3… 2… 1… pose. A few flashes later, you’re holding pocket-size proof that the night really happened. From New York to LA, retro photo booths—revamped with sleek tech—have become nightlife staples and celeb magnets. The strips they spit out are one-of-a-kind souvenirs: a different kind of scroll, even if they still end up on your feed.
And Raleigh isn’t sitting out on the trend—with a pair of popular spots flaunting ever-evolving photo-strip murals of locals cheesing. At DTR’s Le Dive, the booth is part of the main event. Inspired by a trip to Nashville, owners Erin and Martin Wheeler nabbed one before they even opened. Over in Smoky Hollow, moody jazz and cocktail den Moon Room’s photo nook inspires a nightly ritual.
Adding to the mix, Glenwood South’s just-bowed Super Rad Retro Lounge’s spits out eight pics, custom frames and more. And if you’re after nostalgia without the bar tab, you can still find booths at Crabtree Valley Mall—by the escalators—or in the lobby of North Hills’ Regal Theater.
So why hunt down a photo booth when everyone already carries a high-powered camera? As the Wheelers put it, booths “hit different—no second chances, no perfect lighting, just you, your friends and the moment.” Those familiar square frames capture a spontaneity that iPhones rarely replicate. And as our image storage drifts higher into the cloud, a tangible strip tugs us back to Earth—ready to pin on a wall, slip into a mirror frame or tuck into a wallet.
For the bars, booths are built-in buzz machines. Modern models print a classic strip on the spot while instantly emailing a digital copy. The result? A keepsake you can hold and a post you can share—a seamless blend of old and new.
Because in the end, a photo booth isn’t about “picture perfect.” It’s about proof you were there, together, in that moment.
It’s wine o’clock at St. Pierre! Oakwood Pizza Box’s Anthony Guerra teamed up with sommelier Scott Hardiman to open a new wine shop and bar at Raleigh Iron Works. The classy yet comfy space uncorks thoughtfully curated wines from under-the-radar makers, exceptional producers, and up-and-coming labels, plus craft beer and cider, with craft cocktails on deck (stay tuned).
Left Hook, right move? The Left Hook Coffee is leaving Gussie’s at the end of October to focus on its East Raleigh brick-and-mortar. Good news, Gussie’s will take over the coffee counter—and your fave brekkie items aren’t going anywhere.
New name, who dis? Foxcroft Wine Co. is now Foxcroft Food & Wine, highlighting a mod American menu with housemade pastas, steak frites and a bangin’ burger. Sips crafted with lauded Charlotte speakeasy Dot Dot Dot feat. batch ’tails and barrel-aged whiskeys arrive this fall alongside brunch. Cheers!
Foxcroft Food & Wine
It’s getting hot in here! Dave’s Hot Chicken is bringing tongue-tingling spice—and those addicting seasoned fries—to the former BB’s Crispy Chicken spot.
Bye, burgers—hello, hummus and pita. Urban Olive Mediterranean is replacing Transfer Co. Food Hall’s Mama Crow’s in November, serving fresh, made-from-scratch recipes that blend traditional and modern flavors.
Paris + Seoul = yum! French/Korean bakery Tous les Jours is opening a new Seaboard Station spot serving tasty pastries, sandwiches, cakes, bevs and more.
Saucy! Build-your-own taco spot Barrio is now open in Smoky Hollow, serving tacos, nachos, bowls, queso and handcrafted margs.
Horseshoe happens. Poole’siconic double horseshoe counter is back—red barstools and all.
Forrest Mason Media
Pour one out for Mandolin and Mofu Shoppe, both of which closed their doors for good this summer after 14 and eight years, respectively.
Encore! Five Points fave Ajjamakes Garden & Gun’s best new restaurants lists. Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors + groovy patio = no surprise there.
They’ve got buns, hun! Whataburger plans to open not one, but two Raleigh locations by 2026, plus a Wake Forest outpost in the works. Expect burgers, sandwiches, chicken strips, fries and bevs.
From dumplings to burgers—Barley and Burger is primed to flip gourmet burgers and beers by October at its fourth NC location in the former David’s Dumpling & Noodle Bar space.
Wings—brick-and-mortar style. Raleigh’s own “chicken wing guy”—of Da Bubs fame—is now at Le Dive, plating wings (naturally), focaccia pizzas, burgers and more.
Leo Velasquez
Get a taste of the Big Apple at H&H Bagels, setting up shop later this year in Chapel Hill’s University Place. The brand—cameoed in Sex and the City and Seinfeld (!)—also has plans to break onto the Raleigh and Durham scenes.
Same name, new owners? 42nd St. Oyster Bar may reopen as soon as this fall under property owner John Holmes and GM Hunter Correll.
Get back to your roots: Feel-good Roots Natural Kitchen expands to a second Triangle spot this spring in the former Gumby’s Pizza, serving salads and grain bowls ranging from Southwest spice to Asian ginger.
Now it really is 5 o’clock somewhere, as RDU removes alcohol time restrictions, serving spirits as early as 4am.
A new chapter is unfolding for Peregrine, what with Zack Thomas (formerly of Boatman Spirits Co.) joining the team as beverage director. The resto also launched brunch, feat. the likes of hot honey cured eggs and beef heart shawarma.
Also getting a recent brunch upgrade is East End Bistrot, which now serves French-inspired dishes like croque madame, steak frites and eggs, and quiche every Sunday.
A new garden just bloomed in DTR. Enter La Veladora’s back patio, blossoming with Latin spirit-inspired sips, agave, and a plethora of greenery in vibrant pots. Catch ya outside!
Get your fix at Boxyard RTP with new addition Baekho Coffee & Ice Cream from the Namu/Bulkogi/The Can Opener team, specializing in Korean-inspired handcrafted bevs and coffees.
Brunch is always the answer—even on weekdays (find the lie). Birdie’s now dishes weekday breakfast Mon.–Fri. with standard fare like biscuits, French toast, and shrimp and grits—plus coffee and other morning bevs.
Birdie’s Barrom & Kitchen
Wawa lands. The cult-fave Northeast chain opens its first Triangle locale in Garner—with its famed hoagies, breakfast sandos and coffee that make road trips all the more worth it.
Cary’s got the meats. New York Butcher Shoppe is now slicing beef, chicken, pork and fish, plus housemade entrees, sides and dips—not to mention a wine bar serving a full lunch/dinner menu + vino on tap.
Lunch is leveling up—La Terrazza and Figulina now serve elevated midday grab-and-go selects in DTR.
Vic’s Pizzeria is firing up at Wendell Falls—slated to slice on the scene in 2027 with a full bar feat. craft and bottled beer, wine, and liquor—plus the same menu as the DTR location, with expanded pasta selects.
Yeehaw meets howdy thanks to Tex-Mex chain Mezcalito, lassoing the former On the Border near downtown Cary with its bold dishes, from chimichangas and carnitas to quesadillas, tortas, burritos, fajitas and more.
All buzz, no hangover: Secret Garden’s THC-infused spirits hit Le Dive late August.
Arrivederci, Brio! The Italian spot at Crabtree Valley Mall shuttered post-bankruptcy filing—look for new owners to crop a fresh spot to feed the mall crowds.
Pizza for lunch? Say less. Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Timber Pizza Co. now slices pie, empanadas and salads at lunchtime.
We’re No. 1—again! For the third time in the last four years, CNBC has named NC the country’s Top State for Business thanks in part to the state’s strong workforce and economy.
Raleigh also stays standing on business (IYKYK). During Q1 of 2025, 23 new storefront businesses opened Downtown, with 28 more businesses planning to bow soon. DTR also added 27,526 square feet of new retail space, and attracted 1.5 million unique visitors.
Taking off at RDU Airport are a slew of updates thanks to a $24.6 million grant from the USDOT. Think widening the John Brantley Boulevard to four lanes and replacing the stop-controlled intersection with free-flow movements, expanding the Terminal 2 sidewalk, and more.
Get ready to ride. The City of Raleigh is launching a new dockless bikeshare pilot mid-August in partnership with Spin and Lime, adding a fleet of 215 electric-assist bikes citywide. Bikes will be available 24/7, and new micromobility corrals will be installed for parking. The pilot will run through April 2026.
ICYMI, Crabtree Valley Mall is getting a makeover. According to plans from the new owner, the $60 million facelift includes enhancements like new lighting and signage, a revitalized food court and family play area, and new furniture and greenery in the common areas—plus upgrades to the site’s stormwater infrastructure.
NC State is full steam ahead on its $180 million Integrative Sciences Building—aka Woodson Hall—that kicked off construction in September 2023 and will offer crucial space for STEM teaching and research space at the university upon its anticipated completion in 2026.
Go on, hit the snooze button. GoTriangle is launching its first-ever 15-minute bus service—on weekdays from 5:45am until 7pm—Aug. 4 along Routes 400 and 405 in Durham and Orange counties.
Rent or buy? Raleigh ranked the No. 9 Best City for Renters—along with four other top 50 cities in the South: Wilmington, Charlotte, Durham and Asheville—according to metrics like apartment quality, economic strength, traffic and access to amenities.
Your evening commute might be deadly. … A new study found that the deadliest hour to drive in NC is from 6–7pm, with an average of 6.31% of the state’s fatal crashes occurring during the timeframe.
WHAT’S NOT
Suicides in NC prisons are at an all-time high—increasingly among those in solitary confinement. Now, Department of Adult Correction secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes is working toward adopting the Nelson Mandela Rules, which sets a max solitary confinement rule of 22 hours a day for 15 consecutive days.
Meet your beauty, body and boutique goals via new spots around town.
Extra, extra! Forthcoming The Newsagent’s—a reinvention and expansion of the traditional corner newsstand—is set to unfurl this summer in the Mahler Building on Fayetteville Street, offering secondhand and vintage media paired with your morning cup of coffee. @thenewsagentsshop
Recently bowed retail boutique and studio A Lil’ R & R is bringing the ~pawty~ to NHID’s Makers Alley with one-of-a-kind gifts for both you and your furry friends. @alilrnr.shop
Catch mentions of Raleigh Magazine—in addition to other Raleigh and Sunset Beach nods—in local author Camille Harwood’s debut novel, Carolina Girls, a lighthearted look into the lives of four inseparable friends. @camilleharwoodbooks
Throwing shade in the best way possible, Shibumi is dropping limited-edition colors of its uber- popular beach shade all summer— think sky blue and magenta, red and navy, orange and blue, and the like. @shibumishade
The brainchild of a Ukrainian escape room designer, City With No Sun is unleashing at NERD Escape Room. Operated entirely in the dark, the inclusive game is accessible for those both blind and sighted. @nerdescapes
With confidence at the core, fit-for- all JETSET Pilates is ~reforming~ the base of Park Central in North Hills this fall via full-body flex workouts. Get ready to get bendy. @jetsetpilates
Prepare to up your beauty game! Sephora is set to join a wave of new retailers giving the Main District a makeover, filling two storefronts near Regal North Hills. @sephora
Need a wardrobe refresh? Combining Southern swagger with urban edge, accessory and apparel pop- up boutique Maison Neue is serving sleek, minimalist selects on Fayetteville Street. @shopmaisonneue
Guess what Designed for Joy has in their pocket(book)? An upcoming second locale in North Hills Innovation District—slated to spread retail joy and keep women in crisis employed starting in April. Now that’s a good look. @designedforjoy
Dress your chickies head-to-toe in bright colors and not-so-basic basics from Pink Chicken, a vintage-meets-chic children’s boutique recently hatched in North Hills. Sounds im-peck-able.@pinkchickenny
HIIT the gym, not the snooze button! Coming to Seaboard Station is this Australia-based global fitness boutique Body Fit Training. Get your heart rate up via science- and technology-based techniques that are sure to *work out*! @bft_studios
The Flourish Market is now, ahem, flourishing at Raleigh Iron Works. Preach your girl power while shopping for gifts and boutique items catered toward the gals from impact-driven brands. We love to see it! @theflourishmarket
YoBa Studio is now stretching out its space and mixing up community at Raleigh Iron Works. The all-inclusive woman-owned exercise studio offers classes like Barre, strength, cardio and yoga. They’re flexible like that. @yobastudio
Crabtree is opening its doors to a trio of new spaces this year: uniquely curated Black- and woman-owned bridal store Runaway Brides; custom lip color biz Lip Print Beauty Bar; and savvy-slash-cutesy boutique Eloise Collections. @runawaybridalco; @lipprintbeautybar; @eloise_collections
Coming in steamy, SweatHouz is also sliding into Seaboard Station for an all-encompassing wellness experience feat. cold immersion, hydromassages, infrared saunas and vitamin C showers. The heat never bothered us anyway… @sweathouz
