Triangle's biggest restaurant news of 2019
Sean Lennard, the Triangle Food Guy, takes a look back at 2019's biggest restaurant headlines and looks ahead to 2020.
Posted — UpdatedSo, here it is. The longest read of the year. A look back at what was 2019. And a look ahead as to what is in store for 2020. Not to jump ahead...but, 2020 will be the year of three letters...B...B...Q. 11…count them...11 BBQ restaurants will come online in 2020 (so keep reading...you’ll want to see who they are). And of course there was sadness in 2019 - we lost some great people and lots of restaurants turned their lights off for the last time.
With that brief intro, grab a cup of coffee (or two) and let’s take a trip down memory lane and then look ahead to 2020...shall we?
Raleigh in 2019 - The Highlights
- Ashley Christensen, the nation’s top outstanding chef as selected by the James Beard Foundation. And not to rest on her laurels, she opened her much-anticipated pizza restaurant, Poole’side Pies
- Celebrity chef Katsuji Tanabe opened High Horse, a live-fire restaurant in Raleigh’s City Market
- Scott Crawford’s opened his newest restaurant, Jolie, a French bistro located in historic Oakwood
- Transfer Co. Food Hall came onto the scene in 2019, following Morgan Street Food Hall’s debut in 2018. The following opened there: Benchwarmers Bagels (Boulted Bread and Jubala Coffee), Burial Beer Co., Captain Cookie & The Milkman, Che Empanadas and Locals Oyster Bar, Bul Box, Chhote’s, Dank Burrito, Alimentari at Left Bank and Mama Crow’s
- Speaking of food halls, Morgan Street Food Hall had some additions this year: YoHo Hibachi & Sushi Burritos, Primal Cuts, Pazza Pasta and Raleigh Mini Donut Company
- North Hills enjoyed the opening this year of Stir, Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls and Giorgio Bakistas’ Rosewater Kitchen & Bar
- Over at The Dillon in downtown Raleigh, we saw the opening of Oak Steakhouse and Barcelona Wine Bar
- Gregory Goldberg brought his Uninhibited Tapas Bar into the former Taste location on Medlin Drive
- 321 Coffee opened at the State Farmers Market. 321 Coffee is a “nonprofit coffee shop staffed by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Gateway Plaza enjoyed a massive renovation and enjoyed the addition of Andrew Ullom’s Union Special Bread
Durham in 2019 - The Highlights
- Sister Liu’s Kitchen opened in Durham in the space in front of New Hope Commons near the intersection of 15-501 and Interstate 40 (same complex as Namu)
- Dame’s Chicken and Waffles finally re-opened in downtown Durham in a new location in the Liberty Warehouse Apartment building
- Scott Howell reopened his legendary Nana’s restaurant in Durham on University Drive, which he had closed after a 26-year run
- Lime & Lemon Indian Grill on Ninth Street (former Dale’s spot) opened to rave reviews at 811 Ninth Street
- Chef Mike Lee (think M Kokko, M Sushi, M Tempura) continued building his empire in downtown Durham with the opening of his newest concept, M Pocha in the old Cupcake Bar space at Five Points
- Sidney Coves opened the second location of his True Flavors Diner at 2022 Chapel Hill Road, taking over the former Lakewood restaurant space and Scratch Baking spots. And before the year's end he had also opened Debbie Lou’s next door to True Flavors’ Lakewood location (built around biscuits)
Chapel Hill in 2019 - The Highlights
- Brandon Sharp opened Hawthorne & Wood in the former Raaga spot in Chapel Hill’s East 54
- Chef Teddy Diggs opened Coronato Pizza in the South Green shopping center in Carrboro
- Al’s Pub Shack opened a slightly tweaked version of his Al’s Burgers in Chatham County near Governor’s Club. However, it wasn’t long before he converted it to a straight up Al’s Burgers (with a few twists)
- 401 Main, an upscale dive bar from Chapel Hill native Chris Baldwin and Al Bowers of Al’s Burger Shack opened
- Deli Edison, the Chapel Hill deli concept from partners Dan Obusan, Sam Suchoff and Pete Wagner opened in the North Chapel Hill Cedar Falls Courtyard adjacent to The Pig, a whole-hog barbecue joint, and Your Neighborhood Bar, soon to be rebranded as PiggyBack
- A new watering hole called The Casual Pint opened on the ground floor of the Berkshire Apartments on Elliot Road
Elsewhere in the Triangle in 2019 - The Highlights
- The big news in Cary this year was the opening of the area’s first Shake Shack in Cary’s Waverly Place
- Sean Degnan and Drew Smith opened kō•än in the former An space in Cary
- Asali Desserts & Cafe opened in Cary’s MacGregor Village
2020 - Year of three letters….B...B….Q
Check this out, 11 BBQ Joints are in the “que” to open in 2020 (one is not in the Triangle, but of huge interest to everyone in the Triangle). Here’s a quick rundown:
- Pitmaster Ed Mitchell (originally from ThePit BBQ) will be opening a new restaurant in early 2020 called The Preserve with LM Restaurants and Lou Moshakos
- Moe’s Original Bar B Que is poised to open in the former Blu Seafood on Hillsborough Rd. in Durham
- Sam Jones BBQ has announced they are coming to Raleigh at 502 W. Lenoir St., in the former Dusty’s Garage near Boylan Heights
- Longleaf Swine (currently a food truck) will open in Transfer Co. Food Hall
- Picnic’s Wyatt Dickson will be opening his second BBQ restaurant – Wyatt’s Whole Hog Barbecue – in Raleigh’s Gateway Plaza
- In Wake Forest, Anthony Bowman’s Smoky Tony’s BBQ will open in early 2020
- A new bar/BBQ place is coming to Main Street in Garner called Shady’s
- Jason Howord (The Cardinal and The Atlantic Lounge) shared that he plans on opening Friendship BBQ in the Topps Building in downtown Raleigh
- And not exactly Triangle area restaurant news (but certainly something of interest to thousands of folks that travel to the coast for vacation), Wilber’s Barbecue has been sold to a group of local investors in Goldsboro and will reopen in spring 2020
- And in Johnston County, the Old North State Food Hall, opening next spring off of Interstate 95 in Selma, named Redneck BBQ Lab its first tenant
- And something we haven’t reported yet, Jake Wood, from Plates and before that 18 Seaboard, has put up a logo on Facebook that touts something involving barbecue, oysters and beverages….look for that unveil in early 2020.
More Big Doings in 2020 - Certainly there is more than BBQ...Yes...Yes there is!
- Saint James Seafood will re-open in January 2020. The restaurant has been closed since a nearby natural gas explosion in April
- Celebrity chef Kenny Gilbert announced plans to open a restaurant in north Raleigh called Cut & Gather and is expected to open at 13100 Falls of Neuse Road in early 2020. You might recognize him from Bravo, Food Network and as a chef for Oprah Winfrey
- Brother and sister Vansana (“Van”) and Vanvisa Nolintha (think Bida Manda and Brewery Bhavana) will open Luang Prabang (pronounced LWAHNG prah-BAHNG) next year on the ninth floor of The Dillon in downtown Raleigh
- Ashley Christensen will be rolling out three locations of a yet-to-be-named fast-casual chicken sandwich concept - locations will be Raleigh’s Wegman’s shopping center; Durham’s University Hill; and in Cary’s Parkside Town Commons
- David Sadeghi will open O’Ya Cantina next to his Town Hall Burger at the entrance to Chatham’s Briar Chapel. Also in Chatham, Chatham Park will welcome Town Hall Burger & Beer; People’s Coffee; and Everything Bagels
- Out in RTP, Boxyard RTP is a very cool concept features ‘cargotecture design’ (think shipping containers) to showcase food, beverage and experiences. The first tenant announced is Durham’s Fullsteam Brewery
- Cary will welcome a spin-off from an iconic New York City pizzeria – Di Fara Pizza. They have been open in Brooklyn since 1965 and the New Yorker, The New York Times, Zagat’s and the late chef Anthony Bourdain all called Di Fara the best pizza in New York
- Down in Apex, the former Peak City Grille will become The Peak on Salem from the folks behind Jimmy V’s Steakhouse & Tavern
- In downtown Raleigh, The Flying Mayan will open on Fayetteville Street in the former Wahlburger’s space. From the same team behind the Flying Burrito
- The owners of Gonza Tacos y Tequila will open their new concept Macondo Latin Cuisine in the new Longfellow Real Estate high-rise in downtown Durham as well as in Raleigh in the Sojourn Glenwood Place Apartments
- MacGregor Village’s Tony’s Oyster Bar will open Tony’s Tap & Oyster Co.
- Secrets Pho Noodle Bar is coming soon to Ninth Street in the old Saint & Co location
- Acme Food & Beverage Co. in Carrboro and Tin Roof Brewery of Baton Rouge, Louisiana will open a joint venture – a new brewery and neighborhood restaurant located at 5401 North, called Heyday Brewing
- Australian-based Zambero, a Mexican restaurant concept that also donates a meal to someone in need from disadvantaged communities across Africa, Asia and the Americas, will open in January in One Glenwood
- A Place at the Table, the pay-what-you-can cafe concept in downtown Raleigh, will enjoy a much needed expansion, adding 2,000 square feet, 50 more seats and a commercial kitchen, with a stovetop, oven and hood
In Memory - We lost some great people in 2019 and some great establishments
- The tragic loss of Kong Lee at Kaffeinate after the explosion that rocked downtown Durham
- Lowell Thomas “Tommy” Bullock, owner and operator of Bullock’s Bar-B-Cue restaurant in Durham
- And the loss of Salvatore “Rino” Fevola, principal partner in Pulcinella’s in Durham
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• Credits
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