Featured Restaurant News
- Can’t get enough of Union Special? Well, there are now two locations to get Andrew Ullom’s yummy creations and coffee with the opening of the second location (original location is at Gateway Plaza) in downtown Raleigh at 401 Fayetteville Street (near the intersection of Fayetteville and Davie streets where Tama Tea was). Limited menu through today, and then full-on next week! We agree with Andrew…this is dope! Keep up with their latest on Instagram here.
Wake County Restaurant News
- St. Roch Fine Oysters + Bar reopened (Wednesday) this week after a kitchen fire forced the restaurant to temporarily close about four months ago. We are excited to welcome owner Sunny Gerhart and his crew back into the great mix of dining establishments in downtown Raleigh. They are open for dinner daily as well as brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Visit them here.
- RalToday reported that Day and Night Cereal Bar, an “exotic cereal bar,” is officially opening on October 5th at Sutton Square in North Raleigh on Falls of the Neuse Road. Sound like something straight out of Los Angeles? That’s exactly what this is. With a location already in Charlotte, this will be their first location in the Triangle. Check them out here.
- Over in Cary, Zambrero, Australia’s largest Mexican cuisine franchise, is now in soft-open mode at their location at Parkside Town Commons at 1151 Parkside Main St. in Cary. They will hold their grand opening celebration on October 23. The fast-casual restaurant serves healthy options in the form of customizable burritos, bowls, tacos and more. They have another location in Durham (University Hill), and plan to open more in the Triangle (the Raleigh location closed during the pandemic). They’re offering some great deals, including a Free Bowls or Burritos for a Year drawing during the soft opening (from Sept. 29 through Oct. 13) and 1,000 free burritos and bowls for the first 1,000 customers during grand opening weekend. Visit them here.
- Also in Cary, the Triangle Business Journal shared that Indian restaurant Urban Angeethi has opened at Alston Town Center in Cary. The restaurant features both meat-based and vegetarian menu items, and requires reservations ahead of time. Get familiar with them here.
- Down in the Quay, we got an update from the popular blog/Facebook page “Today in the Quay” that the Cleveland Draft House is opening today, October 1 (11:00 a.m. is what we are hearing) at 1420 East Broad Street (the old Golden Corral building). They currently have locations in Clayton and Garner and the menu in Fuquay-Varina will mirror the menu of the other locations. You can visit them here.
- Over in Holly Springs, reader Tom Warfield notice signage indicating that the Dairy Queen at 601 Village Walk Drive had closed. He also noticed that the construction documentation indicated that a Chipotle would be moving into that space. No word yet on a timeline.
- This is kind of fun. Visit Raleigh put together a list of restaurant “Icons and Institutions” in and around Raleigh/Wake County. It is a fun list of restaurants and bars that have been around since, well, even before me! How many have you been to? Have fun checking out the list here.
- Looking for all the outdoor dining options in Downtown Raleigh? The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has put together a great list of those options, and they even divided it up by district. Check out that list here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
- Drink Durham. Ok, I’m on board with that – give me more details. The Drink Durham Festival will take place on Saturday, October 30 from 2-11 p.m and combines beer, live music, food trucks, and local vendors to raise money for the CNOTE Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which provides scholarship funds to HBCUs in North Carolina. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the CNOTE Foundation. Get all the details here.
- And if you need more places to drink, head down to Pittsboro (well, not just yet) where Facebook group Pittsboro Eats! shared that Red Moose Brewing Company is coming to the downtown area. They will be located at 90 East Street between Hardees and the courthouse. They are a family and pet-friendly, locally-owned brewery. Keep up with their progress and opening announcement on their Facebook page here.
- Also in Pittsboro, Pittsboro Eats! Facebook page shared that Michoacan Mexican Grill at 440 East Street has completed their remodel and are re-opening today, Friday, October 1st. Visit their Facebook page here.
- Here are a couple of wonderful resources for those looking to dine in downtown Durham or downtown Chapel Hill – Downtown Durham Inc. has an up-to-date listing of the status of each restaurant in downtown Durham. Check out the list here. And the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership has put together a similar list for Chapel Hill here.
Closings / Cancellations
- Reader Tom Warfield noticed signage indicating that the Dairy Queen at 601 Village Walk Drive in Holly Springs had closed.
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
- Get ready for the seventh-annual WRAL.com Voters’ Choice Awards! Nominations for the WRAL Voters’ Choice Awards are now open! Nominate your favorite local businesses and help them make it to the voting round in October. Each year, your nominations and votes help WRAL recognize local favorites. Get all the details here.
- Tonight (Friday, October 1st) the Downtown Raleigh Alliance is combining First Friday with Dine Out Downtown to bring you Dine Out @ First Friday in the Glenwood South District from 7-10 p.m. Enjoy food, music, and art all in one night, all in Downtown Raleigh. Art galleries + studios are open late with rotating exhibits and streets are closed for extended outdoor dining. Get all the details with a listing of participating restaurants here.
- Ever thought it would be really cool to spend an evening touring some of our great, local breweries? Yea, me too. Well friends Davin Jackson and Michael Schram have made that a reality with the launching today (October 1) of City Brew Tours right here in Raleigh. City Brew Tours Raleigh will offer unforgettable, all-inclusive tours and beer-focused experiences at breweries like Clouds Brewing and Gizmo Brew Works, highlighting the heritage of craft beers in Raleigh, N.C. The experience blends history, beer knowledge, transportation, great food and unrivaled access to the area’s top breweries and their beer. Get all the details and sign up for one of the tours here.
- Downtown Durham Inc. announced that The Streetery will return Saturday, October 9 at Geer Street with added outdoor seating and buskers. Join them from 12 – 9 p.m. to shop, carry out, dine in or dine out. The Streetery happens on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. Get all the details here.
- Also on October 9th, Durham will be one of three cities globally (joining Soweto, South Africa and Los Angeles) in hosting Blacktoberfest on Saturday, October 9th from 2-10 p.m. Blacktoberfest is a festival spanning two continents with over 100 Black-owned establishments coming together to showcase their talents in this second year display of craft beer and culinary excellence. Get tickets and all the details at their website here.
- 580 Craft Beer in Pittsboro will host the first ever Chatham County Beer Festival on Sunday, October 24 from 3 – 6 p.m. at their location at 354 East St. They will be hosting 15+ beer vendors as well as food trucks and live music. Preorder and get all the details on their Facebook event page here.
- Our friends over at RalToday reminded us that Raleigh Veg Fest 2021 originally scheduled for April 4 has moved to October 31 in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square. Details here.
- After having to cancel the 2019 and 2020 events, the Town of Cary will hold Fest in the West on November 6th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The event will take place at the USA Baseball National Training Complex and will feature food and beer vendors, entertainment, a kids’ zone as well as arts and crafts. Get all the details here.
- And there is a new event in the works for the Triangle – our first Triangle Vegan Restaurant Week which is scheduled for November 1-7 this year. Organizer Karen Pullen has lined up 16 participating restaurants so far and is looking for more. So if your restaurant is interested in participating (a special menu for that week–at least two creative vegan options, or a three-course fixed price meal) reach out to her at [email protected] or visit the site here for more details.
Food Bank Corner
- Students Against Hunger — If your school community came together to raise meals for our food-insecure neighbors, how many people could you feed? Find out! In the last year, the Food Bank distributed food to almost 500,000 children facing hunger in the 34 counties we serve, and unfortunately, the number of children in need is increasing. With COVID-19 closing schools and school systems struggling to make the adjustments required to serve children, we saw the devastating impact. No child should have to worry when he or she will eat again, and no parent should have to skip a meal, water down drinks or risk not paying a bill so they can put food on the table for their children. Since its inception, Students Against Hunger has provided hundreds of thousands of meals to families with the support of local schools. Now your school can join the mission to nourish, build, and empower our community! Get the details here.
