The first rooftop bar in Holly Springs is now open. Here’s what to know
Few places in downtown Holly Springs stay open past 10 p.m.
For most residents, a night out means heading to nearby towns like Raleigh, Durham or Cary’s Fenton.
But a new rooftop bar in the heart of downtown opened this month to try to change that.
Nightingale Rooftop Restaurant & Bar sits atop The Block on Main, a mixed-use building in Holly Springs’ village district.
The bar is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday from 2 to 8 p.m. It will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.
‘High atop Holly Springs’
Who has opened the new bar? Nightingale Rooftop is owned by Christy and Matt Griffith, the current owners of Pimiento Tea Room, and Chris Harol, a real estate developer and a co-owner of The Block on Main.
The couple moved to Holly Springs from Raleigh in 2006 and Harol moved to the town in 2011. They have watched Holly Springs grow to over 47,000 residents and have identified the new demands for the area.
Pimiento Tea Room, located inside a nearly 200-year-old house at 200 N. Main St., opened in December 2020 and serves lunch, dinner and brunch with a diverse tea and tea-based cocktail menu. Christy Griffith is also the chef.
The Griffiths saw a need for cocktail lounges and wanted to give Holly Springs a first-of-its-kind bar.
“We wanted to bring something exciting, a little upscale and build on the nightlife,” Matt Griffith said. “There’s a very small nightlife down here.”
How did they choose the name? The “nightingale” name was one of the first ideas for the restaurant since it is perched “high atop Holly Springs,” overlooking the downtown area.
“Well, nightingale, obviously, you can picture flying in the sky,” Christy Griffith said. “(The restaurant) kind of lends itself to not only like a more upscale place in the evenings but it also can be felt like a place that you could picture yourself having brunch as well, which we plan to introduce after we get our separate service up and running.”
What’s on tap for the menu? Nightingale will also serve globally inspired small plates. In the future, the rooftop will be an option for private events or special occasions.
The menu, like Pimiento’s, will be seasonal and emphasize fresh ingredients. Christy Griffith makes it a point to source the food locally.
“I think it’s important for everyone, and you support the local farmers who are growing your food and you’re not contributing to the carbon footprint by having food shipped all over the world that you don’t need to,” she said. “Food just tastes best when it’s in season.”
About The Block on Main
Two years ago, Harol and a group of business owners opened The Block on Main.
The 52,530-square-foot building has nine tenants, including Mamma Mia Italian Bistro, JT’s Creamery, and Prana Yoga.
Between jobs and new businesses, The Block on Main and the Town Hall Commons had an impact of $85 million in 2018. Because the establishments have added about 50 businesses and created 500 jobs, they have an annual impact of $49.7 million.
Harol said revamping the downtown district is integral to the town’s future. Harol hopes downtown Holly Springs will be similar to what downtown Cary is like where there are walkable, different entertainment spots spread out throughout the area.
“But it’s a challenge in Holly Springs because we have so many private landowners intermingled within everything downtown,” he said.
The Block on Main building was created with the idea of having a rooftop bar. Harol said he sought out the Griffiths because he liked their Pimiento Tea Room.
“They were my number one choice, the one and only people that I reached out to,” Harol said. “Pimiento Tea Room is one of those places that when you go, you’re going to be talking about it the next day.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 10:56 AM.