Chapelboro is beginning a new series called “Mind Your Business,” summarizing some of the latest stories, announcements, and updates from businesses in the community every three months. From local openings to closings to everything in-between, we’re sharing a snapshot of what’s happened in the most recent quarter of the calendar year.
The report will go in roughly chronological order of the developments, and will conclude with a section of any general updates on ongoing projects that are undated. The previous edition, covering January through March 2024, can be found here.
Do you see something that is missing or want an update about your own business? Get in touch with us by emailing news@wchl.com with your announcements!
APRIL
• The popular Flying Pierogi food truck opened its first brick-and-mortar location in the community on April 15. The delicatessen is now located in Suite 140 of the South Green shopping center at 101 Two Hills Drive in Carrboro — the former space of Coronato Pizza. Flying Pierogi specializes in Polish and German street food, and the restaurant also offers specialty coffees, pastries and a cocktail bar. With the move, the Flying Pierogi food truck is now primarily operating for its catering and special event services.
The interior of the Flying Pierogi Delicatessen, which is in South Green shopping center in Carrboro after operating locally as a food truck for several years. (Photo via Flying Pierogi.)
• The Triangle Business Journal reported on April 12 the corner space at 100 West Franklin Street will become a Pulp Juice & Smoothie Bar, which the franchise’s co-owners later confirmed to Chapelboro. The Ohio-based company is known for its smoothies, juices, blended bowls and healthy lifestyle options and the owners hope the location will be ready to open by mid-August. As it comes to fruition, it will fill a spot in Chapel Hill that’s been challenged to consistently keep businesses. Most recently, 100 W. Franklin Street was the first brick-and-mortar location for Seafood Destiny, which closed after just months of being open. Prior to that, it was Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza for more than four years before the restaurant closed during COVID-19 and has also previously been a Jasmin Medeterranian Bistro and a Qdoba Mexican Grill.
Pulp Juice put up window signs at the end of June, as construction in the 100 West Franklin Street Space got underway. (Photo via Alexandra Smith.)
• The Great Harvest Bread Co. location in Chapel Hill closed after more than two decades of business on April 21. The franchise owners of the from-scratch bakery said it shut down as costs from operations and equipment replacement became too great for the Montana-based headquarters to handle. With the closure, Great Harvest’s owners said the space at 229 South Elliott Road would be put on the market as a potential bakery and coffee shop, if the next tenants choose to follow that path.
• The owner of Union Grove Farm — a regenerative vineyard on the land where Maple View Dairy Farm used to operate in rural Orange County — plans on branching out from offering just table grapes and sheep meat. The business is developing a regenerative distillery, which could be the first of its kind in the United States, and hopes to begin offering spirits to customers later this fall. A tasting room and beer garden are also in the works for the site off Dairyland Road.
• A Raleigh-based sports bar officially opened its second location on April 20, as Bru’s Public House expanded into Carrboro. The business moved into the 370 East Main Street space that formerly housed Hickory Tavern and has kept the same hours and menu as its flagship location off Wade Park Boulevard.
• After years of serving pizzas, Hillsborough’s The Village Diner split out its pizza menu into a new restaurant next door: West Hillsborough Pizzeria. The venture from owners Joel and Sarah Bohlin opened to the public in late April and welcomes patrons during the evenings. Meanwhile, The Village Diner is transitioning back to a traditional diner breakfast and lunch menu and hours.
Photo via West Hillsborough Pizzeria.
• The Chapel Hill shipping business known for housing and helping stray dogs Strays closed its Southern Village shop at the end of April. According to a report from the News & Observer, the business was evicted from its space at 710 Market Street by Bryan Properties, who developed and leases Southern Village, without much publicly-shared reasoning. Bob Gunn owned and ran the store since its opening in 2012.
• After 11 years of operation in Hillsborough, the Hot Tin Roof bar shut down for good at the end of April. The business gave its patrons a two-week notice in order to celebrate with what the bar was largely known for: live music, drinks, and regular weekly activities at 115 West Margaret Lane. Hot Tin Roof faced several challenges in recent years, including the death of co-owner Kim Tesoro and controversy surrounding the presence of hate group affiliates as patrons.
Hot Tin Roof on West Margaret Lane was known for its prime location near downtown Hillsborough with outdoor seating. But the business space may not be vacant for long.
MAY
• The Allen & Sons Barbeque location in Chapel Hill was beloved when it closed in 2018. The News & Observer reported on May 1, though, that the space is soon plans to house a brand new business. The owners of the nearby Farmhouse restaurant are planning to open the Sidetrack Lounge in the old Allen & Sons building at the corner of Millhouse Road, Mt. Sinai Road and Highway 86. Details are still being worked out, but the bar is aiming to open around fall of 2024.
• After years of operating while tucked away from Franklin Street foot traffic, Cosmic Cantina moved to 118 East Franklin Street in early May. The space was previously home to Asia Café, but will now house the late-night joint known for its burritos. Cosmic Cantina looked to relocate two doors down ahead of UNC’s Porthole Alley Redevelopment Project, which will impact the space at 128 East Franklin Street, which is where the restaurant was before with Salon 135 and Johnny T-Shirt. Like the 128 East Franklin address, 118 East Franklin Street is also owned by the university’s real estate holdings company.
• Market and Moss, an eclectic and fresh restaurant in Southern Village, rolled out a new spring menu through May with a twist: it is curated by two executive chefs. The Chapel Hill eatery announced its selections of Danny Vacca and Chuck Jones to tag-team its cuisine, which includes a variety of new meals and cocktails to currently fit the spring and summer seasons. The pair each have their own impressive resumes, but moved to the area in North Carolina during the pandemic and overlapped in the kitchen at the Sycamore in Pittsboro.
“While it may seem unusual to hire two Executive Chefs to lead our kitchen, the current restaurant landscape with labor and other challenges demands creative thinking and innovation,” said Annie Johnston, owner of Market and Moss, when the chefs’ hiring was announced in April. “With two talented Chefs, there’s less stress and more freedom for them to focus on creating food. They both saw this as a game changer for a healthier work-life balance, and for Market and Moss, it has opened up so many new possibilities.”
With the new chefs and updated menu, Market and Moss also plans to bring another new element online during the summer — a Sunday brunch. The restaurant is also holding a special Fourth of July dinner ahead of the Town of Chapel Hill fireworks show at Southern Village, where the chefs are roasting a whole pig and will offer dine in and take out options.
Owner Annie Johnston, and Executive Chefs Chuck Jones and Danny Vacca at Market and Moss. (Photo via Alex Caterson.)
JUNE
• When you walk into Italian Pizzeria III on West Franklin Street, it’s no surprise when the restaurant has on international soccer. But on June 10, one of international soccer’s most recognizable trophies was brought for a visit. The Premier League trophy, held by Manchester City F.C. for a fourth consecutive season, was displayed in IP3 to help promote the club’s upcoming friendly in Chapel Hill against Celtic F.C. The game will kick off in Kenan Stadium on July 23, and scenes from the Premier League Trophy’s stop in Chapel Hill can be seen here.
• While Hot Tin Roof shuttered in April, new tenants snapped up the space in June. The News of Orange newspaper reported B.J. and Smita Patel joined other investors to sign a lease with the goal of creating what B.J. described as “a garden bar.” The Patels are known for establishing Viceroy in Durham and the nearby Nomad in downtown Hillsborough. The News of Orange story indicated the new, unnamed concept for 115 West Margaret Lane may have little crossover with either restaurant and will instead focus on having food trucks compliment its bar operations.
• Another local business at the University Place mall in Chapel Hill is finding a new home. William Travis Jewelry is temporarily closed to walk-in customers and is in the process of moving out of its space at 201 South Estes Drive. The business, known for its jewelry design and custom creations, will be taking over the building at 1819 Fordham Boulevard — after acquiring the property in May and taking it over from the adult entertainment and toy store Nice Touch Gifts, formerly known as Cherry Pie.
According to a sign at its University Place spot, William Travis Jewelry is still taking appointments during the transition, which can be made by calling 919-968-0011.
The William Travis Jewelry store is leaving its University Place location for another home in Chapel Hill.
• Axios reported a Chapel Hill startup business secured significant funding that stood out toward the end of June. CData Software, which has its headquarters on Europa Drive, raised $350 million from a group of investors to help it further its data management products. CData has operated since 2016 and serves more than 10,000 customers, according to its website.
• After operating off Buckhorn Road and in the I-40/I-85 corridor for decades, the Buckhorn Flea Market held a final weekend of sales at the end of June. The market is being shut down in advance of the expected approval by Mebane’s City Council of an R+L Carriers trucking depot. Read our coverage on the development project — and the reaction of the flea market’s vendors about the timeline and communication of its closure.
ONGOING and UPCOMING
• Construction continues to plug along at University Place in Chapel Hill. The 900 Willow apartment building is rounding into form and is set to begin leasing units by the end of summer. The structures for a future Chick-fil-A location and new, free-standing buildings on the east of the property continue to go up. And the mall continues to shrink the uses of its interior space, with the latest example being the closure of its South Estes Drive building entrance and David Mayo’s Metropolis store moving to the atrium near Silverspot Theaters.
University Place shut down its main entrance facing South Estes Drive recently, which detours foot traffic to another area to access the interior mall space. Once redevelopment is finished, the new main entrance will face Fordham Boulevard.
• In May, the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership first shared that an Alabama-based chicken wings restaurant, the VooDoo Wing Company, will be making its North Carolina brick-and-mortar debut. VooDoo, which has operated a food truck in the Charlotte/Fort Mill area, plans to move into 147 East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill — last occupied by Dame’s Chicken and Waffles before it closed at the start of 2024. A Chapel Hill location is mentioned on the restaurant’s website, but there is no public timeline for opening just yet.
• The planned expansion of Carrboro’s The Cheese Shop took another public step in June, as the ownership shared its concept for Wedgewood: North Carolina’s first cheese bar. The business aims to have a bar, upstairs event space, and an 18-foot glass cheese case within its new space of the old Carolina Car Wash building off Brewer Lane. The Cheese Shop itself, which operates at Glasshalfull in Carrboro, is set to continue operations through the end of this year — but there is no public timetable yet for when Wedgewood will open its doors.
The concept art for Wedgewood on Brewer Lane. (Photo via Sundholm Studio.)
Do you see something missing or want an update about your own business? Get in touch with us by emailing news@wchl.com with your announcements!
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