Y’all both need to get out more 
I didn’t know Tanabe until someone here posted the article from the Indy about a month ago. Tbf, he’s also had a shorter time frame because there was someone else upfitting that space that fell through so he was able to breeze in and open up quicker than places normally do. I’ve seen Long Leaf Swine out there and their sign in the window of Transfer for a while. Let’s just hope both can be great additions, support them in getting off the ground and enjoy them while they’re around.
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The route Longleaf Swine seems to be taking is talking about opening in Transfer Co Food Hall for like 2 years and still not actually doing it. Definitely a lot more hype than this guy who just got his place open.
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I know what you’re saying. I’ve been around a while too and sometimes the places trying to coattail in on others hard earned success and just do a ‘open it and they will come’ sort of thing find out how fickle DTR eating tastes can be.
Having said that, after researching this guy a little more, Blount Street seems like the correct place to be with Bida/Bhavana, Luna, Mofu and Royale all stacked up along there for the high end and plenty of ‘regular’ eats like El Rodeo and Oak City Meatball thrown in to make it the sort of area you can just go to with no firm goal, but just walk around a few minutes, then decide.
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Those are good places.
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Before we judge him as a big name chef, watch this 10 minute video about his life. He came here as a penniless illegal immigrant because his father basically cut him out when he decided to be a chef. I’d say he’s earned his success, and if he chooses to make Raleigh home like we all did while bringing some tasty food, we should be nothing but happy. If it was Paula Deen or something, I’d maybe feel differently.
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Yeah, I have seen many amazing things in Portland I hope we never ever see. Raleigh is doing just fine. When the demand comes it will happen.
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I hope you realize I’m not knocking the guy’s skill, his work ethic or anything. I say things in this forum that I would never say in public or never say to via social media because I feel like it’s understood that everyone here is very pro-Raleigh and wants the best for our city. There is a good conversation to be had about this type of stuff, and I think this is really the only place where that convo can be productive.
The only reason I made the initial comment is because it was the vibe, I personally, was getting. Doesn’t mean I’m right, but I’m directly in his target market so I thought it was worth noting.
You can be an amazing person with the most compelling story, but if people don’t know about it and never take the chance to learn about it, then it won’t help you. All I’m saying is that whether it’s this guy or the next out of towner coming to take their shot in our growing city, outside hype and classic PR doesn’t always equal success in this town. Raleigh rewards their own. Why is that? What does that really mean? How do you create that sense of ownership from the community if you’re not FROM here? I think figuring out those things unlocks some extra ability to succeed in this town (in restaurant and retail).
I think understanding and accepting that this goes on, and then understanding why it goes on, is another piece that will help us understand our identity as a city and understand what the people here actually value when you pull back the curtains.
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To be fair, most people in Raleigh are not from here.
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I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that as disparaging comments on what you had written. I just thought it was a pretty cool story about someone I knew nothing about.
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John, you are correct. I’m not saying you have to be native to Raleigh to be successful here or for the town to rally around your business, but I’m saying Raleigh rewards those that put in the work to become part of their city’s fabric. Those that do that, seem to be given more of a chance, and create more of a relationship with their customers.
I was discussing something similar while eating at Garland the other night. Their are a few restaurants in the city that have been integral in raising the hospitality quality, yet seem to avoid the limelight. Their following is vibrant and almost underground. I’m looking at Garland, Stanbury, Sono, Siti, Capital Club and others that have been around for a while. Of course Bida Manda group, Scott Crawford, and AC have received tons of regional coverage, but otherwise we really have a special food scene that has stood the tests of time and is somewhat “locals only” in its reverence.
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Evan, yep, that’s kind of what I was getting at. And it’s not like a group/establishment can’t come in and penetrate that market. They can, they just have to do it correctly.
But what does “doing it correctly” look like in execution? I think those coming in now, or groups that aren’t Raleigh based need to really reach out to the community in an authentic way. Collaborations with the established group, events that aren’t necessarily self-serving, partnering with good causes, etc.
Again, you don’t HAVE to do those things to be successful, I just think if you want to establish yourself for the long-haul here, the places that go the extra mile to do those things are usually rewarded by the locals (who are the repeat customers that you can count on to keep you up and running).
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Also, as we’re talking about this I’m going down the list and looking at what (in my opinion) makes those places you listed so special and so successful. Some just are rewarded for investing in the city/community early on when it wasn’t necessarily guaranteed there was a market and some have been able to succeed by coming in later and creating that community feeling. Here’s a few takes… (obv. all of these are coupled with having high quality product and service)
Garland - Cheetie was a long time local bar tender and in a decently successful local band.
Sono- One of the first sushi places downtown when Fayetteville St had it’s resurgence.
Capital Club - First German inspired upper-scale hipster joint.
Siti/RaleighTimes- Some hate Hatem, and I wont get into all that, but he took a chance on downtown when no one else would. Siti and Raleigh Times did a good job of reusing old buildings and serving quality food downtown.
Stanbury- Guys were known for their quality from Asheville’s The Admiral and were one of the early underground upscale joints in the city.
Bida Manda- Van and his sister decided on Raleigh to open what at the time was the first Laotian restaurants in the south.They went into an space that had seen two asian spots fail previously and invested a lot into the decor, food prep and service.
Trophy - Opened up shop in an old burger joint off west morgan. Started super small and grew as demand increased. Got involved with just about every established restaurant early on, was one of downtowns first really good pizza/beer spots. Later began to really step up on charitable and city initiatives. I think doing that type of stuff really catapulted them into being the city’s top beer brand.
– These speak to the places that get street cred for taking a shot on Raleigh when that wasn’t really a popular move to make. But what about those that have come lately?
Oakwood Pizza Box- I think it was smart of them to name the place Oakwood giving it immediate neighborhood ownership. They also did a few pop-ups around town, partnering with Person St. during Hopscotch and serving cheap slices to get the name out there. Anthony also lives in the neighborhood and is very pro-Raleigh. He’s collabed with places like Benchwarmer’s for events and I think stuff like that has helped establish that brand.
Locals Seafood- A place that was spawned out of a pop-up fish market that brought fresh catches from our coast, right into Raleigh. They were at basically every weekend market Raleigh had to offer as they were getting off the ground.
Person St Neighborhood Bar- A group of guys that had been around Raleigh, hired a lot of local bartenders and really took the neighborhood part of their name to heart. Kept some super cheap beer options when that really wasnt the trend, hosted events in the parking lot, got involved with Hopscotch Day Parties, etc. Never really marketed themselves, didn’t put up a big sign (in fact, kept the Peden Steele painted beam above their bar instead of a sign) giving it the feel of a ‘hidden local joint’.
I’m running out of time here, but feel free to keep listing some places that you think have become staples and why.
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But is the food good at a decent price or worth paying premium for?
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The food is very good. My wife LOVES seafood and she LOVES Oro.
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You have to extend both pinkies to drink that!
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Nope. I am actually from…Greensboro. Total out of towner.
We’ll try not to hold that against you.
