The Line: Election Day in Western Wake

Welcome to The Line, a newsletter for Cary and Western Wake from The Assembly Network. The Line connects the dots for local life with timely info, relevant news, interesting people and expert guides. 

Off the top: It’s Election Day in Cary, Apex, and Morrisville! If you’re not one of the 20,054 estimated Wake County early voters, make sure you show up by 7:30 p.m. today. 

🚉 Arriving Now

1. Election Day guide: Essential links, voter rights guide, and where to get results
2. How to help food-insecure neighbors
3. Michelin recommended restaurants in Cary
4. Did you guess the coffee shop?

I want to hear from you: If you haven’t yet, please fill out our reader survey! Tell us about what’s important to you. Thanks so much to those who have already filled it out–I read every response. 

–Sarah Day

It’s Election Day

Here’s a voting toolkit for the well-prepared and procrastinators alike. 

• Where: Find your voting location. You must vote at your designated polling spot on Election Day.
  • Know your rights: “If you believe you have registered but your name is not on the rolls or if you are told that you are in the wrong precinct, you can vote with a provisional ballot and receive follow-up instructions,” as You Can Vote writes.
• When: Polls are open until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. If you are in line by that time, stay in line. 
• What: If you have a photo ID, bring it with you. If you don’t, you can ask for an ID exception form.

🗳️ Prep work: Still undecided about how to cast your vote in Cary, Apex, or Morrisville? INDY’s reporting has you covered: 

• Candidate questionnaires for Apex, Cary, and Morrisville town council, plus Morrisville mayor (If a questionnaire isn’t linked to a candidate’s name, that means they did not respond.) 
• What to know about the Cary town council races.
• Morrisville’s three-way race for mayor.
• INDY’s endorsements for the Cary District A, C, and at-large seats. 

🗳️ Follow the results: INDY’s live blog will be updating Triangle-wide results and covering news as it develops. 

• The Line will be back in your inbox Thursday with takeaways on the results. 
• Check back throughout the day for updates. 

In Brief | What I’d Tell You On a Walk to the Polls

How to help food insecure neighbors: About 83,000 people receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Wake County. These neighbors are navigating greater uncertainty as the government shutdown affects November’s food assistance payments. 

INDY reports how food banks and pantries are experiencing the crisis. Dorcas Ministries in Cary saw food requests triple in late October.

🥫How you can help: 

• The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is the largest and distributes resources to partner agencies throughout the region. You can also volunteer.

• In Cary, Dorcas Ministries food pantry is accepting donations of food, funds, and grocery gift cards. Dorcas serves residents of Cary and Morrisville, or those with children in a Cary or Morrisville K-12 public school. 

• In Apex, Western Wake Crisis Ministry’s food pantry is stocked with food donations. You can find most-needed donation items listed here or shop for them online. They serve residents of Apex, New Hill, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, Willow Springs, and Friendship, as well as active or retired U.S. military families.

🥫Looking for more help? NC 211 is a referral hotline, or visit wake.gov/findfood for neighborhood pantries. 

What else?

🍴 Two Cary restaurants are recommended in Michelin’s first American South Selection: Dampf Good BBQ, which smokes Texas-style ‘cue and serves it up from a trailer at Phillips Farms, and fine dining destination Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa. See what NC-based restaurants received a coveted star or Bib Gourmand distinction.

🌮 Tex-Mex restaurant Mezcalito is now open at 1102 Walnut Street in Cary, near the old Cary Towne Center mall and Cary High School. 

⚽ The Soccer Tournament (TST) will be hosted at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary through 2029 after receiving a $6.8 million grant from the state. The 2025 7v7 tournament added a youth division and generated $14.7 million in direct economic impact, according to a release from TST and the Town of Cary. A kickoff party (pun intended) will be at Sports & Social in Fenton on November 18.

🎤 The Old North State Storytelling Festival at The Cary Theater still has one ticketed time available this Saturday, if you move fast.

Did You Guess the Coffee Shop?

I shared a photo in last week’s newsletter and asked you if you knew this third place. 

It’s Simmer Coffee House in West Cary! 

Coffee business veterans Solomon Sinclair and Kyle Ray opened Simmer in Amberly Village this August.

Its specialty is locally-roasted coffee, matcha, pastries, and Simmer Toasts. Seasonally, Simmer Coffee House offers a variety of pumpkin-flavored coffee and chai drinks, plus pandan coconut lattes and matchas. 

They display the work of local artists on the walls, and the message board gives it a community feel. 

📍Find it: 726 Slash Pine Dr., Cary, NC 27519, open 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

PS: Do you know a friend in Cary, Apex, Morrisville, or elsewhere in Western Wake who would enjoy reading The Line? Tell them to sign up!📩

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