Stool Pigeons Closed

The bar’s Raleigh location looks to be closed as of yesterday. Last night as folks headed out to get their drink on, they found a message on the door- that the bar was closing for good. Stool Pigeons had opened in the early 2000’s and like other bar-chains- offered a huge bar and a theme of heavy drinking appealing mostly to college aged drinkers. “Stool pigeons is now closed?!?! What’s up with that?” exclaimed one student after seeing the sign. The website stoolpigeons.biz does not list the Raleigh location.

hackles1008/27 05:17 AM

It was a fun bar when it first opened, but it was time for Stooleys to go. On a positive note, this is a cool space that could be filled with a better bar/restaurant!

dt08/27 06:29 AM

You loved Stooleys hackles, I can only imagine you sheading a tear when you heard the news

anon08/27 06:32 AM

i liked it any time before midnight on fri/sat. it was a relaxed atmosphere, always had a bunch of games on tv, and they never hassled us for playing quarters on the bench tables. it did get too college-y for our tastes late at night on the weekends but that’s not their fault, it’s mine for preferring an above-25 crowd.

Dan London08/27 06:51 AM

Seems like quite a few closings in that area of town.

Dunkin Donuts, the coffee place next to the Breuggers, Hard Back, Stool Pigeons…

The planned Ale House near Bogarts missed a demolition inspection (according to the notice on the door). I wonder if the owners are reconsidering that location…

Lisa Jeffries08/27 07:17 AM

Dan, I sure hope so. It’s not that I have anything against Carolina Ale House, is just that I don’t care to see one Downtown. Ah Stoolies… many a good times were had there. It wasn’t as awesome as of late though… maybe that just became too much for the rent.

hackles1008/27 07:26 AM

Lisa, you wouldn’t care to see a building that sits there unused and ugly as hell upfitted for restaurant space, with a huge rooftop deck with beer, food, sports, and a view of the downtown skyline.

People from raleigh are such complainers, its why progress around here is often slow. They could upfit that building into a Chuck-E-Cheese and I would be happy, its a step in the right direction. Its an UNUSED building, how could anyone not want to see it become anything else other than UNUSED just baffles me.

JT08/27 07:58 AM

While I agree, you are presenting a serious false dichotomy.

I think an Ale House fits there. That area of town isn’t the indie side, it would not work on Fayetteville, but I see it working on Glenwood so the dragon shirts can pregame with the game and get crunk.

hackles1008/27 08:23 AM

^A false dichotomy requires more than 2 choices. Here we have two choices, as nobody else has stepped up to do the work on that building. In the next 12 months + we are either getting an Ale House there or nothing.

In theoretical internet blog world, there are 1000’s of potential choices, but in reality there are two, and until you can give me the name of another resteraunteur/company willing to open an establisment in the same building, no other options exist.

Should the ale house fail, or suck, etc. the space will be ready and willing to entertain a new tenant, whereas now it has months of demolition, $$$, sweat, blood, and tears before its ready to serve food and beer!

smitty08/27 08:42 AM

Anyone remember the Rhino Room at the same location? You had to enter through the alley, I think that killed them right there. That and the atrocious membership fee.

richardfoc08/27 08:49 AM

JT you make a great point about Fayetteville Street being the “indie” side of town. Other than The Rockford I have no desire whatsoever to frequent Glenwood South while Fayetteville Street and the surrounding blocks are filled with cool stuff.

I do, however, hope that the Ale House gets built and that something moves into the Stool Pigeons space. Like has been said before tenants are definitely preferable to empty spaces.

gd08/27 08:55 AM

Thaiphoon makes Glenwood South worth going to.
Rockford - yeah its cool, but the food at thaiphoon is amazing…

and stool pigeons isn’t a loss outside of the fact its another business that went under in Raleigh and now another empty space.

CR08/27 09:43 AM

Thaiphoon is great. So are Globe and Rockford. Brooklyn Heights is pretty chill during the week… Helios is alright… To all the people that think they are too cool or “indie” for Glenwood South, get over yourselves. No one else finds you nearly as hip as you do.

anon08/27 10:10 AM

i don’t think i’m too cool for glenwood south. i think i’m too old. here’s my unscientific reasoning - i feel like i blend in on fayetteville, hargett, or wilmington st at 1:00am on a friday night. i do not feel as such on glenwood (a few bars being the exception). i also don’t feel as such in the warehouse district (well, the dance clubs across from the pit). i prefer downtown to glenwood south for the same reason i preferred glenwood to hillsborough street five years ago - i’m getting old (enough to realize that 80% of the people i see on glenwood south late at night are ten years younger than me).

Jake08/27 10:16 AM

Havana Deluxe and Rockford are non dragon shirt places.

Amy O08/27 10:38 AM

As a former employee and manager, I am sad to hear that Stoolies finally shut the doors, as it was like home to so many while they were “growing up, going to school, etc” I met so many awesome people over the years~memories that will last a lifetime. Also some of the best staff came through those doors…thanks to all of you who found your way to Stoolies and hung in through the years! Hopefully the new owners will create a comfortable atmosphere where everyone feels at home.

Jonas C08/27 11:09 AM

I loved watching drunk people falling up/down the giant staircase.

Bill08/27 01:07 PM

Hopefully another Club Dolce will open in this space. That is some good people watching! Something seems to have changed between the “Coming Soon” Dolce DateRape advertisement (where it looks like two metrosexuals are grabbing the legs of a drag queen and looking up his skirt), to the current urban Ruff Ryder crowd. Fun stuff.

roi08/27 01:58 PM

Does any one know when Natty-Greene (?) from Greensboro will be opening at the site where the Prime (?) and the Southend Brewery were located?

Matt08/27 05:12 PM

Stool Pigeons has closed. There is a God.

zack08/27 05:56 PM

Tool Pigeons closed, darn. Where will I go to see d-bags with gel hair and diamond stud earrings wearing designer t-shirts and cargo pants? Oh yeah, Solas or any other bar on Gelwood South.

tjoad08/27 07:37 PM

I heard the Ale house people are focusing their attention to expanding in the Wilmington area and holding off on the Glenwood location.

As for Stoolies, I would’ve been sad about ten years ago, when I was in college. Now I have my fingers crossed for something to bring me back to glenwood other than mosaic or rockford. I need to check out globe and thaiphoon though.

hackles1008/28 04:01 AM

^The website states that wilmington is opening in 2009, and the glenwood south deck location will open 2010. I am not sure if that counts on “holding off”, but that seems to be the order of things.

I am interested in hearing about Natty Greene’s as well. I thought it was shooting for an end of summer opening.

Ken Metzger08/28 04:08 AM

Natty Greene’s is trying to open in October, but if they cannot reach that deadline then it will most likely be after the holidays in January.

roi08/28 04:28 AM

Thanks Ken. I have been to the one in Greesboro and really liked it. I think Raleigh will enjoy going to the Glenwood location.

hackles1008/28 04:32 AM

Thanks for the info, I hope they open sooner than later. I love the NGs in Greensboro! It will do well in that location!

Downtown Restaurant Owner08/28 04:36 AM

Hey I have a great idea, why doesn’t someone open another pizza place. That’s really what Glenwood needs. (tiny bit of sarcasm)

roi08/28 05:42 AM

I still think Glenwood needs s Waffle House….just kidding.

sarahrice08/28 06:24 AM

amy o….
amy obermiller?
do you live in raleigh?

JT08/28 09:35 AM

Way to kill the thread.

Why is there so much animosity between the dragon shirt crowd and indie crowd?

I always saw Stool Pigeons as just a college bar. Most the the gelled hair guys seem mid 30s.

CR08/28 09:51 AM

I am more of a Hargett/Fayetteville St guy myself, but I have to admit some of the hipster anti Glenwood guys look just as ridiculous and inter changeable as the guys they’re making fun of.

HRH08/28 10:04 AM

Stool Pigeons is where my husband and I went on our first “date”... Haven’t been in years, but I hate to see it go.

richardfoc08/28 10:08 AM

Hey CR, we all have our uniforms right? Be it brain, athlete, basket case, princess, criminal…we all fit in somewhere and tend to look skeptically (sometimes sarcastically) at others without really looking in the mirror at ourselves. It’s what makes the world go ‘round.

ErnstStarvoBlofield08/28 10:43 AM

Hate to see anyplace close but it is nice location. Would make a nice resturant. Who cares if it was college or not. I find there are 2 crowds in Raleigh. The older 11:00pm crowd and the younger 11:00pm to 2:30 crowd.

For the Ale house, hurry up and build it. Locally owned, great food and a rooftop bar. ‘nuff said. May not be cool enough for some people but please stay away and keep searching and complaining about Raleigh while you are convinced you know what is cool. I say that as it used to be me but then I grew up and realized on what I missing.

Van Alston08/28 04:28 PM

Now where will the underage kids go to drink?

Jimmy08/29 03:33 AM

Per the N&O:

The owners of Napper Tandy’s Irish Pub in Raleigh have bought Stool Pigeons, a bar and restaurant in the trendy Glenwood South area that closed this week.

The new owners, cousins Robert and Daniel Stapleton, plan to make improvements and reopen the site as the Downtown Sports Bar & Grill by mid-September.

roi08/29 04:36 AM

Richardfoc, that was a great point…one of the most logical of all the comments that have been made!

dj08/29 02:42 PM

I always thought that stool pigeons location would be good for a live music venue.

ben08/30 05:46 PM

@VanAlston, don’t forget about Crowley’s or Felsons

Horatio08/30 06:24 PM

Jimmy, say it ain’t so…..not another sports bar!!!

DPK08/30 06:45 PM

Jimmy speaks the truth:

http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1668380.html

smitty08/30 08:47 PM

“The Downtown Sports Bar & Grill” What a great name. “Hey Trevor, I’m at Downtown, meet me there! Where? Downtown! Um. WHERE downtown. DOWNTOWN! Ok, Fuck you Trevor.” *click*

Van Alston08/30 08:53 PM

Dammit, Trevor. You know Downtown. It’s that place that isn’t actually downtown. You sure you don’t know it? Okay, first go downtown and then take the R-line away from downtown and go to Glenwood. You know where the The Brick Building That Has a Store That Sells Wine and Cheese From Europe And Is Next To Dunkin’s Donut? No, that is the name of the place, not a description of it.

Oh, fuck it, Trevor, I’ll just come meet you in Cary.

TheWaveLife08/31 04:14 AM

Bwah-hah-hah-hah!!! Thanks Smitty and Van, that made my Monday morning. Having had to take some visiting Yankees on the R-Line recently, I know exactly what you mean. It was fun to explain why we had to walk from the Capital Clarion to the Borough (where we stopped to enjoy Smitty’s company I might add) and then ride 15 mins to Glenwood. Awkward, to be sure.

Trevor08/31 07:22 AM

Guys, it’s me Trevor. I told you, just head toward Downtown, just go North on West and Downtown will be West of you from Downtown proper! It’s so simple! Come on!

MMI08/31 10:15 AM

Ha! Yes, Richard *does* make a good point. It also happens to be the final dialogue from “The Breakfast Club.”

SypeRavepaype11/11 02:02 AM

http://www.informationweek.com/btgcommunity/thread.jspa?threadID=56839 redtube, xxkhq, http://redtubesz.webgarden.com/ redtube, ihll,

Rokr01/02 11:03 AM

What’s the latest on this space?
Last I checked, Kings still hadn’t found a new venue.
Glenwood needs a music venue like I need a comfortable pair of shoes.

Welcome to New Raleigh. We welcome your participation in the ongoing discussion. Before posting we ask that you read our Comment Policy and we invite you to register with our site. If you want to keep up with the news on our blog, subscribe to the RSS feed or get emailed every time we post.

David Thursday, August 27, 2009