Call it DTR’s missing ingredient. Sure, Raleigh has no shortage of places to eat, but for daily needs, the options are surprisingly slim—until now. Enter Wolfside Urban Market, opening as early as November in the former Dollar General Express (DGX) space on East Davie Street, bringing a gourmet neighborhood grocery to one of Downtown’s biggest retail gaps.
While Publix and Weaver Street Market serve parts of the city core and niche spots like Alimentari scratch a specialty itch, the southeastern edge has largely been without a convenient place to grab groceries since DGX shuttered in late 2024 after a rocky seven-year run.
Wolfside is betting on a different model: local. Gregg Sandreuter of HM Partners, who handles the space’s leasing, says it took patience to find the right tenant—and grocery is a harder-to-fill retail category—but he says he’s “excited for Wolfside to be part of the good-news story for Downtown.”
Similar to Durham’s Bulldega Urban Market, which Wolfside owner Vishal Patel ran for years, the Raleigh concept will carry a little bit of everything. Rather than a traditional grocer, Patel envisions a one-stop neighborhood shop. Beyond NC-grown produce, pantry picks, restaurant-made freezer finds and fridge staples, an in-store sandwich bar and carefully curated products invite shoppers to linger—and discover something new. “That’s the experience I want to bring to Raleigh,” he says.
Photo by Leo Suarez
The real draw, though, is the commitment to local. Bringing Bulldega’s emphasis on Bull City brands to Raleigh, Patel expects roughly a third of Wolfside’s shelves to be devoted to Oak City names—with faves like Videri, Michael’s English Muffins and Trophy Brewing already on board.
For Patel, it’s about more than filling shelf space—it’s about giving small local makers another place to be discovered while helping shoppers stumble upon products they might otherwise never try.
“Once [Raleighites] see what we’re offering and our level of customer service, I hope they’ll at least come say hi,” he says. “We want customers to feel like they know us and we know them—and that we support each other.”
Ultimately, the opening marks another step in Downtown’s evolution—from a place people drop in to a neighborhood where people truly live. As more apartments, offices and businesses continue to fill in the urban core, everyday conveniences like grocery stores have become just as important as destination restaurants and bars.
With nearby residents, college students and 9-to-5ers all within reach, Wolfside has the ingredients to become the community space Patel envisions—and exactly the kind of neighborhood staple DTR has been missing.
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.
Thanks to a twist in proceedings, Red Hat Amp could still be demolished.
ICYMI, Red Hat Amphitheater is still at risk of being lost, due to a rare (and unfortunate) twist in City Council proceedings.
The South Street plan is now slated to be voted on a second—and hopefully final—time Oct. 15, with the same consequences as before if the vote fails (bye-bye, Red Hat Amp). So, if you’re wondering how this happened—after weeks of advocating for the amphitheater and celebrating an apparent victory—we break it down for you.
This vote is only a recommendation to City Council, and council members are not required to accept their decision. And, so, on Oct. 15, the Comprehensive Plan amendment will head back to council for approval, without the recommendation of the Planning Commission.
As a result, like before, if this City Council vote does not pass, the Red Hat Amphitheater expansion project is dead, meaning the amphitheater would be demolished for good and Live Nation is likely to take their booking outside of Raleigh.
So, what can you do to support the amphitheater and help (finally) put the issue to rest? Show up at the Oct. 15 City Council meeting wearing red. A large in-person presence will show Raleigh is still paying attention—and isn’t going to let this issue fly under the radar. Once again, let’s band together to save Red Hat Amphitheater.
Red Hat Amphitheater lives on! (Pause for applause and happy tears.) Raleigh City Council voted unanimously (with exception of the absent Mary Black of District A and Christina Jones of District E) to expand and update the popular DTR concert venue—and close the one highly debated block of South Street necessary to prevent Red Hat Amp from shuttering permanently.
The planned expansion will accommodate ~1,000 more seats and a larger loading dock and backstage area, as well as increased concessions, with the project slated for a late Q1 2025 groundbreaking and a reopening in 2026—just in time for outdoor concert season (!).
That said, expansion will have its obstacles, as pointed out by concerned residents of the surrounding neighborhoods. The city is working with NCDOT to offset the closure of the block of South Street—also slated for Q1 2025—with a yet-to-be-approved slip lane connecting Dawson and McDowell streets, which is estimated to cost $2–3 million.
“The money is there, but we need to figure out what pocket to take it from, such as Capital Reserves,” says Jonathan Melton, member at-large. “My primary goal here is to maintain as much connectivity for South Street as possible. And I think that connector will help with that, and also, to improve the condition for bicycles, pedestrians, wheelchairs, scooters and strollers in that area.” Melton, as well as council member Corey Branch of District C, also suggested incorporating some sort of significant nod to the history of the Fourth Ward.
Despite the remaining details , the health and future of Downtown has been saved, with Red Hat Amp and all its economic impact ($17.5 mil in 2023!) staying put in our city’s center to benefit surrounding small businesses, restaurants, bars and breweries—not to mention Raleighites near and far. Let the music play on!
Everyone is talking about the businesses “ditching” DTR—but rest assured, it doesn’t mean what you might think.
If you’ve scrolled through Instagram lately or seen the news, you’ve likely noticed what feels like a plethora of local businesses breaking away from Down. Places like Capital Club 16, Umbrella Dry Bar, Clouds Brewing, Armadillo Grill and Oak City Meatball Shoppe have closed up shop, proliferating fodder and speculation about Downtown’s revival as “fake news.” But these business decisions don’t accurately reflect the health and future of DTR—and say nothing of the wealth of spaces slated to soon bow.
“Downtown is changing,” emphasizes Richard Averitte, who as executive director of the American Cancer Society for Central & Eastern North Carolina has a vested interest in the health of Raleigh’s business community. “It’s like a gawky teenager experiencing growing pains, sounding/looking different, doesn’t know what to do, etc. As citizens we need to give unconditional love, be patient, create a feedback loop and support whatever decisions are made in the best interest of our great city.”
In terms of the now-defunct businesses, each had their own reason for shuttering—or “retiring,” as Averitte puts it (see “Real Talk“ sidebar). “The average restaurant is open eight years, and many of the places doubled or tripled that number.” In essence, it’s business. Places close, and other spots open—nothing is permanent.
Naturally, the pandemic and lack of people returning to the office play a large part in Downtown visitation. “Not going to lie, Downtown is not the same space it was prepandemic,” says Crank Arm Brewing co-owner Adam Eckhardt. “A lot of folks have stayed with the work-from-home model, which has really disrupted what Downtown is all about. Through collected cellphone data, it appears 9,000 less people are in DTR every day. Those 9,000 people ate at restaurants, shopped and drank beer.”
But despite the seeming DTR mass exodus, Downtown Raleigh Alliance President & CEO Bill King assures there are “far more openings than closures in Downtown.” See: the laundry list of hot new businesses like Figulina, Gussie’s, Little Native Coffee, Burger Village and Flavor Hills, to name but a few, never mind the lot bowing soon like La Mala and Vic’s new outpost. Add to that the plethora of existing spots who’ve doubled down on DTR like Copperline Plant Co.’s new larger locale on Hargett Street, Madre’s new Smoky Hollow bar and even Raleigh Magazine.
To wit, DRA’s just-released Q1 2024 market report shows a net gain of 14 storefront businesses Downtown and 1.5 million unique visitors—not to mention $24.1 million estimated average food and beverage sales and $9.7 million monthly hotel revenue in January and February alone (the latter up 6.7% over the same period last year).
DTR’s population is also expected to grow. “We have 3,000 units hitting the market in the next year, and at 1.5 people per unit, we will have 4,500 new residents Downtown,” maintains David Meeker, partner in Trophy Brewing, Elm Partners and Carpenter Development. “We currently have 10,000, so that’s a 45% increase. That’s a different group than the office workers, but hopefully it’s folks who are working from home a lot and Downtown all day.”
According to Eckhardt, “There’s a symbiotic relationship between the businesses and the residents—you can’t have one without the other. If there’s nothing for the residents to do, then the allure of living Downtown goes away.”
So, the question becomes: How do we get people to come back—and continue coming back—to Downtown in order to help foster both new and existing businesses? First and foremost, he maintains we need to “stop the bleeding” and “figure out how to keep people from fleeing Downtown—because every business we lose, that’s less a community there.”
More specifically, he’s kicked around a couple of ideas: Have businesses pay their workers to be Downtown and spend their money at local businesses; add more lunch options for office workers; make parking free in decks for the first two hours; and create a light rail system and address the overall transportation barrier.
Eckhardt’s proposals have sparked so much conversation that he’s hosting a public meetup and roundtable community discussion June 10 at Crank Arm, with moderators including DRA’s King, The Davie owner Matt Coleman, local entrepreneur Jacob Molz and representatives from City Council. He hopes the discussion will foster even more innovative ways to attract people to the heart of our city.
“Downtown is the crown jewel of the city and the state,” says Eckhardt. “We’re the capital of NC—we need to remember that and treat it like that, not abandon it for greener pastures. We’ve got a lot of great things going for us—we can build on that and get people excited. … I know we have a lot of residents coming, and I want them to know this is a fun place to live, work and play.”
REAL TALK
There’s more to DTR closures than meets the eye.
• Capital Club 16 Focusing on its food truck, The Wandering Wolf
• Umbrella Dry Bar Honing in on pop-ups and private events
• Clouds Brewing Lease ended (but assures, “this isn’t the end of Clouds Raleigh”)
