Dix Park Now Has Two Food Scenes, and They're Nothing Alike

Dorothea Dix Park opened to the public in 2015. For eleven years, anyone who walked, ran, or brought a dog to the 308-acre park did it on an empty stomach, because there was nowhere inside the gates to buy so much as a coffee. That stretch just ended, and it ended on both sides of the park within the same four months.

The south edge got there first. The west side is catching up this month. And because two unrelated developments landed on opposite ends of the same park, Dix now has two distinct food identities depending on which entrance you use.

The south edge already has a food block

If you enter Dix from South Saunders Street, you have had options since spring. Three storefronts inside the Rockway development are open, according to Axios Raleigh: Sunflower's Cafe at 1029 S. Saunders, Benchwarmers Bagels at 1015 S. Saunders, and Campo Taco Co. at 1001 S. Saunders. BK Pilates rounds out the block at 1019 S. Saunders, tucked beneath The Row apartments.

Sunflower's Cafe carries the most history of the group. The original ran for 37 years as a downtown staple, first on Glenwood Avenue and later at Seaboard Station, before closing in 2020, as WRAL reported last fall. Quinn Ferebee, son of the original owners, is running the new location, and the menu keeps the sandwiches and soups the cafe was known for while adding a full bar and, unusually, dining tables that convert into pool tables at night.

Benchwarmers Bagels is a second location for a shop that has been baking wood-fired bagels out of Transfer Co. Food Hall downtown. This Rockway spot sits just off the Rocky Branch Greenway trail, which means it works as a grab-and-go stop before a run rather than a sit-down destination. Campo Taco Co. rounds out the block with tacos and cocktails and a patio that faces the park.

Here is the quick version of what is where on that side:

The west side gets its turn this month

The other end of the park has been waiting longer and is arriving with a different kind of business. The Flowers Cottage, a 100-year-old building at 2105 Umstead Drive, is being converted into two concepts at once: Cottage Coffee upstairs and Park Bar underneath a newly extended deck. According to WRAL's foodie news column from August 7, the opening is set for later this month, which means it could be any day now.

The team behind it is Justin Pasfield, Jeff Clarke, Dillon Myrick, and Sarah Sugg, whose combined résumé includes Person Street Bar, Big Cat, Locals Seafood, Natural Science Bar, and Boulted Bread. That matters more than a typical concessionaire opening because it signals an independent operation with a track record, not a vending contract filling space. Cottage Coffee will serve locally roasted coffee, soft-serve, baked goods, and picnic provisions, while Park Bar handles beer and wine service beneath the deck, according to the Dix Park Conservancy's own announcement. The two concepts keep different hours, so the upstairs counter and the downstairs bar will not always be running at the same time.

What makes the location work is what already surrounds it. The building sits a short walk from Dix Park's off-leash dog park and Flowers Field, and it faces a skyline view of downtown Raleigh from its expanded back deck. It is also close to the newest additions to the park's west side: the wooden troll sculptures by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, which arrived as part of the park's ongoing build-out and have become something of a scavenger hunt for regulars.

Why both ends filled in at the same time

This is not a coincidence of timing so much as a function of foot traffic. Dix Park Conservancy CEO Ruffin Hall pointed directly at this in the Flowers Cottage announcement, noting the increase in visitors since Gipson Play Plaza opened and the trolls arrived. Gipson Play Plaza itself is a substantial draw on its own: 18.5 acres with a 91-foot-long swing, a splash pad, and shaded seating, according to reporting on the park's buildout. More people walking through the park on a given Saturday makes a coffee counter or a taco stand a better bet for an operator than it would have been before Gipson Play Plaza and the trolls gave residents a reason to linger.

That is the piece worth sitting with if you already live near Dix. The park did not just get two new food stops. It got two new reasons to treat each end of the park as its own destination rather than one long walk with nothing at either end. Depending on which entrance is closer to your front door, your version of "going to the park" now includes a genuinely different stop.

A few routines worth trying

• Coffee at Cottage Coffee before letting the dog loose in the off-leash park, then a slow walk past Flowers Field to see how many trolls you can spot.
• A bagel from Benchwarmers on the way out after a Rocky Branch Greenway run, since the shop sits just off the trail.
• Tacos and a patio seat at Campo before the next fireworks show or outdoor concert on the Big Field.
• A late dinner at Sunflower's, where the tables turn into pool tables once the kitchen slows down.
• An evening beer on the Flowers Cottage deck, timed for the hour when the skyline starts to catch the light.

None of these require a special trip. That is the actual shift here. For over a decade, Dix Park was something you visited and then left to go eat somewhere else. Now it is a place where the visit and the meal happen in the same stretch of afternoon, on either end you happen to be closer to.

If you are curious how a change like this plays out for home values near the park, or how South Saunders compares to the neighborhoods on the west side of Dix, the team at Quin Realty Group watches these shifts closely because they shape daily life here long before they show up in a listing description. Our Raleigh neighborhood guide covers more of what is changing across the city, and if you are weighing a spot near the Beltline against other pockets of Raleigh, our breakdown of Beltline living versus North Raleigh is a useful next read. When you are ready to talk specifics about a home near Dix Park or anywhere else in the Triangle, request a free home valuation and we will walk you through what your address is actually worth in today's market.