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We've compiled the best of the best in Central North Carolina - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
With a vibe that borrows from Day of the Dead and New Orleans voodoo without looking like a theme bar, WillCo is known for their chalkboard menu of seasonal cocktail features, hidden back mezcal bar, and laid-back bartenders. Dried flowers and green plants hang from the ceiling, a neon flamingo skeleton lights up the wall, and the outdoor tables are often filled with locals waiting for a pizza from Oakwood Pizza Box next door.
Setting the standard for craft cocktail bars in North Carolina, the Crunkleton has a knowledgeable staff of mixologists ready to stir and shake drinks. You can also select from a pages-long whiskey list—it includes antique spirits that seem to taste even better in the dark, parlorlike surroundings, with elk and deer busts lording it over the room.
What seems high concept for a bar is in fact, well, easy: the downstairs has a simple menu of eight classic cocktails, bottles for takeaway, and coffee drinks during the day. The speakeasy-like upstairs bar has no menu, rather you talk through drink possibilities and flavor profiles with the bartender and enjoy a custom-crafted drink.
Steps away from the Innovation Quarter but a world away in personality, this pretension-free cocktail bar will be happy to mix up something to suit any taste (even nonalcoholic) and make you feel at home in the plant-filled cozy space. Look out for events like themed pop-up dinners, karaoke, and book readings.
