Nearly two years ago when plans for an eight-story life sciences building were unveiled for downtown Chapel Hill, owners of The Purple Bowl questioned whether they’d be able keep the açaí bowl restaurant and café open.
Now, though, the business is preparing to open in a new, expanded space down the street – and will feature a new branch of the restaurant as well.
“Opening a new space is really like starting from scratch,” says Taylor Gilland, the owner of The Purple Bowl. “But the community support we’ve gotten was so strong over the last couple of years, we decided we definitely wanted to keep the business going and we’ve spent the last year trying to redesign the 505 [West Franklin Street] space.”
Gilland, who owns the business with his mother Paula, had grand visions at one point for what The Purple Bowl could do at its current home on 306 West Franklin Street – where it opened in 2017. That included expansion they completed a few years ago into a neighboring suite and ideas for a rooftop patio. But many of those came to an end when the property was purchased in 2022 by Longfellow Real Estate Partners and the restaurant concluded it would need to move.
When approached by the property owners of 505 West Franklin Street, the Gillands realized a new path and came up with things they never expected to have the chance to try with their business. Before long, the space previously known for distilling Top of The Hill’s liquor and housing the Chapel Hill News will be slinging açaí bowls and espresso.
The restaurant’s new location – which Gilland says aims to open next month – is 700 square feet bigger inside. The café portion will continue to strike the same tone as the current space: modern, bright, and an easy spot to drink coffee. But arguably the biggest upgrade comes on the outside, as the building has significant patio space which the business plans to use for more outdoor seating and programming, like a giant shuffleboard court and live music. As part of the renovation, the owners filled in the small parking lot with sand and gravel, creating an open area flanked by the restaurant and the corner of West Franklin and Graham Streets.
And with that expanded space will come a new venture, according to Gilland, called The Patio.
“The Patio will share a kitchen with The Purple Bowl,” he says, “and it will be largely the same menu – you can actually order an açaí bowl from The Purple Bowl at The Patio. But there will be a separate place to order from outside and [the] 2,500 square foot patio.
“Over time,” he says of Purple Bowl’s food offerings, “we’ve expanded the menu to add new things: we’ve got toast, espresso… We’re going to launch with the new space salads, and pastries, and expand [further] from there.”
The logo for “The Patio,” a new branch of business from the owners of The Purple Bowl, which will serve customers at the 505 West Franklin Street location. (Photo via the Gilland Family.)
Gilland says the restaurant takes pride in being a “third space” for students and residents to hang out beyond home and work. At 505 West Franklin Street, the business will be able to quadruple its space for customers to do just that, which he says will add to the vibrant atmosphere in that stretch of Chapel Hill.
“The feeling that we’ve got is the area of Franklin and Graham Streets is really the coolest area in Chapel Hill right now,” he says. “It’s the area of town that still has the same architectural feel, a lot of historical buildings, and there’s a lot of great restaurants.”
With the move, Gilland says The Purple Bowl is conscious of being further from UNC’s campus, from which it gets much of its current business and foot traffic. But for those who think it’s too far of a walk, the new location provides the business with yet another bonus.
“We’ve got 22 dedicated parking spaces at the back of the building,” says Gilland. “So, [for] anyone that drives, there’s dedicated parking for The Purple Bowl and The Patio behind the space.”
Although the business has said before it aims to have no gaps in service during its move a few blocks west, Gilland says customers should anticipate a brief closure when the kitchen begins to move in the coming days. Otherwise, The Purple Bowl plans to be up and running at its new, long-term home within a few weeks.
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