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Downtown Raleigh retail updates


Beth Y

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i went on opening weekend, last saturday to be exact. the place is nice, a huge upgrade to the oxygen setup. the crowd was the usual ess lounge/ white collar crowd, thats either a good or bad thing depending on your taste. anyway they had everything in terms of drinks, good dance floor, professional lights and sound system. Music was loud but not deafening, it is a club afterall. The only negative i can give about sin city is the fact that they are new, and it felt like they did not know how to run a bar. not enough registers for bartenders, people were waiting forever to get a drink, the manager got my drinks and he didnt even have a bottle opener on him, took him awhile to find one too. there was no credit card organization, they were just spread out on the back table, just badly run at first which i assume will get fixed over time. everyone at the bar was complaining about this.
Thank you sir. :thumbsup:
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BTW, I attended the HK on march (well, I marched a little early;)) and on the way was looking for a breakfast place nearby. Keep in mind this was Sat morning... so I'm thinking Bog Ed's right? Well, it was too crowded, so we walked on, and I found that Gandolfo's Deli is open for breakfast on Sat! You know what, it was pretty damn good too. It's good to know there's an alternative.

DT Raleigh is screaming out for a cool diner... :whistling:

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Any updates on the Ace Hardware in Seaboard yet?

I haven't been by there in a while, but an 18-wheeler with Ace Hardware painted on the side was turing off of Halifax to Peace Thursday morning just before 9.

So merchandise is starting to flow into the store... a grand opening should only be a few weeks away hopefully!

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BTW, I attended the HK on march (well, I marched a little early;)) and on the way was looking for a breakfast place nearby. Keep in mind this was Sat morning... so I'm thinking Bog Ed's right? Well, it was too crowded, so we walked on, and I found that Gandolfo's Deli is open for breakfast on Sat! You know what, it was pretty damn good too. It's good to know there's an alternative.

DT Raleigh is screaming out for a cool diner... :whistling:

One thing that bugs me about Big Ed's is that they close at noon on Saturdays. I wish they'd extend their hours.

I love Elmo's and I eat there nearly every time I go to Durham. Its such a fantastic place, and I think they'd do wonderfully in the old Daryls spot on Hillsborough St. It would cater to more than just a downtown crowd, but also the NCSU crowd. The NCSU area, to my knowledge, has no "diner" type establishment. I'm sure there are loads of other good downtown locations for Elmo's as well!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Two new updates:

The Dos Taquitos renovation at Morgan/Wilmington St is in FULL SWING. The entire street level facade is gone and you can see the shell of the interior unimpeded. I would imagine they might be complete by summer--just a guess though.

Also, the Brass Grill says they are now open on Saturdays from 9-4pm. I heard Crema is doing really well to... things are slowly starting to turn around for DT businesses. :thumbsup:

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According to the N&O's Retailing column, Ace Hardware is opening March 12th (scroll down to near the end). Also "hair and makeup salon Marigold Parlour will open in the spring." I guess this will be on the north side of Ace, as Seaboard Fitness appears to be under construction between Ace and Seaboard wine shop.

I miss Brass Grill from my downtown working days. 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. Hopefully word of mouth will spread like it has for F Street proper. Chick Fil A, Cafe Carolina, and American Pita staying closed does help.

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driving on wilmington today, i saw a sign at wilm. and martin by moore square that a tropical restaurant was coming in at that corner. i'll look at the sign closer tomorrow morning.

Saw that when I was jogging this morning... I forget the name already, but it def said "Tropical Food" and "Coming Soon." Don't think there was much more info on the sign.

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"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.

Edited by Beth Y
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Two new updates:

The Dos Taquitos renovation at Morgan/Wilmington St is in FULL SWING. The entire street level facade is gone and you can see the shell of the interior unimpeded. I would imagine they might be complete by summer--just a guess though.

Also, the Brass Grill says they are now open on Saturdays from 9-4pm. I heard Crema is doing really well to... things are slowly starting to turn around for DT businesses. :thumbsup:

I make pitches to the few suburbanites I know all the time. The choices we have downtown are really quite extensive already, and the extended hours I think are well timed. Brass Grill runs a great ship...they move a bunch of people in and out quikcly at lunch and the you get a huge plate of food...vegetarians have actual choices when we eat there too :thumbsup:

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In yesterday's mail, I received a postcard coupon for the Ace at Seabord. $5 off any purchase of $10 or more! Yea!

I almost went in Monday night, but it was 7:45 pm and they close at 8.

Hopefully they'll have air filters in my size, but if not, I'm sure I'll find something else to buy.

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In yesterday's mail, I received a postcard coupon for the Ace at Seabord. $5 off any purchase of $10 or more! Yea!

I almost went in Monday night, but it was 7:45 pm and they close at 8.

Hopefully they'll have air filters in my size, but if not, I'm sure I'll find something else to buy.

So they ARE open now? Great. :thumbsup:

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Yep, Ace is now open! I used the coupon on Saturday. There were about 10 other shoppers wandering around while I was there.

They still were working out some issues -- the paint brush I wanted to buy wasn't in the store's system. A manager had to go to some list of everything Ace carries and add it to the items sold in that particular store. Also, the lawn and garden section wasn't open yet, but I need seed, etc. NOW! lol

It is a good store for "smaller" projects -- paint selection and mixer, painting supplies (brushes/rollers, paint pans, drywall putty, etc), small tools, under the sink pipes, etc. And a selection of outdoor furniture, a few small appliances, etc. They (obviously) didn't have a big lumber yard, plant/shrub section, etc. -- complimenting Seaboard Nursery instead of competing with it.

They had a decent air filter selection, but only carried my size in the cheap, replace every 30 day variety. Which is good enough for me.

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The "lawn and garden" section looks to be small, a few hundred square feet. It is mostly supplies like ferterlizer, seed, spreaders, maybe mowers, gardening tools, etc. They didn't have any live plants, and without any outside area, I don't think they will in the future.

It is a good compliment to Logan's, not a competitor.

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