Keep an eye out for a fantastic new brand coming soon to Triangle grocers.
Luxury olive oil, pasta, sauce and seasonings maker, Bona Furtuna, has signed a lease for 5,100 square feet at 2205 Westinghouse Boulevard, Raleigh. The location will be a packaging and distribution facility for products from the company’s namesake – Bona Furtuna farm in Corleone, Sicily.
York broker, Brian Wallace, was privileged to provide tenant representation.
Tenant-rep broker, Robert Hoyt, attended a TRAOBA meeting yesterday called “How the Triangle Stacks Up to Other Metros”. Because TRAOBA is Office focused there was some discussion on the state of the office market (bullets below) by the panel.
Panel Members: Heath Chapman-CBRE; Hooker Manning-Kane; Mat Winters-JLL
State of the Office Market
One panel member with the Raleigh Chamber shared the attached study done by the Raleigh Chamber and the Wake County Economic Development team. Overarching message: “The Raleigh metro is the best performing metro in the U.S. and continues to remain one of the top places for business and careers…”
Here are a few of our favorite accolades from the report:
#3 BEST PLACE IN AMERICA TO START A BUSINESS
RALEIGH, NC | INC | 2018
#6 MOST INCLUSIVE METRO IN THE U.S.
RALEIGH, NC | BROOKINGS INSTITUTE | 2019
TOP 10 GLOBAL HUB FOR LIFE SCIENCE INNOVATION
HICKORY & ASSOCIATES | APRIL 2019
#1 STATE FOR WOMEN IN TECH
NORTH CAROLINA | NC TECH | 2019
#3 BEST QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE WORLD
RALEIGH, NC | NUMBEO.COM | 2019
York Properties is pleased to announce that it has been selected to provide landlord representation services for North Carolina State University. York is the exclusive leasing agent for more than 460,000 SF of office space on Centennial Campus and retail space on Hillsborough Street.
Centennial Campus offers much more than just office space; it also provides unique opportunities to partner with some of the brightest minds from industry, government and the academy. The broker team working with NC State’s Real Estate and Development office includes John Koonce, Skipper Day, Robert Hoyt, Malcom Lewis and Julie Paul.
In 1963, the town of Fuquay Springs, site of a hot springs renowned in the region, joined the neighboring community of Varina, crossroads of two timber rail lines. Thus, Fuquay-Varina was born and has become one of Southern Wake County’s fastest growing towns.
According to the US Census, the town has grown 68.3% from April 2010 to July 2019, with no slowing in sight. The estimated current population is more than 33,000 residents, with some 2,000+ housing units actively under construction and many more planned. The construction of the southern loop of 540 will continue to accelerate Fuquay-Varina’s growth and developers have taken notice. Several new major mixed-use developments, including Bengal Town Center and Bellchase, have recently been announced and will add 1,000,000+ SF of office and retail along with hundreds of residential units.
Boasting two charming historic downtowns, Fuquay-Varina retains a small Southern town feeling. However, its adjacency to Research Triangle Park and Raleigh with access to high-paying jobs and Wake County’s excellent school system, Fuquay-Varina is well poised for major growth.
York Properties brokers John Kerr and Skipper Day represented the State Employees Credit Union in their recent purchase of the former Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company office complex at 4401 Creedmoor Road.
The 161,000 SF complex – situated on 16.5 acres in the Crabtree Valley Mall area – sold for $22,000,000.
Cape Fear Seafood Company out of Wilmington, NC was founded by Evans Trawick in 2008 and built a loyal following serving fresh, local seafood in a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. This proved a winning combination resulting in two additional successful restaurants in the Wilmington area. Evans then set his sights on franchising the proven concept and expanding into Raleigh.
Two long-time Cape Fear employees, Eddie Elliott and Matt Wivell, partnered to bring the restaurant concept to Raleigh. York Broker, John Koonce, helped them find the perfect location on Spring Forest Road in North Raleigh. Opening the doors in June 2019, the duo enjoyed nine strong months of breaking records and exceeding expectations.
Then the pandemic hit.
Governor Cooper ordered restaurant dining rooms closed on Tuesday, March 17. Pivoting is 2020’s over-used word, but that is exactly what Eddie and Matt did – and quickly. By Thursday, Cape Fear was down to 2 staff members: Matt was doing the cooking and Eddie was handling all orders and curbside delivery. They furloughed their staff but continued to pay them …(Once they received PPP funding)
Loyal customers from their first nine months of operation patronized the restaurant and word spread about their providing takeout service before many other restaurants in the area. By the third week of April their employees came back and they’ve continued to make it work through these unprecedented times (another 2020 overused phrase).
Hope really must spring eternal because Eddie and Matt just signed a deal to open a second location in Cameron Village.
When you visit any of their locations, you can expect a wide variety of seafood options from comfort-food Calabash-style platters to upscale chef-driven dishes. The vibe of the restaurant is casual, come as you are. Cape Fear wants to transport you to the beach and have a little something for everyone, offering $10 sandwiches and ½ price bottles of wine alongside seared Chilean sea bass and lobster risotto.
As for Eddie and Matt, they’re taking life one step at a time, working on building their brand in Raleigh, designing their Cameron Village restaurant and hopefully adding a third location before 2023. Who knows, maybe one day Cape Fear Seafood Company will be the Carolinas’ answer to Legal Sea Foods that dominates much of the Northeast.
Andrew Ullom, baker and owner of Union Special Bread set out to make edible nostalgia while still giving back to the community, and he is doing just that.
How did this all start? After attending culinary school where Andrew discovered a love of breads, he opted for a baking apprenticeship. His first bakery internship was at a bakery for a large hotel and his path was set. Eventually he became the executive pastry chef for Ashely Christensen. After seven years at AC Restaurants, Andrew decided it was time to realize his vision of a community-driven bakery and restaurant.
One of the biggest hurdles was getting it open. Hundreds of idea pitches followed by two years of planning and building finally made Union Special a reality in 2018. Andrew’s original goal remains the same: to make an accessible gathering place with delicious familiar food that will lead to conversation and community building.
Flash forward, Union Special recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a Birthday Dinner to benefit SAFEchild. With a huge turnout and the busiest day ever, Andrew says that it was a great testament of where the business will go.
