Wolfside Urban Market to bring grocery and deli to downtown Raleigh

Downtown Raleigh is set to regain a neighborhood grocery option at 149 E. Davie St., where Wolfside Urban Market plans to move into the former DGX space at the corner of Blount Street. The location sits in the middle of an area where daily food-shopping choices have been thin, even as 543 residential units rise immediately above and beside the site in the Edison and SkyHouse towers.

The store is owned by Vishal Patel, who previously worked at Bulldega Urban Market in downtown Durham. Patel formed Wolfside Urban Market last week, and corporate filings describe it as a gourmet grocery store. He hopes to open in the fall, possibly in November.

The concept goes beyond a simple convenience counter. Patel said the market will sell beer and wine, gourmet foods and gifts from small and local vendors, along with deli offerings that include custom sandwiches and grab-and-go items. That mix is designed to serve people who live downtown, commute into the core, or need a quick meal without leaving the neighborhood.

The opening comes after the DGX at that corner closed in December 2024, ending about eight years of business. That store had been the only Dollar General location in Raleigh that sold fresh produce, and its departure left another gap in a downtown food market already short on convenient staples. Raleigh Provisions, another gourmet food shop nearby at 107 E. Davie St., also closed after opening downtown in 2017 with a focus on mostly locally produced foods and ingredients.

Patel’s move also mirrors the hybrid model that has made Bulldega Urban Market a fixture in downtown Durham. Downtown Durham Inc. and Discover Durham describe Bulldega as a small, family-owned grocery and convenience store with produce, humanely raised meats, beer and wine, grab-and-go foods and everyday household items. That format is the closest comparison yet for what Wolfside Urban Market appears ready to bring to Raleigh.

The downtown property listing for 149 E. Davie St. underscores why the address matters. It sits within walking distance of City Market and other restaurants, with public parking nearby, giving the corner a built-in base of apartment residents, office workers and visitors moving through the urban core. As more downtown spaces turn over, the arrival of a locally owned market at one of Raleigh’s most visible corners could make the center city feel a little more self-sufficient for basic food needs.