Longtime Raleigh sports bar closes after 18 years in business
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tobacco Road Sports Cafe’s Raleigh location abruptly closed after nearly 20 years.
- Owners said the Raleigh restaurant and brewery has closed but Durham location remains.
- Owner Raed Amra pleaded guilty to embezzling $1.7 million in state sales taxes.
A longtime bar and restaurant in Raleigh’s buzzy Glenwood South district has closed after nearly 20 years in business.
The Raleigh location of Tobacco Road Sports Cafe announced Friday afternoon that it had abruptly closed.
“After many unforgettable years, our Raleigh restaurant and brewery has closed,” owners posted on the restaurant website and social media. “We’re so grateful for every guest, team member, neighbor, and fan who made this location feel like home. This isn’t goodbye to Tobacco Road — just the closing of one chapter.”
Tobacco Road’s Durham location near the American Tobacco Campus will remain open, the owners said.
Despite the announcement saying Raleigh Tobacco Road would close as of May 29, an employee at the restaurant said it will still be open Friday and Saturday night.
Then on Monday, June 1, Clouds Brewing will take over the Tobacco Road space, John Oldendorf at Clouds Brewing confirmed in a phone call.
Tobacco Road history
Tobacco Road opened on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh in 2008 and later relocated to West Jones Street, operating as one of the city’s largest sports bars and a microbrewery.
The brand also had a location in Chapel Hill that closed during the early days of the pandemic.
Taking its name from the mythic thoroughfare connecting the Triangle’s college sports teams, Tobacco Road established itself as one of the Triangle’s top sports bars, dealing in massive square footage and TV count.
But the Raleigh location has been troubled in recent years, with owner Raed Amra pleading guilty last year to embezzling $1.7 million state sales taxes. During a plea deal last summer, Amra paid $1 million up front and had five years to pay back the balance.
The restaurant’s website says clients who had booked private parties that those events may continue “under the new owner.”
After calling the Durham location of Tobacco Road, the owners were not available for comment.
Clouds Brewing return
When Clouds Brewing takes over the Tobacco Road space at 505 W. Jones St., it will be a bit of a homecoming for the longtime Triangle brewery. Clouds departed downtown Raleigh in 2024.
That original Clouds location is right next door to Tobacco Road.
This story has been updated.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:52 PM.
