Coffee, Beer, Blowouts & "News"

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, March 26, 2026 — the 64th consecutive weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

We are just three short weeks away from the highly anticipated Peak Weekly issue number: ⁶🤷⁷

This past week, I received quite a few “did you see this?” emails. So let’s just address it right out of the gate.

I’ve answered this before but I guess it’s hard to believe that there is no motive with the Peak Weekly other than to share fun, interesting and important information about Apex. You will never see me run for political office - ever. Of any kind. I appreciate those who do. But that’s just not in my DNA.

Secondly, I’ve done some reporting recently where Terry has been the subject of some of the more serious journalism. But it’s not Terry vs Adam. I am rooting for the elected officials who represent us. When they succeed, we succeed.

At the same time, this self-appointed role of newsletter publisher has led me down a road to where I’ve seen and experienced things that I likely never would have if it wasn’t for The Peak Weekly. And sometimes it’s good. Other times, it’s not.

You know, it wasn’t too long ago when Terry was hyping me up for this newsletter.

And likewise, I’d promote his content and defer to him for what I thought was expert guidance.

At the time, it felt like we were working together to bring the best information.

But I think what changed the tone for me was his response to the utility billing situation and the presentation from BerryDunn. I started asking questions and started getting… let’s say, what I felt like were dishonest answers, a little bit of gaslighting and maybe a little bit of covering up. Fast-forward a little bit to me reporting on a data breach from one of his side projects in which he responded with a blatant, dangerous and multiple false accusations about me - that people still repeat as if they are factual to this day - and that’s when I started to really see it for what it is. And to be honest, until those statements are corrected, I will not let that go.

And now… the launch of Terry Mahaffey’s latest website, the Peak News Network. “Your source for reliable, accurate local news for Apex, NC”.

A lot of you have asked what I think.

👉 Doesn’t really matter what I think. But if you have 20 minutes, here’s everything I know.

Miscellaneous Info:

 🥚 The Mayor Jacques Golden Egg Hunt
If you haven’t heard, Mayor Gilbert is hosting a Golden Egg Hunt where you can win some cool prizes if you can find the golden egg. Today is day 2 of 5. Details here.

🐖 Peak City Pig Fest
This annual two-day event, hosted by Apex Sunrise Rotary Club, is coming up soon. April 10 & 11 at Town Hall Campus. Everything you need to know.

📸 Flock Cameras
I have spoke about the Flock Cameras in Apex recently and concerns voiced by community members. One resident, though, has taken it even further to track down more information. If you’d like to know more, his public forum comments can be seen here, or check out this great write-up here.

🍣 Gas Station Sushi
Akami Sushi was recently recognized by Southern Living as one of the region’s best sushi spot. “The words ‘high-end’ and ‘gas station sushi’ aren’t typically used in the same sentence,” the magazine wrote. “But in the South, some of the best eateries are found in gas stations. Akami Sushi in Apex, NC proves just that.”

🎹 Apex Music Producer’s Viral Video
The “Feel the Spark” music video, produced by an Apex resident has been viewed more than 4.7M times on YouTube in the past 12 days. You can read the story here and watch the video here.

🌺 Drive-in Movie at the Park
On Friday, March 27, the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” movie will be playing at Pleasant Park. $10 per vehicle. They do sell out! Get tickets here. (And/or plan ahead and grab tickets no the May 22 showing of Zootopia 2 here).

🚿 Water System Maintenance
Through April 6, the Cary/Apex Water Treatment Plant will undergo its annual maintenance. You may experience temporary low water pressure, slight chlorine taste or odor, and/or water discoloration during this time.

♾ Autism Awareness
April is Autism Acceptance Month and National Volunteer Month. Proclamations for both were made during Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Things to Do This Weekend in Apex:

Friday, March 27

🚒 Engine 32 Push In Ceremony
3pm | Firestation #2 in New Hill

🎤 Live Music: Becky Ann
7pm - 10pm | Oaklyn Springs Brewery

🌺 Drive-in Movie at the Park
7:30pm | Pleasant Park

Saturday, March 28

🚘 Cars and Coffee
8am - 11am | Sweetwater

🏍️ Bikes & Coffee
8am - 11am | Fratelli’s Deli

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
9am - 12pm | The Depot

🏃‍♀️ Run Club Apex
Meet at 9am | Foxtail Coffee

🚶‍♂️ Parkinson’s Walk of Apex
9am - 12pm | Apex Community Park

📣 No Kings Apex
9:30am - 11:30am | Beaver Creek Commons

🐮 Chatham County Ag Fest
10am - 3pm | Chatham Co. Agriculture Center

👜 Handbag Drop
10am - 8pm | Uptown Cheapskate

🏒 Heated Rivalry Market
10:30am - 3:30pm | The Studio

🐰 Easter Fest
10:30am - 12:30pm | Ambassador Presbyterian Church

✂️ Crafter-noon!
3pm - 5pm | Bottle Theory

🎤 Live Music: Kyle Mullins
6:30pm - 9pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🖤 Emo Punk Night
7pm - 10pm | Oaklyn Springs Brewery

🎤 Live Music: Jonatas Alves
8pm - 11pm | Peak of the Vine

Sunday, March 29

🌿 Invasive Plant Removal Workday
10am - 12pm | Apex Community Park

🍳 Snack Sunday: The Egg Event
Starts 2pm | Peakway Taps

📖 Buddy Howard Book Signing
2pm - 4pm | Alleyway Bookstore

Local Business Update:

☕️ Foxtail Sweetwater
The second location of Foxtail Coffee is now open in Sweetwater. They are open daily from 6:30am until 7pm at 1451 Richardson Road in Suite 126.

🍺 The Local
Formerly Vicious Fishes, The Local is now open. Lunch and dinner food truck every day along with coffee, smoothies, soda, dirty sodas, beer, wine, selzer and more.

👱‍♀️ Blo Bar Dry Bar
Blo Bar believes that blow outs have the power to uplift you and enhance your day. But beautiful hair is just the beginning: they also offer makeup and other luxurious services, too. Now open, located between Mr Dumpling and Doherty’s Irish Pub.

💿️ Hunky Dory
The vinyl record store, Hunky Dory, is planning to open next weekend. They’ll be upstairs above the antique store.

🥐 Popovers Cafe
Fresh baked popovers, signature turkish tea and french press coffee are now being served at Popovers Cafe in downtown Apex. Located in the old Villa19 location at 219 N Salem Street, Suite 103 - pop in and see them!

🤸‍♀️ Coming Soon:
No exact dates yet but each of these is coming along and getting closer and closer to opening their doors: Wing Stop (former GNC in Beaver Creek), Groovy Duck Bakery (right on the corner downtown), Cook Out (former Skipper’s on 55).

Civic News:

🐝 New Environmental Committees
The Environmental Advisory Board has formed three new subcommittees: data centers, trees, and bees (for Bee City/Tree City designations).

🚂 Train Noise
Council actively working with CSX on sound mitigation and potentially relocating the overnight train depot away from downtown residential areas.

🛣️ Multimodal Transportation Board
Held its first-ever strategic work session to expand scope beyond just walkability/bikeability to include road design.

♻️ Recycle Bin Upgrades
Recycling bins are being upgraded from 65-gallon to 95-gallon starting March 30. You’ll receive notice when your neighborhood is on the schedule. It will happen on the same day as your trash collection.

🌱 Yard Waste / Grass Clippings
Council directed discontinuation of grass collection at the February retreat, but public pushback has been significant. Mayor Gilbert recommended during Tuesday’s council meeting to pause and implement an official community feedback process before taking any action. The Town Manager responded that there will be another presentation on April 14 and possible public input on April 28.

⚡️ More Utility Billing Issues
Cycle 2 customers got bills with incorrect due dates (showed March 28, actual is April 13). Town is working with vendor to fix portal. Also, 37-day billing period instead of the usual 30, so bills will look higher. Paper bills going out with correct dates.

⏭ Two Rezoning Applications Continued
Annexation and Rezoning of Welch Homestead PUD was continued to 4/28 after council expressed concerns regarding affordable housing (only 5% / policy calls for 10%). Camp Branch Lane was continued to 5/12 after council expressed concerns about environmental conditions (only 4 of 9 EAB recommendations accepted).

✅ Unanimous Approval
Annexation of Wimberly Road, Deer Creek Greenway Connector, Tingen Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Crossing Feasibility Study, Tingen Road Crossing Transportation Plan Amendments all approved 4-0.

⏸️ Paused
The Tingen Road Tunnel project was paused, pending the above mentioned Feasibility Study. The project, should it move forward, is estimated to cost $10.7M.

❌ Denied
The Rezoning for Camp Branch Lane was unanimously denied.

🗓️ Upcoming Town Meetings

Today, March 26
CommUniversity: Connect and Dive into Water Resources
6pm - 8pm | Apex Senior Center

Monday, April 13
Planning Board Meeting
4:30pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, April 14
Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

Note: The April 14 Town Council meeting will include a legislative hearing to consider the adoption of a 12-month moratorium on data centers.

A Look Ahead:

Wednesday, April 8
Harris Plant Siren Test (5-30 seconds)

April 10 & 11
Peak City Pig Fest | Town Hall Campus

Saturday, April 11
Spring Shred Day | Public Works Dept

Wednesday, April 15
Concert Series: Shana Tucker | Halle Cultural Arts

Friday, April 17
Downtown Apex Boutique Crawl | Downtown Apex

Saturday, April 25
EarthFest | Town Hall Campus

Sunday, April 26
Love Local Showcase | Downtown Apex

In Case You Missed it

🎬️ Drive-in Movie at the Park
Tomorrow, the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” movie will be playing at Pleasant Park. The next showing will be Zootopia 2. Plan ahead and grab tickets here. $10/car.

☀️ Art Explorers Summer Camp!
Art Camps for Curious Creative Kids. This is a mixed media camp, July 27-31, perfect for rising 2-6th graders who are creative and curious about any and every kind of art. Learn more and register here.

☀️ Summer Dance Camps
Star Path Dance Academy has published their summer camps. Camp options start at 3 years old up to 17. Check them out here.

👩‍🚒 Female Firefighting Camp
Camp Ignite is a Free all female (high school aged) firefighting camp run by Cary, Apex and Morrisville female firefighters.  Camp Ignite is a hands-on, week-long experience where students will learn essential firefighting and EMS skills, build confidence, teamwork and leadership.  This camp is designed to give students a real look into careers in the fire service while creating a fun, supportive, and empowering environment. The camp takes place from July 27-31 and applications are now open.

🚧 2026 Road Rehab Project
The road resurfacing and patching project has been awarded. Construction is expected to begin next month. The full packet showing what roads are a part of this project can be seen here.

🚐 Library On the Go
Wake County’s new Bookmobile is hitting the road for a sneak peek tour. While it’s primarily for children, the 24-foot Bookmobile carrying more than 2,000 books also features a small section of adult titles, making sure parents and caregivers don’t go away empty handed. It will be at the Crowder County Park on April 20, the Eva Perry Regional Library on April 24, and the Middle Creek Community Library on May 11. All events are 10am - 12pm. Full schedule here.

📝 Zencity Community Survey
The Town of Apex has partnered with Zencity for its semiannual Spring Survey to gather feedback from residents. If you soon see social media ads sponsored by Zencity asking for feedback, they are indeed the official partner conducting the survey. More info here.

A Final Note:

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly.

As always, if you have any ideas of how to make this newsletter better, want to nominate a local business or organization to be featured, or anything else, please respond to this email or email me directly at [email protected]

See you next Thursday... 😘