Italian-inspired cocktail lounge named for Shakespeare play opening in Raleigh
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Capulet Cocktail Club opens in fall 2025 at The Exchange Raleigh complex.
- Founder Patrick Shanahan draws design inspiration from Italian cinema and culture.
- The 2,700-square-foot space venue features an outdoor bar and 32-foot dome.
The man behind one of Raleigh’s first major restaurants to open this year is expanding his Midtown footprint with a new cocktail bar.
Patrick Shanahan’s Italian-inspired concept, Capulet Cocktail Club, is named after the character Juliet of one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, “Romeo and Juliet.”
Earlier this year, Shanahan and Raleigh chef Saif Rahman, formerly of Vidrio, opened Peregrine at The Exchange Raleigh, a 40-acre mixed-use development near North Hills. Rahman described Peregrine as an American restaurant with nods to his background in Bangladesh, including South Asian flavors and spices.
Capulet Cocktail Club will be located near Peregrine at The Exchange.
Here’s what to know about the new, 2,700-square-foot cocktail bar.
Bar design and menu
Shanahan, who also co-created the Raleigh bar Watts & Ward, comes from the film world. And for this project, he’s taking inspiration from Italian films.
“Italy has always been at the forefront of fashion, art and cinema, influencing culture worldwide,” Shanahan said in a news release. “At Capulet Cocktail Club, we’re creating a space to experience that same sense of la dolce vita.”
There will be both an indoor and outdoor bar, a garden bar, that nod to Italian courtyards and piazzas. Inside, a 32-foot dome will cover “a Roman-inspired sanctuary.”
Few details have been released regarding the menu, but one featured drink among the European spirit-driven cocktails is the Golden Thread.
Capulet Cocktail Club location and opening
Capulet Cocktail Club is located in The Exchange Raleigh development at 1000 Social St. Suite 110 in Raleigh. It is expected to open in fall 2025.
The 1000 Social building is already home to Peregrine and WRK by The Optimist, a coffee shop.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 10:33 AM with the headline "Italian-inspired cocktail lounge named for Shakespeare play opening in Raleigh."
