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Decorate with Raleigh
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State Capitol, Raleigh, North Carolina 
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Greetings from Raleigh, North Carolina
Apr
15
SONO Slammed on Popular Website
Filed Under Business, Food and Beverage | 2 Comments
If SONO believes that there is no such thing as bad publicity, they’ll be thrilled to see that they’ve been featured on The Consumerist. The popular pro-consumer website receives close to a million visitors per month and has already collected 71 comments and 8,481 viewings since it was published yesterday.
More likely than being pleased with the coverage, they’re likely horrified - assuming they even know. As stated in the link and all right and wrong aside, keeping your customers happy is the name of the game, especially early on.
…”when you are new you are busy but 4 months down the road it will only be repeat business that keeps these places open and I will not visit there again. “
Links:
Consumerist story | SONO Website
Dec
13
Old Bar to Reopen in January
Filed Under Business | 5 Comments
The Old Bar, located beneath Charlie Goodnight’s Comedy Club, is scheduled to reopen on January 12th.
I’ve spent my fair share of time in the Old Bar, and from what I remember of the place (which isn’t a whole lot due to 32oz. mug night) it was always a pretty dirty place. But, it’s a decent spot to grab a drink after CG show and it certainly has character.
The relaunch is part of Goodnight’s 25th anniversary–a milestone that I have a somewhat hard time believing. Despite the fact that they occasionally bring in some a-name talent and that they don’t have much competition, my recent experiences at CG have left me a little disappointed. The shows haven’t been that bad, but the way they have that place set up, sitting people on top of each other, it can be pretty uncomfortable. That may be acceptable for a live comedy show, except that I find it hard to get out of there with someone else for under a hundred bucks after the tickets, a few drinks and the tip. And for that kind of money I find it hard not to just seek out a decent restaurant for a good meal.
I’m not sure what they’ve been doing with the Old Bar currently. If anyone knows, please fill me in.
Map to Charlie Goodnight’s and the Old Bar
Dec
5
When a new store or restaurant opens, they are usually welcomed with quite a bit of hype. They’re exciting because they bring something new to our area. Often lost within the shuffle though are new businesses of a different kind–those that could just as easily exist over a thousand miles away, but they are in fact right next door.
I had the pleasure of meeting Taylor Mingos the other day. Taylor is the 20-something year old founder and CEO of a web-based company called Shoeboxed. Shoeboxed began as a start-up out of Duke University and has evolved into a 30-plus (counting part-time and student help) employee company with offices in Durham’s Brightleaf Square. They’ve received some initial Angel funding and seem to have a bright future if their current success continues.
Shoeboxed offers a way of organizing all of your paper receipts, those that may have previously been tucked away in a “shoebox” (or George Constanza’s wallet). You can email digital receipts to your custom shoeboxed email address, scan them in and even mail them in Netflix-style in the near future. They’ve done a lot of nice work with their copywriting and the visual layout of the site, so I’ll leave it up to you to find out more if you’re interested.
The Triangle is a hotbed for tech start-ups, in large part due to our outstanding Universities. We’re attracting top talent from all over the globe and many of them are staying put after graduating, starting companies and helping to raise the profile of this area as cutting-edge region for technology.
Check out Shoeboxed, support a local business and get those receipts under control.
Aug
2
Tax-Free Shopping This Weekend
Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment
Along with a number of other states, North Carolina is offering sales-tax-free shopping this weekend (3rd-5th). The N&O ran a little piece on what this means for retailers, so I figured I’d try to do the same for shoppers. Instead of recreating the wheel though, I recommend that you download this PDF, put together by The North Carolina Retail Merchants Association (NCRMA). It may not be the most user-friendly document I’ve ever read, but it does a pretty good job of outlining both taxed and non-taxed items, and breaking them down by category.
Personally, I’ve never really gone out of my way to participate in the tax-free weekends, but if you were going to make a significant purchase anyway, why not save a few percent.
Jul
25
Extreme Makeover: Shopping Center Edition
Filed Under Business, Real Estate | 9 Comments
The N&O is reporting that the Holly Park shopping center off of Wake Forest Road will be sold to a Charlotte-based developer in the near future.
If you’re familiar with the location, you should be relieved to hear this. The center is badly outdated and definitely in need of a facelift. Given its prime location right off of the beltline, it always seemed that much more could be done with the area.
This shopping center currently houses a DMV, the Shaba Shabu restaurant and the nearby Melting Pot among some non-notable others. I haven’t heard or seen anything about what the sale will mean for these and other new businesses, but would imagine that a big name retailer or restaurant could be added as the renovations commence.
In similar news, the TBJ is reporting that the Pleasant Valley shopping center off of Glenwood Avenue will be adding a Golfsmith superstore, replacing the vacancy left by Best Buy when they moved down the road near Crabtree Valley Mall.
Pleasant Valley seemed to have some life brought back into it when Gold’s Gym was added in the old movie theater slot around the side of the center, but with the Best Buy move the center was in desperate need of a new big-name draw.
Links to the originals:
N&O - Holly Park
TBJ - Golfsmith (limited text only to non-subscribers)
Jul
23
And the winners are…
Filed Under Business, Food and Beverage | 6 Comments
Metro Magazine has released part 1 of it’s eighth annual MetroBravo awards. Among others, the categories include restaurants, media personalities, professional services and golf courses.
Overall, I found the list to be a little dry, with several big-name chains taking the top prize in categories like best local coffeehouse (Starbucks) and best french fries (McDonalds). But, a few local highlights and notables include:
Top new restaurant
South
Top chef
Ashley Christiansen, Enoteca Vin
Best sushi
Waraji
Best pizza
Capital Creations
Top dessert
Hayes Barton Dessertery & Café
If you can stand to sort through the lack of distinguishing formatting, the full list can be found here: http://www.metronc.com/article/?id=1375
Also, a “top anything” list is always good for stirring up debate. If you have anything to add or dispute, post it in the comments and let the games begin.
Jul
10
Local Businesses Contribute to Carolina Charm
Filed Under Business, Food and Beverage | Leave a Comment
As stories about Raleigh’s growth circulate, and in doing so help to draw attention to our prosperous economy, I stumbled across another article highlighting a much different, but equally important aspect of Raleigh – it’s charm.
Fortune Small Business magazine, a division of CNN, attributes this charm in large part to local businesses and landmarks. In particular: The Angus Barn, the Cameron Park Inn and the City Market. Read the full article here.
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