{"id":1643,"date":"2026-06-03T18:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2026-06-03T18:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:37:11","slug":"raleigh-adds-a-cozy-cafe-with-a-vintage-espresso-machine-and-cocktail-gadgetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1643","title":{"rendered":"Raleigh adds a cozy cafe with a vintage espresso machine and cocktail gadgetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

An exceptionally cozy cafe and cocktail bar is set to open in Raleigh this month.<\/p>\n

Read more Three foals seen on remote NC island where food is growing scarce, park says<\/a><\/p>\n

Songbird, the highly anticipated all-day cafe and cocktail lounge<\/a> in East End Market, will open for dinner service Saturday, June 13<\/b>, followed by its first morning service Sunday, June 14<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just are so excited that it\u2019s going to be a space where people can come for different times of the day throughout the day for different reasons, for different occasions,\u201d co-owner Meg Paradise said.<\/p>\n

Songbird\u2019s specialty is cocktails, offering spirit-free, low ABV and traditional drinks. And like the diminutive songbird, whose enormous trill echoes in the treetops, the bar hopes to have an outsized impact on the Triangle bar scene.<\/p>\n

Built into a tiny 800 square foot space, Songbird builds on the Triangle\u2019s red hot all-day cafe trend. Fueled by a vintage espresso maker, Songbird has built a morning coffee and tea menu, sourcing its beans from Raleigh\u2019s Willow House roasters.<\/p>\n

Songbird is owned by longtime beverage pros Meg Paradise and Charlie Blue Arm, who teamed up to create an inclusive hang space for any time of day.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, Paradise created Umbrella Bar in downtown Raleigh<\/a>, best known for being the Triangle\u2019s first spirit free cocktail bar. The project was enormously buzzy around town, but short-lived, closing after less than a year. Paradise said important lessons were learned.<\/p>\n

\u201cUmbrella really came to me, like, originally as a dream, and so I didn\u2019t really have a path forward,\u201d Paradise said. \u201cIt was just like, \u2018I want a non-alcoholic cocktail bar to exist,\u2019 or a place where I can go and have a non-alcoholic cocktail that\u2019s really amazing and delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

It turned out that a large 3,500 square foot former restaurant space might not have been the best place to nurture the Umbrella concept, Paradise said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have a kitchen, but have a minimal food program, to have a space that is 3,500 (square feet) but primarily be a bar, like those things don\u2019t really add up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With Songbird, there will be traditional spirit-forward cocktails on the menu, as well as non-alcoholic beverages, a change from Umbrella.<\/p>\n

Read more Is time running out for the Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 top line in these NHL playoffs?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe feedback on that was that it actually was sort of exclusive, like the point was to be not exclusive or and be very inclusive, but it actually kind of ended up being the opposite to certain people,\u201d Paradise said.<\/p>\n

In Songbird, Paradise and Blue Arm said they wanted to create a flexible space to meet people where they are, either for a quick morning coffee and pastry or quiet evening cocktail with friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re open every day, which really means we can be part of a rhythm for everybody in the morning program,\u201d Blue Arm said. \u201cIt\u2019s basically really about expanding your hours, making sure you\u2019re using every operational hour you can just, because things are so expensive now. You really kind of have to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the opening menu, you\u2019ll find lower spirit cocktails like the Mulberry Clover Club, a riff on a classic gin cocktail, colored and flavored with foraged mulberries.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a version of the Bee\u2019s Knees with dandelion-infused gin and wildflower honey.<\/p>\n

On the spirit-free side, you\u2019ll find a bright Lemon Balm South Side, with nitro-muddled lemon balm. Or an alcohol-removed Pimm\u2019s Cup with snap pea-ginger soda.<\/p>\n

One innovation for Songbird, is the addition of de-alcoholizer machines, which can take traditional spirts and remove the booze.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo to have actual Campari, then de-alced, like to make to have Aperol, and to take the alcohol out of it, to me, it actually tastes familiar,\u201d Paradise said.<\/p>\n

On the food side, chef Dave Mitchell of Long Leaf Swine is running a residency at Songbird, offering small plates and a tasting menu. Dishes include a goat cheese toast with summer squash and honey, a roasted carrot tartare and a slow-roasted beef tenderloin with pickled onions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also going to focus a lot on cold plates, just because by virtue of our seasonality, we, we have access to so many great vegetables right now, vegetables and fruits,\u201d Blue Arm said. \u201cThe food menu is going to rotate just as our drink menu rotates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more No soap, \u2018large rodent droppings:\u2019 Triangle restaurants reinspected in May<\/a><\/p>\n

This story has been updated with Songbird\u2019s new opening dates.<\/i><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Songbird opens in Raleigh\u2019s East End Market June 11\u201312, offering coffee, low-ABV and spirit-free cocktails, de-alcoholized drinks and rotating small plates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nRaleigh adds a cozy cafe with a vintage espresso machine and cocktail gadgetry - Durham Moving Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=1643\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raleigh adds a cozy cafe with a vintage espresso machine and cocktail gadgetry - 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