The most anticipated Triangle restaurants opening in 2025

Here are some of the most anticipated eateries and shops expected to open their doors in 2025:

Peregrine

Two Raleigh restaurateurs have teamed up to open The Exchange's flagship restaurant, Peregrine.

• Chef Saif Rahman of the Raleigh restaurant Vidrio and artist Patrick Shanahan, who also co-owns downtown Raleigh bar Watts & Ward, are partnering to bring the restaurant to the massive Midtown development just east of North Hills.
• The pair aims to combine cultural influences from South Asia and North Carolina and touchstones from the Mexican heritage of Rahman's wife for a menu that will feature dishes like Bengali fish curry and crispy lentil fritters.

Location: 1000 Social St., Raleigh

Opening date: Early 2025

Wedgewood Cheese Bar

Wedgewood Cheese Bar is the brainchild of cheesemongers and owners Michelle and Stevie Webb of The Cheese Shop, which has been operating as a pop-up shop inside Carrboro's Glasshalfull since 2022.

The brick and mortar, which is claiming the title of the state's first stand-alone cheese bar, will serve small plates with local, seasonal produce, cured meats and cheeses from around the world.

• Wines will be curated by Rocks + Acid Wine Shop sommelier Paula de Pano.

Location: 100 Brewer Lane, Carrboro

Opening date: March 2025

The Crunkleton

A restaurant with a devoted following, The Crunkleton is slated to open its first Raleigh location in Smoky Hollow development in Glenwood South.

The Crunkleton's original Chapel Hill location opened in 2008, gaining popularity for the details it pours into its Prohibition-era cocktails as well as its library of rare and antique spirits.

• After expanding to Charlotte in 2019, the Crunkleton added food to its repertoire and became one of that city's favorite food spots.

• The Raleigh outpost will have the same beverage and food menu as its Charlotte restaurant, including its beloved burger.
• The menu will also include oysters, table-share tomahawk steaks and fire-roasted veggies.

Location: 403 W. Johnson St., Raleigh

Opening date: March 2025

Mala Pata

Coming from the creative minds of three of the Triangle's best restaurants, the masa-focused restaurant Mala Pata has been popping up at restaurants in Raleigh and testing new concepts for the last year or two.

Originally set to open last year, Mala Pata is now slated 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 focus on 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.

Lucille's thought bubble: Mala Pata's opening can't come soon enough, as I've been craving Mala Pata's chilaquiles verdes since I tried them at a brunch pop-up they held at Centro a year ago.

Location: 2411 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh

Opening date: Early 2025, per its Instagram

Good Graces

The market, bar and restaurant Good Graces will open in the North Hills Innovation District.

• Founded by UNC-Chapel Hill MBA graduate Haley Borden, Good Graces will serve breakfast and lunch during the day and drinks and small plates at night. It will also sell prepared meals and gifts.

Location: 540 St. Albans Dr., Raleigh

Opening date: Early 2025

Prime STQ

The team behind one of the Triangle's favorite places to grab brisket, pork ribs and other smoked meats, Prime Barbecue, will venture into the steak game this year with a new spot called Prime STQ.

At lunch, Prime STQ will offer a counter-service menu focused on chopped-to-order meats and sides.

• In the evening, counter service makes way for the table side service of a classic steakhouse.
• The menu will include entrees that elevate Prime's existing smoked meats as well as nods to Prieto's Puerto Rican heritage. Prime will also use meat from Kansas-based Creekstone Farms —the same meat supplier that it currently uses for its brisket — to develop its steak and burger.
• Prime STQ meats will be smoked using a blend of oak, pecan and mesquite wood.

Location: Horseshoe at HUB RTP, 1151 Hitchings Way, Durham

Opening date: Spring 2025

Saint-Pierre

From the owner of a downtown Raleigh favorite, Oakwood Pizza Box, new wine shop Saint-Pierre will open in Raleigh Iron Works.

• The wine shop is borne out of the pizza shop's owner Anthony Guerra and his wife Brett's penchant for stocking a diverse grouping of wines to pair with their pizza.
• To Guerra, Oakwood has always been as much of a "love letter to wine" as it is a pizza place. He's hoping Saint-Pierre can build on that love for wine and create a third space around it, giving Raleighites a different sort of place to gather in the afternoon and evening, whether it's for a business meeting or a pre-dinner glass.

Location: Raleigh Iron Works

Opening date: Summer 2025

Lloyd's Full Service

Early Bird Night Owl, a Durham-based hotel group behind The Durham and The Mayton hotels, aims to open Lloyd's Full Service in downtown Cary.

• Lloyd's will replace a 1950s-era filling station currently occupied by Gurkan's Downtown Auto Repair. The restaurant's name will be an homage to K.M. Lloyd, who opened the original filling station there in 1951.
• It will also have a stage for live music and an outdoor bar set up inside a 1940s-era delivery van.

Location: 107 E. Chatham St., Cary

Opening date: By the end of 2025

Cheeni at HUB RTP

Also opening in the Horseshoe at HUB RTP is the Indian restaurant Cheeni.

• The location will be Cheeni's second full-service restaurant after James Beard-nominated chef Preeti Waas closed her original cafe location in north Raleigh and opened a full-service restaurant in downtown Durham.

Location: Horseshoe at HUB RTP, 3151 Elion Drive, Durham

Opening date: 2025

Standard Beer + Food

Known for its craft beer and locally sourced foods, the Raleigh neighborhood restaurant Standard Beer + Food will open a second location.

• Standard will have the largest amount of outdoor space for any North Hills tenant, with 15,000 square feet, along with 5,600 square feet of indoor space.

Location: North Hills Innovation District

Opening date: 2025

Benchwarmers Bagels No. 2

The beloved Raleigh bagel spot Benchwarmers is expected to open a second, much larger location near the fast-growing area around Dix Park.

• Located in Kane Realty's under-construction Rockway apartment project on South Saunders Street, the bagel shop will continue to offer its wood-fired bagels, sandwiches, pizzas and coffee, along with wine, beer and cocktails, plus extended hours.
• Benchwarmers is also planning a third location in the North Hills Innovation District with an opening date that has yet to be announced.

Location: 1021 S Saunders St., Raleigh

Opening date: 2025

Brewery Bhavana at Fenton

One of downtown Raleigh's most popular restaurants, Brewery Bhavana, plans to open its second location in Cary's Fenton shopping district.

• The new space will take inspiration from its downtown Raleigh location, which functions as both a brewery and a dim sum restaurant, but will have a more casual feel, its owner said last year.
• The second location will be smaller but will have a patio and courtyard with a beer garden.

Location: Fenton

Opening date: 2025

Between the lines: A handful of national chains, including Whataburger and PopUp Bagels, also are expected to debut in the Triangle eventually.

Several highly anticipated new restaurants and bars also opened in the final days of 2024 or early this year:

• Little Rey, a northern Mexico-inspired restaurant, opened in Raleigh Iron Works in early December.
• Scott Crawford's highly anticipated Crawford Brothers Steakhouse opened in Fenton a few days before Christmas.
• West Morgan Street's new neighborhood watering hall, Bend Bar, also opened a few days before Christmas.
• Naos Hellenic Cuisine, from prolific restaurateur Giorgios Bakatsias, opened earlier this week.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that Early Bird Night Owl is based in Durham (not Raleigh).

• We've also updated this roundup with fresh details about some restaurants.