Longtime Raleigh restaurant returns, this time to development near downtown
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sunflower’s Cafe will reopen in 2026 at Rockway, a development south of downtown.
- New features will be a full bar and dining tables that can be converted into pool tables.
- The cafe is Rockway’s fourth announced retail tenant and third restaurant.
A Raleigh restaurant that closed after more than 30 years in 2019 is returning.
Sunflower’s Cafe, which served sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts, is reopening in a new location in 2026. The restaurant, which was previously on Glenwood Avenue and then on Peace Street, has found a new home at Rockway, the Kane Realty development near Dorothea Dix Park.
The cafe is the fourth retail tenant announced for the mixed-use, multi-phase development featuring retail and residential space.
In this latest iteration, Sunflower’s Cafe will keep its commitment to fresh, made-from-scratch food, according to a press release from Kane Realty.
New to the restaurant will be a full bar offering craft cocktails and dining tables that can convert into pool tables for late-night guests.
The restaurant is owned by Quinn Ferebee, son of the original Sunflower’s owners Deborah and Clay Ferebee.
“I’m excited to reintroduce an old Raleigh favorite to a new audience as well as to those who enjoyed it for so many years in downtown,” Quinn Ferebee said in a news release. “I hope to honor my parents’ legacy and make it the best it can be.”
Why did Sunflower’s Cafe close?
Sunflower’s Cafe served customers from Glenwood Avenue, where the Hibernian Pub sits, for 21 years before moving to a new place on Peace Street, where it closed in 2019.
The restaurant’s lease for the Seaboard Station space was up that December, and its final day of service was Dec. 21, The News & Observer previously reported.
Developer Hoffman & Associates, then known as PN Hoffman, planned to build a hotel on the block where Sunflower’s Cafe was. The Hyatt House Raleigh Downtown/Seaboard Station hotel, along with its rooftop bar High Rail, now stand on the property.
Instead of finding a new location for Sunflower’s Cafe, the Ferebees decided to “call it a day.” Deborah Ferebee previously told The N&O that she planned to manage a new restaurant on Bald Head Island.
Retail businesses at Raleigh’s Rockway development
BK Pilates, offering reformer-based workouts, is open at 1019 S. Saunders St. beneath The Row apartments at the Rockway development.
Two dining tenants have yet to open at Rockway:
- The local favorite Benchwarmers Bagels is expanding there, opening in a 4,000-square-foot space. The popular bagel shop is keeping its location in Transfer Co. Food Hall and is adding a third location at North Hills, another Kane Realty development.
- Campo Taco Co. is coming to 1001 S. Saunders St. The restaurant will serve tacos, “intentionally crafted dishes” and drinks including margaritas, Latin American wines and local beers. It will also have a patio.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Longtime Raleigh restaurant returns, this time to development near downtown."
