So far, the new storefronts on Rogers Branch Road near Heritage Golf Course have one business open, and its hours show the plan for the rest of the block. Vira Bistro serves breakfast and coffee from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. It reopens for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Most of the businesses that have pulled Town permits for the neighboring suites fit the same two windows. On one side are a juice bar, a biscuit restaurant and a barre studio. On the other are a cigar lounge and a golf simulator bar with beer.
That mix matters for anyone who lives on this side of Wake Forest. The block is filling in around the hours before work and after dinner, and the middle of the day matters less. Here's what is open now, what is still on paper and how the pieces fit together.
One Door Is Open, and It Runs Two Shifts
Vira Bistro is at 3604 Rogers Branch Road, Suite 101, and it describes itself as a European bistro with Ukrainian roots that cooks with Carolina produce. The morning menu runs to shakshuka and farmer's-cheese syrnyki. Dinner moves to braised beef cheeks and pork ribs, with wine and local beer alongside. The restaurant's site credits founders Vasyl and Artem. In July, WhatNow identified the chef as Artem Blauta and reported that the restaurant was moving into the former Cha House space.
The schedule is the useful detail. WhatNow's preview said Vira would serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hours Vira now posts list two blocks with a four-hour gap between 1 and 5 p.m., and the restaurant is closed on Mondays. Walk-ins are welcome. For dinner, the restaurant asks guests to call to book a table.
So a weekday lunch here won't work, at least on the posted schedule. A Saturday breakfast before a tee time at Heritage, or dinner after work, fits easily.
The Permits Fill In the Same Two Ends of the Day
The Town of Wake Forest publishes a monthly list of businesses that have been "issued a building permit to operate." A listing there shows that a permit was issued. It doesn't mean the doors are open. The Town's permit records refer to this development as Wheatfield II, with buildings at 3601, 3605 and 3615 Rogers Branch Road. Here is the lineup from the Town's new-business list, along with what each business's own site says.
| Address | Business | Permit month | Status on its own site |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3604 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 101 | Vira Bistro | n/a | Open, Tue–Sun |
| 3601 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 101 | Biscuit Belly | September 2026 | "Coming Soon" |
| 3605 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 105 | Pulp Juice & Smoothie Bar | July 2026 | "Coming Soon" |
| 3605 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 104 | barre3 | August 2026 | n/a |
| 3605 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 106 | Anstead's Cigar Barn | August 2026 | n/a |
| 3601 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 103 | Holistic Vitality Center | July 2026 | n/a |
| 3601 Rogers Branch Rd, Ste. 105 | 4Ever Young | July 2026 | n/a |
| 3615 Rogers Branch Rd | The Swing Bays | n/a | "Will be open in October 2026" |
Sort the table by when each business would do most of its trade, and the morning group stands out. Biscuit Belly's Wake Forest page and Pulp's location page both still read "Coming Soon," and neither posts hours yet. A biscuit restaurant, a smoothie counter and a barre studio sharing a parking lot would make 3601 and 3605 a morning stop as soon as they open. Vira already covers the sit-down breakfast next door.
What the Evening Half Adds
The other end of the block leans toward after-work hours. Anstead's Cigar Barn pulled its permit for Suite 106 at 3605 in August. The largest single draw on the list is The Swing Bays at 3615 Rogers Branch Road. Its page describes it as "steps from Heritage Golf Course" and about 10 minutes from downtown Wake Forest.
According to the Swing Bays Wake Forest page, the site will have six golf simulator bays running Trackman technology. It also lists beer and refreshments, instruction from PGA coaches, club fitting, tournaments, social events and private events. The page names local owners Nancy, Phil and Joey Gugliotta. It also says the location "will be open in October 2026," while the top of the same page still reads "Coming Soon." Founding memberships and a free-membership giveaway are posted there. Reservations and lesson booking will move to the website once it opens.
A franchise announcement from September 2025 described the 3615 site as part of a future retail development near Heritage Station shopping center and Heritage Golf Course. A year later, that development is the block in the table above. Once the simulators open, an evening could start with dinner at Vira, which serves until 10 p.m., and move to a bay a short walk away without getting back in the car.
The two remaining permits on the list are for Holistic Vitality Center and 4Ever Young, both at 3601.
Where Firebirds Fits
The Heritage side's other new dinner option is a few minutes away at Grove 98. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill is at 1311 Grove Village Road, and its Wake Forest page is taking online orders and reservations. The Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership describes Firebirds as an American steakhouse and seafood restaurant built around a scratch kitchen and a wood-fired grill. It reported in September that the restaurant expected to open by the end of that month.
Firebirds and Vira serve different dinners. One is a full-service steakhouse in a larger shopping center. The other is a chef-run bistro that also handles breakfast. With both on this side of town, a weeknight dinner in northern Wake Forest now has two new options with different menus and price points. Rogers Branch Road also adds the breakfast and after-dinner businesses that Grove 98's steakhouse doesn't cover.
Evenings That Still Belong to Downtown
The block's evening lineup is mostly businesses. The fall and holiday calendar still centers on downtown and Joyner Park. These dates from the Town of Wake Forest and the Renaissance Centre fit around a Vira breakfast or dinner:
- Friday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: Of Blood and Bone at the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m.: Adam Pascal: Broadway Unplugged, also at the Renaissance Centre.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, noon to 4 p.m.: Wake Forest Cares Holiday Kick-Off in Downtown Wake Forest.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 8 p.m.: Lighting of Wake Forest at Centennial Plaza, 301 S. Brooks St. The Town says the tree lighting is typically around 6:15 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Downtown Holiday Open House from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Holiday Artisans Market at Town Hall Centennial Plaza and the visitor parking lot from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Dec. 5 through Dec. 31, 6 to 9 p.m. nightly: Evening Holiday Walk at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.
The full lineup is on the Town's 'Tis the Season page. The Saturday open house overlaps Vira's morning service, so breakfast on Rogers Branch Road and an afternoon downtown fit the same day. The Joyner Park walk starts an hour after Vira opens for dinner, so the two pair well on any December evening except Monday, when Vira is closed.
New commercial blocks like the one on Rogers Branch Road can change daily life on the Heritage side of Wake Forest, and they can also shape how nearby homes are priced and marketed. To talk through what new retail and dining near Heritage could mean for your own plans, Chad Ross knows this part of northern Wake County well. Call or text Chad Ross for a personalized market consultation.
