Friday Fun Food Facts – June 1, 2018

Triangle Restaurant News

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

Featured Restaurant News

•  David Sadeghi could be at the heyday of his quite successful restaurant career. He just announced three new additions to the Triangle dining scene. First up is the announcement that he will open two more Town Hall Burger & Beer locations – one in Holly Springs at Sunset Commons due to open in late October/early November; and one in North Raleigh at 13100 Falls of the Neuse Road, slated to open in April. These two will join his other two THB&B locations in Durham and Chatham County. Check out Town Hall Burger & Beer here. Thanks to John Conway for the heads up on this!

• Also announced was Sadeghi’s newest concept which is also very close to his heart – the opening of a very distinctive coffee shop called People’s in south Durham adjacent to his Durham location of Town Hall Burger & Beer (near Bonefish on 751). The shop will feature coffee (from Black & White Coffee Roasters), smoothies and juices (from his son’s Cold Off the Press) and a unique breakfast menu. Bringing all kinds of people together will be the motivation behind this warm and inviting space. Look for People’s to open in August (at the latest, likely sooner). Stay tuned for more.

Wake County Restaurant News

• For 88 years downtown Raleigh’s Mecca Restaurant has been run by different members of the Doumbalis family, beginning with Nicolaos Doumbalis and his wife Helen. Just this week, the legendary restaurant was sold to Greg Hatem and will become part of the Empire Eats family (Gravy, Sitti, The Pit Raleigh, The Pit Durham, The Raleigh Times, and The Morning Times). Hatem is a long-time friend of the Doumbalis family and has vowed, after some needed updates, to keep things pretty much the same. Congrats on a successful transition of a downtown institution! Keep up with Mecca here.

• The ITB Insider is reporting this week that a new bakery called Flake & Crumb will soon open on Gavin Street, not far from Neuse River Brewing Company and Nickelpoint Brewing Company. Few details are available at this point, but permits were just issued for upfitting the space. We will keep an eye on this.

• Over in Cary, reader Chris Creighton informed us that the Buffalo Brothers has now officially opened on Kildaire Farm Road in Saltbox Village. Check them out here.

• Down in Holly Springs things are starting to come to life with the town’s new development on Main Street called Town Hall Commons. A few tenants have been announced including Osha Thai Kitchen & Sushi. Osha, meaning “tasty” or “delicious” in Thai, focuses on authentic Thai cuisine prepared with fresh ingredients to create well-balanced dishes bursting with flavor. Osha will also offer a Sushi bar and separate liquor bar, both with full menu ordering capability. Get more details here in this article.

• Also in Town Hall Commons will be Shoes & Brews…that serves up, well, running shoes and craft beer. Now, if that doesn’t get you running, I don’t know what will. Keep up with them on their Facebook page here. Thanks to Scott Eaton for the tip on the happenings at Town Hall Commons.

Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News

• WRAL’s Sarah Krueger sent out a tweet announcing that Thai @ Main Street (in the former Dame’s Chicken and Waffles space) has opened in downtown Durham. Congrats to chef/owner Jay Aparoj who also owns Bangkok 54 in Chapel Hill. Thai @ Main Street will serve the dishes of central Thailand, focusing on the flavors of Bangkok, where Aparoj grew up. And stay tuned, apparently there is a third concept in the works. In the meantime, check out Thai @ Main Street here.

• And Durham foodie Johanna Kramer let folks know that Dimsum Asian Bistro has opened on Hwy. 55, not far from the intersection with Hwy. 54 (5410 NC Highway 55 Ste Y, to be exact), in the Greenwood Commons shopping center. Check them out here.

Closings

• Reader Loren Watterson let us know that the Chapel Hill location of Noodles & Company on Franklin Street is no more. But don’t fret, they still have 7 locations throughout the Triangle.

Food Trucks

• The Knightdale Food Truck Thursdays went back into full swing this month. Trucks will be on hand for lunch and dinner each Thursday at the Knightdale Station Park. Get a full schedule and truck listing on their website here. Thanks to Mark Ginsberg for the heads up.

• Sunday, June 24^th is the date for the next Wake Forest Food Truck Rodeo being held from 12-4 at the Over the Falls shopping center located at 405 S. Brooks St. Check out their Facebook events page here.

• The dates have been set for the Durham Central Park Food Truck Rodeo and Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeos. Check out Durham here and Raleigh here.

• Two great sites to keep up with your favorite food trucks. Street Food Finder is one – find it here. And another, aptly named, is Roaming Hunger – find it here.

Events

• It is here. Today. June 1 is National Donut Day. You know what to do. What to look for. Go. Get. Donuts! Enough said.

• The 2018 version of Farm to Fork expanded to three events and the fun begins with the first event this weekend, June 3, the perennial favorite Farm to Fork Picnic, where the area’s best farmers and chefs are paired. Then on September 16 they’ll host a pop-up dinner featuring Jacob Boehm of Snap Pea Underground & Catering. And the series will conclude on December 6th with John T. Edge and a celebration of Southern food on Chapel Hill’s Lavender Oak Farm. You can buy ticket to each individual event, or all three. Get tickets and all the details on their site here.

• Also on June 3^rd, PORCH, an all-volunteer, grassroots nonprofit organization that distributes food to hundreds of at-risk families in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, will host its first-ever PORCHfest from 5-8pm on the Lawn at Southern Village. The free event will feature rhythm-and-blues band Too Much Fun, along with goodies available from Al’s Burger Shack, Maple View Farms, and Carolina Brewery, as well as several Southern Village-located businesses including Pazzo – with proceeds benefiting PORCH’s fresh food program. Get all the details here.

• Next week beginning on June 4^th and running through June 11^th sees the return of the bi-annual Triangle Restaurant Week. During the week, participating restaurants within Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham and surrounding areas will offer a special, 3-course prix fixe lunch menu ($10 or $15) and/or 3-course prix fixe dinner menu ($20, $25, $30 or $35) each day they are open. It is a great opportunity to check out new restaurants that you might not have tried yet. Get all the details on their website here.

• On June 11^th, Mandolin chef Sean Fowler welcomes author Debbie Moose, an award-winning journalist and author of many cookbooks, for a dinner celebrating the debut of her newest book, “Carolina Catch,” a 96-recipe cookbook highlighting North Carolina seafood. Joining Fowler for this summer celebration of NC seafood and NC beer are Ryan Speckman and Lin Peterson from Locals Seafood Market & Oyster Bar, Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood, Nate Garyantes of Mateo bar de tapas, and Jake Wood of 18 Seaboard for a 5-course, beer-paired dinner featuring seasonal beers from Bond Brothers Beer Company, Fullsteam Brewery, Brewery Bhavana and more. Guests will hear from author Debbie Moose as well as from the talented chefs, organizations and brewers, and may purchase signed books at the dinner. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit NC Catch, the organization committed to strengthening the state’s seafood economy through promotion and education. Tickets for the $75 dinner may be purchased here.

• The 2018 version of Chefs for Change, a fundraising dinner series that pairs the burgeoning Durham food scene with the needs of families experiencing homelessness, is well underway. The first two events (featuring Charlie Deal on March 12 and Scott Howell on May 14) sold out. And if last year is any indication, the next two dinners will sell out quickly. The July 9th event features Phoebe Lawless (The Lakewood and Scratch) and the September 10^th event features Gocciolina’s Aaron Benjamin. Each night the chef will serve three or more courses at a ticketed dinner with the proceeds benefiting Families Moving Forward. The dinners are held at the Rickhouse and limited to 125 people. Get all the details and tickets here.

• And finally, listen up chefs! The NCRLA Chef Showdown is an annual statewide culinary competition sponsored by the NC Department of Ag. It’s a culinary competition open to chefs (savory and pastry) across the state. There are two regional semi-finalist rounds remaining (Hickory June 4 and Raleigh, June 25) that will result in a final competition on Monday, Aug 27 in Charlotte. The final event is in conjunction with the first night of the industry’s Restaurant & Hotel Expo. Get all the information you need here.

Food Bank Corner

• As a part of the Stop Summer Hunger initiative, generous friends of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina will match every gift – dollar for dollar. Please help them reach their matching goal of $135,000. For every $20 you give, the Food Bank can provide 200 meals! Make your donation here!