Wake Forest Café Targets June Opening, Awaits Health Permits

Co-owners Mina Luka and Wael Feloboss have done nearly everything right: construction wrapped, equipment is installed, and their breakfast café at 1318 S. Main Street, Unit 108 is physically ready to open. What stands between Shine & Dine Café and its first customer is Wake County's Environmental Health and Safety division, which must complete a formal plan review and issue a food service operating permit before the doors can open. The owners are targeting June 1 as their official opening date, with the caveat that the timeline depends entirely on how quickly that permit clears.

The permitting requirement is not a formality. Wake County mandates a full health and safety plan review for every new food service establishment, and crucially, permits do not transfer between owners or tenants, meaning Luka and Feloboss must run the process from scratch regardless of what operated in the space before. Industry guidance recommends new restaurant operators begin the application process three to six months ahead of a target opening, and for concepts that involve baking equipment, custom food prep stations, or non-standard kitchen layouts, county reviewers may request revised drawings or additional site visits before granting final approval.

That gap between a finished buildout and a cleared permit is where small operators absorb costs with no revenue offset. Commercial lease obligations on the S. Main Street storefront continue to accrue, and any pre-opening staffing commitments must stretch across an uncertain calendar.

Once open, Shine & Dine's menu will center on breakfast sandwiches, baked goods and coffee, with service hours structured around morning and midday trade rather than the dinner rush. Feloboss has emphasized a community-sourcing model, with planned partnerships with local bakers and a preference for locally sourced ingredients where supply allows. Luka's vision for the café positions it as a gathering point, not just a quick-stop: approachable breakfast and brunch options alongside quick lunch items and a focused beverage program are designed to support both grab-and-go commuters and small-group visits.

That positioning fits a specific gap on the S. Main Street corridor, which mixes retail storefronts and professional offices in a stretch that generates foot traffic throughout the day. Wake Forest's recent restaurant growth has skewed toward fast-casual and evening-oriented concepts; a locally owned, daytime-focused café that prioritizes sourcing relationships with small-batch local suppliers adds a different kind of commercial gravity to the block, the type that can extend pedestrian activity into late-morning and midday hours when foot traffic on mixed-use corridors typically thins.

Luka and Feloboss have directed Wake Forest residents to follow Shine & Dine's social media accounts for updates on soft-opening announcements and a confirmed grand opening date once the county permit is in hand.