North Carolina’s historic walkable capital is building group muscle on multiple fronts, headlined by the $387.5 million, 300,000-square-foot expansion of the 500,000-square-foot Raleigh Convention Center.
Adding 80,000 square feet of flexible space and 30 meeting rooms, the investment goes with a new 550-room Omni hotel offering 55,000 square feet of space. Both are slated for 2028 and will allow Raleigh to attract larger citywide meetings, events and sports bookings as the region’s continuing expansion as a major innovation hub brings in more international groups from the educational, technology, medical and scientific communities.
Aiming for 2026, the adjacent 6,000-capacity Red Hat Amphitheater is moving one block away to a reconfigured permanent venue with additional seating.
The $300 million transformation of the 19,700-seat Lenovo Center, home of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and N.C. State Wolfpack Men’s Basketball team, kicks off this year along with phase one of a $1 billion mixed-use sports and entertainment district surrounding the multipurpose arena.
These and other developments, including new meetings properties Hyatt House Seaboard Station and the dual-brand Tempo by Hilton and Homewood Suites Raleigh Downtown, will mean even more hungry delegates to feed. Raleigh’s creative culinary community is fired up and ready with a menu medley that spans local and global cuisines, craft beer and other bounty.
Raleigh Restaurants
Following his distinguished run as executive chef at Herons, the five-star restaurant at luxe meetings property Umstead Hotel & Spa in nearby Cary, five-time James Beard Best Chef: Southeast semifinalist Scott Crawford continues to put his stamp on Raleigh’s dining scene.
Nominated for James Beard’s national Outstanding Restaurateur honors this year, Crawford’s latest venture, Brodeto, is an Adriatic-inspired restaurant at reborn former steel mill Raleigh Iron Works. Coastal Italy meets Croatia on the plate, with private dining for 24- and 80-person buyouts. Other Crawford concepts include French bistro-style Jolie, featuring an underground cocktail lounge and private event rooftop; and Crawford Brothers Steakhouse.
The historic Warehouse District is home to Southern Italian/Mediterranean-style La Terrazza, an attractive rooftop restaurant with outdoor bar, skyline views and private dining for 12-plus guests.
Festive Madre in the Smoky Hollow development is for “motherly hospitality” and Spanish tapas in a modern setting. The private dining can seat 35 or up to 50 for standing events, with full buyouts for up to 200.
Locals still long for serial James Beard nominee Cheetie Kumar’s former Pan-Asian-temple Garland. The excitement is back at Ajja. Meaning “come over” in Hindi/Urdu, Ajja fuses Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Southwest Asian flavors and influences with North Carolina ingredients for a unique taste journey. Located in Raleigh’s Five Points neighborhood, the restaurant hosts private dining for 12 with partial or full buyouts for larger groups.
Raleigh’s global dining galaxy includes event-capable Tamasha Modern Indian from 2025 James Beard Emerging Chef nominee Bhavin Chhatwani in Midtown’s North Hills district.
[Related: Massive Raleigh Convention Expansion Sets City Up For Success]
Beer, Barbecue and More Bounty
North Carolina barbecue perennially bumps (pork) shoulders with Texas and Kansas City for national supremacy. Two disciplines dominate: Eastern-style whole hog with vinegar-based sauce, and Lexington-style slow-cooked pork shoulder with sweet, tangy tomato and vinegar sauce.
Raleigh continues to smoke the competition with joints including whole hog-driven Longleaf Swine.
In 2024, Texas Monthly named Prime Barbecue to its list of top 50 best Texas barbecue joints outside of the Lone Star State. This year, pitmaster-owner Christopher Prieto, a native Texan of Puerto Rican heritage, earned a James Beard Best Chef: Southeast nomination for his sellout sensation 20 minutes east of Raleigh. Both Longleaf and Prime offer mobile catering.
Celebrated as “The State of Southern Beer,” North Carolina’s thriving craft brewing industry dates to the 1700s. In 1788, Raleigh’s founding fathers decreed that the state capitol be constructed within 10 miles of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, their favorite watering hole and a popular stop for traveling delegates.
Today, groups can tap into this frothy legacy at breweries and brewpubs around town including The Raleigh Beer Garden. Holding Guiness World Records for the most beer taps in one location and the largest selection of beers on draught, this hopping event-capable venue in Glenwood South offers 386-plus different state, U.S. and international brews daily.
With seven Raleigh locations including three hosting private events, Trophy Brewing is renowned for its experimental craft beers.
This month sees the 2025 edition of Brewgaloo, North Carolina’s largest craft beer festival. Attracting 60,000 people, the annual two-day takeover of Fayetteville Street and Downtown Raleigh features 110 state craft breweries, plus, live music and food trucks. More than 100 mobile vendors, most serving events, circulate around town selling everything from Belgian waffles to Maine lobsters.
Popular hangouts include Whiskey Kitchen, offering a large outdoor patio ideal for groups along with tasty fare and 200-plus whiskeys, and event-capable Morgan Street Food Hall, featuring 23 vendors and indoor and outdoor seating inside a renovated warehouse.
[Related: Why Meeting Planners Love Coastal Carolinas Destinations]
Plus: A Conversation With Ashley Christensen, Chef/Philanthropist, Ashley Christensen Restaurants
Originally from Kernersville, N.C., trailblazing chef-philanthropist Ashley Christensen made Raleigh home after graduating from NC State University. In 2007, she opened Poole’s Diner, the convention district hotspot which anchors her Ashley Christensen Restaurants group, full-service catering included.
Opened in 2011, Southern-driven Beasley’s Chicken + Honey offers a 65-capacity private room. In 2015, a year after winning the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast, Christensen introduced wood-fired gem Death & Taxes, featuring the upstairs 125-capacity Bridge Club private events loft and cooking classroom. In 2019, she became the only North Carolinian to date to win the preeminent James Beard national title of Outstanding Chef.
Christensen shared her continuing mission “to influence, shape and strengthen” her adopted hometown in this Q&A with senior contributor Jeff Heilman.
How have you evolved as a chef and community leader?
Taking each new day as an opportunity to evolve and learn from the challenges of the days before has been so important to my growth as a business operator and a leader. Food is a beautiful medium and hospitality is a powerful ecosystem for connecting with our community. Both provide constant reminders of how much stronger, better and more successful we are when we work together.
The Raleigh culinary scene has great momentum—where is it headed?
The entire Triangle region just gets better and better.
This community values and supports independent businesses and so many top operators are locals from the area. From the coast to the mountains, the North Carolina food system is another true differentiator.
The wealth of independent contributors, including wild shellfish harvesters, forest foragers, folks growing and milling native grains, ranchers raising NC Wagyu beef and beyond, is incredible. Plus, there’s an expanding range of delicious expressions of place from brewers, distillers, bread bakers and chocolatiers.
I understand changes are afoot at Poole’s Diner?
Poole's has always been the spiritual home of my culinary creativity and process. Last fall, we moved the restaurant into the larger space next door. This has allowed us to expand our offerings and welcome more guests while thoughtfully updating the original kitchen and dining room.
Reopening this summer, the enhanced space becomes our hub for hosting special dinners, celebrations, guest chef-collaborations and seated events for up to 70 guests. I am very excited.
