The last vacant corner in the heart of downtown Chapel Hill will welcome back customers this fall after two years without a tenant. is hiring employees and removing the existing kitchen equipment from the 2,336-square-foot space at 100 W. Franklin St.
A town permit noted the new space will include a central counter with multiple blenders and nearly 80 seats for relaxing and people-watching. It’s a welcome sight for East Franklin Street patrons, who watched the number of vacant storefronts grow to at least a dozen in the past two years, including all three ground-floor spaces at the Franklin-Columbia intersection. The first to go was Midici pizza in 2019, followed by Lula’s in 2020 and Seafood Destiny in 2022, just six months after opening.
Seafood Destiny owner Anthony Knotts is still facing two felony worthless check charges in Guilford County and has been ordered by courts in other cases to pay nearly $34,000 to three food vendors, plus over $16,000 to a Florida debt collection agency. Raising Cane’s brought a pop of activity to the business district when it opened in November 2023, but in January, longtime watering hole , further adding to the sense that downtown Chapel Hill was languishing. The bar’s namesake, Linda Williams, and her daughter Kim Scott, who own the building, did not return The News & Observer’s calls this week seeking comment about their plans for the still-vacant space.
Jeri Lynn Schulke, executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnersh.