Oh HELL yeah. Cary’s (OG) location is some of the better boba/milk tea in the area, can’t wait for this one to be closer to me!
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in roanoke we got a wet italian beef sandwich restaraunt some months ago…slow roasted beef hoagie dipped completely into delicious au jus, then topped with peppers and cheese. does downtown have something similar?
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The closest we have to a Chicago Italian beef is in transfer food hall. It’s good, but not like Big Al’s in Chicago.
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Tried them a few times as well and found that quality went downhill :-(. At the beginning the buns were from Union Special, which was not the case in the last months 
.
In the area, there are two Chicago-area pizza chains that randomly have their only NC location around around here. Both also sell Italian Beef sandwiches
- Rosati’s in Morrisville
- Nancy’s Pizza in North Raleigh
The best Chicago style pizza I’ve had in this area is from Acme Pizza (Holly Springs). But no Italian Beef there.
Apparently you can also get an Italian Beef sandwich at
- V’s Pizza (Two in area: Brier Creek and Kildare Farm/Cary Parkway)
- Capones Chicago Eats food truck (Holly Springs)
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I’ve had Rosati’s deep dish. It’s not bad at all, and beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to deep dish here in the Triangle.
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Haven’t seen this here yet: Mecca is back.
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Warning: sharing before reading it. Saving it for later.
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The most important tidbit i got from this is they they intend to reopen Kings and Neptunes soon 
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The tidbit I got was, “Raleigh is a very walkable city”
Bless their hearts.
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That’s just simply incorrect, and purely wishful thinking. If they planned on reopening Kings/Neptunes as they’ve existed, they would’ve done so already. The most recent rumors I’d heard (from a former employee) was that Neps would become more restaurant seating space (for Garland, presumably) and that Kings would become a wine bar 
and event space 
and that the only live music event they would keep going would be the annual Great Cover Up. And that last bit was confirmed (to me) by Paul himself. I asked him for specifics but all he would tell me was that “Kings will not exist as the same venue it has been, but we’ll still be doing the Cover Up” (paraphrasing)
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I feel like Kings being used as an event space has been mentioned before. Probably loose reporting and what the owners meant was that the space is reopening but not as the same uses pre Covid. What a big fat bummer.
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I was there about a week ago and our waiter made it seem like it was all still up in the air, though I don’t know how informed he is. Did mention using King’s as an event space.
Also, Big Ed’s, …meh
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We stumbled upon a 3 month old new business on West St by Layered Croissanterie, Rail and Stile. They are an offshoot of a lacquer shop, and have a bunch of antique furniture in a warehouse showroom. Some of it has been really nicely lacquered, and all of it is available for that. Worth checking out if you’re in the market for stuff like that.
Also, Rainbow Luncheonette seems to be moving along. Anyone know when they open?
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Raleigh first cidery, East Bower Cider Company, almost ready to open. You can get their cider at State of Beer and Trophy
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Falafel & Co. are officially closed, but Brookside Bodega’s grand opening is this Friday, complete with fun activities.
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Boooooo Falafel & Co was incredible. I’ve heard Irregardless is good, but it doesn’t fill that niche.
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That was my first thought as well, but before I stated it, I asked around and tried to understand what the goal was for this place.
Turns out, they aren’t really changing much. Some of the staff is staying. They are adding new menu items but keeping some of the main things they’ve had like wings/Nashville Fried Chicken etc. They will lose the Greek food (edit: Palestinian food), but overall it’s still going to be a reasonably priced neighborhood hangout vibe.
So it’s not going to be like Irregardless (which by the way, wasn’t this investment group’s brain-child. It was a well-established business when they bought it).
So, another way to think about it is, this group isn’t the “irregardless group”, they are actually some of th e guys from the “Trophy group” who is investing in a business that is solid, but could use a little improvement.
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PS.
Just to note, David Meeker is involved. And if you look at his groups history, they’ve made some pretty good moves. Bought West Morgan Center, put Trophy in, likely with the idea to expand Trophy into what it is today. Then down the street, bought Irregardless, which was doing fine but not thriving as it once had. He basically was buying it to save it, but also to secure that corner that was surrounding his biggest investment (Trophy). They also picked up the old CE Rental building on the corner of Morgan St and Snow Ave. They recently (I believe) picked up the two older houses between Trophy and the old Charlie Goodnights (turning that into coffee shop and something else).
So Meeker and his group now owns that whole bend on Morgan St aside from the Goodnights building (HM Partners, whom he has a relationship with) and the govt building next to Trophy.
So the point is, it seems as if when Meeker makes a meaningful investment he doesn’t leave it to chance. He buys up the surrounding area and makes sure it all thrives.
So far so good. He’s done a good job with W. Morgan St.
Now , what interest does he have in the Fallafel spot and how does this fit into this style of investing?
Well, he lives in the area. So he’s protecting his most important investment, his family/home by making sure the surrounding area thrives. Just as he did with his potentially second most important investment, Trophy.
IMO, this is a good thing. With how things are growing and outside developers and investors swooping and changing, it’s probably a good thing that a Raleigh native is investing like this. It’s profitable for sure, but it’s also saving some of the culture that helped this place become such a great place to live.
*This is just observation. I don’t know what his stated strategy really is, so I’m speculating, but it seems sort of clear as someone who lived years across the street at the Boyland Apts and now live down the street from Fallafel, I’ve paid close attention to both of these areas.
- Full disclosure: David helped us out by opening up Trophy for our first MLB Raleigh event, so I’m sure some will claim that I’m biased. But I’ve always been a big fan of what Trophy was doing, and have been pleased with what the Meeker’s have done with their investments. They’ve IMO stayed true to Raleigh and protected some of the culture that was present about 10 years ago when we were an up and coming city. Plus, he’s got vested interest in these establishments. He’s not some firm in NYC that is buying up stuff and renting out to whoever pays the most. He’s a local, curating what these districts offer and making sure they fit with a vibe that has been successful here.
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