December 11, 2015 · 8:11 am
Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.
Featured Restaurant News
- Santa’s elves will be busy on Christmas this year no doubt, but it won’t just be making toys for little kids. They’ll also be serving up meals at some of your favorite restaurants. To find out where they’ll be, check out the News & Observer’s list of restaurants open on Christmas.
Wake County Restaurant News
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Lisa and Mounir Saleh, and their two oldest daughters,
Noelle and Simone, just yesterday opened a second location of
Sassool Mediterranean Cafe in Cary’s
Shoppes of Kildaire, just a few doors down from Trader Joe’s. So excited for them and their success!
Visit them here.
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Well this is sad and exciting all at the same time! The original owners of
Maximillian’s Grill over in Cary have sold their restaurant to two of their employees –
Will and
Margie Hennessey. The restaurant originally opened in 1991 and moved to its current location on Chapel Hill Road in 2002. The
Schiffer’s last day will be December 31st and then the
Hennessey’s plan to close the restaurant for updates for about a month, before reopening on February 1st.
Check them out here. Our best to
Michael and
Gayle Schiffer as they ride off into the sunset of retirement…at the beach! Thanks to the
News & Observer and my friend
Amy Leonard for keeping me posted on this development.
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We told you about this back in September, but reader
Michelle Hillison informed me this week that
Brad Barbour’s Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar, originally hoping to open in December, will open the first week in January in Cary’s
Preston Corners in the old
Caribou Coffee location.
Check them out here.
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Also in Cary, we are getting closer and closer to the opening of
The Mayton Inn, a new boutique hotel coming to Academy Street in Cary by the same folks (
Colin and
Deanna Crossman) behind the
King’s Daughters Inn in Durham. But more exciting to me will be chef
Jeff Gomper’s menu from
The Verandah. I’m getting a sneak peek at it in January, so the opening can’t be far off!
Check it out here.
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Reader
Rebecca Calhoun tipped me off to the fact that there is a new comfort food restaurant in
Litchford Village Plaza in Raleigh called
Milow’s.
Check them out here.
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James Borden’s Raleigh Public Record blog uncovered a fun update near the intersection of Six Forks and Wake Forest Road. A takeout only restaurant called
Gorilla Grille Carry Out is moving into the Shell gas station at 210 E. Six Forks Road. No word on a timeline nor whether it will impact the
Dunkin’ Donuts currently operating there.
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A quick update from the folks over at
The Twisted Fork in north Raleigh, thanks to a posting on
Yelp. They noted that things are moving along nicely with the reconstruction as well as a few new features to the restaurant. They also noted they are still shooting for a January re-opening.
Stay tuned here.
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Also on Yelp, it looks like the Carolina Wings Company in Stonehenge Shopping Center has closed, but will re-open in January under new ownership as Stonehenge Tavern. We were able to confirm a corporate registration with that name in October with the Secretary of State’s office. Stay tuned!
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Down in Garner, got a press release that
Blaze Pizza will open its newest location next Thursday,
December 17 at 11 am.
Blaze is located at 140 Cabela Drive. This marks the second
Blaze Pizza location in the Triangle and statewide.
Get more details here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News
- The taste of Argentina is coming to the Triangle, more specifically southwest Durham, in a matter of days. Makus Empanadas, located in Durham’s Hope Valley Commons shopping center, is shooting for a December 21st opening of their brick and mortar operation. Congratulations to brothers Hernan and Santiago Moyano and Ricky Yofre! Check them out here. Thanks to the update from our friends over at the blog Bites of Bull City.
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The
Triangle Business Journal reported this week (following the announcement over in Garner) that
Blaze Pizza will open its next location over in Durham at
Patterson Place, near the intersection of 15-501 and Interstate 40. At this point, we don’t have a timeline.
Check them out here.
Closings
- None to report! (which is a relief after last week’s announcements) Keep eating local, folks!
Food Trucks
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Who else is missing food truck rodeos? Well, Knightdale hit the jackpot with the weather (temps to reach 70 on Sunday!), and it is all for a good cause.
Rudolph’s Holiday Rodeo will be held THIS
Sunday, December 13th from 12 – 4 p.m. at the
Knightdale Station Park Amphitheater and will feature 15 food trucks! 20% of sales will go to
Meals on Wheels just in time for the holidays! There will also be a truck decorating contest and rumor has it a big ol’ bellied fella in a red suit might show up!
Get all the details here.
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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
- The Guglhupf Bakery & Cafe’s 7th Annual Weihnachts Christmas Market is this Saturday (December 12) from 10 am – 4 pm and will feature a patio filled with local vendors selling unique handcrafted gifts, live music, tasty German street food and plenty of spiced Glühwein! Get all the details here.
- There are tons of events going on this time of year and the folks over at the News & Observer were kind enough to assemble a great list. So check it out here so as to not miss out on anything!
- Things are gearing up for the 2016 version of Triangle Restaurant Week – it will be here before we know it. The next rendition will take place January 25 through the 31st. Start planning your week now.
- The 4th Annual Bull City Food & Beer Experience will be held next year on April 10th, but tickets have already gone on sale. Looks like tickets will be available through DPAC again this year and you can visit the DPAC ticket center to avoid service charges. Check them out on Facebook here.
- Durham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine will sponsor the third annual TASTE: A Celebration of Food & Drink, happening from April 21 to 23, 2016. The event will feature more than 30 top local chefs and establishments in Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Raleigh. A portion of ticket proceeds will be donated to the Durham Branch of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. Get all the details and updates as well as purchase tickets (they have an early bird price of $85 now!) here.
Food Bank Corner
- No child nor family should go hungry during the holidays… and with your help, they won’t! That’s the power of your giving when you contribute to the Food Bank’s Online Holiday Meals Drive. $35 will feed a child for two months. $120 will provide enough food to sustain a family through the winter months. $210 will provide more than 1,000 piping hot holiday meals to local families. Every dollar donated provides five meals! Help them reach the goal of providing 2.4 million meals before December 31 and ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season…Donate Now!
December 4, 2015 · 8:32 am
Triangle Restaurant News
Triangle restaurant news…that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler.
Featured Restaurant News
- Social media blew up this week once word got out that The Capital Grille is coming to Raleigh, and more specifically to the Bank of America Tower at North Hills. The Capital Grille is is an elegant steakhouse known for their dry-aged steaks, seafood, freshest ingredients, and award-winning wines. Each location has an onsite butcher for the 18 to 24-day dry-aging process. Look for them to open the 8,000-square-foot concept next summer. This will be their second North Carolina location (behind Charlotte). Check them out here.
Wake County Restaurant News
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Over in Raleigh’s
Cameron Village,
Jason Smith recently re-opened
Cantina 18 after a 2,000 square foot expansion with upstairs dining, an upstairs bar and an al fresco dining area. For the most part, the menu remains the same. They are now open for lunch and dinner.
Check them out here.
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Also in
Cameron Village, the latest edition of
Rise will have their grand opening tomorrow,
December 5th from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m…just in time for the holidays! This one is located at at 530 Daniels St. at the corner of Daniels and Smallwood (former Best Buy mobile shop).
Check out Rise here.
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Out in Morrisville, thanks to the keen eyes of reader Lee Langston, we learned that construction has started on a building at the corner of Chapel Hill Road and Carrington Mill Blvd. According to permits, it looks like 35 Chinese Restaurant is behind the new activity. No word yet if it is the same owners that used to be on Kildaire Farm Road. We’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks Lee!
- In downtown Raleigh, WRAL let us know that restaurateur and bar operator Jon Seelbinder will soon be opening Virgil’s Original Taqueria at 126 S. Salisbury Street. The restaurant will be located in the same building as Linus and Pepper’s and The Level Up Kitchen and Barcadium. Virgil’s will be providing a variety of tacos with a southern twist. Look for them to open sometime this month. Stay tuned!
- So I checked in one more time with Vita Vite (Italian for “life” and “vine”), a new wine bar that doubles as a gallery for local and regional artists, coming to downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse District. They were hoping to open before Thanksgiving, but it appears they are still waiting on their alcohol permit. Best I can tell you now is to check out their Facebook page to get the latest. They will be opening in the remodeled space at 313 W. Hargett St. that was formerly a nightclub.
- According to a couple of sources now, the Camos Brothers Pizza location on Six Forks Road in Raleigh is now Peri Brothers Pizza. You can check them out on Facebook here.
Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News
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Sometimes you can’t rush good coffee. And apparently that is the case with the newest edition of
Joe Van Gogh Coffee that opened this week (finally!) in the
Woodcroft Shopping Center in south Durham. This is the fourth coffee house for
Joe Van Gogh. Congratulations to owner
Robbie Roberts!
Check them out here.
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We reported back in May about an Asian bistro coming to the northern end of Chatham County in the Polk Landing shopping center. At the time it was listed as Vine Asian Bistro, but the buildout is nearly complete and the sign on the building now reads Moon Asian Bistro. No other information is available at this time.
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And the
News & Observer gave us a bit of an update on the much anticipated
Pizzeria Mercato that is coming to Carrboro (408 W. Weaver Street). If all goes according to plans, they will be open before year’s end.
Mercato is being brought to us by
Gabe Barker, son of
Ben and Karen Barker formerly of
Magnolia Grill in Durham.
You can keep up with Gabe’s progress here.
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Over in Durham, we got word from the folks at
The Durham that they are now open for
Sunday Brunch 11am-2pm weekly. They’re serving brunch classics with a few twists inspired by NC ingredients, along with an expanded cocktail menu.
The menu is available here.
Closings
- We got word from multiple sources that the downtown Raleigh (Seaboard Station) version of Tyler’s Taproom has closed. The Durham, Carrboro and Apex locations remain open. Negotiations are ongoing for a new restaurant concept in that space. Stay tuned.
- Our friends over in Carrboro took two big blows just before Thanksgiving. Both Tom + Chee and Cafe Symmetry both closed their doors. Tom + Chee for good, and Cafe Symmetry owners list them as “closed for reinvention.” Stay tuned on that one.
- Got word first from my friend Gregory Ng that Durham’s Fishmonger’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar has closed after 20+ years. Looks like the tax man came knocking.
- It looks like we can finally stick a fork in the “former” PieBird location. Our friends over at EatRaleigh blog noted that the space has been completely emptied. Oh well, we held out hope as long as we could.
- And finally, my friend David McCreary (aka Lunch Boy Says) has confirmed that the Fuquay-Varina location of Beef O’Brady’s has closed.
Food Trucks
-
Who else is missing food truck rodeos? Well, Knightdale ain’t scared of a little cold, especially when it is for a good cause.
Rudolph’s Holiday Rodeo will be held on
Sunday, December 13th from 12 – 4 p.m. at the
Knightdale Station Park Amphitheater and will feature 15 food trucks! 20% of sales will go to
Meals on Wheels just in time for the holidays! There will also be a truck decorating contest and rumor has it a big ol’ bellied fella in a red suit might show up!
Get all the details here.
-
The
Triangle Business Journal reported this week that
Heavenly Smoke, a Triangle-based food truck that features smoked beef brisket, pork and turkey, has opened a shop in Durham’s
Northgate Mall. Check them out
on Facebook here.
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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
- Today (December 4) at 5:30 p.m., the Washington Duke Inn will host “Bubbles – A Sparkling Holiday Affair” for an evening of festive fizz and toast to the holidays with champagnes and sparkling wines perfect for entertaining this season. In addition to a flight of four bubbles from around the globe, guests will be treated to holiday canapés and seasonal melodies. Check out all of their holiday events here.
- Triangle Family Services will host its 13th annual Gingerbread Benefit on Sunday, Dec. 6 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, North Carolina. The daylong fundraiser features more than 20 elaborate handmade gingerbread houses created by area celebrity chefs. The “Sneak Preview” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and tickets are $25. Santa’s Gingerbread Workshop will take place from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. but tickets are sold out! The evening Gingerbread Benefit, for adults only, will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Get tickets to that here.
- The good folks over at Oval Park Grille and Fullsteam Brewery are teaming up for a 5-course beer dinner on Thursday, December 10th at 6:30 p.m. I’ve seen the menu and it is off the hook! To reserve a spot (or two, or eight) call 919-401-6566. Cost is $45 per person. Check out Oval Park Grille here and Fullsteam Brewery here. A powerful anti-aging face treatment Provides restorative effect to damaged cells Contains anti-wrinkle peptides and ginseng extract to stimulate microcirculation Prime Renewing Pack is a mask-cream by Valmont with a light, non-greasy texture that works to smooth and relax facial features, giving you a fresh, radiant, impurity-free complexion Valmont Prime Renewing Pack It utilizes liposomed RNA, which works to rebalance the skin’s hydrolipidic film without stripping it of its natural barrier Helping to maintain an ideal moisture rate while instantly revealing radiant, healthy skin.
- Things are gearing up for the 2016 version of Triangle Restaurant Week – it will be here before we know it. The next rendition will take place January 25 through the 31st. Start planning your week now.
- The 4th Annual Bull City Food & Beer Experience will be held next year on April 10th, but tickets go on sale today (November 20th) at 12 noon. Looks like tickets will be available through DPAC again this year and you can visit the DPAC ticket center to avoid service charges. Check them out on Facebook here.
Food Bank Corner
- No child or family should go hungry during the holidays… and with your help, they won’t! That’s the power of your giving when you contribute to the Food Bank’s Online Holiday Meals Drive. $35 will feed a child for two months. $120 will provide enough food to sustain a family through the winter months. $210 will provide more than 1,000 piping hot holiday meals to local families. Every dollar donated provides five meals! Help them reach the goal of providing 2.4 million meals before December 31 and ensure that no one goes hungry this holiday season…Donate Now!
