There are already a lot of residents in Smoky Hollow’s walkshed. Surely more residents would help as the greater Glenwood South area grows, but it’s not like there aren’t a substantial number of people in the area.
IMO, the bigger issue is that nobody goes there because nobody goes there. You know what I mean? Until more of the Smoky Hollow businesses are operational and more folks are going there, it’s going to be difficult to get people into the early adopter businesses. It would be like a new traditional mall opening with only 10% of stores open. Nobody will go there. As more of these places open this Spring and Summer, foot traffic should feed upon itself and the businesses should do better.
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I imagine J. Lights will start growing their customer base when those spring, summer, early fall events start happening in The Hollow again. Those events are perfect ways to grab new customers to try your food & hopefully start earning some repeat customers.
I feel as a restaurant it’s hard to launch your business in the winter. No one wants to be outside, people go out less. Especially when you’re in a location that requires a little bit of walking to get to. My guess is J. Light starts doing better come the spring time when the concerts and market events start happening.
I’m cheering for them. I really like their brunch food. Hope they can survive.
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I went to J Light’s last Sunday for brunch and it was completely packed. Took us probably 20 minutes to order and every table was taken. Obviously Sunday for brunch is probably their schtick, but just wanna push back a little about nobody going there.
But totally agree with the main point that there is still a ton of vacancy within Smoky Hollow, and as all of those places open, I think this area (including J Light’s) will be quite the popular place to be, especially as it warms up.
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That’s good news. I wasn’t like… rooting for them to fail. It’s more that they opened up before everyone else, just closed their Durham spot, and it was just overall very empty around there yesterday evening. Agree with everyone that this will activate in the spring and summer. Just hope they hold on till then, and them being busy for brunch makes me have some optimism
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And from the leasing agent’s perspective, they don’t want the first food/Bev place to fail. They are likely to work with J Lights on rent to ensure they make it at least to the opening of other places so the area doesn’t look like a flop.
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I went there for lunch today. I would say “brunch”, but it was 12:30PM. Had a decent enough crowd. Didn’t take us 20 minutes to order, but there was only a 2 seat table left and then the window. We sat at the window.
Place is good. I can see the area being a good spot to grab food or a beer. Still has decent walkability from other parts of the area if you consider within 15 mins. Scooters are an option downtown and when the R Line opens back up, it will be another option.
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People also forget that though it is a national chain, locals are the ones running and managing the place. And, frequently, the franchisee is a local too.
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an easy traverse thru quail hollow can get you to… wendys, panda express, golden china, bojangles, hibachi japan, and if needed hooters. at max 2.6 miles.
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The Line: 10% vacancy - 29 out of 283 units available.
Peace: 15% vacancy - 64 out of 417
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Not sure if this is true but in the rezoning discussion regarding the 30-story project next to Smoky Hollow park that the future Smoky Hollow tower will be 38-story.
Maybe that bad or outdated information I don’t know but that’s at least some confirmation of what the developer was or is planning. Let’s hope we find out more soon.
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I’m trying to remember, but thinking 32 floors…
Of course that was before our current need for office space has dwindled. Union West being a prime example. 
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FWIW, I find this place gets some decent traffic from the office-goers at Smokey Hollow. My coworkers and I will often grab some coffees there in the morning and then head back down for lunch.
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I’ve been meaning to post a pic from our balcony showing the lower 3 floors of the office building being built out. I think they’ll be fairly close to full soon. Hard to believe given the economic landscape of the last few years and the $sqf$ isn’t inexpensive here. Very positive indicators even though we’ll probably end up in a short recession Q3 into mid ‘24.
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I’m part of this Raleigh doodle dog fb group (hence the profile pic) and this lady in the group has been talking about this place. She posted yesterday that they’re aiming for a summer opening date. Sounds like it’s one of those Woof Gangs kind of places without grooming.
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“Doggy ice cream bar and bakery” …? Yeah I don’t see this lasting lmaooooo (unless humans can eat the ice cream too?)
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Ok, I own a dog that I like a lot but this is feeling like a bit much.
EDIT: Wait… Gender Reveal???
Yeah no idea what on earth that means.
Between this and West St. Dog, this part of town is going to be “the” place to go with your pups. Now if they can incorporate an outdoor dog park into Smoky Hollow Park, that would be a nice complement.
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