The Stadium Series game is more than a game—it’s a weeklong unprecedented event that promises to rock you like a Hurricane. Here: Know how to go.
Take warning—the Canes are set to host the long-anticipated NHL Stadium Series game at Carter-Finley this month—and with that comes all the fanfare you’d expect… to the tune of a weeklong celebration, kicking off Thursday, Feb. 16, with a Canes home game where its Stanley Cup team star goalie Cam Ward will be inducted as the inaugural member of the Carolina Hurricanes Hall of Fame, and culminating in NC State honoring the 40th Anniversary of the 1983 Championship Team as the Pack plays host to Wake Forest.
“Part of our pitch to the league in terms of securing the Stadium Series game was that we’d work with all of our partners and entities to make a big weekend out of it,” says Carolina Hurricanes Chief Marketing Officer Mike Forman. “It wouldn’t just be a one-off game where the NHL’s coming to town just for that and that’s a wrap.”
To wit, Friday’s freeCarolina Hurricanes Fan Fest Presented by UNC Health. Carrying a huge footprint, the daylong Fan Fest will fete the Canes’ 25 years in NC with a slew of fam-friendly programming, music, activities, food trucks and vendors. It’s like NHL All Star Weekend Fan Fair meets the best feats of every Raleigh street fest to date—on steroids. Read: You’re gonna wanna play hooky in the name of hockey.
“The commitment from the Carolina Hurricanes and area partners to make this event happen is making this the event of 2023,” says Jennifer Martin, executive director of Shop Local Raleigh and producer of Fan Fest. A big part of that commitment is that it’s free and open to the public. “That’s one thing we want to stress because there are so many events going on that have paid components,” adds Forman.
The master plans also included working with the NHL for a Thursday night home game; helping to deliver a big-time Friday concert (hey, Hootie & the Blowfish!); and working with NC State to get a big ACC matchup against UNC scheduled for the weekend, explains Forman. “To host these games is pretty competitive,” he adds, “and most NHL clubs—if not all—would love to host either the Winter Classic or Stadium Series once or multiple times.”
Now, between the anticipation and the Canes vying for their fifth consecutive playoff trip, the vibes will be high. “People have been in a waiting game for almost three years,” says Forman. “Now, it’s getting real. … And it’s pretty special to be able to host this game during our 25th Anniversary Season in North Carolina. Our fan base has never been larger or more passionate than it is right now. We have the second-best record in all of hockey right now*. It feels like it was meant to be. … I wish it could’ve come even earlier, but the fact that it’s all kind of coming together this year makes it feel pretty special.” Puck, yeah. hurricanes.com
Raleigh entrepreneur Zack Medford is back—with a new bar and beer garden concept that’s set to revolutionize an underserved area of DTR.
You may have thought you’d seen the last of hospitality titan and Isaac Hunter’s Hospitality President Zack Medford (think Coglin’s, Isaac Hunter’s Tavern, Parliament and Paddy O’Beers), but, while he’s certainly remained quiet over the past couple of years, he’s been celebrating the birth of the uberpopular Coglin’s Wilmington location (nee NYE 2019)—and quietly planning his comeback in Raleigh.
Enter Tap Yard, a neighborhood bar, beer garden and collaborative community space opening mid-fall that will feature a full indoor/outdoor bar, live music, local artisan market and daily food trucks—NTM a podcast studio. Raleigh’s official historic cocktail Cherry Bounce (seriously credited with the launch of our capital) naturally will grace the menu as it famously did at Isaac Hunter’s—plus ice-cold cocktails, a great bourbon list, a splay of spirits, 16 craft beers on tap and a Hawaiian shaved ice cocktail menu (!) rounding out the drink offerings.
For those who don’t know, Medford is arguably the pioneer of the Fayetteville Street we know today (alongside business partners Ben Yanessa and Brad Bowles)—a renaissance that began with the opening of Isaac Hunter’s in 2009. Now, as he sets his sights on another underserved part of town just outside Mordecai and Oakwood (near Brookside Bodega, Pine State Coffee and Watkins Grill—and for OGs, now-defunct Circus Burger), he is positioned to do the same by making Tap Yard—and the rest of the yet-to-be-named district—a destination of its own.
“There’s all these really unique, cool concepts popping up in the area,” says Medford. “And I think that’s just kind of the natural way a city grows—if the urban center is going to be a focus of businesses and 40-story buildings, there’s always gotta be a creative outlet for these smaller businesses that want to do something unique for the area.” And with Tap Yard’s 5,000-square-foot building and 1-acre beer garden, it’s certainly a space that will offer myriad ways to incorporate the community, he adds.
It was October 2020 when Medford came across the open space—a former Advance Auto Parts where he used to buy coolant for his The Great Raleigh Trolley company (aka the coolest way to bop around the city for a birthday, wedding or any occasion in between)—and fell in love with it on the spot. “I couldn’t believe the outdoor space that it had and the natural beauty of the area,” he says.
His vision for Tap Yard stemmed from being a family man with three kids and two dogs, and being able to take them somewhere they’d be safe while he could sit back and enjoy a beer (read: not a nightclub). At the time, breweries were becoming all the rage, and he saw the concept as being like a Cheers, a place where everybody knows your name when you walk through the door.
At the same time Medford was spearheading Tap Yard, he was struggling with keeping his former businesses afloat during the pandemic. “The way it worked with Fayetteville Street in 2020—it was really hard for us to maintain paying rent on these bars. There was no light at the end of the tunnel at that point.”
Fast-forward, and Medford and his co-owners quietly sold off Isaac Hunter’s and Parliament. As for Coglin’s (RIP), Medford says his landlord refused to accept anything less than full rent. “I’ve got three kids, a house; I’ve got mortgage payments to make. … I can’t really gamble on paying this guy full rent who’s not willing to help us out at all,” he says. “So we decided we’d rather just cut our losses.” Coglin’s officially closed on Jan. 1, 2021 (“one of the darkest days of my life,” says Medford), only for the space to be replaced by the landlord with a similar concept.
But that wasn’t the end-all be-all for Medford. During the pandemic, he founded the North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association (NCBATA) in an attempt to give bars a fighting chance to survive during COVID, push for fair regulations and establish guidelines so that they could find a way to safely reopen.
Clearly, those dark days are in the rearview—and Medford has found that light with Tap Yard. “It’s kind of become my opus,” he says. And in a full-circle moment, he sees the spot having the same effect as Isaac Hunter’s had on Fayetteville Street by transforming the area into a destination.
“It’s been a tough two years not having a bar in Raleigh,” Medford reflects. “I’m just so excited to be able to open our doors again. It’s my life. I’m itching to get back behind the bar and start pouring some drinks for the city of Raleigh.” We hope you’re thirsty. tapyard.com
ICYMI, Raleigh is getting its first social district (!). And Raleigh is super thrilled about it—a game-changer for the area and just the first step in making Fayetteville Street more attractive to bars, restaurants and consumers, and bringing more foot traffic to the area. The pilot program gives the city a chance to gather feedback and assess what is and isn’t working—and could lead to additional social districts throughout the city. But beyond all the brouhaha are a slew of lingering questions about the rules, what areas are included in the district, etc., so we talked to Raleigh City Council Member Jonathan Melton to get to the bottom of it all. Read on for what you need to know. Then, we’ll see you on the streets—designated to-go cup in hand, natch—starting Aug. 15!
What is a social district?
Specified areas where “people just walk around with a glass of wine or a beer, going into a store, sitting on a bench, etc.,” says Melton.
Where will Raleigh’s first social district be?
Fayetteville Street District—specifically Fayetteville Street from Capitol Building to Duke Energy Center, including Red Hat Amphitheater and City Market (borders = South, Blount, Morgan, Dawson), plus Warehouse District from Dawson to Union Station.
What are the rules?
The social district is effective seven days a week, from the hours of 11am–10pm.
You will only be able to carry a max 16 oz. designated cup (you cannot carry around a cup from home).
No glass is allowed.
You cannot bring a cup from one business to another.
Cups must be recycled upon exiting the district.
What’s included?
Several bars and restaurants are included in the designated social district, as well as Red Hat Amphitheater and Duke Energy Center. “An idea for the social district is that folks could go to dinner before a show, get a drink to go, and then walk down to the venue and finish the beverage before entering inside,” says Melton.
Why aren’t parks included?
Moore Square and Nash Square are NOT included in the social district at this time, based on city staff’s recommendation, says Melton. “I think they preferred we take an incremental approach to the social district and avoid areas that might be conducive to folks trying to bring their own alcohol into the social district, which isn’t allowed under the state law,” he expands. “Moore Square also already has its own ABC permit associated with the Square Burger on site. It’s a pilot program though, so we will continue to gather feedback and examine the boundaries over the next few months.” According to Melton, the city would have to construct a barrier to separate Square Burger from the rest of the park due to social district rules and the permit.
Raleigh’s most significant players have united to reenergize Fayetteville Street.
“Let’s invest and make this the coolest street—certainly in North Carolina, but in the Southeast and beyond,” says Fayetteville Street stakeholder Thomas “Skip” Hill. “Let’s really make it pop. So when people think of Raleigh, it’s different from what Fayetteville Street is now.”
Now a relative entertainment and retail desert, the once dynamic corridor is the focus of some key power players who have their sights set squarely on its resurgence. As a major investor owning 1.4 million square feet of office space Downtown (including four towers on Fayetteville Street: Charter Square, One City Plaza (including the four plaza “jewel boxes”), PNC Plaza and, as of July 2021, the Wells Fargo Building), Highwoods Properties, of course, is one of them.
Talking to Highwoods senior VP Hill about Raleigh’s “Main Street” feels a lot like being Charlie Bucket with a golden ticket, where Hill’s vision of Fayetteville Street is Wonka land—and in the best possible way. His ideas for how to activate that significant strip of DTR and make it “really cool” are creative, smart and limitless, from lighting it up (literally—picture trees aglow from the Duke Energy Center of Performing Arts to the Capitol Building) to retail reinvigoration to partnering with big hospitality players.
And he’s not alone. Hill is part of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance Economic Development Strategy Committee tasked with reenergizing Fayetteville Street, alongside DRA’s Bill King and a dozen-plus other public and private players, including entrepreneur David Meeker, Shaw University President Dr. Paulette Dillard and Duke Energy Community Relations Manager Marty Clayton, to name a few.
While Fayetteville Street’s heyday as a bustling, vibrant destination is not a distant memory, now, minus a handful of heavyweight hot spots that anchor the street—think Big Easy, Sono, Foundation, etc.—the action Downtown is elsewhere. (Images of cars lining Glenwood South like it’s the Myrtle Beach strip no doubt spring to mind.) So what gives on Raleigh’s arguably most significant street?
If you ask Meeker, this isn’t just a pandemic problem. It’s really what you call the perfect storm. Throwing back, he nods to “DrunkTown,” where many Fayetteville Street residents discouraged nightlife post-11pm, thus pushing the late-night action toward Glenwood South. From there, he adds, you have the pandemic, where Fayetteville Street was hit uniquely because of all the office workers, and, finally, the social unrest—and lingering fear.
“That has a lasting impact,” says Meeker. “But I think long-term, Fayetteville Street will come back. We have three or four landlords there with most of the space: Highwoods Properties, Empire Properties and Dominion Realty Partners among them.” And he credits the developers for avoiding short-term leases during the pandemic that wouldn’t be good for the long-term.
“We want to play a role in coordination with the city,” says Hill of Highwoods’ vision. He emphasizes energizing the north end of the street—“it’s most important to us that this part of Fayetteville Street gets activated—that it’s the cool place to be”—and bringing more dining options to fill some of the now-vacant spaces Highwoods owns, like B.Good, Living Kitchen and Cafe Carolina.
One potential hospitality titan flirting seriously with a Fayetteville Street presence is LM Restaurants (of Vidrio and a’Verde fame, among many more). “We’re really excited about Downtown. It’s got enormous potential,” says LM President Amber Moshakos. “We’re looking to invest in that area because we believe in it. And we’re looking at the right opportunity to put the right brand that’s going to drive that vibrancy and activation on Fayetteville Street.”
It’s a vision Hill shares and is doubling down on as Highwoods moves its own offices to Fayetteville Street come October into the two floors recently vacated by Pendo. “So we’re going to have a live-in presence Downtown,” says Hill. “While it’s pretty challenging right now, it’s becoming better—and we would not have bought a 560,000-square-foot building [Wells Fargo] if we didn’t think we were going to overcome this. … And we’ve got several customers that are highly bullish on Fayetteville Street.”
One of the great strengths of Fayetteville Street, adds King “is it’s a really good blend of modern and historic”—from the Briggs Hardware Building circa 1870s to PNC Plaza (the tallest building in the region) to newer buildings on the street like the FNB Tower. “And your Main Street is a symbolic part of your city,” he says.
“Not only is Fayetteville Street like the ‘Main Street’ of Raleigh,” adds Moshakos, “but it is really the ‘Main Street’ of North Carolina. And one of the things that makes an area really lively is a diverse group of hospitality businesses—a really beautiful collection of restaurants and bars and some retail. So we’re most definitely looking to see where we fit and what role we can play in that area.”
To be clear, no one is looking to revitalize DrunkTown. Fayetteville Street stakeholders have no interest in being Glenwood South. “Glenwood South has its own unique aura,” says Hill.
What they do want is to reenergize and activate the corridor in its own unique way. So, the slow recovery is actually a positive—because those invested in the area are playing the long game.
Plans In Motion
1
Storefronts: Downtown Raleigh Alliance has a full-time storefront recruiter who’s helping work with landlords to fill vacancies on Fayetteville Street. “We’ve been able to fill [the vacancies] on Hargett Street, so we have a good model,” explains DRA’s Bill King, who says they’re seeing more responsiveness from Fayetteville Street owners who are being creative with some of the types of tenants.
2
Social District Pilot: As you likely know, the state legalized open container districts last year, aka specified areas where “people just walk around with a glass of wine or a beer, going into a store, sitting on a bench, etc.,” says Council Member Jonathan Melton. Adds King, the Economic Development Strategy Committee asked DRA to do community engagement and direct a pilot project for the Fayetteville Street (FS) area, which spans a few blocks in each direction from FS. If approved by the committee, it would then go to City Council this summer, which would be a game-changer for the area and make FS more attractive to bars and restaurants—and consumers.
3
Alexander Square Deck (120 S. Wilmington St.) Upgrade: Highwoods plans to give the popular FS District deck a face-lift, complete with upgraded facade, new awnings, garage doors and more to make it more attractive to FS-goers. “It’s most important to us that this part of Fayetteville Street gets activated and it’s the cool place to be,” says Highwoods’ Skip Hill.
Move over Fayetteville Street—Midtown could be Raleigh’s first social district.
In the words of Natasha Bedingfield, we’re “so close you can almost taste it.” … “It” being the refreshing mixed drink or beer you’ll be sipping as you mill around Raleigh’s first social district. The question yet to be answered though is: Where will that social district be?
ICYMI, back in September, Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 890 into law, making it legal for cities and counties to create social districts as of Oct. 1. Now, the city attorney is working to hammer out the details of what one in Raleigh would require—and, once decided, the city will begin the process of choosing a location.
So far, several ideas have been raised. City Council, for example, is discussing the possibility of Fayetteville Street in its Economic Development & Innovation Committee.
“Other cities have their social districts up and running. I think the biggest one is Greensboro,” says Council Member Jonathan Melton, who chairs the committee. “It’s really just people walking around on a Saturday with a glass of wine or a beer, going into a store, sitting on a bench… and so that’s sort of the environment I hope that we’re able to cultivate—some vibrancy, some support for the small businesses along that corridor, and just an atmosphere of folks wanting to get together safely and enjoy the city.”
While Fayetteville Street could be a great start, it will be challenging to approve because several landlords will have to buy in on the idea, a reality that has given other districts with a single landlord—like Smoky Hollow and North Hills (owned by Kane Realty Corporation)—the inkling they could be the premiere social district. Glenwood South is also vying for that distinction.
And while we don’t have an (Ever)clear view of the future, rest assured, we will all soon be raising our booze-filled, appropriately marked to-go containers to the opening of Raleigh’s first social district. Cheers to that!
