Lapin Bleu, a new bar and art gallery in the Midway area of Chapel Hill, is now open.

The business is located at 106A Graham Street, the former site of the pub Beer Study which relocated late last year, and opened its doors to guests last Friday.

“We’ve got a great place to just chill and sit,” owner Mike Benson told Chapelboro. “You can have a glass of wine, or you can have a Pepsi. It doesn’t matter.”

Lapin Bleu’s current hours are 1 p.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. While its kitchen is not yet up and running, the business plans to have a food menu for guests before long.

While the Graham Street bar’s eclectic decor fits Benson’s typical aesthetic for his businesses, it also will function as an art gallery space. The gallery plans to rotate artwork every month, and according to Benson, is already “booked through September.” In addition, Lapin Bleu plans to showcase live music.

“We are doing jazz,” Benson said. “It’s just kind of light music. Paris, cabaret, easy-going. No cover [charge]. There’s never a cover. Just come on in.”

Photo via the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership.

Benson also said Lapin Bleu plans to host watch parties for the Carolina Hurricanes throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and will show hockey during the regular season as well.

“You have places like Italian Pizzeria III [which show] soccer/football,” Benson said. “Beer Study: soccer/football. You’ve got lots of places showing NFL in the fall. We’re gonna take up that mantle and be a hockey bar.”

 

Editor’s Note: Mike Benson is an advertiser and contributor to 97.9 The Hill with a weekly segment called “Night Beat.” An earlier version of this piece also indicated Mike Benson was still the owner of Franklin Motors Beer Garden in Chapel Hill. Although he started the business, he is no longer affiliated with it.

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