New UNC Theater Takes Center Stage at Carolina Square

Posted on March 8, 2018

UNC’s Carolina Square development in downtown Chapel Hill continues to fill in with entertainment, retail and restaurants.

The showpiece is Current ArtSpace + Studio, a flexible and immersive performing arts venue with a 4,000-square-foot black-box theater. One wall of the theater is glass, and the seating can be moved to be on one side or on all four sides of the stage.

Across a breezeway is the 3,000-square-foot Current studio space. It can be used for performances but is primarily for visiting artists, faculty, staff and students to rehearse, in view of the public passing by the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Carolina Square replaced University Square and spans the block from University Baptist Church on South Columbia Street to Panera Bread at West Franklin and Mallette streets. It is owned by a subsidiary real estate corporation established by the UNC at Chapel Hill Foundation Inc., which collects private donations and manages the University’s endowment. A metro-sized Target store opened last summer as a retail anchor. Recent openings in the works include:

• The Pizza Press, a chain that started in California, is not about flattening the pizzas like a panini. The “Press” refers to “newsworthy” pizzas with names such as The Herald, The Times, The Gazette and The Tribune, with “pizza editors” helping patrons choose or customize their pies and salads. thepizzapress.com

• B.Good, a slow-food-inspired chain with outposts in North America, Germany and Switzerland, works with regional growers to offer a menu that changes with the seasons. (The Boston-based company recently bought a farm on an island in Boston Harbor and invited volunteers to help harvest their first crop.) The menu includes zucchini noodles with eggplant meatballs, shaved Brussels sprouts salad and burgers, sandwiches and sides. bgood.com

• Purvelo, a cycling exercise and workout studio. purvelocycle.com

• Ivy & Leo (ivyandleo.com) and Francesca’s (francescas.com), women’s clothing stores.

• Arrow, a barber shop for men and women that serves beer. guaranteedshorterhair.com

Carolina Square, 123 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. carolinasquarenc.com

 

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Oakleaf Moves to Carrboro

Chef Brendan Cox established himself as one of Washington, D.C.’s best-known chefs before he and his wife, Leslie, decided to quit the urban hustle and move to a small farm in Pittsboro. In a renovated 1920s textile mill, the couple in 2012 opened Oakleaf, a farm-to-table restaurant with a fine-dining flourish that drew rave reviews. The cuisine highlights seasonal produce from North Carolina with accents of France and Italy.

When a lease renewal at Chatham Mills couldn’t be worked out to bridge a planned move to the new Chatham Park development in a few years, the couple picked the “Paris of the Piedmont” for Oakleaf’s new home.

After a brief stint taking over the dinner shift of the couple’s Alberello Cafe in the Briar Chapel neighborhood between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill, Oakleaf opened in its new space in February, a corner suite off Main Street behind Fleet Feet and Rise Biscuits & Donuts, where it has more room for a bar and lounge, outdoor dining and private events.

Oakleaf, 310 E. Main St., Carrboro. oakleafnc.com

 

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Tea House Expands to Looking Glass Cafe

Looking Glass Cafe and Honeysuckle Tea House have joined forces.

First conservation-minded entrepreneurs Erik Lensch and Jeff Fisher ’00 (JD), through their East West Organics company, early last year bought the tea house and the 17-acre farm that supplies it. Last fall, they bought the Carrboro cafe, which has a similar ecological vibe. Along with its sustainably farmed coffee, Looking Glass serves herbal teas and berry-based drinks as well as mead, the honey-based alcoholic beverage, and products produced by Honeysuckle’s farm. Lensch said he wants Looking Glass to be “sort of a Honeysuckle experience in town.”

The open-air Honeysuckle Tea House, about 10 miles northwest of downtown Chapel Hill, was founded by Megan and Tim Toben ’81 and draws enthusiastic crowds when it’s open from early spring to late fall. The Tobens plan to focus on growing their Eco-Institute, an environmental nonprofit devoted to sustainable agriculture. The Review profiled Tim Toben, the tea house and the institute, “A Sheltering Place,” in its July/August 2016 food issue, available at alumni.unc.edu/CARarchive.

Looking Glass Cafe, 601 W. Main St., Carrboro. lookingglass.coffee

 

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Openings and Closings

The Korean food chain Bonchon has taken over the space at 205 E. Franklin St. that had housed McAlister’s Deli, which closed in 2016. Bonchon’s specializes in made-to-order fried chicken wings, strips and drumsticks in a spicy or soy garlic sauce. The menu also includes Korean specialties, such as kimchi, bibimbap and fried octopus dumplings. bonchon.com

• The Japanese fast-casual restaurant Hibachi & Co. is taking over the spot at 153 E. Franklin St., which housed Artisan Pizza Kitchen until it closed at the beginning of the year.

• The Strowd bar, which replaced Players and operated for several years in the space above Sutton’s Drug Store, has closed. The owners plan to open a new location under a new name.

• Among other recent closures on Franklin Street: Vespa Ristorante, Hazmat smoke shop and Sandwhich.

— Ann Loftin

More at alumni.unc.edu/around-town.