Do-It-Yourself grilled cheese and s'mores, plus NC beer, wine & coffee. #winning! Actually winning though, not the Charlie Sheen kind of winning.
Yesterday I attended a media event at the newly opened Grounds Cafe which is inside the new Wendell Falls development. You can't miss seeing the big beautiful barn while driving on Wendell Falls Parkway, plus all the nearby beautiful new homes and ample land that's still available for more new homes to be built on. Go Wendell!
Grounds Cafe isn't just for the community residents. Anyone can go. I live in Raleigh and will definitely go there again for lunch or drinks. It's such a lovely space! Not your ordinary cafe.
Here's what piqued my interest.. Besides how nice & spacious it is, with the tall ceilings and exposed beams overhead, the menu items offered are very interesting. For example, DIY grilled cheese sandwiches. Love it! You choose what you want on yours and they grill it for you. I went crazy with mine and loaded it with brie, cheddar, pimento, apple, pecans & pesto. It was delicious!
They also offer a few "pre-determined" style grilled cheese sandwiches that you can select from if you prefer.
Then.... you can opt for a DIY s'mores plate. You get a plate with marshmallows, chocolate sauce, crushed graham crackers and skewers. Oh and most importantly, a mini "bonfire" on the same plate over which you can toast your marshmallows and dip in sauce & the crushed crackers. What a fun thing to do for adults, teenagers and kids. Small children have to be supervised by an adult when ordering this item.
The cafe has plenty of seating available indoors as well as outdoors. The spacious patio wraps around 3 sides of the barn. I counted 3 fireplaces out there but there might be more. There's beautiful cushion-y sofa seating with pillows as well as wooden tables & chairs of varying sizes to accommodate small to large-ish groups. The lighting out there is delicate and relaxing. Looks just like a magazine cover. This ain't Starbucks!
They host movies on the lawn, live musicians, weddings, special events.
The beer they serve is always a local variety and they change it up regularly. Big Boss is their mainstay however.
CAFE HOURS:
Mon-Fri: 7am - 6pm
Sat-Sun: 10am - 6pm
WENDELL FALLS:
Website: www.wendellfalls.com
Facebook: facebook.com/wendellfalls
Twitter: @WendellFalls
Instagram: @WendellFallsNC
GROUNDS CAFE:
Facebook: facebook.com/groundsnc
Twitter: @GroundsNC
Instagram: @GroundsCafe