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.
Photo by Mark Terry
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.
Photo by Mark Terry
“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.
What to expect from the highly anticipated Cottage Coffee and Park Bar at Dix Park when it opens later this month.
Everyday magic. It’s a tall ask of a small house, but that’s exactly what the team behind the highly anticipated Cottage Coffee and Park Bar at Dix Park—expected to open this month within the century-old Flowers Cottage—wants you to feel with every visit.
“It’s a really amazing opportunity to build something special,” says Meredith Kirkpatrick, partner at Maurer Architecture, whose firm led the redesign of the cottage—also noting the untapped potential of opening the building’s doors to the public for the first time.
The design brief for the project was summed up in a single question, according to Kirkpatrick: “What does it want to be?” The answer? Inviting—a place for everyone in a park for everyone.
The cottage’s new design builds upon what’s already there—and the fond memories many Raleighites have of it. Kirkpatrick herself has an annual family expedition to a famously prolific fig tree in the side yard, while Dix Park VP of Operations Nick Smith—who represented the landlord—recalls planning a joyous toddler birthday party at Flowers Field.
Mark Terry
Mark Terry
Mark Terry
Mark Terry
Mark Terry
Mark Terry
First and foremost, the reinvented cottage draws visitors in with a classic Southern front porch featuring a pair of cafe chairs—an ideal perch for taking a load off amid the park’s natural surrounds. Off to one side, a sprawling flagstone patio surrounded by a 25- to 45-person amphitheater was added to accommodate additional seating.
The back of the cottage houses a new outdoor bar, as well as a sprawling covered deck doubled in size during the reno. Inside hosts the cafe—which offers coffee, matcha and housemade sodas by day and beer/wine in the evening, plus snacks and soft-serve on tap—and a cozy lounge built for lingering.
Restrooms have also been added within both the cottage and a new shipping container building nestled in the oaks as you walk east to the sunflower fields.
Speaking of those oaks, the environmental stewardship of the grove of mature trees surrounding the cottage is an element of the transformation that could easily be undervalued, but Smith emphasizes “the experience would be drastically changed if we were not able to preserve and protect these trees.” Their shade cools visitors off by 10–15 degrees—offering a cool respite on a hot day.
At their best, design and construction create a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment. For this project in particular, the building is better because it’s in the park, the park is better because of the building—and people are better because of both. Whether you visit on a rainy Tuesday or a perfect summer Saturday, take a moment to pause and drink it all in… along with your favorite bev, naturally.
