RALEIGH, NC (March 22, 2017) – Six new stores opening early in 2017 are putting downtown Raleigh on a historic track for retail openings. Three retailers have already opened their doors in downtown Raleigh this year, and another three are expected to join the mix in the coming weeks, adding unique retail concepts new to the city center.
Retailers DGX Raleigh, Twisted Oak Art Shop, and Raleigh Provisions opened in downtown this year. Oak City Market, Read With Me, and Brewery Bhavana, an incredibly original concept combining a dim-sum restaurant, a flower shop, a bookstore, and a brewery, from the founders of Bida Manda, are expected to open soon.
Twisted Oak is a pop-up art shop on E. Martin Street. That location has been used as an art installation, as well as other pop-up shops over the last year. Read With Me is a children’s bookstore opening near Moore Square, just a block from Marbles Kids Museum. It is the first children’s bookstore to open in downtown Raleigh. DGX is a convenience store concept by Dollar General, while both Oak City Market and Raleigh Provisions are grocery/market options. This influx of retailers has made downtown Raleigh more livable than ever, with local grocery options, pharmacies, quick grab and go convenience stores, a home furnishings, gifts and accessories, clothing, jewelry, chocolate, wine, home décor, hand-made bags, running gear, a bookstore, florists, hardware, and more.
Downtown Raleigh Alliance Senior Director of Economic Development and Planning Bill King says this mix of retailers puts Raleigh into a league of its own.
“Downtown is adding some really unique, locally-owned retail options from some pioneering entrepreneurs that are unlike anywhere else in the region,” King says. “We have two grocery/bodega-style stores coming to the Moore Square area, which shows how retail is catering to downtown becoming a dense neighborhood. And Brewery Bhavana offers a really innovative hybrid-model, which combines retail with a restaurant and brewery concept in our thriving food scene. The diversity of downtown’s customer base is also clear from the addition of a new children’s bookstore, which shows how attractive downtown Raleigh is for families to spend time and shop, as well.”
While Oak City Market and Brewery Bhavana are expected to open soon, no firm open dates have been set yet. Read With Me will open its location on Hargett Street on Friday, April 7, just in time to celebrate First Friday.
Several other retail openings are in the pipeline for downtown Raleigh in 2017, including the Morgan Street Food Hall and Transfer Co. in 2018.
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance is available for comment about this current retail boom, and more information will be published in our State of Downtown Raleigh 2017, which will be released at our State of Downtown Event on Tuesday, April 25 at the Raleigh Convention Center.
###
About Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA):
DRA is an award-winning nonprofit organization whose mission is to continue the revitalization of Raleigh’s downtown. The Alliance enhances the quality of life and positively impacts the economic success of downtown through six core services: 1. Safety & Hospitality Ambassadors; 2. Strategic Branding & Community Communications; 3. Events Production; 4. Retail Attraction & Merchant Promotions; 5. Strategic Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement; and 6. Strategic Planning. For more information about DRA, please visit www.YouRHere.com.