July 21, 2021 - Where to work remotely + The Redneck BBQ Lab

Hello Saturday.

July 31 2021

Last week, we asked our Instagram followers for some of their favorite places to work remotely. We’ve rounded up the top 5 spots — perfect for packing up your laptop + getting out and about. 💻

The Optimist’s patio | Photo by @theoptimistraleigh

Idle Hour — 1818 Oberlin Rd. | 7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily | Get to Idle Hour early to secure a spot on the signature green couch.
BREW — 2310 Bale St. | Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. + Sat.-Sun. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. | Grab a Kenya Gakuyu Coffee + NY-style bagel before setting up your workstation outside on the patio of the Raleigh location.
Sola Coffee Cafe — 7705 Lead Mine Rd. | Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-3 p.m. | Try Sola Coffee if you need a happy environment + friendly faces to get you through a busy day. ProTip: Order the seasonal peach bowl — topped with homemade granola.
The Optimist — 1000 Brookside Dr. | Mon.-Weds. 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 7 a.m.-9 p.m. + Sun. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. | There’s plenty of room to spread out — inside or outside — at this cozy spot. Unwind after work with one of their workshops.
42 & Lawrence — 134 E. Martin St. | Sun.-Thurs. 7 a.m.-4 p.m. + Fri.-Sat. 7 a.m.-7 p.m. | When in need of those city vibes, 42 & Lawrence is located conveniently at the heart of Raleigh’s hustle + bustle.

Want to know more about the state of remote work in our city? Click here to read our recent convo on hybrid work models.

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POLL

Where do you prefer to get work done?

A personal office
A coworking space
Outdoors
A coffee shop

LET US KNOW

#MUSTDO

Show

Noon Tunes | Wed., July 21 | 12–1 p.m. | City Plaza, 400 Fayetteville St. | Free | Spend your lunch hour with local musicians every week at this outdoor concert series. 🎶
Stand Up: A Comedy Experience | Wed., July 21 | 7–9:30 p.m. | Transfer Co. Food Hall | $20 | Enjoy a night of stand up comedy + plenty of laughs with Shane Torres.

Learn

Teen Art Portfolio Development Workshop | Wed., July 21 | 1–3 p.m. | Virtual | $27+ | Teens are invited to this workshop + a chance to share their art portfolio with other creators.

Active

Acro Yoga | Wed., July 21 | 5:30–8:30 p.m. | Pullen Park | Free | Every Wednesday, join in this fun outdoor activity combining yoga poses + acro yoga. 🧘

Outdoors

SAGE Walk and Talk | Wed., July 21 | 10–11 a.m. | Various locations | Free | SAGE — an advocacy and service organization for the LGBTQ+ senior community — is hosting its weekly walk and talk. 🥾
Wine & Weeds | Wed., July 21 | 5–7 p.m. | Sweet Peas Urban Gardens, 1321 Athens Dr. | Free | Wind down the day with some relaxing gardening + a glass of wine. 🍷

Community

Annual Planning Conference | Wed., July 21 | 9:45 a.m.–6 p.m. | The Umstead Hotel and Spa | $400 | The Cary Chamber of Commerce invites the business community to discuss the town of Cary + network with fellow peers.

Arts

Mindful Museum | Wed., July 21 | 7–8 p.m. | Virtual | Free | In this slow art appreciation class with the NCMA, learn centering techniques + experience art on a deeper level. 🖼️

KEEP PLANNING YOUR JULY

#LOCAL

ComingSoon: Designed For Joy new location

Designed For Joy — a Raleigh-based nonprofit that helps women coming from vulnerable situations gain work experience — is opening a new location at 517 W. Cabarrus St. in Downtown. The grand opening will be Fri., Aug. 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The current retail shop — near Union Special — will remain open through December.

Designed For Joy products | Photo by RALtoday

Triangle Impact Tote | Photo by RALtoday

Designed For Joy pays women coming from difficult situations a living wage to create handmade goods to be sold in the retail store (such as earrings, purses + charcuterie boards). Since its founding, the nonprofit has provided 52 artisans with safe work + supplied $140,000 in living wages.

Yesterday, RALtoday got a behind-the-scenes look at the new ~5,000 sqft space. The goods are made using locally-sourced wood, as well as sustainably sourced materials for bags + jewelry. The shop will also have meeting space for the community + serve meals for the women-in-need.

NEWS NOTES

Weather

90º | Partly cloudy | 20% chance of rain

Ranked

Raleigh + Cary ranked No. 9 for large metro areas on Self Financial’s list of Cities With the Highest Wages for New Hires. Average actual monthly earnings for new hires is $3,432 — nationally, it’s $3,266.
Guess we can’t be No.1 in everything — Raleigh was ranked one of the worst cities for fully remote job postings, with only ~5.7% of new job postings being remote-friendly. Based on our recent reporting, we’d guess it’s because of the rise of hybrid work models.

Number

The Wake County Register of Deeds released a new report showing an increase in real estate sales prices. The median price rose to $383,000 in June, up by $9,000 from May + refinancing activity increased by 7% — most of this attributed to the core market.

Community

After ~4 years of renovations, Durham’s downtown library reopened yesterday, July 20 — adding 33,000 sqft. Located at 300 N. Roxboro St., visitors can enjoy a rooftop garden, children’s play areas + an incubator space for small businesses. 📚 (The News & Observer)

ForKids

Stemarga — an education center located at 324 Sembler Ln., Cary — is offering camps for kids interested in STEM to get hands-on experience this summer and fall. Check out their list of current classes + opportunities. (Triangle on the Cheap)

Dish

The Redneck BBQ Lab in Benson was recently featured in Our State magazine for its unique style of slow-smoking prime cuts of pork, chicken, beef brisket, turkey + link sausage. Start planning your order — the barbecue joint is opening a second location in North Hills later this year.
Breakfast meal prep can be tricky. Enter: This simple recipe for handheld, savory + satisfying frittata muffins. 🥚Ⓟ

Job

Pullen Park is conducting open interviews today, July 21, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. + 3 p.m.–6 p.m. The part-time position is for an Attractions Operator willing to commit to working a minimum of 2 days per week.

Trending

Raleighites Tom + Rachael Sullivan went viral on TikTok for creating free to-go meals for local college students during the pandemic. Their instagram, MealsSheEats, gained over 70,000 followers in 2 months. Sign up to be notified of when they make a meal next. (The News & Observer)

State

In WalletHub’s 2021 Best & Worst States to Start a Business report, NC ranked No. 9. The states were ranked based on 28 key indicators, including business environment, access to resources + business costs.

Correction

Yesterday’s newsletter linked to a listing that said Raleigh Little Theatre’s production of Into The Woods was currently happening. That show actually ran in July 2018. To see more of the theatre’s upcoming shows + events, check out their website.

Wellness

OLLY makes benefit-based supplements that are just as effective as they are delightful + delicious so that you can pursue good health without compromise. Ⓟ

#RALTODAY

Santa’s deer 🎅

📸 @WRALTV

It’s been an interesting month, Raleigh — A venomous zebra cobra, wolf-hybrids, a baby bear in a tree, and now an albino deer. The rare white deer was recently spotted in a North Raleigh neighborhood.

Did you know only 1 in 30,000 deer are truly albino? Albino deer lack pigmentation + have completely white hides with pink eyes, noses and hooves.

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Just use #RALtoday on social media.

THE WRAP

#RALcurrent: What we’re currently watching — Carly is watching Black Widow at Alamo Drafthouse + Laura is excited to watch the “Paris in the Park” duets in the NCMA park tomorrow night.

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