Wolfside Urban Market brings new downtown grocery stop to Raleigh

Raleigh’s retail map is tilting in two directions at once: closer-in convenience downtown and bigger, experience-driven shopping at Crabtree Valley Mall. Wolfside Urban Market is set to take over the former DGX space at 149 E. Davie St., on the corner of Blount Street, and is expected to open this fall with beer, wine, local products and custom sandwiches.

The new market lands in a part of downtown Raleigh that has had relatively few grocery options, especially since Dollar General closed the DGX store there in December 2024. That closure removed one of the few places downtown residents and office workers could pick up fresh produce and basic groceries without leaving the core. Wolfside’s location, near residential towers, steady foot traffic and adjacent parking, puts it squarely into the daily routines of people who live and work nearby.

The store is owned by Vishal Patel, who previously worked at Bulldega Urban Market in downtown Durham. Bulldega has built its name around a mix of produce, local meats, beer and wine, household goods and ready-to-go items, a model that fits the small-footprint, neighborhood-grocery lane Wolfside appears ready to occupy in Raleigh.

Across town, Crabtree Valley Mall is showing a different kind of momentum. Toys ‘R’ Us is moving to a permanent spot on the first level beneath the food court after operating a temporary holiday-season location there in 2025. IDOLIZE Brows and Beauty is also coming back to the mall, with a reopening expected in July after leaving Crabtree in 2024. The mall directory lists IDOLIZE on Level 1, where it offers threading, waxing, facials, lash extensions and brow and lash enhancement services.

The biggest signal of where Crabtree is headed came with Level99, which plans to open in 2027 in the former Belk Men’s store. The 40,000-square-foot venue will be North Carolina’s first and is expected to include more than 50 interactive games, along with a large dining room, a bar and both indoor and exterior entrances. That is a different kind of draw than the traditional department store that once occupied the space.

Crabtree itself has been repositioning for years. The mall opened in August 1972, now has more than 200 stores and restaurants, and is widely described as the largest enclosed mall in the Triangle. Macerich bought the property in 2025 for $290 million and has said it plans about $60 million in redevelopment and leasing investment through 2028. Together, the downtown grocery bet and Crabtree’s reinvention point to the same shift: Raleigh shoppers are rewarding places that fit everyday errands or turn a trip into an experience.