I’ve been shopping at The Fresh Market in Raleigh’s Cameron Village (828-7888, www.thefreshmarket.com) since it opened and have always been grateful for the takeout soups, salads and deli items I could buy for lunch, along with a few things I might need at homesay, dishwasher detergent or bakery goodies for a school event. I’m not alone in wishing all this time we had one west of Wade Avenue, because as a quick stop for assembled-on-the-spot, ready-to-eat groceries or gourmet specialty items, you can’t beat it for convenience and ambience. Well, our wish is coming true. In addition to relocating its North Raleigh store down the block to 6325-23 Falls of Neuse Road with a pull-out-the-stops grand opening on April 30 at 9 a.m., Fresh Market is scheduled to open a Chapel Hill store in July, in the old Harris Teeter spot across from Glen Lennox apartments (1200 Raleigh Road/ N.C. 54 East).
Coffee lovers know that one of the best spots to get a Cup A Joe in Hillsborough (120 W. King St., 732-8056) and Chapel Hill (1129-AD Weaver Dairy Road, Timberlyne Shopping Center, 967-2002) is at these coffee shops by the same name, as well as the Joe Van Gogh (www.joevangogh.com) coffee shops in Chapel Hill’s Meadowmont Village inside the UNC Wellness Center (100 Sprunt St., 843-2162), and in Durham (1104-B Broad St., 286-4800).
Starting this week, picking up a pound of beans for home brewing is easier now that master roaster Robbie Roberts’ Joe Van Gogh coffees will be sold in Whole Foods of Durham and Chapel Hill, in addition to the Weaver Street Market locations in Carrboro, Southern Village and Hillsborough (opening in May). Not only are Joe Van Gogh’s coffees certified organic and fair trade, but Roberts participates in the Cafe Femenino Foundation, a program supporting women coffee producers in developing communities around the worldwhere the income over the fair trade price goes back to the producers, who then channel it into children’s programs and the community.
Event planning and catering firm Mark Day Company (6113 N.C. 86, Chapel Hill, 932-3031) will host the Hillsborough Wine Company plus its sister store, Chapel Hill Wine Company, in offering a one-of-a-kind shopping spree April 19 from 1-5 p.m. You can sample Mark’s appetizers and savory finger foods paired with Todd Wielar’s wine choices and goodies from Matthew’s Chocolates and Mebane’s Sweet Tooth. Then you can book catering and wine services for your next big event. Call the wine company at 968-1884 for more info.
And speaking of all the good things to choose from on April 19, it’s not too late to sign up for the Piedmont Farm Tour (www.carolinafarmstewards.org) and Cary’s Great Grapes! Wine, Arts and Food Festival (www.uncorkthefun.com).
Finally, following up on a few restaurants we’ve been tracking, Neal’s Deli is now open in Carrboro. Taverna Nikos in Durham celebrates its reopening on April 18 at 5 p.m. And Chapel Hill’s The Flying Burrito plans to reopen in May, after a change of ownership and a gut renovation.
Know about a special food happening in the Triangle? Send it to Now Serving at food@indyweek.com.
