I went to Meow Wolf in Vegas earlier this year & can confirm it’s like a psychedelic escape room. The grocery store at the front is kinda surreal. I remember seeing those little 5hr energy shot bottles but instead they said 24hr energy on them. They even had cash registers where you could check out your “fake” groceries & the person at the register would just throw out a random number for the cost. They also had T-shirts made by local artists that unfortunately were not for sale but looked really cool.
In the back of the store there was an almost hidden doorway that lead to the more psychedelic and a larger area that had all these unique rooms & spaces that were all connected. Lots of secret doors and crawl spaces with trippy music and lighting. I definitely recommend checking it out!
We’re totally just armchair-developing here, nothing indicating that the Kimbrell’s space will become anything like this, but it’d be damn cool wouldn’t it?
See, I like this kind of retail because even if I never buy anything from there, ever (and probably wouldn’t) - it’s still the kind of shop I’d go into to check out, as I imagine half the point of it is just to display cool LEGO builds haha. Like a LEGO gallery of sorts. And if they offer cheap, kitschy custom Minifig builds… well then hell, I might make one just for fun.
I was very excited when the one in N Raleigh opened earlier this year, but honestly after going a handful of times, it’s just not for me. I’m a Lego fan and have been collecting minifigs for over 10 years, but what they sell in the N Raleigh store are often missing accessories that come if you buy them new, which as a collector, you want the full thing for the value. I wish them well, but as a collector with well over 500 minifigs, mehhh.
However, Fayetteville Street is battling against history. From 1977 to 2006, five blocks from the State Capitol to the old civic center were pedestrian only, which was a failed experiment. The area reopened to cars in 2006.
Why is the street still battling the old pedestrian mall that was removed nearly 20 years ago? Perhaps there is a more underlying issue at play.
Fayetteville street has its problems, but it’s still eons better than it was before 2006. Those were miserable times for Raleigh. I believe the reopening sparked a renaissance for dowtown. It’s just time to set the bar higher.
Because it affected how growth and development happened in Raleigh for thirty years, which has started to reverse but will still take a while to overcome.
Birdies is very nice inside and the staff is friendly and efficient, and what we’ve had to eat and drink so far has been great. Cool outside seating too. Good selection of food, beer, wine, and cocktails. They have a burger that is also $16, so we might not see John here anytime soon.
This place looks beautiful. Not sure the menu is speaking to me but maybe we’ll stop by for drinks and snacks.
We passed by this sector during the bluegrass festival a while ago and it really does feel different now. Between the signage and the mural structure, feels like a new block.
