Chapel Hill’s mall is gone, but local shops are finding a place beside national brands
Away from the chain food purveyors and shops, a handful of small-business owners want customers to know you can still shop local at University Place mall in Chapel Hill.
Brianna Cherner made the jump from global workforce manager to soap entrepreneur during COVID, she said as she piped rainbows on four dozen bars for a little girl’s birthday party.
The colors, scents and techniques of soapmaking hooked her.
“You never know what you’re going to get when you make a soap until you cut it, because when you make them, they come out in a loaf,” said Cherner, 46. “I really love coming up with the different colors, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
At The Soap and Shine, she makes soaps, bath products and candles and leads classes for adults and children, along with summer camps focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning and entrepreneurship.
Her own interest stems from personal experience with “super dry skin,” Cherner said. Handmade soaps helped, she said, and during a “dry January” in 2020, she and her husband first tried their hand at the craft.
In November 2024, after selling her products at the South Durham Farmer’s Market for four years, she left her job with Rockwell Automation and opened a store on the ground floor of the 990 Willow complex at University Place.
A few doors down, North Carolina natives Ivy and John Simon sell modern furniture and accessories at Palette & Parlor. The store, which opened in 2013 at East 54, specializes in simple lines and sustainable materials reflecting the couple’s time in Copenhagen.
While the in-store selection is limited, more options are available online and can be brought to the store from their warehouse for in-person viewing and finish and fit tests, Ivy Simon said. The store also provides private shopping appointments.
“We offer local furniture, made here in North Carolina, and high-quality pieces from Denmark as well,” said Simon, 50. “So we’re merging the best of Danish design with also the rich history that North Carolina has with upholstery and upholstered furniture making.”
Very little ‘mall’ at University Place
The 900 Willow mixed-use apartment building located near Silverspot Cinema at University Place mall has eight ground-floor incubator spaces for services and startup retailers. The leases are shorter, and the rent is discounted for new businesses.
It’s part of mall owner Ram Realty Advisors’ multi-year, $135 million plan to turn the 52-year-old mall inside out, and add new commercial and residential buildings and public spaces.
Only a handful of businesses still have entrances inside the mall — Gerrie & Co., Style Brows Threading Studio and Afredo’s Pizza Villa. Alfredo’s is working on a bigger space across the parking lot at the back corner of 900 Willow, near the Harris Teeter entrance.
The Frame and Print Shop, another local store, has already moved into a larger space between Stoney River and Silverspot Cinema.
The mall is not like it used to be, said Gerrie Nunn, owner of Gerrie & Co., who echoed a sentiment shared by many who remember the local shops and affordable shopping at Roses department store. Nunn started working there when the mall opened in 1973 and the store was known as Minata Jewelers. She took over when the owner retired in 2009.
Children still occasionally run down the hall to grab a piece of candy from the bowl outside the shop, but they don’t get many customers, especially since Kidzu moved after a water main break last year, Nunn said.
Gerrie & Co. will close when Alfredo’s Pizza leaves and their end of the mall is redeveloped, Nunn said. Her daughter, Katherine Nunn, who also works at the store, said she might return to college.
Ram Realty Advisors released an updated site plan in January that shows their end of the mall being consolidated into larger stores. Space remaining at the center of the mall will be used for storage, a Ram Realty site plan shows.
“I’m going to retire when it closes,” Gerrie Nunn said. “It’s very sad. Very sad.”
More businesses, new buildings
There are more restaurants now, and more planned, along with a number of services.
Most of the action on a recent weekday was at the eastern end of University Place, where Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams was doing steady business at one end of The Commons, a 30,000-square-foot lawn. The Salty artisanal doughnut shop and coffee bar could open later this year at the other end.
Construction of multiple new buildings and the eastern end of the mall, which used to be A Southern Season, took over two years. New tenants around the bend include WakeMed Urgent Care, which is taking patients, and the Veterinary Emergency Group, a 24-hour emergency veterinarian that could open soon.
Solidcore Pilates, Curry Up Now Indian street food restaurant, and Sweathouz, a cold plunge and infrared sauna studio could move to that end later this year.
University Place changes
▪ Commercial: 350,000 square feet of retail space, 60,000 square feet of offices, and a future hotel on 39.5 acres
▪ Residential: 900 Willow and an adjacent parking deck opened in 2024 west of Silverspot Cinema. The building has 253 apartments and retail on the ground floor.
▪ Construction: A Southern Season and other storefronts on the mall’s eastern side were demolished last year, making way for 17 new storefronts and six new buildings. More construction is planned.
▪ New entrance: The mall’s main entrance on Estes Drive is under renovation and could add more public spaces and storefronts.
▪ Public plaza: The Commons features 30,000 square feet of public lawn, rocking horses for small children, swing benches and seating.
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