AROUND TOWN
New Owners Check
In for Hotels
Two Carolina alumni have no reser- vations about expanding their hotel holdings to Chapel Hill. Jay Patel ’04
and Anup Patel ’05, principals, along with
their father, of Wintergreen Hospitality,
bought The Franklin Hotel in July for $14
million.
Though hotel business in Orange County
overall is down 12 percent this year, the
Patels express confidence in the long-term
prospects for the hotel at 311 W. Franklin
St. Wintergreen, which has developed and
operated $60 million in hotel assets over the
past 30 years, seeks markets with sustainable
demand generators, Jay Patel said. The customer potential from the University, health
care industry, research and commerce that
coalesce in Chapel Hill could support the
hotel over the next 20 years or more, he
said. “That we had an opportunity to buy it
rather than develop it from the ground up
was a very advantageous opportunity for us,”
he said.
The sale allows the former majority
owner, Dr. Robert Capps ’ 75 (DDS), to
retire.
A week later, at the other end of Franklin
Street, Aanika Hotels of Morrisville bought
The Siena Hotel and Il Palio Ristorante for
$7.3 million. Aanika principals, the father-son team of Govind and Prateek Chandak,
negotiated for about a year with then-owner Sam Longiotti, who developed
Raleigh’s Crabtree Valley Mall, before closing
on the deal that allowed Aanika to acquire
the property at 1505 E. Franklin St. for less
than its $8 million tax value.
In other hotel news, the mixed-use East
54 development on N.C. 54 plans to open
a 130-room hotel next spring. The Star-wood hotel, Aloft, will be managed by
Alliance Hospitality of Raleigh. Its design
incorporates recycled materials and gives
parking preference to hybrid vehicles.
traffic. His observations suggested that it would be worth
his while to leave the pizza
shop he had in New York’s theater district to open Artichoke
Basil, a gourmet pizza parlor in
the space where Aladdin’s used
to be, even though it meant
giving up the free theater tickets
actors used to offer him when
they stopped in for a slice after
a show.
SARAH MCCART Y ARNESON ’ 96
Bulut and Errol Jenghis
opened Artichoke Basil in May,
introducing Chapel Hill to
New York’s newest pizza craze, a
white pizza topped with artichoke and basil. Customers can
build their own pizzas, calzones and rolls
from among 20 traditional and unusual
pizza toppings. Pizza is available by the slice
($2, plus 35 cents per extra topping) or the
pie ($13 to $17, depending on size) virtually
anytime students are awake and hungry.
Artichoke Basil also serves salads, burgers and
traditional sandwiches under the watchful
photos of famous actors, many of whom
Bulut met when he worked behind the
counter in New York.
Artichoke Basil cafe on Franklin Street is named for the latest pizza craze in
New York. Photos of famous actors also reflect a connection to the city’s theater district.
Artichoke Basil, 153 E. Franklin St.,
Chapel Hill, (919) 929-9119
From his years of experience as the
owner of Sharky’s in Ocean Isle Beach,
Robert Moll says, “If you have good food
and good service, people will come.”
R&R Grill, 137 E. Franklin St., Chapel
Hill, (919) 240-4411
English Daughter and Mother
Serve Vegetarian Fare
Catering to vegan and organic gourmets, Kelly Bruney and her mother, Maisie
Coborne, opened Butternut Squash in July,
in the space in University Square once
filled by Bon’s Home Cooking. The two
Englishwomen offer a daily pizza special,
farmer’s market special and soup of the day.
Lunches run $6 to $9; dinner entrees cost
$10 to $12.50; tapas are $3.50 to $5 a plate.
Unusual offerings include tempe hot
wings, a black bean hemp-nut burger with a
side of sweet potato fries and flash-fried
goat cheese with a berry reduction. The
menu also lists a selection of “live” food (raw,
for the uninitiated) such as lettuce rolls.
Butternut Squash, 133 W. Franklin St.,
Chapel Hill, (919) 929-8199
Pizzeria Brings Broadway
Flavor to Franklin Street
Yilmaz Bulut sat on a bench on East
Franklin Street until past midnight every
night for a week last year, gauging the foot
Father and Son Team Up
for Restaurant
Robert Moll and his son, Ross Moll ’05,
make up the R&R of R&R Grill, which
opened in July in the spot once occupied
by Goldie’s Grille in the Bank of America
building on Franklin Street. Beyond the flat-screen TVs and the polished granite bar that
greet patrons, R&R provides an elegant spot
for a business lunch or a dinner to impress
someone special. Interior space can be divided
into private party rooms, and the outdoor
deck has a granite bar and ceiling fans.
R&R’s colorful menu features home-ground burgers ($8-$10) or steak ($25), a
white chili of chicken and white beans ($6)
and a black-and-blue pizza topped with
steak and blue cheese. The chef whips up
shepherd’s pie ($15), flatbread pizza ($7-$9)
and pizzas with unlikely toppings, such as
shrimp scampi.
Owners Fixing Up
Rathskeller Building
Munch Properties, owner of the building at 157 1/2 E. Franklin St., wants a new
Rat. The Munch family has formulated a
renovation plan with Chapel Hill architect
T.J. Land. Now all it needs is a tenant to
