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💙 BRIEF: The only NC restaurant on the NYT's 50 Best is right here
Published about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Happy Friday, Triangle!
The National Coffee Day just got (more) interesting. Dunkin’ and L.L.Bean are teaming up for a limited-edition collection, but before that, there’s plenty happening around the Triangle. Rogers Road lane closures wrap up today in Wake Forest, and the weekend brings football at Carter-Finley, live music in Carrboro, and dancing under the stars in Cary.
The housing market is giving us something to watch, too. Nearly half of the homes for sale have taken a price cut, so below I’m breaking down what that means for buyers and sellers right now.
Here’s your D&M BRIEF:
[B]est Weekend Plans: Football, a 100-band music festival, and dance under the stars. [R]ealty Pulse: Half the market has cut its price [I]n the News: RTI just doubled its lab space in RTP with a $14M expansion. [E]xclusive Listing: A $999,760 homesite in Efland where you pick the floorplan. [F]riday Favorites: The only NC restaurant on the NYT's 50 Best is in Raleigh.
What this means: The median list price in Raleigh is $525,000, and there are now 1,236 active listings, up from recent months. New listings are arriving at a median of $465,000, below the overall median, a sign that sellers are meeting the cooler market with lower asking prices. About half of all active listings have already reduced their price at least once, while only 2% have raised it, and homes are taking a median of 63 days to sell.
For buyers, more active listings, frequent price reductions, and longer time on market mean more negotiating flexibility than the market has offered in months.
For sellers, accurate pricing from day one matters more than ever, because the overpriced homes are the ones sitting and cutting.
Curious what this looks like for your specific neighborhood or price range? Let's talk real (estate)
[I]N THE NEWS
DEVELOPMENT
RTI opens a $14M pilot lab that doubles its RTP testing space
RTI International cut the ribbon on September 10 on a $14M, 25,000-square-foot expansion of its Pilot Xcelerator facility in Research Triangle Park. The addition more than doubles the lab space RTI uses to help startups and established companies test cleaner fuels, energy technologies, and advanced materials. The nonprofit research institute can now host up to eight commercial projects at once.
▷ What is changing
The build-out includes 12,000 square feet of covered process-bay space with 40-foot ceilings, plus 3,000 square feet of indoor control rooms. It runs on a modular, plug-and-play layout, with an overhead utility spine that feeds compressed air, 480-volt power, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and cooling water to customizable equipment.
Program director Sameer Parvathikar describes it as the only privately owned industrial pilot laboratory in North Carolina. Before the expansion, the program had worked with five companies in total; a few dozen have now expressed interest in the new site.
▷ Why the city is doing it
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded RTI $5.5M on September 9 for two projects at the Pilot Xcelerator, one converting natural minerals into advanced manufacturing materials and another recycling cardboard. Those grants involve NC State University, Gunnadoo Consulting, and Thar Energy. Other work moving through the facility includes sustainable aviation fuel and technology that converts greenhouse gases into usable chemicals.
▷ Why this matters for the Triangle
RTI's investment lands as other major tenants invest heavily in the Park. Biogen committed $2 billion to a North Carolina expansion in 2025, and Novartis Gene Therapies has put $771 million toward its own buildout. Wake County Economic Development estimates the Park's 385-plus companies and 55,000 workers generate about $25.1 billion in annual economic impact.
In June, tenants approved the "RTP 3.0" framework, which for the first time allows mixed-use and residential development inside the Park. For the Triangle, a lab built to commercialize new technology is one more reason the companies, and the jobs, keep choosing to stay here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...
DEVELOPMENT
NC State opens the W. Duke Kimbrell Flex Factory
NC State's Wilson College of Textiles opened the 17,000-square-foot W. Duke Kimbrell Flex Factory on September 11, adding a makerspace and a prototype lab where students, entrepreneurs, and industry partners can develop new textile products.
Ahead of National Coffee Day on September 29, Dunkin' and L.L.Bean announced their first joint collection, including a limited-edition Boat and Tote and a co-branded coffee holster; the merchandise reaches the brands' online store on September 29, and Dunkin' Rewards members can claim a free coffee that day.
Wake Forest schedules overnight lane closures on Rogers Road through September 25
Utility crews will reduce lanes along Rogers Road near Capital Creek from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, September 21–25, for gas-line work ahead of the NCDOT Rogers Road Grade Separation Project; drivers should expect delays and consider an alternate route.
The property is offered in partnership with Drees Homes, a builder known for semi-custom flexibility, so a buyer can adapt a floorplan to a specific lifestyle, whether that is a single-story ranch or a first-floor primary suite. The lot carries no city taxes and sits within the Orange County school district. Downtown Mebane, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, DPAC, and the Durham dining scene are nearby, and Duke Health, RTP, and RDU are reachable by the same corridor.
Key features:
Build-to-suit home by Drees Homes, with a buyer-selected floorplan and exterior
Private acreage at The Reserve at Evergreen Farm, Efland
No city taxes
Centered on the I-40/I-85 corridor between the Triangle and the Triad
Within the Orange County school district
Close to downtown Mebane, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, DPAC, Duke Health, RTP, and RDU
Big Cat just became the first Triangle restaurant ever named to The New York Times' 50 Best Restaurants list — and it's the only North Carolina spot on this year's roundup. The Raleigh restaurant comes from a group of the area's most acclaimed chefs and owners, including Cheetie Kumar, whose menu pulls from Indian, Mexican, and Mediterranean flavors. Times critic Kim Severson singled out the cabbage, the soft serve, and a personal pan of cornbread with curry-leaf butter. If you've been meaning to try it, this is the week.
Permits have been filed to bring the Canadian coffee and donut giant to 1008 Morrisville Carpenter Road in Morrisville, taking over a former Dairy Queen space. This would mark the brand’s very first North Carolina location. Known worldwide for their signature coffee, steeped tea, breakfast sandwiches, and fresh-baked Timbits, they are looking to transform the 3,100-square-foot spot just southwest of RDU Airport. While an opening timeline isn’t locked in just yet, plans are officially in motion.
Fall in the Piedmont is a short, comfortable stretch before the first cold nights arrive, usually mid-to-late October around here. It's the smart time to book your heating system's tune-up, before the temperatures drop and every HVAC company in the Triangle is fully booked. A quick service now means no surprises the first morning you reach for the thermostat.
Client Testimonial
I had a wonderful experience working with Davis & Main Real Estate for my recent move to the Raleigh area! Brette and Emily were professional, knowledgeable and incredibly personable, she made me feel confident in all the decisions that were made along the way. Grateful for such a smooth, enjoyable buying experience, I cannot recommend them enough! —Kali S.
Thanks for reading the D&M Triangle BRIEF. See you next Friday!
—Brette Davis
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I’m a Raleigh-based agent who’s passionate about real estate, local life, and making homeownership feel easy (and fun!). Subscribe and join 2,000+ readers who get the inside scoop every week!
