City Market

City Market is a cluster of shops, restaurants and art studios in downtown Raleigh, on and around Wolfe Street. It opened on October 1, 1914, and the old brick buildings still give the block its character.

Today it is somewhere to shop, drink and eat, with events on the calendar through the year. Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant has anchored the place since 1989, and an artists’ group and an independent pet store keep company with it. It is worth a wander even if you have no errand there.

What to know

• The market did well from its opening through the mid-1940s.
• Sculptor Paris Alexander founded the City Market Artist Collective in 2019.
• That collective sets out to build the careers of professional artists.
• Unleashed, the Dog and Cat Store, is locally owned and sells pet supplies.