The Triangle lost some restaurant legends in 2024. Here are the ones we’ll miss most
There are always restaurants where we wish we could have one more meal or have one more chance to slip onto a barstool.
In 2024, the Triangle bar and restaurant scene lost some legends, from promising fine dining spots that might have missed their moment, to neighborhood icons with decades-long legacies.
Here are bars and restaurants we bid farewell to in 2024.
Linda’s
Chapel Hill
One of the most heartbreaking restaurant losses in 2024 came from Franklin Street, as longtime UNC favorite Linda’s bowed out after 47 years in business. The owner and namesake of Linda’s suggested a search is underway for a new operator, but nothing had materialized as of yet. If this is the real end of Linda’s, it went out with a bang, selling out of just about everything in its final days.
New Anthem
Raleigh
This once-promising but now defunct Wilmington Brewery expanded to Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow development in 2023 at the height of its popularity. Riding a wave of exceptional IPAs and busy Wilmington taprooms, New Anthem closed its Raleigh taproom in an effort to help save the brand. Ultimately the brewery closed altogether in March.
Fullsteam’s original location
Durham
This is not a closing so much as an evolution. Fullsteam, one of the Triangle’s most influential breweries, closed its original taproom in Durham on Halloween night. The brewery helped establish Durham’s Geer Street corridor, the city’s so-called Drinking District, and is known as one of the South’s most innovative beermakers for the way it finds creative ways to showcase local ingredients. Fullsteam will unveil its new taproom on the American Tobacco Campus next year.
Prospects/ Devereaux
Raleigh
This pairing of restaurant and sister bar had a brief but promising run. Chef Alex Ricci crafted a monthly-changing menu highlighting North Carolina ingredients often in exciting and creative ways. The restaurant’s dining room was mostly a bar and open kitchen, which made most of the seats feel like a chef’s table with a front row look at the action.
COPA
Durham
This downtown Durham restaurant offered diners a culinary perspective on a specific time in Cuban history. This pre-revolution restaurant served dishes with a heavy Spanish influence and the menu featured a tapas style format meant for sharing. COPA, like many restaurants, encountered the daunting realities of post-COVID dining and dwindling crowds. The restaurant closed in August and its owners anticipate selling the building.
Mama Dips (as we knew it)
Chapel Hill
This legendary Chapel Hill restaurant shifted operations this year to takeout only orders. There was some initial confusion when Mama Dip’s announced it would close, but some sighs of relief when it was clarified that the restaurant was only ending dine-in service. Beloved for its traditional Southern dishes and desserts, Mama Dip’s is expected to eventually wind down operations at its longtime home on Rosemary Street as the property is on the market.
Oak City Meatball Shoppe
Raleigh
Once a neighborhood favorite for the after-work and downtown lunch hour crowd, Oak City Meatball Shoppe closed this year after more than a decade in business. This was the last operating restaurant of owner Ken Yowell whose other projects, Calavera and Kaiju had also closed in recent years.
BB’s Crispy Chicken
Durham, Raleigh
Developed by Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen, BB’s created one of the crispiest high volume chicken sandwiches you’re likely to find. Their phrase for it was “shatteringly crisp” and it was hard to disagree. Beyond the sandwiches, the star of BB’s was an array of excellent dipping sauces for the chicken, fries and cheese curds. Unfortunately, it can be hard to make a dent in the fast food chicken giants and eventually BB’s owner MDO Holdings closed two of the three locations. The Cary BB’s location at Parkside Town Commons remains open.
Fox Liquor
Raleigh
This basement bar from acclaimed chef Ashley Christensen closed its doors to regular service this year, morphing into a private events space. Born out of the cocktail boom of a few years ago, this popular bar was a substantial piece of Raleigh’s early cocktail scene. Dark but lively, Fox offered creative and precise drinks with modern speakeasy vibes.
Crawford Cookshop
Clayton
Raleigh chef Scott Crawford closed his casual downtown Clayton restaurant in October. This Johnston County outpost from the acclaimed fine dining chef served exceptional fried chicken, creative snacks and nods to Americana neighborhood restaurants.
Capital Club 16
Raleigh
After 14 years, this beloved Downtown Raleigh restaurant ended its run as one of the city’s most comforting European restaurants. With wine dinners, Oktoberfests and World Cups, Capital Club frequently made dining a communal event, while also serving as a popular downtown lunch spot. Owner Jake Wolf continues cooking with his Wandering Wolf food truck.
Young Hearts
Raleigh
This Wilmington Street spot helped launch Trophy Brewing under its original name, Busy Bee Cafe. Opening in 2009, Busy Bee was the all-day coffee and drinks concept that seemed ot offer something for everyone. But what is is best known for is its plate of loaded tater tots. Busy Bee would later become Trophy Tap & Table and then Young Hearts Distillery. This month Trophy announced it was selling the building.
Smiths Smokehouse & Smoothies
Wake Forest
One of the Triangle’s most distinctive smokehouses closed this fall in Wake Forest. Smith’s Smokehouse started as a barbecue pop up and then launched a brick and mortar, serving solid pulled pork and brisket and mac and cheese with a touch of sweetness and spice. This husband and wife restaurant also had a fruit and dessert smoothie menu.
Seaboard Cafe
Raleigh
Located inside Logan’s Garden Shop, Seaboard Cafe was at times one of Raleigh’s busiest lunch counters. As redevelopment pushes Logans to relocate, Seaboard Cafe closed in September, ending a three decade run. No one was more surprised by the popularity than its owner, Rick Perales, who pitched the cafe to Robert Logan years ago. Known for burgers, sandwiches and salads, Seaboard Cafe seemed to offer an uncommonly tranquil setting for lunch within the urban state capital.
Sam’s Bottle Shop
Durham
It’s hard to imagine craft beer in the Triangle without Sam’s, both its original Quik Shop location and Bottle Shop in South Durham. Born out of a family-owned convenience store, Sam’s helped establish an international and American craft perspective on what was going on in beer. Amid the proliferation of bottle shops over the last decade, Sam’s was the original, stocking shelves with pioneers in craft beer, hard to find Belgian and German breweries and everything in between. The Quik Stop closed at the end of 2018 and the Bottle Shop closed in early 2024.
The Goat Bar
Raleigh
One of Raleigh’s most iconic dive bars, the Goat announced it had closed after 21 years. In true dive bar fashion, it went out with a bang, with many longtime fans clamoring for any remaining merch.
Plates Kitchen
Raleigh
A bit of an outlier amid the late night bustle of Glenwood Avenue, Plates was the corridor’s neighborhood restaurant for a decade, serving comfort and seasonality. Plates will perhaps best be remembered for its annual charity Thanksgiving dinners, which benefited various local food security organizations and always sold out quickly.
Beyu Caffe
Durham, RTP
Downtown Durham lost an old favorite this summer when Beyu Caffe closed its longtime jazz bar and coffee shop. Pronounced “Be you” as an invitation to be yourself, Beyu was an important live music venue in downtown Durham and had expanded with several other shops on Duke’s campus and to Boxyard RTP. That RTP location also closed later this year.
Umbrella Dry Bar
Raleigh
One of the Triangle’s most ambitious and important openings this year, Umbrella Dry Bar aimed to be a social oasis without alcohol. This cocktail bar offered the Triangle’s most varied and interesting collection of spirit free drinks, including wines and mixers. Umbrella closed its brick and mortar location after a few months, but lives on in pop-ups and private events.
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