Acclaimed Raleigh restaurant expands this week with a downtown Durham location
One of the most prominent dining spaces in downtown Durham has been revived by one of the Triangle’s most exciting new restaurant concepts.
The acclaimed Cheeni Indian Emporium will open a second location this week, moving into the former Jack Tar space in Durham.
This new location, known simply as Cheeni, debuts Nov. 7 for dinner service. The restaurant will be reservation only for the first two weeks as it finds its footing.
“We are THRILLED and NERVOUS and EXCITED and PROUD and totally buzzing with the prospect of having you here, with us, at Cheeni for dinner,” the restaurant posted on Instagram.
Owner and chef Preeti Waas opened the first Cheeni Indian Emporium in North Raleigh’s Falls River Town Center in 2022, creating an all-day space for snacks, lunch, tea or ticketed cooking classes in a teaching kitchen. On the menu, Waas cooked from the perspective of her childhood and culinary career, offering distinctive versions of familiar dishes.
“I have what I would consider a tight menu, it’s not all over the place,” Waas said in 2022. “I don’t need to be everything to everybody. The idea of coming to Cheeni is as if you were coming to my home.”
This year Waas was named a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Southeast.
The new Durham Cheeni, at 202 Corcoran St., will build on that brand, offering a larger space and a more traditional restaurant format.
Jack Tar closed in March of 2023 after five years in business as a kind of modern diner in the heart of downtown Durham.
Waas announced in September that she would take over the space with a new Cheeni.
Reservations for the new Cheeni in Durham are now live, including for the debut dinner service on Nov. 7. For more information, visit cheeniraleigh.com/cheeni-durham.
