Beth Y

Wow, Jibarra and Sitti opening downtown. YAY! I am excited about both of these.

Anyone been to Capital Grocery lately? It is not looking good. I am sorry to see this happening again.

Here's teh WRAL story on GSK. http://localtechwire.com/business/local_te.../story/3899613/

I had heard that Yancey's had filed for Chpt. 11 and hope that after the CC opens that he would/will do better. But Longbranch has closed? Haven't they done this multiple times before? On another sushi topic, I checked out Hura Sushi in Glenwood Village S.C. the other night (Glenwood and Oberlin). It was pretty great, actually. Very fresh fish, good tempura, food came out fast. I think i am going to love having this place in my neighborhood.

Neochina in Cary has good dim sum, but only on Saturday and Sunday lunch.

I have been to the Globe too and think it is great. On Hideaway, I have been many times and love it. It may not appeal all the time to the "27 year old cool" crowd, but I think it really appeals to a crowd that just likes to have a drink and listen to good music. My main problem with seeing live music these days (I am in the over 40, gotta work in the morning crowd) and I am thrilled to have a place where I can get a drink, see a great band and be home by midnight, rather than just waiting for the band to start at midnight. The booker at Hideaway is the same woman that used to book for the Pour House and I have really enjoyed every band I have seen there. Saw Jason Isbell there and just recently a band from N.O. called Bonerama, that consisted of guitar, drums, a tuba and three trombones. I can't even begin to describe the sound, but it was wild. I like the fact that the crowd there is very mixed in age and seems to be largely there for the music and not for the "scene".

Uh, people, before this rumor gets too far, can we confirm it? According to their website they have shows booked in Janauary. I was there the other night and it was PACKED, as it has been every time I have been. Although, I admit, I have never eaten there.

I am guessing the church wouldn't see this as such a good idea, since they have a pretty small parking lot, compared to their congregation, as it is.

Has anyone else had trouble parking in the new deck and walking to the mall without walking in a traffic lane? We parked off the first ramp up and had to walk along a fairly narrow traffic lane, with two way traffic (from Belk to B&N) to get to Belks. Does anyone else have this problem? What were the designers thinking? Pretty dangerous walking, especially if you have more than one person (or in my case, me and three kids!). At least with a crowd, cars can see you.

I am aggravated how Thanksgiving has just fallen by the wayside! My kids like to decorate for each holiday, but you just can't find Thanksgiving decorations anymore. The stores jump from Halloween to Christmas!

I have certainly used Lee's to hem some jeans while I shopped or take something in, but I guess I have never thought of them as a "real" tailor, like someone that would make your clothes from scratch. Do they have a good selection of quality fabrics or designs to show you? I know when I have used a tailor before (in another city) that is all they did....make suits, shirts, etc.

Anyone have any word on "Cameron's" which is opening in Cameron Village?

Is Betski's getting outside seating now? I saw some tables out there the other day when I stopped in the grocery.

Or getting a place that serves good food. I went to the seafood place...mediocre, and heard similar things about the bbq place. Put a great place in there....maybe it would lose its curse!

Waraji, in my opinion, and I eat a lot of sushi, is one of the highest quality, if not the highest quality, sushi places in town. I know from frequenting sites like Chowhound and eGullet that I am not alone in this opinion. So this is very exciting for downtown. To answer why they need a greasetrap, Waraji does more than sushi. They also do tempura, katsu and other fried japanese dishes, as well as teriyaki, udon, etc.

I am thrilled Waraji is opening downtown. I had heard they were looking in G. South, but guess that didn't work out.

Every 10 years? I can think of, off the top of my head, three times at least the parking lots have flooded in the last 10 years. At least twice that the mall itself flooded.

Uh, I guess you have never been there in a bad rain storm when they are evacuating the covered parking on the Glenwood side cause the water is 6 inched deep and rising. Crabtree is a pretty scary place to be in a heavy rain.

FYI - the following is on City Council consent agenda for tomorrow's Council meeting:

I went to Fins last night, before heading to PE Center for High School Musical (needed a cocktail before being in that big room full of screaming 'tween-agers). The place is pretty incredible. What struck us was the feel you get walking in off the street into a beautiful restaurant in a downtown building. There are few places downtown that you get that feel. They seem to have a nice bar area (will try that Sat. night before going to see the latest REP show) and make a great cocktail. I can recommend the passionfruit martini. Great service, great food and we could park above and walk to the restaurant and the show and not move our car. Love it!

And Capital City Grocery's website it down........ Says "under reconstruction".

I agree. All bars, restaurants and galleries does not make a thriving residential (or commercial) downtown. You need things for workers to go to during lunch or after work, so they won't have to drive there later...and things for residents. That means eye care centers, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.

"However, I don't know if there is currently enough Saturday lunch business for Gandalfo's, Yancey's, Big Easy, F Street Tavern, Brass Grill, Crema (which was mentioned as doing well in the NBC CC story), Times Bar, Dos Taquitos, etc. The City Market restaurants have done well, so maybe there is enough business to support them all. " We do not live downtown, but sometimes take the kids downtown for lunch on Saturdays, after going to the Farmers MArket, or whatever. The Times Bar is usually pretty crowded on Saturdays and Crema (for ice cream after, of course) has people hanging out. Now that they serve food, they may do better. Crema had the best egg nog latte I have had....I was sad to see them disappear with the holidays! So, hopefully, downtown will become a place to be on Saturdays....see a museum, etc. then lunch.

OK, it is slightly OTB, but Burke's Hardware is a Raleigh tradition. It is right past the fairgrounds on Hillsborough.

This Stay at home Mom has been there twice in two weeks, and I don't even live downtown (well, I am ITB, near WFoods). This store has everything I have had on my list and is MUCH easier to get in and out of than the BIG stores. THis will change somewhat when they get more crowded, but just because it is not a huge store, it will still be easier to navigate. Their prices are good and they seem to have everything I need, from fresh fish to Kleenex. They have Larry's Beans in bags and I can get a decent cup of coffee. For the person that said they should stay open later, talk to the Manager. He has made a point to talk to me everytime I have been in and clearly wants to serve his clientele. Now if J. Betski's would just open! With this cold weather, I really have been craving some German/Polish type food.