Downtown Starbucks To Relocate on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill

The Starbucks in downtown Chapel Hill is set to relocate, but it won’t be going far. In fact, it will be just across the street.

Instead of neighboring Raising Canes at 103 East Franklin Street, Starbucks will soon occupy the large storefront underneath Top of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery at 100 E. Franklin Street. The large space was last filled in 2019 by Medici, a Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant. Before Medici, it was used as a store and gift shop for the Ackland Art Museum.

According to Starbucks’ store manager Daniel Reutzel, the new location is expected to open between mid-July and August 1st, before the new school year starts at UNC. Reutzel said Starbucks has been “looking into” the new location for at least two years, and he is excited to expand.

He said the store’s new design will prioritize seating opportunities, so customers have more space to work on computers and meet with friends. While the current store seats about 30 to 35 customers, the new Starbucks will allow for closer to 90. Reutzel said this will include large tables that fit 14 people, which will be easier to do since the new storefront will more than double Starbucks’ current square footage.

Katrina Borgen, a junior at UNC, said she comes to Starbucks about once a week, and looks forward to more comfortable spots for studying. “I don’t know how they sit there,” she added, pointing to the bar and stools in between the counter and other tables.

Along with more seating, Reutzal said there will be two entrances into the new building to help prevent congestion at one end of the store. He said new location is going to be a “flagship store” and will include features that set it apart from a traditional Starbucks. He said he wants it to be “a location people while travel 30 miles for.”

When Raising Canes moved to Chapel Hill in 2021, the company bought the whole building it is housed in, which includes the current location of Starbucks.

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Downtown Starbucks To Relocate on East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill

According to Starbucks' store manager Daniel Reutzel, the new location is expected to open between mid-July and August 1st, before the new school year starts at UNC. Reutzel said Starbucks has been "looking into" the new location for at least two years, and he is excited to expand.

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