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Foodie News: Bul Box from Transfer Co. Food Hall opens new Morrisville location
Bul Box from Transfer Co. Food Hall opens new Morrisville location and Sean Lennard, the Triangle Food Guy, has the details.
Posted — UpdatedBy Sean Lennard, Triangle Food Guy
MORRISVILLE, N.C. — Felicia Trujillo at Food Seen shared via Instagram the news that Transfer Co. Food Hall vendor Bul Box (serving up amazing Asian cuisine) has opened their second location in Morrisville in the new Twin Lakes Center (think Wegman’s). Trujillo also shared that they will be opening a third location this fall at North Hills in Raleigh.
Wake County Restaurant News
After closing their doors for four weeks for an expansion, A Place At The Table is set to reopen on July 22 for walk-up and phone-in ordering in downtown Raleigh.
During their closure, the pay-what-you-can cafe on West Hargett Street expanded into the former Alli boutique space next door, allowing them to build a full commercial kitchen with a flat top, hood system and fryer, and add about 50 more seats. Congrats Maggie and crew!
Well, that didn’t take long. The Triangle Business Journal shared this week that High Horse’s chef Katsuji Tanabe, who closed High Horse, has landed a new role as the chef in residence at Vidrio on Glenwood South in downtown Raleigh. He will be sharing his brand and techniques, including bringing some of the fan favorites from High Horse over to Vidrio.
RalToday shared that Beasley's Chicken + Honey in Raleigh announced on their Instagram that they are now be open for takeout orders only. A limited menu of their staples will be offered from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
RalToday also shared that Five Star Chinese Restaurant has opened at their new location — 301 N West Street — after 25 years in the warehouse district. You can place an order online or call 919-833-3311 for takeout and delivery orders.
Thanks to a series of tips from David McCreary, we learned that Bonafide Bakeshop & Cafe has opened at 1232 W. Williams St. in Apex at the former Belgian Cafe spot. They serve breakfast, salads, sandwiches, soup, coffee drinks and more.
McCreary also gave us an update on Mookie’s New York Deli as they swung open their doors for dinner service and catering Monday at 1010 Tryon Village Drive in Cary (former location of Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar). They are serving up hand-sliced corned beef, pastrami and more.
And McCreary certainly earned every bit of his paycheck this week by also letting us know that Peak City Hots has opened at 841 Perry Road in Apex. This is the brick-and-mortar location of a popular food truck serving up hot dogs and New York “trash plates,” which involve a base of French fries and macaroni salad topped with cheeseburger patties and/or hot dogs, mustard, onions and a special sauce. If that doesn’t sound amazing, I don’t know what does.
Over in Garner, Neal DePersia at National Restaurant Properties shared with me that Simple Twist, a cafe, bar and taproom, opened in Garner at 21 Technology Drive. They also have locations in Smithfield and Clayton.
In Cary, reader Kristina Shuford shared that there is a Burrito Shak coming to Cary at 2982 Kildaire Farm Road (near the intersection with Penny Road) in the ACE Hardware Plaza. No word yet on an open date.
As we shared last week, three Triangle-area locations of PDQ (Raleigh, Durham and Wake Forest) reopened and all three restaurants are now open for dine in, to-go orders and drive through from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. And if you missed the Sunday grand reopening event, the goodness has not ended – customers can choose to round up their checks throughout the month of July, and the proceeds will benefit the Food Bank.
Bruce Kohler shared via Twitter that Crave Hots Dogs and Barbecue is coming to Raleigh. No word yet on the location nor the timeline. This will be Crave’s second North Carolina location (the other is in Wilmington).
And, not exactly the Triangle, but certainly a fan favorite of folks in the Triangle as they head through Goldsboro heading to North Carolina’s coast, Wilber’s Barbecue, which opened in 1962 and closed in March 2019, shared the great news this week that they are now offering barbecue curbside!
Durham, Orange & Chatham Restaurant News
In Chapel Hill you will have to put a pause on getting your Breadman’s fix for a few weeks. As they prepare for the move into their new location at 261 S. Elliott Road (former Haw River location), they have closed the Rosemary Street location. Breadman’s has been in operation since 1974.
Last week we shared the news about a brick and mortar location of El Jefecito in the former Libby’s Too spot at 4910 Hillsborough Road in Durham. Got word shortly after that post that they are now open!
Up in Franklin County we are getting closer and closer to the opening of Rustic Roots, the creation of Russ and Vanessa Vollmer of the Vollmer Farm. The restaurant is located at 20 Cheves Road in Bunn.
Closings / Cancellations
Last Saturday we saw the closing of Pittsboro Roadhouse & General Store near the circle in downtown Pittsboro. That is the sad news. The good news is that Greg Lewis and his team (along with his catering operation, 39 West) will be moving down the road to Chatham Mills and opening a steak house! Stay tuned for more details.
And got word from a follower that PeakFest in Apex, scheduled for Sept. 19, has been canceled for this year.
Food Trucks
Food Truck Flix is a recurring event that combines drive-in movies with food trucks, for a safer entertainment experience just announced their schedule for the upcoming weekends (Friday and Saturday nights). The events will be taking place at Frontier RTP, 800 Park Offices, Durham, and at Focus Church, 7000 Destiny Drive, Raleigh. You can purchase tickets in advance for any of the drive-in movies. The price is $25 per car. Of course, you’ll also want to bring money for the food trucks.
Eat Raleigh shared the news that Gym Tacos announced they are opening a brick and mortar. They haven’t disclosed the location yet, but great to see their success. Visit their truck at 220 E. Six Forks Road and visit their Instagram to keep up with their pending announcement. The truck will still operate as well.
Up in Hillsborough, Eno River Farm begins their bi-weekly food truck rodeos called Food Trucks on the Farm. The first is on July 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature Cilantro, Crispy Gyoza, Smokehouse Bandits and Street Fare. You can stop by and grab a bite to eat, throw a blanket on the lawn, and top it off with their homemade ice cream! Don’t forget your mask!
Find and stalk your favorite food trucks with Roaming Hunger and Street Food Finder.
Events
Wanted to take a moment to share two sites that help to find Black-owned restaurants. The first is EatOkra, founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife team Anthony and Janique Edwards in an effort to preserve Black spaces. And secondly, got word this week that Kyle Umemba has created Five Fifths, a list of black-owned restaurants and online businesses as well as a curation of black business news and interviews with black entrepreneurs. Check out WRAL's list here.
Taste Carolina is offering boxes of favorite restaurant dishes, treats, and artisan goods from local providers. Boxes, which include reusable cooler bags, are available in Raleigh, Durham, and Wilmington, with additional cities coming soon. Weekend boxes are available for pickup or delivery, with bulk orders throughout the week. Advance purchase is required at the company’s new ecommerce website.
Raleigh’s Angus Barn will hold their annual Seafood Celebration Dinner in the Angus Barn Wine Cellar on Saturday, July 18th with a menu inspired by seafood from the North Carolina coast. The social begins at 6 pm, followed by the dinner at 7 pm. The cost is $130 per person plus tax (inclusive of wine pairings and gratuity) and there is limited seating availability. To purchase tickets call Nicole at 919-987-1270 or Tiffany at 919-987-1260.
The 5th Annual Raleigh International Food Festival has decided to move their event to Aug. 8 from noon until 10 p.m. in the 100-200 block of Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. While there you will be able to try authentic international food, desserts as well as imported beer and wine! There will also be lots of music and entertainment at this child and pet friendly event. Admission is free and parking on the street is as well. Obviously, keep up with their Facebook event page for any announcements and/or rescheduling.
Fest in the West is back for its fifth year on Nov. 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. The event features food and beer, music, arts and crafts, a KidZone, contests and a petting zoo. A great way to spend time with 7,000 of your closest friends. Admission is free!
Thanks to Triangle On The Cheap, here are some updates on event cancellations and rescheduling: PeakFest in Apex was rescheduled to Sept. 19; Meet in the Street Festival in Wake Forest was rescheduled to Sept. 5; Artsplosure in downtown Raleigh was rescheduled to Oct. 10 and 11 and the Pimento Cheese Festival in Cary has been canceled.
Food Bank Corner
A quick COVID-19 update from the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina. In the last fiscal year, which includes four months of crisis response, the Food Bank distributed nearly 92 million pounds of food, a Food Bank record. This equates to more than 75 million meals. It took an incredible amount of resources, support, and partnership to get this done.
Thank you for being part of this monumental effort! In four months (March, April, May, June) the Food Bank had to spend $2.3 million to buy food in order to keep food going out to the community. That is more than twice our typical annual food purchase budget. Make a donation today here. #noonegoeshungry
Sean Lennard owns Triangle Food Guy, the only locally owned and operated corporate catering website, TriangleFoodGuy.com. As a native of Raleigh, Sean has been around the Triangle food scene for...well, a long time, but professionally since 2002 with the the Triangle Food Blog, formerly known as Friday Fun Food Facts, in 2008. You can find his blog here. And you don't have to wait until Friday for updates as you can follow Sean throughout the week on Facebook and Twitter.
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