Former Newspaper's Staff To Reunite For Bar's Opening

The Raleigh Times

stopped publication so

The News and Observer

could get stronger. The same company owned both papers. Now, after several years,

The Raleigh Times

will open its doors again.

It's a picture that helps tell the story of

The Raleigh Times

. Taken in 1912, it's now the focus of the old newspaper building on Hargett Street. Empire Properties spent $1 million restoring the landmark to its original look. Now, instead of being a place for writing stories, it will be a place where stories are told.

A bar called "The Raleigh Times" opens to the public in two weeks. But before that could happen, the developer thought it needed to be christened. That's what's happening in a historic way on Friday night.

"This was one of the most important buildings in town because this is where people got their news," said developer Greg Hatem. "News of the day is the first edition of history, and history is real important, especially as Raleigh is changing."

Seventy former employees from across the country will gather at the bar for the christening -- from those who captured the pictures to those who wrote the stories.

"The old stories are nonstop," said former photographer Karen Tam.

Times

reporter Dudley Price now works for

The News and Observer

.

"(One employee) had a t-shirt that anything else was yesterday's news," said Price. "It was. That's how we felt."

The former

Times

crew will all talk about their time in Raleigh,

The Raleigh Times

, and their commitment to news.

"On a hot day, we were wondering if you could fry an egg on a car hood," said Price. "So someone went out and broke an egg on a car hood, and for the record, you can't."

Some high-profile former employees plan to attend the reunion. The most notable: Arthur Sulzberger, who is the current publisher of

The New York Times

. He worked for

The Raleigh Times

in the mid-1970's.