Cook Out fans don’t have much longer to wait before they have their first franchise of the popular chain open within Chapel Hill town limits.

The fast food restaurant on 450 South Elliott Road in Chapel Hill is targeting an opening date of late next week, with Regional Manager Claudia Farr telling Chapelboro the goal is to take the first Cook Out tray orders on Friday, September 9.

The Cook Out is renovating a space previously housed by a Burger King franchise for many decades. While there are still finishing touches being done, the well-known Cook Out menu is on display for the drive-thru lane and contractors were putting finishing touches on new pavement for the property.

The Cook Out at 450 South Elliott Road in Chapel Hill is currently hiring in preparation of an opening around Friday, September 9.

As part of the renovation and preparation of the old Burger King property, Cook Out has repaved its parking lot.

Farr said the franchise is continuing to hire workers in preparation for Cook Out’s opening, with a yellow hiring tent set up outside Mondays through Fridays.

The 450 South Elliott Road property was purchased this April, with the News & Observer reporting the sale of the 1.7-acre lot being to a corporation owned by the founder of Cook Out. Since then, speculation among Cook Out patrons and the UNC community has run rampant about Chapel Hill adding a franchise of the North Carolina-based chain. Since opening its first location in Greensboro in 1989, the restaurant has been a hit for its famed Cook Out tray deal, its wide variety of food and its extensive milkshake flavors.

As of July 2022, North Carolina was home to 122 of the 319 Cook Out locations in the U.S., according to the data company ScrapeHero. The states with the second-most locations are Georgia and South Carolina, with 44 franchises each.

Once open, the Chapel Hill Cook Out location will be across the street from the Elliott Square shopping center, which includes other restaurants like Breadman’s, Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken and Red Lotus.

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