Chapel Hill is expanding outdoor dining, pedestrian zones onto Franklin Street
Parts of Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street, Chapel Hill’s popular downtown hub, will open up for walking and outdoor dining this week as the town shuts down a lane on each side of the road, town leaders said.
Town leaders hope partially closing UNC’s main thoroughfare will boost business on Franklin Street after UNC-Chapel Hill sent its students home in March — and allow for more social distancing for pedestrians on sidewalks.
Two of the street’s four lanes will be closed until at least mid-September from Robertson Lane — not far from the Morehead Planetarium on East Franklin Street — to Graham Street, about a half-mile down West Franklin Street, the town said in a news release.
Ran Northam, a town spokesperson, said the town plans to put up barriers on the east side of the street this week. Officials will block off lanes on the west side next week. The street will still have space for parking and curbside pickups.
“The idea is to allow more space for people to walk/stroll/roll on Franklin Street, freeing up most of the sidewalk for outdoor dining and retail,” Northam said in an email to The N&O. “Restaurants must still secure permits from the town to have sidewalk dining or retail.”
The Chapel Hill Town Council approved the lane closures in June and plans to regularly review how Franklin Street is faring, the news release said.
Over 1,300 people signed a petition created in May to close part of Franklin Street for walking and outdoor dining. Franklin Street is the latest in the country to partially close and create more space for pedestrians and outdoor diners.
Many of the businesses on the once-bustling street are still closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We certainly hope this will be helpful to restaurants and businesses downtown, as we know this has been a difficult time,” Northam said. “We hope it also helps community members feel more comfortable with the ability to spread out more.”
Businesses that serve food in Orange County were required this month to limit food sales and stop selling alcohol starting at 10 p.m., The N&O reported.
Other cities in the Triangle have tried to help struggling restaurants by allowing outdoor dining. While many Raleigh restaurants already have outdoor dining, restaurants can apply for a temporary outdoor dining permit to expand their spaces.
Over 30 restaurants in Durham offer outdoor dining, while more than 40 are closed because of the pandemic, according to the organization Downtown Durham Inc. Durham leaders are working with the organization to make parks, sidewalks and other areas available to businesses.
Restaurants hope for boost
Chapel Hill restaurant owners anticipate more foot traffic as the street begins to open up again. The businesses have lost significant revenue since UNC joined universities nationwide in shutting down in March because of the coronavirus.
“(The shutdown) almost killed us. We were down 90% (of business) most of March, April and May,” said Andreas Handrinos, the general manager partner of The Pizza Press on Franklin.
The Pizza Press won’t set up extra tables on the empty sidewalk because it already has an outdoor patio, Handrinos said. And he said his restaurant has seen more sales in the last week as UNC resident advisors became the first in a wave of students to return to campus.
Handrinos hopes the lane closures are the start of Franklin Street’s revitalization.
“It definitely has picked up drastically in the last week,” Handrinos said.