*Palestinian food. I’m sure the hangout vibe and quality mini-mart will be maintained, and thank goodness for that, I just love Levantine food and now have to drive to Neomonde to get it.
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Edited to reflect that. I’m just an oblivious Italian who calls all food with pitas ‘Greek Food’
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Since we’re talking about that space, I’m currently next door at the Optimist. This place is great! I had only gotten window service up until now, but it’s very well done and my London Fog is delicious.
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That little corner of Brookside and Glascock is a nice patch of retail/dining. It’s got some parking but it isn’t overwhelming, and the front patio is much more notable. More of it is needed throughout the city.
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Totally agree! Little shopping corners and gathering places like that (and the apartments above are a good little density bonus) really make a neighborhood a neighborhood.
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Related, does anyone know if TC-12-21, Accessory Commercial Units, was voted on last Tuesday? And maybe more importantly, any update on whether there’s any plan to pursue restaurants / grocery stores in a future text change?
I can’t find it but I believe I read somewhere here that they dropped those because they couldn’t limit what was sold. And the TOD overlay only increases density, it doesn’t add mixed-uses, right? Can’t have walkability if there’s no where to walk to.
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Yes it passed. It basically removes the special-use permit needed to open a business previously.
The new rules remove the special-use permit and require a city staff-issued permit as long as the guidelines are met. Business hours are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and drive-thrus and outdoor seating is prohibited, among other rules. The types of businesses that would be allowed include office, dance, martial arts and music studios, sports academies, clothing manufacturing, graphic design and repair shops.
…
Originally the proposed change included retail and food sales but a council committee nixed the idea. State law prohibits cities from regulating the sale of alcohol and tobaco, which concerned residents and some council members.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article262258662.html
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So they pulled retail and food sales from the proposal. Boooo. I can see how the hours of operation were already a little limiting to food sales anyway, but to cut retail out of this too is a mistake IMO.
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Oh man, that’s a bummer. I think that was the thing I was most excited about… walkable cities need corner stores.
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Melton did a pretty good thread on this and made it sound like retail would be coming. But I agree, corner stores are a lot more useful to a lot more people than tailor shops.
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So really this only helps people that pretty much already do stuff out of their house. People already have home offices, teach lessons out of their house, run music studios in their garage, graphic design, architectural services, etc. etc. I feel like this changes only the possibility of building a new accessory commercial structure and calling it what it is instead of disguising it, as most people do.
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Feels that way yeah. I do think more things need to be scripted and this feels like an easy one. You just apply for the permit and if you check all the boxes, you get your permit. Where as before, you need a lawyer to go to a board of adjustment meeting for you and may or may not get it. (probably)
It’s a first step. Let’s first prove that the sky isn’t falling first then we can increment from there.
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Maybe the city could target specific parcels at centralized/main crossroads in neighborhoods for corner store rezoning? This would allow neighborhoods to have “corner stores” while allaying concerns that some residents may have that every house in the neighborhood would become a business.
Let’s map out what the ideal situation would be and then figure out how to make it happen, rather than leaving it open ended & flexible and an easy target for NIMBYs.
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That’s actually why I mentioned the TOD overlay. It seems like a no-brainer for me that increased density + mixed-use zoning or corner stores is a great combination. Though, people who live in suburbs without any good transit deserve walkability too.
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This reply to Melton really makes my blood boil. The amount of ignorance on policies that come from seemingly wealthy homeowners that hurt the city but benefit themselves is absurd.
There were a whole load of others (mainly by the same 3 or 4 people) who were saying this was a huge overreach of the powers of the council lmao
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Also - I’m sure exchanges like this (check the comments) don’t help change the perception that corner stores/bodegas are bad for neighborhoods.
SN: I do agree that this is terrible/unnecessary use of the word ‘bodega’ though, and it only gives ammo to the ‘gentrification is destroying my community’ crowd.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CehiTlmrXin/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
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Won’t someone think of the wealthy homeowners for once? 
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This is more grocery store, but Peacox Market (Login • Instagram) when they first started zoning meetings had almost universal support, at least in person. They seem to have run into some external problems now, but it still seems to be planned - but this was in a neighborhood that hasn’t gentrified as much as brookside, so there are a lot less wannabe activists.
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Most “classic” bodegas are owned by Yemeni people anyway (I remember after the travel bans when they went on strike and everyone realized that fact all at once). It’s just a neutral loanword for a New York corner store.
One of the best facets of the English language, especially in the US, is how it evolves and adds pieces and terms from other languages. It keeps it relevant, and reflects our society.
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Not exactly in downtown, but I just saw an article in N&O saying Ancillary* Fermentation is opening their first location in an old bank off of Wake Forest Road. They are keeping the theme of a bank so it will definitely be an interesting experience if nothing else.
Before the pandemic, they used to have monthly pop up events in weird locations around town, so I’m happy to see they are opening their own space!
https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article262023987.html
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