Exclusive first look: Stakeholders share their vision for development potential.
“I feel more optimistic about the street than I have in a while,” says Bill King—whose vantage point as Downtown Raleigh Alliance president and CEO is clearly in-the-know. “And I really do think you’re going to see Fayetteville Street start to look a bit different over the course of 2023 compared to 2022 and earlier.”
And major players like Fayetteville Street stakeholder Thomas “Skip” Hill are working tirelessly toward that goal. “We want to invest and make this the coolest street—certainly in North Carolina, but in the Southeast and beyond,” says the Highwoods Properties senior VP. “We’re all in soup to nuts, and we want to play a role in coordination with the City of Raleigh.”
Now, propelling that vision, a slew of concepts and activations are on deck—from signed leases to master plans. Here, 10 major updates coming to Raleigh’s Main Street.
Ink Is Dry
Chido Taco This colorful mercado-style taqueria ever so subtly announced its second location on Fayetteville Street by placing two ceramic Chido Taco mugs in the window of the former Living Kitchen space. The new 3,000-square-foot restaurant, slated to open toward the end of Q1, will feature the same menu as the original Chido Taco in McNeil Pointe—and, yes, you’ll be able to take drinks to-go.
HUBB Kitchens Partnership Giving minority and female food & beverage entrepreneurs a leg up is this new training program from HUBB Kitchens, Raleigh Founded and DRA. Expected to start up this summer in a restaurant space at Duke Energy Center before moving to the former Pizza La Stella location Downtown, the concept will train future business owners on cooking skills and the business of running a restaurant, as well as provide mentorship and financing help. It’s also a win-win for those who work/live Downtown, as it’ll add a new lunch option (!). “Being able to provide that, but also make it have an equity impact, is really important to us,” says King.
Mustang House After DTR’s Plaza Cafe owners announced its closure, two Triangle-transplant business partners out of California snatched up the space to open Nepalese concept Mustang House. Look for the spot to open any day now in a lightly refreshed space.
Mobile TV Screen Clearly, Raleighites dig live sports viewing—see the throngs of people who descended on Moore Square to watch the live FIFA World Cup Final via giant mobile TV screen. Now, the city has acquired that massive mobile screen and is evaluating the logistics of live City Plaza screenings of the NCAA tournament, ACC tournament, hockey games and the like.
Economic Development RFP The City of Raleigh is funding an RFP asking national firms to submit proposals for attractions and activations that would promote economic development Downtown (think: retail strategies, position of the DT office market, and supporting minority- and women-owned businesses)—to, in essence, “make Downtown, and Raleigh, great again,” says Hill.
In the Works
Sir Walter Coffee Owner Kevin Frazier confirmed Sir Walter Coffee is very close to signing a lease for the former B.GOOD space at Charter Square—one of four towers Highwoods owns on Fayetteville Street. In the “hip Panera,” as Frazier calls it, expect a slightly bigger breakfast and lunch menu of fresh salads, sandwiches & soups—plus a separate bar and potential for a light dinner menu. If signed, Frazier hopes to open this year.
Alexander Square Parking Deck In addition to the rollup garage doors and other upgrades Highwoods is making as part of the redevelopment of the deck’s ground-floor space we intro’d last summer, the company is also planning to upfit with outdoor dining and food concepts (think sushi, sandwiches, ice cream).
Wells Fargo Building Concept Hill says the lease is very close to being signed for the former Cafe Carolina space—closed since 2017—on a great full-service restaurant from a local hospitality group known for its collection of concepts.
Light Activations Visionary Hill’s, well, vision is to “have lights on every tree all the way down Fayetteville Street,” he says. “In fact, we’d love to have it so that the lighting is tied to a sound system and the lights go dancing on and off based on the music.”
Empire Properties Concept The now-defunct CVS space at 200 Fayetteville St. looks to be a big talker in the near future as Greg Hatem and co. revamp the space with a new concept. Stay tuned.
Raleigh restaurant vets dropping dining concepts at Gateway Plaza
Gateway Plaza is getting a serious foodie upgrade (!). Two restaurants are joining the up-and-coming shopping center just north of downtown: farm-to-fork vegan restaurant Fiction Kitchen (currently located in Downtown) and Mala Pata/Peyote, a twofer Latin American bar and restaurant collaboration between Locals Seafood’s Eric Montagne and Zack Gragg, Ex-Voto’s Marshall Davis, and Centro’s Angela Salamanca (talk about a star-studded team!).
Mala Pata’s menu will feature a variety of Latin American dishes showcasing the use of fresh masa, aka ground in-house from heirloom Mexican corn. Peyote, opening in tandem with the restaurant, will be a late-night ghost bar and market stall in the communal alleyway serving up to-go drinks, desserts, and bulk items from Mala Pata like fresh tortillas and tamales (!).
“We are excited to join the Gateway community alongside our friends at Fiction Kitchen,” says Salamanca. “We live in this neighborhood, and we are excited to see our corner turn into something vibrant.”
Meanwhile, Fiction Kitchen’s Carolina Morrison views the upcoming move to the plaza as a great opportunity to diversify and grow while still adhering to its sustainable and green approach (look out for new vegan menu items!). The new space will also allow Morrison to increase takeout capabilities.
“We plan to bring over the style that everyone knows as Fiction Kitchen. Our atmosphere has always been creative, playful and lively, just like our plates,” says Morrison. “We want to continue investing in the arts of our community members and employees, inside and outside the kitchen.”
Fiction Kitchen will remain open until the new space is complete. All three concepts are anticipated to open this summer. Stay tuned for updates!
Heights House takessupper to new heights with its new pop-up monthly dining experience.
There’s no party like a dinner party—and hostesses with the mostesses Sarah Shepherd of Heights House Hotel and chef Liz Grandchamp of Grandchamp Hospitality are taking the always-classy soiree to new heights (ahem) with their new monthly Supper Club, launching Monday, Feb. 13, at Heights House.
A pop-up dining experience that Shepherd describes as “kind of like a restaurant, but more like a dinner party with new and old friends,” Supper Club aims to bring people of all walks of life together over conversation and a shared meal.
Each dinner will feature an Italian-inspired four-course menu—an homage to Heights House’s Italianate architectural style—composed of some of Grandchamp’s family recipes and signature Italian influenced cuisine. Think everything from crudos and handmade pastas to whole branzino and osso bucco, with local purveyors and seasonal ingredients serving as a core focus. But—in true dinner party spirit—the menus for each dinner may change minutes before guests are seated (been there, done that).
“Liz and I are old friends, and her passion for Italian food made this dinner series such a natural fit, and a beautiful way for us to bring the dining room to life with aperitifs, Italian wines, housemade pastas and much more,” says Shepherd. “We’re really excited to offer Raleigh yet another way to experience this National Historic Landmark in Downtown Raleigh. It’s going to be delicious—and so much fun!”
With monthly themes, diners have the op to pair dishes with Italian wines curated by wine professional Halsey Merritt and Parlor cocktails by barman Will Bryant—plus enjoy apertifs before or after their meal in the Parlor. Because who doesn’t love to pre-/post-game a dinner party?!
“Through our friendship, Sarah and I discovered how much we absolutely love to host and bring the community together with great food and fantastic drinks,” says Grandchamp. “This Supper Club allows us the opportunity to share our style of hospitality and make it a unique, fun and exciting dining experience.” So, go on, ring that dinner bell!
Get ready to amp things up! Progress is being made on two new spots coming to Fenton in Cary: Sports & Social and PBR Cowboy Bar, both powerhouse names in dining and entertainment and two of the fastest-growing concepts in the country (!).
Sports & Social will offer fans an immersive entertainment atmosphere (aka the next-best game-watching experience outside the stadium/arena!) complete with a state-of-the-art 42-foot LED media wall that will allow guests to watch multiple sporting events at once—NTM DJs and live music, competitions, light effects, interactive social games, special events, and an elevated menu of lunch and dinner items (don’t miss the #brunchtails on Saturdays and Sundays!).
Meanwhile, the iconic PBR Cowboy Bar marries an authentic “cowboy cool” Western experience and big-time entertainment. Think a mechanical riding bull, multiple bars, private VIP booths, outdoor space, country music (natch) and more. Both venues will be the first NC locations for the brands. Stay tuned to our Instagram for opening updates! fentonnc.com
Raleighites may know D’Auvray from his first Raleigh restaurant, Fins—which, after he opened in North Raleigh in 1997, catapulted him to star status as one of the big-name chefs in the City of Oaks (to boot, the restaurant earned both a four-star (out of four) and a five-star (out of five) review from the News & Observer’s now-retired longtime and highly revered restaurant critic Greg Cox).
But it was 1988 when the dynamic duo’s story began. D’Auvray was working at a wood-fired pizza oven concept in Greensboro that Bakatsias (who owned former Greensboro restaurants Nicholas and April) often frequented. “It was amazing, amazing food,” says Bakatsias. “I said if pizza could be this good, I wonder what else he can cook.”
And, so, when Bakatsias’ Durham restaurant Parizade opened in 1992, he tapped D’Auvray as the opening chef (the pair also opened Cafe Giorgios together pre-Fins). But when D’Auvray closed Fins after 13 years, he moved to Florida to spread his wings and consult at various restaurants—including one with Bakatsias.
Upon returning to the Triangle in 2016, the LA-bred chef consulted at Vidrio and Parizade; then opened now-shuttered Lula’s (an ode to his great grandmother’s Southern comfort cooking) and still-thriving LuLuBangBang, which specializes in Asian street food, with Chapel Hill Restaurant Group.
But, like two magnets, D’Auvray and Bakatsias found their way back to each other yet again. “It’s an inseparable romance!” jokes Bakatsias. … The pair met for coffee a few months ago, and D’Auvray fell in love with the East End Bistrot concept and space—naturally. “Our energies started humming like an engine again,” says D’Auvray. “He and I have done so much with each other, and we feed off of each other’s creativity. He’s just incredible—what he can do, what he’s done. … And I can fill in his blanks.”
The restaurant will no doubt be a legacy for both the chef and restaurateur: It’s the first big project in NC for D’Auvray since Fins, and it’ll be Bakatsias’ most elevated restaurant experience in Raleigh (meanwhile, Bakatsias’ smaller-scale restaurants Las Ramblas and Giorgio Pizza Bar are both opening in North Hills this month).
“This is more in my wheelhouse, more of what I want to be doing, more of what I did to make a name for myself,” says D’Auvray. And as contemporaries who, in a way, grew up at the same time in the industry, the partnership will allow the pair to both get back to their roots and work together in a fresh and unique way.
“The creative part of it, the creative energy, that’s what makes it fun,” adds D’Auvray. “The day-to-day grind of a restaurant is a constant—that’s always gonna happen. But then the creative part really, really made me excited to do this with him. Because I get to play. We get to play.”
