Raleigh’s hottest dinners are hiding in plain sight.
Raleigh’s latest dining obsession isn’t happening at your favorite restaurant. It’s unfolding behind closed doors… or in nondescript places you might otherwise pass without notice. Secret supper clubs and pop-up dinners are quietly taking over the city, serving up mystery alongside multicourse menus in personal homes, parlors and proprietary places.
In cities like NYC, such pop-ups are standard—from elevated dinners to street food mashups on rooftops and in bars/eateries or residences. They’re so popular, in fact, there’s even an app, 8it, that tracks them in real time.
Locally, Snap Pea Creative Dining has been pioneering the trend since 2014, staging whimsical feasts around the Triangle—turning gardens, warehouses or even a planetarium into culinary wonderlands. True to form, the “secret service” keeps details under wraps until 36 hours pre-showtime. Once in, menus span nine-plus hyperseasonal courses—oft built on ingredients foraged or sourced that week—woven with storytelling that leaves diners not just fed but floored. It’s part theater, part dinner… always unforgettable.
More recently, a fresh crop of local concepts has served up their own twist. The Parlor at Heights House hosts its Sunday Sauce experience, where rotating chefs craft two sauces to pair with Figulina’s fresh pastas. Even brunch is in on the act via Sir Walter Coffee’s weekend pop-up pancake stack—proving secret suppers don’t have to be fancy to deliver that thrill of surprise.
Courtesy of Heights House
Meanwhile, Raleigh local Justin Yi is bringing the supper club trend home—literally. From his own dining room, Yi hosts intimate ticketed pop-ups promoted almost exclusively through Instagram. Leaning into his Korean heritage, his multicourse menus have starred tteokkochi (skewered rice cakes), hamachi crudo, Mama Yi’s Korean fried chicken and a blood orange sheet cake tiramisu. The vibe: cozy, casual and curated, with diners swapping stories while Yi plates the next course just steps away.
These tucked-away tastings are catching on as a way to gather friends, family and even fresh faces around a shared culinary adventure. For chefs, they’re a creative playground. For diners, they’re a chance to snag a seat at Raleigh’s most exclusive table and relish in an experience you won’t be able to find at your standard everyday eatery—because the best meals are often the hardest to find.
Elyce Arons’ new memoir remembers late designer Kate Spade.
The Kate Spade empire may bear only one name, but from its humble beginnings in a modest NYC apartment, there were always many minds behind the brand. In new memoir We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship With Kate Spade, company co-founder Elyce Arons looks back on her 35-year friendship with the late designer, the glitz and glam of ’90s New York, and the launch of what would become a global fashion house. Now, she’s bringing her story to Village District via a trunk show and book signing Oct. 2 at Kannon’s.
The 2025 Kansan of the Year met Spade (then Brosnahan) on their first day at the University of Kansas in 1981, and despite differences in style—Arons leaned funky street, while Spade played it preppy—the two were fast friends, bonding over a shared love of Mary Tyler Moore. Postgrad, both landed in NYC, eventually launching the chic, accessible fashion empire still beloved today.
Capturing those ~four decades of friendship, creativity and entrepreneurship in one book wasn’t easy: “I couldn’t,” admits Arons.
“I could probably write two more books, and it was difficult to edit because I wanted to add all the funny, colorful moments.” Her most memorable? When they laughed the hardest—the two were notorious pranksters.
“I think most people think about how she left us when they hear her name—not how she lived,” says Arons. “I want people to remember the richness of her life, and the joy she created for so many people.” Now, through Arons’ words, the bright and colorful Katy lives on.
Step aside, eatertainment—sportstainment is here to play. The blend of sports and entertainment is surging in popularity, with a host of athletic activity concepts taking root in Raleigh.
And these sporty spots are ingraining themselves in the city’s existing culture and nightlife. Take Smash, a swanky new pingpong bar by LM Restaurants anticipated to open in the now-shuttered Carolina Ale House location on Glenwood South this summer. Set to showcase an “unparalleled nightlife experience,” per LM Restaurants, the club will serve up cocktails, shareable bites and entrees with a side of friendly competition—ideal for those who love a more interactive night out.
While Smash will be the city’s premiere pingpong club, several competitive socializing concepts have already dipped a toe in the Raleigh market. Hop Shots Mini Golf changed the game after bowing on Glenwood South in 2024, giving Raleighites their first taste of competition during a night out or barhop. Also testing the waters across the city—and riding the coattails of the increasingly popular pickleball wave—are popular Pin Point, the largest and first combined indoor pickleball and golf concept in the Southeast, and soon-to-bow Swing, which will deliver an “all-you-can-play destination” (think tennis, pickleball, padel and pingpong), plus plates and pours.
Pin Point CEO Garrett Leatham credits this local sporty surge to the popularity of a healthy lifestyle paired with a push to get off the screen and socialize. “It forces people to put their phone down, come out of their shell and break down barriers with sports we all love,” maintains the Raleighite.
To wit, the golf and pickleball club just broke ground on its second space in North Myrtle Beach, and despite drastically different demographics, both Raleigh and North Myrtle are anticipated to stay swinging—but for different reasons. “North Myrtle will be more entertainment-based, with more families spending a fun night with their kids,” emphasizes Leatham. “Raleigh is more a mix of entertainment- and membership-based.”
While locals love a boozy playground, many are leveraging sportstainment concepts for a sweat over swigs. Where eatertainment sees sips and snacks with a side of casual gaming, sportstainment serves a full-blown competition at any time of day with an optional bev or bite to boot.
From top: From bowling to pickleball, ATL’s Painted Pin and Painted Pickle are proof that sportstainment is more than a trend—it’s a lifestyle.
And Raleigh isn’t the first to capitalize on the trend—cities like Atlanta jumped on the bandwagon long ago, with hot spots cropping up citywide. ATL-based Painted Hospitality President & CEO Justin Amick has launched four separate sportstainment joints boasting bowling, duckpin bowling, pickleball, and a “park” with pingpong and games. Apart from ATL’s ever-increasing passion for paddle sports, Amick emphasizes the importance of sportstainment concepts—or “compeateries” as he calls them—planting roots near an abundance of large corporations.
“There are so many large gathering opportunities… like corporate team-building events and adult birthday parties centered around pickleball—it’s a huge part of making that model work financially,” he says. “It really helps fill those off-peak hours of business and those early days where your courts need to be activated in full.”
Even with multiple sportstainment concepts incoming, this activation of competition can still be glimpsed at Raleigh bars that don’t build out courts or base a whole theme on it—think the punching machine at Teets, the board games at Stella’s and the oversize Jenga tower you hear clatter to the floor at almost every bar Downtown. The bottom line: Sitting still is out, and living, playing and socializing are so in.
Look ma—we made it? You know you’ve leveled up as a metropolis when the rats start moving in. … Alas, Raleigh’s growth isn’t just measured in skyscrapers and restaurants—it’s critter-approved.
No stranger to the rat race—Raleigh’s held its place in the top 50 rattiest U.S. cities for over seven years running, with Orkin ranking it 28th last year. (Yes, really.)
While there’s no registry of rats roaming Raleigh, residents have told us the rodents are ramping up—with more of them out about, and apparently unafraid of being stepped on. Rat boxes can be spotted across DTR and citywide, unsurprising since urban growth typically brings more pests.
Despite the chatter, the City of Raleigh says they haven’t noticed a rodent spike. If—or when—the problem presents itself, Assistant City Manager Evan Raleigh suggests handling a vermin infestation like any other growing pain. “New development means more people creating trash,” maintains Raleigh. “We are making sure our resources are in line with the growing demands.”
Growing Pains
“The rats don’t run this city, we do.” So says former NYC Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch on her vow to oust the rats—with battle efforts going as far as dispersing rat birth control, hiring a “rat czar” and hosting a vermin expert conference. NYC serves as a prime example of the downside of a glamorous, bustling city: If you want to live in an established metropolis, expect encounters with typical metropolis problems—more noise, more pollution and more pests.
Not that Raleigh should welcome said problems with a “we made it” attitude, but we can learn from more established metros and stay on top of so-far minor nuisances—before it comes to an all-out “war.” Even with more frequent rodent run-ins, it’s safe to say we are nowhere near needing to take notes on Tisch’s approach… yet.
So, as the not-so-ideal consequences of urban expansion continue to grow alongside us, fighting the good fight is essential to prevent anyone else—rats included—from running our fair city.
Are We Expecting? Fun fact: Female rats are ready to mate at five weeks old and can reproduce every three to four weeks—and litters can produce anywhere from five to 12 rat babies. Do the math and enter the cycle of vermin doom.
Festival season is back—but if you aren’t keen on dragging the whole fam to a Coachella-esque ordeal, opt for the Kids Food Fest at Marbles Kids Museum. In partnership with The Creative Kitchen, the fun-for-all-ages foodie fete is throwing down May 3–4 at Moore Square, Marbles Playway and Marbles IMAX Theater.
Originally launched in NYC’s Bryant Park in 2021 with a goal to help fams make balanced food choices, the foodie festival educates through fun and engaging activities, “perfectly aligning us with the children’s museum’s philosophy of learning through play,” says The Creative Kitchen founder Cricket Azima. Since then, the fest has traveled throughout the country to inspire smart food ops and cooking seshes—with Raleigh being one of them.
Not to mention there’s James Beard Foundation Future Foodies Classes for taking on some serious cooking counseling. The ten offered classes are taught by local culinary celebs—think Top Chef alums Savannah Miller of M Restaurants and Katsuji Tanabe of Flour & Barrel and just-bowed La Taqueria, and Chris Prieto of Prime Barbecue— and will allow kiddos (and adults!) to brush up on their culinary skills or learn the basics from scratch.
“I am blessed beyond measure to be a part of Kids Food Fest,” emphasizes Prieto. “All five of my children love going to the Marbles Museum and I am excited for the opportunity to host a cooking class there. I hope the children and families leave my class inspired to build cooking traditions in their kitchens at home.”
Apart from ticketed classes, the festival’s mantra is carried out through packed programming—from cooking demos and live performances to wellness breakout sessions and the festival’s signature Balanced Plate Scavenger Hunt, there’s more than just plates to pass around. And who knows, your little tike just may be teaching one of the culinary classes in the future. Yes, chef!
