Work in progress…
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Yesterday evening we walked by here and it looked like they were just using the space for holding The Avenue’s furniture/etc.
FYI the new-location Boulted Bread on Dupont Circle is open this morning at 9am. Limited hours.
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“He and Ibarra announced a Downtown Raleigh location of Chido Taco in December, but permitting has been slow with the city, Alvarez said. The restaurant will be located at 555 Fayetteville St. It was slated to open in February, but Alvarez is now hoping for a July opening.”
From TBJ article on Chido Taco opening in Cary. Another business owner/developer complaining about Raleigh’s permit process.
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Yay! I love the extra seating area, but I hope that it’s not going to stay that austere.
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Wonder if this is the same issue both of the unopened restaurants on Blount Street. Sky Cafe was originally planning on opening around August - September of last year and El Toro Loco has been mostly empty for almost 2 years. All 3 were mentioned as opening soon on the quarterly report. Does anyone have any knowledge as to why the permitting process is so slow?
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Restaurants must go through the usual City approvals and as well as the Wake County restaurant plan approval process… Jumping through both sets of hoops is a beast, but healthy food offerings is the County’s responsibility.
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Thanks Buck. I really hope that there can be a better way to do it. Restaurants already have a pretty high failure rate. Adding up to a 2-year wait on top of paying rent the entire time puts a huge barrier to entry to open a restaurant.
I’m not familiar with how difficult this is elsewhere, but the fact that Sky Cafe had a sign on their window that indicated that they thought they’d be able to open earlier and the fact that Chido Taco is opening months after their projected date is not a good look. Restaurants aren’t going to want to set up themselves here because of it.
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Looks like the Hippo is opening next week
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I saw the signage for Chido Taco on the doors (or was it windows?) yesterday. It caught me off guard. A good addition for Fayetteville St. south.
Add that and the new Sir Walter. If they have food, then that would be good too. I believe the one next to DGX does some food items. It’s been a little bit since I’ve been in. I hated seeing the south side of Fayetteville St with vacant retail spaces.
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Taco Bamba in Ridgewood has covered the windows. The back deck looks like it’s nearly complete with only the outdoor bar (or at least that’s what I’m assuming it is) remaining to be finished up.
Last I can recall, opening date was sometime this summer. July maybe? 
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The Hippo is had its grand opening on Wednesday. Basically seems like Short Walk got a fresh coat of paint. I think the suppliers will be pretty much the same as well since I saw a lot of familiar brands on the shelves.
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Fox Liquor Bar has reopened with some updated and friendlier interior decor. I liked this place a lot when they first opened, but gradually began to feel like it was more for a packed late night crowd. And I’m too old for that nonsense. But they’re open at noon today so we stopped by. Nice drinks, friendly staff, and some good food options. Apparently our old membership tags get us 10% off in May and June.
Also, interesting wine by the glass selection. A sparkling grüner veltliner which I’ve never had, picpoul from France, rosé from Spain, and orange wine from Georgia 
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We both beat them and clearly bested them too.
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You may have beasted it, but without pictures to post here, did it even really happen?
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Whatever gets you through the night.
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Saw on WRAL that Mustang House, a new Nepalese and Indian restaurant, opened yesterday at 411 Glenwood Ave. on the ground floor (Cortez, former Solas location). Except their Facebook page says 411 Fayetteville St. 
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