A new neighborhood bar is set to make its debut in Raleigh. Say hello to Gussie’s.
Gussie’s, a new Raleigh bar, bottle shop and coffee counter, contains multitudes.
Or plans to when it opens on Morgan Street next month, situated between Hillsborough Street and the outer edges of downtown Raleigh.
Gussie’s is the first project from North South Hospitality, a new company from a trio of friends who most recently moved to the Triangle from Los Angeles. The company includes married couple Clayton and Katie O’Kane and Vance Daniels.
North Carolina is a new adventure for the O’Kanes, but Gussie’s represents something of a homecoming for Daniels, who grew up in Knightdale.
Katie O’Kane and Daniels each have restaurant backgrounds, working in and owning everything from dives to fine dining rooms and cocktail bars from coast to coast, while Clayton O’Kane handles construction and design.
Last year the trio were looking to leave Los Angeles and start a hospitality group, considering cities like Denver and Houston and Pittsburgh, before Daniels made a pitch for the Triangle.
“We love the small town feel, while still getting the perks of being a big city,” Katie O’Kane said. “There’s so much going on. The community here is really one of a kind, there’s a very ‘Rising tides raise all ships’ attitude.’ Everyone we’ve met is like ‘Oh, that’s great, we’re happy to have you here, how can we help.’”
What you’ll find at Gussie’s
Gussie’s has taken over the former Soul Taco space at 927 W. Morgan St. in Raleigh, a few doors down from another neighborhood gem, Irregardless Cafe. Soul Taco was the buzzy, but short-lived expansion from Richmond, Virginia, which closed earlier this year.
“We like the proximity to downtown and NC State,” Katie O’Kane said. “It felt like a good place to have a neighborhood bar, a community bar.”
Gussie’s takes its name from Clayton grandfather August.
On one end of the Gussie’s space, the small existing bar is the backbone of the bottle shop side of the project, where O’Kane said you’ll find craft beer, interesting bottles of wine from small growers and a small coffee program. On the far other end, Gussie’s built a large wooden bar, where you’ll find local beer on tap, cocktails and house-made sodas.
“We wanted to make it feel like it could have been here 40 years already,” Katie O’Kane said. “It’s about being timeless and paying homage to the people who came before us.”
The kitchen will be led by chef Michael Bean, formerly of the NC State University Club.
“It will be elevated bar food; familiar but with a bit of a different twist,” Katie O’Kane said. “There will be mostly shareable small plates and a few entrees.”
That includes perhaps the only west coast homage, a burger done in the tradition of In-N-Out, double double animal style, which means two thin mustard-griddled patties, cheese, grilled onions and a sauce. They’ll also have fried oysters given the Nashville Hot treatment.
In the year and a half since moving to Raleigh, Katie O’Kane said the Triangle’s dining scene offered a refreshing energy compared to something of an LA malaise they left on the west coast.
“There’s a bit more of an excitement in food and drink at the moment in the Triangle,” Katie O’Kane said. “People are paying attention. It’s inspiring and infectious.
“I think we’re trying to take some of the things that inspired us about the Raleigh community and put our own twist on it,” Katie O’Kane said. “There’s already something really wonderful happening here. We’re looking for our part in that, we want to elevate that community.”
Gussie’s plans to open in the early part of December, with a grand opening bash in the works for New Year’s Eve.
