Students get a taste of the working world, customers get a taste of classic American cuisine. The new District at 410 Blackwell serves up both a full lunch and a fast-paced classroom experience every Thursday and Friday, 11am-2pm, at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham in the American Tobacco Campus.
The District is the institute’s first local student-run restaurant. A new enterprise will set up shop in the institute’s full kitchen and vibrant dining space every semester, each with its own distinct flavor. For this inaugural run, the menu features classics in the Durham vein such as the Highway 147 Spinach Salad, The Bleu Devil Chicken Breast and The Home Run grilled carrot bread, prepared and served by a class of 12 who alternate between the front and back of the house.
“Our students do it all,” says Chef Dan Taylor, an 18 year restaurant veteran and director of the institute’s Culinary Arts program. “There will be glory and glitches, but the best way to prepare for a successful career is to have the full experience.”
To Mike DePrisco, the institute’s president, the District captures the school’s can-do creativity: “We chose this area because of its dynamic creative culture, and the District is one way we’re becoming active contributors to that culture. We’re a laboratory for the next generation of creators. Consider our restaurant a sneak peek of what’s to come.”
The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham, south side of the American Tobacco Campus in the Fowler Building, 410 Blackwell St., Durham will be serving every Thursday and Friday, 11am – 2pm (last seating at 1:30pm). To make a reservation, call (919) 317-3200 or email thedistrict@aii.edu.
Eating in Raleigh, NC 