ORANGE COUNTY, N.C. — Chapel Hill is trying a new strategy to attract customers downtown, but business owners want a more permanent solution.
Business owners are being asked to keep their holiday lights and decorations up through February 1 in an effort to attract visitors during the cold winter months.
But their greater goal is to urge town leaders to buy back Franklin Street and make sidewalk dining permanent in downtown.
What You Need To Know
Chapel Hill businesses are keeping their holiday lights and decor up through February 1 in an effort to attract visitors
Business owners say a long-term solution is having the town buy back Franklin Street
The popular street is the prime location for many different food and beverage businesses
Franklin Street is currently owned by NCDOT, which means it has the current final say on outdoor sidewalk dining
Carolina Brewery Owner Robert Poitras has been operating on Franklin Street for 30 years. During the pandemic, town council let him and other businesses extend their outdoor patios into the streets to add even more seating for customers. But, right now it’s temporary.
“The patio extension has been critical to our success during COVID. In fact, we had our best summer ever because of the patio. If the patio was not available, I am confident we would not have some of our customers who seek to come here and sit outside,” Poitras said.
That’s why Poitras and other business owners are pleading with town leaders to buy back Franklin street, which is currently owned by the North Carolina Department of Transportation or NCDOT.
If Chapel Hill owned the street, leaders could make sidewalk dining a permanent fixture in downtown. That’s something Poitras says is essential because NCDOT is set to repave Franklin Street this summer.
“I hope we are not staring at a paving project on West Franklin Street to kill summer business,” Poitras said.
He says he's invested around $10,000 into outdoor dining, adding fire pits, furniture and umbrellas. He doesn't want to see his investment go to waste.
“We feel like patio dining works very well here. The customers want it, the feedback has been through the roof and we think it should be made permanent on West Franklin Street,” he said.
If Chapel Hill leaders do buy Franklin Street from NCDOT, it would cost the city just over $190,000 per year to maintain. NCDOT says it has been in discussion with the town about assuming ownership.
“This concept is not unheard of and if the town chooses to pursue it, we will work with them on it,” said Aaron Moody, an NCDOT spokesperson.
At this point, Chapel Hill has not officially submitted a request to buy the road, but town council did discuss options for Franklin Street at it's January 5 meeting.