21-04-2025
The owners of Raleigh's Bittersweet are taking over the Gallo Pelón space
One of Raleigh's most beloved bars is exiting downtown after a decade in business.
However, the space and its rooftop patio will quickly be filled by one of the city's leading bar owners.
Why it matters: Gallo Pelón, a mezcaleria tucked above the Mexican restaurant Centro, will stop serving its tequila-and-mezcal-centric drinks on May 5, owner Angela Salamanca said on Instagram.
Centro, however, will continue operating on the first floor of the space at 106 S. Wilmington St., said Salamanca, who is in the process of opening Mala Pata at Gateway Plaza.
Driving the news: In Gallo Pelón's place, the owners of the James Beard-nominated bar-and-dessert shop Bittersweet will to open a social club called Bitter Social.
Zoom in: Kim Hammer, the owner of Bittersweet, told Axios she plans to open Bitter Social with her partner Lewis Norton, the owner of Johnson Street Yacht Club, in August.
The goal, she said, is to turn the space into something like a community gathering spot, where in addition to cocktails and desserts there will be nightly events and programs that bring people together.
Hammer said she imagines the bar as a mashup of the elevated cocktails of Bittersweet and the laid-back energy of Johnson Street Yacht Club.
What they're saying: "The idea of people socializing and meeting new friends has become even more crucial coming out of COVID, but it's almost like we forgot how to do it," Hammer said, adding she believes people more than ever need an event or assignment to meet new people.
"My hope is that we have a big calendar with programming every night so that you can rely on something going on," she said.
That could look like many things, she said, including: instructional dance classes, DJ nights, movie nights or a "Smutty Poetry Night" in collaboration with the downtown bookstore Blackbird Books.
