"My goal was to create a place where people can just hang out," Jacob Williams told Western Wake News a few days before The Perch opened at Peterson Station on Tuesday, August 4.
He was talking about his coffee shop and board-game lounge. The same sentence fits the whole development where he signed a lease. Peterson Station sits where Sunset Lake Road meets Stephenson Road, close to where Holly Springs, Apex and Cary come together. Over 2026 its storefronts filled one after another. Taken together, the businesses that opened there offer a full day, starting with 7 a.m. espresso and running to game tables that stay busy close to 11 p.m. on weekends. Downtown has long played that role for Holly Springs. The eastern edge of town now has a place like it too.
How the Storefronts Filled In
Each opening looked small when it was announced. Lined up in order, the year shows a pattern.
| When | Business | Address on McChesney Hill Loop | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Announced for December 2025 | Doherty's Irish Pub & Restaurant | Same building as 3101 | A full-service pub with weekly events |
| Reported open June 29, 2026 | Jack the Dipper | 3137 | Hand-dipped ice cream in warm waffle cones |
| Reported open June 29, 2026 | JETSET Pilates | 3141 | Reformer Pilates classes |
| Opened August 4, 2026 | The Perch | 1125 | Coffee bar plus a library of more than 200 games |
| Reported open August 19, 2026 | Burger Love | 2000, Suite 3133 | Eight signature burgers and shakes |
| Reported open August 19, 2026 | Aura Nail House | 3129 | Manicures, pedicures, nail art |
| Reported open August 19, 2026 | Evolution Salon Studios | 3161, Suite 36 | 43 suites for independent beauty professionals |
| Listed as coming soon in August, now open | Limra Mediterranean | 3109 | Kebobs, platters, wraps, daily baklava |
| Slated for October 2026 | Libations Bottle & Bev Co. | 3101 | Draft beer, wine by the glass, bottles to go |
The mix matters more than the count. Apart from the nail and salon studios, most of these places sell an hour of your time, not a quick errand. You don't rush a reformer class, a waffle cone or a board game. A center that fills with businesses like these becomes a place people stay.
A Day at Peterson Station, Hour by Hour
Line up the hours each business has published and Peterson Station covers most of the day.
- Early morning: Williams planned to open The Perch at 7 a.m. on weekdays, with Cat & Cloud coffee from California and pastries from local bakers: Bestow cakes and cookies, Apex Cheesecakes, buns from Lutra Cafe and Bakery, and scones from Guglhupf Bakery.
- Midday: Limra serves counter-service Mediterranean food, including kebobs, bowls, wraps and handmade pastries. Burger Love builds burgers to order a few doors away and has kids' meals and custom shakes.
- Afternoon: Jack the Dipper hand-dips sundaes, malts and banana splits and serves them in made-to-order waffle cones in flavors such as vanilla and cinnamon.
- Evening: Doherty's runs pub trivia on Monday, prime-rib night on Thursday and brunch on Sunday.
- Late: Williams planned to keep The Perch open until 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and until about 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
The Perch hours were still being finalized when Western Wake News visited in late July, so check them before a late visit. Even so, a single shopping center now has seven-in-the-morning plans and eleven-at-night plans. For a corner of town that had none of this a few years ago, that is a real change.
The Perch Sets the Pace
Of all the year's openings, The Perch shows most clearly what Peterson Station is turning into. It costs $5 to sit at the open tables in the back and play from more than 200 tabletop games. A private room with a specially outfitted table rents for $60 for four hours. The events calendar has listed Magic: The Gathering nights, sessions that teach newcomers how to play different games, puzzling and live music.
Williams describes the idea as encouraging "intentional presence." His background is in change management consulting, and he has volunteered as a mentor with Launch Holly Springs. He said he hires "people who love people" and trains the rest. He also lives about four minutes from the shop. The drinks case follows the same local thinking, with Waynesville Soda Jerks from the North Carolina mountains next to Tractor organic lemonade.
October's Addition Keeps the Evening Going
The next tenant fits the same idea. Libations Bottle & Bev Co. is owned by Bart and Kali Gentile with business partner Ryan Walters. It is moving into 3101 McChesney Hill Loop, in the same building as Doherty's. The shop's own site says it is coming in October and is under construction, without naming a specific day.
The Libations plans describe a neighborhood bar and bottle shop in one room. There will be rotating taps covering light lagers, IPAs, dark beers and sours, plus Prosecco on tap, wine by the glass, six cooler doors of cans and bottles, and nonalcoholic options. The owners say they can help put together a mixed pack or suggest a pairing. Seating will include the bar, indoor tables and an outdoor patio. With Libations open, a Thursday could easily start with prime rib at Doherty's, move next door for a pour, and end with a game at The Perch, all without moving the car.
The Plan Called for a Gathering Place From the Start
None of this happened by chance. Holly Springs approved the original mixed-use plan on June 20, 2017. That plan included three buildings with apartments over ground-floor shops and a common open space meant for both residents and shoppers. When the plan was revised in 2019, council discussion described plazas and open areas designed to draw people toward the shops.
Landowner Jeff Peterson started working on the vision in 2014. Dominion Realty Partners joined him in 2020, and construction began in November 2022. The finished development covers 19 acres, with 316 apartments over almost 47,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The apartments came first, and the storefronts took longer to fill. What changed in 2026 is that the retail space finally filled in enough to deliver the gathering place the plan described nine years earlier.
The online tenant list also includes Betty & Jane. Suburban Living last described the women's boutique as coming soon in August 2025, so check before you plan a visit.
The Corridor Around It Is Changing Too
Two town projects will shape how people get to and around this corner of town. The Town of Holly Springs is planning the Camp Branch Greenway, a paved trail with boardwalk sections off Sunset Lake Road that is meant to eventually connect with a Cary greenway. Early design concepts go on display at a drop-in meeting on Wednesday, October 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Bass Lake Conference Room.
On Holly Springs Road, the segment from Flint Point Lane to Sunset Lake Road was finished earlier this year. Crews are now preparing to widen the stretch between Main Street and Flint Point Lane, starting with the removal of a few buildings along the road. Proposed designs for the western phase, from N.C. 55 to Main Street, will be shown on Thursday, October 15, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Holly Springs United Church of Christ, 116 3rd St. Details for both meetings are on the Holly Springs Road widening page.
If you plan to walk the greenway one day and finish at a game table, the October 21 meeting is the place to say which trail features you want.
At Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby's International Realty, we follow how places like Peterson Station change the corners of town around them, and we're glad to share what we're seeing along Sunset Lake Road. If you're curious how a year like this one shows up in your home's value, request your instant home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
