Prepaze, Vendors, & Amendments (or PVA for short)

👋 Good morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, August 28, 2025 and this is the 34th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Happy Labor Day Weekend. You can chill out on the hot dogs now.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (a phrase I never thought I’d say) says that Labor Day is the official end to peak hot dog season.

They say that Americans consume about 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

I did the math and that’s 21 hot dogs per person in just like 3 months. Y’all nasty.

I’m just kidding. I am just not a hot dog person. But let me say this… that hot dog vendor outside of Lowe’s Hardware (Wicked Links, I think)… those just hit different. I don’t know why they are so good but, they just are. Multiple times I have gone out of my way just to grab a dog or brat from them and it’s chef’s kiss. I can’t explain it.

If you have never tried one from there, even if you don’t like hot dogs that much like me, go get one. Mustard, extra onion. Trust me.

“Trust me!” That’s also what I told the Mayor when I reached out and said I had a great idea for Miss Annie.

ICYMI, when the Council pushed back on the Mayor’s UDO Amendment for Miss Annie’s Lot over by AFHS, I found an alternative option to accomplish the same goal which, in my opinion, met all of the concerns of everyone involved.

That solution: a Public Vehicular Area (PVA). The Mayor took my idea and did his thing. He did the due diligence and all of the other work required to make it happen. And, just in time for school, Miss Annie’s lot re-opened as a PVA through the State of North Carolina where students may now park legally on the freshly graveled lot and cross over to the school with the freshly installed crosswalk.

In Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, a council member did speak towards this and mentioned that (I’m paraphrasing), despite the opposition to the original UDO amendment, he was not disappointed in the outcome, the crosswalk does help with the safety concerns tremendously, and expressed his appreciation towards the Mayor’s willingness and desire to get things done and to get them done quickly.

Another councilmember mentioned that he still thought the parking lot was a nuisance. (Imagine when he finds out about the church parking lot across the way that allows students to park or the giant student parking lot across the street).

Full story here

Miscellaneous:

👷 Labor Day
Town facilities will be closed on Monday. Trash and recycling pickup will be delayed by one day.

🪪 Local Spot Passport
The last day to collect your free Local Spot Passport is Tuesday. Details here.

🏭️ Data Storage Facility
On Tuesday, a whole bunch of people showed up to the Town Council meeting to voice their concerns ahead of the inevitable rezoning request that will soon come before them. Here’s a pretty good article about the proposed storage facility. And here’s a good Facebook Group to follow to stay in-the-know.

🚲️ Why Don’t Kids Play Outside More?
A group of kids in the Charleston Villages in Apex built a series of bike jumps and other obstacles on a forested parcel of land in the neighborhood out of wood and logs. After several complaints from neighbors, town staff made the kids take apart their bike jumps. The kids, in partnership with Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC), are now making their case for a town-sanctioned trail with a skills area to replace the jumps. More to come as this develops. Great story on it here.

📱 Project Development Map
As I mentioned last week, I developed an updated and more mobile-friendly version of the Town’s Development Dashboard. Curious what is taking the place of the old car wash on 55? You can find the answer using the development map tool! (if you don’t want to be click-baited, the answer is The Look Salon Suites)

Things to Do This Weekend in Apex:

Today, August 28

🧩 Daytime Puzzle Swap
1pm - 3pm | Peakway Taps

🍻 End of Summer Party
5pm - 2am | JD’s Tavern

🎤 On the Steps Concert Series
Diego Figueiredo
7:30pm | The Halle

Friday, August 29

🛍️ Apex Night Market
5pm - 9pm | Ionna Rechargery

🪕 Truck Ramp Runaways
7pm - 10pm | Vicious Fishes

Saturday, August 30

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
8am - 12pm | The Depot

📚️ Book Fair for Grown Ups
10am - 3pm | The Studio

🎤 Live Music: Codey Pollard
6:30pm - 9pm | Southern Peak Brewery

Sunday, August 31

☀️ Summer Bash Vendor Market
12pm - 5pm | The Backyard Bar

🎸 Peak City Band
3pm - 6pm | Bottle Theory

Wednesday, September 3

🎬️ Wednesday Night Movie
Thunderbolts
7pm | The Halle

🔠 Music Bingo
7:30pm - 9:30pm | Rudy’s Pub & Grill

Local Business Updates

🧂 The Spice & Tea Exchange of Apex Opens Tomorrow

On Friday, the much-anticipated Spice & Tea Exchange at 104A North Salem will open its doors with over 140 spices, 85 hand-mixed blends, sugars, salts, 40+ teas, gifts and accessories.

→ See more on Facebook / Instagram

🏫 Get 10% Off at Prepaze Academy by Mentioning The Peak Weekly

Just in time for fall, Apex parents will be excited to learn that Prepaze Academy at Sweetwater is officially open!

Prepaze Academy offers both one-on-one and group tutoring for grades K–12, to students of all different learning capacities. Their space is a relaxed environment where students feel welcome and encouraged to express themselves, and look forward to coming. Their goal is to inspire academic confidence and a genuine love of learning in every student.

As a grand opening offer, if you register by next week (September 1 through 5) you can get a 10% discount if you mention you read about Prepaze Academy in The Peak Weekly!

→ Learn More Here

💇‍♀️ Danielle Marie Hair Co Grand Opening

Danielle Marie Salon, owned by longtime friends Cristina Clark and Meghan Endres, will have their Grand Opening on September 6, from 1–4 p.m.

The Grand Opening will include raffle prizes (keratin treatment, luxury haircare set, salon gift certificates, and more); food and drinks from Fratelli’s and Southern Peak Brewery; a complimentary Mini Style Bar offering touch-ups, curls, quick blowouts, etc.; a Demo Station offering hair consultations and professional experience on all things hair, a Content Corner for pics, and more!

And if you mention that you read about this in The Peak Weekly, you’ll get 5% off their Grand Opening new client offer!

→ Learn More Here

Civil News:

🏚️ Tunstall House
Site work will begin on Tuesday, September 2. The Apex Senior Center Lot will close at this time and will remain closed for about a year.

🛣️ Olive Chapel Road Closure
A waterline plan has been finalized with the Town and NCDOT is making progress with Duke Energy to reduce the timeline for relocating power lines. A definitive timeline is expected next week.

🚿 Utility Update
The town is working to shorten billing cycles, with the current one projected to be in the low 30s, which is close to normal. The Town has also hired a new HR director, a billing and collections manager, and is recruiting for other finance positions. They have also brought on four temporary staff members to assist with complex account reviews. Average phone wait times for utility questions are currently 7-10 minutes and the Town is working on implementing a new system to ensure every call is answered live, providing you with your place in the queue.

🚔️ Police to Citizen Dashboard
The dashboard that provided transparency and real-time insights into crime incidents in Apex went offline at the time of the cybersecurity incident in July 2024. Last week, the PD met with their software vendor who has been working on this. The Town’s IT department must now review some items and the software vendor needs to provide some more information that has been requested. As of right now, it’s not much of an update and there is no timeline while those things get sorted out. But just wanted to share what I’ve learned recently for those who have been wondering. I will update as I learn more.

👨‍⚖️ Supreme Court Rules Against Apex
The NC Supreme Court has issued a decision favoring an Apex property owner in a 10-year long eminent domain legal battle with Apex over a disputed sewer line. The case will return to trial court soon to determine how Apex will compensate the property owner for violating her property rights. On Tuesday, an Apex resident spoke during Public Forum and urged the Council to dismiss similar ongoing cases.

✏️ A Couple Amendments
On Tuesday, the Council unanimously approved amendments to the Apex Transportation Plan to reflect recommendations from the Mobility Hub Plan. The Council also unanimously approved a staff-proposed UDO amendment to add clarifying language to various sections regarding connectivity to surrounding areas, addressing the recent NC Supreme Court ruling. The UDO amendment related to student parking was officially denied as it was no longer needed.

🗓️ Important Upcoming Dates

Today, August 28
Community Town Hall
6pm - 7pm | Apex Town Hall

September 4, 2025
Brown Bags to Building Bridges
12pm - 1pm | The Halle

A Look Ahead:

September 4, 2025
Brown Bags to Building Bridges
12pm - 1pm | The Halle

September 6, 2025
Peak City Fitness Festival
9am - 4:45pm | Town Hall Campus

September 11, 2025
Patriot Day Ceremony
9:30am | Saunders & Salem

September 19, 2025
Apex Community Dance
7pm - 9pm | The Halle

September 20, 2025
Festa Italiana
11am - 7pm | Town Hall Campus

September 25, 2025
Explore S’more
6pm - 7:30pm | Nature Park Amphitheater

October 7, 2025
Apex Night Out (Touch-a-Truck)
4:30pm - 7pm | Apex Town Campus

In Case You Missed it:

🅿️ Saunders Lot (Phase I) Now Open
Phase 1 of the Saunders Lot reconstruction project is now complete! This phase, located across the street from the Apex Police Station unlocks over 150 parking spaces for downtown visitors. Phase 2 is now underway which will double the previous amount of parking spaces previously in the gravel lot.

📚️ Friendship Community Library
A new library is coming to the Friendship area at Humie Olive & Old US Hwy1 (diagonal corner from Vicious Fishes). This past Monday, Wake County commissioners voted to purchase the 7.5 acres for $2,451,800. Design and construction are currently scheduled for 2028 with anticipated opening in 2029.

🐸 sweetFrog Premium Frozen Yogurt
Now open at 1754 Olive Chapel Rd. They are HOPPY to serve 14+ froyo flavors, ice-cream, sorbets with over 60+ toppings & freshly made Waffle Cones!! Initial Google reviews look great! Website

🥋 Kim’s Yong-In Martial Arts
Now open at 2701 Lawnview Ln., Suite 115. Master Kim is a 6th Dan Black Belt and a proud graduate of Yongin University in South Korea—a university world-renowned for its martial arts and sports education. Master Kim’s mission in opening Kim’s Yong-In schools is simple but powerful: to use Taekwondo as a tool to empower individuals of all ages physically, mentally, and emotionally.

🦷 The Loop Dental Care
Now open at 620 Chessie Station in the Villages of Apex near downtown is a new full-service dental care provider, The Loop Dental Care. We spoke with Dr Papademetriou and got all of the great details which you can read here.

🐶 Clear the Shelter Extravaganza
Now through August 31, adoption fees for all pets at the Wake County Animal Shelter will be waived.

🌈 The More You Know
Did you know that you can email the Town Council all at once? Questions, comments, concerns, etc. can be sent to all council members by emailing [email protected]

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... 😘