Why? Trendy hotels, stellar food, and plenty of places to imbibe.
The style magazine Vogueposted its ode to the Bull City this morning. Let’s take a gander, shall we?
“Durham is perhaps known first and foremost as the home to Duke University (and its famed basketball team), but it’s becoming a destination for much more than just Blue Devils games,” writes Jennifer Rice, who, according to her website, is a native of Laurinburg who now lives in Wyoming. “In recent years, a bustling and creative culinary scene has emerged. The Durham Performing Arts Center, American Tobacco Campus, Brightleaf Square, and Durham Bulls games—where you can watch a home run while noshing on empanadas and peach cobbler with ice cream—are also noteworthy attractions.”
If you call Durham home—or have ever walked down Main Street with your eyes open—you’re probably already aware of everything Vogue has to share. But we’ll take the title anyway, especially since the article’s writer used to live in Raleigh.
Highlighted in the piece are the updated mid-century Durham Hotel and its restaurant (led by James Beard Award–winning chef Andrea Reusing), the artsy 21c Museum Hotel, and The Unscripted, which will be the unfortunate name of the former Jack Tar Motor Lodge, once renovations are complete and the North Corcoran Street hotel reopens this summer. There are also the obligatory shout-outs to a bunch of Durham’s culinary mainstays, including Mateo, Scratch, Piedmont, Saltbox, and Monuts.
“The hardest decision will be narrowing down your eating priorities,” Rice says.
It appears the Bull City is having quite the moment, at least in the eyes of the late-to-the-game national media.
CNN recently interviewed Durham native and yoga goddess Jessamyn Stanley about her favorite spots in Durham. City council member Jillian Johnson was just profiled by Elle magazine. The city even made a recent cameo in the Marvel universe. Last month, Garden & Gun magazine proclaimed, “Long overshadowed by its sister cities—Raleigh and Chapel Hill—Durham, North Carolina, is coming into its own.”
Congratulations, world. Welcome to the party.
