These beloved Triangle restaurants closed in 2023. A look back at what we’ll miss

At the end of the year we like to remember some of the beloved restaurants and creative concepts that closed their doors. In 2023, we saw some of the Triangle’s top pizzerias close up shop, as well as some of the area’s most comforting neighborhood gathering spots.

Here are the notable restaurants that closed in 2023.

Capital Creations, Raleigh

Around Thanksgiving, Raleigh lost one of its most popular takeout pizza shops. Jim and Beth Niver opened Capital Creations in 1992 and for the next 31 years served up inventive and traditional pies. After three decades the couple decided to hang up their aprons and retire from the pizza business.

Coronato, Carrboro

Coronato, which opened as one of the Triangle’s most unique pizzerias, closed after a four-year run specializing in thin and crispy Roman-style pizzas. The first restaurant owned by chef Teddy Diggs served up pizzas with an authentically Italian perspective, combining bites like crispy fried suppli and seasonal pizzas topped with fresh figs or tomatoes.

Coronato also distinguished itself as a destination for sober diners, transforming its beverage program to be entirely non-alcoholic.

Deli Edison, Chapel Hill

This market from the owners of neighboring barbecue joint The Pig combined a bagel and sandwich shop with a gourmet food store. Deli Edison took over the former Bagel Bar space in Chapel Hill, catering to what was then a bagel desert, while also serving as a pastry counter and a retail shop for the wildly popular Lady Edison ham products.

Double Barley, Wilson’s Mills

Double Barley helped bring craft beer to Johnston County and was best known for a sweet porter called Thrilla in Vanilla. The brewery closed in July after nearly a decade in business, but beer wasn’t gone for long. The space has been turned into Raleigh Brewing Distro, a new taproom and production space for the well-known brewery.

Fine Folk, Raleigh

Born out of the early days of the pandemic, the threads of Fine Folk began as a burger pop-up in the former Cary restaurant Postmaster, where chef Christopher Lopez served up wildly popular smashburgers. On the wave of those burgers, Lopez created Fine Folk, a casual neighborhood restaurant and wine bar in Gateway Plaza.

Fine Folk dealt in a kind of modern Americana, built with a diner soul and fine dining talent. Though it closed after a year-and-a-half, the bar stools were full until the lights went out.

Honeysuckle at Lakewood, Durham

The second iteration of the former County Fare space in Durham’s Lakewood neighborhood closed in December, making way for the new restaurant Lakewood Social from Joel Schroeter. The closing of Honeysuckle in Durham ends the brand’s run with traditional cafes and restaurants, with the original picturesque space in Chapel Hill now operating only as an events venue.

Humble Pie, Raleigh

A Raleigh classic ended its run after more than 30 years in its downtown space. Founded by Grover Williamson and named for the English rock band, Humble Pie was the quintessential downtown Raleigh neighborhood restaurant, boasting a best-in-the-city patio, a comfortable bar and comforting Southern menu.

Humble Pie helped launch the career of Raleigh chef Ashley Christensen and its space is being taken over by one of her proteges, former Poole’s chef David Ellis, who plans a new Italian restaurant, Figulina.

J. Lights Market, Durham & Raleigh

This cross-Triangle pair of cafes opened in newer developments in Durham and Raleigh, opening as Golden Belt’s first restaurant and in Smoky Hollow’s array of food and beverage options. Part deli, part bottle shop, J. Lights served up solid sandwiches and always curated a tasty draft list of craft beer.

Jack Tar Diner, Durham

The modern diner is one of the biggest trends in restaurants today, a concept helped put in motion by downtown Durham’s Jack Tar. From the same owners as Pizzeria Toro and Littler, Jack Tar nailed the all-day restaurant, serving giant pancakes for breakfast, a perfect burger at lunch and at night a plate of fried chicken, tossed in a tingly szechuan oil.

With Jack Tar’s departure, Durham also lost the narrow black box cocktail bar The Colonel’s Daughter, known as one of the Triangle’s best spots for a drink around the holidays.

Ko.an, Cary

This revival of the former An Cuisines space in Cary was owned by former bu.ku and so.ca founder Sean Degnan. Ko.an offered a casual yet refined view of southeast Asian cuisine, serving dishes like steamed lobster buns, tuna tataki and bowls of flavorful noodles and curries.

Opened shortly before the pandemic, Ko.an was one of the best known restaurants in the Triangle to morph its space into a temporary grocery store, offering hard-to-find staples to customers.

Pompieri, Durham

After a decade in business, one of Durham’s popular pizzerias closed near the end of 2023. Pompieri served up piping hot and blistered pizzas from a wood-burning oven, among the first in the area at the time to cook Neapolitan-style pies.

Poole’side Pies, Raleigh

This bright and lively pizzeria from acclaimed chef Ashley Christensen closed before Christmas, ending a four-year run next door to her flagship restaurant Poole’s Diner (thus the name).

With a large skylight and a pool club theme, Poole’side churned out airy, creative pizzas and riffs on Poole’s Diner classics, like fried mac and cheese. You might find collard greens on your pizza and dill pickle juice brightening up your salad, as just a few of the inventive touches at Poole’side. But Christensen promises a new concept will move into the space soon.

The Rockford, Raleigh

One of the oldest restaurants on Glenwood South closed in early 2023 after nearly three decades in business. This second-story hidden gem was once called “spunky” by former News & Observer dining critic Greg Cox.

In more recent years it was known for comforting fine dining, led by then-chef Kevin Ruiz, and a popular brunch service amid Raleigh’s busiest nightlife districts.

Saint Jacques, Raleigh

One of the Triangle’s oldest French restaurants, Saint Jacques served European refinement in a North Raleigh strip mall. Opened nearly two decades ago, the restaurant was known for a time as Raleigh’s best French restaurant, but closed abruptly and silently in the summer.

Sawmill Tap Room, Raleigh

The closing of this North Raleigh neighborhood bar was one of our most-read restaurant stories of 2023. Fans and patrons of Sawmill flocked to the bar over its final month, a closing owners say was forced when it wasn’t offered a lease renewal on its home of 23 years. The popular spot was best known for burgers and craft beer and a wide outdoor patio.

Soul Taco, Raleigh

This short-lived taqueria held so much promise for the area between Downtown Raleigh and N.C. State’s campus, but closed after only a few months in business. Soul Taco was the Raleigh expansion of a popular Richmond, Virginia, brand and served a style of taco that mashed up soul food and Mexican cuisine. The result was jambalaya chicken tinga tacos, or po’boy shrimp tacos.

Yamazushi, Durham

One of the Triangle’s most artful, creative and transportive restaurants closed this year as owners George and Mayumi Yamazawa retired Yamazushi after 37 years. What opened as a straightforward sushi restaurant in the Woodcroft shopping center eventually morphed into one of the South’s only traditional Japanese kaiseki meals.

George Yamazawa would cook for as few as a dozen diners a night, serving a multi-course meal on plates and bowls he had made himself. It was as intricate and intimate a dining experience as existed in the Triangle.

Zweli’s, Durham

Fear-not, this isn’t a forever closing. The excellent Zweli’s Kitchen closed its original location on Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard earlier this year. But owners Zweli and (new Durham Mayor) Leonardo Williams will reopen in Brightleaf Square next year. Expect the same peri peri chicken and peanut butter collard greens that made the original Zweli’s a destination.