The folks behind Raleigh’s top burger are set to open a new neighborhood bar
.jpg "The new neighborhood bar Blotto opens in Raleigh on Saturday, June 14 at 1601 New Bern Ave.")
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- Neuse River Brewing team to open Blotto, a casual bar on New Bern Avenue.
- Blotto targets neighborhood crowd with simple drinks and relaxed interior.
- Blotto opens Saturday, June 14 with a food truck, outdoor patio and 2,500 sq. ft. space.
The owners of a popular Raleigh brewery are set to slide up the garage doors on their new neighborhood bar.
On the edge of downtown, Blotto will open at 1601 New Bern Ave. in the former New Bern Mini Mart.
New Raleigh bar
Neuse River Brewing owners Jennifer and Ryan Kolarov teamed up with Carl Boyajian to open Blotto, named for an old-school term for having a few too many.
“We were working on names and Carl said it, and I just stopped and said ‘What does that mean?’ It sounded cool,” Ryan Kolarov said. “I had never heard it before. When I said it in front of my grandparents they just laughed.”
Best burger in Raleigh
In Neuse River, the owners have found success with Belgian beers and a beloved burger, named the best in the city by readers of The News & Observer.
With Blotto, Ryan Kolarov said they’re aiming for something even more casual, a bar to be embraced by the neighborhood around it.
“It’s just an old-school kind of bar, nothing too crazy,” Kolarov said. “It’s for the folks on this side of town, who want to grab a drink but don’t want to mess with downtown.”
Blotto opens in a 2,500-square-foot space and will have an outdoor patio. The inside is dark, with brass accents on the wrap-around wooden bar, and a mural of a lion on the wall.
Blotto drink menu
The drinks are simple, with eight draft lines, including a nitro one for the silky black stout Guinness, often a dive bar staple.
Kolarov isn’t calling Blotto a dive bar, feeling the term is more of an honorific for a spot that’s stood the test of time.
“You earn a dive bar, you open a neighborhood bar,” Kolarov said.
Blotto will hold a grand opening Saturday, June 14 starting at 12 p.m., featuring a food truck and balloons.
“It won’t be a big loud thing,” Kolarov said. “There won’t be any jets flying over.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM.
