NC Getting $520M Rail Upgrade
The Federal Government announced that North Carolina has won a $520M grant for rail upgrades. The stimulus money is going toward upgrading the rail corridor between Raleigh and Charlotte. Tracks will be upgraded, the number of round trips will be doubled, and top speeds will perhaps reach 90mph (though the average speed of the trip will not be dramatically affected).
No details are out yet about what these improvements specifically entail. At half a billion dollars, it is unlikely that any rail crossings will be converted to bridges. Most likely some nonessential crossings will close, but most will get upgraded signaling. It is doubtful that any of the Raleigh or Cary crossings will be affected, in contrast to the preliminary plans to improve the Raleigh to Washington corridor.
Meat House Opens in Cary
The Meat House, a national butcher chain, is now open in Cary’s Saltbox Village. The store aims to replace our missing neighborhood butcher. As with Trader Joe’s, as soon as this site gets off the ground, the store eyes expansion in the North(ish) Raleigh area. The store is open from 9am to 7pm daily.
Restaurant Roundup
There has been a little bit of news recently announced about some restaurants in the area.
- Bentley’s, in the parking lot of the Target in Cary, has closed. Restaurant owner Lou Moshakos has not announced a new concept for the place, but said that he has been working hard expanding his Carolina Ale House concept and dealing with his food group’s recent acquisitions of several Wilmington restaurants. Perhaps an Eddie Romanelli’s would go well in that space???
- The rooftop Carolina Ale House planned for the former Pine State office building will open this coming Summer, according to TBJ .
- Canteen 18, a Southwest concept by 18 Seaboard owner Jason Smith, will open in March in the former Nowell’s space in Cameron Village.
- Chick-Fil-A’s long-awaited store in Cameron Village has been completely replanned, according to Sue Stock’s Friday column. Instead of being in the former dry cleaner’s location behind McDonald’s, the store will instead be built in the Rite-Aid parking lot, at the corner of Cameron and Woodburn. This will work much better than the other site, as the site plan called for bizarre routing of the drive-thru traffic. I guess we can put those Harris Teeter to Cameron/Woodburn rumors to rest?
-
Fins has closed, and will reopen as “
bu*ku
” this week. They plan on serving “global street food” (which probably means that I will spend a ton of money and leave hungry, if it is like every other tapas place I’ve been to.) Of grave concern is this passage on their website. If this is going to be anything but another loud (very loud) Red Room, I’ll be surprised. I usually like to keep my head-bobbing places separate from my $30-a-head restaurants, but I’ll certainly give it a try!
- A dynamic, urban approach to late night food and entertainment will invite guests to take in an act over dessert and a nightcap; or healthy, fresh street-food fare in a casual upscale setting, as local and touring DJs, artists and bands welcome night-owls to bob their heads, sing along or dance to progressive and traditional sounds and beats .
- Sawasdee , a fantastic Thai restaurant, has opened a second location. It is in Pleasant Valley Promenade on Glenwood Avenue, in the former location of Gino Russo’s and Sedona.
- Solas is now serving brunch on Sundays.
- Feeling a little New Orleans in your blood? Battistella’s Kitchen has reopened in the former Ramada Inn, high on the hill overlooking the Glenwood Ave/I-440 interchange (access via Arrow Dr. from inbound Glenwood Ave.)
- Briggs Hardware (Atlantic/Six Forks) is now stocking cheeses and dressings from the Angus Barn’s gift shop.
- Bloomsbury Bistro has revived their 3-course tasting menu thru February 11, which is one of the best deals in Raleigh. For $50 per couple, each person gets an appetizer and full-size entree of their choice, as well as a Bistro Dessert Sampler (featuring 4 different items) for two. The offer is only available to members of “ Toler’s Table ”, the restaurant’s VIP club. Signup is free and available through the Bistro’s website.
North Hills East Harris Teeter Opening February 10
The long-awaited full-scale Harris Teeter at North Hills East is set to open on February 10, according to the North Raleigh Observer. The existing store at The Lassiter will close upon the new store’s opening. Nothing has been officially announced about a new tenant for the space in The Lassiter, but don’t expect another food venue (Fresh Market, Dean & Deluca, etc). Be thinking more along the lines of a book store.
Nissan LEAF Coming to City Plaza
On Friday (1/29) the national tour displaying the
Nissan LEAF
will come to Raleigh’s City Plaza. The “zero-emission”, 100% electric vehicle boasts a 100 mile range between charges. The exhibit lasts from 10am to 10pm.
Hurricanes To Submit All-Star Game Bid
As reported by 99.9 The Fan, the Carolina Hurricanes will submit their formal proposal to host the 2011 NHL All-Star game while the team is in New York next week. Let’s hope this works out, because Gary Bettman, so far, is around 9 years late on his promise to hold the game at the RBC Center.
Buckhead Saloon Closes
According to the bar’s Facebook page , the Buckhead Saloon is now closed.
City Design Lecture Series Continues Tonight
Tonight the “Designing a 21st Century City” lecture city continues! The presentation is by both John Robert Smith, the former Mayor of Meridian Mississippi and full-time rail zealot, and James Corless, the Director of Transportation for America.
The session runs from 6:30 to 8:00 in the Fletcher Opera Theater and aims to answer questions such as:
- What will the new national transportation policy look like?
- How can Raleigh be ready to take advantage of national transportation policies and emerging resource?
- What examples are there of American cities that have adapted to the new transportation realities?
- How will high speed rail affect Raleigh?
MEET THE PRESENTERS:
John Robert Smith
is the former Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi, and a long-time activist on behalf of passenger rail. He is co-chairman of the National Forum on the Future of Passenger Rail, is a member of Amtrak’s board, and a member of the transportation committees of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He is a veteran of the station-centered community development movement, and led the drive to renovate the City of Meridian’s Union Station, a $7 million historic restoration project that created a new multimodal transportation center, dramatically increased use of the station, raised property values and city tax receipts, and lowered crime in the station’s neighborhood. He served on Reconnecting America’s board for five years, and was a founding partner and board member of Reconnecting America’s predecessor organization, the Great American Station Foundation, voting to expand its mission and change its name in 2004.
James Corless is the Director of Transportation for America , a coalition of over 250 organizations working to promote a new national transportation policy that’s smarter, safer, cleaner and provides more choice. Prior to Transportation for America, Mr. Corless was a senior planner for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the San Francisco Bay Area where he managed the agency’s efforts to promote smarter growth, transit-oriented development and mobility options for low-income communities. Mr. Corless was the author of California’s groundbreaking Safe Routes to School law and legislation that paved the way for smart growth “blueprints” to become part of the regional transportation planning process throughout the state.
For more information and to pre-register to attend email trisha.hasch@ci.raleigh.nc.us or call 919.807.8480.
Find directions to the Performing Arts Center and parking locations at www.progressenergycenter.com and click on “An Evening Out.” Find information on public transportation at www.triangletransit.org
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Raleigh honors requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served most effectively if notice is provided at least 48 hours before each event. Call 919-996-3000 to request special accommodations.
ALL LECTURES ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
www.raleighnc.gov
Not-So-Busy Week Ahead in Raleigh
While there is always plenty to do in the Raleigh area, this weekend is one of the slower ones we’ve seen in a while.
Tonight is NCSU’s second-biggest home game of the year, Duke. Raycom is covering the game. The Hurricanes are a way for a couple of games, but will return for a matinee game against Boston on Sunday. It will be Eric Staal’s first home game as the team’s Captain.
In the theater, the Band of the Irish Guard will be at Memorial Auditorium on Monday night while Vince Gill plays in Durham tomorrow night (Thursday). Scott Angrave will be performing at Charlie Goodnights thru the weekend, beginning Thursday.
At the RBC Center this weekend, get ready for Monster Jam, running Friday and Saturday.
If you are one of the few who hasn’t seen Avatar yet, now is a better time than ever, as some seats still remain for a couple of the weekend showings at IMAX. The movie’s 3D version is still running a few theaters, with Southpoint being the only location with the Dolby 3D (though I hear the experience is relatively similar to the RealD format in the Raleigh theaters). My only suggestion is to avoid the Atlantic Springs location due to their small screen sizes.
Also, Winterfest is still going on in downtown Raleigh, so there is still good outdoor ice skating available. Otherwise, if you know of any other fun events, let us know in the comments!
For more on these and other events, consult the Gogoraleigh DoIt Calendar . There is still plenty to do, so let’s go DO IT!
Canes Assign Staal the “C”
Today the Carolina Hurricanes named Eric Staal as the new team captain for the squad. Outgoing captain, Rod Brind’Amour will remain as an Assistant-Captain.
Varsity Men’s Wear Moving to North Hills
Varsity Mens Wear
, one of the only remaining non-anchor tenants in its original space in Crabtree Valley Mall, is closing up shop and moving to North Hills
East
in the space next to Charlotte’s. (
That sure is close to Lile’s
) Hopefully they will bring back the tartan carpet!! (not likely)
I am certainly more out of touch with Crabtree than ever, but I can only think of Hudson Belk, Kanki, Merle Norman, and the Hallmark store as being the only remaining original tenants in their original spaces. Is there one I’m missing?
Bruegger’s Coming to North Hills East
It isn’t exactly news that
Bruegger’s Bagels
is coming to NHE, but the location is set, though. Brueggers looks like they are going for a March opening in the free-standing building located between the Captrust tower and Dartmouth drive. The store resembles the Ben & Jerry’s/Starbucks building in NHW, and is surrounded by ample surface parking. Now wouldn’t it be neat if they would twitter their daily soup selection…
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