A Triangle favorite, one of the South’s most influential bars, is expanding to Raleigh
One of North Carolina’s most influential cocktail bars is expanding to Raleigh.
The Crunkleton, a longtime Chapel Hill favorite, will join Raleigh’s Smoky Hollow development, owners announced Tuesday. The Crunkleton is expected to be a new cocktail bar and restaurant opening this fall.
This is the third Crunkleton location to open in North Carolina.
The original Chapel Hill flagship opened in 2008 on Franklin Street, which helped launch the craft cocktail boom in the Triangle. A Charlotte outpost followed in 2018, which added a full kitchen to the bar.
Named for owner Gary Crunkleton, the Raleigh location will follow the Charlotte model, adding a food menu built around live-fire cooking, as well its classic cocktails.
“While many in the Triangle know us as a cocktail bar in Chapel Hill, we expanded the experience in 2018 with the opening of our Charlotte restaurant,” said Gary Crunkleton in a release ”We’re excited to bring our approach to cocktails, open-fire cooking, and timeless hospitality to Raleigh.”
The Raleigh Crunkleton is the latest restaurant concept to join the Publix-anchored Smoky Hollow development, which also include a location of Charlotte’s Midwood Smokehouse barbecue brand, tapas restaurant Madre, and cafe J. Lights.
The original Crunkleton is known for crafted drinks and a floor-to-ceiling wall of spirits, boasting one of the most expansive collections of whiskey in the area. Like its Chapel Hill location, the new Raleigh bar will also feature antique and rare whiskeys.
“We are thrilled to welcome The Crunkleton to Raleigh,” said John Kane, CEO of Kane Realty Corporation, the owner of Smoky Hollow, in a release. “We are proud to support locally-owned and operated businesses so we are honored that The Crunkleton founder Gary Crunkleton and his team chose to expand their business to Smoky Hollow.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 3:24 PM with the headline "A Triangle favorite, one of the South’s most influential bars, is expanding to Raleigh."
