AROUND TOWN
Clothing Store Coming
to Kerr Drug Space
The building that formerly housed
Kerr Drug at 109 E. Franklin St. has
signed its first tenant since Michael
Brader-Araje bought the place in 2007.
The Clothing Warehouse, a vintage-cloth-ing chain out of Atlanta, will open its seventh franchise in 2,300 square feet on the
street level. Brader-Araje, a philanthropist
and businessman who founded OpenSite
Technologies and sold it in 2000, bought
the 10,000-square-foot building for $1.9
million in 2007. He took his time selecting a tenant that would add value to
downtown. The Clothing Warehouse will
sell vintage dresses, jeans, Western shirts,
cowboy boots, hats, sunglasses and T-shirts.
Prices will range from about $13 to $70.
1979 YACKET YYACK
The old Carolina Theatre building has provided a stately touchstone for the ebb and flow of business on
Franklin Street. Besides a great place to take a group photo, as APO did in the late 1970s, it has been a
movie house, of course, but most recently has stood empty for years after housing The Gap clothing
store. Its new lease on life will offer Chapel Hill another downtown drugstore option, Walgreens.
Walgreens Comes to Franklin
Walgreens drugstore has signed a lease
for space at 108 E. Franklin St., formerly
rented by The Gap. The pharmacy, grocery
and one-hour photo service plans to open in
2010. The building, owned by Joe Riddle ’ 77
of Fayetteville, has been vacant for five years.
Recovery Room Takes Over
Hector’s Space
The Recovery Room opened at 108
Henderson St. in the space that was Hector’s last stand. The bar and restaurant
opened in October, functioning as a cafe in
the morning, with coffee from Carrboro
Coffee Co., then unfolding its lunch and
dinner menu before easing into a bar at
night. The establishment will continue to
serve food until 2 a.m., but don’t expect
the same kind of early-morning fare found
at Hector’s. Owner Mike Watring is aiming for discerning but budget-conscious
diners.
For lunch and dinner, select from
entrees such as a burger ($6), a steak and
onion rings ($11) or a buttered pork chop
with wild rice ($11). Each booth has an
electrical outlet to plug in a laptop, and the
restaurant has free Wi-Fi.
The Recovery Room, 108 Henderson St.,
Chapel Hill, (919) 942-1020
Shula’s Kicks Off at Sheraton
Shula’s 347 Grill opened in the Sheraton Chapel Hill quietly in November, then
staged a gala grand opening in December.
The steakhouse chain, named for legendary
Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula and his
347 victories, specializes in hearty cuts of
premium Black Angus beef — such as the
8-ounce filet mignon ($33) and 16-ounce
cowboy steak ($37) — as well as salads and
specialty fish such as seared ahi tuna ($26)
or pecan-crusted salmon ($21). The restaurant opens at 6: 30 a.m. for breakfast daily,
then segues into lunch and dinner.
Shula’s 347 Grill, 1 Europa Drive, Chapel
Hill, (877) 748-5234
Comings and Goings
Ecko Home Furnishings closed its
Chapel Hill store at the end of October.
Owner Ben Stewart will fold the inventory
into his Raleigh store in the furniture row
section of Glenwood Avenue. … Janis and
Jeff Tillman ’ 90 were closing Moondance
in Meadowmont Village at year’s end. At
one point in the nearly 17 years they’ve
owned the jewelry, wall sculptures and
yard-art store, the Tillmans had stores at
South Square shopping center and Crab-tree Valley Mall and a seasonal store at
Northgate Mall. Their Meadowmont lease
is up in April, but the economy gave them
pause about signing a five-year renewal.
Once the inventory is gone, so will be
Moondance. … Queen of Sheba restaurant
rules again, this time in a Timberlyne shopping center storefront, 1129 Weaver Dairy
Road. Eighteen months ago, the Ethiopian
cafe had to leave its North Graham Street
bungalow, which was demolished to clear
space for Greenbridge, a retail and condominium high-rise. Owner Frieshgenet Dabei
serves her onion-rich meat and vegetarian
dishes for lunch Monday through Friday
and dinner every night but Sunday. (919)
932-4986 … Who says you can’t go home
again? In November, Fireplace Editions
returned to Carrboro, a couple blocks down
from where it first opened 20 years ago.
The new, 9,000-square-foot store, at 311 E.
Main St., the former Rigsbee Hinson Furniture store, will sell state-of-the-art woodburning stoves and fireplace accessories.
(919) 968-8101 … Performance Bicycle
is peddling its bicycles at Eastgate Shopping
Center, having left its longtime location at
404 E. Main St. in Carrboro in December.
(919) 933-1491 … Phydeaux, the upscale
pet accessories boutique, has moved from
downtown Carrboro to a 9,000-square-
foot store in the Galleria on South Elliott
Road in Chapel Hill. (919) 960-3606
— Nancy Oates
