Michelle Vanderwalker and Sean Umstead, the couple behind Kingfisher and Queenburger, partnered with Durham event guru King Kenney to open Queeny’s, a neighborhood grill updated for the 21st century. The menu features crowd-pleasers like nachos, a pork chop sandwich, fried pickles, and a daily blue plate special. The space is intended to be a gathering place for the community, with a coffee bar and podcast studio among some of the additions to the the traditional bar and grill vibe.

Beloved pizzeria Cugino Forno has opened its first location outside of the Triad in Durham’s Golden Belt complex. The Neapolitan-style pizzas are cooked in an oven imported directly from Naples that contains stones from Mt. Vesuvius. Pizzas include Margherita, funghi, and Livorno (Italian sausage, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzerella di Bufala, garlic, and basil).

Anchoring Old East Durham’s small downtown, Rofhiwa is Black-owned coffee shop and bookstore that took over the old East Durham Bake Shop space. Books on a wide range of subjects, all from Black authors, occupy one corner of the colorful space, while the coffee bar serves classic cafe drinks. A rotating selection of pastries and small bites is usually available, and a generous side patio is popular on sunny days.

Former Pizzeria Mercato sous chef David Peretin recently opened this ode to handcrafted pasta right in the center of Carrboro. The restaurant seats just 18 customers at a time, with a similarly scaled back menu of small plates and pasta to match. Starters are homemade bread, a salad of local lettuces, arancini with a salsa Calabrese, and marinated olives. The real stars of the show are Peretin’s pastas — shapes like spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni, and gnocchi all made fresh in house. Tesoro is an homage to classic pasta, nothing overly fancy or gimmicky.

The shipping-containers-as-shops trend has arrived in the Triangle with Boxyard RTP, in an area not really known as a destination for diners outside of office hours. Boxyard aims to change that, with storefronts (box-fronts?) for an outpost of Durham’s Beyu Caffe, Buzzy Bakes bakery, Wonderpuff cotton candy shop, and the much-anticipated Lawrence BBQ from chef Jake Wood. Future openings include a second location for Fullsteam Brewery, Bulkogi (Korean), Carrburitos, Meat and Graze (cheese and charcuterie), RTP Uncorked (wine bar and shop), and Lagoon Bar (tiki).

LA-based Day and Night Exotic Cereal Bar recently opened its newest location off Falls of Neuse Road in North Raleigh. What exactly is an exotic cereal bar? Well, imagine childhood favorite cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch transformed into magical bowls and shakes by a Michelin-trained stoner. Those Honey Nut Cheerios become The Beehive -—combined with Honey Bunches of Oats, a roasted almond granola, and drizzle of honey (add milk for a bowl, or turn it into a shake). The Buttercup comes with Cocoa Puffs, Reese’s Cup Cereal, whipped cream, a peanut butter drizzle, and chocolate donut sprinkles. Top it all off with a bacon flight and a cup of a coffee, because why not?

Matt Fern’s Ish Delicatessen on Person Street in Raleigh is just that. It’s not a Jewish deli, and it’s not an Italian sub shop — it’s a little bit of everything. “Ish.” There’s a Reuben, of course, and an Italian sub, but there’s also sloppy SPO’s (sausage, peppers, and onions role-playing as a sloppy Joe), egg and olive salad (a Fern family Easter tradition apparently), and summer spiedies.

Located atop downtown Raleigh’s AC Hotel, the Willard is the latest entrant in the city’s rooftop offerings. The cocktail menu features drinks like the Willard gimlet, a signature gin and tonic, and the Dos Caras, made with tequila blanco, mezcal joven, grapefruit, cinnamon, and clove. A menu of globally inspired small plates (roasted carrots and harissa toast, chicken shawarma flatbread, and crispy shrimp shakshouka) complements the drinks, as well as a beer and wine menu.

Billing itself as Downtown Raleigh’s first distillery and restaurant, Young Hearts is the brainchild of the folks behind Trophy Brewing. On the booze side of things Young Hearts is focusing on botanical forward spirits, amari, gins, and more, while the food options include both dinner and late menus. Dinner features small plates and mains like a local pork torchon, beet (yes, beet) bourguignon, and a venison carpaccio. Those staying later can soak up some of that liquor with the late night lasagna, Swedish meatballs, or hoppin’ John croquettes.