Growing Up Together: Tutu School Cary’s Downtown Cary Favorites
Our favorite places, partners, and family adventures in the neighborhood we’ve called home for nearly a decade.
When we first found our home in Downtown Cary nearly a decade ago, this neighborhood looked quite a bit different than it does today.
At the time, we were introduced to someone who was deeply invested in the vision for Downtown Cary and the kinds of businesses and experiences that could help bring that vision to life. I remember touring the area, driving down Chatham Street, and spotting a corner space with windows wrapping around two sides.
There was just one small detail: it was still a Just Tires. 😉
But even then, I could see it. With all those windows, that corner location, and the energy building around Downtown Cary, it somehow looked like the perfect Tutu School.
Nine years after opening our doors, it has been pretty incredible to watch the neighborhood grow up around us. Parks and gathering spaces have opened. New restaurants, shops, and small businesses have arrived. Downtown Cary has become a destination for families in a way that was only beginning to take shape when we first moved in—and we’ve been so grateful to grow right alongside it.
Along the way, we’ve made some wonderful neighbors and partners, too.
So whether you’re coming downtown for ballet class or looking for a reason to stay awhile afterward, here are a few of our favorite ways to make a Tutu School day into a Downtown Cary adventure.
THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN CARY
It’s hard to talk about Downtown Cary today without starting here.
Just a few blocks from Tutu School, Downtown Cary Park has become an incredible gathering place for our community. There are playgrounds and spaces to splash and play, a dog park, lawns for spreading out, concerts and outdoor movies, special events, and programming for kiddos and grown-ups throughout the year.
And we don’t just love visiting the park—we love getting to bring Tutu School there, too.
A few times each year, you’ll find our teachers sharing a little ballet magic as part of Downtown Cary Park’s programming, including its Toddler Tuesday events for some of its littlest visitors. We’re already looking forward to returning in February with a special Valentine’s-themed Tutu School class!
If you’re looking for things to do with kids in Downtown Cary, the park is an easy addition to your Tutu School Cary outing.
Head over after class, let your dancer get a few more wiggles out, and enjoy one of the best parts of having Tutu School right in the heart of Downtown Cary.
FOR A SWEET TREAT
We apparently believe strongly that ballet class pairs well with dessert—and fortunately, Downtown Cary gives us plenty of options.
Geluna Gelato is an especially sweet one for us because there’s a Tutu School connection behind the counter: Geluna was opened by a former Tutu School family! Even Odette, our Tutu School bunny, has made a visit to sample the goods—See here! 🐰🍨
FRESH. Local Ice Cream is another longtime Chatham Street favorite just a short walk from the studio. We’ve had the opportunity to partner with them for Tutu School events over the years, making them another sweet part of our Downtown Cary community.
And then there’s Once in a Blue Moon Bakery, whose treats have become part of countless celebrations inside our studio. Blue Moon is our Cary birthday-party partner, providing the cupcakes that help us celebrate our dancers on their special days.
So whether you’re celebrating a birthday, marking a particularly wonderful ballet class, or simply deciding that Tuesday deserves gelato, you’re covered.
FOR BREAKFAST BEFORE BALLET
Morning ballet families, this one’s for you.
Big Dom’s is practically right outside our studio and is one of those little Downtown Cary spots that’s easy to add to a Saturday or Sunday morning outing. Grab a hand-rolled bagel or breakfast before class—but don’t wait too long. They’re open until the early afternoon…or until they sell out!
Consider that your invitation to make it a bagels-and-ballet kind of morning.
FOR LITTLE SHOPPERS & LITTLE READERS
One of the things we love about Downtown Cary is that even after all these years, there always seems to be something new to discover.
One of the neighborhood’s newest additions is Juliet Books, an independent bookstore near Downtown Cary Park. Along with books and locally inspired gifts for grown-ups, there’s a special children’s area called The Little Loft, with books and programming for young readers, including Storytimes with Maisey every Tuesday from 2:00-2:30p.
As people who believe very strongly in stories and little imaginations, we have a feeling our families will love it here!
OUR VERY CLOSEST NEIGHBORS
Some of the businesses we love most are quite literally right around the corner.
Bond Brothers Beer Company has become a Downtown Cary gathering place, and we love seeing families filling its outdoor space, friends meeting up, and kiddos playing while we’re coming and going from the studio. Being able to walk around the corner after ballet class and find the neighborhood buzzing is one of the things that makes this location feel so connected to downtown life.
And then there’s Chatham Station, our event-space neighbor directly behind us—with a particularly fun connection to Tutu School history.
Remember the Just Tires we mentioned?
When the property was transformed, Tutu School took over what had been the office and waiting-room portion of the building. The former service bays stretching behind us eventually became Chatham Station, a beautiful event venue!
Over the years, they’ve also been wonderful neighbors to us. During COVID, when we needed to take ballet outside, their patio became a temporary extension of our studio and gave our dancers a place to keep moving together. Today, during some of our summer camps, our campers still get to enjoy lunchtime outside within their gates.
It’s a perfect example of the kind of neighborly relationship we’re so grateful to have built downtown.
GROWING UP ALONGSIDE DOWNTOWN CARY
Our Tutu School story has found its way into all sorts of corners of Downtown Cary over the years.
The connection that originally brought us downtown came through friends at Brew Coffee, who had opened a location inside The Cary Theater. Later, some of our own earliest Winter Bravo Bash performances would take place on that theater’s stage. Today, we’re bringing ballet outside to families at Downtown Cary Park.
Meanwhile, the little Just Tires we first spotted on Chatham Street has become a place where thousands of tiny dancers have twirled through childhood.
We’ve watched new buildings go up, businesses arrive, the park come to life, and Downtown Cary become the vibrant community gathering place it is today. And through all that change, we’ve gotten to put down some pretty wonderful roots of our own.
One of our favorite things about Downtown Cary with kids is how easy it is to make a little more of the outing.
Grab a bagel before class. Walk to the park afterward. Browse for a new book. Pop into a children’s boutique. Celebrate with gelato. Or simply wander down Chatham Street and see what else has arrived since your last visit.
We’ve been discovering this neighborhood for nearly a decade—and somehow, it just keeps getting better. 💕
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