That’s.. actually crazy. Could there be be some other reason to close this soon (2 months in?) other than slow sales? I mean, the place got great reviews – apparently it was genuinely good. I feel like it just needed more time for the word to get around. Gotta think that they would have had a bit of runway for a new location considering this was their fourth, I’m pretty sure.
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#1 - a burger joint next to the Players Retreat, no matter how good the new burger joint would be, is a terrible idea. The PR is literally known for having GOOD burgers and is open late, plus is a Raleigh staple. Anything even remotely competing with it next-door is doomed to fail.
#2 - The space is HUGE. IMO, only something truly upscale with a head-chef that has name-recognition like Crawford, Kumar, or even the Top Chef guy that moved here- would be able to actually fill the seating on any given night. Anything less and it’s bound to be mostly-empty most of the time, thus leading to its quick demise.
#3 - the whole block is kind of underutilized with the very strange “blend” place next door that used to actually be a successful coffee shop, but is now apparently a front for some MLM scheme and is virtually empty at any given time I’ve ever passed it (often). It’s a shame. Activate the spot that “blend” is wasting, and suddenly I bet the whole block does better.
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Hopefully with 2000+ new residents (mostly students) moving in a block down the street, there will be a LOT more foot traffic going by here starting next fall (?). Anything geared towards the younger (and less affluent) crowd should have lots of daily passers by in the very near future and should do very well if they consider that demographic 
If something more bougie comes in, they are literally just ignoring all the students walking by every day. Not sure about everyone else on this forum, but I was BROKE during my college years. Also, I lived on east campus 2 years and CV for another year, and literally walked past this building almost everyday for 3 of my 4 years at State.
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David’s was one of the most consistently affordable (and decent) meals in the area, and even that couldn’t hang on and fill the (seriously INSANE) large seating layout. There’s plenty of cheap garbage down Hillsborough now (cough cough Raising Canes, Chipotle cough) - I genuinely don’t believe anything less than upscale with a notable head chef will be able to make the (genuinely, holy hell) gigantic seating layout successful.
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Was it ever posted that Giorgio’s was temporarily closing for a “refresh” - seems odd for a newer tenant to need to renovate their space.
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I thought I had seen something posted about it, but it may have just been on IG. IIRC, Giorgios also opened a sushi concept in the same area that was only briefly open. I would be surprised if the two were connected, but I agree it is interesting to need renovations. My guess is that they’re shifting to more restaurant style and less market/deli. Hoping to be wrong though. GEM has had some unique and hard to find items readily available, which is super convenient.
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How did @GucciLittlePig rate the parking over there? Was he able to park in the building itself or did it require him to park in the surface lot!
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I really liked GEM. Bit over priced, but a great layout (at least outdoors). Hope they keep that same amount of seating. Was interested to try the connected sushi spot, but that closed just a few months after opening.
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I always parked in the 15 minute parking spot directly in front of the door. I also hope it doesn’t change too much. Great place for a bacon scallion scone and a glass of champagne while shopping for some fancy chickpeas. This sounds like I’m joking, but that’s been literally almost every visit for me.
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Giorgio is a prolific opener of new concepts and a serial tinkerer…..
But, yeah, GEM and East End were a bit too bougie for the current state of affairs over there. Need to readjust a bit and cross fingers for the rest of this development to get moving at some point in the future to add some residents….
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Genuinely… if they don’t do SOMETHING with the ugly, graffiti-ridden PIT there, everything that opens will fail eventually. And this is coming from someone who loves and appreciates graffiti and openly wants more of it in the city. I just prefer it on EXISTING development, not concrete pits of despair where small, local businesses are trying to flourish lmao
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You don’t like graffiti if this is your stance. You like murals and legal production walls. Which is okay, but don’t claim you openly love “graffiti”and want more of it if this is how you view abandoned slab walls, where graffiti has always thrived.
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I don’t like graffiti. It makes every beautiful European city look terrible. If you want to make art or express yourself, do it in your own space. Don’t deface other people’s property.
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Thank you for your invaluable input 
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the graffiti is the only thing that makes this pit even remotely bearable to lay eyes on.
quick reminder of what should be here:
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Is this still in the works or did the plans fizzle out for this area?
I love graffiti but thanks for speaking for me. I like it on overpasses, under bridges, along walls, abandoned buildings, the side of old in-use buildings, concrete barriers just like the ones all throughout this pit - etc etc etc.
I am simply referring to this specific area as a place that either needs to complete the planned development that has been sitting unbuilt for, what, 10 years now? Or else the businesses that are there WILL fail, and the entire property will become one with the pit.
I love graffiti. I even love the look of the pit if it were not impeding potential small, local businesses’ success and taking place where a planned, slam-dunk development has been proposed, approved, planned, yet unrealized - nuance, my friend. Nuance.
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Thank you. That sums up my feelings pretty well. If this pit were just that - a pit that has sat in its current state for as long as one can remember and just happened to be a place where aspiring street artists went to spray - I’d love it for that. But as it stands, it was once actual buildings that were torn down (not that long ago) to make way for useful housing and further business opportunity in a growing area - but instead has been left to rot. There’s a major difference between the two scenarios. Sorry, just a bit pissed to have words put in my mouth/keyboard.
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Picked up a Raleigh Mag yesterday and saw this piece, news to me - they say “east Raleigh” but nothing more, anybody got the scoop on this? Seems like a neat concept.
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Gateway, beside Union Special where FineFolk used to be 
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