Brier Creek boom continues with Harris Teeter 'with a bar'

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- To say there was excitement Wednesday surrounding the opening of Harris Teeter at Brier Creek might be an understatement.

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"We opened at 8 o'clock this morning and the line was around the corner," said one Harris Teeter employee, who remained anonymous because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the store.

Wednesday morning, the grocery store opened in Brier Creek to the excitement of residents and nearby employees. The store sits on the corner of US-70/Glenwood Ave and T.W. Alexander Drive.

"I'm so excited it's open. There's a bar in there! It's so cool," said Nicole Hedgepeth, who works at a dental office within walking distance.

The Knightdale resident used to live in Brier Creek but has since relocated.

"(Harris Teeter is) so convenient. And now there's a gym that's coming to here ... and like, right when I'm moving away, all this cool stuff pops up!"

The completion of Harris Teeter, which nearly took a year, is readily visible for an area that is welcoming new developments already in the works.

On Little Brier Creek Lane, a Red Carpet Self Storage is advertising a summer 2017 opening. Yards away, South Carolina-based Palmetto Design Associates (PDA) is building a Holiday Inn Express set to open in mid-2018.

InterContinental Hotels Group, which is the parent company of Holiday Inn Express Brands, sent an email to ABC11 that read: "There is a Holiday Inn Express under construction in Raleigh at the following address: Intersection of I-540 & U. S. Highway 70, Raleigh, North Carolina 27617. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Raleigh Airport - Brier Creek Area hotel will have 106 rooms and is expected to open in Q1 2018."

Behind the Brier Creek Walmart, construction for more apartment community living is underway.

Nearly a third of a mile away on the corner of Brier Creek Parkway and TW Alexander, business offices are taking shape and nearing completion.

"The growth of North Carolina is tremendous," said Harris Teeter shopper and Brier Creek resident Jim Briggs.

He has lived in Brier Creek for two years and welcomes the introduction of Harris Teeter even though Lowe's Foods, Walmart, Earth Fare, and Food Lion already service the Brier Creek neighborhood.

Briggs called the Brier Creek expansion "tremendous growth," telling ABC11 that North Carolina is a "very unusual" state.

"We came from a state (New York), that was kind of stagnant," Briggs said. "Now here every half mile, you have a subdivision going up."

ABC11 reached out to the City of Raleigh for details on additional traffic control planned for Brier Creek to relieve stress on drivers in the area.

An analysis of those plans was not provided by Wednesday evening.

The city of Raleigh issued a response Thursday.

"Both the City of Raleigh and the North Carolina Department of Transportation are studying the intersection of Brier Creek Parkway and TW Alexander Drive for traffic control improvements, because a fourth leg was recently added to the intersection. As growth continues in that area, the intersection will likely require traffic signals," said John Boyette, a spokesman for the City of Raleigh.