Bul Box Asian Grill has closed its Hillsborough Street location at 2526-100 Hillsborough St. on North Carolina State University's campus, with the restaurant announcing that Saturday, Oct. 31 would be the spot's final day of service.
The closure was confirmed by the News & Observer, which reported that Bul Box said, “After some thought, we've made the difficult decision to close our Hillsborough Street location.” The statement did not elaborate on what prompted the decision. Five other Bul Box locations across the Triangle remain open, according to the same report.
A Local Chain Built From a Food Hall Stall
Bul Box's roots trace back to a stall at Transfer Co. Food Hall, where the business first opened before growing into a six-location footprint around the Triangle. The chain expanded to a second Raleigh spot on Hillsborough Street along with locations in Morrisville, North Hills, Garner and Durham, the News & Observer's reporting noted. Transfer Co. Food Hall says on its vendor page that the Bul Box team has been serving Asian cuisine in the Triangle for more than 20 years.
The menu built around that history includes banh mi sandwiches, signature and customizable bowls, ramen, and appetizers like bulgogi fries and mac and cheese spring rolls, drawing on dishes inspired by Korea, Vietnam, China and Japan. Chef Brian Young leads the restaurant's Asian-inspired street food and grill concept; he previously ran his own Korean-Japanese restaurant in New York City and spent 11 years working in restaurants in Japan.
Expansion Plans Beyond North Carolina
The Hillsborough Street location that just closed wasn't Bul Box's first foray onto a college strip. When the chain opened a West Franklin Street restaurant in Chapel Hill in March 2023, it marked the company's seventh location, and at the time every Bul Box shop was located in North Carolina, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
Transfer Co. Food Hall's vendor page describes bigger ambitions for the brand, saying Bul Box is pursuing a goal of spreading Asian flavors throughout Charlotte, Atlanta, Savannah and beyond. The Hillsborough Street closure comes as other long-running Triangle restaurants are also shutting their doors: the News & Observer reported that Bandido's Mexican Cafe is set to permanently close in December after three decades on Chapel Hill's Franklin Street, and that Raleigh's Fiction Kitchen is due to close for good on Nov. 14.
The News & Observer said it had reached out to Bul Box for comment and would update its story once a response is received. On Instagram, the brand's @bulboxgrill account describes itself as serving “delicious & fresh customizable Asian food currently serving the NC Triangle area,” though it's unclear whether that account reflects the current location count following the Hillsborough Street closure.
