A meadery and fried lobster tails have taken over the former Palace International space
The restaurant turnover continues on Broad Street in Durham, as a new mead bar and a relocated seafood restaurant have moved into the former Palace International and The Vault spaces.
The fried and boiled seafood shop Sho Nuff Seafood relocated to the Broad Street space late last year, moving from its former location in the Northgate Mall. Moon Dog Meadery opened last month, moving into the former Vault space in the basement below Joe Van Gogh.
Palace International, a beloved African restaurant, closed last year after 14 years on Broad Street in Durham, opening up restaurant space in the city’s Watts-Hillandale neighborhood. The Palace International continues to look for a permanent location, after pivoting to a takeout online meal delivery business last year.
Moon Dog
Like many mead enthuisiats, Derrick Forrest’s fascination began at a Renaissance festival.
“My parents had been brewing wine for about seven years, then I went to a Renaissance festival and tried it for the first time,” Forrest said. “I was immediately sold on it.”
In a below ground bar, Forrest hopes to prove that now is the moment for mead. North Carolina has long been a state famous for its breweries and in recent years has seen a tide of craft distilleries open their doors.
For the mead-curious, this ancient brew is a wine made from fermented honey, Forrest said. Basic batches are just honey, water and yeast, while others feature the addition of hops, spices or fruit.
“The flavor profile is similar to wine, but it’s there for people who like honey,” Forrest said. “Light honey brings light floral notes. Honeys made from darker products like alfalfa or wildflowers are more earthy and rich.”
While there is a reputation for sweetness, Forrest said, mead can contain multitudes.
“It’s all in how well you take care of the yeast,” Forrest said. “Some are made with the yeast consuming nearly all of the honey. I’m not a big fan of things being super sweet, which tend to be syrupy. I prefer things on the drier side.”
At the moment, the Triangle’s mead scene is thin, with only Pittsboro’s Starrlight Mead and Durham’s Honeygirl Meadery brewing the beverage.
The first batch of Moon Dog mead is currently being brewed, Forrest said, and he expects it to be unveiled by the end of March.
Forrest has been home-brewing mead for 10 years, he said. In that time, his day job has been as a general manager for Chili’s and Zaxby’s locations, part of a 15-year career in restaurants.
With Moon Dog, Forrest pulled up the hardwood floors of The Vault and polished the concrete to make a better surface for brewing. There are new bathrooms, shelving for the bottle shop and a patio in the works. Even if you’re not a fan of mead, Forrest said Moon Dog will shine a light on local beer.
“We want to be as local as possible with everything,” he said.
Sho Nuff
The seafood shop Sho Nuff moved into the former Palace International restaurant space in November.
Owner Michael Griffin first opened Sho Nuff in 2017 largely as a food truck and takeout restaurant specializing in all things seafood. In 2019, Sho Nuff grew into a new space in the Northgate Mall, expanding hours and days and becoming one of the closest spots to downtown Durham serving mounds of butter-soaked crab legs. The rest of the menu includes fried fish and shrimp, plus fried lobster tails and boiled seafood combos.
Late last year, Sho Nuff took over the prominent Broad Street space, offering patio dining and pickup Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.
The new spots are the latest additions to Durham’s Broad Street, which has seen some of the most turnover in the city over the past two years.
Moon Dog and Sho Nuff join the relocated Metro 8 Steakhouse, which moved into the former Watts Grocery space last year, and The Loop, which took over the Deeluxe Chicken spot.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 12:24 PM with the headline "A meadery and fried lobster tails have taken over the former Palace International space."
