Adkins Family Blog

There are some nice places to nomad (work off site) in downtown Raleigh, NC, but it can be tricky finding parking and getting around, so I thought I’d record some tips in a blog post to help folks avoid some trial and error.

For any of the coordinates listed below, just copy and paste them into Google Maps to see the exact location. Thanks to Justis Peters for referring me to a lot of these places

R Line

The R Line is a hybrid electric bus line that loops around downtown hitting bus stops every 10 or 15 minutes.

The R Line allows you to find a free parking spot near the line, and then just hop on the bus to get to another part of downtown without having to deal with parking garages, parking meters or limited time parking spots. The page linked to above has a nice map of the bus route.

I haven’t tried taking the R Line yet, but I’m planning on giving it a shot tomorrow, so I’ll see what’s like waiting for it to arrive at a stop and how long it takes to get to the other side of downtown. I expect to be able to find parking near Cafe Helios / Armadillo Grill.

Update 8/28/09: I tried the R-Line this morning, and it worked great. I parked on North street for free very close to Glenwood about a 20 second walk to the R6 stop. I waited about 4 minutes for the bus, and it took about 13 minutes to get to R16 near The Morning Times.

Cafe Helios: 35.785576,-78.647639

Cafe Helios is at 413 Glenwood Ave. They have great coffee and a variety of food. The tables are a little high to be comfortable with laptop. It’s a quick walk to the Armadillo Grill which is nice. Free on street parking after 9 am. Update: 6/11/2010 when I arrived this morning, I noticed that the parking spots on Glenwood in front of Cafe Helios and Armadillo Grill now are metered

Armadillo Grill: 35.786116,-78.647436

The Armadillo Grill is at 439 Glenwood Ave. They have great chicken burritos for about $6. Free on street parking after 9 am. (see above)

The Morning Times: 35.778130,-78.638761

The Morning Times is located at 10 E. Hargett St. They have a very nice upstairs with a lot of seating, tables and comfy chairs/sofas. It’s an old building with an antiquey feel. For good coffee and getting work done, I think The Morning Times is my favorite nomading location.

The Busy Bee

I haven’t spent any time at the Busy Bee Cafe yet, but it comes highly recommended. I popped my head in to check it out on a recent nomading trip and it looks nice.

Manhattan Cafe: 35.776162,-78.638435

The Manhattan Cafe is at 320 S. Wilmington St. I’ve only been there once and didn’t eat anything, but a friend seemed to enjoy his meal

Sosta Cafe: 35.775484,-78.637766

Sosta Cafe is at 130 E. Davie St. Small, quaint coffee shop.

Getting There From Cary / Apex

I’ve found taking US 64 to US 1 to Wade Ave. to St. Mary’s St. is a good way to get to the Glenwood area.

Other Spots

There are quite a few places to eat, ice cream shops, coffee shops, etc., so if you like variety, the downtown area has a lot to offer. I’ll update this post as I visit other places in the downtown area.