By Dathan Kazsuk
An Illinois-born restaurant-and-winery concept is coming to Parkside Town Commons. In an exclusive conversation, general manager Heidi Williams explains why the wine is only part of the attraction.
Cary isn’t exactly short on places to eat or enjoy a glass of wine. So when Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants announced its November 9 opening at Parkside Town Commons, I wanted to know what an Illinois-based company could bring to an already lively Triangle dining scene.
I spoke with general manager Heidi Williams about its food, wine, and club that has turned dinner into something closer to a social engagement. I also had one question about North Carolina wine. We’ll get to that.
The new restaurant at 1131 Parkside Main St. will be Cooper’s Hawk’s second North Carolina location, following Greensboro. The 330-seat space includes a heated patio, private dining rooms, and an 18-seat, Napa-style tasting room. Williams likes Cary’s easy access from Raleigh and Durham and its mix of families and longtime residents.
From One Illinois Winery to a National Following
Cooper’s Hawk started in 2005 in Orland Park, a Chicago suburb, when founder Tim McEnery was just 29. His idea wasn’t simply to put a nice wine list beside a restaurant menu. He wanted the restaurant and wines built around each other, with a tasting room that gave guests reasons to visit even when they weren’t hungry.
McEnery began with 11 wines, made on-site with one 974-gallon tank. The original menu had 64 dishes, several of which became signatures. Now the company works with growers worldwide and an Illinois production partner, Nexterra, to make wines to its specifications. The selection has grown to more than 60 varieties.
This isn’t an estate winery with vines behind the restaurant. Grapes come from regions including California and overseas, while the company specifies the wines it serves. It sells its collection through its own restaurants, wine club, and retail channels rather than the usual neighborhood wine-shop shelves.
Food First, With a Wine to Match
What intrigued me most was how thoroughly wine is worked into the food program. Executive Chef Matt McMillin oversees a broad, globally influenced American menu prepared in scratch kitchens. Every dish comes with a suggested wine pairing, identified by a bin number. You can follow it or ask for something more to your taste.
Williams explained that the staff is trained to start with the guest, not a wine rulebook. Do you prefer something dry? Sweet? Red? White? The suggested pairing is a starting point, not a demand that everybody suddenly develop a taste for Chardonnay.
One of her favorite examples is the crispy Brussels sprouts, tossed with cashews, mint, sweet Thai chili and sesame-sriracha aioli. Williams recommends Moscato against the sweet heat. She also singled out the shrimp-and-scallop risotto, with corn, asparagus, Parmesan and white truffle oil, paired with Chardonnay. If you lean toward reds, the braised short rib risotto might be more your speed. I told her a good risotto would certainly get my attention.
There’s plenty beyond those dishes, including steaks, seafood, gnocchi and family-friendly choices. Williams said the kitchen takes dietary restrictions seriously and offers gluten-free options. Cooper’s Hawk wants to welcome families, not just enthusiasts discussing tannins.
A Wine Club That’s Really a Social Club
The wine club is the other half of the story. Williams told me the company has more than 850,000 members, and she was one herself for eight years before joining the team.
“It wasn’t just a restaurant. It’s a place to meet people,” she told me.
Members select one, two, or three bottles a month. Current variety-club prices begin at $25.25 for one bottle, $49.49 for two and $71.75 for three. Two- and three-bottle members also receive a guided monthly tasting for two. Dining rewards, birthday perks, discounts and access to themed dinners round out the benefits. Members can also enjoy their bottles at the table.
Williams described wine-club dinners with paired courses, seasonal themes and guests who end up exchanging phone numbers and making plans for the next event. She wants to bring that sense of community to Cary.
You don’t need a membership or a dinner reservation to try the tasting room, either. Guests can walk in for an eight-wine tasting, guided by a staff member who can steer them away from styles they don’t enjoy. Williams said the goal is to help people discover wine without feeling judged for what they know—or don’t.
“It’s not a stuffy wine room,” she said.
Master Sommelier Emily Wines leads the company’s wine experience, providing expertise without making it intimidating.
Could North Carolina Wine Join the Conversation?
Before we wrapped up, I brought the conversation home. North Carolina has more than 200 wineries and vineyards and seven federally recognized American Viticultural Areas. Anyone still convinced the state makes only sweet muscadine wine is missing an increasingly diverse world of dry reds, European grapes, and sparkling wines.
With Cooper’s Hawk now establishing a second North Carolina restaurant, I asked Williams whether the company might ever collaborate with a winery here. Cooper’s Hawk has collaborated with Cakebread Cellars, and local wineries have experimented with their own collaborations.
“I don’t know of any plans for that,” she said, while making clear that partnerships aren’t foreign to the company.
Fair enough. Right now, Cooper’s Hawk is focused on opening its doors, introducing Cary to its wines and turning first-time visitors into regulars. But I’ll be watching to see whether a concept so committed to bringing people together over wine eventually finds a way to raise a glass with the North Carolina industry already in its backyard.
