Foodie News: New restaurant planned at old County Fare space

RALEIGH, N.C. — Got news this week from buddy Tom Meyer (Southern Harvest Catering, Sprout Cafe & Elements Coffeehouse at The NC Museum of Life and Science and the Honeysuckle Meadery, Cafe and Tea House) that Durham’s Lakewood Neighborhood will get an American fare restaurant where County Fare Food Trucks & Bar was. The restaurant will have a soft-opening in late August, with the full remodeling and rebranding completed by early fall. The name and concept will be announced closer to the opening. Meyer is joined in the venture by Ben Quinn and Jeff Fisher. Stay tuned.

Lots of restaurants reopening as they have implemented safety procedures and adjusted their spaces (both inside and out) to accommodate safe dining environments, but some of the biggies this week include: Sitti, Gravy, The Raleigh Times and The Pit (all part of Empire Eats) are all now open for dine-in service and all staff are certified in NCRLA’s Count On Me NC program; Square Burger will be operating out of the food truck at Moore Square this weekend, Friday (June 25) from 4 to 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oro Restaurant and Lounge re-opened their dining room this week with modified hours — Tuesday through Thursday 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 to 10 p.m. You can call 919-239-4010 to make a reservation or place an order for carry out; Relish Craft Kitchen & Bourbon Bar is open for curbside takeout and delivery daily from 11:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The folks over at RalToday shared the news that Roshambo Beverage Co. is slated to open this summer at 231 S. East Street in downtown Raleigh. Their offerings will include your favorite craft beer, wine, and cider and dogs are welcome! Get to know them here.

Over in Cary, Hunter Butler shared on Twitter that a new deli is opening in Cary at 1010 Tryon Village Drive this July called Mookies New York Deli. You’ll soon be able to enjoy a New York deli experience in the Triangle with house-made pastrami, corned beef, knishes, black and white cookies, deli-inspired fare, and more. Look for an early July opening. Get to know them here.

In Raleigh, we shared the good news via Twitter that Viva Mexican Kitchen in Raleigh’s Pleasant Valley Shopping Center is just undergoing renovation. Amidst the renovation to the dining space, they are still doing takeout! The dining room is set to reopen any day now. Follow them here.

Lots of restaurants reopening as they have implemented safety procedures and adjusted their spaces (both inside and out) to accommodate safe dining environments, but some of the biggies this week include: Chapel Hill’s Bin 54 opens July 6; Nomad in downtown Hillsborough has opened for takeout/curbside service Wednesday thru Saturday with hopes to open their dining room next month; JackTar in Durham reopened for curbside pickup, they have a new sandwich menu and they announced the patio will be open for dine-in beginning in August; Unscripted Durham reopened. The hotel hosted two events over the weekend to celebrate.

After an 8-year run Greg Lewis announced this week that Pittsboro Roadhouse will close as he moves to open a steakhouse in Pittsboro’s Chatham Mills. 39 West (his catering arm) will transition to the new location. For now, Roadhouse remains open Fridays and Saturdays. No timeline on new concept. In the meantime, visit Roadhouse here.

The good folks over at RalToday (maybe they should open a DurmToday!) shared that Bowl Durham — a new food and game establishment — is coming soon to Durham. Nothing much up on their Instagram just yet, but would be the best place to follow their progress and see all what they’ll have to offer.

Two Duke faculty are conducting a survey on how COVID-19 has impacted Durham restaurants, especially the effect on revenue and keeping staff employed. The finding will be shared with Durham’s mayor, Durham County commissioners and local philanthropic foundations. They hope that business owners and managers will be able to leverage this information when making requests for better support. The survey is anonymous, takes just 10 minutes, and results will only appear in aggregate. For more information and to take the survey visit here.

Not exactly a closing, but rather a “not going to happen” – The Redneck BBQ Lab is no longer moving into Old North State Food Hall in Johnston County. Read more on WRAL here.

Food Truck Flix is a new event that combines drive-in movies with food trucks, for a safer entertainment experience. The events will be taking place at Frontier RTP, 800 Park Offices, Durham beginning this weekend (June 26th and 27th). You need to buy your parking pass in advance to attend. A parking pass is $20. The event starts at 7 p.m. and the movie starts at 9 p.m. Get all the details on their Facebook page here.

Here are some sites to find your favorite food trucks here and here.

They are doing it again…thank goodness! WRAL shared the great news that you can get a taste of the North Carolina State Fair without leaving your car AGAIN the next two weekends. The North Carolina State Fair will be hosting Drive-Thru Fair Food Days Friday through Sunday (June 26-28) and the following weekend (July 3-5). The events will run noon to 6 p.m. Sales will be cash only. Drivers should enter the fairgrounds parking area off of Trinity Road. Orders will be placed from your car and servers will come to you. People are asked to remain in their vehicles to maintain social distancing. Read more here and see the menu.

Thanks to the guys over at NC Food & Beverage Podcast for bringing attention to an app called EatOkra that helps you find Black-owned restaurants. It was founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife team Anthony and Janique Edwards in an effort to preserve Black spaces. Now, in light of recent events throughout the country, supporting Black-owned businesses is more important than ever. Download the app to discover Black-owned restaurants and eateries in your area to show your support! Check them out here.

Taste Carolina is curating and assembling downtown dishes, tastes and treats, all in one box in Raleigh and Durham. Support 7+ businesses in one easy purchase with contactless pickup. Durham orders feature: Alley Twenty Six, COPA, Jeddah’s Tea, Rose’s, Mad Popper, Toast, and Luna. Raleigh orders feature: Garland, Bittersweet, Raleigh Provisions, Che Empanadas, Umma Dumpling, Cheenie, Crude Bitters, lucettegrace, and Michael’s English Muffins. Order by Friday at noon, for pickup on Saturday afternoon. You can begin ordering for the next Saturday anytime after noon on Friday. Get all the details and place your order here.

The 5th Annual Raleigh International Food Festival has decided to move their event to Saturday, 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. Get all the details on their Facebook event page here.

Brewgaloo has been rescheduled for August 14 and 15, 2020. It is a 2 day festival featuring over 110 craft breweries from around NC and partnering with local food trucks, local vendors, and local bands to bring you North Carolina’s largest craft beer festival! The fun begins Friday night with a sampler event from 6-10 p.m. featuring limited releases, barrel aged, and sour beers. Saturday’s street festival spans the length of Fayetteville Street and fills Downtown Raleigh from 2-10 p.m. with more than 110 NC craft breweries, local food trucks, and local vendors with 2 stages featuring local bands all day long. Get all the details on the Shop Local Raleigh website here.

The Fest in the West is back for its fifth year on Saturday, November 7 from 11 am- 5 pm at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary. The event features food & beer, music, arts & crafts, a KidZone, contests and a petting zoo. A great way to spend time with 7,000 of your closest friends. Admission is free! Get all the details here.

Thanks to Triangle On The Cheap, here are some updates on event cancellations and rescheduling: PeakFest in Apex was rescheduled to September 19; Meet in the Street Festival in Wake Forest was rescheduled to September 5; Artsplosure in downtown Raleigh was rescheduled to October 10 and 11; and the Pimento Cheese Festival in Cary has been canceled.

The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina saw their April distribution record blown out of the water by their distribution in May! For the second straight month the Food Bank distributed a record-breaking amount of food to the community: May distributed 9.14 million pounds of food compared shattering April’s record breaking 7.9 million pounds (typical month is about 7 million pounds). While they wish the need were not so high in the community, they are grateful to have the support and resources to rise to the occasion and help as many families as possible. 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.