These days the counter at 702 N. Person St. holds a deli case of pastas, broccoli rabe and take-home meals, and the menu board lists a muffuletta, a meatball sub and a roasted pork sandwich with broccoli rabe for $16. Gallicchio's Market & Eatery opened there on Thursday, Oct. 8, after a run of pop-ups in the same room.
The opening counts for more than one new sandwich shop. North Person Street's biggest 2026 vacancy filled in about six months. A block south, a longtime bar operator bought the building her bars occupy. Meanwhile the closures in this part of Raleigh happened north of Mordecai, at Gateway Plaza on Crabtree Boulevard. That plaza drew businesses away from the Person Street area a year ago. Each of the sections below builds on that pattern.
Six months between delis at 702 N. Person St.
(Ish) Delicatessen announced March 29, 2026, as its last day of service at 702 N. Person St. Owner Matt Fern told the News & Observer that the project had run its course, and he thanked staff and customers. The deli shared its space with Person Street Pharmacy, so the closing left a gap inside a business that stayed open.
The gap closed with the same use. Axios Raleigh reported that chef Stacy Gallicchio Murphy modeled Gallicchio's on the Italian delis of New England. Her résumé includes Emeril's in New Orleans, plus Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger and Armsby Abbey in Massachusetts. Everything is made in-house, and special dinners are planned.
From (Ish)'s last day to Gallicchio's first was a little over six months. The pop-ups in between meant the room was rarely dark for long. When the next tenant runs the same kind of counter, the block's daily routine barely changes: the pharmacy errand still comes with lunch.
The bar owner who now owns the building
A block also holds steady when the people running its bars own the walls. In September, WUNC reported that Liliana Ballance had bought 612 N. Person St. for $2.7 million. She runs William & Company, known as WillCo, and LaVeladora, both of which operate in that building. WUNC describes her as having spent more than a decade building businesses rooted in Mexican culture and hospitality. In WUNC's words, she "planted even deeper roots in the Oakwood neighborhood" with the purchase.
None of the coverage we found reports any change in use. The bars are still there, and the building's owner is now the woman behind the bar. That matters for anyone who has watched a favorite spot close when its lease ran out. At 612 N. Person St., the landlord and the tenant are now the same person.
Taken together, the 600 and 700 blocks had a busy 2026. One storefront changed hands and reopened with the same kind of business. One building changed hands and kept its tenants.
On Crabtree Boulevard, the closures came in the same stretch
Gateway Plaza is the shopping center at 2425 Crabtree Blvd. According to the News & Observer, it became a food-and-drink cluster around early tenants Union Special Bread and Mordecai Beverage Company. Mala Pata, Miso Ramen and the bar Natural Science followed, as did relocations of Fiction Kitchen and Escazu Chocolates. Escazu's move is the direct link to Person Street. In July 2025, WRAL reported that the chocolatier had left its longtime North Blount Street space for Gateway Plaza.
The plaza's 2026 has looked different from Person Street's. Here's the run of changes on both streets, in order:
- July 2025. Escazu Chocolates moves from North Blount Street to Gateway Plaza.
- March 29, 2026. (Ish) Delicatessen's announced last day at 702 N. Person St.
- Early June 2026. Mordecai Beverage Company announces its closure after six-plus years at Gateway Plaza.
- September 2026. WUNC reports Ballance's purchase of 612 N. Person St.
- Oct. 2, 2026. The Bomb Bar at Gateway Plaza closes just short of its two-year mark.
- Oct. 8, 2026. Gallicchio's opens in the former (Ish) space.
Mordecai Beverage was Raleigh's first brewery bottle shop. Owners Andrew and Megan Christenbury brewed small-batch beers and stocked craft beer from around the state and country. They didn't set a firm final date. Instead they stayed open a few more days to sell through their stock. The N&O placed the closure within a broader slump for Triangle craft beer, with several taprooms shutting down in recent months. Four months later, our research found no announced successor for the space.
If you're checking the plaza's website for an update, its directory still lists The Bomb Bar. WRAL's Oct. 9 roundup, citing the N&O, reported that the smoothie shop had already closed.
Mala Pata, Miso Ramen, Fiction Kitchen, Escazu, Natural Science and Union Special are all still on the plaza's directory. The plaza still has its anchors. Its two 2026 vacancies are the ones in this part of the city with no announced replacement.
The Blount Street space that's still waiting
One exception sits on the Person Street side, and it traces back to Escazu's move. After the chocolatier left, WRAL reported in July 2025 that Stanbury chef Drew Maykuth would lead a new concept in the space. Axios Raleigh added that the owners hoped to share an expanded kitchen with Stanbury and said Stanbury itself wouldn't change.
The address is 936 N. Blount St. The latest detailed update we found came from the News & Observer on Jan. 27, 2026. At that point the project had no public name, was still working through permits, and was described as "quite a ways off." We found no confirmed name, menu or opening date as of mid-October. Of the corridor's recent vacancies, this is the one still unfilled.
Even so, the plan follows the same pattern as the rest of the corridor. Stanbury's owners already operate nearby, and they picked a space where they hoped to share Stanbury's kitchen.
Dates on the corridor calendar through December
The easiest way to see the corridor's next chapter is to walk it on a busy day. Three dates are already set:
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Fall Person Street Plaza Block Party. Raleigh City Farm at 800 N. Blount St. describes the day as anchored by a large pop-up market with local makers, collectors and artists. The farm will run a pop-up farmstand with produce and flowers, and visitors can walk the grounds and learn about regenerative agriculture. The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 25. Event details.
- Dec. 11, 12 and 13, 2026, at 5, 6 and 7 p.m.: Santa's Trolley. Trips leave from Mordecai Historic Park, according to the City of Raleigh.
- Dec. 12 and 13, 2026, 1 to 7 p.m.: Historic Oakwood's 55th annual Candlelight Tour. The tour site says tickets must be bought in advance. Tour information.
The block party is the first big gathering on the plaza since Gallicchio's opened, and it falls just over two weeks after that first day. The second December weekend stacks the trolley departures at Mordecai on top of the Candlelight Tour in Oakwood, with both running through the early evening of Dec. 12 and 13.
Owning a home near Person Street means watching storefronts like 702 and 612 the way you'd watch your own street. If you're wondering how this year's changes on the corridor factor into what your home is worth, The Oxford Team can walk you through it using real Oakwood and Mordecai comps. Request a free home valuation, and we'll start with the blocks you can walk to.