Dix Park Flowers Cottage Debuts

A Dix Park landmark gets a new round of hospitality.

Dix Park has always been home to golden-hour strolls, tail-wagging laps around the dog park and miles on the greenway—but now, there’s a new reason to linger. Enter Flowers Cottage, the park’s freshly reimagined historic gem, which reopened its doors in August for double-duty service as Cottage Coffee and Park Bar.

Behind the counter are two familiar faces in Raleigh’s booming hospitality scene, Jeff Clarke and Justin Pasfield, the duo behind some of the city’s most beloved neighborhood haunts: Person Street Bar, Natural Science and Big Cat. 

The pair landed the project in 2024 after winning a bid from the City of Raleigh, then worked with the city and Dix Park Conservancy to bring this vision to life. And while the setting may be new, the ethos isn’t: For Clarke and Pasfield, Flowers Cottage is another extension of the neighborhood-first hospitality that has long defined their spots.

“In all the projects we work on, we’re always focused on community and gathering,” says Pasfield, “and this is the ultimate place to do that because it’s a perfect space for people of all different backgrounds.”

The renovated space splits the difference between cafe and cocktail hour: Cottage Coffee occupies the upstairs, slinging locally roasted coffee, tea, soft-serve and baked goods, while Park Bar operates below on an expanded back deck, offering craft beer, wine and nonalcoholic options with a front-row seat to the Downtown Raleigh skyline.

“We’ve been longtime fans of Dix Park,” muses Pasfield, “and for us to have a chance to do a small business inside the park was obviously a really exciting opportunity to connect with the city.”

Whether stopping in after a run, seeking out Thomas Dambo’s whimsical troll sculptures with a side of sips or simply looking for a spot to linger in nature, Cottage Coffee and Park Bar’s invitation is simple: Pull up a seat, sip and stay awhile. 

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