Friday Fun Food Facts - December 21, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

Triangle restaurant news...that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler. 

• We begin with the grand finale drawing in the Triangle Food Guy's Holiday Promotion. This wraps up 6 straight weeks of $100 in gift cards a week given out to our amazing clients. And today, we are proud to announce the winner of our GRAND PRIZE drawing for a $250 gift card to Target...Drum roll please....and the winner is Sharon C. at Jacobs Engineering!!! I (along with my kids who are out of school) will be paying Sharon a visit today just in time for the holidays. A huge thanks to all of our clients/friends that have given us an amazing 2012. Here is to 2013! 

• Lots of news over at Rocky Top Hospitality restaurant group. First, their Rockwell's concept in Cary will be transformed into Dean's Seafood & Oysters after the first of the year. Second, we told you about this last week, but Draft will close on Glenwood South as of December 31st. And third, partners Dean Ogan and Jeff Schenk will divide the group's concepts - Ogan getting Dean's, Twisted Fork, The Daily Planet Café, the catering company and the space at 1705 Prime. Schenk will take the two Tribeca Tavern locations and the Mash House (in Fayetteville). Thanks to the N&O's Andrea Weigl for filling in a lot of the details here. Check out Rocky Top here. 

• I got a call yesterday from a reader and the N&O's Andrea Weigl has confirmed that Cary's Bella Mia is closing temporarily and changing ownership - reopening in a few weeks. The Guerra family is in the process of selling the restaurant. Their last day running the restaurant will be this Saturday, December 22nd. We'll keep you posted on who the new owners are and when they plan to re-open. Stay tuned.

• Got word last week from my buddy (and my attorney) James Vann that Firewurst in Cary is now open in the Shoppes of Kildaire near the intersection of Kildaire Farm Road and Cary Parkway. Firewurst serves up flame-grilled sausages and dogs and is owned by Bill and Chas Morgenstern. Get more information on their website here or their Facebook page here.  

• Up in Lafayette Village in North Raleigh Pampas at the Village Market has opened. They tout themselves as serving the finest Argentinean steaks and entrees as well as exemplary Cuban staples. Pampas is the sister restaurant of Oakwood Cafe in Downtown Raleigh. Check out their website here or their Facebook page here. 

• And speaking of Lafayette Village, a posting on the Yelp "Rumor Board" noted a new sign indicating that Sushi One Japanese Restaurant would be opening soon. We'll keep an eye on it.

• Also on the Yelp message board, we saw that a new Ethiopian restaurant called Ashee has opened at 904 NE Maynard Road in Cary in the same shopping center as Dollar General, Food Lion and Lucky 7.

• Changes are afoot in downtown Chapel Hill with Tomato Jake's. As you'll remember, earlier this year Tomato Jake's purchased, took over and converted the Franklin Street Pizza & Pasta into their second location of Tomato Jake's. Thanks to a tip from my friend Tabitha Turner, ownership has changed again, and it is being converted into a new concept. We don't have any more details at this point, but we'll keep an eye on it.

• The downtown Raleigh location of Chick-fil-A reopened on Thursday after completing its renovation. Eat more chicken...in downtown Raleigh! Congrats to Amy and her team. Keep up with them here.  

•  If you find yourself in the Roxboro area, you'll find the newest edition of Jimmy's Famous Hot Dogs (original location in Durham on Guess Road) at 1039 N. Madison Blvd. They opened their doors on December 3rd. Thanks to Chris Vernakes, son of Jimmy, for the heads up on this. Check them out on Facebook here.

• And speaking of Guess Road in Durham, the blog Carpe Durham turned us onto the fact that Pad Thai, a Thai cuisine restaurant, has taken over the spot that used to house Kim-Son Vietnamese. Check out the article here.  

• There is a new bird at Pie Bird in downtown Raleigh. They announced last week that they had brought in a new chef to the kitchen. Executive Chef Greg Buck has joined the team and has taken over management of the kitchen. Check them out here.

•  If you're looking for a fun evening event over the holidays (or just want to get out of the house and away from the in-laws), head on over to North Raleigh's Sola Coffee Café on Thursday, December 27th for the next Counter Culture Latte Art Throwdown. The friendly competition between local baristas will begin at 7 p.m. Thanks to John Huisman (aka  Triangle Explorer) for this reminder.

• In our "pending file" we are still awaiting the opening of Glenwood South's Dos Taquitos Xoco. Keep up with them on Facebook here. We are also awaiting the opening of Bad Daddy's Burger Bar located in the Seaboard Station in downtown Raleigh. Last we heard, they were shooting for the week between Christmas and New Years. Keep up with them here. And the final item in the "pending file" is the latest concept from the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group, Page Road Grill. The last we heard the target date was/is December 27th. Keep up with them here. 

• And we close with some Christmas Day help thanks to the hard work of Greg Cox over at the News & Observer. Greg has compiled a comprehensive list of restaurants that are open on Christmas Day. Check it out here. 

And this is the final post of 2012!
We'll see you on the flip side in 2013!  

(assuming the Mayans weren't correct)  

Thanks for reading!

Friday Fun Food Facts - December 14, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

Triangle restaurant news...that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler. 

• Triangle Food Guy's Holiday Promotion just completed its sixth week and 5 more folks just won $20 Target gift cards to Target! Those will be delivered today (& Monday). Congratulations to: Beth at Kellogg's; Michayla at Brasfield & Gorrie; Meredith at Schneider Electric; Jill at Electricities; and Susan at The Wooten Company. And now, the week everyone has been waiting on. Next Friday, we will conclude with our GRAND PRIZE drawing for a $250 gift card to Target! Get all the details here. 

• This past Thursday, the third edition of Tobacco Road Sports Café was completed with the opening of their Chapel Hill location in the East 54 development. As most know, they also have locations in Raleigh and Durham. I can't wait to check out the new location - I hear it is pretty spectacular. Follow them on Facebook here.  

• Just across the way from the newest Tobacco Road, we learned that Saffron in Chapel Hill is now Raaga. Not sure what prompted this, but they are in the same location, which is in the East 54 development. Here is their new website.  

• Down the road in Carrboro, Carrboro Pizza Oven is now open in Carr Mill Mall in the former Rita's space across from Elmo's Diner. CPO, which is owned by Craig Samuels (also owns Village Pizza & Pasta and recently sold his Franklin Street version to Tomato Jake's), serves pizza, pasta, calzones, and other items, Check them out here.

• Over in Raleigh, Niall Hanley continues to mix things up. Over the past few weeks he has been dropping hints on his various Facebook pages about the restaurant he has rebranded on the ground floor of Solas in the Glenwood South district. The restaurant is now Bia Restaurant and features a new chef, Dan Yeager. A grand opening date will be announced soon, but stop by and check out the new menu. Follow them on Facebook here.  

• Also in Raleigh, no one is probably ever too excited about visiting Raleigh's Wake Med campus, but if you have to be there, you might as well eat well. And that is the case now with the opening of Au Bon Pain, a café/bakery that just opened at their New Bern Avenue campus. It is located near the gift shop and pharmacy. Might as well eat well while you are there!

• Over in Durham, the Herald-Sun is reporting that Pop's Backdoor South is getting a new owner, although an owner familiar to anyone that has frequented this version of Pop's. John Vandergrift has sold the restaurant to long-time manager Jefe Lubiano. While most everything is expected to remain the same, look for some minor tweaks to the menu to reflect Jefe and some of his creations. Pop's South is located in the Hope Valley shopping center. Check them out here.

• In our "pending file" we couldn't confirm the anticipated December 16th opening of Dos Taquitos Xoco. Xoco is the creation of the owners of Dos Taquitos and Hibernian and will be located in the Glenwood South district in the space that was most recently The Diner and before that, Hard Times Cafe. Keep up with them on Facebook here. As soon as we get the word of a confirmed open date, we will let you know. 

• The folks at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, opening in Seaboard Station in downtown Raleigh, had to push back their anticipated opening and are now looking at the week between Christmas and New Year's, if all goes well. We will continue to keep an eye on it and keep you posted. Check them out here.  

• We told you last week about the opening of PDQ at the intersection of Falls of the Neuse and Spring Forest roads in Raleigh. While there, we learned that the ownership team isn't stopping there. They have 5 other locations planned in North Carolina, with three of those to be here in the Triangle. The next will be up in Wake Forest, and will be followed by locations in Cary and Durham. We'll continue to watch their growth and keep you updated.
  Keep up with them here.  

• The downtown Raleigh location of Chick-fil-A is currently closed for renovations, but they posted on their Facebook page this week that they are anticipating re-opening at the end of next week. We'll keep up with Amy and her team and keep you posted. Keep up with them here.  

• Durham is about to get a new "Asian fusion" option with the soon-to-open restaurant called Sake Bomb. The Asian bistro and bar is in the Kmart shopping center on University Drive in the former Eastern Lights Hot Pot & Grill location. Look for an opening around year's end.

• And the final item in the "pending file" is the latest concept from the Chapel Hill Restaurant Group, Page Road Grill. The last we heard from them, they were looking at the third week in December, but we couldn't get a confirmation on that. Keep up with them here. We'll let you know as soon as we hear something.  

• We got the sad news this week that Draft Carolina Burgers and Beers will flip their last burger and serve their last beer on the last day of 2012. Draft is under the umbrella of Rocky Top Hospitality Group. Follow them on Facebook to see what they come up with next!  And stop by Draft during their last 12 days of the year as they donate a percentage of sales to a different charity each night. Get all the details here.  

• We also got a note this week from Martin Sreshta, owner of Martin's Curry Rice, that he closed the restaurant in Morrisville. That is the bad news as he is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. The good news is that Martin continues to share his talent and passion. He will be at the Western Wake Farmer's Market every Saturday. Stop by and pay Martin a visit. There is no doubt this is not the last we'll hear from him! Best to you!

• We got a tip from John Huismann (aka Triangle Explorer) this week that Oliver Twist up in North Raleigh had closed. We contacted another source that confirmed that it is indeed closed. And while their doors are physically closed, the "door" was left open that it may reopen, or re-brand, but we'll keep an eye on it for you. As of now, it is closed.

• John also informed us this week that Yogo World, a frozen yogurt shop in the Falls River Shopping Center off Durant Road has closed.

• And finally, we got word this week from a Yelp message board that Your House, near the intersection of Capital Blvd. and Spring Forest Road in Raleigh, has closed. Apparently there is a sign out front about a pending auction. My restaurant friends may be interested in following up on that.

Friday Fun Food Facts - December 7, 2012

Triangle Restaurant News

Triangle restaurant news...that not everyone knows. Impress your co-workers at the water cooler. 

•  Triangle Food Guy's Holiday Promotion just completed its fifth week and 5 more folks just won $20 Target gift cards to Target! Those will be delivered today (& Monday). Congratulations to: Stacy at Teradata; Pat at CBH; Drew at Merrill Lynch; Val at Teleflex; and Jo at Deloitte. But don't fret, we're doing the same thing every week until December 21st and all you have to do is order. It will conclude with a drawing for a $250 gift card to Target on December 21st! Get all the details here. 

• Fellow Tweeter Eric Watchous informed us this week that Bleu Olive, a Mediterranean bistro and café, has opened over in Durham on Hillandale Road in the former location of Papas Grille, which closed earlier this year. It is owned and operated by the same folks. Check them out on Facebook here. 

• We got word this week from Raleigh blog New Raleigh that the much-anticipated Dos Taquitos Xoco will be opening in the next two weeks, with December 16th as the target date. Xoco is the creation of the owners of Dos Taquitos and Hibernian and will be located in the Glenwood South District in the space that was most recently The Diner and before that, Hard Times Cafe. Keep up with them on Facebook here. 

• Also in our "pending" file, we still don't have a firm date for Tobacco Road Sports Cafe over in Chapel Hill. They continue to post that they are "about a week away." And Page Road Grill updated their best estimate at the third week in December. Bad Daddy's Burger Bar is still looking at a December 17th opening. 

• PDQ will open its newest location in Raleigh this Sunday (December 9) at 10 a.m. It is located at the intersection of Falls of the Neuse and Spring Forest roads. PDQ is a fast casual restaurant specializing in chicken tenders, salads, sandwiches, fresh cut fries and hand spun milkshakes and malts. Check them out here.

• The downtown Raleigh location of Chick-fil-A is currently closed for renovations, but they posted on their Facebook page this week that they are anticipating re-opening at the end of next week. We'll keep up with Amy and her team and keep you posted. Keep up with them here. 

• And speaking of Chick-fil-A, it looks like they are bringing back their extremely popular Chicken Tortilla Soup. Look for it in your favorite location again in January.

• Thanks to several postings this week on Yelp's message boards, we learned this that
  Chili's has opened their newest location in the Park West Village complex in Morrisville. That mark's the chain's 10th Triangle area location. Check them out here.  

• The news of the Morrisville location of Chili's opening followed closely on the heels of the news that the Chili's location over in Cary, near the intersection of Kildaire Farm Road and Cary Parkway, had closed.

• And speaking of closing, we learned of two upcoming closings in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro area. The first is the news that the current owners of the popular community gathering spot, Johnny's Gone Fishing, recently had an offer to buy the building rejected, so they are closing up "this version" (commonly known as Version 3.0) as of December 15th. But stay tuned to see what/where they end up next. Visit Johnny's current Facebook page here and keep up with "what's next" on their new Facebook page here. 

• And just down the road at the very western end of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, we learned this week that The Chocolate Door will close for the final time on December 29th. The owners have made the decision to spend more time with their young family. So all you chocoholics (you know who you are) be sure to stop by between now and then. Get all the details here.

• And we close with a couple of fun dinners at Durham's Piedmont Restaurant - with both ends of the dining spectrum covered. The first is a Winter Vegetarian Dinner this Sunday (December 9) at 6:30 p.m. And that will be followed by their Captain John S. Pope Farm Lamb Dinner on December 16th at 6:30. Both dinners are priced at $30 and include 4 courses. Get all the details and make reservations here.