CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The COVID-19 pandemic affected businesses both nationwide and in North Carolina, and many business owners are still feeling the impact today. This includes one popular Chapel Hill bar and grill, which officially closed its doors Friday due to a lack of business and student traffic after COVID. 

What You Need To Know

  • Linda’s Bar and Grill is officially closing after 50 years

  • The bar's last day of operation was on Jan. 5, 2024

  • Linda’s Bar and Grill is not the only business on Franklin Street forced to shut its door

Christopher Carini, owner of Linda’s Bar and Grill greeted customers for the very last time.

“I just want you guys to know, like I have fought with everything, I have to keep this going,” Carini said.

The Chapel Hill staple closed its doors Friday after nearly 50 years.

“I think it's been a hell of a run, guys,” Carini said.

Carini says owning a restaurant was his dream since the age of 15. He says he has managed a chain of restaurants throughout the East Coast after graduation college. After moving from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, he was given a chance to own his own space, and he jumped at the opportunity. 

“There isn’t anything I haven’t done to save the business,” he said.

Carini says he put so much into Linda’s for the last 13 years after opening in 2011. He even started a GoFundMe Page, asking for close to $135,000 to save the business. 

“I sold my truck this weekend, so I make sure my people get paid,” explained the bar owner. 

Carini says he remembers when business was booming. 

“This is what Linda’s looked like in 2013, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, this every day. This is what it looked like. We killed it,” Carini said.

Once 2020 hit, Carini says things took a toll. He said his restaurant went into debt during the pandemic, and now people aren’t going out as much as they did pre-pandemic. Carini also says the overall culture of Chapel Hill is changing.

“I picked up heroin needles from my planter,” Carini said. “I can't compete with somebody who can spend $4 million on a whim to just open up another place, you know, and if the town wants this to be just a corporate strip, then that's what's going to happen to it.” 

Despite the closure, the bar owner says his favorite part of this whole experience was his staff. 

“My people. They're the best. I put them up against anybody and their family,” Carini said.  

Now, that Linda’s is closing, Carini gave a little advice for those who love to buy and spend local:

“If you love places, go there because if you don't, they won't be there much longer.”