while it wasn't exactly a secret, it's been confirmed that Ashley Christensen's new venture will be the newly-renovated building at the corner of Hargett and Salisbury

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/24/2986057/pooles-diner-chef-to-open-a-new.html

hope this won't be the straw that breaks the camels back, because holy hell does she have a lot going on

6/24/2013 2:09:32 PM

6/24/2013 2:33:47 PM

Dang, she's certainly being ambitious with the number of projects at once.

6/24/2013 2:37:41 PM

I'm beginning to become skeptical that she actually does the cooking at "her" restaurants.

6/24/2013 3:18:46 PM

i honestly am not sure if that's sarcasm

6/24/2013 3:22:41 PM

Gee you guys, I don't think Gordon Ramsay actually cooked my dish.

6/24/2013 4:47:05 PM

http://eater.com/archives/2013/06/24/ashley-christensen-to-open-two-new-projects-in-nc.php

6/24/2013 6:21:38 PM

Quote :

"I'm beginning to become skeptical that she actually does the cooking at "her" restaurants."

She actually cooks everything on location at Poole's Diner and they bicycle each order to the other restaurants, plate it at the backdoor, then bring it up front. It's an interesting and complicated system, but she's very focused on customer satisfaction.

6/24/2013 7:02:51 PM

That's not true, they now have a Ford Falcon that has been converted to electric to drive it around.

6/24/2013 7:14:19 PM

Actually it's a two-tone '78 Jeep Cherokee.

6/25/2013 5:39:17 PM

Joule coffee starting to tweet:

https://twitter.com/JouleCoffee

6/26/2013 6:40:59 AM

http://www.wral.com/peace-university-signs-deal-to-buy-seaboard-station/12610130/

6/28/2013 7:47:09 PM

Good night, sweet prince

6/28/2013 8:03:53 PM

And how did I forget to post this: http://www.planetizen.com/node/63902

Quote :

"Don't let anyone tell you that planning isn't dangerous. Past APA President and current Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell Silver was apparently punched by a resident opposed to rezoning that would allow the construction of a gas station. "City Planning Director Mitchell Silver plans to press charges against a woman who he says punched him Tuesday at a planning commission hearing on a controversial Sheetz gas station," reports Colin Campbell. "City Manager Russell Allen said he learned of the incident Wednesday. He said Silver was punched in the shoulder shortly after the planning commission approved rezoning for a Sheetz gas station in Northeast Raleigh. The alleged attacker, he said, 'was not satisfied with the outcome.'” "'I’ve encouraged him to press charges as I would with any employee,' Allen added. 'It’s never ever acceptable for someone to be assaulted in their line of duty.'”"

6/28/2013 8:29:07 PM

Quote :

"The proposed 24-hour Sheetz at the intersection of New Hope and Buffaloe roads has been a hot topic in surrounding neighborhoods for months. Neighbors are worried that the gas station would worsen traffic, erode the character of their neighborhood and send property values tumbling. The planning commission voted 5-3 to approve rezoning, which will go before the Raleigh City Council next month. "

awesome... i hope it's approved... a sheetz on the way to work would be awesome.

6/28/2013 9:56:59 PM

Aside from the forested bits that are insulated from the traffic anyway, that intersection has been completely bare for twenty years. It's a quarter mile from a ten lane highway. Did they expect it to stay empty forever?

6/28/2013 11:12:04 PM

It's all sprawl out that way anyways...

My county dealt with Sheetz several years ago (thankfully before I was here) and people RAISED FUCKING HELL because it was going in close to the Wilderness Civil War battlefield. It was enough to make Sheetz tone down their typical architectural obnoxiousness, which is impressive because it was permitted by-right so they didn't have to do a damn thing...

6/29/2013 10:05:51 AM

So, about this red hat signage.....

6/29/2013 2:54:24 PM

yeah this Red Hat signage is humongous...they are really trying hard to get noticed...good for them

6/29/2013 4:30:01 PM

Quote :

"http://www.wral.com/peace-university-signs-deal-to-buy-seaboard-station/12610130/"

6/29/2013 7:23:52 PM

I really wish the red hat signage was silver, the red is really gaudy.

6/29/2013 9:58:25 PM

^, ^^^, ^^^^
Anyone got a picture of the new signage?

6/30/2013 4:28:04 PM

I don't, but drive up from the south side of Raleigh, up south Saunders or Wilmington. You cant miss it. I'll see if I can snag some if nobody else beats me to it.

6/30/2013 8:07:52 PM

here is a shitty photo from Wilmington @ South.

6/30/2013 9:49:38 PM

Wow that's horrible. Not at all what I was expecting.

6/30/2013 9:53:09 PM

What did you expect? There's no money in giving away software. No legitimate software company would want to have it's headquarters in a dump like Raleigh anyway.

That McDonalds would be a great location for a craft brewery though.

[Edited on June 30, 2013 at 10:03 PM. Reason : .]

6/30/2013 10:01:57 PM

I thought it was temporary at first, but after getting closer, it looks like its a permanent paneling.

6/30/2013 10:56:42 PM

You boys should spend less time worrying about how other people decorate.

7/1/2013 12:49:40 AM

I thought you were not allowed to post in this thread, weren't you warned by moderators? Go away.

7/1/2013 6:38:16 AM

There's nothing special about this thread. I live here too. You guys just don't like to hear any perspective from someone that's not a trendy "urban planner".

This thread has devolved into you guys complaining about what color curtains the neighbors are hanging up. I happen to think that the bowling alley looks just fine. The Red Hat sign looks just fine. That McDonalds is the best thing about downtown because it actually has a parking lot and it's not some gourmet food in an ancient building with overpriced rent.

Raleigh's downtown is not a good venue for large crowds. There will be a deluge of complaints from people at this year's fireworks show. It is not a safe event, or a safe place to visit.

[Edited on July 1, 2013 at 8:57 AM. Reason : .]

7/1/2013 8:54:50 AM

either terrible trolling or the worst post I've read on here in a while

7/1/2013 11:00:46 AM

Do you think large public events like the fireworks display help downtown or just serve to reinforce the negative stereotypes many people from the area have about Raleigh? It seems to me that downtown is ill-suited to hold such large gatherings, and it would be better for the cause of "restoring downtown" to focus on smaller events with a greater potential to convince visitors to return.

Or are visitors simply not welcome here? If the goal is a vibrant, thriving community, Saturday-night tourists can get in the way. Do the motivations of the city council conflict with those of residents?

[Edited on July 1, 2013 at 11:23 AM. Reason : .]

7/1/2013 11:06:57 AM

A lot of downtown Raleigh seems to be doing pretty well.

7/1/2013 11:31:26 AM

Letting more cars in definitely helped.

7/1/2013 11:34:12 AM

Downtown is growing and doing the fireworks downtown is idiotic if they dont go higher than they did last year. Traffic was basically at a stand still for 3 hours to get out of raleigh last time. I live downtown but it was ridiculous.

7/2/2013 7:52:27 AM

i need to start paying more attention to this thread.

7/2/2013 8:11:53 AM

The traffic issues were definitely the shittiest part of last year's shitty fireworks display. I really enjoyed the 90 minutes or so I spent parked and not moving through Boylan Heights last year. I'm not planning on going back for them this year, but I hope they learned from last year's disappointment and it turns out to be a success this time.

7/2/2013 8:41:31 AM

My neighborhood is providing trolley service to downtown from 6-11 on the 4th. Guess I won't have to worry about traffic/parking

7/2/2013 9:00:21 AM

Quote :

"Downtown is growing and doing the fireworks downtown is idiotic if they dont go higher than they did last year. Traffic was basically at a stand still for 3 hours to get out of raleigh last time."

Traffic last year was bad because everyone was trying to go East/West, if police direct people North/South to the beltline it should be fine. I headed North and hit the beltline and had no problems with traffic last year.

Also, they are having 2 fireworks shows this year. The fireworks on Fayetteville St. can't go any higher because of the location, so the first show will be on Fayetteville St. like last year as part of the street festival. There will then be a larger fireworks show later that you can watch from the Red Hat Amphitheater.

7/2/2013 9:24:03 AM

they should do them at the fairgrounds like they used to.

7/2/2013 11:15:36 AM

Dix Park

7/2/2013 11:20:14 AM

fairgrounds traffic was no better than downtown traffic

7/2/2013 11:41:43 AM

Quote :

"they should do them at the fairgrounds like they used to."

7/2/2013 11:46:18 AM

I was downtown when they did the tests at Red Hat. You can't see those from anywhere outside of the immediate area, either.

7/2/2013 12:01:45 PM

Where are they fired from for the amphitheater?

7/2/2013 12:13:08 PM

^^was that done the other night? Would explain the loud popping noises I heard for a while.

7/2/2013 12:33:45 PM

fireworks are for children

7/2/2013 12:38:27 PM

thank you for sharing your interesting opinion

7/2/2013 2:39:54 PM

doing fireworks at the original state fairgrounds with cow manure smell and nothing else to do around it was BORING.....i mean are we trying to emphasize hickville or what

at least in downtown last year, i enjoyed the festival things, free concerts, and bars and restaurants besides the fireworks show

7/2/2013 2:41:22 PM

http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event/the-works-july-4th-on-fayetteville-street1

7/2/2013 3:49:05 PM