Cary's new Sports & Social aims to be destination for fans in Fenton district
Cary’s newest sports bar and restaurant opened Thursday afternoon just ahead of Super Bowl Sunday. But don’t try to get a seat for the big game. The spot was sold out Sunday, reserved in advance before the doors even opened.
Sports and Social, a 19,000-square-foot space, is located at 301 Fenton Gateway Drive in Cary’s Fenton development. It officially opened at 4 p.m. Thursday.
“We’re so excited that this is opening,” Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said.
Weinbrecht said the process to bring Sports and Social to Cary took between seven and eight years. He said the area was originally supposed to be housing or a storage area for state vehicles.
“We fought long and hard to bring this something special because this is a southeast gateway to Cary,” Weinbrecht said. “We want this to be a regional bar.
“We want this to be something like no other place around here, and (we) want people to know that this is the destination.”
Weinbrecht called Cary's nearly $1 billion Fenton development “a special place.”
“So, now we have a special place,” Weinbrecht said. “Now, we need the energy that drives Fenton. Sports and Social is exactly that.
“This will be place where people come and have fun, do exciting things, but as … mentioned, it will be a place where they make memories, and that is something that is really special.”
Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Shanica Thomas also spoke ahead of the official opening. She mentioned the growth of Cary and the county overall.
“It’s a fantastic place to get together as a community and really to grow up,” Thomas said of the county’s and of the Fenton development. “It’s one of the things that makes Wake County special.
“We have cultivated an environment here where the business community really invests in it being a wonderful place for families and for young people.”
While Sunday’s VIP tickets and table reservations are sold out for Super Bowl Sunday, the new venue features a 42-foot LED media wall to watch multiple games and sporting events at once. The bar also features state-of-the-art AV, foosball, hoops and arcade games.
The made-from-scratch menu features shrimp, wings, burgers, handhelds, tacos, salads, bowls and other bar favorites.
Plus, brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Also, the venue hosts live music, entertainment, arcade games, shuffle puck and Skee-Ball. Sports & Social also will also host watch parties for big sporting events.
The national franchise has locations in 13 other cities across the country:
- Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Arlington, Texas
- Atlanta
- Bethesda, Maryland
- Chicago
- Dolphin Mall, Florida
- Hanover, Maryland
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh
- St. Louis, Missouri
- Troy, Michigan
Sports and Social shares space at Fenton with PBR Cowboy Bar.
