What's Your Issue? Chou on This!

👋 Good morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, March 27, 2025 and this is the 12th consecutive weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Here is what’s inside today:

📝 Intro: Quick thoughts from yours truly

📂 Miscellaneous: Some town-related notes that didn’t fit anywhere else

🗓️ Things to Do This Week: Events and activities this coming week in and around Apex

🏢 Local Business: The latest in local small business news

🏛️ Civil News: The latest from our local government

🐶 Animal(s) of the Week: Featured animals looking for a good home

☀️ Spring Break: Some things to do in Apex and within driving distance with your kids

👀 A Look Ahead: A quick peak at things to know beyond this week

Intro

Before we jump into the events and updates for this week, I wanted to share a couple of quick updates:

🍉 The Newest Sponsor of the Farmers Market
If you couldn’t tell from some of my past newsletters, I am a big fan of the Apex Farmers Market. The Peak Weekly is excited to be their newest sponsor and I am excited to continue to support their efforts and all of the vendors.

🕺 Come See Me at PeakFest
The Peak Weekly is now officially a Premium Sponsor for this year’s PeakFest and we will be set up with a booth by the Kidz Zone near Moore St. (PeakFest is May 3rd). You better come say hi!

⁉️ What’s Your Issue?!
My goal every week with The Peak Weekly is to provide you with the latest news, events and information about the town wrapped up in a concise, easy-to-skim package.

But based on some feedback and conversations I’ve had over recent weeks/months with some subscribers, there are a handful of issues that I’ve learned a lot about and want to discuss with you in more detail. But those details don’t really fit into the compact layout of the newsletter.

So, in the near future, I’ll be sharing some longer-form articles on my website with you. If you’re interested in the topic, you can jump over there to read more. And if you’re not, just ignore those links and keep on reading the email as normal!

Here are the issues I will tackle in-depth here in the coming weeks:

Affordability - In Apex, the median home costs about $125,000 more than the median income can afford. That’s why most of our workforce (including teachers, first responders, healthcare workers) don’t even live in Apex. We’ll dig into why this is and what is being done about it.

Trees - As the houses and bridges go up, the trees come down. Despite our Unified Development Ordinance which “requires” a portion of each development area to create protected zones, Apex still managed to be the largest contributor of tree canopy loss in Wake County in a recent study (losing 2,180 acres - 15% of our tree canopy - from 2010-2020). If I were a betting man, I’d guess 2020-current isn’t looking much better. We’ll gather some more recent data and then explain all of this in more detail in the coming weeks.

I have had some conversations, and have some upcoming conversations, with some people much smarter than me about these topics. But if you have any insights to share around these topics, I would love to hear from you.

Miscellaneous:

👫 Mom & Pop Business Owners Day
99.9% of businesses in the US are small businesses. 46% of people are employed by a small business. This Saturday, March 29th, is Mom & Pop Business Owners Day. So let’s get out there and support our small businesses in Apex!

🏃 Lets Go on a Coffee Run
That phrase to me means, I’m going to go get some coffee and I’ll be right back. But Bella Xavier, founder of Run Club Apex (RCA) took that phrase literally. RCA meets every Saturday at 9am at their new meeting spot, Foxtail Coffee. They have a 3 mile run, 5 mile run, and 1 mile walking route. RCA also hosts social outings like cocktail nights, craft nights and hosts an initiative called #RCAGivesBack. Learn more at their Instagram or find RCA on Strava.

📺️ Chou on This
I feel like I need more than 2 items here so I’m just going to ramble to get to 3 bullet points. With that said, this might be the most important part of the email (for me).

I am a man of routine. Every day, I wake up and turn on WRAL News while I get kids ready and all of that good stuff. Then, I take the dog for a walk, put on my headphones and listen to The Smiley Morning Show (99.5 WZPL, Indianapolis). I moved here from Indy 4 years ago and Smiley has been part of my morning routine since I can remember.

But back to WRAL. My favorite news anchor is Renee Chou. She’s the GOAT. I saw that she recently started a new series focused on ‘good eats in the triangle’ called, “Chou on This”.

If this email has ever brought you value and you have any sort of connection to Renee Chou - whether it’s a social media tag or maybe you somehow know her - can you please reach out to her and get her to do an episode of Chou on This at an Apex restaurant with me as the co-host? 🙏 

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

🛍️ Mabo Pane Marketplace
3913 US Hwy 64W
Friday | 7am - 12pm
Saturday | 10am - 1pm
 

Saturday, March 29

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

👜 Spring Vintage Fest
10am - 3pm | The Vintage Nook / The Studio

🏒 Street Hockey Rinks Grand Opening
2pm - 4pm | Apex Community Park

🐖 Pig Picking & Family Fun Day
4pm | Pleasant Plains Baptist Church

Sunday, March 30

🎹 JazzLive with Lenore Raphael
3pm - 5:30pm | Halle Cultural Arts

Wednesday, April 2

🎬️ Wednesday Night Movie
7pm - 10pm | Halle Cultural Arts

Things to Do This Week Nearby:

🎷 Cary Town Band
Today, 7:30pm | Cary Arts Center (Cary)

🐐 Tour & Explore at the Refuge
Saturday, March 29 11am-2pm | Piedmont Farm (Pittsboro)

🧑‍🚒 🏒 👮 Battle of the Badges
Tuesday, April 1 at 6pm | Lenovo Center (Raleigh)

Local Business:

🪣 The Rusty Bucket is Back
You all remember The Rusty Bucket, right? If not, it was a very cool little country store in downtown Apex. They were there for about 10 years until moving the store to Pittsboro in late 2023. Well… they’re back!

You can now visit The Rusty Bucket inside of Neighbor Boy Farm / Country Store (1008 Davis Dr) Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays from 11am-4pm.

If you’ve never been to Neighbor Boy Farm, that is reason enough to go. But with Rusty Bucket there now too, even better!

Rusty Bucket’s Facebook Page

Neighbor Boy Farm & Country Store Website

Shout out to subscriber, Dawn, for bringing this to my attention!

✌️ ❤️ 🍩 Peace, Love & Little Donuts
Originating in Pittsburgh, this is a franchise location offering a shareable donut experience to “feed your inner hippie.” Opening date TBD. Will be by the Sweetwater Harris Teeter.

🍔 NC Burger Food Truck
I’m not a big burger person. They’re fine but I’ve never ordered one from a menu with other options. That would explain why I’ve driven past this food truck a million times, which sits in the parking lot of Vicious Fishes every Monday thru Friday from Noon to 4pm.

Well, on Tuesday, I picked my daughter up from Apex Friendship HS early and she was staaarving. So we stopped. Pretty unassuming food truck. Not a huge menu.

But let me tell you, they don’t need a huge menu. That cheeseburger was phenomenal. Unlike me, my daughter is quite the hamburger connoisseur and she said it was the best burger she’s ever had and is begging me to go back.

So… whether you’re a burger person or not so much - stop here and give it a try sometime!

Civil News:

🏡 Affordable Housing
On April 9th, the Town will be hosting a Resident Roundtable (registration required). The following day will be a Public Engagement Workshop (registration requested). Apex is currently in the middle of updating the Affordable Housing Plan and these events will be important in collecting information and feedback from the community. The proposed solution is to build smaller, denser housing communities (townhomes, apartments) along with policy changes making those easier to develop. Learn more about the upcoming events here.

🚍️ Mobility Hub
This was discussed further in last week’s town council working session. The proposed location is behind First National Bank at Moore St. The project has not been funded yet. See some concept photos here.

🗓️ Important Upcoming Dates

Thursday, March 27
Town Hall with Senator Lisa Grafstein and Representative Julie von Haefen
The (Not So) Good, The Bad & The Ugly: A Town Hall on North Carolina’s State and Federal Budget Woes
6:30-7:30pm | Town Hall

Monday, March 31
Joint Collaboration with Cary
5:30pm | Apex Senior Center

Animal(s) of the Week:

Tomorrow is National “Respect Your Cat Day”.

Why? I don’t know. It just is.

But if you don’t have a cat… how will you celebrate??

This is Mr. Clyde. He is one of 19 cats listed for adoption by Alley Cats and Angels, a non-profit cat rescue here in Apex.

Seeing Mr. Clyde melted my heart for more reasons than I can explain here.

So, go adopt him. And adopt all the other cats. And then respect them!

Go see all the cats available for adoption here.

A Look Ahead:

March 31, 2025 (early bird)
Early Bird Pricing - BBQ & Bubbly
(Event is May 31; early bird pricing ends March 31)
1pm - 4pm | Fenton (Cary)

April 5, 2025
Apex Night Market
8am - Noon | Ionna Rechargery

April 5, 2025
Farmers Market - Traditional Season Opening Day
(Live music and kids activities!)
8am - Noon | The Depot

April 5, 2025
Holi Celebration 
2pm - 6pm | Salem Middle School

April 5, 2025
Shred Day (don’t miss this, Evie!!)
8am - 11am | 105 Upchurch St.

April 8, 2025
UltiMutt Dog Egg Hunt
6pm & 6:45pm | Apex Nature Park

April 11-12, 2025
Peak City Pig Fest | Town Hall Campus

April 10 - May 15
Town of Fuquay-Varina Concert Series
6:30pm - 9:30pm | Centennial Square

April 26, 2025
Apex EarthFest
12pm - 4pm | Town Hall Campus

May 3, 2025
PeakFest
9am - 5pm | Downtown Apex

Spring Break

If you have kids on Tracks 1, 2, or 3 - keep scrolling :)

But for those on the traditional calendar, or on Track 4, here are some fun things to do over break if you’re staying in town:

🔭 NC Science Festival - All of April
Produced by Morehead Planetarium Science Center, there are a whole bunch of things going on throughout April from Critter Tracks at Jordan Lake to Science in the Spillway at Bond Park, to a Star Party on the Tabacco Trail in Apex and much more.

See all of their events taking place within a 10 mile radius of Apex here.


💐 Open Farm Day - Event info
Free. Come wander the farm. Vendors and food trucks on site. You-pick flowers.
April 5th, 8am-6pm | Firefly Farm, Hillsborough, NC

🐰 Spring Fling - Event info
Free. Games, activities, bunny meet & greet, and a huge egg hunt.
April 5th, 10am-Noon | Ting Stadium, Holly Springs

🤸 Fest in the West - Event info
Many activities for your kids from jump rope to robotics. Two stages will host youth dance and musical groups. The Big Field offers lacrosse demonstrations, aerialist performances, interactive gymnastics and more. There will be an obstacle course bouncer, petting zoo, food trucks and much more.
April 5th, 11am-5pm | Mills Park Field 1, Cary

🌳 Eco Kids Magnificent Tree ID Hike - Event Info
Learn how to recognize and remember trees! Talk about forest ecology, biodiversity, interactions between humans and trees, how trees feed us, what we can do for trees, and whatever else comes up!
April 5th, 2pm-3:30pm | Umstead Park, Raleigh

🤓 Geek & Grub Market (Fantasy Edition) - Event Info
Play giant games, eat great food and shop geeky items from local geek-themed artisans.
Aprul 6th, 12pm-5pm | Optimist Farm, Apex

And some other fun staycation ideas for Spring Break:

NC Museum of Natural Sciences 
(Raleigh, ~20 minutes)

Carolina Tiger Rescue
(Pittsboro, ~25 minutes)

RDU Observation Park
(Airport, ~25 minutes)

Aloha Safari Park
(Cameron, ~45 minutes)

Cape Fear River Adventures
(Lillington, ~40 minutes)

Greensboro Science Center
(Greensboro, ~1 hour, 20 minutes)

New Hope Valley Railway
(New Hill, ~15 minutes)

Morehead Planetarium
(Chapel Hill, ~35 minutes)

Duke Lemur Center
(Durham, ~30 minutes)

Museum of Life and Science
(Durham, ~30 minutes)

Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre
(Henderson, ~1 hour)

Children’s Museum of Wilmington
(Wilmington, ~2 hours)

A Final Note:

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

If you have any ideas of how to make this 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. 😘