TRIANGLE FOOD BLOG

•  Happy to announce that Boulted Bread, downtown Raleigh’s newest bakery, is officially open for business. They are located at 614 W. South Street. Congratulations to Fulton Forde, Sam Kirkpatrick, and Joshua Bellamy. Check them out here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• Got word this week from John Huisman, aka Triangle Explorer, that a new smokehouse called The Blistered Pig Smokehouse is coming to downtown Apex (225 N. Salem Street to be exact). It looks like they are shooting for a late October opening, but we’ll keep an eye on it. Get a sneak peek at them here.

• Also in Apex, Ashley Mills tipped me off to the fact that Dohertys Irish Pub, with a location on High House Road in Cary, is opening a new location in Apex off Hwy 55 (at the intersection with Apex Peakway) in the old Sparks Wings & Ribs location. Check out Doherty’s here.

• And if that is not enough good Apex news for you, I got a tweet this week from Nick Thomas that it looks like a fish and chips restaurant named Chippy’s is scheduled to open in the old Dixie Belle’s Smokehouse location at 1001 Davis Drive. No other information is available at this time, but we’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks Nick!

• The Triangle Business Journal reported this week that the Tampa, Florida-based Burger 21, an upscale burger franchise, will soon be opening their second location in North Carolina this time in Morrisville. No word yet on an exact location, but they plan to be open by the summer of next year. We will keep an eye on this. Check them out here.

• Alison Mecca, who recently opened a permanent brick-and-mortar location for her popular food truck, Iced Cupcakes, will hold a grand opening celebration on Thursday, August 21st from 6-9pm. The celebration will be held at Iced Cupcakes’ new location, 5911 Poyner Village Parkway, Suite 103, Raleigh, NC 27616. Get more details here.

• Got a tweet this week from Rebecca Calhoun that there is a Firehouse Subs sign up in the old Cici’s Pizza spot in North Raleigh’s Bent Tree Plaza. No word yet on an open date.

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News 

• Saw in Chapel Hill Magazine that Time-Out is officially closing their current home in University Square on September 1st, but only days later will open on the corner of Franklin and Henderson Streets (where East End bar used to be) with one location, and yet another, this one a Time-Out Express, inside the Time Out Sports Bar & Restaurant across from Eastgate Shopping Center. Glad to know this year’s UNC freshman class will not miss out on a Chapel Hill institution. Get more details on Time-Out here.

• We were the first to tell you back in June that the Egg & I was taking over the space formerly occupied by Piola in Chapel Hill’s East 54. Got an update this week that they are looking to open before year’s end. Check them out here.

• We also learned this week that the Egg & I is not the only new restaurant headed to Chapel Hill’s East 54. Durham’s very own Enzo’s Pizza will open their second location and will join the mix (in the 3000 building) at East 54. They are looking to open before year’s end as well. Check them out here.

• Got a press release this week that the first North Carolina location of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers restaurant opened on Wednesday in Durham at the intersection of 15-501 and Interstate 40. But their plans in North Carolina don’t end there. Plans are now underway to begin construction on a second location in Cary in the Searstone Retail Village at the corner of Davis Drive and High House Road. Check them out here.

• And a Christina G. posted on a Yelp message board this week that a place called Heavenly Buffaloes (tagged as the wing joint you’ve been looking for) is going into the space on Markham Avenue in Durham that was formerly Sam’s Grill. Nothing much up on their website yet, but says it is coming in August. We’ll keep an eye on it.

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.

• Congrats to Chef Dean Thompson of Flights at the Renaissance Hotel on Main at North Hills in Raleigh who became the first two-time regional champion last week overcoming the battle of spiced honey liqueur and grits. Thompson beat out Chef Steve Zanini of Jimmy V’s Steak House & Tavern in Cary in the final Triangle dinner competition after rising to the top of the 16-chef regional tournament that started back in June. The Got to Be NC Competition Dining Series heads back to Raleigh for the Final Fire in November. Additional information and ticket reservations are available here.

Wake County Restaurant News

• John Huisman, aka Triangle Explorer, tipped me off to the fact that Wake Forest is getting a new eatery in September called Leli’s Diner at 3325 Rogers Road. Not much on their website yet, but they are throwing some delicious looking pictures up on their Twitter feed.

• Also in Wake Forest, WRAL reported that Rosati’s Pizza has opened off of South Main Street. This marks the second Triangle-area location (Morrisville is the other) for the Chicago-based franchise that serves up pizza, pasta and sandwiches. Check them out here.

• A big congratulations to the folks over at Sassool (formerly Neomonde) in North Raleigh as they hold their official grand re-opening tomorrow (August 9) beginning with a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. Get a list of all the events going on tomorrow here.

• Got word this week from a tweet from Joseph Wells that Jet’s Pizza, a deep-dish pizza chain out of Michigan, has opened another store at 3004 Wake Forest Road in North Raleigh. This marks the 4th Triangle location. Check them out here.

• We have an update to a new restaurant we told you about earlier this year in downtown Raleigh. When we first reported it, they were looking at a summer-time opening, but got an update this week (via their Facebook page) that Chef Gregory Hamm, who owns Café 121 in Sanford and Cary, will be opening P.G.Werth’s at 927 West Morgan Street in downtown Raleigh in late October. Check their Facebook page here.

• And one last update via a Facebook feed. We learned that the Cary location of World of Beer is shooting for an August opening – as in, this month! Keep up with them here.

• And David McCreary (author of Lunch Boy Says) reminded me last week that the Firehouse Subs on Main Street in Fuquay Varina has opened. Thanks David!

Durham, Orange & Chatham County Restaurant News

• The News & Observer reported this week that Durham chef Scott Howell (owner of Nana’s and Nanataco) will be expanding his restaurant group with the opening of Nanasteak at American Tobacco Campus, tentatively scheduled to open next spring.

• And if that is not enough to keep Scott busy, he also has another new restaurant and cocktail bar called Bar Virgile, which will be at the corner of Main and Mangum streets in downtown Durham. There is also talk of Scott adding a custom shipping container (like those from BMarko) to extend the bar, so watch this space. The focus is cocktails but there will be a small kitchen that will serve housemade frankfurters, sausages, pates, terrines, some imported meats and local and imported cheeses. Howell hopes to open Bar Virgile later this year. Not much is there, but here is their Facebook page if you want to “like” them.

• The Chapel Hill Magazine reported this week that a new restaurant is opening soon in the Chatham Downs Shopping Center (Harris Teeter) on 15-501 just across the county line in Chatham County. Called Figs & Honey, it is owned by the husband and wife team of Heba Salama and Ed Brantley. I’m looking forward to this one. Check them out here.

• I got a tweet this week that the Colorado Burrito Company has opened in the Shops at Daniel Boone Village in Hillsborough. I was unable to find a website or Facebook page for the new eatery.

• Caught wind this week that Bella’s over in Durham has moved to Carrboro in the old Ba Da Wings location at 360 W. Main Street. Started three years ago in Durham, they now call Carrboro home and are called Bella’s International Cuisine. You can 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.