Downtown Raleigh is getting a new ABC liquor store soon. Here’s what we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wake ABC will open a new liquor store at 209 S. Salisbury St. in Raleigh.
- The store marks the first downtown Raleigh ABC location since the 1985 closure.
- ABC study and downtown housing growth sparked renewed demand for local access.
After 40 years, downtown Raleigh will once again have a liquor store.
Located at 209 S. Salisbury St. next to Deco, the new Wake County ABC store opened Monday, Sept. 22.
It will not be a counter store, where employees retrieve customers’ orders. Instead, shoppers will be able to browse aisles in the 3,000-square-foot space and select their own items.
The store’s hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
“This part of Raleigh has been underserved for quite some time,” Wake County ABC Chairman Lucius Jones said in a news release. “People’s desire to be social, have a good meal together, and just relax has increased exponentially since the Pandemic. We see it as our job to assist in that.”
Downtown Raleigh’s first ABC store in decades
Plans for a downtown ABC store have been in the works for years. The last Wake ABC store downtown, at 335 S. Wilmington St., closed in 1985.
The new store is housed in the former Kimbrell’s Home Furnishings, which had occupied the building for 70 years before it closed in 2020.
Wake County Alcoholic Beverage Control general manager Bryan Hicks previously told The News & Observer that an ABC store in downtown Raleigh, where there has been an increase in population and development, was among the top recommendations of a 2021 study commissioned by Wake ABC.
According to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance’s State of Downtown Report, nearly 6,000 new residential units have been added to downtown since 2015. And more are coming: Six projects under construction will deliver 1,259 residential units, and 24 projects planned or proposed include 6,444 additional units.
ABC stores in Raleigh
There are a dozen Wake County ABC retail stores in Raleigh, plus others in neighboring municipalities including Cary, Apex and Garner.
The nearest ABC stores to the forthcoming downtown Raleigh location are at Village District and at 1222 New Bern Ave.
Find an ABC store at wakeabc.com/locations.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Downtown Raleigh is getting a new ABC liquor store soon. Here’s what we know."
