Seaboard Station

[dmccall]

Seaboard Cafe in Logan's is great. Rick is one of the friendliest small business owners in Raleigh.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

With this successful project, what do you think the chances are of the Progress Energy,(one block north of PE's HQ's building), mixed use project coming together for the entire city block they own? The way downtown seems to be going looks positive, I think!

[foodpainter]

FYI, here's an update from the Mordecai Listserv that's got some good info.

"Capital City Grocery and J Betski's Austrian/German

Restaurnat have had their openings delays several

weeks due to City Inspection problems with insulation

in the roof.

Flanders Art Gallery will celbrate their grand opening

this Friday, Oct 6 from 6-10pm with food and wine.

They are next door to 18 Seaboard Restaurant. They

will join Seaboard Wine Warehouse in the First Friday

Gallery openings where this month at Seaboard Wine

Oakwood's own, Madonna Phillips will open a show

"Outside/Inside" from 7-9pm featuring her mixed media

works which are inspired by her neighborhood.

Footlights Dance Boutique will also have their grand

opening this Sunday October 8 from 3-6pm. Wine and

hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Now under consturction, Seaboard Fitness and Ace

Hardware will be going in the same building as

Seaboard Wine. Their anticipated opening will be the

first of the year."

[reed]

I just heard about Seabord Fitness last week. One of the original owners of Capital Fitness is opening this. Will be interesting to see what he does w/ the place.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

I just heard about Seabord Fitness last week. One of the original owners of Capital Fitness is opening this. Will be interesting to see what he does w/ the place.

Yeah, I doubt if this will fly to long. It is not only hard for a one store fitness club to make it in any market much less downtown where a lot of condos have there own facilities. But I guess it could be possible if the one's opening it have very, very, deep pockets.

[ncwebguy]

It is sad that the grocery and pub don't have opening dates still... There was some stock on the shelves a few days ago, but not opening in the immediate future. They share a roof with Galetea (open for months) and Footlights, which has been open at least a few weeks.

As far as SeaFit (lol), Capital Fitness always drew from a population larger than the immediate Glenwood South area. I never had a problem finding rack space for the bike. There are plenty of other people who don't have access to fitness equipment. Even in the condo buildings, there is rarely more than a treadmill, eliptical trainer, a bike, and some weights.

People will pay a premium if it means not having to wait forever to get on cardio equipment, weight machines, etc. This is the market that CapFit went after, then lost when they merged with the Spa Fitness cheapskates. This appears to be Peak's clientele too, but time will tell.

With West at North taking most of the Glenwood location's parking spaces, Seaboard Fitness could be an appealing option. I don't know how flush with cash these people are, but I wouldn't count them out right away. Seaboard might give them a deal on rent since it drives traffic to the area that could shop at the wine store, ace hardware, the grocery, etc.

[dmccall]

Just heard today that the grocery and german restaurant's openings will be delayed "weeks" because of inspection failures relating to roof insulation. hmmph.

[suburban george3]

Just heard today that the grocery and german restaurant's openings will be delayed "weeks" because of inspection failures relating to roof insulation. hmmph.

There is a good possibility that the grocery store may open with the next week, maybe even this weekend...

[carynative]

WTVD Article Looks like it's getting ready to open.

[foodpainter]

Capital City Grocery opened at 2 today. It's great! I actually feared it would be Fresh-Market-ish-fancy, but it's much more user-friendly. And the prices are definitely comparable to bigger stores. Tuna steaks were priced 2 bucks less a lb than I paid at the 'Teet yesterday. Business seemed good. There's a small coffee bar in the front too which is cool.

[tjoad]

Yay!! it finally opened. I personally will be shopping there as much as I can, instead of the usual Harris Teeter.

[serapis]

I'm going to stroll past there and check it out.

[Justin6882]

Went by there today - its a nice little store and had most everything I was looking for - there were a couple things that I would have to go to Harris Teeter to get, but I think I'll be shopping there a lot. I forgot to check out their hours though - anyone know them?

[suburban george3]

Hours at Capital City Grocery are 7am to 9pm (Mon-Sat) and 9am-5pm (Sun)

SUBJECT TO CHANGE!!!

[Subway Scoundrel]

I went by there on Saturday. For the first day open, they had some issues like people running into each other while trying to work behind the counter or the check out woman was not sure about the produce number, but that is to be expected and they had people there to solve any issue. I did see one woman (customer) throw her back up in a hunch at the deli counter because there was some confusion at the meat slicer but I bet she probably does that at HT everyday and anywhere else she shops. All those issues with productivity falls into place in a short time.

The one thing that amazed me were the costs. Cetain things I buy at the Kroger were the same price there. Some things were cheaper. I do like the fact it is not like a high end grocery store that has $8 boxes of cereal.

It also looks like it will have a nice wine selection when it starts

Edited October 16, 2006 by Subway Scoundrel

[serapis]

Man. I forgot to walk by there yesterday.

[ncwebguy]

I was out of town late last week/weekend, but I do need to make a grocery store run... Will go by tonight if I can get there by 9! Especially if prices are in the Kroger/HT range!

I also like this quote in the WTVD story:

If all goes well, Bold hopes to open a second location on the south end of downtown in a few years.

[JTsaysToYou]

The quote I like the best in this article is when he says:

"It's always risky, but this location will be fantastic," Bold said. "We have 27,000 homes within a two-mile radius, and with the new growth downtown, there's no telling where it's going."

It is great that store owners are thinking like that!

Imagine how downtown will look in ten years with that attitude!

[ChiefJoJo]

I went by Capital Grocery last night at 8:45 and they were closed. Their hours are until 8pm on weekdays (7 on weekends I think)--WTF? They are going to have major issues with me using that store closing at 8pm. I had to go to HT at Cameron Village, which is open 24 hours BTW.

I'm not a store manager, but I have to think this will hurt their sales and limit their success if they expect to be competitive in the DT market. Think about it--many in the DT market work late or go to the gym after work, eat dinner or have a drink, and then go to the store. I would think staying open until 10 would be appropriate.

[Justin6882]

I agree ChiefJoJo - I went by there at 8:15 the other night and I too had to go to Harris Teeter - kind of disappointing, as I wanted to try to go there as much as possible, but I too will have problems with them closing at 8.

[DwnTwnRaleighGuy]

I went by Capital Grocery last night at 8:45 and they were closed. Their hours are until 8pm on weekdays (7 on weekends I think)--WTF? They are going to have major issues with me using that store closing at 8pm. I had to go to HT at Cameron Village, which is open 24 hours BTW.

I'm not a store manager, but I have to think this will hurt their sales and limit their success if they expect to be competitive in the DT market. Think about it--many in the DT market work late or go to the gym after work, eat dinner or have a drink, and then go to the store. I would think staying open until 10 would be appropriate.

Agreed! They should be open at least until 10pm or 11pm. It's just a sign of the times, people's lives aren't just based on M-F 8-5. A lot of people that I know now work different shifts and would benefit from a wider time frame. I know I do/would.

[RaleighRob]

I went by Capital Grocery last night at 8:45 and they were closed. Their hours are until 8pm on weekdays (7 on weekends I think)--WTF? They are going to have major issues with me using that store closing at 8pm.

That's crazy---even Whole Foods is open til 9pm everyday. You'd think that's the least they could do. Make sure to let them know they've lost your business at that time....even if it's just a casual mention "I stopped by here the other night but you were already closed, so I had to go to Harris Teeter again." If they hear that often enough, they'll get the idea, I would hope.

Edited November 1, 2006 by RaleighRob

[citiboi27610]

I went by Capital Grocery last night at 8:45 and they were closed. Their hours are until 8pm on weekdays (7 on weekends I think)--WTF? They are going to have major issues with me using that store closing at 8pm. I had to go to HT at Cameron Village, which is open 24 hours BTW.

I'm not a store manager, but I have to think this will hurt their sales and limit their success if they expect to be competitive in the DT market. Think about it--many in the DT market work late or go to the gym after work, eat dinner or have a drink, and then go to the store. I would think staying open until 10 would be appropriate.

My suggestion is that you talk to the managers. I think it'd be more productive to let them know how you and others feel about their establishment and over constructive suggestions. I'm sure they'd be happy to see someone take the initiative in valuing their business.

We need more action in addition to all the talk that's going on.

[RaleighRob]

Yeah, I think another thing they'll need to keep in consideration is that downtown residents won't have quite the same grocery store shopping habits as suburban familes do. You won't hardly see many stay-at-home moms coming in on a weekday afternoon with their list and do a whole week's worth of grocery shopping to load up the minivan.

It's gonna be singles and younger "DINK" couples picking up a few items here and there to make a single meal, for the most part...or some last minute items, or something to take on their way to a party. And it's very often going to be late-evening that they do this.

It's certainly a different dynamic.

Edited November 1, 2006 by RaleighRob

[Beth Y]

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.