Longstanding Raleigh barbecue favorite Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue has sold their downtown property at 327 S. Wilmington St. to an owner of a local restaurant chain amid plans for Clyde Cooper’s to relocate.
Eric Zheng, owner of Japanese restaurant Hibachi 88, was the buyer for the property. He plans to renovate the space and transform it into another Hibachi 88 — the seventh location for the brand — and is looking to open it next April, according to the Triangle Business Journal.
For now, Clyde Cooper’s Barbecue will continue to operate in the space under a lease with Zheng, Clyde Cooper’s owner Debbie Wray told What Now Charlotte. However, they have plans to relocate to a new spot and are in conversations to secure a lease for a new space. Once they ink a deal and renovate the new space, they will move out of the downtown Raleigh space they have called home for decades.
Zheng currently operates six locations for Hibachi 88 throughout the Triangle, including three spots in Raleigh, two in Cary and one in Durham. What Now Charlotte could not obtain a comment from Zheng prior to publication.
