Downtown Raleigh retail updates

[orulz]

Pardon my dingbattyness, but doesn't retail include stuff like books and clothing? There needs to be more than just places to eat downtown.

Indeed, it seems to me that the dining out scene downtown is getting way too crowded (example: 4 sushi-only places within 1 square mile, and several more that serve it... huh? You'd have to look pretty damn hard to find that density of sushi anywhere, even in Tokyo...)

Anyway, I predict that there will be a shakedown, particularly if the national economy continues to slow down. Upscale restaurants may be among the first to feel the fallout there.

Anyway, some restaurants won't last. Some storefronts may sit unoccupied for a while, but I would guess that when things start to pick up again, we'll see a much greater variety of retail downtown.

[Jones_]

That downtown guide that Ann-Cabell puts out has a sister guide that summarizes the limited and scattered retail ranging as far out as Peace St. It has to stretch and sorry to knock but even Reliable Loan is included. There are actually several clothing stores with Baggio being the nicest, but since they cater mostly to African American clientele white folks tend not to notice....they are even all close to each other along Wilmington and Hargett...though several have closed lately...maybe landlords raising rents.....I am glad Hatem lets current tenants stay at their old rents so that things stay diverse.

As all these condos come online 222, West, Bloomsbury, Hue, Plaza, Raleigh(Reynolds), Lofts on Glenwood, you might see some sort of commercially focused development proposed somewhere downtown soon. Foot traffic in the evenings for things like joggers and dog walkers is noticibly on the uptick and the stream of strollers heading to Marbles is steady as well. The whole area between West condos and Peace St could be developed in a nice shopping area around a daylighted Pigen House Creek.

Edited January 23, 2008 by Jones133

[Cecil]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but I don't recall it. For what it's worth, the new sushi place in the Hudson is supposedly coming from the folks at Mura. Rumor has it the cuisine is supposed to be a Japanese - French fusion. I've only really eaten at Mura once, and all I can remember is raw fish to start with and nearly as raw beautiful beef. Hope it's as good, though I agree with everyone that we do have enough sushi. Just walking from the new Waraji to Sono to Fins to Wild Ginger is quite a short journey.

Speaking of, is anyone else as obsessed as I am with the sashimi at Fins? I've always been a huge Waraji fan (still am), but for just pure quality of fish, I believe Fins may have bumped it up a tad.

[miamiblue]

There's a new restaurant opening soon at the base of the Hudson, called Sono. It appears to be another sushi place. Man, if Waraji is moving into the old Est Est Est space on Hargett, that makes 4 sushi spots downtown, including Sushi Blues and Wild Ginger. Can a brother get some Indian food around here?

I have heard from an insider that the downtown Waraji location is not going to be exactly like the existing location. They seem to be focusing less on sushi and more on contemporary Japanese fare.

[ncwebguy]

I like that Marble's corner store is not for paying guests only. I appreciate the clothes sold at Baggio, but it is not my personal style/taste.

The stores on Wilmington Street have had "going out of business sale" signs up for years, but it looks like they are now serious since a lot of "for lease" signs have started popping up as well. These places have survived for so long on low rents. It is a shame that downtown is losing that part of its fabric (pun intended), maybe they will spring up somewhere else? Opening close to Shaw could be good, though I don't know how much space is avaiable there and at what rate per square foot. Carlton Place's retail is *still* empty after being availabe almost a year. The rate there is $14/sq ft/year, which is cheap for downtown, but more expensive than what businesses want to pay for a block east of City Market.

On Sunday I noticed the two store fronts south of the Tatoo/airbrush shop on the SE corner of Hargett and Wilmington looked like they were being converted into a convenience store. There is a line of drink coolers/refrigerators along the back wall. There isn't much residential that far north, and nothign planned either. I don't know if the existing convenience store on the Edison block is moving into this space to make room for construction there, or if this is new competiton.

There seem to be more stores selling used items -- Father and Son's, Stuff, Purple Armchair, the music equipment reseller in City Market, Reliable Loan, Goodwill, etc. -- than new. There are a few exceptions -- White Rabbit, the pool table store on Wilmington near Morgan, the chocolate store and galleries in City Market, Marbles/Raleigh City Museum/NC History/NC natural sciences gift shops -- but there are not enough to be a viable district yet.

If no book and/or clothing stores open up, it is hard to have updates about them.

[Cecil]

On Sunday I noticed the two store fronts south of the Tatoo/airbrush shop on the SE corner of Hargett and Wilmington looked like they were being converted into a convenience store. There is a line of drink coolers/refrigerators along the back wall. There isn't much residential that far north, and nothign planned either. I don't know if the existing convenience store on the Edison block is moving into this space to make room for construction there, or if this is new competiton.

If I understood the location from Taz right, this is going to be in addition to the City Mart he already has open. He says it will be closer to a grocery than what the current place is. And they are going to sell beer!! Yay to being able to pick up a six pack and walk home! If I remember right, he said it would open hopefully sometime in Feb. Hope this helps.

[cophead567]

Yay to being able to pick up a six pack and walk home!

Agreed, would be truely amazing. Looking forward to this.

[tjoad]

Neomonde rumor is true!

[ChiefJoJo]

Neomonde rumor is true!

Apparently, it's going to take Neomonde's prepared food offerings to the next level, but will still serve lots of Neomonde favorites--perfect! This also offers a new ethnic cuisine to the DTR scene (no more sushi needed, thanks). OMG, I'm going to eat there SOOO much.

The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will feature some Lebanese dishes that are too complicated to offer at Neomonde's cafe and bakery operations in Morrisville and in Raleigh. It also will feature many of the staple breads and family recipes that have garnered a following of fans from around the Triangle, says Sam Saleh, eldest of the four brothers who own and operate Neomonde.

[DPK]

Apparently, it's going to take Neomonde's prepared food offerings to the next level, but will still serve lots of Neomonde favorites--perfect! This also offers a new ethnic cuisine to the DTR scene (no more sushi needed, thanks). OMG, I'm going to eat there SOOO much.

Haha, I'll be right there with ya on that. I love their food.

[DanRNC]

Very interesting mix of restaurants coming to DT Raleigh-glad to see more than just generic chain steak houses.

[Jones_]

Neomonde is excellent....one of the brothers asked me randomly a few years ago before the expansion what I thought of him maybe expanding the deli...I said in so many words "hell yeah". Same goes for this move. Ethnic, well run, great building....dinner at this place, then beers at Landmark...Hatem has my dollar. Oh yeah, Morning Times coffee almost every day too.....

Edited January 26, 2008 by Jones133

[yoga]

^ Me too!!!

[RaleighRob]

Very interesting mix of restaurants coming to DT Raleigh-glad to see more than just generic chain steak houses.

Fortunately, you can pretty much say the same thing about all the major downtowns in the Triangle, not just Raleigh. We'll give Durham and Chapel Hill/Carrboro props for their excellent downtown/urban dining options as well.

[cthayes75]

Fayetteville Street Tavern is no longer open for lunch. Went walking by yesterday on my way to Brass Grill and sign on the door says they now open at 4pm.

But at least The Mint will be open for lunch soon so those Tavern diners will have somewhere to go!

[Cecil]

I was just out walking around and noticed a sign in the old China Market window. Says Champa Cafe coming soon.... anyone know if this is related to the Champa in Brier Creek? Even more sushi??

[Cecil]

Never replied to myself before, but earlier I sent an email to Champa at Brier Creek. They are indeed opening a new place on Martin.

[ChiefJoJo]

Never replied to myself before, but earlier I sent an email to Champa at Brier Creek. They are indeed opening a new place on Martin.

Cool, thanks for the update!

Here's their website for a preview. I really hope they focus on Thai at this spot!

[RaleighRob]

Here's their website for a preview. I really hope they focus on Thai at this spot!

Agreed. Wild Ginger has a few good thai dishes on their menu, but not nearly enough. A downtown Thai restaurant would be great. I kinda would like it to be Thai House to do it, but I'll take what I can get.

[ncwebguy]

Is there any place downtown that fills the old China Market's niche -- cheap take-out/dine in that covers most of the basics -- sweet and sour whatever, sesame this and that, cashew something with fried or steamed rice, egg rolls and egg drop soup?

The next closest I know of is Jade Garden, then the place on Hillsborough Street across from NC State. An old roommate ordered once in a while from Dragon City, on South Wilmington south of 440, but I never tried it.

Pearl Chinese, in the Avent Ferry/Gorman shopping center is our current go-to place, but it is a bit far to go. A Pei Wei, even though a chain, would be good too.

[RaleighRob]

^ Yeah, Jade Garden or maybe Cody's for "moderate" price. For really cheap, probably go down further on Hillsborough to Golden Dragon or Shanghai Express.

Edited January 29, 2008 by RaleighRob

[ncwebguy]

V's teas and treasures, a hybrid tea room and store, closed as of Feb 1st. Their parking was on Glenwood just north of Peace, and their website says "rezoning and construction" is causing them to close, but to check back for relocation plans.

I only went in there once (to buy the wife a gift certificate, which I don't think was used!), but the reuse of an old house gave it a different feeling than a normal shop space. It was the kind of store that would never fit in at a mall/lifestyle center/whatever.

It could be a good addition to the Wilmington/Hargett area, but all that space may be spoken for.

[DPK]

V's teas and treasures, a hybrid tea room and store, closed as of Feb 1st. Their parking was on Glenwood just north of Peace, and their website says "rezoning and construction" is causing them to close, but to check back for relocation plans.

I only went in there once (to buy the wife a gift certificate, which I don't think was used!), but the reuse of an old house gave it a different feeling than a normal shop space. It was the kind of store that would never fit in at a mall/lifestyle center/whatever.

It could be a good addition to the Wilmington/Hargett area, but all that space may be spoken for.

Something serious might be going on with that lot and the one adjacent to it. The lot V's is on is adjacent to another lot which has a small (now vacant as well) building at the corner of Peace and Glenwood. I just drove by there earlier and noticed it empty. With these two lots vacated, one might assume there is a development that wants to build there.

I hope nothing happens to the V's building, it's quite lovely:

V's current building is outlined in red in the next picture and the lot at the corner of Glenwood and Peace is vacant. You can see that those two lots if rezoned together could make for an interesting development. I really don't know if I want to lose either of those buildings though. The building at the corner has a wonderful mural facing away from Glenwood; it's always nice to look at when you're stuck in traffic:

[dmccall]

That's too bad. My little girl just went to a princess themed birthday party. There were about 12, 5-year olds all wearing ball gowns. Hilarious.

[Jones_]

V's and the brick building next to it are among the very first structures in the Glenwood development. The opposition would be tremendous...almost unanimous from the Glenwood/Brooklyn neighborhood plus I imagine all homeowners in Oakwood and Boylan Heights who treasure the integrity of their neighborhoods. You can't say these houses are "past their useful lives" or too small and inadequate for modern living. Peace/Glenwood is a great intersection because of these buildings not despite them.