Downtown Raleigh retail updates

[Euphorius]

Speaking of the Busy Bee...I just got a look at their menu yesterday. It is stuff that you could find at other places. But, with a twist. The head chef used to the chef for The Mint. Their interior space is awesome. The store front doesn't look like the old Busy Bee, which was in that exact same location, but it's cute.

[Justin6882]

I was walking the dog down Fayetteville Street today and some of the staff/owners of Fayetteville Street Tavern were cleaning the place out - I thought it was because they were planning on expanding into the adjacent space, but nope - they're shutting down for good. I always liked that place, the ambiance was really laid back and the food was good - shame they couldn't make it.

[ChiefJoJo]

I never really liked that place. To me it never offered anything unique in the marketplace and I'm not surprised they aren't making it. During good times, we saw lots of businesses succeed, but during this recession we are seeing the contenders separating from the pretenders.

[Gard]

FYI there is a new bar/restaurant moving into the Fayetteville St. Tavern space, albeit no details have been released. Seen it in this article: http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1475046.html

[ChiefJoJo]

The Busy Bee on Wilmington St is now open & Hatem is opening an Italian place ("Gravy")in the old Riveria space. I'm really excited to see Riviera replaced and hopefully more activity extended down the 200 block of Wilmington St.

[cthayes75]

The Busy Bee on Wilmington St is now open & Hatem is opening an Italian place ("Gravy")in the old Riveria space. I'm really excited to see Riviera replaced and hopefully more activity extended down the 200 block of Wilmington St.

Hmm...

"David Meeker, Chris Powers, and David

[ChiefJoJo]

Hmm...

"David Meeker, Chris Powers, and David “Woody” Lockwood have been working extensively to remodel the building to historic renovation standards. "

Yeah, it was just my conspiracy theory about the Meeker's profiting off downtown's revitalization...

So Meeker hoodwinked the four other council members who supported financing & building the convention center, Fayetteville St, etc so several years later his son could then remodel an old storefront on Wilmington St? Hmm maybe you're right. Maybe he is a distant relative of Hatem too. Yeah, it's a vast conspiracy!

Downtown benefits a lot of people, not the least of which is the rest of the city, which is partially subsidized by the tax base generated from a strong downtown. You are barking up the wrong tree.

[cthayes75]

So Meeker hoodwinked the four other council members who supported financing & building the convention center, Fayetteville St, etc so several years later his son could then remodel an old storefront on Wilmington St? Hmm maybe you're right. Maybe he is a distant relative of Hatem too. Yeah, it's a vast conspiracy!

Downtown benefits a lot of people, not the least of which is the rest of the city, which is partially subsidized by the tax base generated from a strong downtown. You are barking up the wrong tree.

Don't know why you feel the need to point out the corruption of the NC Senate to me given I've been on that beat for about 3 years now...

On a different note:

Hard Times Cafe closing this week.

http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive...s-cafe-closing/

Edited April 8, 2009 by cthayes75

[ncwebguy]

I liked Fayetville Street Tavern because it was more "come as you are" than any other place open after 5 downtown, including Raleigh Times and Rockford.

They had a limited but decent variety (pub food plus a few pasta selections) on the menu at decent prices. They had poker chips and cards, and the TVs weren't overwhelming a la Woody's.

The plywood was down at Busy Bee's a couple of weeks ago, but it had a "shell rennovation to be completed in October" sign just before that. Going from that to open was pretty quick!

A few months ago, I caught someone coming out of the "under contract" storefronts on Hargett between Sitti and Landmark Tavern and they said it was only being used for storage for a while. They had too many inquiries so they put up the "leased" sign even though there wasn't a tenant yet.

The retail spaces in RBC Plaza and the Edison parking deck seem to be empty still, but if other spaces are being filled up, maybe it will just be a matter of time for them.

The difference between directly profiting from power with little to no work done vs. enahncing revitalization through investment and sweat equity is huge, but can be missed with someone blinded by an agenda to push. A developer-controlled Planning Commission is "not a conspiracy" but anything invested downtown is? Wow.

The lack of investment in downtown for decades cost the city millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, to say nothing of the costs associated with the hypersprawl egged on by a decaying core.

[Jones_]

Hmm...

"David Meeker, Chris Powers, and David

[cthayes75]

Meeker went through 4 elections just so his son could help renovate a building that cost 800,000 dollars to purchase in July 2008?? This is so utterly ridiculous I almost don't have a response. If one of them was on say the board of RBC or Highwoods I might think so. When my father was a park ranger, I began to think it was a good idea to buy land next to parks. If that park paid twice the assessed value to add my land to it then you have a problem. But if I built some cabins on my land and trumpeted access to the adjacent park as a perk, well then kudos to me. Kudos to the Meekers for having the same vision for downtown and having the resolve to make it happen. The whole city needs a strong core. The burbs can't support themselves...their tax density isn't high enough (new term I coined...function of assessed value). I would think the boys at Civitas would understand such basic math...but policy wonks don't have a degree in numbers and political science is as big an oxymoron as I've ever heard.

Well thanks for the veiled insult Jones, by my business school professors say I do know a little bit about numbers, otherwise they wouldn't have awarded me that Master's degree, now would they? If you think you know so much about me, why don't you take the time to read my publicly available bio. I feel so informal about this, you seem to know so much about you, yet I don't even know your name, why is that? Oh, maybe its because I don't hide behind an anonymous message board persona.

You know what else I know? I also know that if I or my family members buy up land and then use public resources to improve the value of that land, that I have some ethical, um, "challenges."

[orulz]

You know what else I know? I also know that if I or my family members buy up land and then use public resources to improve the value of that land, that I have some ethical, um, "challenges."

Yes you're right, that would be a conflict of interest - but that's completely backwards from what happened here.

Check the deed record of that building here.

Looks to me like the same guy (of no relation to the Meekers) owned this property from 1984 - 2008. When did the current owners buy the property? July 28, 2008. When did the improvements to Fayetteville Street happen? 2006. The convention center opened in Sept. 2008, but that was underway long, long before July.

So, here is what you allege happened:

1. Meeker Sr. tells his son with a wink, "You should invest downtown, I'm a-fixin' to spend a lot of public $$$ there"

2. Meeker Jr. buys property

3. Meeker Sr. leads the effort to spend $millions on improving downtown so that the value of Meeker Jr's property increases

3. PROFIT!!!

Here is what actually happened:

1. Meeker Sr. (and the majority of city council, and the majority of city residents) decide that it's time to stop ignoring and start improving downtown because it's an embarrassment to the city.

2. Meeker Sr. leads the effort to spend $millions on the convention center and Fayetteville street to anchor those improvements

3. After all these improvements are done, property values go up downtown

4. Meeker Jr. then buys the building - AFTER its value has gone up - for a price more than 2x the assessed value

5. Maybe profit?? We don't even know if this business venture will succeed or not.

You are completely wrong if you are saying there is some conflict of interest here. There is none. The key is, he bought the building AFTER the improvements took place. Anybody else in the city or country or world could have looked at the improvements that were made, and had the same opportunity to purchase the building when it was for sale, with exactly the same information available to them that Meeker Jr. had.

In this case, you're looking for something that flat out isn't there. I think you've insinuated that the Meekers have conflicts of interest relating to DT real estate before, though; if you want to keep pointing that finger you're going to have to come up with an example a lot better than this one.

[Jones_]

Well thanks for the veiled insult Jones, by my business school professors say I do know a little bit about numbers, otherwise they wouldn't have awarded me that Master's degree, now would they? If you think you know so much about me, why don't you take the time to read my publicly available bio. I feel so informal about this, you seem to know so much about you, yet I don't even know your name, why is that? Oh, maybe its because I don't hide behind an anonymous message board persona.

You know what else I know? I also know that if I or my family members buy up land and then use public resources to improve the value of that land, that I have some ethical, um, "challenges."

I believe we are all hiding behind a name here. I just didn't put my last name in my handle. Your allegations are so completely false that it would approach slander if you went public with them, which to my knowledge you have not. I have been pulling your chain trying to get some better inside research, of which you have produced none. The public record is ample, widely available and exonerates the Meekers of all your allegations. As a vocal supporter of downtown and all those who have helped in its revival, you should expect that I and others will bristle a bit when you go straight at what we are proud to see and be a part of.

The Busy Bee is a very nice, though not subsidized establishment...quite unlike say the Mint. Quite a few in the downtown democrat crowd have crossed the aisle in condemning that situation.

Mods if you strike my first paragraph, at least leave this one.....Busy Bee has a great affordable menu, and a cozy atmosphere. The rooftop area in downtown proper is an a nice feather in the downtown cap. I talked with several folks who work there last night and am told that another building between Taz and Busy Bee is about to be renovated....I think it was the Raleigh Sandwich Shop.

Edited April 10, 2009 by Jones133

[ChiefJoJo]

The retail spaces in RBC Plaza and the Edison parking deck seem to be empty still, but if other spaces are being filled up, maybe it will just be a matter of time for them.

Note here the age of many of these buildings where new businesses are opening or announced: Sitti, Foundation, Boylan Bridge, Remedy, Busy Bee. All old buildings (probably all pre-1950s w/possible exception of BBB) with cheap up-fits and rents, relative to the $140M RBC tower. I'm not poo-pooing RBC, but it's instructive to note these little details of which businesses are thriving in this economy and which are not, and where they are located.

[ncwebguy]

Note here the age of many of these buildings where new businesses are opening or announced: Sitti, Foundation, Boylan Bridge, Remedy, Busy Bee. All old buildings (probably all pre-1950s w/possible exception of BBB) with cheap up-fits and rents, relative to the $140M RBC tower. I'm not poo-pooing RBC, but it's instructive to note these little details of which businesses are thriving in this economy and which are not, and where they are located.

This could be extended even further... Spaces like the Chick-Fil-A in the Sir Walter, Mecca, and the downtown soda shop have done quite well, while retail spaces in relatively newer buildings -- Wachovia (the space west of Cafe Carolina), BoA's Wilmington Street frontage, Sam and Wally's/Global Toast in BB&T/Two Hannover, etc. -- have struggled.

It is easier to make retail space office till the downtown market matures (Downtown Raleigh Alliance in the parking deck near Sitti, the architects on Martin near City Market) vs. having an unfriendly blank wall (Progress Energy I, Capital Bank on Wilmington).

And the Busy Bee is a good addition to downtown -- a "wider" Raleigh/Morning times with medium sized group meetup space above the kitchen, a late night breakfast food menu in addition to the usual fare, and a few beers that even the Flying Saucer doesn't keep on tap.

[dmccall]

America's Pita Grille closed on Friday, will be gutted, and reopen as an Asian cafe. (Of course, I reported this 30 days in advance of the closure, but got nothing but vitriol in return link, link, not to mention the numerous hateful emails from NewRaleigh.com writers and readers.)

[dmccall]

Dunkin' Donuts (in 222 Glenwood) will close soon.

Gravy opens 6/6

Hibernian guy is opening a martini bar where April & George was

Edited May 27, 2009 by dmccall

[orulz]

Dunkin' Donuts (in 222 Glenwood) will close soon.

That's a shame. Though it's a chain, DD brought some diversity to the Glenwood South retail scene. Sort of puzzles me why it never caught on, but then again I guess both KK and the other DD on Hillsborough are pretty close, and it may have been a poor location for most downtown workers to just stop by. I drove by there on a number of occasions and never had a problem finding a (free) street parking spot so I can't imagine that was the problem. But almost every time I went, I was the only one in there.

[miamiblue]

Dunkin' Donuts (in 222 Glenwood) will close soon.

Gravy opens 6/6

Hibernian guy is opening a martini bar where April & George was

I've noticed the past few weekends that the DD's was closed at night when they normally have been open. Too bad they are closing - I pass by there on my way to work in the morning and there are usually people in there stopping on the way to work.

I also noticed that Brueggers was staying open late on weekend nights about a month or so back, but they have ceased that the past two weekends.

As for the martini bar where April & George was - according to the Downtowner, it is the co-owner of Ess Lounge who will be behind the new venture.

[dmccall]

Oops. You're right. It is the ESS Lounge person. (however my error was made for a good reason. Think about it and the spaces in the area and form your own conclusion)

[DPK]

I also noticed that Brueggers was staying open late on weekend nights about a month or so back, but they have ceased that the past two weekends.

That's because NCSU is in summer mode right now. All the retail along that block has earlier close hours right now until fall.

[RaleighRob]

As many here probably already know, the downtown Peak Fitness has closed: http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive...ntown-location/

This may be good news for Seaboard, though at their prices I doubt many of Peaks customers will go there. Instead, many are having their memberships automatically go to Lifestyle over by the Costco. Which for many in downtown (and southwards), is not a convenient alternative.

(Which is doubly inconvenient for me since I moved in with my s.o. in south Raleigh this spring....there's absolutely no gyms down there.)

I'm crossing my fingers another gym company moves into that spot and once again offers downtown an affordable alternative to Seaboard. The demand is there, no doubt.

Edited June 15, 2009 by RaleighRob

[Jones_]

Someone remind me what it was before Peak Fitness....? How in the hell was this location not profitable??

[Euphorius]

My old trainer said that they have been making money. They just haven't been paying their rent. They haven't paid their rent since October. Very poor business plan. I hate that there will no longer be a gym there. But, that gym had went to pot.

[dmccall]

If they've really been making money, and the demand is really there, then someone else will come in and open another gym there.