It’s crazy that Helios survived all those years, yet died when one would presume that business would actually get better. 
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Morgan Street Food Hall needs to expand in that space between them and Weaver St., and the tentacle buildings attached to its rear. It also needs to expand its outdoor experience with a greater garden and food truck/container “garden” on its east side. It could be a spectacular hangout if it were to expand its footprint.
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Although downtown Raleigh isn’t ‘touristy’ most of the people walking around downtown are tourists (visiting NC Museum of Natural Sciences, NC History Museum, Capitol and Legistlative Buildings, Fayetteville St Festivals, Red Hat Concerts, well-regarged restaurants, Convention Center events, etc). I think that if Raleigh focused on being a tourist destination it would improve all of our experiences.
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When Greenshields was located in the main building, there were always people eating outside in the spacious patio area. It made the whole area seem more inviting. As far as a mini-food hall concept, that was the initial use in the 80’s.
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I loved Greenshields. When I had out of town friends visit, I always took them there for dinner and they loved it. Miss their beer.
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I would love for the market building to actually become a market where you can get groceries. Something between St. Lawrence market in Toronto or Municipal Market in Atlanta and Market Hall Foods in Oakland, CA. Maybe it could be a permanent outpost of the farmer’s market, especially since there’s a pop-up market on Moore Square every sunday. I think downtown needs more places to get food to cook at home and especially at more affordable prices than are offered at Publix and Weaver Street.
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The best open air markets in the country/world eventually find their tenant mix to be a combination of farm fresh vegatables / prepared foods with cafe, lunch, retail blended in.
Something for everyone and a reason to linger.
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i enjoyed the late 80s rehab of city market. i vaguely recall n and o articles when the condos were built on new bern then the desire by some in town to get a desner livable downtown. i think there was a fitness center at city mkt then too. liked all three of greenshields beers.
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Hey, DTR hive mind: What are the best options for late night eating downtown? I’m picking up a friend from New York City at the airport late tonight, and he was asking if we could get good barbecue somewhere around 11 pm. I am trying to keep his expectations for Raleigh reasonable (he is from New York, after all), but can anyone recommend a place downtown that serves good food (not just pub grub) until midnight on a Friday? Thanks!
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I’m not in love with their food, but La Santa is open until midnight and is more than a pub.
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Chido Tacos! I just went after a comedy show at Kings last weekend! Good shit!
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But I hear it’s in an unsafe area after dark…
A bit late now but there are a decent number of good places open late in downtown on Fridays. Barcelona wine bar, Madre, Whiskey Kitchen, Young Hearts, Raleigh Times, Chido Taco. Char grill and Cookout have decent Carolina bbq though they’re obviously a step down from the other places.
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Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. My friend and I ultimately ended up going to The Big Easy, and I can report that it is surely the best po’ boy you can get in downtown Raleigh after midnight.
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This set of qualifications certainly makes it the worst as well, right? 
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Big crowd out last night for First Friday at ArtSpace featuring artist Renzo Ortega’s retrospective War: New York 2000-2003 . Provocative reflections on that moment in geopolitics and culture with … interesting resonances today. Renzo is a rising star in the art scene and this is a big score for DTR… wish CAM could consistently draw exhibitions of this caliber. People should check it out before in closes in a couple weeks. I know we’re not supposed to post “political” content to this forum so I’ll let the images speak for themselves.
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CAM did show his work a few years ago. With the motorcycle show.
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Glad to hear more people were out. Overall downtown was pretty dead back in January First Friday. I’m sure the weather had something to do with it. ArtSpace still had a good crowd.
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