Jul

Gallery C Moves Downtown

I recently received a press release referring to an interesting retail move. Gallery C has moved from Ridgewood Shopping Center to the Blount Street Commons area in downtown. Here is more from the pre-move press release:

Blondie Coming to the DPAC

On Wednesday, September 21, Blondie will make their way to the DPAC. Tickets go on sale Friday (7/15).

Posted by Dana on July 10, 2011 | Tags: Music , RTP/Dur/CH . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jul

Widespread Coming to The Walt

On Tuesday Widespread Panic announced their Fall tour, which includes a return to the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater on Friday, September 23. DJ Logic opens. The public ticket sale begins tomorrow morning (7/8) at Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are general admission and cost $42.50 before added fees. The band also announced that their annual New Years Eve concert will take place this year at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena. Ticket info for this is not released yet.

Posted by Dana on July 8, 2011 | Tags: Music . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jul

World “Football” Challenge Coming to Carter-Finley

Good news, soccer fans! On Thursday, July 28, Juventus and CD Guadalajara will meet at Carter-Finley Stadium as part of the 14-game World Football Challenge series. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (7/8) at 10am.

Posted by Dana on July 7, 2011 | Tags: Sports . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jul

A Better Rail Plan

Yesterday the Passenger Rail Task Force (PRTF) presented their recommendation for planning light rail lines through downtown Raleigh . The group has been pouring through the details about not only servicing downtown points of interest with the rail lines, but also how such lines will impact traffic. The PRTF concluded that Plan D6A is the plan that makes most economic, transportation, environmental, and logistical sense.

Plan D6A takes the line coming from North Raleigh off of the rail corridors and onto downtown Raleigh city streets just north of Logan’s. The line then travels down Salisbury Street by the legislature to the Capitol where it turns and (after making two turns at intersections) basically finds its way up Morgan street to Charlie Goodnights where it joins the existing rail corridor to head west. The East/Northbound line takes a slightly different approach. It enters downtown on Morgan Street, turns left onto Wilmington Street in front of the Capitol, and heads north to Logan’s where it joins into the existing rail corridor.

There are several reasons the group selected Plan D6A. By exiting the rail line at Charlie Goodnights, the system is able to avoid expensive maneuvers to negotiate the “wye” near the existing Amtrak station. While downtown, the plan makes use of light rail’s biggest strength, its ability to become a cable car on a city street. (Evidently the plan now calls for light rail trains that can negotiate sharp turns in downtown intersections. My understanding was that they favored a vehicle that could only negotiate sweeping turns).

Setting aside the fact that all of the considered plans are estimated to cost anywhere from 1.4 to 1.6 BILLION dollars and do not serve RDU or the RBC Center, we can still make a better plan than any of those examined by the task force.

The gogoraleigh Plan

If we are going to spend $1.5B on a transit entity, it needs to serve the existing needs of real people. It should not serve only as a Park & Ride service for downtown’s state government workers, it must also be the backbone for future private developments while including some of today’s most popular destinations and residential centers.

Faulty Pillars

All published plans have been built upon four primary faulty pillars. In order to get the best plan, each of these pillars needs to be reconstructed or the system will have severe flaws.

Trip Report: Carowinds

Since the park’s opening in 1973, Carowinds has entertained people for much of the Charlotte area. The only problem is that the park didn’t stand up the offerings by other parks 4-5 hours up/down Interstate 85. Therefore it simply could not compete for customers beyond an hour’s drive away. Those days are over.

Built as a celebration of the Carolinas, Carowinds offered just the basics typically offered by a regional amusement park. Even with the acquisition by the Taft Corporation and later Paramount, the park remained the bastard child to siblings Kings Dominion, Great America, Kings Island, and Canada’s Wonderland. In 2006, however, the parks were all purchased by Cedar Fair , the operator of Cedar Point (Sandusky, Ohio), the coaster capital of the world. Cedar Fair acquisition isn’t always a blessing, as the company disbanded a nice Geauga Lake park in Aurora, OH. Rides from that park were sent to the remaining parks, including Carowinds. Luckily, though, Carowinds was the recipient of intense attention from Cedar Fair, and the park now stands as a peer to Kings Dominion , Busch Gardens , and Six Flags Over Georgia . In fact, the park has some advantages over each of those listed.

Apartment Project Planned for Morgan/Hillsborough

Earlier this year a Charlotte development firm submitted plans to the city for a two-building apartment complex at Hillsborough and Morgan Streets. Bolton has occupied this land which sits behind the Jade Garden Chinese restaurant.

The plan (.pdf) for West Morgan Apartments calls for two 4-story buildings which will house a total of 249 apartment units. Parking will mostly be in underground spaces, though there will be some elevated parking at the Morgan Street elevation. The architectural style is blah blah blah, but the project will address much pent-up demand for apartment space in downtown Raleigh.

map it

Posted by Dana on July 5, 2011 | Tags: Uncategorized. | ( 0 ) Comments

Jun

Chipotle Opening August 30

The 2316 Hillsborough Street location of Chipotle will open August 30, 13 days after classes begin. Currently the chain is working on opening their first Fayetteville store, which opens on July 12.

Posted by Dana on June 30, 2011 | Tags: Food , Renovations . | ( 1 ) Comment

Jun

Umphrey’s McGee, Krewe Coming to The Walt

On Thursday, September 1, Umphrey’s McGee will return to The Walt in downtown Raleigh. Opening will be Toubab Krewe.

Posted by Dana on June 30, 2011 | Tags: Music . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jun

Chick-Fil-A Crossroads Closing for Remodel

One of the area’s most popular Chick-Fil-A locations, the Crossroads Plaza store, will close temporarily “from July 9 thru early August” for remodeling. Alternative sites are: Cary Town Center, Waverly Place, North Hills, Crabtree Valley Mall, and Glenwood Avenue (Townridge Square). Check the store’s website for updates on the opening date.

Posted by Dana on June 29, 2011 | Tags: Cary/Apex , Food . | ( 1 ) Comment

Jun

Wilco/Lowe Coming to The Walt

On Tuesday, September 27, Wilco will return to Raleigh to play The Walt. It is the release date of their new album, “The Whole Love”. Nick Lowe opens. No word on tickets yet.

Posted by Dana on June 29, 2011 | Tags: Downtown , Music . | ( 0 ) Comments

Jun

Needed: An Enchiladaria

If I ever found myself in a position of saying “It ain’t my money. I seriously do not care”, I would open something that would be a hit in Raleigh; an enchiladaria. I recently saw an episode of Mexico: One Plate at a Time where Rick Bayless featured La Casa de las Enchiladas in Mexico City. The restaurant is based on four pillars upon which customers can build their masterpiece. They pick from one of five types of tortillas, pick a filling, pick a sauce, select garnishes. If the tortillas are made in-house (area restaurants sorely need improvement with their tortillas), this could be an outstanding concept.