A new Hillsborough Street watering hole is keeping Raleigh bar nostalgia alive
Editor’s note: Plain Jane’s is now open. Find more info here.
If Pink Boot and Brooklyn Heights had a baby—it would be Plain Jane’s.
A handful of Raleigh’s favorite bars are done and dusted—mere memories of last calls and hours after dark well spent. But the new watering hole on Hillsborough Street aims to preserve their legacy under one no-frills, completely offline roof.
Like a Pink Boot on steroids—but grungier—Plain Jane’s will be a Raleigh time capsule of sorts, scattered with a plethora of memorabilia and old bar signs the owners have collected over the years. Think literal relics from OGs like Sadlack’s Heroes, Pink Boot and Brooklyn Heights, plus a bar top crafted from lanes salvaged from Hillsborough Street’s former The Alley—all serving as tributes to the city’s beloved bar scene.
“Everybody’s got that one place they wish was still open,” says one of the co-owners, who wished to remain anonymous. “Maybe you can come in here and it can make you feel a little better when you see an old sign, remember a place or remember a friend from that place.”
Set to open later this summer in the former Green Monkey (and never-materialized Rabbit Hole) space, Plain Jane’s is the essence of its name—plain, in the best way. Beyond the fresh bar and coat of paint, they just “hung some shit up and bought some bar stools.”
Not fitting neatly into any one category of “bar,” it’s not exactly a dive, and it’s certainly not a cocktail lounge—it’s just a, well, “plain” bar, says the co-owner.
“We don’t have any one identity,” he adds. “We just want everybody to come and have a good time.”
Photo by Sean JunqueiraPhoto by Sean Junqueira
The old-school philosophy extends to the drinks too. There won’t be a cocktail menu—“We’re gonna go back to before craft beers were around is the best way to describe it,” he says—but there will be a fresh coat of paint, a pool table, couches, two-tops and 14 bar stools—alongside the occasional DJ and live music.
“We’re just gonna let all that stuff happen on its own,” he maintains. “If it’s not needed, we won’t do it.”
The opportunity to join popular nearby spots like Gussie’s, The Bend, and Wolfe & Porter was one the owners simply couldn’t pass up. But while Morgan Street leans “the 30-and-up, I’ve got a little money and I want to get out of Glenwood crowd,” he says, Plain Jane’s will bring some grit to the area.
“Hillsborough Street needs to be livened up,” he asserts. “And I feel like this bar can serve as a place for everybody… It’s everything Raleigh needs.”
So while it might be “plain,” Plain Jane’s is betting that uncomplicated simplicity is exactly the kind of nostalgia locals can get behind right now. More than recreating old bars, it’s chasing something harder to preserve: the feeling of a Raleigh that longtime locals still miss.
After 25+ years, Slim’s remains Raleigh’s unpolished shrine to a good time.
Between the dark moody digs, hazy smoker-friendly patio and cheap drinks, Slim’s is the epitome of a dive. Recently surpassing its 25th anny, the nee-1999 bar has long held court on South Wilmington Street, serving up a nostalgic grittiness that can’t be found at Raleigh’s slew of shiny new cocktail clubs (though those, of course, have their own place).
From its concert poster-plastered front window and photo-bedecked bar top to a smattering of stickers covering nearly every other surface from the walls to the doors, Slim’s is like a punk-rock time capsule—encapsulating an authenticity that can’t be replicated.
Despite new ownership in 2024, the rules remain simple: “Drink, don’t be a d*ck, no music requests, tip or die, and no wrestling.” And as it’s always been, on any given night, you’ll find all sorts of local characters bellied up for a beer and a shot (or a Mind Eraser if they’re feeling frisky) as bands of all genres rotate in and out—from punk and shoegaze to rock and indie.
Upstairs, the sounds of pool balls ricocheting off the felt and the bright pings and dings of pinball machines add to the background noise—while the outdoor patio is a mecca for smokers or anyone stepping outside for a reset.
Where the drinks are cheap, the guitars are loud, and “bad decisions are encouraged,” Slim’s feels less like a bar and more like a rite of passage—a no-frills gathering space for misfits, musicians, industry folks, in-the-know locals and everyone in between. Because here, last calls stretch into lifelong stories, the bathroom graffiti reads like a community diary, and the small-but-mighty stage doubles as a launching pad for up-and-coming artists.
In a city where all eyes are on what’s new and next, the OG dive remains delightfully, defiantly scuffed—and Raleigh’s here for it. slimsraleigh.com
The rumors are true—The Goat has made a comeback in its OG Western Boulevard digs (*pause for applause*). The beloved 2003-born West Raleigh dive bar is officially extending its two-plus-decade run and reviving the allure of its sticky floors, cheap drinks and crowded decor.
Owners Brandon and Amanda LaRoque closed the longtime business in August 2024, initially planning to retire. But after a financial setback thanks to a hacked crypto account, the couple decided to return to work—and to the bar that had become a second home for so many.
“I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and that God has a bigger plan,” says Amanda. “We thought about it for a little bit, and Pam from Pam’s Farmhouse [next door] had been asking us to come back—so here we are.” Add in the wave of public outcry following the initial closing announcement, and the decision felt increasingly clear.
Fans can expect the same ole Goat bar you know and love: same daily drink specials, free hot dogs and that no-frills dive bar vibe—just with a fresh coat of paint and some updated equipment and furniture (think beer coolers and barstools). And while the signature dollar bills once covering the walls and ceiling have been cleaned off, Amanda predicts it won’t take long for a fresh crop to take over. Give them three or four months, she says, and the space will be papered once again—thanks to a mix of loyal regulars and new patrons.
“We’re super excited to see everybody,” emphasizes Amanda. “We kept in touch with a large portion of people—and everybody’s excited for us to come back.
It just goes to show, you can always come back to your roots—and sometimes, the best things in life desire an encore. Here’s to finding your way back home! @the_goatbar
Late-night bar food, cheap yet delicious drinks, and all-around good vibes abound at Le Dive.
The best dive bars have something for everyone. And that’s exactly what you’ll find at DTR’s Le Dive, sandwiched between Neptunes and Kings in the former Garland-turned-Umbrella Dry Bar space Downtown.
Think cheap beer, fairly priced refreshing cocktails, dirty yet elevated late-night bar food, TVs, games, a photobooth, and ample loungey seating—just the kind of place you’d find The Big Lebowski and his gang of misfits in, minus the bowling. Not to mention that all-are-welcome neighborhood bar vibe that invites you in for any reason or no reason at all to settle in and make yourself comfortable.
Operating in pop-up mode for the last couple of months with all-the-rage bangin’ bites from MOdega’s Mosby Dru Ray, the already hot spot’s official grand opening is March 1. And, in good news for those who’ve become obsessed with what Ray’s churning out of that kitchen, the “people’s princess” isn’t going anywhere. Find her slicing and dicing as Le Dive’s head chef with the same nostalgic, fun and mouthwatering food patrons are already demanding on the reg.
“I connected with them on their whole vision for the space and their whole vibe,” says Ray. “It really just lined up very perfectly with what I want to do, which is food that’s fun and makes people happy and feel good.”
Described as “delicious, not pretentious” by Martin—and catering to foodies while at the same time approachable and accessible—Ray’s fare is the perfect balance of nostalgic and mind-blowing. And it’s exactly what you want after a night of drinking. On the permanent menu, expect such dishes as pickle fritto misto and tender tots (a chicken app of tater tots and popcorn chicken with pickled celery and homemade Buffalo sauce), sandwiches, salads, and desserts like snack packs and Dunkaroos.
“I’m taking things that are usually fancy and stuffy or maybe only seen at a certain type of restaurant and turning them on their head,” maintains Ray. The Northeast-born, former Lawrence Barbecue chef’s cult-classic Philly cheesesteak, for example—which incidentally got her started in kitchens—will be a menu fixture. “The reason the MOdega even started was because of the same reason [Le Dive] did: There’s no late-night food options [locally], nobody who’s doing real good bodega bites—and it was something I missed most about being back home.”
Further feeding that late-night crowd till an unprecedented 2am will be hot dogs, walking tacos, cold-cut sandwiches and the like out of Le Dive’s walk-up window. And you won’t want to sleep on Sunday brunch either, though you can sleep in given it doesn’t start until 11am.
When it comes to drinks, it’s a bar after all. And in line with its MO, there’s something for everyone—from sub-$15 cocktails by GM Paul Schatzle like a spicy marg and herbaceous French 75 to $5 cans of Miller Lite and draft PBR. Even glasses of vino and espresso martinis on draft. “It’s important for people to know I’ve been grinding my ass off for 15 years to get to the point to have this,” says Martin. “We just want to give people food and booze in a fun atmosphere.” @le.dive.bar
Stella’s is officially opening in a revamped space on North West Street on Oct. 26.
If a dive bar were a girl, it would be Stella’s. The ’80s/’90s-inspired “trailer trash-chic” watering hole is opening in the former Devereux location on North West Street—and it’s already a total vibe for girls, guys and everyone in between.
In standard fashion, the space received a colorful makeover in the months leading up to its opening. Stripping the space of its former Devereux life, owner Lena Ali and a gaggle of community members cultivated Stella’s personality with retro photos of Raleigh residents, parents and friends epoxied on the bar top; local art; wood paneling; disco balls; Christmas lights; thrifted/upcycled fixtures; and more—including the famous cow couch that once called Pink Boot home (!).
“The primary focus of the bar is that it is a community space,” emphasizes Ali. “The process of building the bar itself has been more or less of a community art project, which has been so fun and incredible to be a part of that we want to cultivate that in the bar’s daily operations as much as possible.”
As far as drinks go, Stella’s sticks to the basics with staple beer and seltzer options—plus a handful of seasonal cocktails designed and named by local guest bartenders. “I also want to put more of an emphasis on NA and THC options,” says Ali—“and lean a tad farther into wine than your standard dive bar—because, you know, girl.”
With that said, Ali’s goal “within this weird little 900-square-foot space” is for everyone to be “involved, welcomed and included,” she adds. “At Stella’s, the goal is to make everyone feel like a regular—even if it’s their first time in.” @stellasonwest
