Around Town: Palette & Parlor Showcases Taste for Danish Decor

Posted on March 11, 2015

A global marketing position for a pharmaceutical company took Ivy Lyles Simon ’96 and her husband, John Simon ’97, to live in Copenhagen, and while there, they developed a deep appreciation for Danish modern design. When they returned to the U.S., they shaped their fascination into a business.

Both had a business school education (they met at Kenan-Flagler Business School), an entrepreneurial spirit and family backgrounds that set them on a mercantile course — John’s family ran a textile mill in Hickory; Ivy’s family was involved in retail. Their research uncovered an unmet demand for home furnishings stores in Chapel Hill. In short order, they’d found retail space with a light-industrial ambiance and in June launched Palette & Parlor, offering designer decor.

Their inventory of furniture, lighting and accessories includes bubble chandeliers, ball clocks, patchwork cowhide rugs and Haand Ripple tableware, fusing Danish and modern design with Southern style. The Womb chair (designed by Eero Saarinen, who designed the St. Louis Arch), Arne Jacobsen’s Swan chair and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair work as well with ornate moldings in a prewar living room as they do with a minimalist midcentury home. The Simons also showcase art by local artists and artists with a connection to North Carolina.

Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Palette & Parlor, 2160 Environ Way, Chapel Hill, 919-960-1781

Jasmin Takes Over Qdoba Space

Out with the Mexican, in with the Mediterranean.

Jasmin Mediterranean Bistro, with locations in Raleigh and Cary, plans to move into the space at the corner of West Franklin Street and North Columbia vacated last fall by Qdoba Mexican Grill. Jasmin offers a menu of Lebanese and Greek dishes to be enjoyed in the restaurant or catered offsite. Owners Nawwaf Said and Bayan Said have run restaurants in the Triangle for the past 20 years.

Jasmin Mediterranean Bistro, 100 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill

Downtown Apartment Complexes Focus on Students

Two apartment complexes catering to students have opened downtown this academic year.

Shortbread Lofts began leasing in August. The building at 333 W. Rosemary St. has two-, three- and four-bedroom units; each bedroom has its own bathroom. Base rents range from $820 to $910 per bedroom; tenants can lease furnishings as well. The four-story building holds 85 apartments and has a rooftop garden and a street-level fitness room that looks onto Rosemary Street. Kitchens have stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops.

Shortbread Lofts, 333 W. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill, 919-904-7640

The Lux at Central Park opened its doors. Tucked into a hollow between
Hillsborough Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Lux has its own shuttle bus to transport students to and from campus. The complex has an outdoor swimming pool, a spa and tanning salon for tenants in the 194-unit complex. Apartments range from one- to four-bedroom suites (each bedroom has its own bathroom).

Lux has a computer center, a cybercafe and a large clubhouse. Apartments have 9-foot ceilings; kitchens have stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops. Base rents range from $980 for a one-bedroom unit to $850 per bedroom for a multi-bedroom unit. Electricity, cable and Internet service are extra.

Lux at Central Park, 602 MLK Jr. Blvd., Chapel Hill, 888-440-9145

Await New Thrills at The Heel

The Thrill is gone, so The Heel stepped in — then took a step back.

The laid-back Heel Bar & Grill opened in the former East Rosemary Street nightclub space in August but went on hiatus a month later to get its permits in order. The liquor permits were in the name of Glen Turner, who owned The Thrill and is a partner in The Heel. But he decided to pursue opportunities in Florida, and the permits were resubmitted in the name of the general manager, Giuli Lurito, to ensure the permit holder would be local. No date yet on when the business will reopen.

The Heel Bar & Grill, 157 E. Rosemary St., Chapel Hill

Top This! Tapped Out

Top This! capped its East Franklin Street run in December. Restaurateur Tom Scheidler brought the burger and roast-beef-sandwich shop to Chapel Hill in early 2013, then sold it in April 2014 to Matilde Alvarez and Rafael Rios, who were living in Mexico at the time. Scheidler stayed on as manager until November, but business had fallen off too much for Alvarez and Rios to keep it going.

161 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill

Caribou Coffee Shuts West Franklin Shop

Caribou Coffee, which had been perking along on West Franklin Street for 18 years, pulled the plug on that location in December. The national chain coffee shop opened a second Chapel Hill store about a decade ago on the corner of East Franklin and Estes Drive, a site that has a more generous parking lot than the downtown store.

Owen Gwyn ’75, the owner of the downtown building, is looking for a new tenant. He had several inquiries as the new year got underway and was confident the space wouldn’t be empty for long. The building has 3,100 square feet of interior space and another 500 square feet divided among two outdoor patios. Franklin Street is a pedestrian location, he said, and most of the inquiries have come from businesses that appeal to students.

110 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill

— Nancy E. Oates