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Anthony Rapillo

@antrap

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@flourandbarrelnc @high_horse_nc @katsushirtp @lataqueriaboxyard @third.house.dtr @vpizzanc @veloce_italian_market
@flaskcocktailbar

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Highly Recommend opening a restaurant & filling it wall to wall with your best friends.

To the city of Raleigh, & specifically downtown — thank you for welcoming us in. Year Two, hopefully, will be even better than the first.

God is good. by @antrap

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a year ago

“But the North Star is not what gets you through a rough Tuesday morning.

What’s gonna get you through a rough Tuesday morning… is a win.”

What an incredible experience. I’m proud of the work I put into the writing of this speech, and humbled by the anxiety I wasn’t expecting when I actually stepped on that stage. To everyone in my circle who offered words of encouragement, to the volunteers locally that donated countless hours of their free time — and to the mentors, and my mother, and God, all of whom have shaped my life — thank you. taken in Downtown Raleigh by @antrap

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2 months ago

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’d admit that we are always losing everything, and everyone, all of the time. We just don’t know the rate of the loss. We don’t know how quickly will it come.

“Did I already have my last dinner with that friend? Was that my final conversation I’ll have with that neighbor? Am I ever going to make it back to New York in the Fall. Is this the last time someone will write about one of my businesses?”

There’s a finite number of sunsets left in your life. A limited number of “see you tomorrow”. There’s only so many more summers you’ll get to experience.

As I get older, as I creep closer to the end of my thirties than the beginning — I try to think of that finality when it comes to the people in my life, and the milestones in my life — so I pray to God for the clarity to appreciate the inevitability of it all. The people you love, the feelings you love, the dog you love — they’re all loaned to you. And you to them. So treat it all like it’s impermanent, because it is. Love in life like you’re losing everything, and everyone, all of the time — because you are. So hug harder. Talk softer. Forgive quicker. Appreciate lesser. Appreciate more often.

2025 has so far been filled with an abundance of highlights and memories, of trips and dinners with people I love, and of nights and mornings that I pray I remember for the rest of my life. It’s also been filled with people leaving, like each year that came before. I pray that I’m doing a good enough job of living in the moment, treating the important people, and things, and accomplishments, as exactly that, as important.

Here’s to holding less grudges, to accepting apologies that never came, and to stop obsessing over a future that is not guaranteed. I’ve always been great at 5 year plans. May I grow better at appreciating the 5 minute increments in which life is lived.

This year so far has been incredible.
God is so good. by @antrap

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a year ago

“We can help people celebrate, we can help them heal, we can make people feel seen, we can inspire kindness.”
— Will Guidara

To the endless list of those with a hand in the planning, execution, and celebration of last night; thank you.

God is good. taken in Downtown Raleigh by @antrap

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8 days ago

Every great restaurant starts with an idea.

But it takes a community to bring that idea to life. ❤️

Opening night at KatSushi was a reminder of exactly why we do what we do — to bring people together over great food, great drinks, and an experience worth remembering.

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped make our first night at Boxyard RTP so special. Your support means more than you know.

The doors are open. The sushi is rolling. 🍣

And this is just the beginning.

📍 KatSushi Bar at Boxyard RTP taken in Boxyard RTP by @antrap

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2 months ago

Raleigh — I don’t think we knew what to expect yesterday, but we definitely weren’t expecting THAT.

12 hours of the most frenzied rush of adrenaline, of slinging pizzas, and cracking open beer cans — as quick as humanly possible — all in celebration of one of the craziest single days since I got into hospitality over 20 years ago.

Veloce was opened purely on love. When I moved here with Ryan, we always envisioned doing a smaller version of V Pizza in the heart of a city’s downtown. Where people could pass by, either on lunch break or on their way home, grab a pizza from the counter, slam a beer while they waited — making small talk about sports, family life — whatever it was. We knew that it was in the few minutes that a pizza goes in the oven — that was where true hospitality — the true meaning of the word — lived. Not in white table cloths — not in chasing Michelin Stars — in the space the size of a to go counter, between a patron, and the worker making a pizza.

Fayetteville street has been — interesting, our first year. It’s been more difficult than I would have imagined, and to be honest I still can’t put my finger on exactly why. The product is as good as it has been for the 8 years we’ve been making Neapolitan pizza. The ingredients are still all sourced from Italy, the care in the prep, in the presentation — it’s all there. I don’t know if it’s the size of the shop, if it’s the community not as present DT as we might have imagined, I don’t know.

Magazines and writers are always quick to celebrate a shop on Glenwood, or in Midtown — & they never forget to write about the businesses closing. We imagined they’d champion our efforts more frequently in trying to revitalize the Capitol and the literal hub of downtown — but maybe, that doesn’t get the clicks. I’m not sure.

All I know is — days like yesterday — those are the days that make it all worth it. Not just the endless grind of Fayetteville street — but of hospitality — of quite literally my entire life’s work. Being in a pizza shop the size of a single car garage — getting our faces kicked in by a line that wouldn’t end — I wouldn’t change that for the world. Raleigh, thank you.

God is Good. taken in Downtown Raleigh by @antrap

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4 months ago

Secret’s out 👀 Peep the first renderings of the highly anticipated DTR speakeasy beneath the Sir Walter Apartments on Fayetteville Street—a project by Raleigh restaurateur Anthony Rapillo and Chopped champ Katsuji Tanabe slated to debut this summer as "The Third House." The duo will honor the dust-covered den’s bones while adding a mod spin, plus Asian-inspired eats and a cocktail program by local mixologist Duke Campbell. Swipe for a first look, then hit the link in bio for all the juicy deets.⁠
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📷 Brantlee Nettles Nicks of @b.b.nettlesinteriordesign⁠
✍️ @laurenn_nicol by @antrap

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a year ago

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a year ago

Today is the five year anniversary of V Pizza NC.
It’s wild typing that out.

I moved here with Ryan, and with Matt, the November prior — we had found an investor to give us just enough money to buy a failing pizza concept in Cary, North Carolina.

I don’t think any of us had even heard of Cary before. But the shop had the ovens we needed to make the style of pizza we wanted. So we moved.

We painted, and built some booths. We met with food vendors, we toured breweries. We hired people. I remember actively thinking through that whole season “Sh*t. I don’t belong here. I’m gonna mess this up”. I still kind of feel that way.

I say “kind of” — solely because of the people that have been on this ride with us. Our team is filled with hundreds of people that have passed through these walls. Some for a short time, some still with us — it’s an unbelievable group of misfits that navigated a new business, a global pandemic, a psychotic boss, a lot. Beth and Billy, and Ryan, and Matt, Keoni, Trey, Niya, Elizabeth and Adrian, Cody and Connor. Ja and Michael. Cora and Aubrey. Braden and Will. The help we got from Will, Billy and Melissa. Being mentored by Chris, Kris and Paul. We’ve celebrated holidays together. Have gotten drunk together. Had meals both at fancy restaurants, and more often standing out back by the dumpster. We celebrated new homes, and new cars. New relationships. Cried over breakups (mostly mine). We’ve mourned the death of eachothers parents, and friends. We’ve lost a couple of our own.

People say that you never realize you’re living in the “good old days” until they’re gone. That’s not true. I’ll always remember the last five years as the beginning of something magical. I knew it in real time. Even when shit got bad. I knew that these were the best years of my life, and I still know that now. God has been so good.

My role has changed in the business over the last five years. I don’t make as many pizzas. I don’t bus off as many tables. Sometimes I wish I did. But the reason I’m able to focus on growing and opening new concepts is again, because of the people.

(Continued in comments) taken in Cary, North Carolina by @antrap

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2 years ago

DRINK • What is it? Where is it? What’s it called? It’s all a bit of a mystery... It’s a secret... It’s a…
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Hidden underneath the historic Sir Walter Hotel on Fayetteville Street downtown is a 1920’s speakeasy that was buried for generations. Built in 1925 in the midst of prohibition, the Sir Walter hotel was dubbed ‘North Carolina’s Third House of Government’ due to the activity that took place there, among political leaders and other influential locals. Now @katsujitanabe has his hands on this hidden gem - and you know what that means.
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Top Chef and Chopped champ Katsuji has been bringing a sense of fun and frivolity to Raleigh since arriving on the scene 5 years ago. (Who here successfully hit the bell with your ice shot glass at High Horse in City Market?) And now, along with partner @antrap, he’s designing something you’ll have to experience to believe. The unmarked entrance will lead you downstairs to a moody hideaway - with all the nostalgic relics they were able to keep - like these red booths and the barrel-shaped lounge area. There will be a dance floor, sushi bar, and other intimate seating areas. The carpeted floor will keep it warm and cozy. Dress smart - and be ready for merriment. (And when you’re ready to leave, look for the hidden exit.)
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It will be a few months before the party starts - and you’ll want to be among the first to experience it. So I’ve partnered with Katsuji on a special opportunity. Here’s what you need to do. SAVE this post. SEND it to someone who loves a hidden speakeasy. And make sure to FOLLOW @katsujitanabe @antrap and @questionraleigh. At least one of you (maybe more?) will win tickets to the all-inclusive opening party.
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What do you think? What intrigues or excites you most about this new (old) place?
❓ taken in Downtown Raleigh by @antrap

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2 years ago

Five Years in North Carolina.

Taking a step back to appreciate everything God has given me, most of all the people He has brought into my life, over the past five years. There is so much to be grateful for.

If you’re in my life, I love you. & if you’re not, I wish you were.

Thank you to everyone that has made the past half decade, the absolute best of my life. taken in Raleigh, North Carolina by @antrap

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2 years ago

🥃 EXCLUSIVE 🥃 A historic speakeasy is being unearthed under Downtown’s Sir Walter Apartments (formerly the famous Sir Walter Hotel). Local entrepreneurs Anthony Rapillo and Katsuji Tanabe are breathing new life into the former “North Carolina’s Third House of Government” while maintaining its beautiful bones. Spoiler alert: There will be fab fare. Tap the link in our bio for the full scoop.⁠
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📷 Present-day photos by @seanjunqueira; B&W photos courtesy of NC State Archives⁠
✍️ @laurenn_nicol
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#raleighspeakeasy #sirwalterapartments #sirwalterhotel #sirwalter #raleighbar #raleighdrinks #raleighnews #raleigh #raleighnc #anthonyrapillo #katsujitanabe #visitraleigh #dtr #downtownraleigh #katsuji #topchef by @antrap

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2 years ago