Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is open at Grove 98

A new Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is open at the Grove 98 shopping center in Wake Forest, at 1311 Grove Village Road off the Highway 98 Bypass. As of September 30, 2026, the steakhouse is taking reservations and online orders, and no grand-opening date has been published.

The restaurant’s OpenTable page lists it as open and accepting reservations, with posted hours for every day of the week. The company’s website now carries a local phone number for the Wake Forest location, along with reservation, online-ordering and menu links. Neither page gives an opening date.

The Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership wrote on September 7, 2026, that the restaurant was expected to open by the end of September as the chain’s 74th location. Partnership president Jason Cannon said in that post that businesses like Firebirds “contribute to the economic vitality” of the community.

Hours, phone and reservations

The restaurant’s posted hours on OpenTable are:

• Monday through Thursday, it is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• On Friday, it is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• On Saturday, it is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• On Sunday, it is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to the company’s website. The site also lists a weekday happy hour in the bar, which Firebirds calls the FIREBAR, but it does not post happy hour times for Wake Forest. The phone number is (984) 263-4777.

Online orders can be picked up curbside or delivered through DoorDash, and the dress code is smart casual, according to the company’s website. The partnership’s September 7 post said reservations are recommended. OpenTable lists patio seating, a bar and a private dining room.

What is on the menu and what it costs

The Wake Forest dinner menu centers on steaks cooked over a wood fire, with seafood, chicken, ribs, pasta, burgers and salads. The company’s location page puts the average check at $15 to $18 per person at lunch and $28 to $32 at dinner. Dinner prices posted on the company’s website include:

• The 7-ounce filet mignon is $38.95, and the 9-ounce filet is $41.95.
• The 12-ounce aged ribeye is $38.95, and the 16-ounce ribeye is $46.50.
• The 14-ounce wood-grilled New York strip is $35.95.
• The slow-roasted prime rib, served on weekends only, is $41.95.
• Wood-grilled salmon is $33.70, and Chilean sea bass is $39.95.
• Shrimp and grits is $27.50.
• The Durango burger is $19.15.
• A fixed-price, three-course dinner with a starter, an entree and a petite dessert is $39.95.

The weekend brunch menu adds breakfast dishes, according to the company’s website:

• Baked French toast is $17.75.
• The steak and egg bowl is $25.95.
• Grilled salmon Benedict is $23.95.
• A hot honey chicken biscuit is $17.75.

The lunch menu includes a combination plate called The Perfect Pair for $14.95 and a 7-ounce roasted garlic sirloin for $21.95, according to the company’s website.

From Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., an early-dining menu offers a set list of entrees at $19.95 each, including a 7-ounce wood-grilled sirloin, baby back ribs and wood-grilled salmon. Family meals for four to six people are sold to go only, starting at $39.95 for chicken pasta or chicken tenders, according to the company’s website.

The chain and the new building

The partnership’s post described the Wake Forest restaurant as a new Firebirds design that is lighter and brighter than earlier locations, with wood grain in the furniture and decor. The post named Aggie Hughes, a Firebirds marketing manager, as the source of the company’s update.

What Now Raleigh reported on August 8, 2025, that Firebirds started in Charlotte and was acquired by Garnett Station Partners in 2023. At that time the chain had Triangle restaurants in Raleigh, Durham and Morrisville, and the report put the Wake Forest opening in summer 2026.

A second new sit-down restaurant at Grove 98

Grove 98 covers nearly 100 acres along the Highway 98 Bypass and connects to the extended Ligon Mill Road, according to the partnership’s development activity page. It is anchored by Wegmans, which opened a store of more than 100,000 square feet there in June 2022, according to the same page.

Firebirds joins another new sit-down chain restaurant at the center. Outback Steakhouse is open on an outparcel at 680 Richland Grove Avenue, on the northeastern edge of the center. The partnership’s development page lists Torchy’s Tacos and CAVA among the operating tenants in the center’s northwest quadrant.