The Herald-Sun from Durham, North Carolina • A4

4A HERALD-SUN MONDAY SEPTEMBER 27 2021 One of the top bakeries is set to open a new corner cafe in downtown Raleigh. Union Special Bread, led by baker Andrew Ullom, will open its new Fayetteville Street loca- tion this week, aiming to start selling pastries by the end of September. soon as we have a permit, ready to Ulom said. hopeful serve some- thing here (this Quickly beloved for pastries, breads and burg- er buns all over town, Union Special launched in 2019 in Gate- way Plaza, following a series of pop-ups around town. Ullom, the former executive pastry chef for AC restaurants, has built a breakfast and brunch following with blue corn cookies, sourdough bread and croissants filled with soft serve.

The new downtown Union Special opens in the former Tama Tea space on Fayetteville Street. The Wilmington- based tea and coffee shop was one of the numerous restaurant closings during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE ALLURE OF DOWNTOWN But that closing led Ullom to something he imagined was always out of reach, a Union Special location in downtown Raleigh. allure has always been there, but the pric- ing was never something we could Ul- lom said earlier this spring in announcing the new location. In the 1,200 square foot space, the downtown Union Special aims to fuel the morning for downtown workers with an espresso machine and pastries.

For lunch the cafe will offer cold grab-and-go sandwiches and pressed paninis for those with a couple minutes to spare for melted cheese and griddled bread. Like the Gateway location, expect a flowing soft serve ma- chine. Over the last few months, the Gateway Union Special has pre- viewed some of the sand- wiches to expect down- town, including a muffa- letta; a turkey, bacon and ranch sandwich; an Ital- ian and a hot ham and cheese. There are no deep fryers in the downtown spot, so duplicating the cult favorite breakfast sandwich from the origi- nal location, with its fried hash- brown, is out of the ques- tion. But Ullom promises a different kind of egg sandwich, plus room for the new location to devel- op its own identity.

Gateway all egg sandwiches, here I think be turkey, bacon, Ullom said. DOWNTOWN COMING BACK The downtown cafe is fronted by large windows looking out onto Fayette- ville Street. Inside, the walls feature a mural by Raleigh artist Taylor White, showing two kids eating soft, squishy white bread. There are also colorful pinstripes and logos painted by Spcl Signs owner Joseph Giam- pino. Ullom announced the new cafe in April and renovations ran through the summer.

In that time, with the rise of vaccina- tions, some downtown workers have returned to offices, though the streets remain mostly sparse compared to the pre- pandemic days. Ullom said watched down- town begin to come back and expects greater things in the future. seen more people walking around this week than I have in a long Ullom said last week. awesome and hopeful people are taking our current sit- uation seriously, but I understand this (pandem- ic) is something that evolves constantly. That being said, very excit- ed to eat a panini The downtown Union Special will open along- side the return of the World of Bluegrass festiv- al, which is downtown largest event.

Ullom says the shop may take it slow for the festiv- al, selling pastries and coffee from a window, but said the energy is beginning to return to the center. think that sense of community is coming back Ullom said. think it was ever lost, but much less somber than when we started construction a few months ago. Folks are jovial for the most FINE FOLK AT UNION SPECIAL Meanwhile at the origi- nal Union Special loca- tion, it turns into the dinner service residency of Fine Folk, the new restaurant evolution from the guys behind Cheeseburger. Fine Folk takes over the Union Special dining room and patio from 5 to 9 p.m.

Wednesday through Sat- urday. Owners Chris Lopez and John Kleinert are building Fine Folk next door to Union Special in Gateway Plaza, moving into the former BREW coffee shop. For a while, the Fine Folk popup con- tinued serving Cheeseburger dishes, like the famous burger, falafel corn dogs and a kale Caesar with dinosaur- shaped chicken nuggets. Now Fine Folk has shifted its menu closer to what diners can expect when it opens. Currently that means trout and grits, pork steak and sweet potato fries with a collard green chimichurri, plus the smash burger.

Fine Folk recently hired Sorena Dagnar as its general manager, who has started building an eclectic wine menu. Lo- pez said still a lot of fun on the menu, in- cluding dishes like a pork cassoulet with tater tots, but that the dining expe- rience is growing more elevated. calling our- selves a high end hole in the Lopez said. Drew Jackson: 919-829-4707, Top Raleigh bakery joins the downtown lunch scene BY DREW JACKSON JULI LEONARD A Taylor White mural was commissioned for the new Union Special Bread location in the former Tama Tea location in downtown Raleigh. GARNER Southern Wake County is receiving its first Cost- co bulk goods and gro- cery store before the end of the year.

The future big-box membership club will be on an 18-acre site on 7800 Fayetteville Road on US-401 in Garner as part of a mixed-use de- velopment called Rand Village, near Ten-Ten Road. The store is set to open on Nov. 17, in time for the holidays, according to the developers of the property and a sign on the building under con- struction. Openings for 34 differ- ent positions have already been posted on the Costco website, ranging from bakery to tire shop jobs. Average hourly pay for a Costco cashier starts at $15, according to Indeed.com.

The site is being devel- oped by Charlotte-based firm Cambridge Proper- ties, who say the new development will eventu- ally feature retail, restau- rants, apartments and single-family housing. A spokeswoman for Costco Wholesale Corp. told The News Obser- ver the company had no further details to share publicly yet. The store will be the fourth in the Triangle and the first in Garner. The Rand Village site, when completed, will be a mile north of the I-540 and US-401 interchange when construction for I-540 is completed in 2023.

been an extremely fast construction sched- said Jay Priester, president of Cambridge Properties, in an inter- view. lot of it was also (Cambridge) taking a lot of risk we have full approvals but we were moving forward with design and construc- tion documents even before we had zoning The Garner Town Council green-lighted the project in late December last year. The develop- ment will also include a Costco gas station. The company an- nounced this summer that it would keep its special shopping hours for seniors over 60 and people with disabilities or compromised immune systems in all its U.S. stores.

Those hours are from 9 to 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Construction will start soon on a Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A restaurant on the site, which will be finished within the first three months of 2022, Priester said. Upon completion, Rand Village will also feature up to 266 multifamily units to be completed later next year, according to the Cambridge Proper- ties website. Aaron (919) 297-8162, New Costco store to open in Garner on US-401 before 2022 BY AARON.