While Hank’s Downtown Dive is definitely downtown—smack-dab in the middle of Cary’s Chatham Street, in fact—it isn’t really a dive.
The bohemian space brims with funky lamps, patterned wallpaper, and oddly shaped mirrors. And while people may drop by for an after-work beer, regulars also flock to the neighborhood bar for a glass of wine and a small plate of olives.
Hank’s is the brainchild of Matthew and Catherine Bettinger, local business owners who have worked in the restaurant industry for years. The now-married couple met for the first time while working at Raleigh jazz bar C Grace, which was opened by Catherine’s mother, Catrina Godwin. The legendary jazz bar closed last year, giving Matthew and Catherine more time to work on their own business plans and look after their now-1-year-old daughter.
“She’s at this really fun age,” Catherine says. “She just started walking.”
Hank’s has now been running smoothly for about two years, and the Bettingers are pretty hands-off when it comes to their second business, Sidebar, an upscale cocktail lounge that they opened in Cary in 2018. But five years ago, it was a
different story.
Cary hadn’t really been on the couple’s radar until their business partner, Jeff Kinard, started talking about its potential.
“He is very into cocktails and he really wanted a bar that he could go to close to his home,” says Catherine. “He found a location and came to us.”
Sidebar became the couple’s first business venture and they “lucked out” procuring the competitive downtown space. Matthew was still working at C Grace as the general manager as he labored to make Sidebar a reality, resigning just before the new joint opened. It was an immediate hit.
People in nearby suburban neighborhoods were already flocking to downtown Cary in search of high-quality restaurants and nightlife. Sidebar, with its dim lighting and muted colors, became the perfect spot for a strong drink, a night on the town, or a cozy conversation.
“People want a little bit of escape,” Matthew says. “When you go out, whether it’s for a beer after work or to celebrate, it’s an occasion. That’s our sweet spot—providing a little bit of escape.”
It’s easy to see design elements from C Grace in the lines of Sidebar, like the wrap-around counter that makes up one big corner of the small space.
“The focal point is really the back bar,” Matthew says. “It’s just a wall of liquor. I think that’s where your eye is drawn. You get variation, visually, in the different colors of bottles.”
Like C Grace, Sidebar also specializes in high-end cocktails. Matthew takes pride in making drinks that are “creative without being overly complicated,” he says. The quality ingredients and attention to detail from bartenders make each drink a work of art.
While there’s a “drink for every occasion,” Matthew says, his go-to is usually a Negroni, while Catherine is currently on a margarita kick. “Classics,” Matthew says, “are classics for a reason.”
In 2017, Matthew left C Grace. Catherine stayed on for nearly four more years, through the COVID pandemic, until she gave birth to their daughter. Meanwhile, the couple was also working to open Hank’s.
“Building during COVID and then opening during heavy restrictions, there was definitely some transition into [making the space] exactly what Cary wanted,” Matthew says. “It did take a little while to put all the pieces together.”
“Pivot” was the watchword of 2021, Matthew says. Originally, the couple planned on making Hank’s aesthetic much more casual and dive-bar-esque. But, Matthew says, guests were looking for something else.
“It was part of that evolution,” he says. “They encouraged us to push the envelope a little bit.”
The head chef at Hank’s, Evan Cordes, was also a major asset when it came to making changes quickly, Matthew says: “His ability to grow with the restaurant and make those changes along the way, while still staying business-minded, has been massive.”
Together, the two developed a menu that showcases North Carolina seafood and local produce.
“We’ve always wanted you to be able to come and have dinner, eat well, and not feel inundated with overly heavy ingredients,” Matthew says. “We try and keep a light hand so that when you do leave, that’s not the end of the night.”
Over the years, Matthew has become passionate about small businesses, especially in the restaurant industry, which he’s worked in since graduating high school. Catherine, meanwhile, grew up in a family that’s always been involved in small businesses: Her mother owned C Grace and her father ran an
elevator company.
With Sidebar and Hank’s, the pair are sustaining a years-long legacy, even as local entrepreneurs struggle with increasing costs and competition as Raleigh and the surrounding areas grow.
In Cary, the community is “super supportive” of local businesses, Catherine says. The area around Chatham Street feels like an incubator space, with new businesses opening all the time, and Matthew describes the relationship between neighboring business owners as “very symbiotic.”
“I think a lot of it comes down to civic planning,” he says. “If you asked me seven years ago, would we be in downtown Cary, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy.’ But Cary was very direct in what they wanted, even through COVID. They planned. And I think that’s awesome.”
Today, Sidebar and Hank’s feel like cornerstones of the downtown scene. They anchor dozens of restaurants, bars, and boutiques that border the town’s main street.
The best part of running the businesses is the regulars, Matthew says.
“You make it for those familiar faces,” he says. “We had regulars at our wedding and regulars that became close, close friends. That’s your foundation, that’s your base, that’s what keeps it going.”
Ultimately, he says, “Sidebar and Hank’s are continuations of the story that started with C Grace.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Evan Cordes’s last name.
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