At the start of October, a WRAL reader sent in a tip about Beaver Creek Commons. A sign for Magic Sushi was up on the old Chili's building. WRAL's Foodie News column ran it on October 2 with a short note at the end: "No word on a timeline."
That note describes the whole Beaver Creek area this year. Three familiar tenants left in 2026, and each space had a named replacement almost right away. No space has sat unclaimed. What drags is the time between the name and the opening, and the one space in this corner that has gone from closure to grand opening shows how long that can be.
Three departures, three names on the door
This is how the year has gone across Beaver Creek Commons and the Creekside Landing side of the shopping area.
- GNC to Wingstop. The Peak Weekly reported on February 5 that the Beaver Creek GNC had closed and that Wingstop would take its place. The newsletter said it didn't yet know dates. Wingstop's own Apex locator page now lists a restaurant at 1071 Beaver Creek Commons Road, with hours of 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.
- Tandoori Trail to Grain & Berry. By May 7, Tandoori Trail had closed at 2017 Creekside Landing, and The Peak Weekly said Grain & Berry was expected to move in later that summer. It opened in October.
- Chili's to Magic Sushi. Chili's sat at 1120 Beaver Creek Commons Drive. Buffet Authority reported that Mayor Jacques Gilbert's closure announcement credited the restaurant with 22 years of serving the community. As of that outlet's October 14 report, Magic Sushi is planned for the building and no opening date has been announced.
The shopping center's leasing materials back up two of these. The landlord's tenant schedule for Beaver Creek Commons lists Wingstop in unit 260 and Magic Sushi on outparcel OP4, a 5,754-square-foot space. Neither entry carries a date.
So in each case the replacement was public at the same moment as the closure, or soon after it. Every space that emptied at Beaver Creek this year went straight to a named successor.
Grain & Berry set the yardstick
Grain & Berry is the one replacement this year with a clear start and finish on the public record, so it shows best how long "coming soon" lasts in this corner of Apex.
- By May 7, 2026: Tandoori Trail has closed at 2017 Creekside Landing, and Grain & Berry is named as the next tenant, expected "later this summer."
- Summer 2026: The summer target passes with the café still not open.
- Saturday, October 10, 2026, 9 a.m.: Grain & Berry holds its grand opening, posted on Explore Apex with the line "Hey Apex, it's finally happening!"
That's roughly five months from public announcement to open doors, and the opening came in October, well after the summer estimate. The "finally" in the café's own post fits that wait.
The café is now open. Grain & Berry's menu covers açaí and superfood bowls, smoothies, juices, toasts, chopped salads and wraps, flatbreads and quesadillas, and parfaits. The Creekside Landing space now serves bowls and smoothies where it used to serve Indian food.
What the Magic Sushi sign does and doesn't mean
If the Grain & Berry timeline is any guide, the October sign on the old Chili's marks the start of the wait, not the end. The building is bigger than either of the other two swaps. A 5,754-square-foot outparcel built for a full-service chain is a different project from a storefront in a row of shops. Nobody has published a timeline for it.
Here is what is known. Magic Sushi offers either all-you-can-eat sushi and hibachi or à-la-carte ordering, according to WRAL. The original restaurant is at 517 University Center Boulevard in Charlotte's University City area, and its official website says the two ordering formats can't be combined.
For a sense of price, Buffet Authority's October 14 report lists the Charlotte location's adult prices as $16.99 for weekday lunch and $26.99 for dinner, with dinner pricing all weekend. Those are Charlotte prices as of that report. Apex prices haven't been published.
For 22 years, the building at 1120 Beaver Creek Commons Drive served one of the best-known casual-dining menus in the country. Its next tenant runs a single location in another city and works on a set-price, all-you-can-eat model. Of the three swaps at Beaver Creek this year, this one changes the most about what's on the table.
The greenway behind the shops ran on its own schedule
The Beaver Creek Greenway also had a closure this month. The Town of Apex posted on September 29 that sections of the greenway near two bridges would close October 12 through October 16 for repairs. The closed sections ran between three trail access points:
- 201 Homegate Circle
- 1607 Grappenhall Drive
- 1101 Bexley Hills Bend
The Town expected all affected areas to reopen by the end of the day Friday, October 16, depending on weather and other unforeseen conditions. Unlike the restaurant swaps, this one came with a posted window and a stated finish. The Town's newsflash page is the place to check if a later notice changes that.
The shopping center has also been used for town business this fall. On October 3, Apex held a community town hall on e-bike safety at Beaver Creek Shopping Center, in the lot north of Old Navy and TJ Maxx.
One more announced-versus-open test, across town
The same pattern is playing out on East Williams Street. The News & Observer reported on September 2 that Legacy Rolls, a restaurant serving breakfast, sliders and sweets, was planned for the former Yamato building at 700 East Williams St. It was aiming for a soft opening by the end of October.
That target is now less than two weeks out. Whether Legacy Rolls hits it or slips, as Grain & Berry's summer goal did, will be one more data point on how long Apex restaurant announcements take to become open doors this year.
Where the next Beaver Creek update will show up
Every change at Beaver Creek this year first appeared in a few places before anything happened on site:
- The Peak Weekly had both handoffs months ahead of time, GNC to Wingstop in February and Tandoori Trail to Grain & Berry in May.
- WRAL's Foodie News reported the Magic Sushi sign on October 2, from a reader tip.
- Explore Apex posted Grain & Berry's grand opening with the exact date and time.
- The Town of Apex newsflash covered the greenway repairs with exact access-point addresses and a reopening target.
A Magic Sushi opening date, when it comes, will most likely appear in one of these first. Until then, the old Chili's has a new name on it and no date, and Grain & Berry's five-month wait is the closest local example of how long that stage can last.
I keep a close eye on what opens and closes around Apex because it shapes how every part of town feels day to day, Beaver Creek included. If you'd like to talk about this corner of Apex or anything else in the Triangle, Irene Higginson would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
