by Anna Beth Adcock | May 29, 2024 | Eat, June 2024
Five Points java hot spot extended its hours—and added a ~dope~ lineup to its offerings
Prepare to perk up. Local fave Five Points java + foodie joint The Third Place lengthened its hours by popular demand Fri.–Sun until 2pm (!). And extending the grind, the nearly 30-year-old spot (nee 1994) recently debuted a WINK line of Delta-8-infused baked goodies.
“After our 4/20 celebration [last year], our customers started asking for our recipes to include Delta-8,” says the shop’s operations manager JJ Johnston. “We are thrilled to offer our traditional in-house baked goods right next to the new, ‘special’ (*wink, wink*) baked goods and beverages our customers have loved for the last thirty years. Come hang out with us until 2pm!”
Beyond the buzz, keep your eyes peeled for WINK-infused bevs in the works. … Ready to get your munch(ie) on? thirdplaceraleigh.com
by Lauren Kruchten | Jan 23, 2024 | Eat, February 2024
Ditch the alcohol but still catch a buzz via Raleigh-based Groovewagon.
Drinking alcohol or not drinking at all aren’t your only options when it comes to imbibing. Enter Groovewagon, a Raleigh-based delta-8 THC bev that promises “more fun than booze, less psycho than edibles” (!).
Founded by married parents Reilly Dunn and Sasha Klimczak and debuted at Hopscotch in September 2022, the groovy brand is built on the MO of having an in-between option for those who don’t necessarily want to consume alc but don’t want to feel nothing either.
“We’re having this big sober-curious movement with euphorics and CBD [drinks], but they don’t do anything—and that’s fine,” maintains Dunn. “But I’m still here to have a good time. I’m down to catch a buzz.”
And catch a buzz you will. Dunn says the 7mg delta-8 cans (each clocking in at 10 calories and 1 carb, “if you care about that sort of thing”) deliver the same “curve” as alcohol, but not the same type of buzz. So, you’ll feel a little something after one—just as you might after a beer, cocktail or glass of wine—with the high ramping up the more you drink.
The self-proclaimed “Cali-Sober King” isn’t morally opposed to drinking though. “It’s actually more fun this way,” he emphasizes. “That’s our crazy-ass belief. It’s not just about cutting back on alcohol because that’s something good you should do, it’s actively more fun to do the California sober thing.”
Dunn gradually just started drinking less and less after having kids, “and things in my life got cooler and cooler,” he says. After trying a delta-8 drink he wasn’t too crazy about, he made it his mission to make a better one. And, so, Groovewagon was born.
The drink has slowly but surely began gaining, well, buzz. Its two flavors, the seltzer-esque Magnifico chinotto citrus and hoppy Fencehopping cit-hop shandy, can be found at ~63 locations, most of which are in the Triangle, including Bowstring, Tap Yard, Standard Beer + Food, State of Beer and Brookside Bodega.
“I want as many people as possible to know that drinking weed is an option,” says Dunn, “and it rules.” So if you haven’t already, it’s high time you joined the movement. thatdamnwagon.com
