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Site SearchRALEIGH, N.C. — Downtown Raleigh is growing, and one sign, experts say, is the number of coffee shops in the area.
Leaders with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance say coffee shops are a barometer of growth: the bigger the city, the more coffee shops there are.
"We are becoming a big city with the demand for that coffee craze," said Nancy Hormann with the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.
Currently, there are at least eight coffee shops in Raleigh's central business district, which is about a 100-block area. And a ninth one is opening this week.
About 32,000 people work and about 2,000 live in downtown Raleigh. An additional 500,000 square feet of office space is expected to open within the next two years.
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