Before FestiBull Lights the Ballpark, Three New Blackwell Street Neighbors Fill the Day

At 8 a.m. on a weekday, the first door open on Blackwell Street is Lutra Cafe & Bakery, in the Noell Building at 312 Blackwell St. One door down at 318 Blackwell, East of Texas fires up its smokers for a 9 a.m. opening. At noon, the taps open at Fullsteam ATC in the old Power Plant at 320 Blackwell, between the water tower and the Lucky Strike smokestack. Across Blackwell, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park sits empty, and the field stays dark until Nov. 19.

None of these three places existed at American Tobacco Campus a year ago. Lutra opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in late June, East of Texas officially opened Aug. 27, and Fullsteam opened Sept. 30. Together, those three adjacent addresses now cover the campus from breakfast to last call without help from a first pitch or a DPAC curtain. That matters most right now, in the three weeks between baseball and the holiday lights.

Three addresses, one handoff

The posted hours fit together almost like a relay. Each place opens before the one beside it closes.

East of Texas does the most work in that lineup. It opens an hour after Lutra and stays open after Fullsteam's taps start pouring. It also covers the hours between Lutra's 2 p.m. weekday close and Fullsteam's 4 p.m. kitchen start, when the campus would otherwise have no food among these three. The restaurant is a Tex-Mex barbecue concept founded by Claire Calvin. During its soft opening, The News & Observer described a smoked-meat menu of brisket, pork belly, pulled pork, salmon, turkey, sausage and ribs, along with Tex-Mex trays, sandwiches and tacos. The same report said hours were still settling at the time, so the posted hours in the table are the ones to check before a late lunch.

Why the Power Plant changes the evening

Fullsteam is the anchor of the three because of its size and what it can do. The space is roughly 9,000 square feet. It holds a taproom, a restaurant, a lounge and a 100-seat theater and events space, with indoor and outdoor seating. American Tobacco Campus's opening announcement calls it the brewery's "Durham Forever Home." It also says the build-out took nearly two years after Fullsteam closed its earlier location on Rigsbee Avenue.

The announcement credits founder Sean Lilly Wilson's vision and puts chef and baker Phoebe Lawless in charge of the food. Fullsteam's own FAQ describes the menu Lawless designed as classic American pub fare with seasonal Southern influence, pickling and fermentation, and local suppliers.

The theater is what turns an ordinary weeknight on the campus into a plan. Fullsteam says the room is for screenings, live performances, readings and sports. Hey Durham reported plans for watch parties, cultural events and movie nights there. Two recurring nights are already on the calendar:

• Thursdays, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Trivia with Arturo runs weekly in the Public House. Fullsteam's ATC calendar lists it every Thursday from now through Nov. 26.
• First Tuesdays, 7 to 9:30 p.m. Astronomy on Tap meets in the Fullsteam Theater. The event page says it is always free, and the next session is Nov. 3, with the series listed through Dec. 1.

Neither night depends on anything happening at the ballpark or at the Durham Performing Arts Center. This stretch is the first time that independence actually shows.

The three weeks before the lights

From Thursday, Oct. 29, through Wednesday, Nov. 18, the American Tobacco Campus events calendar lists DPAC shows and a single daytime event at the DBAP. Fullsteam's weekly nights fall in between them.

1. Thursday, Oct. 29. Trivia at Fullsteam, 7:30 p.m.
2. Friday, Oct. 30, through Sunday, Nov. 1. Mrs. Doubtfire plays DPAC, with a 7:30 p.m. Friday show, Halloween performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday shows at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
3. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Astronomy on Tap at the Fullsteam Theater, 7 p.m., free.
4. Thursday, Nov. 5. Trivia at Fullsteam.
5. Friday, Nov. 6. Little Big Town at DPAC, 7:30 p.m.
6. Saturday, Nov. 7. Parkinson's Moving Day at the DBAP, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with registration through the event listing. This is the ballpark's only listed event before the lights.
7. Tuesday, Nov. 10, through Sunday, Nov. 15. Death Becomes Her at DPAC, with 7:30 p.m. evening shows Tuesday through Friday and two shows each on the weekend days.
8. Thursday, Nov. 12. Trivia at Fullsteam.
9. Tuesday, Nov. 17. BEAT, a show built on King Crimson's music, at DPAC, 7:30 p.m.

The DPAC nights bring a curtain-time crowd. The Tuesdays and Thursdays without a show are the campus's own evenings, and Fullsteam programs both of those nights.

Nov. 19, when everything lands on one Thursday

On Thursday, Nov. 19, the block switches to holiday scale in a single evening. FestiBull of Lights opens at the DBAP at 5:30 p.m. DPAC stages Nutcracker: Magical Christmas Ballet at 7 p.m. Thursday trivia is still on Fullsteam's calendar for 7:30 p.m. Earlier that day, American Underground hosts free coworking from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with sign-up required.

The Durham Bulls' announcement sets FestiBull's run from Nov. 19 through Jan. 2, open 5:30 to 9 p.m. The details from that release:

• Tickets: general admission starts at $12, and the NC by Train Holiday Express add-on is $5 per person.
• Closed dates: Nov. 26 and 30, and Dec. 7, 14 and 25. That covers Thanksgiving, Christmas and three Mondays.
• On the field: lights synchronized to music, Santa, seasonal crafts, s'mores, food and drinks, plus private igloos and firepits that can be reserved for the whole night.

Thanksgiving week is the busiest stretch

The busiest days on the calendar come right after the holiday. Cirque du Soleil's 'Twas the Night Before opens at DPAC on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 7:30 p.m. It then runs three shows a day on Nov. 27 and 28 and two on Nov. 29. On Friday, Nov. 27, Hip Hop Nutcracker also plays DPAC at 7 p.m., while FestiBull runs across the street. One listing on the campus site places the Nov. 28 Cirque show at East of Texas, but its ticket link goes to DPAC, which is where the show actually is.

On Thanksgiving Day itself, Nov. 26, FestiBull is closed and the campus calendar lists no DPAC show. Fullsteam's calendar still lists Thursday trivia that night, so check before heading over.

Getting there this week

Driving to the campus this week means working around a city waterline project. According to the City of Durham's Oct. 16 project update, work during the week of Oct. 19 included lane shifts and closures on Roxboro and Pettigrew streets and a Dillard Street closure between Roxboro and East Pettigrew. The week of Oct. 26 adds lane closures on Jackie Robinson Drive, which runs past the ballpark. The city lists Dillard detours by way of Roxboro and Pettigrew eastbound and Pettigrew and Mangum westbound. Camden Parking Deck stays reachable from Roxboro.

If you own or rent near Blackwell Street and want to know how a busier, all-day campus affects leasing and long-term ownership downtown, Agile Property Management can walk you through what we see on the ground. Start a Conversation with Chris and Kevin.