Cook Out looks to open a new restaurant in the Triangle. Here’s where
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cook Out will open a new restaurant at 1001 E. Williams St. in Apex soon.
- Cook Out purchased the Williams Street property in 2024, county records show.
- Veridea Crossing construction is underway and is expected to deliver in late 2027.
The popular fast-food chain Cook Out will soon open a new restaurant in the Triangle.
The location in Apex, the chain’s first in the town, is something Mayor Jacques Gilbert has advocated for since he took office in 2019, he told The News & Observer by phone.
High school students used to tell Gilbert he’d be “the GOAT mayor” if he delivered the restaurant to the town. Now years after “bugging” North Carolina-based Cook Out to open a location in Apex, Gilbert will soon claim that coveted status, the Greatest Of All Time.
The restaurant is at 1001 E. Williams St., the site of a former Skipper’s Seafood and Smokehouse next to Dallas Famous Chicken N’ Biscuits on N.C. 55.
Cook Out bought the Williams Street property in 2024, Wake County real estate records show. The N&O reached out to Cook Out for comment.
When is the Apex Cook Out opening?
Gilbert’s social media followers may have seen his videos offering inside looks and status updates on the restaurant. In recent weeks, the mayor has shared news of hiring events, signs being installed on the exterior walls and construction coming together inside.
Cook Out has a large presence across the Triangle, including in Raleigh, Cary, Garner, Durham, Knightdale, Wake Forest, Fuquay-Varina and Chapel Hill.
Apex isn’t listed as “coming soon” on the chain’s website, but Gilbert has been inside the belly of the milkshake-mixing beast and said Cook Out is opening in the town “real, real soon.”
Gilbert said he’s excited to have a Cook Out in Apex. (His go-to order? An Oreo milkshake.)
Development in Apex
Gilbert said he’d like to bring more commercial development to the town, including retail and light industrial projects, to bring jobs to the community and improve the local economy.
And Cook Out isn’t the only development he’s supported.
Construction is underway on a $100 million retail village named Veridea Crossing. The project, expected to deliver in late 2027, will include 220,000 square feet of retail and office space across more than a dozen one- and two-story buildings. New York-based developer RXR expects to begin making announcements about incoming tenants in coming months.
Veridea Crossing is a part of the $3 billion Veridea development being built out over the next decade. Retail and office space, plus a Wake Technical Community College campus, the North Carolina Children’s Hospital, up to 8,000 residential units, a new public elementary school, industrial space and outdoor amenities including dog parks, trails and bike paths are all planned for the 1,100-acre development.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 4:08 PM.
