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Around Town: Renovations, Projects Help Add Color to Region’s Name

It’s easy to identify Chapel Hill’s Franklin and Rosemary business district, and Carrboro, and even Southern Village. But what’s that area as you’re heading toward Durham — you know, those shopping centers that straddle Fordham Boulevard?

Maybe you know particular businesses, such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, in that area. But now that region — where there’s been a lot of recent building, renovation work and new business announcements — has a singular identity: Blue Hill District.

The commercial and residential area covers 180 acres, much of that targeted for redevelopment and reinvestment, from South Elliott Road and East Franklin Street, to Fordham Boulevard and Ephesus Church Road. The area includes Village Plaza, South Village Plaza, Eastgate Crossing and Rams Plaza shopping centers.

Gary Hill, with commercial developer Avison Young, says the Blue Hill District has attracted more than $125 million in development in the past three years and offers more than 35 shops, 20 restaurants, other businesses and apartments.

Avison Young joined with Village Plaza’s Regency Centers, Eastgate Crossing’s Federal Realty, Quality Inn’s Atma Hotel Group and Elliott Square’s Ram Development and the town of Chapel Hill to rebrand the district. Hill said one goal is to make the district a walkable community where residents can meet living and shopping needs.

The area includes Berkshire Chapel Hill — a six-story luxury apartment complex with 265 one- and two-bedroom units next to Whole Foods Market — that opened in early 2017. The town is expected to approve more housing in the area — plans for Hillstone Chapel Hill include two five- to six-story buildings with 328 luxury units, and Fordham Boulevard Apartments could have 250 to 300 apartments.

Later this year, Elliott Square — formerly South Village Plaza — is set for renovations. Regency Centers, which owns Village Plaza, also plans to remodel part of the Whole Foods-anchored shopping center.

Among some of the newer eateries that have moved or are planning to move into the Eastgate Crossing part of Blue Hill are:

■ Zoe’s Kitchen, serving made-from-scratch Mediterranean-inspired salads, soups, wraps and pita sandwiches;

■ Chopt, where diners create their salads and bowls from a selection of seasonal ingredients;

■ Babalu Tacos and Tapas, featuring fresh ingredients, including guacamole made table-side, and a bar;

■ Chipotle Mexican Grill, which gives the chain a second outlet in town (the first is on West Franklin Street); and

■ Guglhupf, which will be an expansion for the Durham-based bakery and cafe. Co-owner Claudia Kemmet-Cooper plans to offer pastries, desserts and savory pies with fresh bread. German-born and raised, Kemmet-Cooper completed her formal training at Rischart in Munich. When she and co-founder Hartmut Jahn opened Guglhupf in Durham in 1998, customers lined up all the way to the parking lot.

Blue Hill District, bluehilldistrict.com


 

Gray Squirrel Coffee. (Photo by Grant Halverson ’93)

Gray Squirrel Coffee Leaves the Nest

Until now, Gray Squirrel Coffee Co. has nested itself inside other places.

Bookworms who stepped into the lobby of the Chapel Hill Public Library recently have been greeted by the aroma of its coffee. And the original shop was inside YesterYear’s Brewery in Carrboro. Now that shop has moved out on its own in the same shopping center.

Owner Shaw Sturton said the new standalone Gray Squirrel will have the space to sell not only cups of coffee but also diverse offerings of beans and brewing equipment.

Gray Squirrel dispenses coffees from Central America, Colombia and Ethiopia, seasonal espresso blends and single-origin coffees — Colombia Tolima, Costa Rica Tarrazu and Ethiopia Kochere. Sturton, who cut his teeth as a barista and coffee roaster in Phoenix and California, was the green-coffee buyer for Blue Bottle Coffee Co. After many years in California, he and his wife, Cynthia, moved to Carrboro.

Carrboro shop hours: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Library stand hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Gray Squirrel Coffee Co., 306 E. Main St., Carrboro, info@graysquirrelcoffee.com


 

Cafe Carrboro

Cafe Carrboro. (Photo by Grant Halverson ’93)

Cafe Carrboro Combines California, Carolina Tastes

The former Jessie’s coffee shop in Carrboro is now Cafe Carrboro, and the restaurant’s slogan — “Where California meets Carolina” – is apt. Co-owners Chyenna Heap (she grew up in California) and Phil McLaughlin (he in North Carolina) bring their culinary influences to the table at the shop where Chapel Hill meets Carrboro, including using local and sustainably raised ingredients.

For example, the cafe’s Southern Chicken Sandwich uses buttermilk from Hillsborough’s Maple View Farm, unbleached flour from Vermont and hand-ground spices for the breading. The menu also includes a Going Back to Cali avocado sandwich and the Don’t Mess with Texas beef brisket sandwich.

“We serve only ethical meats,” said McLaughlin, who has worked in Chapel Hill and Durham restaurants for 21 years. “We buy from Joyce Farms near Winston-Salem, and the beef is 100 percent grass-fed. And the poultry is free-range.”

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Cafe Carrboro, 401 E. Main St., Carrboro, 919-929-0445


 

Al’s Burger Opens Another Shack, Mel’s Closes

Al’s Burger Shack has expanded to Southern Village. The new restaurant has the favorites Al Bowers ’88 serves at the original shop on West Franklin Street — with a few tasty additions.

The familiar burgers are made from hormone-free and antibiotic-free North Carolina pasture-raised cattle. New items include a turkey burger, a side salad and new types of french fries as well as local N.C. craft beer on tap.

Meanwhile, another family enterprise is shifting gears. Melody Adams ’85, Al’s wife, closed the Mel’s Commissary and Luncheonette she opened earlier this year in Carrboro and instead will focus on her expanding catering service. The Review published a profile of Al Bowers in its July/August 2017 food issue.

Al’s Southern Village hours: Monday -Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Al’s Burger Shack, 708 Market St., Southern Village, 919-914-6694

— Don Evans ’80


 

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