Sushi Mon's First Expansion Stayed on Its Own Block at Glenwood Place

At 3800 Glenwood Avenue, just inside the Beltline, one chef now runs three Japanese restaurants within a few doors of each other. Sushi Mon has been there since 2021. Monya Ramen opened next door in July. Izakaya Mon opened a few doors along in October. On November 1, Ladybug Creamery started scooping a short walk away on Exchange Glenwood Place.

For Country Club Hills, that's a short drive up Glenwood. The three restaurants are one plan. Sushi Mon's first expansion stayed on its own block and split dinner by pace and price.

Eight Years in One Room, Then Three Rooms in Four Months

Sushi Mon started small. INDY Week reported in early 2019 that it had quietly opened in December 2018 near NC State. In a 2019 review, former News & Observer dining critic Greg Cox gave it three and a half stars out of five. The restaurant moved to the Glenwood Place development in 2021.

It stayed a single restaurant for years after that. When Monya Ramen arrived this summer, the News & Observer described it as the sushi bar "expanding for the first time." The new ramen shop opened "right next door to sister restaurant Sushi Mon" and is led by Sushi Mon chef and co-owner Chris Lee.

Three months later came a third room. This Is Raleigh lists Izakaya Mon as opening October 14, 2026, in Suite 110B. It calls the place the team's "second room a few doors along at Glenwood Place." One shared website, ncmon.com, now carries all three concepts under the NC Mon Dining Group name.

Each of the three rooms handles one kind of meal.

Sushi Mon Is Still the Sit-Down Dinner

The original room covers the widest range of prices. Sushi Mon's current menu starts with Mother's Miso Soup for $7. It includes an X-O Tuna with truffle aioli, garlic chip, pink peppercorn and chive for $16. At the top is a three-course Nigiri Omakase for $55: miso soup, an eight-piece chef's-choice nigiri set, a hand roll and tamago. Lower on the menu are a Mon Bento at $21 and specialty rolls mostly priced between $15 and $19.

So one table can spend anywhere from a bento-sized lunch to a chef-led tasting. Until July, Sushi Mon was the only Mon room on the block.

Monya Narrowed the Menu to Three Bowls

Monya does almost the opposite. According to the News & Observer, the menu is "pared down." There are three ramen options, each $18: chicken-based tori, pork-based tonkotsu and a vegetarian bowl. Small plates round it out, with chicken karaage, gyoza, steamed pork buns and crispy shrimp.

It opened with a promotion. Before the official grand opening on Sunday, July 12, Monya sold ramen for $1 a bowl over a soft-opening Friday and Saturday. The restaurant set aside 100 bowls each for lunch and dinner on both days, 400 in total. The newspaper reported the event drew long lines. The everyday price is now $18, a little above Sushi Mon's $16 X-O Tuna. One bowl is a full meal, though, and the X-O Tuna is one plate among several.

Monya is open daily for lunch and dinner at 3800 Glenwood Ave #110. Its job is the quick weeknight meal: one order, one bowl, done.

Izakaya Mon Covers the Long Evening

Early coverage of Monya described a ramen bar on one side and an izakaya on the other. Izakaya Mon now has its own storefront. Glenwood Place calls it "an elevated Japanese bar experience" from Chris Lee. The bar pours cocktails, Japanese whisky, sake and beer alongside a menu of shareable small plates. The center pitches it for "everything from after-work drinks to late-night bites with friends."

This Is Raleigh calls it "the izakaya half of the operation." Instead of one big bowl, it serves "skewers, small plates and a proper drinks list." The piece also says the room is "built for a table of four who want to order a lot of things and share all of them."

That finishes the set. Sushi Mon is the chef's table, Monya is the single bowl and Izakaya Mon is the night that runs long. Glenwood Place points izakaya guests to the 3800 Glenwood parking deck, behind the 3800 Glenwood office building.

Matching the Room to the Night

The last row is new this month, and a different team runs it.

Ladybug Creamery Opened Down the Street

Ladybug Creamery opened Sunday, November 1, at 3710 Exchange Glenwood Place. According to the News & Observer, the shop is on the first floor of the Sojourn Apartments building. It's open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m.

The co-owners are Onur Yilmaz and Simge Tekgul, who previously ran Ice Creamonology in Toronto. Triangle Food Blog reports that Yilmaz makes the flavors, cones and toppings in-house, and it gave the price of a scoop as $6. The shop keeps 12 flavors in daily rotation, sorted into signatures, classics, international and seasonal. Three signatures are always on: milk & honey, Turkish coffee and pistachio. Dairy, fruit and honey come from North Carolina farms.

The shop's website, as quoted by the News & Observer, explains the name: "Ladybug means: luck, hope, and new beginnings."

Ladybug's hours overlap with dinner on all four days it's open. Before November, an evening on this block ended when the check came. Now the walk down the street can end with a scoop.

What Else Is Already Here

The Mon rooms and Ladybug are the newest names at Glenwood Place, but the center's retail directory lists more. You'll also find Quarter Note Coffee, Ladyfingers Market & Eatery, Napa Bistro & Wine Bar, Village Juice & Kitchen, The Iron Oaks, Flowcorps and a Regions Bank. The developer describes Glenwood Place as a 40-acre community along Glenwood Avenue. It spans the 3700 Glenwood and 3800 Glenwood properties.

Within that larger center, the Mon cluster is a single stretch of storefronts with one chef behind three menus.

Two Saturdays to Put on the Calendar

Two events at Glenwood Place are still ahead:

1. Ladybug Creamery's grand opening, Saturday, November 21, noon to 5 p.m. The ribbon cutting is at 1 p.m., and the first 100 guests get Lucky Ladybug prize cards. The shop is already open, so this is a celebration rather than its first day.
2. Cars & Coffee at Glenwood Place, Saturday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The center describes it as a quarterly boutique show of exotic, classic and specialty vehicles. Cars fill the retail parking in front of Ladyfingers Market, so the event page directs visitors to the 3700 Glenwood or 3800 Glenwood garages.

Cars & Coffee ends at 2 p.m., an hour after Ladybug opens its doors on a Saturday. Monya is open daily for lunch, so a midday bowl before the car show also works.

At Key Realty Team, we track what opens near the neighborhoods we serve, from a new ramen bar to an ice cream shop with a Toronto backstory. If Country Club Hills is part of your plans, Laurie Donofrio and the team are glad to talk through the places around it, starting with this one block. Unlock Your Real Estate Dreams.