Downtown Cary's new daytime cafe
+ Dix Park's future market, March and April planner
Hi y’all. I arrived home on a flight late Wednesday night and spotted signage for Oscar Diaz’s Adios! near Gate C17.
It’s yet another local chef with a RDU outpost in Terminal 2. Adios! will have Mexican-meets-southern food like cornmeal hush puppies, fresh citrus cocktails and a birria platter featuring “banana leaf braised beef with traditional spices.”
🛬 The estimated time of opening is fall 2025.
I’m curious — who else would you want to see open a RDU location? Reply and share.
Keep scrolling for:
Faulisi’s next act
Why Dix Park’s future market might be like Downtown Cary Park’s market
Catch up on the news
March + April events, just for paid subscribers
Thanks for being here! ✌️Sarah Day
THE ENTHUSIAST
Faulisi Caffe & Enoteca
ICYMI, Pizzeria Faulisi in Downtown Cary recently re-opened as a daytime cafe with coffee, breakfast and lunch items.
It’s now open 9-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
The vibes: Order at the counter then tuck in to warm red booth seating as jazz plays in the background. This is a spot to linger with friends and enjoy, not a coffeeshop to bring your laptop.
It was a nice option when I had family in town visiting on Friday morning.
Don’t miss: The mocha, made with Escazu chocolate.
We also ordered “one long biscotti” each and I tasted hazelnuts and pistachio in the chocolate cookie.
What else: You can also get coffee or a selection of Italian-style baked goods to go, and I’m planning to return to try out the lunch menu of salads and sandwiches on fricaccia.
Some Pizzeria Faulisi classics are on the menu like margherita pizza and gnocchi.
Pizza is on the Saturday brunch menu.
Enoteca translates to “wine shop,” and a selection of bottles are priced on one side of the cafe when you walk in. Nighttime wine events are on the horizon:
The first wine dinner, a four-course pairing with Chateau de la Font du Loup is a reasonably priced $100/each (includes food, beverage and service) on April 2.
Find it: 215 E. Chatham Street, Suite 101, Cary. [more info]
STORYLINES
Dix Park gets a market
The first major project in Dorothea Dix Park is getting close to opening — a live feed shows some playground equipment is up and park benches are installed:
And now we know more about what the experience will be like, and it includes a market from the same father and son team who run Downtown Cary Park’s Bark Bar and Market 317, John and Mike Cline.
The market in the House of Many Porches will be grab-and-go spot next to the playground and picnic areas.
Food will include sandwiches, wraps, baked goods, dips and frozen desserts.
Coffee, beer and wine will also be available, similar to Downtown Cary Park.
More about the historic renovation: The market will be in the House of Many Porches, a Victorian cottage built in 1898.
Other historic renovations at the park include the Stone Houses and Gatekeeper’s Cottage, which added needed public bathrooms and a visitor center in May 2024.
What’s next: The Gipson Play Plaza and the market are expected to open in late April or early May, according to the News & Observer.
THE NEWS DIGEST
Catch up, quick
📚 Raleigh HBCU Saint Augustine’s lost an appeal for accreditation. They have one more chance to stay accredited, INDY Week reports. How we got to this point, also in INDY Week.
🚔 Raleigh’s new chief of police, Rico Boyce, is a veteran of the department who worked up the ranks from recruit in 2000 to deputy chief. [WRAL]
🤘 Red Hat Amphitheater 2.0: A “rock on” hand sculpture, no Shimmer Wall. [N&O]
🍦 Simon Says Dip This, a dipped ice cream shop that originated in Durham, is opening its second location at Bloc 83 today on Hillsborough Street.
🤔 What should DMV site become? Join a working group meeting this month on recommendations for the Southeast Raleigh site. [INDY Week]
🫖 The Littlest Tea Room: I’m looking forward to trying this — a high tea experience at Little Native coffeeshop in Downtown Raleigh. [Axios]
A PLANNER’S PLANNER
To do list for March + April
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Just Bring Yourself to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.