Food & Drink · Restaurants
Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant
About
Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant: Old-School Southern Breakfast in Downtown Raleigh
Tucked into historic City Market near Moore Square, Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant is downtown Raleigh’s temple of country cooking. With farm antiques hanging from the rafters, checkered tablecloths, and a live Dixieland band on Saturday mornings, it’s as much a slice of Raleigh history as it is a place to eat.
A Recipe Box Generations Deep
Big Ed’s traces its roots to 1958, when Wake County native “Big Ed” Watkins started the restaurant on recipes he developed helping his mother cook for workers on the family tobacco farm—recipes said to stretch back generations. In 1989, Big Ed’s moved to its now-iconic City Market home, becoming an anchor of downtown Raleigh’s revitalization. Today it’s owned by Sam and Lynn Hobgood, who have kept its character fully intact.
Breakfast and Lunch, the Southern Way
This is hearty, unpretentious Southern fare: plate-sized pancakes (finish one within the time limit and you’ll earn bragging rights), country ham and fresh-made biscuits with red-eye gravy, fried chicken, and country-fried steak served alongside collards, butter beans, and black-eyed peas. It’s the kind of food that fuels a full day.
A Room Full of Character
The walls and ceiling are a museum of rural North Carolina—antique farm implements, political memorabilia, and photos of the presidential hopefuls who’ve stopped in over the years. On Saturdays, a Dixieland band plays while the farmers-market crowd files in, giving the room a festive, only-in-Raleigh energy.
Plan Your Visit
Big Ed’s serves breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Sunday, opening early and closing in the early afternoon. The restaurant is walk-in only and popular, so arrive early on weekend mornings to beat the rush.