CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The popular Halloween celebration along Franklin Street will look different than it has in the past, because the town announced that it won’t be closing part of the street for the celebrations.
What You Need To Know
Halloween often attracts tens of thousands of people to the Franklin Street area in Chapel Hill
In previous years, the town would temporarily shut down parts of the road, and large crowds would gather
This year, officials are not closing the roads and believe it will make for a safer environment
Two businesses in the area say they don’t mind the change
Chapel Hill town officials said, in previous years, as many as tens of thousands of people would flood the street during Halloween celebrations.
“It's touted as one of the best Halloweens in the country, and it's really just kind of a mad rush,” said Alex Joustra, one of the co-owners of the Baxter Bar and Arcade.
“I think that we definitely see in uptick at Halloween because we are kind of a nerd bar. We have comic books and video games. All of us sort of lean into the horror genre pretty heavily so it's always been a holiday that's near and dear to our hearts,” Joustra said.
Joustra’s bar just celebrated its seventh anniversary so he said he’s familiar with how Halloween usually goes.
“We see a lot of people on their way there and then after the closures, and we usually get a big bump,” Joustra said.
After learning that the town of Chapel Hill won’t close down parts of the street near his bar this year, Joustra said that change may actually help his business.
“I think it's going to give bars a little more of an oomph as far as people finding something to do and somewhere to go to show off their costumes and hang out and grab a drink as opposed to sort of just milling around on Franklin, which has always been the tradition,” Joustra said.
Baxter Bar and Arcade will also be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test for its Halloween celebrations.
“Just because we like to have a good party for Halloween, as it is a holiday that we love, but we feel to do that as big and as best as we can, that's just going to be the easiest way to have everyone have a good time and be safe,” Joustra said.
Once the pandemic truly subsides, Joustra said he’d love to see the big Halloween celebration go back to what it was.
“I think that it's always a great time, and it's really cool to see everyone's costumes out and everybody having a good time. I think as soon as we can do that safely, they should absolutely bring it back,” Joustra said.
Meanwhile Bret Oliverio, the owner of Sup Dogs, believes the lack of a street closure won’t really impact his business.
“I expect a great weekend regardless. I think most college kids will celebrate Halloween on Saturday. Sunday will be very good too, but I don’t think there’s a need to shut down the street. We are staying open later on Sunday to accommodate extra crowds late at night,” Oliverio said.
Ran Northam, the communications manager for the Town of Chapel Hill, said the pandemic is not the only factor that went into this decision. Northam said the town has actually thought about making this change for a while. Although they aren’t planning on any closures in advance, they do have a plan in place if they end up seeing a lot of people.
“If a crowd does get to the level where motor vehicle traffic still moving along those roads would be unsafe for the people who were there, then those closures will take place. What we’re saying though is those closures will only take place between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Otherwise we’re going to ask everyone to disperse,” Northam said.
Northam said the Halloween street closure hasn’t happened in a few years in Chapel Hill. In 2019, there was a lot of rain, and then last year there were state mandates on large gatherings. As for future Halloweens, Northam says the town is taking it year by year.