Riviera Resto has been open for over 2 years now and just in the past year they have opened their upstairs and downstairs. The restaurant works as as a lunch and dinner spot with fine dining on the main floor and basement. Upstairs initially started as a dance club of sorts but has now switched to a more bar based atmosphere called Loft 135.
One of the main problems of the upstairs space at Riviera before this weekend was the fact that it wouldn’t open its doors to patrons before 10pm. They had to turn off a lot of business that would then head around the corner to Slim’s, Landmark or The Raleigh Times. Loft 135 will not have this problem as they will be open at 5pm Wednesday through Saturday. The main changes made to the space are the addition of two (brand new) pool tables and a band of grafitti adorning the walls. It’s the same space with a new attitude. The bar manager stated that new lighting will be added soon as well as a new sound system for the space. They also added a television which was playing surf videos while we were there.
Everyday will have a different drink special and as stated before, it’s open at 5 PM! Also, it has its own door from the street, so no more of that awkward walking into the restaurant space and saying you are going upstairs for drinks instead of eating dinner.
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