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Something to Taco ’Bout

Something to Taco ’Bout

by | Aug 16, 2022 | Eat, July 2022/August 2022

Photos by Anna Routh Barzin

Just over a year after opening his uberpopular Lawrence Barbecue at Boxyard RTP, Jake Wood (who previously helmed Plates Neighborhood Kitchen as executive chef) has announced his second restaurant (!).

An ode to the smoked brisket birria tacos that nearly broke the internet whenever Wood announced they were on the menu on Lawrence’s Instagram (and brought in throngs of people eager to get their hands on one, though usually sold out after only a couple of hours and thus “got out of hand,” says Wood), Leroy’s Tacos n Beer—anticipated to open in January 2023—will be situated just two doors down from the hip Q spot, and underneath his other Lawrence Food Co. Hospitality Group concept, Lagoon Bar. A taco and BBQ (and cocktail!) down the road at Boxyard? Um, sold. 

In addition to Wood’s famed birria tacos—which he conceptualized using three or four different recipes from different regions in Mexico—Leroy’s small rotating menu will feature fun seasonal dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Expect chimichurri fried rice, roasty poblano cheese dip with fresh fried tortilla chips, segmented grapefruit and avocado salad, and “a really fun corn dog that’s kind of like street corn, except the vessel’s gonna be a corn dog as opposed to an ear of corn,” says Wood.

Leroy's Tacos n Beer
Jake Wood Leroy's Tacos n Beer

NC shrimp tacos and carne asada skirt steak tacos will be on the feature board more often than not, he adds, and the food will be complemented by a rotating selection of canned Mexican beers like Imperial, Pacifico, Tecate and Modelo—plus over-the-top micheladas, natch. 

“We’re not trying to overthink it; we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with tacos—clearly I’m a white dude,” says Wood. “There are folks within 5 miles of us cooking amazing tacos. We just wanna join; we’re not trying to compete with anybody. I just f*cking love tacos, and I wanna make them. I want folks to be able to come and get the birria tacos and not have to wait in line 30 minutes to be told it’s sold out.” (If it’s happened to you, you know how soul-crushing it is.)

While Wood says expansion this soon after launching Lawrence wasn’t originally in the cards for him or his team, the opportunity to open a new spot at the former Carrburritos space was just too good to pass up. “It just made so much sense that we could expand our footprint there at Boxyard,” he explains. “They’re great folks to work with. We’ve had success since we’ve opened out there, and we just wanna build on that there with a lower overhead entry point.”

Leroy's Michelada

NTM that the area is only going to continue to grow, what with the new Hub RTP project, an Apple campus coming, and talks of Google and Nike as well. “We’d like to be there and grow as RTP grows,” says Wood. “I feel like it’s kind of RTP’s time to shine over the next five, six, 10 years—whatever it may be as they grow in that area. Looking back, I think we made the right decision by coming out there and taking a chance with Lawrence.” Those birria tacos surely seemed to prove that. 

And, don’t worry, the signature Lawrence Barbecue fun energy and fun-loving vibe we all know and love will come through at Leroy’s as well with the help of local creatives: Casey Robertson (who helped Wood with branding), designer and art director Paul Tuorto, sign painter and designer Joseph Giampino (you may know him as @spclsigns), and fabricator Brian Chiarizia of Rebuild Fabrication Co. “I’m really stoked about the branding and what these guys are gonna be potentially doing to the space,” says Wood. “We’re really just trying to make it a lifestyle brand, as opposed to a simple taco shop or BBQ shop.” 

He adds: “We’re staying in this fun vein that we’re in with Lawrence. We’re not taking anything too seriously other than the food, and just really staying hyperfocused on that. I’m looking forward to it. I love making tacos—I could stand over a flat top and fold birria tacos for 12 hours straight. It’s just fun.” So, in the words of Wood, “Come on over, eff around, and find out.”

Branding Raleigh

Branding Raleigh

by | Nov 30, 2021 | Buzz, December 2021/January 2022

Three creatives are leaving their mark all over town (and beyond).

It must be a sign. A trio of creatives is branding Raleigh—literally—and beyond via signage for many of-the-moment and iconic spaces. And while these creatives tend to fly under the radar as the news of these hot spots drops, it’s their signs that are emblematic of these rising Raleigh places—and what first draws to mind.

The creative force behind some of the Triangle’s most recognizable and hip branding concepts—from Boxyard RTP’s Lawrence Barbecue Oakwood Pizza Box to Ponysaurus Brewing Co.’s Little Pizza Box in the Bull City to Scott Crawford’s new Clayton Crawford Cookshop—is comprised of designer and art director Paul Tuorto, sign painter and designer Joseph Giampino (you may know him as @spclsigns), and fabricator Brian Chiarizia of Rebuild Fabrication Co.

From left to right: Paul Tuorto, Joseph Giampino (PC Oak City Productions), Brian Chiarizia (PC Tyler Northrup)

While the buzz for budding spaces typically centers on the chefs, bartenders and architects—“rightly so,” says Tuorto—it’s this design trifecta who’s working behind the scenes to bring the visual concept to fruition. “That’s really important, and I don’t think a lot of people notice that,” adds Giampino. 

Tuorto credits Raleigh designer Josh Gajownik (famed for branding Ashley Christensen’s Death & Taxes and Sunny Gerhart’s St. Roch, among others) for building the city’s aesthetic—and paving the way for future designers (Exhibit A: this unstoppable trio).

And you don’t have to be a graphic designer or art aficionado to realize how crazy-cool this team’s designs are. Typically, when attacking a project together, Tuorto will draw up the branding and logo; Chiarizia will fabricate whatever the design is being placed on (a sign, etc.); and Giampino will handpaint it—though there’s typically some back-and-forth between them, as well as the client. 

Though each does solo projects as well, Chiarizia says they work very well together, and “we have this trust in each other—we know each of us is going to deliver 100% of the time,” he says. He adds that they work with each other as much as they can, recommending each other to clients for projects they’re involved in. “It’s definitely not something that any of us take lightly. We’re all humbled by and proud of what we do,” adds Chiarizia.

As such, Chiarizia can name 20-plus places he’s worked on with Tuorto and Giampino, but one of Tuorto’s favorite undertakings as a trio was the branding for Alimentari at Left Bank in Transfer Co. Food Hall. Tuorto says the project melded together their cultural familiarity—they’re all Italian! Tuorto drew up the look of the signage and menu board and designed their content; Chiarizia built everything; Giampino painted it all. 

“So it was just this fantastic little team putting together something we all knew we’d love,” adds Tuorto, “and all of us were incredibly biased because we were waiting for a shop like that for a long time.” 

The true beauty of their work, says Giampino, is that it isn’t trendy—it’s timeless. Adds Chiarizia: “In the end, I think we are all just doing something that we are incredibly passionate about, and take pride in, and we just happened to be in the same place at the same time. Lucky, I guess.”

And as the Triangle continues to grow at warp speed, “there’s a free license to do anything here,” maintains Tuorto. And Chiarizia says he doesn’t see the partnership ending anytime soon. Especially when the branding is coming from a talented design team such as this one, you know the end product is going to be inspired—and inspiring.

“It feels good to leave a mark in the city,” says Giampino. “It’s nice to work with two other people who also take a lot of pride and care about the product that they’re making.” And for that, we think they deserve all the attention in the world.