Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.
Featured Restaurant News
- Durham is getting ready to welcome its newest neighborhood bar and kitchen to the Lakewood area – The Honeysuckle at Lakewood. And you don’t have to wait much longer — Tom Meyer and chef Mark Mishalanie have set a tentative opening date of Saturday, September 19th (follow their social media for any changes/announcements). The iconic red barn on Chapel Hill Road, formerly known as County Fare Food Trucks & Bar, has been transformed over the last few months into a warm and inviting neighborhood bar and kitchen featuring 4,000 square feet of spacious interior space that leads out through garage doors into a half-acre of beautifully landscaped open space featuring a huge covered patio and lots of picnic tables. The menu will feature classic American fare, elevating your typical bar food, and a drink menu that features handcrafted and barrel aged cocktails, many of which center around mead (honey wine) that is made on The Honeysuckle Farm in Chapel Hill. Check it all out here.
Wake County Restaurant News
- Eat Raleigh shared the news this week that Iris Coffee Lab in Glenwood South announced they are opening tomorrow (Saturday), September 12th (7 am until 4 pm) at 725 Tucker Street in the Glenwood South district. Follow them on Instagram here.
- Also this Saturday, September 12th, Burrito Shak will be swinging open their doors at 2982 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary (near the intersection with Penny Road) in the ACE Hardware Plaza. Get to know them here.
- Staying in Cary, Carrie Brogren (founder of the Chapel Hill Carrboro Foodies Group on Facebook) brought it to our attention that Chicken Salad Chick will hold their grand opening on September 22nd at 302 Colonades Way (Waverly Place next to Taziki’s) and will be celebrating with a week of giveaways. Look for 12 flavors of chicken salad that are made fresh every day. Visit their Facebook page here.
- Take note Kentucky. Olde Raleigh Distillery, a craft-spirits distillery specializing in small-batch whiskey blends, will begin production and open its tasting room this fall in the heart of downtown Zebulon. Currently under construction at 209 N Arendell Avenue, it will give us craft whiskey, the North Carolina way and establish the Triangle region as a new destination for bourbon. Start getting familiar with them here.
- Up in North Raleigh, North Ridge Country Club welcomed Jordan Gardiner as their new executive chef. After six years as executive sous chef at Myers Park Country Club, Gardiner takes over chef Eric Darin’s spot as North Ridge’s dining leader. Chef Gardiner’s impressive resume includes stints at Zebra Restaurant (Charlotte), Biltmore Estate (Asheville), Starmount Country Club (Greensboro), and the Country Club of Asheville. Welcome chef! Visit NRCC here.
- And the creativity continues in the catering world – this week with news from our friends over at Chef Mario’s who have modified part of their personal chef meal delivery service to focus on your kids. Their new Home School Lunch Line menu allows busy parents who are balancing work, home school and whatever else that 2020 may bring with the easiest way to keep your kids (and yourself!) fed throughout the week. Check out the story on WRAL here.
- Looking for 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
- The beautiful and talented Lori Bowers-Lennard noticed the other day signage up near Whole Foods (opposite end from Cava) in Chapel Hill for Just Salad. They will begin their soft-opening next Monday, September 14th. Apparently we can look forward to the freshest salads, wraps, bowls, avocado toasts and more, prepared from scratch and made to order in a New York minute. They also have a location in Raleigh. But bless their heart, someone should tell them Tar Heels should always be two words, not one. Get familiar with them here.
- And down in Chatham County across from the Governor’s Club, Gov’s Burger and Tap has moved into the spot formerly occupied by Al’s Burger and is now open for lunch, with dinner service beginning today. Visit them on Facebook here.
- Over in Durham, WRAL reported this week that after 13 years in the same location, Parker & Otis has announced it will move to the American Tobacco Campus in November. The restaurant, wine shop and retail store will be moving into the former Tyler’s Taproom space in Bay 4. Visit Parker & Otis here.
- Also in Durham, Alpaca Peruvian Chicken continues to roll out new locations – the newest location returns them to Durham to open at 3726 Mayfair St in the University Hill development. They are looking to open on Monday, September 14th. Check out their website here for details.
Closings / Cancellations
- WRAL shared the news that Fresh Levant Bistro in North Raleigh’s Lafayette Village has made the decision to temporarily close. But they left open the door that they will return!
- Reader Ann Marie Gunter shared the news that Oak City Meatball Shoppe in downtown Raleigh has made the decision to take a pause in business to reset and regroup. Their plan is to reopen in October.
- WRAL also shared the news that East Durham Bake Shop announced Tuesday that it will close permanently this weekend.
- Over in Carrboro, the Carrboro Beverage Company, which includes the Tyler’s Taproom and its Speakeasy, announced its plans to close and sell its inventory.
- Mike DePersia with DePersia & Associates shared the news that Inter Korea House at 4731 NC Hwy 55 in Durham has closed.
- And it was announced on their Facebook page that Bottle Rev in RDU would close their doors on September 25. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are 4 other locations – Lake Boone and Lead Mine both in Raleigh, as well as in Chapel Hill and Apex. Visit them here.
Food Trucks
- Triangle on the Cheap shared the news that Food Truck Flix is a recurring event that combines drive-in movies with food trucks, for a safer entertainment experience just announced their schedule for the upcoming weekends (Friday and Saturday nights). The events will be taking place at Frontier RTP, 800 Park Offices, Durham, and at Focus Church, 7000 Destiny Drive, Raleigh. You can purchase tickets in advance for any of the drive-in movies. The price is $25 per car. Of course, you’ll also want to bring money for the food trucks. Get the movie schedule, purchase your pass and get all the details here.
Events
- Beginning today, September 11, Durham restaurant Jack Tar & the Colonel’s Daughter will host a patio pop-up called Otoño — led by Marla Thurman, the Pizzeria Toro chef de cuisine and a recent winner of the Food Network show Chopped. Chef Thurman will be cooking up regional Mexican dishes and donating 100% of the pop-up’s profits to Urban Ministries of Durham. Get all the details here.
- Ashley Christensen Restaurants is now doing Picnic Pop-up at the Park at the North Carolina Museum of Art. You order your picnic (take-out breakfast, picnic boxes, snacks, and beverages) ahead of time and pick it up on Thursday and Friday 8 am til 2 pm and/or Saturday and Sunday from 9 am til 6 pm. Order ahead here and get contactless pick-up located along the walking path on the south side of the brick East Building at NCMA, behind the amphitheater, facing the sculpture park.
- Alley Twenty Six, one of Downtown Durham’s staple businesses, announced a weekly outdoor pop-up event titled “Alley Freezes Over” happening every Saturday and Sunday (weather permitting) from 12 pm to 8 pm. It continues throughout the summer and early fall. The pop-up includes new frozen cocktails and the choice of “boozy” or alcohol-free snow cones using their local, all-natural Alley Twenty Six syrups, plus a revamped food menu from chef Carrie Schleiffer. Seating will be available outside, in the namesake alley (26 Alley) located directly adjacent to the cocktail bar and will be following safety guidelines, including mask wearing, practicing social distancing, and sanitizing surfaces between guests. Visit them here.
- Here is a great cause to get behind. The Sola Hot Mini 5k, now in its seventh year, is a “virtual race” that will take place in 8 days on September 19th and there is still time to register, donate and/or volunteer! All proceeds raised will be donated to help in the fight to end ALS. Get all the details here!
- Harvest Dinner, Raleigh City Farm’s annual fundraising event to celebrate a successful growing season, has a new format this year! Harvest Dinner “At-Home Edition” is a four-week series of take-home Sunday dinners featuring amazing local chefs: Cheetie Kumar of Garland on October 11; Coleen Speaks of Hummingbird on October 18; Caroline Morrison of Fiction Kitchen on October 25; and Andrew Gravens of A Place at the Table on November 1. The event series helps support the farm and local agriculture as well as the local restaurant community. For more information, visit here.
- On Saturday, October 3rd, chef/owner Scott Crawford will welcome the community to the cobblestone streets of City Market for an outdoor popup dinner featuring Crawford & Son’s “greatest hits” since opening. The charming backdrop of City Market’s old cobblestone streets provide space to serve guests in an open-air setting, in the safest way possible. There are a limited number of seats, and the dinner will take place under City Market’s covered eaves, rain or shine. Get tickets and all the details here.
- If there is any good to be found in the pandemic (there really isn’t!) it might be the resurgence of drive-in and outdoor movies! Some are your traditional drive-in/car venues, while others are outdoor spaces in the grass with market off “spaces” maintaining safe physical distancing and some even involve watching a movie with babygoats! (I’m serious) Our friends over at Triangle On The Cheap have a great list of drive-in and outdoor movie options for you and your family. Of course, bringing food or ordering food on site makes it that much better! Check out their complete listing of options here.
Food Bank Corner
- Covid 19 and the impact will be with us for a long time and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina stands ready for the challenge – but they need your help! Here’s how you can help:
- DONATE FUNDS. As we shift our inventory and operations to meet the ever-changing need as well as prepare ourselves for Hurricane Season, funds are the resource we need most. Financial donations allow us to stay nimble, to change our operation as needed, and to reach new people with our efforts.
- INVOLVE FRIENDS. Want to mobilize your neighborhood, church group, or other circle of friends? Holding a Virtual Food Drive is a great way to help – while practicing social distancing. We even re-launched our Virtual Food Drive platform. Visit foodbankcenc.org/vfd to set yours up today.
- USE YOUR VOICE. Research the policies that impact hunger and speak out! Contact your state, local, and federal representatives to let them know policies like SNAP, TEFAP, and WIC need to be strengthened in order to break the cycle of hunger and help relieve families of the burden of hunger. Visit foodbankcenc.org/advocacy to learn more.
- DONATE TIME. The Food Bank greatly relies on our volunteers, especially in times of crisis.If you are a healthy adult and want to volunteer, you can self-schedule a shift here. #noonegoeshungry
