Raleigh Iron Works plans to add a café and brunch spot later in 2026, with Drift Coffee & Kitchen set to open what would be the coastal chain's third Raleigh location in the midtown east shopping mall off Atlantic Avenue. The planned café would serve breakfast, lunch, coffee and drinks daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., bringing avocado toast, breakfast burritos, açai bowls and chicken pesto to the mixed-use development at 1101 East Whitaker Mill Road.
That's according to The News & Observer, which reports Raleigh Iron Works was still waiting to provide a statement on the project as of publication. Other outlets have described the project differently: a June 2026 item from Triangle Business Journal is headlined to suggest Drift Coffee + Kitchen had already opened at Raleigh Iron Works, and states the café will serve breakfast and lunch alongside an extensive beverage menu. It's not clear from the available reporting whether the café has already opened or remains in the works, so both accounts are presented here rather than resolved.
What's Planned for the Bow Truss Building
Separate reporting adds detail to the build-out. According to whatnow.com, Drift Coffee + Kitchen leased 1,963 square feet in Raleigh Iron Works' Bow Truss Building at the same Whitaker Mill Road address, a spot the outlet says would mark the company's fifth location in the Triangle. That account lists planned offerings of espresso drinks, brewed coffee, breakfast sandwiches, bowls, toasts, salads and sandwiches — a lineup that overlaps with, but isn't identical to, the menu items cited by The News & Observer.
Raleigh Iron Works' own directory describes Drift as a collection of cafes and coffee shops pairing high-end coffee with all-day breakfast and lunch, noting that food is made in-house from clean ingredients and prepared fresh for each order. The development itself is a mixed-use property featuring offices, businesses, restaurants and multifamily housing.
From Ocean Isle to the Triangle
Drift's story starts well outside Raleigh. Brothers Michael and Ben Powell opened the chain's first location in 2014 at Ocean Isle, and the company has since grown to more than 13 locations. Drift opened its first Raleigh installment in June 2024, followed by a Chapel Hill location later that summer, according to an Instagram post cited by The News & Observer.
The chain's momentum in the Triangle hasn't slowed. In August 2026, Drift opened a second Raleigh site adjacent to Dix Park, inside Ray at The Weld at 1000 Hammell Drive. Midtown Magazine reported the Dix Park shop opened on a Saturday in mid-August, bringing the North Carolina-born coffee shop's mix of specialty coffee, breakfast and lunch to The Weld, a district the magazine describes as a mixed-use area combining residences, restaurants, retail and public gathering spaces beside the park.
A Bigger Expansion Push Underway
The Triangle push marks new territory for a chain that built its name along the coast. Drift's move into the region was its first expansion beyond the Powells' familiar coastal markets, according to an earlier report from The News & Observer. Drift co-founder Michael Powell told WilmingtonBiz the company expects to have 15 stores open by the end of the year, unless other opportunities come up, and that Drift aims to enter a third market somewhere in North or South Carolina in 2027 once it hits operational benchmarks in the Triangle. Drift had already opened a roastery in Monkey Junction at 5315 South College Road and had been using its beans for a couple of months before the public announcement.
Raleigh's breakfast and brunch scene has been busy well beyond Drift's expansion. The News & Observer also reported that Cup a Joe recently announced another Hillsborough Street location coming soon, and the paper recently published a top 50 list of best breakfast spots across the Triangle — a sign of just how crowded the region's morning coffee and brunch competition has become.
