CholaNad Owner Arrested For Attempted Murder; Restaurant Temporarily Closed

CholaNad, a Franklin Street Indian restaurant, is “temporarily closed” after its owner was arrested by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office on attempted murder charges earlier this month.

Mathivanan Pothiyappan of Chapel Hill faces attempted first degree murder charges stemming from an incident on Apr. 8, according to court paperwork. His arrest by Chatham County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Apr. 8 comes after he was previously arrested on Apr. 4 and held for 48 hours on a domestic violence incident. While Pothiyappan has a Chapel Hill address, his home is located within Chatham County.

After initially being released on Apr. 8 from paying a $5,000 secured bond, Pothiyappan was issued a $100,000 bond by the court after the alleged attempted murder and is set to be released on Wednesday, Apr. 22. As part of the pre-trial release agreement, he surrendered his passport and agreed to have no contact with the family members involved.

Pothiyappan is scheduled to appear at the Chatham County Justice Center to face the attempted first-degree murder charge on Monday, May 11.

CholaNad first opened in 2011 and initially found success, winning several recognitions by the News & Observer for Best in Class Indian Restaurant, according to the business’ website. Pothiyappan took over as owner and manager in 2016 and moved the restaurant in 2020 into the 310 W. Franklin St. space previously occupied by Mellow Mushroom. In 2021, Triangle Business Journal reported that CholaNad was one of more than 3,000 businesses affected by a court ruling rescinding grant awards for restaurants who struggled to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CholaNad also operates a satellite restaurant within Lenoir Dining Hall on UNC’s campus, which it first opened in 2019. Similar to the West Franklin Street location, the Lenoir location has been closed for several days and, as of Apr. 21, no hours are listed.

As of Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., CholaNad has not responded to Chapelboro for comment nor has shared any details about when it may reopen to customers.

Featured image via Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group

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CholaNad Owner Arrested For Attempted Murder; Restaurant Temporarily Closed

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