‘A special place.’ Popular Glenwood South cocktail bars close after a decade in business
C. Grace and Empress Room, two of the earliest craft cocktail bars in the Triangle and a destination for Raleigh jazz fans amid the escalating party of Glenwood Avenue, have closed.
Catrina Godwin, the bars’ owner, announced the closings last month on the bars’ Facebook pages.
“To all the many guests and musicians who graced our room, became friends and supported us - thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Godwin wrote. “You made the journey worth it and filled my evenings with delight, fun stories and fond memories. Our doors may close, but I, and my family, will always treasure the last decade at C. Grace and Empress. Thank you.”
C. Grace opened in 2011 with sister bar, Empress Room, opening upstairs a year later. The bars opened as America saw a renaissance of craft cocktails, becoming two of the first spots to put together an innovative and classic menu of drinks.
Bar manager Matthew Bettinger, who is now Godwin’s son-in-law, initially launched those beverage programs, helping establish them as two popular Glenwood bars.
“It’s a bummer for sure,” Bettinger said of the closings. “Things have their natural evolution and that page has closed.”
In the last decade, Glenwood has cemented its spot as Raleigh’s nightlife center. C. Grace and Empress offered a bit of a different speed and were renowned for live music. Its building was also a frequent stop for photographers, who snapped photos of the massive mural on the side of the building that featured a regal-look cat with a crown and flowers.
“C. Grace was a special place. It was a special place for a lot of people,” Bettinger said. “Its impact was far beyond the Glenwood scene, it was just an amazing add for Raleigh. It was a unique room, a place where you could get a killer cocktail and hear great jazz.”
