’ll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on October 3rd and 4th. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries. Get all the details here.
  • The town of Holly Springs is holding their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, October 10th at the Holly Springs Farmers Market from 9 – 12:30 p.m. This is a wonderful community event, where both amateurs and professionals compete for both the judges’ approval as well as their fellow citizens with the People’s Choice award. Get all the details here.
  • And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar – the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, October 17th from noon until 5 p.m. Get all the details here.
  • While you’re at it, make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday October 17th (4-8 p.m.) for Knightdale’s “Drafts & Carafe’s” Festival. This event will be held at the Knightdale Station Park and feature local wineries, breweries, vendors selling beer/wine related crafts/artwork, music and food trucks. Get more information here.

Food Bank Corner   

  •  The big day is upon us…The #FoodBank24 New Media Telethon is today and tomorrow, September 11th and 12th. It will kick off today at noon and will run for 24 hours straight until noon on Saturday. The Food Bank and host Gregory Ng are coming together once again to raise $50,000 to provide 250,000 meals to children, families, and seniors in need during Hunger Action Month. Find out how to get involved, how to contribute and all the details here.

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