42nd Street Oyster Bar comeback unlikely to reopen in 2026

No building permits are on file for the repairs 42nd Street Oyster Bar needs, and longtime general manager Hunter Correll says a 2026 reopening would be a stretch. For Raleigh diners, that means one of downtown’s best-known gathering spots is still more likely to stay dark than to reclaim its corner of Jones Street this year.

Correll, who has been with the oyster bar since 1996, says the 39-year-old building needs significant structural work before the restaurant can return. The lack of permits is a strong sign the project is still in its early stages, even after Correll and chef Joe Rohrer spent months talking about a comeback and formed 42nd Street Partners LLC in June 2025.

The restaurant’s closure on March 30, 2025, hit downtown with unusual force. Its final day drew long lines and emotional tributes from customers who knew it as more than a seafood spot. For decades, 42nd Street was a destination for legislative crowds, families, and late-night regulars, with a retro facade and a long winding bar that made it part of Raleigh’s downtown identity as much as a place to eat.

That history is why the reopening delay matters beyond nostalgia. The original business began as a grocery store in 1927, started serving oysters in 1931, and after Prohibition ended in 1933 became the first place in the area to serve draft beer in a frosted mug. The restaurant format was reestablished in 1987 by the late Thad Eure Jr. and partners, and the version most Raleigh residents remember lasted 38 years before the shutdown.

Earlier this year, some employees and regulars worried the Jones Street site could be replaced by a high-rise apartment building, a fear that reflected the pressure on downtown land as development keeps moving west from the core. The closure also followed lease problems, with owners unable to renegotiate the lease and not planning to move from the Jones Street location at the time. That leaves the revival tied not just to sentiment, but to structural repairs, financing, permitting and coordination among the property owner and the restaurant team.

Property owner John Holmes has said he supports a return, though he is not personally involved in the project. Holmes also said the family that owns the building would love to see 42nd Street come back. For now, though, the old neon glow is still waiting on the practical work that comes before any reopening date can be trusted.