The corner of East Davie and Blount streets has been a storefront without a store for almost two years. Dollar General closed its DGX there in December 2024. That small-format shop had a distinction few people outside downtown knew about. It was the only Dollar General in Raleigh that sold fresh produce, according to The News & Observer. Once it closed, the southeast corner of downtown lost the one nearby place to pick up a carton of eggs on the way home.
Downtown Raleigh has plenty of good dinners. The newest businesses around Moore Square and in City Market cover smaller, more frequent needs: groceries, a weekday bowl of noodles with a park view, and a scoop of ice cream after a walk. Taken together, they suggest the east side is being built out for daily routines rather than special occasions.
The Grocery Gap, Mapped
The distances explain a lot. The two full grocery stores serving the city core sit on the opposite side of downtown from Moore Square.
| Store | Address | Part of downtown |
|---|---|---|
| Publix | 417 W. Peace St. | Northwest edge |
| Weaver Street Market | 404 W. Hargett St., at The Dillon | West side, Warehouse District |
| Wolfside Urban Market, in the former DGX space | 149 E. Davie St., at Blount St. | Southeast, near Moore Square |
Raleigh Magazine put it plainly in late August. Publix and Weaver Street Market serve parts of the core, but the southeastern edge has largely been without a convenient grocery stop since DGX shut down. The DGX closing also wasn't the first. Raleigh Provisions, a gourmet foods shop nearby, closed for good in January 2021, CBS 17 reported.
That makes two food shops lost on this side of downtown in under four years. The person leasing the Davie Street space told Raleigh Magazine that grocery is one of the harder retail categories to fill and that finding the right tenant took patience.
What Wolfside Is Built to Be
The tenant that came out of that wait is Wolfside Urban Market, owned by Vishal Patel. He previously worked at Bulldega Urban Market, a gourmet foods store on the ground floor of the One City Center building in downtown Durham. The two businesses are not related, The News & Observer reported. Patel told the N&O in June that he hoped to open in the fall, possibly in November. In August, Raleigh Magazine described the opening as coming "as early as November."
Wolfside isn't designed as a supermarket. According to Raleigh Magazine's profile, Patel sees it as a one-stop neighborhood shop where people pick up a few things often instead of doing one big weekly trip. Plans include:
- NC-grown produce and pantry staples
- Freezer items made by local restaurants, plus fridge basics
- An in-store sandwich bar, with custom deli sandwiches and grab-and-go food
- Beer, wine, and gifts from small and local vendors
Patel expects roughly a third of the shelves to go to Raleigh brands. Videri, Michael's English Muffins and Trophy Brewing had already signed on as of Raleigh Magazine's August report. "That's the experience I want to bring to Raleigh," Patel told Raleigh Magazine, describing shoppers who stay a while and come across something new.
For someone living within a few blocks of Moore Square, the shop is designed to change the trip itself. The plan puts a basket of Michael's English Muffins, a Videri bar, a sandwich and a six-pack of Trophy within walking distance at Davie and Blount. Without it, that run means a drive or a long walk west.
The Same Logic, Applied to Dinner and Dessert
The two other recent additions around the square follow the same pattern. Both are casual and both fill a regular slot in the week.
Kokoro Ramen & Izakaya opened in July at 200 E. Martin St., in the large dining room that once held Royale, facing Moore Square. The News & Observer called it one of the most prominent dining rooms in Raleigh and noted the park views. The owner, Neti Promkhotwong, also owns Neko Thai & Sushi Bar in Pinehurst. He and his staff trained at a Kansas City ramen school led by KC Craft Ramen. The broths simmer for at least 10 hours. The menu covers:
- Pork-based tonkotsu, which Promkhotwong expects to be the most popular, served with thin, straight noodles
- A spicy tonkotsu and a fermented garlic version
- Spicy chicken, spicy shrimp tempura and soy-based shoyu bowls
- A vegan bowl with fried tofu, mushrooms, sprouts and corn
- Grilled izakaya skewers and Thai street food
"The name Kokoro means 'From the heart,' and we will focus on ramen, like authentic ramen," Promkhotwong told The News & Observer. As the weather cools, a bowl of broth looking out over the square becomes a practical weeknight dinner for anyone who lives nearby.
Millie's Homemade, a Pittsburgh-based ice cream company, announced on Nov. 2 that it will open its first North Carolina shop in downtown Raleigh. The News & Observer reported, citing Triangle Business Journal, that the shop is slated for 325 Blake St. in City Market and expected before the end of the year. Chad and Lauren Townsend co-founded Millie's in 2014. It has shops in Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Maryland and Texas, plus a truck in Tennessee. Year-round flavors include Best Chocolate, Chad's Vanilla, Backyard S'mores, Dulce De Leche and Shirley Temple, and seasonal ones include Caramel Apple Dumpling and Pumpkin Pie.
City Market Already Had the Errand Model
Millie's is joining a set of cobblestone blocks that already worked more like a neighborhood main street than a destination. The Historic City Market tenant list is mostly everyday businesses.
- Big Ed's City Market Restaurant, open since 1989 and a City Market fixture for more than 30 years
- Blackbird Book & Coffee, a bookstore and coffee shop
- City Market Barber Shop
- Copperline Plant Co., a houseplant shop
- City Market Sushi
- City Market Artist Collective, founded in 2019 by sculptor Paris Alexander, with rotating exhibitions and a guest artist program
A haircut, a coffee and a new book, a plant for the windowsill, and soon a pint of ice cream. Most of that list is the kind of place people visit every few weeks, not once a year. Add a grocery at Davie and Blount and a noodle shop on Martin Street, and the walk around the square covers most of what a weekday requires.
The Block East of the Square Moves on a Slower Clock
The storefronts are changing month to month. The largest piece of land beside the square runs on a much longer timeline. The City of Raleigh owns about 2.85 acres on the block directly east of Moore Square, and it is now looking for a partner to redevelop about 1.81 acres of it.
According to the City's Moore Square East project page, the goal is a dense rental development of at least 100 units, all of them affordable and financed with 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The City says it also wants a creative design that improves the area around the square. The timeline so far:
- Sept. 28, 2026: The City's Housing and Community Development Department issued a request for qualifications.
- Nov. 12, 2026, at 10 a.m.: Deadline for submissions.
- Early January 2027: City staff expect to recommend a development partner to City Council.
A second City-owned area, the South Site, covers about 0.94 acres. It includes a surface parking lot and the old Esso Station, a contributing building in a local historic district that will stay. The City has paused its search for a partner there to focus on the East Site. The historic Norwood House next door, home to uses that support the park, is planned to remain as well.
For people walking the square this winter, the east-side block will look the same for a while. Choosing a partner is an early step, and a council recommendation in January is still far from construction. In the meantime, the small storefronts around it are where the visible change is happening: a park-view ramen room that opened in July, an ice cream shop headed for Blake Street, and a corner market designed to make a grocery run a short walk for anyone near Moore Square.
I've watched downtown Raleigh's east side change over more than 30 years, and the small openings often say more about a block than the big announcements do. If you own near Moore Square or City Market and want to know how these changes might affect your home's value, John Merriman is happy to talk it through. Let's connect, and I'll prepare a complimentary market valuation based on your street.
