Chapelboro is publishing a 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 are sharing a snapshot of what’s happened in the most recent quarter of the calendar year.
The report will roughly go in 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 October through December 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 [email protected] with your announcements!
JANUARY
• A bar at a prime spot in downtown Hillsborough formally opened to the community shortly after the new year. The Rookery, which aims to be a “family-friendly” garden bar and event space, is co-owned by B.J. Patel — who is also behind Nomad one block away and Viceroy in Durham. The group began leasing the space in summer of 2023 and underwent some renovations to transform the 115 West Margaret Lane space, which previously was home to Hot Tin Roof, into a more elevated atmosphere. The Rookery may eventually have food, but its primary draws are the cocktail menu, space, and ability to have Nomad orders delivered.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by The Rookery (@therookeryhillsborough)
• Also to kick off 2025, the French-American restaurant La Résidence in Chapel Hill welcomed a new chef to its team. Dimitri Hidalgo joined the staff to help usher in an updated menu for the business, bringing more than two decades of culinary experience with him. Hidalgo, who moved to Hillsborough in the prior year, was the owner and chef of QEATO° in Quito, Ecuador for 12 years — while also teaching cooking techniques at an Ecuadorian university and working one year as the executive chef for the country’s presidential administration. The chef holds a haute French cuisine certification from Lyon and became a knight in the Ministerial Order of Agricultural Merit in France in 2019, according to the restaurant.
• The Chatham County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Chatham Pediatrics along U.S. Highway 15-501 in Chapel Hill on Jan. 9. The office, which also held an open house on that day, is lead by practice owners Dr. Carolyn Brookhart and Dr. Katie Delgado and aims to provide a full range of pediatric services to the community. Chatham Pediatrics is the latest tenant to join the 501 Landing shopping center constructed across the street from the Chatham Downs shopping center.
• Your hometown radio station, 97.9 The Hill, continued its run of success at the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters’ annual awards as it was named the 2024 Non-Metro Station of the Year on Jan. 15. The victory for WCHL marks its eighth consecutive Station of the Year award, dating back to 2016, and recognizes the station’s contributions from the 2023 calendar year.
Chapel Hill Media Group General Manager Aubrey Williams (right) accepts the NCAB 2024 Non-Metro Station of the Year Award from presenter Mick Mixon — who is also a WCHL alumnus. (Photo by the Chapel Hill Media Group.)
• Dingo Dog Brewery Company off Carrboro’s North Greensboro Street officially launched its expansion and event space on Jan. 18. “The Kennel” can be reserved as a private spot to gather, and has also helped Dingo Dog welcome a variety of local musicians since it was finished.
FEBRUARY
• EPIC Physical Therapy, a Raleigh-based physical therapy and sports rehabilitation practice, opened a location in Chapel Hill in partnership with the growing pickleball facility brand Pickles & Play. The practice joined the Pickles & Play space at 7310 Millhouse Road and opened its services to pickleball players — and others — on Feb. 3.
• Feb. 4 marked the end of the road for Carrboro’s up-scale dive bar 401 Main, as ownership closed operations after more than five years. The bar was known for its unique positioning at the triangle intersection of West Franklin Street, West Rosemary Street and East Main Street on the border of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Its owners, Chris and Emily Baldwin, had foreshadowed a potential change at the end of 2023 when they started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover costs over the slower months of business.
Known for its unique positioning between two of Carrboro’s most popular roads, 401 Main could not drum up the business it needed during the winter to make it to the spring. (Photo via 401 Main on Facebook.)
• Chapel Hill Tire Car Care opened its 12th Triangle location on Feb. 19, as it continues to add shops and expand its service. The newest store is at 5588 Highgate Road in Durham and offers the same mix of automotive services to customers, ranging from routine maintenance to complex repairs for vehicles.
• Another automotive service business celebrated a key milestone in February. Brown’s Automotive, a shop located off U.S. 15-501 in the Chatham County part of Chapel Hill, celebrated its 45th anniversary in the community. While started by William Brown in Carrboro, the auto repair service moved to its current location in 2001 and Brown’s daughter — Tonnika Haynes — took over leading the business in 2016.
• WakeMed added its first Chapel Hill clinic with the opening of a MyCare 365 location at University Place in mid-February. The primary care and urgent care spot is the first tenant of the newly constructed buildings on the east side of the mall’s property, which is part of University Place’s ongoing redevelopment. Building 2, as it is listed in mall ownership’s visioning plan, will eventually add the cold plunge and infrared sauna studio SWTHZ — pronounced “sweat house” — alongside WakeMed.
• Chapel Chill, an ice cream shop owned by Lauren and Andy Louis, officially opened its doors on Feb. 20 as the latest business to join the Cedar Falls Courtyard building at 630 Weaver Dairy Road. The venture is Lauren Louis’ first after going to ice cream school and features a menu of 24 flavors handcrafted in-store, which include non-dairy options and all-natural flavorings. Several even feature collaborations with other local businesses, like a Chapel Hill Toffee flavor and maple bacon using candied bacon from The Pig next door.
• You can never have enough ice cream options, right? Within the footprint of the former Southern Season location at University Place, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams held a soft opening on Feb. 27 in another newly constructed building. This one is an anchor on “The Commons,” which is a turf strip the mall constructed between two one-way traffic lanes connecting the University Place property. The popular ice cream franchise features a variety of creative flavors and crisp waffle cones, and the Chapel Hill location joined other Triangle shops in Durham and Raleigh.
MARCH
• The Chapel Hill mall announced what business will eventually take space on the other side of The Commons at the beginning of March: The Salty, an artisanal doughnut and coffee shop chain. At the same time, University Place shared it struck leases with the Pilates studio Solidcore, which will open in one of the storefronts facing The Commons, and Veterinary Emergency Group in Building 3 fronting Fordham Boulevard. None of the businesses have any public timelines on when they will open.
Based in Miami, The Salty began as a doughnut and coffee truck before opening brick-and-mortar locations. Its planned Chapel Hill location in University Place will be its third in North Carolina behind shops in Charlotte and Cary. (Photo via The Salty.)
• Continuing the University Place updates, one of the mall’s original tenants completed a relocation at the property during the first weekend of March. The Frame & Print Shop — which transitioned to an outdoor-facing storefront in 2021 after being inside the main mall building — moved to a bigger space further west on the mall property. Now, the custom framing service is set between the Silverspot movie theater and Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill, completing its move while only being closed to patrons for one business day.
• Shortly after the buzzer of the ACC Tournament for men’s basketball sounded, Blue’s on Franklin bade farewell to its final dine-in customers. The eastern-style barbeque restaurant closed down at 110 West Franklin Street on Mar. 15 after more than four years in Chapel Hill. The ownership for Blue’s cited its lease ending at the space while its catering operations have gained traction within the community in recent months.
What will come next for the 110 West Franklin Street building? Before transforming into the barbeque joint, it was a Moe’s Southwestern Grill, a Caribou Coffee, and a gas station. (Photo via Blue’s on Franklin.)
• Tonya Council, the entrepreneur granddaughter of Mildred “Mama Dip” Council, opened her latest project next door to her South Elliott Road bakery shop on Mar. 19. Tonya’s Café features a menu filled with southern recipes with her own twists, including many allusions to old favorites from Mama Dip’s Chapel Hill restaurant. Open primarily for lunches, the café expands its hours on Friday and Saturday for dinners, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings for brunch.
Expect to see plates like this filled with southern favorites at Tonya’s Café off South Elliot Road. (Photo via the Chapel Hill Media Group.)
• BodyLase Med Spa held a ribbon-cutting ceremony through the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro on Mar. 20 to celebrate its new location in Cosgrove Hill — just off U.S. 15-501. As suggested in the name, the spa does laser hair removal, but also offers a variety of facial, filler, and skin treatments. The location is the Triangle-based business’ third, following locations in Raleigh and Cary.
• A new office of Edward Jones opened in Carrboro on Mar. 21 at 310 East Main Street, adding to the national investment company’s space within The Walkway along West Main Street. The new office will be led by Financial Advisor Jessica Villagrana and Senior Branch Administrator Amber Hayes.
• After months of preparation, the 24/7 workout studio HOTWORX celebrated its grand opening in Chapel Hill on Mar. 28. The space at 31030 Environ Way in the East 54 development offers its patrons a space to exercise in high-heat and infrared energy rooms. It becomes the latest tenants in the suite since the bottle shop Bottle Rev.
• Similarly, the chainsaw and power tool manufacturer STIHL held a de facto grand opening celebration and open house on Mar. 28 at its expanded facility in Mebane. The company’s mid-Atlantic distribution site moved from its smaller Hillsborough space more than six months prior to the event, but Hurricane Helene’s landfall led STIHL to postpone its party as it responded to the overwhelming demand for forestry equipment. It led to the log-cutting ceremony, public tours and more being held in the spring.
STIHL products range from lawnmowers and chainsaws to power-washing equipment and gardening tools. Many of the products were displayed outside the Mebane facility for the March 28 open house. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
UPCOMING
• Wednesday, Apr. 2 will see the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening for the Zaxbys franchise on East Franklin Street. Having moved into the space previously used by Capriotti’s and Waffle House, the fast food chain will serve up their fried chicken meals through self-service kiosks and just more than a dozen seats.
• The former Starpoint Center site at the corner of Smith Level Road and U.S. 15-501 in Chapel Hill at the county line will be torn down in the coming weeks in preparation of building a bigger Refuel Market gas station and convenience store. A casualty of the development, though, will be the Dean Smith mural by Scott Nurkin on one of its walls. Nurkin, who was interviewed by the News & Observer, says he is seeking other Chapel Hill businesses who would be interested in having him repaint the legendary UNC basketball coach’s visage.
• Amid the reshuffling of existing business at University Place, Alfredo’s Pizza Villa will be relocating out of its space within the original mall building. The Chapel Hill pizza shop will instead take up space in the new 900 Willow building, using the biggest business space on the northeast corner. A sign hung outside the space over the last month alerting patrons of its upcoming, short move across the parking lot.
• Ramesh Dahal, the owner and operator of Momo’s Master in Chapel Hill, is preparing a new business venture downtown. Orchid Threading & Spa aims to open in April and offer a full space and eyebrow threading selection to customers. The business moved into Suite 1004 in the 400 West Rosemary Street building, where Chapel Hill Training personal fitness used to operate.
• The end of April will mark the end of a 60+ year run for Friendly’s Barber Shop in Carrboro. Owner Russ Sturdivant announced he’s winding down operations at 108 East Main Street, which he announced with a sign in the shop door. In the meantime, Friendly’s is operating at scaled back hours. Customers will be taken from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
• The Carrboro community is adding another music festival to its repertoire, as Cat’s Cradle announced in February it will host the first Carrboro Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, May 24. Across the day, a variety of bluegrass artists will play in the Cat’s Cradle Back Yard outside the popular concert venue at 300 East Main Street — and it aims to become an annual event.
The lineup shared for the inaugural Carrboro Bluegrass Festival, which will be played outdoors at Cat’s Cradle.
• After being closed for nearly two years after a dramatic fire, Chapel Hill’s Mediterranean Deli & Catering hit its final stage of reconstruction and renovation in the winter and owner Jamil Kadoura told 97.9 The Hill the restaurant aims to open toward the start of summer. Specifically, Kadoura said he hopes the deli location will be open by UNC’s graduation in May after his catering operation has continued in the months since a roof fire scorched the business’ interior at 410 West Franklin Street.
• While its upper floors are primarily for office space, The Gwendolyn building at Glen Lennox has welcomed a variety of different tenants since opening in 2021. Its latest is a Chapel Hill branch of the private school Fusion Academy. Starting this summer, the school will offer flexible learning options for middle and high school students — as its claim to fame is having a 1-to-1 educator to student ratio meant for learners with social or emotional differences, challenging schedules, or specific credit needs. The Chapel Hill location will be headed by Jenna Cheney and District Vice President Kristen Raymond.
• While not set around a particular business, much of those in the greater Chapel Hill area are set to once again get a summer soccer boost. UNC will host an international soccer friendly at Kenan Stadium for the third consecutive summer, as the Mexico and Türkiye national teams are set to play each other June 10 as a tune-up for Mexico before the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup competition.
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