Triangle Foodie News: Duck Donuts coming to north Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. —

Wake County News

The Duck Donuts location in Cary shared on Facebook that they are coming to north Raleigh. They will open their next location at Towne North (Creedmoor & Strickland) in December 2015.

The News & Observer noted this week that Garner has its first bottle shop. The Beerded Lady Bottle Shop opened this week at 1350 Fifth Avenue near the intersection of Vandora Springs Road and U.S. Highway 70. Congratulations to Shannon Cummings and Antares Nicklow. The bar and craft beer bottle shop, where people can grab a brew and hang out or shop and take a six-pack and growlers for the road, has 12 taps that will rotate. To start, six North Carolina breweries - Mother Earth, Wicked Weed, Fullsteam, Mystery Brewing, Star Point and Haw River - are included in that mix.

Blackjack Brewing Co. announced via Facebook leaving Raleigh and moving its operations to Wilmington. But don’t worry too much, Blackjack’s space near the Five Points area won’t be empty for long. Lynnwood Grill and Brewing Concern plans to take over the space as a brewery and taphouse. Blackjack will close at the end of this month, and Lynnwood should be up and running in the space by the end of October.

It’s been one year since World of Beer-Cary opened its doors and to celebrate the tavern is hosting an anniversary party for the community on Sept. 16. Beginning at 5 p.m. that day, Wicked Weed Brewing will take over the taps. There will also be live music and special food offerings. World of beer is located at 2036 Renaissance Park Place.

Saw in the Shelby Food Service magazine that Cara Stacy, Gray Brooks and Jay Owens, the team behind downtown Durham’s Pizzeria Toro, will open a diner in the soon-to-be-renovated Jack Tar hotel about a block from the pizzeria. The opening is projected for summer 2016. While the hotel is likely to be renamed, the diner will be called Jack Tar Diner. We will keep an eye on this one!

Also in Durham, Duke University announced that the folks behind Geer Street Garden and The Boot will be will operating the pub space in the new West Union on campus. The casual dining restaurant, known as The Devil's Krafthouse, will serve as one of the the premier venues for social gathering on campus. The restaurant will offer classic pub fare alongside a variety of beverages to include local microbrew selections. The Devil’s Krafthouse is scheduled to open in February of 2016.

Got word from friend Amy Ising that Merlion Restaurant in Chapel Hill’s Southern Village has closed their doors. Sorry to see them go.

Also, John Huisman (aka Triangle Explorer) informed me about the fact that every Thursday from September through November, the Town of Knightdale is hosting "Food Truck Thursdays" with a new food truck scheduled each week. The weekly truck will be parked at Knightdale Station Park near the amphitheater each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For a listing of ALL food truck events, head over to Art Sheppard's page, The Wandering Sheppard on all things food truck related here.

Tickets have gone on sale for one of the biggest foodie events around - the TerraVita Food & Drink Festival, which will be held in Chapel Hill Oct. 8-10. It simply can't be missed.

One of my kids’ favorite events each year is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science’s Bugfest which will be held this year on Saturday, September 19th. And one of their favorite parts of this event is Cafe Insecta where the brave can sample buggy dishes prepared by local chefs. Yummmm!?!?! Get all the details here.

Felicia Perry-Trujillo sent word over that Kim Hunter of Kimbap Cafe and Brent Hopkins of Empire Food Group are doing a pop up supper club dinner in Nash Square on Sept. 20.

It is that time of the year again for the Southern Ideal Home Show at the NC State Fairgrounds. This year it will be held Sept. 25 - 27 and it will again feature their popular Brews and Bites event each day which highlights food and drinks from local restaurants, breweries and wineries. Lots of great choices and giveaways each day.

The Carolina RailHawks will be hosting the 4th Annual RailHawks Homebrew Soktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 26. The pre-game festivities will begin at 5:30 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park and will run until 7:15 pm, followed by the RailHawks NASL match against Ottawa Fury FC. Soktoberfest is the RailHawks take on a German Oktoberfest, but with a focus on local craft and home brewers. A combination of German-themed food samples and traditional North Carolina fare, live music presented by ReverbNation, local craft beer, and homebrewed beer.

Academy Street Bistro and TOPO Distillery are partnering to host a cocktail party to benefit the Interfaith Food Shuttle on October 1st at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will enjoy four different cocktails, each with a different aged spirit from TOPO and heavy hors d'oeuvres. The cost is $20 per person. Make reservations by calling 919-377-0509.

On Sunday, Oct. 4 from 1-4 p.m., the guys behind the soon-to-open Picnic in Durham (Wyatt Dickson and Ben Adams) will be joined by Texas (and soon to be South Carolina) pit-master John Lewis on Green Button Farm for a Sunday afternoon picnic. This is an opportunity to get up close and personal with these barbecue legends! In addition to the whole hog and beef brisket, they’ll also serve up seasonal sides, alongside chilled wine & beer from Wine Authorities, Ponysaurus and Fullsteam.

You’ll want to go ahead and mark your calendar for the 2nd Annual Triangle Oktoberfest coming to Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre on October 3rd and 4th. There will be some great authentic German fare as well as some amazing breweries.

The town of Holly Springs is holding their 6th Annual Chili Cook-Off on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Holly Springs Farmers Market from 9 - 12:30 p.m. This is a wonderful community event, where both amateurs and professionals compete for both the judges’ approval as well as their fellow citizens with the People’s Choice award.

And if you are into eating healthier, you might want to go ahead and get this event on your calendar - the 2015 Triangle Vegfest which will be held at Moore Square and City Market in downtown Raleigh on Saturday, Oct. 17 from noon until 5 p.m.

While you’re at it, make sure you mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 17 (4-8 p.m.) for Knightdale's Drafts & Crafts Festival. This event will be held at the Knightdale Station Park and feature local wineries, breweries, vendors selling beer/wine related crafts/artwork, music and food trucks.