Pizzeria Toro, the wood-fired pizzeria that's been a Durham fixture since 2012, is opening its first-ever second location in Raleigh, moving into a converted trucking garage at 807 Halifax Street in the Seaboard Station development. The restaurant is aiming for a fall 2026 opening, according to an Instagram post cited by WhatNow, and it won't be going it alone — it's sharing the space with Charlotte-born bottle shop and deli chain The Common Market.
The new dining room is designed to seat somewhere in the mid-70s, though chef and owner Gray Brooks has noted that the final number could shift once the construction crew gets into the buildout, according to Business Debut. General contractor selection was still underway as of that report, with work hoped to begin by the end of the month. The two concepts will share the venue.
A Former Garage Gets a Second Life
The building itself has an unusual backstory: it's a 4,700-square-foot structure that Common Market owner Graham Worth has described as two separate, adjacent buildings that were joined together, previously used by a trucking company. The former garage has a high, airy interior, the site notes. Worth purchased the two parcels that make up 807 Halifax Street for $2.8 million to house both concepts under one roof, and the project is set to include a large outdoor patio meant to double as a community gathering space.
The Common Market itself isn't new to the Triangle, though Raleigh will be a fresh milestone. The chain got its start in Charlotte in 2002 before expanding into the Triangle with a Durham location in 2023. Worth, a Raleigh native, had reportedly long wanted to bring the concept to the capital city himself.
From a Chapel Hill Street Storefront to a Second Location
Pizzeria Toro's roots run deep in Durham. The pizzeria first opened there in 2012, and the Raleigh expansion comes more than a decade later.
What's on the Menu
The Raleigh location will lean on the same wood-fired approach that built Pizzeria Toro's reputation, with a menu spanning pizzas, salads, small plates, desserts, and Italian-inspired drinks. Expect familiar staples like the Old School Pepperoni pie, buffalo mozzarella with San Marzano tomato and basil, ricotta dumplings, fried-to-order zeppole, and house cannoli, alongside the restaurant's well-known Tuscan kale salad and a neighborhood bar. According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the kitchen will adapt its offerings to what's available from Triangle farmers, and seasonal items are expected to rotate between the Durham and Raleigh restaurants.
That kale salad has its own origin story: Brooks has explained how it became an iconic Pizzeria Toro dish, as he told The News & Observer.
A Bigger Development
Pizzeria Toro's new home sits inside Seaboard Station, a sprawling $500 million, multi-phase redevelopment led by Hoffman & Associates that spans more than 1 million square feet of residential, hotel, and retail space in downtown Raleigh, according to Multi-Housing News. The complex has its own layered history — it started life as a passenger train depot built in 1942, was converted into a retail center in the 1990s by the Logan family, and was later owned by William Peace University before Hoffman & Associates bought it in 2018, per REBusinessOnline.
For now, the exact opening date, final contractor timeline, and any last adjustments to seating capacity remain details to watch as construction moves forward. What's clear is that after more than a decade as a Durham-only destination, Pizzeria Toro is about to become a two-city name in the Triangle.
