Triangle restaurants faced a brutal 2020. Here are the ones that closed this year.
In this year of loss and separation, we’ve never missed restaurants more.
Closing out 2020, the pandemic continues and bars and restaurants leave behind a year of pivoting, of takeout and online ordering, of outdoor dining and half-filled dining rooms.
As bars and restaurants hunker down for winter, a new round of stimulus relief and cocktails to go may help some businesses stay afloat.
Since March, when the pandemic came for North Carolina, the Triangle has lost dozens of restaurants. Some were generational favorites, some were promising up-and-comers, some were quietly beloved neighborhood joints, others were lunchtime standbys that made the days better.
Here is our running list of restaurants in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and elsewhere in the Triangle that have announced their permanent closings, with a brief appreciation of where they fit in our lives:
▪ B. Good: This national chain has pulled out of North Carolina during the pandemic, closing locations in Durham, North Hills and downtown Raleigh.
▪ Bar Brunello: This beloved Durham wine bar will close at the end of December. Bar Brunello developed a national reputation and a local following as one of the top wine bars anywhere for natural and orange wines.
▪ Cameron Bar & Grill: After Memorial Day, this longtime Cameron Village restaurant announced it had closed permanently after a decade of business. Cameron Bar & Grill was one of the last remaining concepts of Eschelon Experiences, which owns The Haymaker and Edwards Mill Bar & Grill.
▪ Chronic Tacos: California-based taco chain that’s been in the Triangle since 2016, closing three locations in Wake Forest, Chapel Hill and Raleigh.
▪ Chuck’s Burgers: Downtown Raleigh burger joint by chef Ashley Christensen. Some menu items will move onto the menu of Beasley’s Chicken + Honey, which will expand into the space.
▪ City Kitchen: This Giorgios Bakatsias spot in Chapel Hill spent most of the pandemic closed. In September, it announced on Facebook that the closure would be permanent after unsuccessful lease negotiations. Combined with City Market’s predecessor Spice Street, the closing concludes two decades in the University Place shopping center for Bakatsias.
▪ Criterion: If your drink is a shot and a beer, this was your bar. Criterion closed at the beginning of the pandemic and was never able to reopen, finally announcing it would close permanently in December. The bar featured an extensive tap list of craft beer and whiskey and was one of the great gathering spots in the heart of downtown Durham. The closing of Criterion, and of Whiskey in the same space before it, leaves a hole in the Bull City’s bar scene.
▪ DeeLuxe Chicken: The chicken sandwich spot from Rick Robinson and Scott Howell has closed after two years on Durham’s Broad Street.
▪ East Durham Bake Shop: This pie and pastry shop in Durham closed for good in September after two-and-half years on Driver Street.
▪ Elmo’s Diner: The Carrboro location of one of the Triangle’s most beloved diners announced in mid-September that it would not reopen. Elmo’s Carrboro spent nearly three decades as a breakfast staple, but closed in March as COVID restrictions were first put in place. Eventually, its owners wrote on Facebook, creating a safe plan for a small, crowded kitchen proved impossible.
▪ Gateway Restaurant: After three decades, the beloved Gateway Restaurant announced it had closed for good in mid-May. Owned by the Rohweder family since the 1980s, Gateway had survived for years as one of the few businesses in Gateway Plaza in Raleigh. But just as the shopping center was finishing up a major renovation and adding new tenants, the coronavirus pandemic hit.
▪ Gonza Tacos y Tequila: Early in the pandemic, the popular Triangle restaurant group Gonza Tacos y Tequila closed its busy Durham location, reportedly over a lease dispute with its landlord. The restaurant has other locations throughout the Triangle, in Raleigh and Cary.
▪ Gov’t. Cheeseburger: This Cary burger joint became the patron saint of the pandemic pivot. In the early days of the coronavirus, the kitchen crew of Postmaster shut down its fine dining menu and reopened with new burgers, pickles and a prayer. After months of serving up melty burger bombs, Gov’t Cheeseburger closed in November.
▪ HieuBowl Vietnamese Kitchen: Located near Meredith College, this space served some of the best bowls of pho in Raleigh.
▪ High Horse: The Raleigh restaurant from “Top Chef” alum Katsuji Tanabe closed after less than a year. Its opening last November was one of the highest profile events of the Raleigh dining scene in 2019, as the celebrity chef moved his family from Los Angeles to the Triangle. Tanabe has since signed on to run the kitchen at Vidrio on Glenwood Avenue.
▪ James Pharmacy: This seafood-centric neighborhood restaurant in the middle of Hillsborough announced its temporary closing had become a permanent one. James Pharmacy took over the former La Place space and was known for raw North Carolina oysters and fried seafood.
▪ Jordan Lake Brewing: This five year-old Cary brewery closed earlier this year, but will live on as a part of Cotton House Craft Brewers. Cotton House announced in November it had bought the closed brewery and would reopen it as its Cary brewhouse in 2021.
▪ K&W Cafeterias: The cafeteria and buffet-style restaurant has found it hard to navigate the pandemic. In August, the Triangle lost two of its three K&W Cafeteria locations, including the iconic Cameron Village restaurant. Only one K&W remains in Raleigh, leaving a long legacy of affordable comfort food and generations of memories.
▪ Lady Luck: The glitzy and ambitious Glenwood Avenue restaurant in Raleigh opened and closed in the pandemic.
▪ Linus & Pepper’s: A South Salisbury Street sandwich shop from Local Icon Hospitality known for homemade chips and a pork belly banh mi. It was next door to sister restaurant Virgil’s Original Taqueria, which also closed.
▪ Liquid State: Located on Hillsborough Street near NC State’s campus, this coffee shop and nighttime bar announced on Facebook it would close after five years.
▪ Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza: Located on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill for the past three years.
▪ Lucky’s Delicatessen: This ode to the New Jersey deli was one of the stars of the downtown Durham lunch scene. But with workers largely cleared out of offices, Lucky’s closed during the summer, leaving behind only memories of matzo ball soup, smoked salmon on bagels and eggplant parm subs. But sandwich lovers should take comfort in the space’s new tenant, Alimentari at Mothers & Sons. As the sister restaurant to Italian restaurant Mothers & Sons next door, Alimentari features Italian-American classics, like chicken parm subs and meatballs, plus fresh pasta, sauces and antipasti to go.
▪ Lula’s: This Franklin Street restaurant in Chapel Hill opened in 2018 in the former Spanky’s space, serving cast iron fried chicken and biscuits.
▪ Northern Spy: This Durham cider house served a fun menu of pub food and helped initiate the Triangle to Denver-based Stem Ciders. The restaurant closed in July, just over a year after opening in the former Black Twig Cider House spot.
▪ Oak City Meatball Shoppe: This downtown Raleigh spot was a fixture for the lunch crowd of downtown workers, serving a wide variety of meatballs on Davie Street. The restaurant has been closed since the fall, but is expecting to reopen.
▪ Oakwood Cafe: For more than 20 years, this Cuban and Argentine restaurant fed loyal fans in downtown Raleigh.
▪ Papa Shogun: When this Seaboard Station restaurant opened in 2018, it was one of the most inventive restaurants to hit the Triangle in years. With dishes like chicken parm ramen and kombu gnocchi, Papa Shogun combined Japanese and Italian dishes in endlessly creative ways. As the restaurant entered its second year, the COVID pandemic set in before Papa Shogun could find its footing.
▪ Pharaoh’s: Owned by George McNeill, the North Hills Pharaoh’s was sold after more than 20 years of serving classic hot dogs and hamburgers.
▪ Pharmacy Cafe: This Person Street spot had a loyal following with the Raleigh lunch crowd.
▪ Royale: This dreamy downtown Raleigh French restaurant made the classics feel modern, served up in a dining room of distressed walls and glass. After a couple months of take-home menus, including pizza and burgers, Royale closed following protests in downtown Raleigh. It never reopened.
▪ Sub Conscious Subs: As Hillsborough Street restaurants have turned over and over in the past 30 years, Sub Conscious stood among the few survivors. This fall, this beloved sandwich shop announced it will not reopen.
▪ Soul Cocina: Serving all-vegan Latin American cuisine, Soul Cocina closed its location inside the Blue Dogwood Public Market in Chapel Hill, but still operates at local farmers markets, selling tamales, juice and salsa.
▪ Special Treats: After three years in business, this non-profit chocolate shop in Chapel Hill’s Timberlyne shopping center closed in July. The chocolate shop was started by Dan Friedman, whose son is on the autism spectrum, and hired workers with disabilities to sell and make its sweet treats.
▪ Tobacco Road Sports Cafe: The Chapel Hill location of this popular Triangle sports bar won’t reopen, owners announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page, though locations in Durham and Raleigh will remain open. In a statement, Tobacco Road owed the closing of the Chapel Hill location largely to the cancellation of this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which it said is the busiest month of the year.
▪ Town Hall Grill: After a decade, this Chapel Hill restaurant in Southern Village closed to make way for a rebranding. It plans to reopen as a new Italian concept with an emphasis on fresh pastas.
▪ Trali Irish Pub: The Morrisville location of this Triangle Irish pub closed, but owners vow to keep the Brier Creek location open.
▪ Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar: The Triangle location of this South Carolina-based wine bar has closed its spot in Morrisville.
▪ Trophy Tap & Table: This two-story South Wilmington Street restaurant is part of the Trophy Brewing family. (Some may remember when it was the Busy Bee Cafe.) Famous for its tater tots, the owners said they intend to put a new concept in the space.
▪ True Flavors: This enormously popular RTP restaurant expanded to Durham’s Lakewood neighborhood in 2018, adding a new biscuit concept called Debbie Lou’s along the way. The restaurant closed in August, consolidating both concepts within its RTP location, but keeping its brunch dreams alive.
▪ Tyler’s Taproom: The closing of the Carrboro location of Tyler’s Taproom ends a run of one of the largest beer menus in the Triangle.
▪ Urban Turban: After a decade of business in Cary, this Mediterranean restaurant closed in July. The owners said that gift certificates will be honored at sister restaurant Falafel 54 in Durham, near the Research Triangle Park.
▪ Virgil’s Original Taqueria: The taco shop and tequila bar from Local Icon Hospitality, located in downtown Raleigh on South Salisbury Street, closed earlier this year. But it has since reopened as Virgil’s Cocktails & Cocina.
▪ Zinburger: There were once more than a dozen Zinburger locations up and down the East Coast, but after the initial shutdown in March, only New Jersey locations were reopened, the burger and wine bar company said on its website. With that, the Southpoint mall location in Durham was also shuttered permanently.
▪ Zoe’s Kitchen: The four Triangle locations of the popular Mediterranean fast-casual chain closed, according to the company’s website.
