TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

• This past week marked the closing of Benelux Coffee in downtown Raleigh’s City Market, but also the announcement that they will be opening their new location in Cameron Village Shopping Center (402 Oberlin Street to be exact) next month. In the meantime, you can visit them at their Alexander Family YMCA location on Hillsborough Street. We’ll keep an eye on their opening date. Keep up with them here.

Wake County Restaurant News

•  In other coffee news, Carolina Business Connection reported earlier this week that Wake Forest-based coffee shop Bean Therapy has opened a second location at The Galleria in North Raleigh at 9650 Strickland Road. They will have an open house on September 6 from 10 – 6 p.m. with door prizes and free coffee samples. Check them out here.

• The News & Observer reported this week that Italian restaurant Posta Tuscan Grille and its bar at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh are transitioning into a Southern eatery and gastropub that will be called Rye Bar and Southern Kitchen. Look for renovations to begin in early October with a planned “reopening” the second week of November.

• Got word this week from a Yelp message board that a Supreme Hibachi Asian Buffet is set to open in the location that used to be Blinco’s at 6711 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. No word yet on an open date, but we’ll keep an eye on it.

• Gary Lane let me know this week that Clouds Brewing, a locally owned craft beer bar and restaurant in downtown Raleigh, is holding their grand opening tonight (August 29) beginning at 5 p.m. Get all the details here.

• Beginning at 11 a.m. on September 1st, World of Beer is opening their second Triangle area location at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Westin Parkway. Here are the numbers: 55 taps; 500 bottled beers; 19 flat screens. And that does not include the pretty yummy pub faire that will be offered. Also, on September 2nd (their official grand opening) 10% of all sales will go to SAFEChild. Check them out here.

• Got word from several sources this week that Blackfinn Ameripub is set to open September 3rd (as with any opening, that is subject to change) in Morrisville’s Park West Village at 3201 Village Market Place. With other locations throughout the country, this marks the first Triangle area location. It looks pretty cool. Check it out here.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• The News and Observer reported that Foster’s Market Chapel Hill, a restaurant and market that opened in 1998, is changing its name to The Root Cellar Café & Catering in September. Everything you have come to love will remain the same. But look for some new things on the horizon. Check them out here.

• Looks like hot dogs are joining the list of hottest places on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill – joining pizza joints and t-shirt shops. The Daily Tar Heel is reporting this week that Trolly Stop Hot Dogs is well on its way to opening a Chapel Hill location at 306 W. Franklin Street, in the same complex as Vespa Ristorante. This follows the opening of Sup Dogs, which just opened several weeks ago. Check them out here.

• The Triangle Business Journal is reporting this morning that Nzinga’s, a new breakfast and brunch cafe, is coming to 828 Fayetteville Street in the Phoenix Crossing Shopping Center in Durham. They are having a “tasting party” on September 4th from 6-7:30 p.m. Check out their Facebook page here.

Closings 

• Bummed to have to report this week that Dorry’s Downtown closed their doors in downtown Cary last weekend. My best to Ray on whatever he takes on next.

• Saw on a Yelp message board, and confirmed by a posting on Twitter, that just over a year after opening, the OC Bar & Grill on Oberlin Road in Raleigh has closed.

• Got word from reader Pat Price this week that the View Bar on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh has closed. That is the bad news. But coming out of that, it appears as if Big Mike’s BBQ (which was operating out of View Bar) will be opening a new location over in Cary next month at 1222 NW Maynard Road in Cary. Website says it is opening in October. We will keep an eye on it.

Food Trucks 

Food Bank Corner   

• The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is proud to announce that they will hold their 3rd Annual FoodBank24 New Media Telethon on September 26-27, 2014. The 24-hour event begins at noon on September 26th and continues for 24 straight hours of entertaining and enlightening activities as part of Hunger Action Month. Put it on your calendar and get all the details here. There are lots of ways to participate.

•  There is a new dog in town and they open today at 121 Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh in the former Spize Café location. Tasty 8’s Gourmet Hot Dog Company will feature 8 gourmet dogs, 8 dipping sauces, 8 delicious shakes and 8 beers on tap. The impressive renovations to the space include a take-out window and a very fun and welcoming space to enjoy the sites and sounds of downtown Raleigh. Check them out here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Got a tip from reader Lauren Landis that Duck Donuts, with a wildly popular location on the Outer Banks, is planning to open a location in Cary. According to their website, they will be coming to Wrenn Plaza this fall. Check them out here and keep up with all their progress on their Facebook page here.

• Cary as we know it is about to change. Beginning at 11 a.m. on September 1st, World of Beer is opening their second Triangle area location at the corner of Harrison Avenue and Westin Parkway. Here are the numbers: 55 taps; 500 bottled beers; 19 flat screens. And that does not include the pretty yummy pub food that will be offered. Check them out here.

• Also in Cary, got a posting on my blog last week that a Mexican restaurant called Totopos is getting ready to open in the old Chili’s space on Kildaire Farm Road opposite Trader Joes (1388 Kildaire Farm Road to be exact). No word yet on an open date, but they tout themselves as chef-driven menu focused on the diverse street foods accompanied by an amazing tequila bar. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one for sure!

• Got word from several sources this week that Blackfinn Ameripub is set to open September 3rd (as with any opening, that is subject to change) in Morrisville’s Park West Village at 3201 Village Market Place. With other locations throughout the country, this marks the first Triangle area location. It looks pretty cool. Check it out here.

• Also in Morrisville, the Triangle Business Journal is reporting that Cafe Anar, a Mediterranean and central Asian restaurant, has opened in the Factory Shops in Morrisville in the former Moustache Café spot. Check out their Facebook page here.

• The Triangle Business Journal reported that the owners of the Cleveland Drafthouse at I-40 and Highway 42 in Cleveland (between Garner and Clayton) are opening a second location in Clayton at the intersection of US 70 and Shotwell Road behind the CVS Pharmacy. According to their Facebook page, they are targeting a mid-September opening. Check them out here.

• The Carolina Ale House continues to grow, this time into Garner. The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that the Carolina Ale House restaurant group has been named as the first tenant to commit to the expansion of the White Oak Crossing shopping center in Garner that will be anchored by Cabela’s outdoor retail store. Look for an opening in the first quarter of 2015.

• And also in Garner, my friends Melissa and Alvin Cotto have opened up Big Al’s Pizza and Wings at 5176 NC 42 West. A scratch made kitchen, they make their own dough, pizza sauce, wing sauces, and even sausage in house. Get by and check them out here.

• Chipotle Mexican Grill continues to grow its presence in the Triangle with two new locations on the way in North Raleigh. The first is along with the new Gander Mountain outdoor store at the Triangle Plaza shopping center on Capital Boulevard. Look for it to open in the next month. The other is at the Harvest Plaza shopping center at Strickland and Six Forks roads at the spot of the leveled Burger King.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• G Patel is extending his Eschelon Experiences empire over into Durham with the report this week by the Herald Sun that Basan, a modern Japanese restaurant, is coming to downtown Durham’s American Tobacco Campus in the Diamond View III building adjacent to the DPAC and overlooking the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The menu is inspired by the West Coast style of Japanese cuisine and focuses on specialty sushi rolls, seafood, appetizers and a sake selection. They hope to have it open by the end of the year. Check them out here.

• Got a little bit more information this week on Heavenly Buffaloes in Durham. It is the creation of Dain Phelan, owner of Dain’s Place, and is on course to open next week. It is located just off Ninth Street on Markham Avenue in what was formerly Sam’s Grill. Check them out here.

• And the Herald Sun also reported this week that a restaurant chain Pholicious is coming to the Streets at Southpoint. This will be their first venture into North Carolina. The restaurant specializes in Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup. Our guess is that it will be in the food court. Check them out here.

Closings 

• None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

Food Trucks 

Food Bank Corner   

• The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is proud to announce that they will hold their 3rd Annual FoodBank24 New Media Telethon on September 26-27, 2014. The 24-hour event begins at noon on September 26th and continues for 24 straight hours of entertaining and enlightening activities as part of Hunger Action Month. Put it on your calendar and get all the details here. There are lots of ways to participate.