Founder of landmark restaurant Carrburritos dies. ‘He will forever be in this place.’
Bill Fairbanks, whose restaurant popularized California-style burritos for decades of Carrboro diners, has died.
Fairbanks, the founder of Carrburritos, died Sunday, the restaurant announced on its social media accounts Monday. The announcement said Fairbanks had lived for years with a terminal illness. He was 68.
Carrburritos was founded in 1997 by Bill and Gail Fairbanks after the couple had moved from Oakland, California, to Chapel Hill several years earlier.
“They created a place that is a gathering spot for Carrboro: the bite before a show at @catscradlenc, the easy take out for the family, a place for margaritas on first dates, anniversaries and everything in between,” the restaurant said in an Instagram post announcing Fairbanks’ death. “They built a place where customers and employees are appreciated and celebrated, and he will forever be in this place with us.”
‘We miss him so’
Situated on the border of Carrborro and Chapel Hill, Carrburritos became a way of life for a generation of UNC-Chapel Hill students, serving up tacos, burritos and reliable margaritas for nearly three decades. The popular brand expanded to Davidson in 2013 and opened its second Triangle location last year in the Boxyard RTP development in Durham.
Today, Fairbanks’s daughter Rae Mosher manages the Triangle Carrburritos and led the RTP expansion.
“My wonderful father passed away yesterday, Sunday, January 30, 2022,” Mosher posted on Instagram. “He was a hell of a cool guy. Funny, creative, talented, loving, caring, brilliant, kind, giving, and a neat guy. We are so lucky to have lived our lives with him. It was not a surprise, as he’s been living with a terminal illness for a few years now, but it’s still a shock. We are grateful, we are loved, and we miss him so.”
Fairbanks grew up in Ohio and moved to California as a musician, Mosher said, playing bass in jazz bands and with artists like Tom Waits and Dan Hicks. Gail Fairbanks had a restaurant background and together they opened Mimosa Cafe in the Bay Area.
“It was the ‘80s in California, so it was a hippie, veggie jazz brunch spot,” Mosher said.
In 1992 the family moved from Oakland to Chapel Hill. Mosher said the family missed the ubiquity of burritos and taquerias in California, so they jumped back into the restaurant business.
“It’s something we were missing for our family, but I know they didn’t have any idea it would grow into the title of ‘institution’ or ‘staple,’” Mosher said of Carrburritos.
The importance of familiarity
Bill Fairbanks stepped back from the restaurant five years ago as his physical abilities became limited, and Mosher retired as a middle school teacher to take over running Carrburritos.
Mosher said her dad spent a year training her side by side before stepping away for good. She said she quickly realized the restaurant had a larger life beyond her family.
“It didn’t take long to understand that familiarity is so important to so many people,” Mosher said. “We could put some fresh paint on the walls, but I realized I shouldn’t make a whole new place. There are so many people who tell us they went to college here and haven’t been back in 15 years, but it’s important sensory nostalgia for them. It’s part of their growing up.”
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 11:54 AM.
