Here are the Triangle’s 14 biggest restaurant openings to look forward to in 2025
In the Triangle’s restaurant crystal ball for 2025 we see some absolute stunners.
This year seems to be about expansion. Beloved names and spots are growing into new spaces, new towns and new concepts. We’ll see barbecue joints go upscale, we’ll see bagel shops find some elbow room and we’ll see popular restaurant groups combine forces and create something mouthwateringly exciting.
Here are the restaurants and bars you’ll be talking about all through 2025.
Prime STQ
1151 Hitchings Way, Durham
How often do you run across something truly new? In the restaurant world, new often means a refined or upscale or reimagined or improved-upon concept. Not new exactly, but something old reaching for new heights. Well this one is new new.
In North Carolina’s barbecue renaissance, few pitmasters have achieved the acclaim of Chris Prieto and Knightdale’s Prime BBQ. In this barbecue palace, Prime has earned the respect of Texas aficionados, while also evolving North Carolina’s barbecue culture. It’s marvelous.
For his second act, Prieto is taking on the steakhouse and the buttoned-up locale of the Research Triangle Park. With Prime STQ, barbecue gets the steakhouse treatment, celebrating smoked beef in the way we might a grilled ribeye.
Timeline: Spring 2025
Mala Pata & Peyote
2411 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh
This year it’s really happening. The forces behind Ex Voto and Locals Seafood have teamed up for this vibiest ode to coastal Mexico, opening in Raleigh’s Gateway Plaza shopping center. Mala Pata has been on a year-long occasional pop-up tour around the Triangle, selling out early and always with wild brunch dishes, tamales and burritos. Beyond the restaurant, this hospitality supergroup will also launch Peyote, a vibrant cocktail bar.
Timeline: March 2025
Lawrence Barbecue
150 E. Cedar St., Cary
Can downtown Cary be a barbecue destination? If you know Lawrence Barbecue you know it’s a no-doubter. From the second it opened its walk-up window in Boxyard RTP, Lawrence Barbecue was the shipping container food court’s runaway star. Now Lawrence is spreading its wings and moving to a new spot of its own in downtown Cary.
The new spot will be gigantic, looking out on the train tracks, serving Lawrence’s eclectic mix of authentically smoked beef and pork and wild creations, like beef fat caramel chicken wings, sticky ribs and potluck favorite sides with the volume turned all the way up.
The vibes will be perfect.
Timeline: Summer 2025
Benchwarmers Bagels
925 S. Saunders St., Raleigh
Raleigh has two new Benchwarmers in the works, the first set to open later this year in the new Rockway development on the southern edge of downtown. Beloved from the first spark in its wood-burning oven, the new Benchwarmers will build on its reputation as one of the best bagel shops in America, expanding into a massive 4,000 square foot space of its own. Expect the same bagels and thick-crust pizza, plus a new beverage program including beer, wine and cocktails (especially for brunch).
Timeline: Fall 2025
Fullsteam Brewery
312 Blackwell St., Durham
It was a shock but not a surprise when Fullsteam finally decided to move out of its original taproom space in Durham.
The brewery helped establish Durham’s Geer Street “Drinking District” but seemed to have outgrown that space. Now Fullsteam is working on its forever home in the middle of the American Tobacco Campus, promising a new larger (and air-conditioned) taproom.
Timeline: Late 2025
Fiction Kitchen
2409-100 Crabtree Blvd., Raleigh
Since departing downtown Raleigh, the pioneering vegetarian restaurant Fiction Kitchen has operated as a pop-up in its future and forever home Gateway Plaza.
Now Fiction Kitchen is getting closer and closer to forever. Known for creative and satisfying plant-based dining, Fiction Kitchen will have room in its new space for 70 diners. Plans include an all-vegan cocktail list, housemade vegan cheeses and a showcase of local seasonal produce.
Timeline: Early March 2025
Tataco
636 Foster St., Durham
One of the Triangle’s hottest restaurant groups will open a new Durham taqueria in the heart of the city’s nightlife district. Chef Oscar Diaz and the Mezcalito group have plans for a new taco shop on the ground floor of the new Geer House apartment building. Tataco will specialize in artisan tortillas and smoky mezcal.
Timeline: 2025
Cheeni RTP
1151 Hitchings Way, Durham
The gospel of Cheeni will expand to South Durham later this year as James Beard nominee Preeti Waas opens her restaurant in the new Horseshoe at HUB RTP development. Cheeni has been one of the most talked about restaurants since its debut in Raleigh, eventual move to Downtown Durham and now future expansion, offering personal and regional Indian dishes. In addition to the full service restaurant, Waas will also open a grab-and-go market in RTP called Nanny Goat.
Timeline: 2025
Brewery Bhavana
201 Fenton Gateway Drive, Cary
When it opened in 2017, Brewery Bhavana quickly became the Triangle’s latest hit restaurant, landing in the national spotlight for its unconventional blend of dim sum, beer, a flower shop and bookstore. This year Bhavana will expand for the first time, opening a new location in Cary’s glitzy Fenton development. Now owned solely by Patrick Woodson, the new Bhavana dumpling shop and taproom will also offer some lighter, healthier dishes alongside larger entrees like Peking Duck and General Tso’s Chicken.
Timeline: April 2025
Wedgewood Cheese Bar
100B Brewer Lane, Carrboro
The cheese will not stand alone at the new Wedgewood in Carrboro, but it will be the centerpiece. Expanding on the popularity of its narrow cheese counter, The Cheese Shop will grow into a full restaurant and bar in Carrboro this spring. Wedgewood moves into the Carrboro Car Wash building with a stunning redesign. Look for a gleaming 15-seat bar, glass coolers full of cheese and treats and a menu that goes well beyond the charcuterie board.
Timeline: Spring 2025
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The Crunkleton
403 W. Johnson St., Raleigh
The Crunkleton in Chapel Hill is one of a handful of Triangle spots that’s helped change dining and drinking in the South. Known for its towering wall of spirits, including many impossible-to-find bottles, its cabinet of antique whiskey and perfected cocktails, The Crunkleton is one of the region’s legendary bars.
Now, after a multi-year wait, it is nearly ready to open its expansion into Raleigh. The new Raleigh location will mirror that of its earlier expansion in Charlotte, becoming a full restaurant in addition to a bar.
Timeline: March 2025
Whataburger
Multiple NC locations
This beloved Texas burger brand has been oddly secretive about its long-awaited expansion into North Carolina. Rather than making a big public splash about its interest in the state, it left breadcrumbs and clues, quietly filing building plans in numerous towns and cities, including Raleigh.
As of this month we finally know for sure: Whataburger will open in North Carolina in 2025. That’s the good news. The bad news is the first opening is likely in Gastonia. And we’re happy for them, we are. For Triangle diners, the company said Whataburgers should be open in Raleigh by 2026.
Dino’s
3109 Shannon Road, Durham
Durham chef Matt Kelly cooks with a lot of nostalgia and there’s perhaps nothing more sentimental than a childhood pizzeria. Kelly and chef Tom Cuomo, New York and New Jersey transplants, respectively, will open Dino’s in Durham’s University Hill shopping center as an ode to the northeast pizza parlors they knew growing up. The vibes will be red gingham tablecloths, TVs on the walls, full bar and a food menu of pizza, pasta, salads and sandwiches.
Timeline: March 2025
Mediterranean Deli
454 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
A devastating fire gutted this Franklin Street institution in 2023. For more than a year, Med Deli has offered to-go orders, but the beloved restaurant and market is poised for its return.
Timeline: April 2025
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Here are the Triangle’s 14 biggest restaurant openings to look forward to in 2025."
