The Triangle's most anticipated restaurant openings in 2024
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Raleigh chef Scott Crawford has a growing restaurant empire. Photo: Courtesy of Raleigh Iron Works
Last year, the Triangle added a host of great new restaurants to its ever-changing dining scene.
- And this year some of the area's favorite chefs will expand their empires and a bygone favorite could be resurrected.
Here are some of the openings we are excited about in the coming months:
Crawford's quadruple
Scott Crawford stands to have a relentless year, opening up four new spots across the Triangle.
What's to come: Brodeto, Crawford's Croatian- and Italian-inspired restaurant, is anticipated to open in the coming weeks in the Raleigh Iron Works development.
- Expect a menu featuring ingredients found along the Adriatic Sea (one of Crawford's favorite places to visit) — including squid ink risotto and Croatian lamb peka.
Sous Terre, Crawford's re-imagining of the Atlantic Lounge, underneath his French restaurant Jolie in the Oakwood neighborhood, is also expected to open early this year with a new drinks menu and interior design.
Crawford Brothers Steakhouse, potentially opening this fall in the Fenton shopping district, will mark Crawford's Cary debut.
- Expect dry-aged beef and possess an extensive wine program.
Crawford will also be a part of Raleigh-Durham International Airport's effort to refresh its dining options this spring, with Crawford's Genuine in Terminal 2.
- Crawford's Genuine will have an all-day menu and a more casual, grill-focused menu.
Crook's Corner
Crook's Corner, the venerable Chapel Hill institution that helped lead Southern cuisine's cultural resurgence in the 1980s, is expected to reopen this year under the leadership of Shannon Healy.
Flashback: The pandemic delivered a fatal blow to the institution, led by notable chefs such as Bill Neal and Bill Smith throughout the years.
Driving the news: Healy, who owns Alley Twenty Six in Durham, has been working for the past two years to revive and refresh the iconic Franklin Street restaurant.
Details: An opening date is still unknown but with Healy being one of the best bartenders in the state, Crook's small bar is expected to get a significant expansion.
Location: 610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
Tamasha
Tamasha aims to create a new fine-dining Indian experience when it opens in North Hills this winter.
Driving the news: Co-owners Mike Kathrani and Tina Vora have invested heavily into the space inside of the Advance Auto Parts tower, creating a gleaming and modern dining room.
- They've also recruited chef Bhavin Chhatwani, previously of San Francisco's Taj Campton Place, to run the kitchen.
Location: 4200 Six Forks Road, Suite 130, Raleigh
Figulina
It's hard to follow up a classic, but that's what Figulina will be doing when it opens early this year in the former Humble Pie space in Raleigh's Warehouse District.
Driving the news: Humble Pie served Raleigh restaurant goers for more than 30 years before closing last fall.
- Not long after, David Ellis, the chef de cuisine at Poole's Diner, said he would open Figulina in its place.
Details: Figulina promises to be a pasta-forward endeavor without being exclusively Italian.
- Instead, it's billing itself as a combination of Italian, Southern and British cuisines.
Location: 317 S. Harrington St., Raleigh
Brewery Bhavana's expansion
Brewery Bhavana, the downtown Raleigh brewery and dim sum restaurant, plans to open a second location at the Fenton shopping district in Cary.
Why it matters: Brewery Bhavana has been one of Raleigh's most popular restaurants since it opened next to Moore Square in 2017.
- Its bet on the Fenton continues a trend of popular restaurant operators expanding to the shopping district, including Raleigh's Scott Crawford and Michael Lee of Durham.
Details: The new space will take inspiration from its downtown Raleigh location but will have a more casual feel, owner Patrick Woodson said in a statement.
- It will be smaller (2,000 square feet compared to 8,000 square feet) but will have a patio and courtyard with a beer garden.
Mala Pata
Coming from the creative minds of three of the Triangle's best restaurants, the masa-focused restaurant Mala Pata is hoping to open in Raleigh's Gateway Plaza later this year.
Details: Mala Pata is backed by chef Angela Salamanca of Raleigh's Centro and the teams from Locals Seafood and Durham's Ex-Voto.
- The menu will center around the use of fresh masa — a dough made from corn — in Latin American dishes.
- Mala Pata will be also accompanied by a bar and market called Peyote, which will serve late night to-go drinks and some food in a shared alleyway.
What's next: Starting Jan. 14, Mala Pata will be doing a brunch residency at Centro, where it will test out new dish concepts.
- The team has also been doing collaborations with Longleaf Swine.
Location: 2411 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh
The Cheese Shop
After gaining popularity as a pop-up, The Cheese Shop's expansion to a permanent location this summer will add a food menu to its extensive offerings of cheese.
Driving the news: The Carrboro cheesemonger is opening in an 1,800-square-foot space in downtown Carrboro's Carolina Car Wash Building.
- The building is already home to the Belltree Cocktail Club, which The Cheese Shop plans to partner with for special events.
- In addition to its cheeses, The Cheese Shop will make sandwiches, soups and salads for customers and host dinner clubs.
Location: 100B Brewer Lane, Carrboro
Poole'side Pie's replacement
Information remains scant, but eaters throughout the Triangle are watching closely to see what chef Ashley Christensen does this year with the former Poole'side Pies space in downtown Raleigh.
Driving the news: Christensen said in December that she would close her Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant Poole'side Pies while keeping the restaurant space on McDowell Street under her control.
- Christensen is the only North Carolina chef to win the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef.
What's next: Christensen has teased that she will be opening a new concept — but has so far declined to reveal what her next restaurant will be.
Location: 428 S. McDowell St., Raleigh
The Can Opener
Named after the neighboring bridge that's claimed hundreds of trucks over the years, the Can Opener is being billed as Durham's first food truck park.
Driving the news: The Can Opener is being launched this winter by Joe Choi and Bo Kown, of the Bulkogi food truck; Ernest Harris, of Knightdale's Chick-N-Que; and Gus Megaloudis, of the Greek food truck Gussy's, Indy Week reported last year.
- It will provide indoor and outdoor space for eating, a bar and room for five food trucks to set up shop.
Location: 205 S. Gregson St., Durham
Conniption Cocktails & Cuisine
Your next pre-flight cocktail might be local.
Driving the news: Durham Distillery, the makers of the award-winning Conniption Gin, will open the Conniption Cocktails & Cuisine in RDU's Terminal 2 later this year.
Details: The new airport bar will be heavily influenced by the distillery's existing Corpse Reviver Cocktail Bar in downtown Durham and will serve a wide variety of gin-forward cocktails.
- But in addition to great drinks, the bar will have a full kitchen creating a menu meant to compliment each of its cocktails.