The highly anticipated development redrafts the mixed-use blueprint by putting food & bev first.
At first, M Sushi owner Michael Lee turned down an invitation to expand to the Fenton mega-development in east Cary. In fact, Lee and his wife declined several overtures.
But Scott Crawford—whose Crawford Brothers Steakhouse was among the first restaurants announced for the 92-acre site—helped convince him.
“When Scott Crawford gave us more details about all the restaurants [planned for Fenton], he basically told us he approved it, and I thought there must be a good reason why,” says Lee.
That buy-in from local chefs like Lee—formerly chef-owner of Sono Sushi in Raleigh and now the owner of Durham’s highly acclaimed M Restaurants—and hometown favorite Crawford is the cornerstone of Fenton’s development plan.
“If someone was developing a retail project 20 or 30 years ago, you would’ve led with department stores,” explains Paul Zarian, managing director at global real estate firm Hines, codeveloper of the massive development. “Food definitely serves as an anchor tenant with Fenton. They were some of the first leases that we signed. They establish what the brand is for the project.”
Food excites people most, says Zarian, and it also creates demand for Fenton’s other uses—retail, office space, residential units and hotels. Less than half of the site alongside I-40 and WakeMed Soccer Park is currently under construction, with more phases planned over the next decade, but food and beverage tenants are heavily concentrated on the front end on purpose, says Zarian.
Most similar projects don’t revolve around food, at least not historically. After all, we’re not meeting up at the food court over Panda Express and Sbarro anymore. That’s part of the reason Lee didn’t see the benefits until visiting a similar Hines project in Alpharetta, which is essentially the Cary of the Atlanta metro.
“There was not much we could think of for why we shouldn’t other than that it was a mall-style development, but taking the trip changed our minds drastically,” says Lee.
The closest local comparison is arguably North Hills, where establishments like Rosewater Kitchen & Bar and Level7 Rooftop Bar make Midtown much more than a classic mall or even your average mixed-use project. Hines’ decision to focus on food first at Fenton—driven by the company’s success with similar investments elsewhere—suggests what could be the establishment of a new norm.
When Fenton opens in April, Lee’s M Sushi—recently named one of OpenTable’s 100 Best Restaurants in the nation—will be among its primary attractions. Lee will also run a small M Test Kitchen there, a space for staff to experiment where they’re “not confined by any type of specific concepts or cuisines,” says Lee (though it will also operate as a full-service restaurant and bar). That could easily make it a destination, even for his Durham faithful.
The two businesses will be in good company. Dram & Draught, a Raleigh MagBest Overall Bar winner for four years running, will open its fifth location in the development (with a sweet seven total slated to be open across NC by 2022’s end, including one in Wilmington). Co-owner Kevin Barrett says Dram & Draught Fenton will include a covered rooftop bar and a lunch-focused full food menu. It’s only a short drive from Dram’s original Downtown Raleigh digs, but “Cary is a different market than Raleigh,” says Barrett—and they’ll be in good company.
“When we heard our friends Scott Crawford and Mike Lee were planning to go there, we were sold,” he says. “We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be neighbors with two world-class operators like them.”
Plus, Dram co-owner Drew Schenck lives in Cary, and Fenton is actually “a bit of a ‘coming home’ for me,” he says. He owned and opened Remington Grill in Cary in 1993, and opened RallyPoint Sport Grill in 2009 (both are still open under new ownership), so Dram & Draught Fenton will be his third Cary establishment.
“Cary has grown and continues to grow in positive and exciting ways,” adds Barrett. “And Fenton is a location that is capable of changing consumer habits and patterns.”
Indigo Road Hospitality Group—the folks behind Raleigh’s Oak Steakhouse and O-Ku Sushi—will be in the mix too, as the company expands its Italian restaurant Colletta to Fenton. And, of course, prolific Raleigh restaurateur Crawford will be representing the home team as well. These big draws will be buttressed by a range of regional offerings, including a Crú Food & Wine Bar, Honeysuckle Gelato, sports bar and social club Sports & Social, and celebrity chef Ford Fry’s acclaimed Tex-Mex restaurant Superica.
For Houston-raised and Atlanta-based chef and cookbook author Fry, bringing his Tex-Mex restaurant Superica to Fenton is a chance to plant a flag in the Triangle. He fell for the area while visiting for tennis tournaments with his son and hopes success at Fenton will snowball into more locations in Raleigh and Durham. So far, the available restaurant spaces he’s seen here were too small for Superica, which, of his dozen restaurant concepts, is one of only two to expand to additional locations (the other being famed The Optimist).
“The goal altogether was: Let’s do Superica throughout the Southeast,” says Fry. “I just felt that Tex-Mex was really lacking in the Southeast. And the Triangle is just cool.” He adds: “Or maybe it’s a square, with Cary.”
Working with the people behind Fenton on their Alpharetta development gave Fry a level of trust in the project, but it’s more about being surrounded by the right restaurant tenants, he says.
“The No. 1 piece is that it’s sort of all local operators and not many chains,” he says. “Scott [Crawford] excites me the most in all of this. It’s more about a general dining district that’s curated and that I can trust.”
Lee uses the word “curated” too. “Definitely the biggest seller for us was the fact that they came to us and said the plan was to do all local chefs and restaurateurs,” he says. Lee also likes how centrally located Fenton is in the Triangle, but proximity to Fry, Crawford and Charleston-based Indigo Road founder Steve Palmer is the real draw. It’s also the big names in hospitality who will pull customers in.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without Scott [Crawford],” says Zarian. “The same goes for all four of those chefs—Scott, Steve Palmer, Ford Fry, Mike Lee. But Scott was the local ambassador.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE Slurp up these 7 soups around town when you’re feeling the winter blues.
“Gorgeous, gorgeous girls (and guys) love soup…” After Raleigh’s second official snowfall/ice storm of the year (plus freezing temps), we can officially declare that it’s #SoupSzn. And nothing makes miso happy on a cold day than a big ol’ bowl of hot soup. Here, we roundup some of the most delicious soups in town to keep you warm even when the degrees drop below freezing.
Everything you love about a cheeseburger is put into soup form via Wye Hill’s new Cheeseburger Chowder, a cozy soup starring American cheese, pickles and french fries. Served on Wye Hill’s heated and covered patio, it’s a sure way to cure the winter blues.
Nothing takes you back to your childhood like a tomato soup and grilled cheese combo, which gets an adult upgrade at Union Special. And, yes, dipping is encouraged.
Cold-weather comfort—New Orleans style. St. Roch’s hearty gumbo stars andouille, chicken, red potato salad and trout roe—and is guaranteed to warm you up, no matter how cold your heart may be.
Comfort meets kindness with a cup or bowl of Carroll’s Kitchen’s chicken velvet soup—made with a creamy chicken broth, grilled chicken and fresh herbs—makes for a soup-erb lunch, not only because it’s delicious, but also because it helps support the nonprofit’s mission of providing employment for women overcoming traumas like addiction, homelessness, incarceration and domestic violence.
Noodle Boulevard’s ramens are pure comfort in a bowl. Our current fave is the chicken curry ramen, which combines everything you love about curry with a big, hot bowl of noodle soup. Ahh, we’re feeling warmer already!
The best surprise is one that involves soup. My Way Tavern keeps things interesting with a rotating soup of the week—the broccoli cheddar is a hit (just look at how gooey and cheesy!), but loaded potato soup and clam chowder have also been known to grace the menu.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Tune in to Disney+ to see a Cary-native baker have some fun with food to create an edible masterpiece on the new original series, Foodtastic.
Forget what your mama said growing up. In Disney+’s new original series, Foodtastic, contestants are encouraged to play with their food—and local Insta baker extraordinaire Annie Cooper (aka @oakcitysourdough) is up for the challenge.
Middle: Annie Cooper | Photo courtesy of Disney+
The food competition series—hosted by Emmy Award-winning actress Keke Palmer and judged by Flour Shop founder Amirah Kassem and NYC’s City Cakes founder/chef Benny Rivera—challenges highly skilled bakers and artists to put their talents to the test to create extravagant scene work and larger-than-life food sculptures made from everything from fruit and vegetables to butter and cheese. And, for that Disney abra-cadabra touch, contestants must create edible creations inspired by each episode’s theme: think Disney classic tales like The Lion King or Toy Story.
In one Star Wars-focused episode, Cooper—along with talented bakers Jenna Smith and Melanie Baker—was tasked with helping a Rebel mechanic defeat the Galactic Empire (easier said than done). According to Cooper, the biggest challenge of the competition was “the size of [the] build. The sheer size and weight of the ship were extremely daunting.” But as an avid Star Wars fan, Cooper’s knowledge of the “galaxy far, far away” came in handy.
“The entire experience was a roller coaster—I’ve never felt so exhausted and energized at the same time!” says Cooper. “[And] I was so grateful to have such incredibly talented teammates to go through this adventure with.” So was the force ultimately with them? Tune in on Disney+ on Wednesday, Dec. 15, to see if Cooper and her team were able to impress the judges and win the challenge! disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/show/foodtastic
There’s a reason your next favorite bar or restaurant might be in Clayton.
Just a few years ago, Max Trujillo mocked the idea of opening a cocktail bar in Cary. He wasn’t alone—when SideBar opened there in 2018, Bond Brothers Beer Company had already planted a flag in the affluent suburb, but plenty of people scoffed at the idea. The last three years changed everything. … “Now we use Cary as the example for what could happen in other towns,” says Trujillo.
That’s why Trujillo—a service-industry pro and Raleigh resident who co-hosts the NC Food & Beverage Podcast—is opening food halls in Oak City exurbs like Knightdale and Clayton. He and partner Kip Downer plan to open the first Craften* concept in Knightdale just before the end of the year.
“When I tell people that we’re doing it, nobody really bats an eye the way I think people would’ve two or three years ago,” says Trujillo. “People now think it makes sense; people want to keep it local, keep it small. I think you’re going to see more of that.”
It’s true; other Raleigh restaurateurs are looking beyond city limits for their next bars and restaurants. So many are reaching into Cary that it’s almost not worth mentioning—but we will—from Ashley Christensen’s new BB’s Crispy Chicken* to Katsuji Tanabe’s Mexico City-style restaurant A’Verde*. There’s also Boxyard RTP in Research Triangle Park.
But the outward growth goes deeper into the exurbs, especially Clayton. Besides Craften, restaurateur Scott Crawford is opening Crawford Cookshop* imminently there. Jason Howard just expanded The Cardinal*—one of his several Raleigh bars—to Clayton, and he’s introducing a new smoked meats and tequila-drenched business called Lil Hombre too. Like Trujillo, Howard is looking to neighboring towns, with construction on The Cardinal location in Wilson already underway. He’s also about to ink a deal in Wake Forest.
“Raleigh’s really saturated,” says Howard. “You kind of have to be willing to go into a strip mall or something more cookie-cutter. I think this COVID thing really opened up my mind to going outside of Downtown Raleigh.”
Crawford agreed. “I’ve had my challenges with the city of Raleigh, but we were able to work through those, and I’m not opposed to doing more things in the city,” he says. “It’s a little bit more difficult to find a building or space that speaks to me. I have other ideas—and a space kind of has to excite me.”
The pandemic also influenced Crawford’s perspective. The more casual approach of the Cookshop emerged when Jolie and Crawford and Son were forced to switch to a takeout model. Their traditional menu didn’t translate, forcing Crawford to switch gears. A strong reception prompted him to consider it for a standalone business.
Trujillo mentioned COVID as well, pointing out that more people are working from home or looking for options closer to where they live. “In today’s market you don’t want to pay 30 bucks for an Uber to get out there and 30 bucks to get back home,” he says. “I think everyone realizes that the greater Raleigh area is far bigger than it once was.”
Crawford admits he hadn’t really considered the exurbs initially, saying he didn’t know much about Clayton other than its cocktail bar Revival 1869. But when a friend suggested that he might like some of the older buildings in the fast-growing community, Crawford was intrigued.
“I didn’t want to go out of Raleigh into the strip- mall burbs or something that lacked character,” he says. “The selling point for me [in Clayton] was the building and the charm of Main Street.”
And while there isn’t necessarily a huge restaurant and bar exodus from Raleigh on the horizon, the more people move to outlying communities, the more likely it is that food and drink will follow.
“I’m seeing a pattern,” says Crawford. “I’m doing a steakhouse in Cary. Cary’s grown a lot. People never really used to go out to eat much in Cary when I first moved here, and now they have a lot more options. Apex, Clayton—they’re all growing communities, and growth creates opportunity.”
Howard, Crawford and Trujillo all say the small-town feel is part of what drew them in. It’s cheaper, they admit, but that’s not the only driving factor. They want something that feels distinct, full of character, and where the neighborhood and community really embrace them. “It’s not like Clayton is inexpensive right now,” says Trujillo. “There are tertiary markets that are cheaper.”
It’s all about where they’ll bring something distinct to the table. Trujillo and his partner turned down some surrounding towns that already have a tight food culture or similar food hall—they want to be unique and get in on the ground floor.
Howard and Crawford also brought up challenging permitting and approval processes in Raleigh. “With every step of the process, it can go smoothly or not, depending on the individual,” says Crawford. “It would be nice if we felt like in more cities and more communities, the people in charge wanted to help us. It doesn’t feel that way often.”
Crawford says he still has more concepts in mind that Raleigh would embrace, but for now he doesn’t have anything planned beyond Crawford Brothers’ Steakhouse in Cary and Crawford Cookshop in Clayton. Howard, meanwhile, is busy building a small exurb empire for The Cardinal, with Lil Hombre potentially following suit.
“Things are getting really hard to do in Raleigh,” says Howard. “[Clayton] is more conducive to small business. You’re really appreciated in these small towns. It’s just amazing to me.”
Not that Howard won’t open more businesses in the capital—he just launched the Rainbow Luncheonette* and Pink Boot* on North West Street. But being a bigger fish in a smaller pond can have its benefits.
“People appreciate the concept more when there’s not 35 other similar choices,” he says. “There’s more attention on you. You make a lot more people happy, and that’s really what we’re here to do—while keeping our integrity.” @craftenfood; @crawfordcookshop; @thecardinalbar.
*Editor’s Note: Visit raleighmag.com for exclusive full coverage on each of these concepts.
Raleigh’s “basic” neighbor is turning into a thriving mini metropolis boasting all sorts of new and unique bar and restaurant concepts.
Query any Raleigh native or longtime Raleighite about Cary and you’re likely to hear them rattle off a laundry list of reasons Cary is (insert countless negative terms here) with relative contempt. Vanilla. Culturally void. Monochromatic. Basic. Big Boxes. Boring. (Alexa, cue the intro to The Weeds). And, let’s not forget—full of transplants. But the so-dubbed “Concentrated Area for Relocated Yankees” (among other not-so-flattering acronyms) has slowly but surely—and, now, not so subtly—been evolving before our very eyes into a smart, savvy, tech-driven mecca… thanks to the likes of hot spots like SideBar, Hank’s Downtown Dive, Bond Brothers Beer Company, etc.; big grabs like Epic Games; and upcoming dining and entertainment destinations like Fenton, to name a few. No longer defined by limited options or concentrated only with chains, this mini metropolis is upping its mojo. Here, we give you four brand-new reasons to add Cary to your list of hip places to hang.
Bull City Ciderworks
An apple (cider) a day keeps the doctor away, and now Raleighites will be able to get their daily dose closer to home with Bull City Ciderworks’ new Cary location, slated to open in late December or January. The new digs combine both an old and new vibe, what with the restored historic Williams House in the front and a brand-new outdoor brick seating area in the back. And while we’re uberexcited to throw back one (or three) of BCC’s signature rotating seasonal ciders, we’re also pretty pumped for the taproom’s new cider cocktails. Cheers! bullcityciderworks.com Must try: Cherry Tart + any seasonal offering
Vicious Fishes Brewery
Get ready to dive into this nautical-themed brewery’s new taproom in Downtown Cary, a $2 million project that will transform the warehouse space at 510 Old Apex Road. Though of course Vicious Fishes’ beer is the star of its enterprise, the new location will feature a ton of outdoor space, complete with trees, green space and a beer garden. The brewery will also incorporate a larger brew system that will allow for 5 times more brewing capacity. We’ll drink to that. viciousfishes.com Must try: Vicious Fishes’ flagship Here Be Dragons IPA
a’Verde Cocina & Tequila Library
Let’s taco bout how chef Katsuji Tanabe’s new modern Mexican restaurant (a partnership with LM Restaurants) isn’t your run-of-the-mill fast-casual Mexican eatery. Instead of the heaps of rice, beans and cheese found in most of the dishes served at those (nevertheless craveworthy) restaurants, Tanabe’s menu—inspired by family recipes he grew up eating at his childhood family table in Mexico City—will put an emphasis on vegetables and seafood. Not to mention that a’Verde will nixtamalize its own corn for tortillas. Nom nom. averdecary.com Must try: Tender cochinita pibil (a Yucatán-style marinated pork dish)
La Grassa Pastificio
Ciao, bella! This pasta-tively charming new upscale-casual restaurant features handcrafted Italian cuisine utilizing high-quality local produce and specialty imported foods from Italy and beyond. Think stracciatella, tagliatelle Bolognese, saltimbocca and cauliflower gratini, along with seasonal specials sure to tempt your palate. Wash everything down with a glass (or bottle—no judgment) of vino to transport your taste buds to an Italian trattoria. lagrassaitaliano.com Must try: Rigatoni ‘Matrciana, followed by the budino al cioccolato (Italian chocolate pudding)
