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Triangle Foodie News: Nonprofit restaurant moving into Square Rabbit space

Carroll's Kitchen is dedicated to ending homelessness for women in Raleigh.

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Carroll's Kitchen
By
Sean Lennard aka Triangle Food Guy,
and
WRAL Out
and
About
RALEIGH, N.C.

Featured Restaurant News

Kudos to Kinston chef Vivian Howard on winning the James Beard Award for Outstanding Television Personality for her role in "A Chef's Life" on PBS which documents her and her husband's life running two restaurants (Chef & The Farmer and Boiler Room Oyster Bar) in Kinston. Next week, we find out if Raleigh's Ashley Christensen will win Best New Restaurant for Death & Taxes.

Wake County restaurant news

It is official. It was announced this week that Raleigh's newest non-profit restaurant, Carroll's Kitchen, will take over the former Square Rabbit space in downtown Raleigh at some point this summer. Carroll's Kitchen is a 501c3 restaurant dedicated to ending homelessness for women in Raleigh. They held a launch party this past week with more than 250 people in attendance.
Also in downtown Raleigh, G. Patel's Eschelon Experiences restaurant group announced that the former Zinda location will become Bare Bones, a new ribs, burger and beer restaurant on Raleigh's Fayetteville Street. They hope to be open by this summer. Bare Bones' chef will be Taion McElveen, who previously worked at Cameron Bar & Grill and The Oxford. His menu will feature smoked pork, beef ribs, brisket and house-ground burgers.
Over in downtown Raleigh, saw on Ashton Mae Smith's weekly blog (which you should subscribe to by the way) that Sushi O owners are replacing their short-lived International Burger and Breakfast Restaurant concept with an authentic Szechuan / Chinese restaurant and bar called China O Bistro and Bar. No information on a website or Facebook page yet.
Up in Wake Forest, the Triangle Business Journal reported last week that Buku owner Sean Degnan has confirmed that he and business partner Tony Hopkins will be opening a second, smaller, location on Rogers Road near the Heritage development in Wake Forest. The goal for opening is set for Fall 2016.
Over in Cary, Hickory Tavern opened its second Triangle location this past Wednesday in the new Parkside Town Commons Center. The original Triangle-area location is in downtown Carrboro.
Also in Cary, those familiar with Johnny's Pizza on Holly Springs Road in Apex, will be excited to learn that they will open a second location in the former Z Pizza location in the Stone Creek shopping center at the corner of High House and Davis. Look for them to open this location in August or September.
And Cary's location of Sassool will hold their grand opening celebration on Mother's Day, May 8 from 1-4 p.m. Sassool's second location, which opened in December, is located at 1347 Kildaire Farm Road in the Shoppes of Kildaire (Trader Joe's).
Finally, in Garner reader Hugh Autry (actually, his wife), brought it to my attention that Panera Bread has opened in Garner's White Oak shopping center.

Durham, Orange & Chatham county restaurant news

Happy + Hale will hold a grand opening Saturday (April 30) for its second location, 703 Ninth St. in Durham.The celebration will be from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Beyu Caffe, located in the heart of downtown Durham, is closing for one week to move to its larger quarters at 341 W. Main Street, just two doors down!
Counter Culture Coffee has moved to downtown Durham, 812 Mallard Avenue to be exact, and they will be holding a grand opening event on Saturday, (April 30) at 10 a.m. and everyone is invited! Take a tour, taste (both coffee and tasty treats provided by local chefs) and visit their pop-up store. RSVP and get all the details here.

Closings

None to report. Keep eating local, folks!

Food trucks

TABLE will hold its 4th Annual Food Truck Rodeo on Saturday, April 30, from 3-7 p.m. at Chapel Hill's Orange United Methodist Church on MLK Boulevard. The event is to benefit one of TABLE's program, called the Weekend Backpack Program, a year-round hunger relief program that provides food to hungry kids when school is not in session.
With the warm weather returning, it also means the return of the Food Truck Thursdays in Knightdale. Every Thursday from April through June, the town will host a new truck at Knightdale Station Park for lunch and dinner. Just look for it from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. near the amphitheater (rain or shine - shelters are covered).
The Downtown Raleigh Food Truck Rodeo will have its first event of the year this weekend. The rode is Sunday, May 1. Other dates this year are: June 12, Aug. 7 and Oct. 9.
Former Standard Foods butcher Steven Goff plans to get the Brine Haus food truck on the road in the Triangle by August or September. Goff's last day at Standard was last week (Scott Crawford will end his time there the first week in May). Goff hopes to eventually transition the concept from a truck to a brick-and-mortar location. He will definitely be using his talented butcher skills for the cuisine on the truck and will be offering his own pickles.
For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art’s page, The Wandering Sheppard, on all things food truck related here.

Events

Tickets to one of my favorite annual events, Farm to Fork, have gone on sale. The event this year will be held on the weekend of June 3 through June 5.
The Piedmont Dinner Series continues on May 25 as Piedmont's Greg Gettles and The Boot's John May will host a late spring bbq in partnership with Locals Seafood. The multi-course dinner is $65, plus $20 for wine pairings.
Felicia Perry-Trujillo reminded me that the next Snap Pea Underground pop-up dinners will be held May 20 and 21 at a secret location in Durham, and tickets go on sale TODAY (Friday, April 29) at noon. If you are interested, set a reminder as these dinner will literally sell out within minutes. Trust me. Seriously. Go here at 11:55 a.m. and start hitting your refresh button.
This year's edition of the Raleigh Food & Wine Festival, a four day event, will be held May 19-22.
Ok, this is a bit of a stretch to include, but it's too fun/funny not to include. It is the 2016 Doughman event being held in Durham on May 28. What is it? It is a "foodie" event that combines the elements of a triathlon with competitive eating. 4-member teams basically down a delicious treat from a Durham establishment which is then followed by a bike, run or "water activity" challenge of varying distances.
Arguably the area's biggest "foodie" event, TerraVita, recently announced the dates for this year's festival - September 28 through Oct. 1. The Chapel Hill-based festival, now in its seventh year, offers exceptional dinners, tasting events, after parties, chef demos as well as the "Sustainable Classroom" - educational experiences featuring renowned chefs, authors & national media. TerraVita concludes with a Grand Tasting on the Green featuring over 65 chefs, artisans and beverage producers for tastings, live chef demonstrations and cookbook signings. TerraVita's ticket launch and full schedule will be released in mid-June.
Food Bank Corner
Ever wondered how your company can make a difference in the local community and do your part to help end hunger? Host a Food Drive!!! The great folks over at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina make is SO SIMPLE! Check it out here and be your office hero!
Sean Lennard covers food news on his blog, Triangle Food Blog.

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